Chapter 275
Chapter 275
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Partner (3)
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‘Tch, what a damn snitch...’
It had only been a brief attempt to surface.
She’d been startled by the intense aura of water, sure, but she had no intention of giving up.
‘This pisses me off.’
‘Does he think I don’t know my own strength...?’
All she’d done was poke her head out. Wasn’t telling her to go back down all it took?
She would have gone without a fuss...
Even now, his eyes were fixed on her.
What are you looking at?
I wasn’t about to quit or anything!
Lost in such thoughts, Yeoreum’s mood soured for a moment.
Anyway, this was training time. Yoo Ji-tae was her master. Personal feelings like this wouldn’t help, so she shook them off.
The sneakers were bothering her more than expected, so she kicked them off and tossed them onto the shore. Moments later, something splashed into the water from above. Thinking he was throwing her shoes back in anger, Yeoreum flinched inwardly.
Maybe he’d mistaken her toss for a protest.
She felt a twinge of injustice, but seeing what had fallen improved her mood.
It was a small artifact—a wrist-mounted device, like a dive watch for deep divers.
Depth showed her current position.
Time was the current hour.
Mana density was just that—the concentration of mana. Normal Earth spaces averaged 0.5 Ma/p, so this place was nearly ten times denser.
The arrow seemed to point straight toward the surface.
By then, Yoo Ji-tae had turned and vanished.
‘So, he’s telling me to go down alone, huh?’
Yeoreum turned her gaze downward.
The dark seafloor gradually came into view. Amid the gloom, a flat expanse of ground appeared where she could stand.
Oddly enough, the ocean depths held a vast, perfectly level plain.
The flatness stretched to the limits of her vision, giving it an almost artificial feel.
Yeoreum decided to call it the ‘training ground.’
The depth to the training ground was roughly 200 meters.
Somewhere down there on that field, the ‘flag’ Yoo Ji-tae mentioned must be waiting.
That was her goal for this dive.
Her ultimate aim was the deepest point. But Yoo Ji-tae had insisted on three stages, planting three flags along the way.
‘Why bother?’
Maybe to give her time to adapt to this sea.
If so, for the first trial of a 200-meter dive, grasping the ocean’s nature properly mattered more than finding the flag. To avoid getting lost deeper down.
Slow and steady. Get it right.
Then, a chill seeped into Yeoreum’s skin.
Shivering, she hugged her arms.
‘Cold...’
She drew up her body heat.
But the moment her fire-attribute mana stirred in her heart, the sea’s water-attribute mana wrapped around her, snatching the warmth away in an instant.
‘Damn it.’
Yeoreum realized: the more power she used here, the more it drained.
Rushing would exhaust her midway.
Because for a hatchling, her mana reserves were low.
Unbelievable.
Like heading to a casino to win big, only to find she didn’t have the starting cash to even play. Trying to solve one problem, only for another to trip her up.
Standing still, the cold crept in deeper.
Time to move?
No. She hadn’t sorted her thoughts yet.
To ponder more, Yeoreum curled up like a shrimp, hugging her knees.
‘Oh.’
Curiously, mana drain dropped—about 30% less.
Why?
Thinking it over, she got it.
With her body folded tight, the surface area exposed to water shrank.
Thighs touched chest, belly, calves. Arms met legs. Head to knees.
Less skin in the water meant less mana loss.
From now on, rest like this.
‘Hmm...’
With that, she’d mapped her position, the goal, and basic ocean intel.
Yeoreum began her descent.
Just 50 meters down.
Only 50 meters.
And it had taken a full 10 minutes.
Yeoreum was dumbfounded. She’d been crawling like an earthworm.
Earlier, she’d thought the water felt like tentacles.
Grabbing at her when she moved.
But after a few minutes of diving, her view changed. Not tentacles—this was water itself, thick and sticky.
Incredibly heavy, with massive friction.
...Like swimming through Nutella?
Over 10 minutes in, but no breathlessness. She wasn’t holding her breath to begin with.
Absorbing ambient mana through her skin, converting its properties to air inside her. Dragons had blessings for this—natural breathing.
But movement made breathing harder.
‘Huff... huff... ugh...’
The issue: all that mana to convert was water-attribute.
Antithetical to her Red clan. Poor efficiency.
Her internal airflow kept choking.
Like standing in thin air.
Yeoreum consciously regulated her inhales and exhales.
Deeper, the world grew quieter.
Reds had sharp ears—sharper than most clans.
Normally, she tuned them down to superhuman levels, but now she opened them wide.
Right after entering, she’d heard Yoo Ji-tae and Winter talking.
Now at 50 meters, their chatter was faint whispers.
—...Hm? Wha... muffled...?
—...Gih... uuh... heuh...
Even that was so garbled now, she couldn’t make out words.
—Gih, heh, heh, heh.
That much she got.
Winter was laughing.
That jerk loves water. While her sister’s dying down here in real time...
Nonstop laughter meant something amused her.
Probably cracking up at some dumb fish or clam.
Living the dream, that one.
Always giggling with a bore like Yoo Ji-tae—must be fun with anyone.
—Keh, keh-hee...
Hmm...
What’s got her cackling like that?
Did Yoo Ji-tae do a flip?
Hit Vegas?
Or trash-talk me?
—Keh, heh, heh, hah!
Bingo. Talking shit about me. You little punk.
Deep sea’s a grave for Blue Dragons.
Like she’s holding a funeral to off me.
That funny, huh? Gonna croak laughing, bitch...
......
—Keh, hee, hah!
But seriously, what’s so hilarious...?
The deeper she went, the darker it became around her.
The depths had started dark, surface bright. Now even nearby sides loomed shadowy.
All around—front, back, left, right.
Like pitch-black, round walls closing in from afar.
Why did she suddenly feel so alone?
Gravity still pulled amid it all.
Just pinned by the honey-thick water.
Surfacing would be hell.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-tae and Winter’s murmurs faded here.
Had they stopped talking?
Possible.
Or maybe not.
Then—
“Eek!”
Glug glug...!
Suddenly, her diaphragm contracted, instinctively gulping air—or water.
Yeoreum clamped her mouth and nose shut with both hands.
Her current body mimicked human. Gulping this insanely dense water mana would hurt bad.
Might even break her polymorph.
Polymorph fail before 200 meters?
She’d rather die of shame.
‘Calm. Calm down...’
Yeoreum halted, curling up.
Minimizing mana loss, soothing her startled lungs.
Her body wasn’t truly shocked—just mental.
Thankfully, holding it passed quickly.
She was fine.
Deeper, the water’s pressure intensified.
Like millions of tiny hooks digging into her skin.
Limbs felt heavier.
Her heart, tied by strings—stifled. