Chapter 69 Sapphire Gem
Izroth received some additional system alerts after learning the skill fusion technique. Right now, however, he wanted to end this fight against Calder and so set it aside for the moment. The time for his temporary passive skill Equalizer was slowly ticking away. He had a bit less than 40 minutes remaining.
Using the skills Lightning Field and Flickering Steps together, Izroth had no trouble overcoming Calder and his Rainbow-Coral King Seahorse's speed. Izroth's luck with the paralyze effect from the Lightning Field skill was also quite good, successfully activating more often than not.
Thanks to the bonus lighting damage dealt while within the lightning field, Izroth was chipping away at Calder's HP rapidly. While he only had 10 seconds to use Lightning Field, Izroth made full use of it. Along with the Hellfire Rampage skill from his Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest, Izroth's speed was terrifying.
Izroth originally lost the stats as he had to temporarily fall back earlier, however, it did not take him long to receive the maximum 100 Agility given from Hellfire Rampage, the skill attached to his rare chest piece equipment.
28%...
22%...
15%...
10%...
"I have tried to give you a merciful death, surface dweller. However, you have dared to push me this far!" Calder shouted as the seahorse he was riding on eyes turned bright red in rage. The golden trident in Calder's hands shook violently as it unleashed a very aggressive aura.
〈Battle Alert: Calder, The Seahorse Knight has entered an enraged state〉
When Calder's HP hit dropped to 10%, he went into an enraged state. During this state, Calder's agility, attack, and magic would gain a huge boost. Not only that, but he would also gain the skill Endless Rage which would increase his attack by 5% every 1 second.
This was something Izroth had already expected to happen and so he was not at all caught off-guard by it. He did not slow down or halt his assault and continued to skillfully evade Calder's attacks.
Calder charged forward towards Izroth on the back of his seahorse mount with the golden trident in his hands still shaking violently. However, there was a large amount of destructive power hidden behind the incoming attack. Even though it looked incredibly unstable, it was actually perfectly executed.
But, how could Izroth be hit by such an attack with his current level of monstrous agility and heightened senses? Even if Calder may be considered fast to the average player, compared to Izroth he might as well be standing perfectly still.
Izroth's body flickered leaving behind an afterimage in his place as the sword in his hand seemed as if it was descending from above like a lightning strike.
Bzzzzzzzt! Crasssssh!
Izroth's Blade of Lightning sliced through Calder's body multiple times. Izroth's attack speed at the moment was frightening. He could perform a total of 5 attacks every 2 seconds. This attack speed could only be matched by a dagger-wielding class who typically attacked fast thanks to their small and light weapons.
However, even if those type of classes could match Izroth's attack speed, the damage was a different story.
"The Great Kashysh shall avenge me! Surface dweller, your end is... Near..." As Izroth's final strike passed by Calder and his Rainbow-Coral King Seahorse, Calder managed to speak a few words before ultimately collapsing in defeat. Izroth had overcome the first boss monster inside of the Sea Palace Graveyard.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated «Calder, The Seahorse Knight»〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded 18,127 EXP〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded 18,127 EXP from the skill «Equalizer»〉
〈System Alert: You have leveled up to level 19〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded +3 skill points for leveling up〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded +1 stat point for leveling up〉
Loot Drop:
-22 silver coins
-x1 «Sapphire Gem»
-x3 «Merfolk Scale»
-1 «Damaged Sea Trident»
-1 «Kashysh's Scale Chest»
Izroth furrowed his brows as he browsed through the loot. From the look of things, the drops given by Calder were not all that great. But, that was just because Izroth already had a rare chest piece and weapon. If not, then the loot could actually be considered pretty decent.
At least that's what Izroth thought until he looked at the effects of the Kashysh's Scale Chest.
Name: Damaged Sea Trident(Uncommon)
Level: 22
Requirements: 230 Attack
ATK: 100
Name: Kashysh's Scale Chest(Uncommon)
Level: 22
Type: Plate
Requirements: 130 Defense
HP: 600
DEF: 50
Set Effect(2): The user is able to travel freely inside the «Underwater World» without the use of a Merfolk Scale.
Set Effect(3): Grants the user +50% bonus speed while within any body of water.
Set Effect(4): The user gains +30 ATK, +20 DEF.
Set Effect(5): The user gains +2,000 HP, +50 DEF.
Set Effect(6): The user gains +4,000 HP, +50 ATK, +50 DEF.
Special Note: This equipment piece is part of the «Kashysh Scale Set» and when equipped with other set pieces, grants the user extra benefits.
The Kashysh's Scale Chest was actually part of an equipment set series! By itself it was not that great, however, if used together with the other pieces of the Kashysh Scale set, the benefits would be amazing!
If any tank managed to receive all six pieces of the set, just from the set effects alone they would gain 6,000 HP, 80 ATK, and 120 DEF. This was not including the stats provided by the item itself and was solely from the set effects.
'It's too bad that the requirements and armor type doesn't suit me.'
Izroth already had the Hellfire Crafted Oblivion Chest equipped which was more compatible with his high-speed playstyle. Kashysh's Scale Chest, on the other hand, was more suited to a defensive playstyle.
Izroth set the coins and items into his inventory. He would figure out what to do with them once he was outside of the Sea Palace Graveyard. However, he left one item out of his inventory. It was the Sapphire Gem.
Before examining the Sapphire Gem, Izroth checked back on the system alerts he received after using a skill fusion.
