Chapter 92
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Blue Eyes in the Depths
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A clear sky. And an endless sea stretching out forever.
Just gazing at it was enough to lift your spirits.
Abel took a bite of his sandwich as he stared quietly at the ocean.
‘I completely forgot Hena’s villa was right by the beach.’
Hena’s villa did show up in the game.
He just almost never took that route.
‘There were always more efficient spots.’
He’d explored all sorts of paths for the fun of it during his first few playthroughs to see the endings, but after that, he’d focused purely on optimized builds.
Hena’s villa wasn’t a particularly efficient vacation event, so he’d only picked it once or twice in the very early game and never touched it again.
“Wow! Look, fish!”
“Where? Where?”
But what did any of that matter now?
Human emotions couldn’t be reduced to numbers, and right now, it was the time spent together that counted.
“Abel! You’re not going in the water? Hena brought clothes!”
As he munched away on his sandwich, Daniel came over.
Abel shoved the rest into his mouth in one go and stood up.
“Of course I am!”
When it was time to play, you had to play for real.
Abel quickly changed into the prepared clothes with Daniel and dashed into the sea.
Splash!
The perfectly cool seawater wrapped around his body.
“I’m gonna catch a fish!”
“Maybe carve a stick or something to spear them?”
“I-I’ll carve one?”
Meanwhile, the girls were scheming something strange.
It looked like they weren’t just talking—they really meant to catch some fish.
That was when Daniel spoke up.
“Abel! Let’s race!”
“What? Here?”
Wondering what this was about, Abel glanced at Daniel, who grinned and said,
“Swimming race, obviously!”
“Didn’t you say this is your first time at the ocean?”
“First ocean, sure, but I’ve been to rivers! Back when I was a kid, I was the best swimmer in the neighborhood!”
That figured.
Even as a child, that monstrous stamina and athleticism wouldn’t have gone anywhere.
“Fine.”
But Abel was no slouch when it came to swimming either.
“I’ll probably win, though.”
“Oh ho. Pretty confident, huh?”
Daniel, burning with more competitive fire than in their usual spars, stretched and pointed ahead.
“Let’s see… How about that rock sticking out up there?”
“Sounds good.”
The distance to the rock wasn’t too far or too close.
Perfect for a race—no risk of drowning.
After warming up a bit, the two faced each other.
“Alright then…”
“Go!”
Abel gave the signal himself and started swimming.
Slash!
His body sliced through the water, shooting forward.
It had been ages since he’d last swum, but his childhood skills hadn’t faded, and his speed was ferocious.
Slash! Slash!
Daniel, meanwhile, kept pace at a surprisingly solid clip.
As Abel swam, he glanced at Daniel and realized something.
His form wasn’t anything special, but the speed was impressive.
‘He’s using mana?’
There was no other explanation for it.
Come to think of it, there weren’t any rules against using mana.
‘Cheater.’
Still, that was one thing—accepting it was another.
The moment Abel spotted it, he summoned his own mana without hesitation.
Slaaaash!
His speed exploded.
The mana made him feel an intense rush of freedom.
The same arm strokes and kicks propelled him at an entirely different level.
Slaaa—
He could feel Daniel’s splashing fading behind him.
Satisfied, Abel eyed the nearing rock. Then, as he reached out for the surface once more—
Thump.
His heart suddenly pounded violently.
Slash.
He forced his other hand forward.
But the throbbing only intensified.
Sla—
Even kicking his legs was growing difficult.
His powerful arms, which had been cleaving the water, now clutched his chest, and his tensed body slowly sank.
‘Air…’
Through his tightly shut eyes, Abel sensed a faint red light seeping in.
He knew his tattoo was glowing.
‘Why…?’
Something was definitely reacting to his body.
It had never acted up without reason before.
Gritting through the pain, Abel forced his eyes open to try resurfacing.
That was when he spotted it.
Something deep below, glowing with blue eyes, staring right at him.
‘Ah.’
That was Abel’s last memory.
* * *
“Gah!”
“Abel?”
“You okay?”
Voices came from nearby.
His head throbbed like hell, so Abel waved them off.
“He’s awake?”
“His breathing’s stabilized—crisis averted for now. We need to get him back to the mansion…”
The conversation sounded grave.
Abel shuddered once, then forced his eyes open.
“His eyes are open!”
“Abel, you okay?”
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
His head still felt like it might split, but he could at least speak.
“Did I drown or something?”
“Yeah! Daniel pulled you out.”
Hearing that jogged Abel’s memory.
The whole sequence of how he’d gone under.
‘Daniel got me out right away.’
A chilling thought for Abel.
If he’d been alone, he might’ve died on the spot.
Feeling oddly stifled in the chest, Abel reached out a hand.
“Hang on, let me… get up…”
“O-okay.”
