Chapter 307 (Patreon)

Captain Blitz had long since abandoned any pretense of calm. Every few moments, he leaned dangerously over the edge of the rocking vessel, squinting into the dark, churning water where Kana had vanished, as if sheer stubbornness might drag her back to the surface. The sea was no friend tonight. It heaved and snarled like a restless beast, waves slamming against the hull with enough force to rattle bone and courage alike. 

“No one,” he muttered, voice tight, “no one holds their breath that long. Not in this. Not to mention she has no water skills.” His fingers curled around the railing, knuckles paling.

Suri, in stark contrast, had made herself entirely at home in the chaos. She sat cross-legged near the center mast, casually chewing on a strip of dried fish, the salty scent blending with the brine-heavy air. Thorne mirrored her beside, tiny jaws working with impressive dedication. 

“Relax,” Suri said between bites, as if discussing the weather instead of a potentially drowned friend. “Kana’s… Kana. My skill is still connected. I can feel her moving.” There was a quiet confidence in her tone, but her eyes flicked once toward the water, just for a heartbeat longer than necessary.

Boris, meanwhile, had entered a different kind of battle entirely. He clung to the side of the boat as before like it had personally sworn to betray him, face pale, lips pressed into a thin line as he fought whatever rebellion brewed in his stomach. The waves pitched again, and he groaned under his breath, muttering something that might have been a prayer or a complaint directed at the sea itself. He didn’t dare look overboard. Not again.

Time stretched, warped by the rhythm of the raging waves. Minutes bled into something heavier. Then an hour.

Even Suri stopped chewing.

Her earlier certainty didn’t vanish, but it changed, like a stone settling under unseen pressure. Kana could hold her breath. They all knew that. But this long? In water this chaotic? Her fingers tightened slightly around the dried fish, and for the first time since Kana dove, Suri leaned forward, gaze sharpening. If not for the faint thread of mana she could still sense, she might have already followed.

Then the sea broke.

A sharp splash cracked through the noise of wind and water, and a dark figure surged upward, cutting clean through the surface like something the ocean itself had rejected. Kana landed on the deck with a soft, controlled thud, knees bending just enough to absorb the impact before she straightened as if she’d merely stepped off a curb instead of wrestled the depths.

Water streamed from her hair, dark strands clinging to her face before she flicked them back with a small shake. Droplets scattered across the deck, catching what little light filtered through the restless sky. Her breathing was completely normal, not out of breath.

Suri let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, shoulders easing. “Took you long enough,” she said, though the edge of relief softened her usual sharpness.

Captain Blitz stared. Not the casual kind of staring, but the sort that comes when the world quietly rewrites its rules in front of you. 

“You…” He swallowed, eyes tracing her for any sign of strain, of exhaustion, of anything that made sense. “You sure you don’t have any underwater skills?” he asked, slower this time, like the question itself might bite him.

Kana tilted her head slightly, as if considering it for the first time. “Not that I know of.”

That didn’t help. Suri frowned now, her curiosity catching up with her relief. She could feel Kana’s mana. That hadn’t changed. But something else had. Or maybe it hadn’t changed at all and she was only noticing it now, like a quiet rhythm hidden beneath louder noise. Kana hadn’t gasped for air. Not even once.

For someone who had just spent an hour beneath a raging sea, she looked… comfortable.

And that, more than anything, unsettled her.

Kana explained what she found underneath and how she was able to breathe for an hour using the hidden dungeon, entering to breath then exit again to get more black pearls. Her words hung in the air like a dropped blade and pointed straight at Boris’ sanity. The sea roared around them, waves slamming against the vessel in uneven rhythms, as if the ocean itself was listening in and laughing. Kana stood there, dripping and calm, black pearls glinting faintly in her hand like stolen fragments of night. She showed them a dozen from her pocket but hundreds of them were now stored to her [Inventory]. To her, this was simple. Then she looked intensely at Boris as she smiled.

To Boris, it looked like a death sentence with extra steps.

“No way!” he barked, his voice cracking somewhere between outrage and pure survival instinct. He clutched the side of the boat harder, knuckles whitening as another wave rocked them sideways. Thorne mirrored him perfectly, tiny claws gripping his head like it was the last stable land in existence.

Suri, for once, didn’t even bother pretending to consider it. She shook her head so quickly it looked like she might snap something. 

“I agree with Boris,” she said flatly, then added with more emphasis, “I strongly agree with Boris.” 

That alone should have been enough evidence that Kana’s idea had wandered into dangerous territory. Suri wasn’t afraid of much. But underwater dungeons, in the middle of a restless sea, with no reliable footing and limited air? That was a different story.

Kana tilted her head slightly, as if their reactions didn’t quite compute. “It’s only somewhere mid-level,” she said, almost gently, like she was trying to convince children to try a new dish. “We can clear it quickly. And the seabed is calm. Safer than here above, actually.”

Another wave slammed into the hull, violently disagreeing with her definition of safe.

Suri pointed at the ocean around them. “This is your safe comparison?” she asked, incredulous. “We’re standing on a floating piece of wood that’s one bad decision away from becoming drift debris.”

Kana didn’t answer immediately. Her gaze drifted to the water again, thoughtful, distant. There was something behind her eyes now—not excitement, not recklessness, but calculation. That quiet, dangerous kind. The kind that meant she had already decided this was worth it.

And that made it worse.

Boris groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Why does every plan of yours involve almost dying?” he muttered. 

Kana gave him a small smile. Not dismissive. Not mocking. Just… certain. “It looks but it’s not. Trust me. Don’t be a crybaby. It’s just water anyway.”

For a moment, even the sea seemed quieter.

Suri exhaled slowly, her earlier resistance softening into reluctant understanding. She didn’t like it. Not one bit. But she understood the direction Kana was pushing them toward. Faster growth. Higher risk. Fewer chances to hesitate.

Still, she crossed her arms. “I still have a bad feeling about this,” she said.

Kana nodded once, acknowledging it,”But I’m not. I have a good feeling this time.”

That, somehow, was even more unsettling.

Captain Blitz, who had been silently watching this exchange like a man witnessing three people casually debate whether to jump into a volcano, finally let out a low whistle. “You lot are insane,” he said, half impressed, half concerned. “But if you’re diving again, you better decide fast. I’m not keeping this boat dancing with these waves forever.”

Kana turned back to her companions, water still dripping from her hair, pearls clenched lightly in her hand like a promise.

“Well?” she asked.

The sea waited.

So did whatever lurked beneath it.

….

Boris looked like a man being escorted to his own execution as he peeled off the last piece of armor, each buckle undone with the kind of reluctance usually reserved for final goodbyes. His broad shoulders trembled, whether from the cold wind or his imagination running wild beneath the waves, even he didn’t know. 

“Do I really have to do this?” he muttered, voice thin despite his size, as he stared into the churning sea below. “You can clear it by yourself. Why do I need to go down there?” The waves answered for Kana, rising and falling like a beast breathing in its sleep.

Kana, of course, only smiled. Not a cruel smile, not quite. Just the kind that meant she had already decided, and the rest of the world was still catching up. She had tested it before, quietly, methodically. Exp points did not trickle to those who lingered outside a dungeon’s threshold. If they wanted to grow, they had to step into the dark themselves. And this… this was not just any dungeon. A hidden one, buried beneath the sea like a secret too heavy for the surface to carry. Opportunities like that didn’t knock twice. They dragged you under. There might be something special about this dungeon like the fruit dungeon.

Behind them, Captain Blitz folded his arms, watching the scene with the skepticism of a man who had seen too many hopeful fools swallowed by the ocean. “We’re staying until midnight,” he said flatly, his voice cutting through the wind. “After that, we leave. I doubt you’ll still be alive by then.” It wasn’t said with malice. Just experience.

Suri, on the other hand, leaned closer to Kana, lowering her voice as if the sea itself might overhear. “I can cover myself with mana,” she whispered, a glint of confidence flickering in her eyes. “I don’t even need to get wet.” It sounded impressive. It was impressive. But Kana shook her head, already picturing the descent, the crushing pull, the relentless drag of the waves.

“It won’t hold,” Kana said simply. “Not with currents like these. You’ll burn through your mana before we even reach the bottom.”

Suri clicked her tongue, but didn’t argue further. Even she knew when logic had already won the duel.

Kana stepped toward the edge of the vessel, the wood slick beneath her feet, the ocean stretching wide and restless beneath a sky that felt too calm for what it hid. She scanned the deck out of habit, searching for one last member of their little chaos-bound party. “Thorne?” she called.

The lizard, who had very clearly decided she was not part of this suicidal expedition, sat firmly in the center of the ship like a queen refusing exile. She didn’t even blink.

“Behave here,” Kana added, almost as an afterthought. “Didn’t know you’re scared of water.”

That did it.

Thorne’s head snapped toward her with visible offense, as if her pride had just been personally insulted. In a blur of motion, she scampered across the deck, leapt onto Boris, and burrowed into his shirt like it was the safest fortress in existence. 

“You’re more brave than I am,” he said weakly.

The wind howled. The ship creaked. The sea below roared like it had been waiting.

The trio’s body was colored like part of the seawater itself. Kana inhaled deeply, the salt air filling her lungs, steadying her thoughts. Then, without another word, she stepped forward and disappeared into the waves.

Suri followed a heartbeat later, slipping into the water with far more grace than she felt.

Boris lingered at the edge, staring down into the shifting blue abyss, clutching his spear like it might anchor him to the world above. “I hate this,” he whispered, just before gravity made the decision for him.

The raging sea swallowed them whole.

Post note:Exp potions secured!

Third chap of the week!Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

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