Book 5: Chapter 32

Aaron realized something was off almost immediately. As they kept swimming, there was no sign of the thal’kesh, despite moving straight into their territory, according to Joseph.

Nonetheless, they kept going as the underwater scenery changed around them. Joseph insisted that they were headed in that direction, and so, with no signs of their target, Aaron was happy to let him lead; besides, they saw no immediate signs of danger, and as usual, he was happy to throw himself in death’s path if it meant achieving an objective.

But as they moved deeper, Aaron found himself increasingly distracted by the scenery. He had been diving a few times back before the Integration, but nothing overly special, and he certainly wasn’t an expert. It was just another opportunity to chase a thrill, and the post-integration world took that to another level entirely.

He was so distracted that he almost didn’t notice the remnants of faint auras around him, indicating people had been around. That said, he hadn’t forgotten his mission. Foiling the destruction of obelisks was obviously on his mind; he was just enjoying the alien view of evolved sea life.

“They must be around here somewhere,” Joseph said as they kept swimming deeper.

Aaron considered the possibility they were swimming straight into a trap, as he could feel that the thal’kesh had been in the area, but he wasn’t too bothered. Especially since he didn’t sense Ikran anywhere. Two top rankers weren’t going to have too much trouble with a few minion-tier followers.

Look at all of this. The deeper we go, the more amazing it is.

Swimming into the depths and toward the ocean floor, Aaron struggled to remain focused on the task at hand. He spotted several sea creatures that looked completely alien. He wasn’t sure if they were from the other worlds, or just evolved, but they were amazing nonetheless.

An array of lights lit up the deepest depths of the ocean, their glow reflecting across stone and coral alike. He had once been to the Great Barrier Reef as a child, and it was like their creator had taken mushrooms and decided to recreate the famous site in epic, alien proportions.

It was all so beautiful, and Aaron was looking around mesmerized. A giant fish swam by, attacking another that glowed, though neither of them cared, as fish were just E-grades. He did spot a few low-level D-grade sea creatures in the distance, but nothing powerful enough to concern him.

Instead of worrying about beasts attacking them, he was just enjoying the sightseeing as he followed Joseph. There was glowing and sparkling coral, seaweed that was alive, and thousands of tiny F-grade fish swimming in schools.

He even spotted one larger fish swimming along with lightbulb-like appendages. Crabs gathered near holes along coral and rock, scattering when they got near, and he spotted an eel sparking up arcs of electricity around it.

After all the amazing life he had found in the jungle, it wasn’t too surprising to find such incredible aquatic life, but it still wowed him in its own way. Partly because he hadn’t seen the ocean floor before the integration, and this was probably the best introduction he could have had. But also, with no overly powerful beasts around, he didn’t need to worry about being attacked, or rather, what might happen if he was, and could peacefully enjoy the view.

However, as they kept swimming, he got a spark of inspiration as he remembered his new, and very much untested Skill.

He wasn’t sure if it was meant to be used as he was thinking, but why not give it a try?

“What are you doing?” Joseph asked as Aaron stopped and started to suck in water. “You need help?

Aaron didn’t reply; what he was about to do would soon be obvious enough. His core pulsed with energy, and he cycled mana, pushing it to an extreme. He had a feeling he was going to need a lot of energy for what he had in mind.

Widening his mouth further, he activated his Skills, using [ Oozagh’s Breath ], but altering it with his reverse mana anchors to try and increase his suction powers.

He could feel his [ Unbridled Gut ] even as he drew in water from around him and pushed it further. He would need an extreme amount of energy and power if this were to work, and he ate a quick meal to buff his energy resources further.

“Aaron? What is this?” Joseph said, panic clearly written on his face. Aaron was starting to look like a puffer fish, and with the tremendous amount of energy cycling through his core, and exponentially building by the second, it would have been forgivable if he thought he was about to explode with the power of an atom bomb.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he just kept getting bigger, and the energy, as his command increased, grew both in power and violent fluctuation.

There we go. I’m almost there.

Aaron could feel the damage he was doing to his soul, but it would be over soon, and he could heal up quickly. There was no point in purchasing Skills if he wasn’t going to use them, and he was deviously curious to see what he could make of his newest acquisition.

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The moment his energy reached a catastrophic level, Aaron released it, but in reverse, drawing in everything around him like a human vacuum. Even Joseph had to react to resist the pull, and within seconds, the underwater ecosystem around them was being suck straight into Aaron’s mouth

That said, anything of D-grade, or even high E-grade, could easily swim away, resisting the suction. Even mid E-grades could resist the pull with effort, but just about everything else was dragged into his abyssal Skill.

“What is this?” Joseph gasped.

But Aaron took little notice, continuing to pull in his surroundings. It didn’t matter if what he was consuming was of an overly high level. According to the Skill, he’d be able to cultivate what he consumed.