〈System Alert: Congratulations Player Izroth, you are the first player to perform a Skill Fusion.〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded +100 World Fame〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded +3 stat points〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded +1 skill point〉
〈System Alert: You have been awarded +1 gold coin〉
The rewards were actually not that bad. He could always use more stat points and skill points, but he still had yet to feel the benefits from having World Fame. Though, Izroth understood that eventually, it would reveal its advantages. He then began to examine the Sapphire Gem he looted from Calder.
Name: Sapphire Gem(Dungeon Item)
Rank: None
Usage: This Sapphire Gem, when used together with its counterparts the Aquamarine Gem and Moonstone Gem, allows its possessor to pass through one of the deepest levels of the Underwater World.
Special Note: By itself, this gem does not have any value or use. If this gem leaves the Sea Palace Graveyard, it will be destroyed.
'So I still need to find the Aquamarine Gem and Moonstone Gem in order to travel to the deeper levels of the Underwater World. Does that mean this dungeon has at least two more boss monsters?'
The Goblin's Paradise dungeon that Izroth cleared before only had two bosses. Though if you included the hidden boss then it would be a total of three. Apparently, this dungeon also had a hidden boss to it, therefore, if he needed to defeat two more bosses then there were most likely four boss monsters total in this dungeon.
Of course, this was only a theory Izroth came up with. The gems could very well be somewhere entirely different within the Underwater World, not necessarily in the hands of a boss monster like Calder.
Izroth set the Sapphire Gem into his inventory and as he did, the water started to drain out of the gigantic bubble. The area of the rainbow-colored coral that was destroyed by Calder's attack to summon his seahorse had repaired itself to its original undamaged state.
When the water finished draining out of the gigantic bubble, the Rainbow-Coral Fish that were swimming around in circles began to move in the same direction. There were over one hundred of them, but all of them were in groups of three.
Izroth observed the Rainbow-Coral Fish and saw that they were drifting downward. They were heading towards the bottom side of the platform near where Calder was initially standing when Izroth first arrived on the circular platform.
Izroth walked over to the side of the circular platform and when he reached the edge, what he saw was a pathway resembling a slide with water running rapidly on the bottom of it. He made sure to check his surroundings when he first stepped onto the platform and this was not here before the fight.
'It must have opened after I defeated Calder.'
He slid down the waterslide-like structure with numerous twist and curves on the way downward. There was a transparent solid material that Izroth could clearly see through as he traveled on the slide. Outside the transparent material, there was a stunning sight that unfolded before his eyes.
There was a city with countless buildings made from corals that scaled over 15 stories high. A gorgeous colorful soft blue hue lit up that entire area of the sea and a magnificent aurora was above the city. The aurora was filled with a myriad of colors and remained in a continuous circular motion around the sky of the city.
Many Merfolk that appeared to be citizens were swimming around below. Some of them had legs with scales on them like Calder, but most of them were just like the Sea Palace Guards and possessed the lower body of a fish.
There were even some citizens who had the upper body of a fish and the lower body of a human. It was a unique experience for most players, however, to someone like Izroth who had traveled throughout all Seven Realms, it was not an uncommon sight.
'It's very similar to the Third Realm Aka'Zmin... A water-based society.'
The scene did not last for long as Izroth soon reached a more isolated part of the Underwater World. It was unknown exactly how deep this sea actually was, but according to the Sapphire Gem, this was far from the deepest level.
The whole trip lasted no longer than 15 seconds. When Izroth reached the end of the waterslide, he was in a badly lit and cold part of the sea. However, the Rainbow-Coral Fish that drifted down here before him, provided Izroth with a source of light thanks to their colorful luminescent scales.
〈System Alert: You have entered the region «Orkallion Trench»〉
Izroth moved his hand to the waterslide and when he tried to enter inside, there was a strong force pushing his hand away.
'It seems as though I've taken a one-way trip.'
Izroth began to explore the Orkallion Trench and when he looked upward, he could barely notice the surface of the Great Kashysh Sea. Though, there was probably some invisible boundary that would prevent him from swimming all the way up.
After swimming for around 5 minutes, Izroth heard a faint sound. The further he swam, the louder the sound grew. When he listened closely, it resembled a whale song. It was difficult to lock on to the location of the whale song, it seemed to be echoing from every direction.
Oooooooo...
This time, the sound clearly came from directly below Izroth's current position. He stared into the seemingly bottomless trench and did not see anything at first. But, a few seconds later, a massive eyeball opened up right next to Izroth. The eyeball itself was the size of a large house.
'Impossible, how could I have not sensed something so enormous?'
The size of the sea creature was colossal and easily spanned more than 100 meters in length. Izroth was more than close enough to get a look at the monster's name.
Name: Colossal Sea King Scagmag(Legendary Boss)
Level: ???
A legendary boss with its level hidden! This meant that the level of this monster was much higher than Izroth's own level. The strange thing was that this boss did not bother attacking Izroth and instead it just stared at him for a moment before continuing to swim onward.
'A legendary boss? How is that possible?'
There should not be a legendary boss in a dungeon with such a low level, even if this dungeon did have a hidden boss. If that was really the case then no matter what, Wess would not have let him inside the dungeon. This information was too valuable to disclose to just anyone.
'Does that mean none of the players from Cross Haven ran into that creature yet?' Izroth was thinking to himself when he received a system alert.
〈System Alert: You have received the temporary passive skill «Scagmag's Whale Song»〉