After Wain dealt with the guards, two blue souls flew into his body.

[Soul of Merfolk Guardian (Damaged)

Chronicle: Primary

Rating: Rare]

"Wow, one of the two souls turned out to be Damaged. Great, I haven't gotten a boost to my stats in a while." Wain muttered and crushed the two souls.

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Merfolk Guardian level 14.]

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Merfolk Guardian level 14. Strength +3, Vitality +2, Stamina +3.]

'Hmm, they had a pretty high level. They only had one more step to take before they could evolve.' Thought Wain and walked over to the corpse of one guardian.

Wain decided to take the tridents for himself. These weapons were not suited to his fighting style, but he could use them like a spear. He was impressed by the speed with which the trident flew toward him.

Moreover, perhaps after a while, he could sell the tridents and get some money for them. When Wain moved the tridents into the Ring of Damned, he approached the gate.

He was curious to know what was behind it. There could have been a powerful enemy or a treasure chest. Wain was fine with either option.

Wain put his palms on the iron gate and pressed it with force. To his surprise, he could not even move it. Then Wain applied even more force, the floor under his feet cracked, and then the gate began to slowly open.

'This gate weighs at least ten tons. I can hardly open it. What were these guards protecting?' Wain thought.

A creak.

Then the massive gate creaked open, and Wain saw an amazing sight. He found himself in a huge hall that was, oddly enough, completely empty.

Even though this room was deep under water, various plants and even trees grew here. They looked like a mixture of sea plants and land plants.

The trees were also unusual. Their bark was covered with a blue slime, and various shells were growing on the bark, which brightly lit everything around them like lanterns.

There were no enemies or traps in the room. All Wain noticed was a pond of dark water in the center of the room.

Wain cautiously approached it. He thought that the pond might be hiding an enemy or some kind of danger, for it was the only noteworthy place in the room.

'Hmm, at first I thought it was ink and perhaps even a passageway into a spatial rift, but it isn't. My Seal of Darkness shows no signs of activity.' Wain thought and touched the murky water with his hand.

Just then, something began to float out of the dark water. Wain eyed the object warily. To his surprise, it turned out to be a strange cocoon-like capsule. The capsule was made of dozens, massive black leaves.

Wain did not attack, for he did not know what it was. Perhaps it was an enemy, or maybe it was an unusual chest, in which case he would destroy his reward.

Then the cocoon began to unfold. The dark leaves fell away one by one and fell to the pond's bottom.

"Hmm? What is that?" Wain muttered, looking at what was inside the pod.

To his surprise, it was a beautiful girl, she had short hair, but she had gills on her neck just like Merfolks. Wain did not understand who this girl was or why she was here.

Wain wasn't sure if he should have attacked or not. This situation seemed strange to him.

Then the girl opened her eyes, but they were empty. It was as if this girl was not a living person. She was like a doll.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Asked Wain and waved his hand in front of the girl, but there was no response.

Suddenly Wain felt the girl's aura begin to increase, he wanted to attack since he thought it was some strange trap, but then he stopped.

Wain realized that this aura was not coming from the girl but from the dark water in the pond.

Then to Wain's surprise, a black hand came out of the pond. It instantly pierced through the girl like a ghost. Wain was shocked to see something like that, but he didn't attack ahead of time.

Wain didn't mind fighting a strong enemy. On the contrary, that was exactly what he wanted. Moreover, what was happening in front of him was very strange, and it was dangerous to act hastily.

'I thought she was a doll, but it looks like she was a living being, but her fate is not the best.' Thought Wain looking at the girl.

Her face was contorted with pain, and trickles of blood flowed from the corners of her mouth. She was in agony, but there was nothing she could do. She was nothing more than a vessel for the true ruler of this place.

Then the girl's body plunged back into the pond. Nothing happened for a long time, but Wain felt the aura in the pond gradually increase. He waited until his opponent was ready for battle.historical

"Huh, this reminds me of the birth of a monster, quite exciting," Wain muttered.

After a few minutes, the water in the pond calmed down, and the aura returned to normal. Then some creature began to come out of the pond. It was also a girl, but she was quite different from the previous one.

She had long ink-black hair and blue eyes, and she had no gills on her neck, which surprised Wain.

"Are you human?" Wain asked.

The girl didn't answer. She was looking around, as well as looking at her body. It didn't bother her at all that she was standing in front of Wain naked.

Then she looked at Wain and said in a haughty tone, "Me? Don't be ridiculous. I'd rather die than be part of this disgusting and insignificant race."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A terrible pressure suddenly came over Wain, but he didn't even flinch. Such a thing could not frighten or break him. Then the water in the pond came in motion and completely covered the girl.

A graceful black armor appeared on her that perfectly combined mobility and protection. This armor was suitable for battle in all conditions.

The breastplate had a platinum engraving in the shape of a violent lightning bolt crashing down on the heavens. The shoulder pads were in leaves, and a black plume emanated from them.

An enormous aura emanated from the girl, a human who had not yet activated his Soul Altar could hardly breathe or even stand on feet.

"I take it you have a pretty good opinion of humanity, then what race are you? A washed-up mermaid? A stewed fish? Maybe you're an overgrown clam?" Wain said with a smirk. He was openly mocking her.

The girl frowned and said angrily, "Don't you dare open your mouth, you wretched man. You are at the bottom of the food chain. I'll show you how worthless you are!"

Wain's words angered her. In Linlea's opinion, Wain being human, should have fallen to her knees and begged for mercy.

Linlea's aura intensified, and a dark silhouette of some ancient and powerful being appeared above her.

"Impressive," Wain said briefly and prepared for battle. He held the plasma sword firmly in his hands and watched his enemy's every move.

Then Linlea swung her arm and turned into black lightning. She reached Wain in a split second and struck him in the stomach with incredible force. Even though Wain was ready for this attack, he didn't have time to react. He lacked speed and reflexes.

Wain flew aside like a projectile and thundered into the stone wall of the hall. Cracks rippled through the wall, and debris began to fall off, raising a cloud of dust all around.

"Pff, that's the best you can do? You didn't even try to defend yourself. You're nothing more than a jerk. That's not surprising, though." Said Linlea. She had a real hatred for Wain because of his race.

She strolled toward him, gathering energy in her hand. A large amount of darkness emanated from her body and accumulated into a small sphere. There was enormous power in that sphere, comparable to the explosion of a powerful bomb.

When the dust cleared, she saw Wain standing there. He looked at her coldly, a look that Linlea did not like. Wain looked at her like she was nothing, like an inferior form of life.

This caused dissonance in Linlea's mind. She did not understand why a member of the human race allowed himself to look at her that way.

She was about to attack him, but suddenly Wain spoke.

"I don't know why you hate humanity, but I don't care about your reasons. You didn't say what race you belong to. Aren't you proud of who you are?"

Wain sighed and said coldly. His voice sounded like the squeak of demons from hell, "I am human, and I will show you the power of humanity. You're right. We are the most terrible race of all."

Then Wain's aura intensified several times, and an image of death with a bloody scythe appeared above him.

Linlea attacked Wain at lightning speed. She lunged toward him at top speed, but she had no idea how powerful an enemy she'd managed to piss off.

Suddenly a long, tattered cloak appeared on Wain, and his eyes changed from green to azure.

Half of his face was hidden by a black cloth. Dark energy began to emanate from his hair, and a silver sword with ice-covered blades appeared in his hands.

Wain's blue eyes were as deep as the ocean and eerie as the abyss.

Then he made a smooth upward swing, and Linlea's arm was severed by the icy wave.