chapter 187

There were several dark holes, or tunnels, within the lake.

People were naturally afraid of darkness. Plus, none of them knew what lay within those tunnels, so Kang Oh’s party steered clear of them.

However, the Lighthouse Turtle began to slowly swim towards one of them.

Since Kang Oh’s party was following it, they’d have to enter the hole too.

Kang Oh unhesitatingly entered the hole, disappearing into the darkness.

Eder also entered the hole rather easily.

‘Mm.’ Sephiro briefly hesitated, but he couldn’t stay here. His companions had already gone inside.

He gritted his teeth, went ‘Screw it.’, and swam inside.

Sephiro entered the hole and was soon consumed by darkness.

* * *

A dim light glowed in the darkness.

That’s why it was called the ‘Lighthouse’ Turtle! It was because its shell radiated a gentle light.

The Lighthouse Turtle’s light was so weak that it’d normally be unseeable, but it was so dark inside that it actually made all the difference.

That dim light gave Sephiro a sense of ease, making him less frightful than before.

‘A Lighthouse Turtle, huh. What good naming sense.’

Is this how seafaring people felt when they saw a lighthouse amidst the darkness?

Anyway, the tunnel that they’d entered was extremely complex.

Their path was often split into two; sometimes, it was even split into three or four.

It was essentially a water maze!

Despite that, the Lighthouse Turtle kept going. It was as if it knew what the right way was.

Though their time breathing underwater was almost up, they saw a light far greater than the turtle’s at the surface of the water.

His party knew that that was their final destination. They forcefully waved their hands and swam over to their destination.

Spurt!

The Lighthouse Turtle, Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro made it through.

Then…

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon, Teyno’s Home.]

[You are the first to discover it.]

Kang Oh grinned. ‘I was right!’

Upon seeing the Lighthouse Turtle, Kang Oh’s Hyper Intuition had activated. It was as though it was telling him that ‘There was more to that turtle!’.

He recalled the system message he’d received earlier.

It felt as though his once dark mind was illuminated by light.

What was a lighthouse? It was a tower that guided boats on dark nights.

‘If that’s the case, then the Lighthouse Turtle must serve as a guide!’

Thus, Kang Oh had drawn his party’s attention by swinging his arms around, and had then followed the turtle.

As a result, he discovered a hidden dungeon.

“Thanks,” Kang Oh said to the turtle.

The Lighthouse Turtle briefly glanced at him, and then went back into the water.

Then…

“Um…” Eder said.

“Ooh,” Sephiro exclaimed.

‘What’s the big deal?’ Kang Oh turned his head and saw what all the fuss was about. It was a really giant monster turtle.

[You have discovered the Immovable Teynos.]

[You are the first to discover it.]

The giant turtle, Immovable Teynos!

It was the master of Teyno’s Cave!

At that moment…

Teyno opened its eyes.

And…

“You’ve finally come!” Teynos said, thrilled. It was as if it had been waiting a long time for them to find it.

“You were waiting for us?” Kang Oh stepped forward and said.

“I wasn’t waiting for you specifically. I’ve been waiting a long time for someone qualified to come and become the dungeon’s master!” Teynos said.

Kang Oh shivered, starting from his toes all the way to the top of his head.

“You’re the guardian that protects the soul stone!” Kang Oh yelled excitedly.

“Indeed. I am the guardian that protects the soul stone, the Immovable Teynos!” the giant turtle, Teynos, yelled confidently.

‘Finally!’

He’d finally found a soul dungeon. Kang Oh clenched his fists. Yes!

“Alright. I’ll become the dungeon master, so give me the soul stone,” Kang Oh smiled and said.

Based on what it was saying, it seemed like it desperately needed a dungeon master. He wanted Teynos to pick him, rather than make things complicated!

“I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“First, you have to prove that you’re qualified.”

“How?”

“Bring me the items that I want. Then, I’ll acknowledge you as the dungeon’s master.”

“Just a second ago you said you were waiting for us,” Kang Oh said. ‘So why is he being like this now?’

“I have been waiting for you. However, I don’t want to let just anyone become the owner of this dungeon.”

In other words, he would test his abilities first.

“What do you want?” Kang Oh asked.

“I’m the Immovable Teynos. Though none can pierce my armor, I cannot move!”

“So?”

“Despite that, I’m interested in the outside world. I want an item that comes from there.”

“You don’t want to be free?”

“No. I just want to own something that comes from the outside world.”

“Really? Then I’ll give you just the thing, so…” Kang Oh pulled out all sorts of junk from his inventory. ‘These all come from the outside world, right?’

“I don’t want common goods. I want something precious.”

“Tch, you’re quite picky. So what exactly are you looking for?”

“There are four items that are considered the treasures of the sea. Sillion Cloth, Veraris Liquor, a Lupenia Crystal, and a Calodia Clam. If you bring me two of these, then I’ll acknowledge you as the dungeon’s master,” Teynos said.

‘A Lupenia Crystal, huh… He’s referring to the aquatic tribe I met before. I have no idea how I’ll procure the other ones.’

Ultimately, Kang Oh decided to go with a different method.

“I can just kill you, right?”

He could kill the guardian to obtain the soul stone!

“You could try, but killing me is impossible.”

“You never know until you try.” Kang Oh pulled out his and Eder’s gear. He immediately equipped the Baramut set and gripped Demon Sword Ubist.

“Of course this happens.” Eder wore the Dullahan set, and raised both his square shield and Hellfire Mace. Sephiro had quickly equipped himself as well.

