Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was light blue, but the ocean gradually darkened. The ocean did not seem right when the group of four glanced into the distance.

“Why is the water getting darker?” Mo Fan was pretty clueless about the ocean. He looked behind them.

The Sword Quills Sea Monsters had stopped chasing them, possibly because they had left their territory.

However, since the water darkened, Mo Fan believed they would soon enter the territory of a different species.

“The maggot has evolved once. It must have acquired some incredible benefits from the Sword Quills Sea Monster,” Lingling said.

“Oh, that’s good news.”

“It seems like there’s a bunch of sunken reefs ahead,” Bobby said.

Someone who was familiar with the ocean was able to tell where the sunken reefs were based on their experience.

Mo Fan glanced in the direction that Bobby was pointing and discovered that the water there was not as dark.

When the boat got closer, Mo Fan realized that the sunken reef was surprisingly big. It was basically a sunken island!

The water was not deep either. When the boat got closer, Mo Fan was able to hop onto the reef and stand atop it. The water only reached his knees.

(Ed. Note: Don’t try this in real life. Reefs are razor-sharp and will tear your feet to shreds.)

“It looks like a reef cave,” Bobby said after taking a closer look.

“What’s a reef cave?” Mo Fan asked.

“Many creatures in the ocean still need to build nests inside places like caves, holes, or burrows. At certain places, the reefs will connect to one another like island chains, but are sunken instead of being exposed above the surface. These natural reef islands usually turn into nests occupied by different species of sea monsters. We normally refer to them as Sea Monster Fortresses,” Bobby explained.

“Oh, that’s right, the sea monsters most likely have their nests too. It doesn’t make sense for them to sleep in the open,” Mo Fan nodded.

“This reef cave isn’t small, you’ll most likely find a huge bunch of sea monsters napping around a depth of five hundred meters. Let’s be more careful so we don’t wake them up,” Lingling said.

“The maggot must have come here to look for a suitable target. There must be a powerful species here. If it can sneak into the sea monster, it will become extremely powerful!” Mu Ningxue said.

“Indeed, the little creature is pretty good at finding the best places, but it also makes it harder for us to protect it. If the little creature startled the sea monsters, we’ll have to go down there and save it,” Lingling said.

“Are…are you serious? Can a person really go down there and come out alive?” Bobby’s eyes widened.

He was clearly aware of how terrifying a reef cave was. Even tier-one Hunter Groups would not dare to plot against a reef cave. Weren’t the few of them just going to get themselves killed?

“We have to go. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan felt his balls hurting too. He could only pray that the little maggot would keep a low profile. It was necessary for the maggot to behave like a leech without being too greedy. Otherwise, they would have to die in its place!

“Bobby, can you find out what species lives inside the reef cave?” Lingling asked.

“Sure, I have been hanging around with some experienced Hunter Groups a lot because of my ability to identify sea monsters. Just give me some time, I’ll conduct a population census of this reef cave!” Bobby said confidently. He did not forget to boast about his talent.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. I need to know what the maggot is targeting,” Lingling said.

The maggot would soon be able to take the form of its host. It would eventually turn into the creature that it was living inside, and would basically inherit all its abilities.

Therefore, these maggots would subconsciously go after the high-level creatures, since no creature would be willing to stay at the bottom of the food chain if they had a choice.

As such, Lingling was trying to learn what the maggot was planning to turn into!

—

Not long after, Bobby came back to the sunken reef.

The area within five hundred meters from sunken reefs was usually occupied by ordinary sea creatures. Most savage sea monsters occupied the households more than five hundred meters deep into the ocean. As such, they were fine standing on the reefs.

“I’ve investigated it,” Bobby smiled.

“You didn’t even go down there, how did you already have an answer?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“Do you really want to know?” Bobby asked in return.

“Of course!”

“Basically, no matter what species it is, most sea monsters will defecate while they are sleeping, and some portion of the feces will float to the upper layer of the ocean rather than sinking to the bottom. It normally forms a whirlpool, which is basically the septic tank for the sea monsters. I can roughly estimate the species of the sea monsters and their number just by looking at it,” Bobby responded with a shrug.

“….” Mo Fan had lots of comments on the answer, yet he was unable to find any words after opening his mouth.

It was his first time seeing such an impressive Hunter, able to identify demon creatures just by looking at their feces!

