34. Arcana Online

34. Arcana Online34. Arcana Online

Just as I was about to move to search the hidden place, the entrance I came through closed, and I was trapped in pitch-black darkness where I couldn't see an inch in front of me.

I rummaged through my inventory for something to light up the darkness and found something good.

«Cheering Stick»

Used when cheering for someone. Might have a special effect?

I took out the cheering stick and pressed the button, and it shone brightly.

It was a set of two, so I held one in each hand and searched the surroundings.

"Eggs...?"

There were countless eggs, enough to fit an adult in each one.

I approached and poked one with the cheering stick, but there was no reaction.

"Do you feel anything?"

"Kyuung."

Yong-yong said he didn't feel anything.

As I was walking and waving the cheering sticks around to search another place, a message appeared.

[Activating the special effect of the Cheering Stick.]

An enormous light, incomparable to before, burst out, and I felt a warm sensation.

It felt like being embraced in a mother's arms.

At that moment, an anomaly occurred.

From the eggs that didn't feel anything before, I heard a sound.

'Thump. Thump. Thump.'

Along with the sound of heartbeats, numerous eggs began to shake.

As I was watching them crack one by one and hatch, the first being to reveal itself was... a mermaid?

The mermaids, who were disoriented at first, were suddenly looking at me.

Among them, there was a special being.

While all the mermaids looked like handsome men and beautiful women, there was one that exuded a unique nobility.

With flowing blue hair, it approached me.

"Hello?"

Hearing my greeting, the mermaid bowed its head to me.

Surprised by this, I saw all the other mermaids bow their heads in unison.

Then I heard a beautiful voice.

"It's an honor to meet you, savior of the Sirens."

"S-savior...?"

"This might be a long story, would it be alright if we moved to a different place?"

I nodded, and the mermaid, no, the Siren, took me somewhere.

Following the Siren, there was a hidden passage inside that I hadn't discovered.

Passing through the passage and going outside, a vast underground city unfolded before my eyes.

Unlike the ruins I saw when visiting Atlantis, this underground city was preserved in perfect condition.

"Welcome to the city of Sirens, Savior."

[You are the first to visit the city of Sirens.]

Gained 100,000 Fame points.

[You have acquired a title for exceeding a certain amount of Fame points.]

[You have acquired a title.]

Great Traveler.

After checking the newly acquired title, I followed the Siren, and I heard the sound of something approaching.

Looking in the direction of the footsteps, I saw an elderly man walking towards us.

He had a scar on one eye and a sturdy build.

The moment he approached us, he knelt on one knee towards the Siren who was guiding me.

"I greet the Queen."

"The Savior is present."

With those words, he stood up and looked at me, and I had a strange sensation.

Although I was sure I'd never seen him before, he felt familiar.

He greeted Yong-yong in my arms.

"I owe a great debt to an old friend."

"Kyuung."

"I see."

The moment he looked at me, I was certain.

"Are you the Kraken I met at the entrance?"

"That's right."

"Sshh."

"That's correct..."

He spoke informally at first, then switched to formal speech while looking at the Siren's reaction.

Ah, it was dementia.

I sent a look of understanding, and he looked at me as if he couldn't understand why, but I should be the one to understand.

"You've worked hard protecting the city all this time."

"It's repayment for saving me when I was young. It's also a contract, Your Majesty."

To me, the Kraken looked older than the Siren, but is that not the case?

I wanted to ask but held back.

It's rude to ask a woman's age, right?

The Kraken came along, and after walking for a while, we arrived at a temple.

There were numerous Siren statues on display, and following the path inside, there was a huge round table with chairs prepared.

I sat in a strange chair designed for Sirens to sit comfortably, and due to its large size, it wasn't uncomfortable.

The Siren took a deep breath and began to speak.

"First, I will explain why we were sleeping, Savior."

And then came a story like a fairy tale.

The legendary city, Atlantis, was a city where numerous races lived together.

One day, while living peacefully.

A mysterious plague broke out, and all but the Siren race lost their lives.