“Let’s go. Don’t hate me if it hurts!”

“Hmph. You can try all you want.” Teynos snorted.

“Haa!” Kang Oh rushed at it.

The battle had begun.

* * *

One hour later…

“Forget it!” Kang Oh deactivated Devil Trigger and yelled.

Eder and Sephiro were so tired that they didn’t even have the energy to speak.

Whereas…

Teynos was completely fine.

“Hahm, you’re already done?”

What’s worse, he even had the gall to yawn!

“I’ll bring you what you want!” Kang Oh yelled.

“Didn’t I tell you? You can’t kill me.”

“Tch.” Kang Oh clicked his tongue.

Immovable Teynos.

It possessed unbelievable defense and regenerative capabilities.

Kang Oh used everything at his disposal and attacked it again and again, but he didn’t even make a dent.

Eder and Sephiro, who both possessed lower attack power than him, did their best, but eventually exhausted themselves.

Ultimately, Kang Oh couldn’t help but wave the white flag. In his current condition, he wouldn’t be able to kill Teynos even after hundreds of years.

“What did you say you wanted again?” Kang Oh asked.

“Sillion Cloth, Veraris Liquor, a Lupenia Crystal, and a Calodia Clam.”

“For the Lupenia Crystal, are you referring to the Lupenia tribe?”

“Indeed. Sillion, Veraris, and Calodia are all tribes that live underwater too. And these items are all those tribes’ specialties.”

“Hmm.” Kang Oh stroked his chin. ‘I think I’ll be able to get the Lupenia Crystal, but… What about the other one?’

Then, Eder said, “Excuse me, Lord Teynos.”

“What is it?”

“Is the Lupenia Crystal a rainbow crystal?”

“That’s right. It’s a precious, seven colored crystal.”

“Oh, that’s right. They gave that to you.” Kang Oh’s eyes gleamed.

In the past, Eder and Grano had received the Lupenia Crystal from the queen as a gift.

It was a reward for slaying the Seed of Calamity, Gureko. Kang Oh had gone into Lupenia’s treasure house instead.

“Yes. I have it at my house.”

“Oh, Eder.”

There really wasn’t anyone like him! Kang Oh was about to hug him when…

Eder got away from him and smiled. “It’s not free of course.”

“Hey, are you really going to be like that?”

Kang Oh would only use their ‘closeness’ as an excuse when it suited him.

“That’s what our relationship is. Nothing’s free.”

Of course, Kang Oh’s attempt didn’t work at all.

“Ugh. In any case, we have one of them, so we just need to collect one more.”

“Sillion Cloth, Veraris Liquor, or a Calodia Clam,” Teynos said.

“You don’t have to keep repeating yourself. You’ve said it enough already.” Kang Oh glanced at Teynos, and then turned his attention to Eder and Sephiro.

“Aside from the Lupenia Crystal, have you heard of the other three items before?”

“No,” Eder said.

“Alright. Then Mr. Sephiro, please use your information brokers and connections to find out what they are and where we can find them.”

Sephiro nodded his head.

“You… Mm, you just rest.”

Eder had the rainbow crystal, so he had to humor him.

“Sure.” Eder didn’t deny him.

“I’ll look for them in the auction house and see if I can find anything through the community sites. I’ll also use my own connections to see what I can scrounge up.”

“Mr. Kang Oh,” Sephiro said.

“Yes?”

“If I manage to find one of those items…”

“Go on.”

“Then I have no intention of giving it to you for free,” Sephiro declared, staring directly into Kang Oh’s eyes.

“What do you want?” Kang Oh asked.

“I’ll tell you after I get the item.”

“I understand.”

“Once again, I’d like to remind you that I’m not giving you the rainbow crystal for free.” Eder was like ‘Now’s the time!’ and reminded him.

“I got it. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Ok.”

“Hey, Teynos,” Kang Oh called.

“What is it?”

“I’ll bring you the items, so just sit tight.”

“I’ll be here, don’t worry.”

Teynos had been waiting a long time for an owner to show up. Thus, he was quite good at waiting.

“Do I have to follow the Lighthouse Turtle again next time?”

That was kind of a pain.

“That’s right.”

“Does that apply even after I become the dungeon’s master?”

“There’s an easier way to transport in and out of the dungeon. But you’re not the dungeon’s master yet.”

Thus, Teynos couldn’t let Kang Oh use that transportation method yet. How stingy.

“I got it. I’m leaving.” Kang Oh pulled out a return scroll.

Teynos closed his eyes without even a ‘Take care’ or something to that effect.

Spurt.

Kang Oh and Sephiro, who’d both ripped their return scrolls, disappeared. Eder quickly followed, as Kang Oh had summoned him.

Teyno’s Home was silent once more.

* * *

The first thing Kang Oh did was stuff his gear into his inventory. If he didn’t, then people in Altein would recognize and approach him, making his life miserable.

Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro exited the intercity transfer gate, and immediately parted ways.

“Good luck!” Eder went home to rest.

“I’ll take my leave too.”

Sephiro had a job to do. He needed to contact his information brokers and acquaintances in order to figure out where the items were.

Kang Oh headed for the auction house first. You never know, someone might be selling one of the three remaining treasures of the sea.

However, Kang Oh later left the auction house empty-handed. None of the items he was looking for were up for sale.

‘Now then… It’s been a while. Let’s go see Jayce.’

The Adventurer Guild’s Veteran Adventurer, Jayce. He should have some information that could prove helpful.