Hena, sitting right beside him, hurriedly took his hand and helped him sit up.
“You should lie down longer.”
“Nah. Guess I cramped up from pushing too hard.”
The truth was far different, but he had no intention of explaining.
Abel wiped his face with his still-damp hands.
‘Good thing I wasn’t under long.’
He knew from past experience.
If he’d been submerged longer, he wouldn’t be sitting up this easily.
“You sure you’re okay? Maybe head back and rest.”
“No, no. Sitting here a bit should do it.”
“But still…”
“Trip back might make me dizzier.”
Hena finally stopped pressing and plopped down beside him.
“Fine, then I’ll rest here too. You all go play!”
“Aw, then I’ll just snack and chill.”
“Yeah, rest up then play.”
The others sat nearby too.
Aside from what Daniel and Abel had eaten, the food was barely touched—plenty left.
“Oh, right. We caught fish! Check it out.”
Hena pointed one way to lighten the mood.
There was a decently dug pit filled with seawater, and a few fish swimming around inside.
They’d apparently snagged them while he was swimming.
“Weren’t you gonna use wooden skewers?”
“We were gonna, but snagged a few practicing first.”
“Hena scooped ’em up with mana!”
Darin’s eyes sparkled as she chimed in. Abel asked, genuinely surprised,
“With mana? Already at that level?”
“Huh? It just kinda worked when I tried.”
She said it casually, but it was no small feat.
You needed flawless mana emission and control to pluck fast-swimming fish from water.
Abel figured it was a sign her talent was truly blooming.
“That’s impressive. No way I could pull that off.”
“R-really? Hehe.”
“Totally. Gotta learn the trick from you later.”
“Anytime!”
Hena’s face lit up at the praise, grinning ear to ear.
Darin watched them, glancing back and forth with a knowing smile.
Truth be told, she was sharp like that.
“This is super tasty.”
“What? The sandwich? Gimme!”
From there, they chatted idly.
It was the same casual banter as at the academy, but the change of scenery made everyone seem to enjoy it more.
After nearly an hour of talk, Abel checked the sun’s position.
“Ah, you guys can go play now.”
“We’re good, though.”
“Nah, we came all this way. I’ll walk around a bit. Can’t swim, but I can at least sightsee.”
As Abel stood, the others reluctantly followed suit.
“Then I’ll catch some fish this time!”
Darin said excitedly.
She was often quiet at the academy, but out here, she seemed full of energy.
The academy atmosphere must’ve rubbed off on her without realizing.
Environment shapes people, after all.
Of course, Darin preferred this side of her.
“Yeah! Let’s go!”
“…Me too.”
Quiet-as-ever Iolin followed with Hena.
Only the two boys remained. Daniel sidled up.
“Body really okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks for the save.”
“No biggie. Freaked me out, but glad you’re safe.”
“All thanks to you jumping in quick.”
Abel paused in silence, then spoke.
“Did you see anything?”
“Huh? See what?”
Daniel looked baffled.
Abel waved it off.
“Nah. Nothing.”
“Why? What was it?”
He’d asked on a hunch, but the reaction said Daniel hadn’t seen a thing.
Daniel looked ready to keep prying, so Abel deflected.
“Just wondered if you saw a ghost or something.”
“What? Ghost? What’re you talking about?”
“Nope? Good enough.”
“Hey…!”
“Feeling off, gonna sit this out.”
Abel walked off, leaving Daniel who was pale-faced, staring between him and the sea.
On the surface, the ocean looked as peaceful as ever.
Gigadeus fragments existed in the sea too, just like on land.
According to Hena, though, none had ever been found around here.
They usually turned up in deep waters anyway, so nothing unusual.
‘So what the hell did I see…?’
Abel’s expression darkened as he recalled it.
No way it was a hallucination—he’d seen it clear as day before blacking out.
The tattoo suddenly glowing was probably connected too.
‘Problem is how to check.’
He couldn’t just dive back in.
Safety aside, the others wouldn’t allow it.
But he couldn’t just let it go either.
‘I have to uncover what this tattoo really is.’
Everything tied to it had been anything but ordinary.
Skipping a lead like this when who knew what might happen next? Unthinkable.
He’d gotten lucky this time, but next time it could cost him his life.
“Hmm.”
Lost in those thoughts, Abel paced the beach for quite a while.
By then, the sun was dipping low, and dusk was settling when Hena returned.
“It’s getting dark—let’s head back!”
“Yeah. Wiped out.”
The others looked beat from playing.
Abel nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
The servants had already packed everything—just head back.
‘Gotta figure something out before we leave.’
With that resolve, Abel started walking with the group. And as they entered the woods—
Splash.
An unidentified splash echoed across the water.
No one was left to hear it.