They hurriedly hid in the underground city, unable to even identify the disease, let alone find a cure.

As time passed and they forgot about the plague, one day it broke out again.

To save their kin who were falling one by one, they received an oracle from the temple.

The oracle said that a savior would come down and save the Siren race.

To follow the oracle, they made a contract with the Kraken living in the abyss for protection, and all Sirens entered a state of suspended animation until now.

As soon as she finished speaking, the Siren coughed up blood.

Surprised by this, I wondered what to do but couldn't think of anything.

All I could give was magic stones at best.

I took out a magic stone from my inventory and handed it over. The Siren absorbed the magic stone, and an anomaly occurred.

With a bright light, the Siren shed her skin as if molting.

As the light faded, the Siren who had her eyes closed slowly opened them.

She checked her body condition as if she couldn't believe it herself, and tears flowed.

"Ah, so you really are the Savior."

With those words, she pleaded with me.

To save the Siren race.

When I agreed, the Siren Queen sang with a beautiful voice, and the melody rang out.

Hearing that sound, numerous Sirens rushed to the temple.

I opened the new pouch of magic stones I received for destroying the secret organization Five Star and checked the number, it seemed about right.

Of course, only if Yong-yong gave up his dinner.

"Kyuuung!"

"J-just for one day, please!"

"Kyuung!"

After dramatically reaching a compromise, I handed out magic stones one by one to the Sirens rushing towards me, and they had expressions of awe as if receiving a holy relic.

The Sirens who used the magic stones shed their skin one by one and were reborn anew.

When the last remaining Siren used a magic stone, a message appeared.

[You have saved the Siren race.]

Gained 100,000 Fame points.

[You have acquired a title.]

Savior of the Sirens.

Their behavior of treating me like a god after checking their body condition was burdensome, and even though I refused, saying please don't do this, a grand plan was already being set up.

"We must build a statue of the Savior next to the Siren statues!"

"That's right! We must erect a statue of the Savior in front of the temple!" seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

When I begged them not to do that, they retreated with disappointed expressions.

As I was sighing in relief, the Siren Queen bowed her head to me once again.

"Thank you for saving our clan, Savior."

"I only did what needed to be done."

At that moment, I remembered the Siren I met on land.

The Siren who handed me a bead.

"Was the Siren you sent to land sent by you, Your Majesty?"

"Sirens cannot go to land."

She said they couldn't go to land due to a curse. Then what was the Siren I saw...?

She said there was something she wanted to give me and took me inside the temple.

Moving inside the temple, there were stairs leading underground, and when we went down the stairs, huge statues were guarding a door.

As I was looking at the statues that seemed like they could move at any moment, our eyes met!?

"W-what!?"

"They are guardians protecting the Siren's treasure."

She reassured me and opened the door, and inside were numerous glass cases, with a golden bead emitting light that I'd seen somewhere before displayed in a glass case at the front.

"Kyuuung!?"

Our Yong-yong was extremely surprised.

As I approached, item information appeared.

«Golden Yeouiju»

An item handed over by an imugi who gave up ascending after completing 1,000 years of training in cold water, to its lover.

The information is different from the Yeouiju I saw before.

A Yeouiju that says it gave up ascending for its lover.

"This item was a gift from a lover I loved."

"I-I can't accept such a thing!"

Is it human to just swallow an item with such a story?

"The Savior will definitely need this item."

She looked at me with a serious gaze.

Come to think of it, didn't the Divine Dragon's Bead need a Yeouiju?

"Ahem. If you insist, I guess I have no choice."

I carefully took out the bead from the glass case, and it reacted with the «Divine Dragon's Bead» in my inventory.

[The Divine Dragon's Bead absorbs the Yeouiju.]

[The effect of the Golden Yeouiju releases the Divine Dragon's Bead.]

[A hidden job change quest has been created.]

You can change to the hidden job 'Shrine Maiden of the Divine Dragon' due to the effect of the Divine Dragon's Bead.

Do you accept?

YES / NO