"The Tranquil Sea, where the lost kingdom of Atlantis slumbers, finally..."
John, or rather Seraphina controlling John's body, finally arrived at the farthest east of the game map, an endless expanse of blue.
In his previous life, many had attempted to cross this ocean and find the edge of the blue, but unfortunately, they all failed.
John had once heard a few survivors describe it this way: when they reached the center of the blue, a terrifying presence beneath the sea awakened and brought them despair. But when John asked what exactly that terrifying presence was, they would fall silent.
This matter had troubled John for two lifetimes. To this day, he still didn't know what existed beneath the blue ocean.
"So, Seraphina, do you know what kind of monster is down there?"
Regaining control of his body, John stretched a bit and then slowly walked into the sea.
"Or is it just a legend, a story to scare people?"
"No, it's real. This vast, endless sea is home to many monsters, some of which you're very familiar with."
"Like what?"
"It depends on your luck. If you're lucky, you might only encounter slightly larger monsters. If you're unlucky, you could run into sirens, krakens, Leviathans, oh, and Jörmungandr. For various reasons, they all live here. Of course, I don't recommend provoking them. In their domain, you'll meet a very ugly end."
"Jörmungandr? Wait, are you serious? That's not even from the same pantheon as you. Why is it here?"
Seraphina sighed and continued to explain, "I only know that they seem to be here to guard something, but I don't know exactly what they're protecting. I hope you're not really planning to cross the Tranquil Sea. That would be a very foolish decision."
"I'm just curious, and I value my life too much to get swallowed by some slimy, sticky creature. That would be torture for me."
John shrugged, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings until he finally spotted a large shell near the horizon. He carefully pried it open, took out a pearl, and placed it in his mouth before heading into the deep sea.
As someone without any deep-sea phobia, John felt as if he was returning home when he arrived in Atlantis. In his previous life, he had visited Atlantis countless times. He knew the path to the lost kingdom so well that he could walk it with his eyes closed.
Of course, he couldn't actually walk with his eyes closed.
"Tch, encountered so soon?"
John frowned, sensing the water's movements around him. Grasping [Everchanging], which transformed into a trident, he slashed through the water and thrust forward. Instantly, a faint red mist of blood spread in front of him.
The monster finally revealed its true form—a massive squid continuously ejecting black ink to obscure John's vision and attempt an escape. Unfortunately for it, it had encountered John.
The trident easily pierced the squid, and no matter how much it struggled, it couldn't break free. It wasn't a monster, just a creature native to the Tranquil Sea.
But that wasn't the point. The point was that its ink sac could help John ward off a particularly troublesome monster.
"The Soul-Stinging Jellyfish, that thing is not to be trifled with. If those nearly transparent tentacles touch you, the pain will pierce your very soul. I definitely don't want to experience that again."
As he spoke, John casually sliced open the giant squid's head, extracted a basketball-sized, slimy ink sac, and smeared the almost solid crystal inside it on himself before discarding the sac.
"Hmm... let me think. Since I encountered a giant squid, I should be about three thousand meters below the surface. I need to dive another five thousand meters or so. By the way, Seraphina, are there no legendary monsters living near Atlantis? I'd really like to see one if possible."
"Of course not. Those monsters reside in the deep-sea regions, tens of thousands of meters below the surface, much deeper than here. Besides, are you really that curious? Those creatures are so troublesome that even gods don't easily provoke them. They're tough and nearly impossible to kill.
Despite having power comparable to gods, they only act on instinct. There are very few who can control them. As far as I know, only Poseidon has ever managed it. Only he can make those utterly irrational monsters bow down and willingly obey him. How he does it, I don't know. If you ever get the chance, you might ask him.
But of course, that simple-minded guy might not bother to answer you."
"So, Poseidon must be really powerful, right? Those monsters are all his followers?"
"What do you think? As the brother of Zeus, the King of the Gods, neither Hades nor Poseidon is to be trifled with. In their respective domains, they are invincible. Do you know what invincible means? It means that no matter how many gods oppose them or what happens, they will never lose."