AWB Chapter 108 : Hidden Rocks
Chapter 108 : Hidden Rocks
Hidden RocksKalaoran Continent, storm Cape.
At this moment, it was already nine o'clock in the morning. The endless sea surface shimmered under the newly risen sun, and the sea breeze, carrying a faint salty tang, swept over from the distant blue ocean.
Far away, a few seagulls seemed to have sensed some hidden danger. After a few cries, they flapped their wings and took off, flying high over the distant sea in an effort to escape the vicious and enormous uninvited guest: the Darkwing Demon Bat.
Cecilia had just gazed up at the sky when the dazzling morning sunlight forced her to lower her head again, her eyes turning back toward the calm, sparkling sea.
All looked peaceful.
Yet, no one knew what terrifying creatures might hide beneath this seemingly placid, almost unfathomably tranquil sea surface.
Recalling those images related to thalassophobia circulating online, Cecilia gently exhaled.
Although it was still unclear whether the Darkwing Demon Bat's echolocation could function underwater, Cecilia decided to give it a try.
She raised her slender, snow-white right hand, as if made of jade, and beckoned lightly toward the sky. Immediately, a huge black shadow spiraled down.
Two or three seconds later, accompanied by a faint sound, the nearly five-meter-tall Darkwing Demon Bat landed quietly, standing firmly beside Cecilia like a dutiful guard, shielding her from the strengthening sunlight with its massive body.
Next, as an invisible link formed within her mind, in the depths of the shadow her light blue left eye began to transform, at a speed visible to the naked eye, into a deep, dark red.
When the pupil on the left had completely become deep red, under Cecilia's control, the Darkwing Demon Bat threw back its head and let out a roar to the sky. Waves of invisible echolocation rippled outward, covering the entire sea surface within several thousand meters.
One or two seconds later, when the sound waves finally returned from the furthest points, they constructed a clear 3D perspective in Cecilia's mind.
However, upon seeing the distribution map of the surrounding monsters, Cecilia's eyes suddenly widened. Her tiny mouth hung open, and the usually expressionless face was filled with shock.
So many. Far too many...
At that moment, her mind was crowded with densely packed red dots of all sizes, swarming beneath the sea surface in every direction!
If every red dot represented a monster, then in just the less-than-one-kilometer radius of seawater around her, there were already over a thousand monsters!
Despite having already predicted that the number of monsters in the sea should be numerous—certainly much greater than on land—Cecilia was still stunned for several seconds before coming back to herself after witnessing this sight.
At the same time, a strong sense of lingering fear rose in her heart.
Fortunately, she had first used the Darkwing Demon Bat's echolocation to scout, instead of rashly diving into the water. Otherwise, with so many monsters below, even if her defense and health were ridiculously high, and each monster could only take one point of HP per attack, after a few rounds of being swarmed, if she couldn't make it back to shore in time, she probably wouldn't last long.
She glanced at the still harmonious sea surface, and then at the scattered wooden planks by the reef, sighing softly once more.
Her original plan had been to find a rope, tie it to one of the Darkwing Demon Bat's claws, and have herself hold the other end, using it as an environmentally friendly, harmless source of propulsion. Then, from those planks by the reef, pick one of a suitable size and, using a table knife, modify it into a surfboard to paddle across the sea.
But after recovering from her recent shock, Cecilia felt that her crude plan for venturing out to sea needed much more careful reconsideration.
This was only the shallows, yet there were already so many monsters. If she ventured a few thousand meters further into the deep sea, who knew whether some eldritch being would emerge from the depths to swallow both her and her pitiful little surfboard in a single gulp.
Although she wanted desperately to reach the Japanese server quickly to obtain the gem hanging on the Boss's neck, Cecilia also knew that heading out to sea was not something she could rush into and would have to prepare for it more thoroughly in the future.
Gazing intently once more at the far side of the ocean, Cecilia was about to turn to leave when she suddenly froze, stopping in her tracks.
She was unsure if it was just her imagination, but she seemed to hear a mournful, plaintive singing voice, ethereal and elusive, echoing in her ears over and over.
Was it an illusion?
No, she was fully aware that there was nothing wrong with either her hearing or her mental state.
Since transforming into this new body, though slightly frailer than her previous male physique, her senses had been exponentially heightened. In a quiet environment, if she calmed her mind, Cecilia could even detect faint movements hundreds of meters away.
Given that, there remained only one possibility...
Slowly turning, she cast her gaze once again toward the azure sea. In the center of the sea surface, some two to three hundred meters away, a thick and eerie white mist began to spread, containing vague, shadowy shapes, as if some massive object was concealed within.
This large patch of gray mist stood in stark contrast with the tranquil blue of the surrounding sea.
Cecilia frowned, narrowed her eyes, and fixed her gaze tightly on that mass of strange fog. Her instincts, honed by weeks of battling monsters, told her that something extremely difficult to handle was hiding within.
Ordinary elite monsters never made such spectacular entrances; therefore, Cecilia speculated that the monster lurking in that mist was most likely an E-, d-, or even C-level monster!
Thinking of this, Cecilia grew excited. Her right hand instinctively slipped down to her waist, gripping the cold table knife.
With her current panel stats, defeating a D-level world boss was no longer difficult for her. As long as the boss-level system in this game hadn't become totally broken, judging by the gap in power between E-level and D-level bosses, Cecilia was fully confident she could solo and crush any C-level world boss!
Even if it was level 30, 40, or even 45, it wouldn't be a problem.
And if worse came to worst, thanks to the orange legendary necklace still hanging around her neck, retreating safely shouldn't be an issue either.
A few more seconds passed. The singing in Cecilia's ear became clearer and clearer—it seemed to be a gentle, lovely female voice, singing in some unknown language, mournful and beguiling, melodious as if from the heavens.
Cecilia focused intently, staring at the patch of fog above the sea, not daring to show the slightest negligence.
At last, after another dozen seconds or so, as the mist gradually thinned, the object concealed within finally came into Cecilia's view.
It was a black rock, small in area—nowhere near large enough to be called an island—covered all over with various corals and seaweeds. Its surface was wet and gleaming, and from this, it was evident that this rock had not been above the surface but had risen from below the sea during the time the mist had spread.
What made Cecilia's back go cold and her expression turn grim was that, at the very top of the rock, a woman's face emerged, lips pulled into a silent smile directed at her.