“If you started measuring from the surface of the water, the species between five hundred meters to a thousand meters in the reef cave should be the Sea Monkey Monsters. It’s around the size of a pack, but there’s no Commander-level creature among them. It’s nothing to be worried about, it’s the equivalence of slums.

“The area between a thousand meters to two thousand meters is occupied by the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish, at least a thousand of them. There should be Commanders among them, too,” Bobby did not have a pleasant look when he mentioned the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish.

His years of experience had taught him that these creatures were not the kind they would like to pick a fight with. They were able to unleash dense lightning across the place, turning everything other than their own species into ashes!

“The luxurious residential district more than two thousand meters deep is even scarier. Didn’t Mo Fan ask why the seawater is getting darker here?” Bobby said seriously.

“What is it? Just say it, I didn’t study much, so I wouldn’t know what it is,” Mo Fan said honestly.

“Black seawater… don’t tell me it’s that thing?” Lingling suddenly blurted out.

Bobby nodded without saying a word, as if even the creature’s name was too simply too horrifying to mention.

Mu Ningxue fell silent too, as she thought of something. Only Mo Fan looked totally lost.

Did they already agree beforehand to set him up, just because he was utterly clueless about sea creatures? Why couldn’t they just tell him what it is!

“Let’s take some rest, the maggot seems to be sleeping in a safe spot, or waiting for its moment to strike,” Lingling said.

“I really hope the maggot isn’t that ambitious, so that it is willing to just turn into a Sea Monkey Monster, meaning that we can get our job done easily.” Bobby was already swiping across his forehead and chest and praying to his god, “Or the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish will do, it might be somewhat dangerous, but I am not a coward, either. I can even boast about it for the rest of my life once I’m done with the job! Anything is better than the creatures living in the deepest part of the reef cave. If the maggot is really targeting them, I’ll turn around and leave at once!”

Mo Fan listened to Bobby murmuring to himself. He then walked up to Mu Ningxue and asked sincerely, “Bobby is an Intermediate Mage, so he’s probably frightened. I bet the creature at the bottom of the cave isn’t really a problem for us?” he asked.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “It isn’t that Bobby is a coward, but the creature is infamously savage even in the ocean! It’s ranked top five in terms of the damage and casualties it has caused to the tier-two and tier-three coastal cities of every country!”

“What the heck is it!?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you remember the drake with reptilian wings in Jinlin City?” Mu Ningxue asked him.

(Ed. Note: back in the arc where he got his demon element.)

“I do,” Mo Fan replied.

Mu Ningxue added, “The creature down there is a drake, too.”

Mo Fan’s mood immediately sank as soon as he heard the answer.

Any demon creature that was even the slightest bit related to dragons was incredibly strong. They were basically unmatched among the demon creatures of the same rank!

A drake was a kind of demon creature that inherited the bloodline of the dragons. The Lizard Drake in the desolated Jinlin City was most likely the bastard of a dragon and some giant lizard. It was fairly strong among the Commander-level creatures Mo Fan had stumbled into before.

Mo Fan was surprised to learn that there was a drake living in the reef cave. It was indeed not a friendly place!

“It is called the Black Sea Drake, a mixed blooded demon creature between an Evil Sea Dragon and the Lightning Explosion Giant Cuttlefish. It is savage like an Evil Sea Dragon, and cunning like a Lightning Explosion Giant Cuttlefish. Wherever it appears, the seawater within three kilometers of it will turn pitch-black. The water is slightly poisonous, and is able to paralyze a living creature. It will dramatically slow down a person’s reactions, like they have been intoxicated,” Mu Ningxue explained.

“That does sound like a pretty scary creature to fight against. Why don’t we go down and kill that maggot instead, so it won’t even think about preying on the Black Sea Drake?” Mo Fan suggested.

“We can barely fight against a Black Sea Drake on land, but if it’s deep in the ocean, we have zero chance of surviving,” Mu Ningxue declared seriously.

Mo Fan clearly knew how non-existent his Fire Element and Little Flame Belle in the deep ocean were. He would die without a single doubt if he stumbled into the Black Sea Drake!

Mo Fan suddenly felt like he should be swiping a cross on his chest and praying that the little maggot was smart enough to keep a low profile!