Coral, seaweed, and many species of small and rather weak aquatic life were pulled, unable to resist it even as they desperately clawed at the rocky surfaces.

Aaron could sense that his [ Unbridled Gut ] still had some way to go, but the immense amount of energy he was cycling was starting to take its toll, and he could feel the cracks forming across his soul.

Suddenly, he put an end to it and started to mend the soul damage he had caused.

Joseph was still there, looking at him with both shock and awe.

You have gained insight into a possible upgrade path for Mana Anchors. Current discovered upgrade paths:

Streamlined Mana Anchors (20%)

Partitioned Mana Anchors (50%)

Reverse Mana Anchors (25%)

Elemental Shift (Void) (15%)

Expanded Mana Anchors (15%)

Imbuing Mana Anchors (40%)

Detached Mana Anchors (10%)

Combined Mana Anchors (15%)

Focused Mana Anchors (20%)

Diffusive Mana Anchors (10%)

He increased his reverse anchors further, and he could feel the environment he had drawn into his own stomach, though the sensation was different to what he had expected.

He didn’t feel full. No, it was something different. He wondered where the stuff he had consumed existed in reality, as it felt disconnected from his normal stomach, and when he ate soul-mending food, it clearly went somewhere else.

The small aquarium he had created within his own stomach was something unto itself. And in truth, he wasn’t entirely sure what to think about his peculiar creation.

Still, he was interested to see how things played out, and could already feel the aquatic life feeding on his residual energy. But unlike the ocean, rays of aether were present within him, and he could sense that it was going to have an effect on his new friends.

“...The fuck… the fuck was that? You ate them…. You just ate an entire section of the ocean floor…” Joseph muttered in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Aaron said, and bubbles floated out of his mouth. “I wanted to check something out. And it seems to be working.”

“First, everything that happened in the dungeon, and now this… I don’t even know what to think about you anymore,” Joseph said. “But I suppose I really need to get used to it. Traveling with you is never normal.”

“Yeah, oh. I suppose that was kind of weird,” Aaron said. His thoughts had been a little too focused on what he was doing, and he hadn’t really thought about the optics.

“It’s fine. At least you’re on my side. Okay, now that your appetite is satisfied, are we ready to keep moving?”

Aaron nodded, and they kept swimming through tunnels at the bottom of the ocean, passing into the depths of what was supposed to be the thal’kesh territory.

As they moved through the tunnels, he sensed more of the auras from earlier, but strangely, there was nothing particularly powerful. Aaron remembered Ikran well enough, and if he were here amongst his followers, he would have sensed him.

“Be ready. They’re here,” Joseph said, and Aaron nodded in response.

He spotted shadowy figures in the surrounding tunnels as they got deeper. They were watching them, and they were very much surrounded. But if there were genuine elites amongst these thal’kesh, they weren’t here.

Nonetheless, as they went deeper, the thal’kesh stepped out from the soundings, weapons ready, and auras firing up. They mightn’t have been their strongest, but they were in for a fight regardless, and a second later, the thal’kesh attacked from all angles.

But their targets were two of Superearth’s greatest warriors, and the battle that followed was completely one-sided. However, Aaron did notice something interesting as they died to their blows.

A burst of corrupted aether escaped their dying bodies.

“Darius?”

What was his presence doing down here? And furthermore, was Ikran working with him, or was he a slave to his machinations?

The battle was short-lived; the attackers were destroyed between the two of them, but with no Ikran amongst them, there was no time for celebration. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

Like all the other settlements, the thal’kesh had destroyed their own obelisk, and the settlement beyond was in decay. Not that they cared, if they were already undead.

Failing to find anything of interest, Aaron sighed.

“He’s not here…” Joseph said. “But he had to be. I know this is where the attacks were coming from.”

Aaron didn’t doubt Joseph, but it wasn’t going to change reality. If Ikran was attacking from here, he wasn’t here anymore. With that thought, he opened his map to see where they might check next, and his eyes widened.

He had opened his map at just the right time to catch an obelisk as it flickered and disappeared.

Aaron didn’t have time for words. A burst of mana sent him shooting back through the tunnels, and the moment he was out, he rocketed upward. In seconds, he burst through the ocean surface and into the sky, flying like a missile on a mission.

Joseph was trailing behind, unable to keep his pace, but close enough to follow his aura.

He was getting annoyed chasing them around, and was not about to let them get away this time. It was also irritating to lose the underwater obelisks, as they might have been useful for underwater settlements.

Within seconds, he had flown across a vast expanse of sky, his Stats and power boosted by his core, anchors, and new and powerful gear, not to mention [ Ghost Wings ], that scaled alongside his own power.

And as he neared, he spotted a figure right where the obelisk had been.

No more playing around! You won’t get away this time. Gotcha, you bloody bastard!