TSA Chapter 83

After taking a short rest, the group continued deeper into the cave. The further they went, the narrower the passage became. By the time they reached the end, the path had completely disappeared, leaving only a tranquil pool of water before them—there was no other way forward.

It was clear that they would have to go underwater.

Although it looked like a pond, it was actually connected to the open sea, its waters a deep shade of blue.

Night Owl stared at the water for a moment before speaking. “We probably need to dive in. Everyone, bring extra stamina potions.”

Swimming and diving would consume a lot of stamina, and no one knew how deep the water was or how long the passage might be. Preparing more stamina potions was definitely the safest option.

Fortunately, Ran Qi had planned ahead and brought plenty of stamina potions. He handed out two to each person, ensuring they would have enough energy underwater. He also distributed speed potions.

“Speed potions can boost movement speed—they’ll be useful while swimming.”

“This… we can’t just take them for free. However much they cost at market price, we’ll pay you back!” Shura and the others weren’t the type to take advantage of someone’s generosity. It was understandable for a team to share resources, but since they weren’t part of Night Owl’s team, they felt it was only right to pay Ran Qi for the potions.

Ran Qi tried to refuse, but under Shura and the others’ insistence, he eventually accepted their payment.

“Don’t rush in just yet. Four Seasons and Coke should scout ahead first. If it’s safe, we’ll follow,” Night Owl said cautiously.

No one objected, and so Four Seasons and Gu Le dove into the water.

Night Owl’s decision proved to be absolutely right—no sooner had the two entered the water than a school of fish attacked them.

These were swordfish—sleek, streamlined creatures with smooth scales and long, sword-like upper jaws. They were massive in size and incredibly fast in the water, using their sharp snouts as weapons to charge at their enemies.

Their attacks were swift and forceful, their hard, spear-like jaws striking like piercing lances. Even though Gu Le and Four Seasons had shields to defend themselves, they struggled to withstand the relentless assaults.

“Watch out! There are mobs underwater!” The two quickly warned the team through the party channel.

Everyone exchanged glances—there was no avoiding an underwater battle.

The underwater environment was just like a real ocean, except that, thanks to the game mechanics, they didn’t have to worry about water pressure or oxygen. As long as their stamina didn’t deplete completely, they could move and fight freely beneath the waves.

Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, they were still startled when they saw the sheer number of fish swarming toward them after diving in.

Thankfully, they had cleared plenty of dungeons before, and they quickly adjusted their stance, launching an all-out attack against the swordfish.

However, underwater combat posed its own challenges—fire-based spells were significantly weaker. Night Owl tested [Lightning Strike], which proved highly effective due to water’s conductivity. Many swordfish were electrocuted and flipped belly-up, but the downside was that everyone else in the water felt the shock too. While teammates were immune to each other’s skill damage in party mode, they could still feel the effects, and the electric current left their limbs tingling uncomfortably.

The sensation wasn’t exactly pleasant, so Night Owl decided to refrain from using lightning-based spells underwater for now.

Fortunately, Ran Qi’s new skill was unaffected. His ability dealt light-based damage, bursting like underwater fireworks. Not only did it inflict massive damage on the fish, but it also painted the dim ocean depths with brilliant colors, making the surroundings appear bright and stunningly beautiful.

“Brother Ran, that new skill of yours is absolutely amazing!” Soul Chaser clicked his tongue in admiration.

“Yeah! I really hope we get an inheritance quest soon too… I won’t even be picky—just give me one of Night Owl’s or Brother Ran’s skills, and I’ll be happy!” Plume Ink nodded in agreement.

“Hahaha, exactly!” The group joked around as they effortlessly cleared out the swordfish.

Following the underwater path forward, they soon encountered the dungeon’s first boss.

It was an exceptionally ugly fish—its head was large while its tail was thin, and its body was covered in densely packed gray scales. Its enormous mouth was lined with long, needle-like sharp teeth. On top of its head was a lantern-like protrusion that emitted a yellow-green glow in the dark depths of the water, giving it an eerie appearance.

“My god, what kind of fish is this? It’s way too ugly!” Gu Le, who was swimming at the front of the group, was startled by the sudden appearance of the massive fish.

“This should be an anglerfish. I remember reading about it in historical records, but… it looks even uglier than the pictures in the documents,” Sword at Fleeting Time commented, also finding the fish an eyesore.

Viewers in the World Channel were clearly just as shocked, flooding the chat with complaints about the game’s design choices.

“Everyone, refresh your buffs. Four Seasons, you’ll be the main tank. Coke, you’re the off-tank. Get ready,” Night Owl commanded in a steady voice.

不管这boss长成啥样，反正都得杀。

No matter how ugly the boss was, they had to kill it anyway.

“I have a feeling this fish’s abilities won’t be simple. Everyone, stay alert. When your speed buff is about to wear off, make sure to reapply it in time,” Ran Qi reminded the team.

The anglerfish’s abilities were incredibly annoying. Whenever its headlamp lit up, it would cast different skills, the most common being area slow effects and stuns. On top of that, it could change color and stealth itself, just like an underwater chameleon. If anyone lost track of it for even a moment, they might not be able to find it again, meaning they’d have to rely on area-of-effect attacks to force it out. Otherwise, getting bitten by this fish could result in severe injuries.

Since the water was its home turf, they had to keep using speed potions to barely keep up.

“Understood.” Everyone immediately took out their speed potions and drank them. The potions lasted for 10 minutes, and they had already spent about eight minutes swimming and dealing with the swordfish. Their buffs were nearly out of time.

After refreshing his speed buff, Four Seasons raised his shield and charged forward, striking the anglerfish with a powerful slash.

The fish’s large, bulging eyes widened, and the lantern on its head flickered. The next moment, Four Seasons suddenly felt his body grow heavy, and the massive anglerfish before him had vanished.

“Watch out!” As the off-tank, Gu Le’s role was to step in if anything happened to the main tank, so he had been sticking close to Four Seasons the entire time. At this moment, he noticed ripples in the surrounding water and a massive shadow faintly appearing behind Four Seasons.

Gu Le immediately guessed that it was the anglerfish that had just disappeared. Reacting quickly, he grabbed Four Seasons and pulled him backward while raising his shield.

A sharp crunch rang out as the anglerfish clamped down on Gu Le’s shield. Luckily, the shield was thick and sturdy enough to withstand the bite, preventing the fish from tearing through it.

Four Seasons, now at close range, got a good look at the creature’s razor-sharp teeth, sending chills down his spine.

If that thing had bitten directly into him… he couldn’t even imagine how much it would hurt!

The game only allowed up to 50% of pain perception to be disabled, meaning that getting bitten like that would definitely be agonizing.

Shaking off his lingering fear, Four Seasons didn’t waste any time. He immediately used [Shield Bash], forcing the anglerfish’s aggro back onto himself.

Seeing that the main tank had secured the boss’s attention, the rest of the team launched their attacks together.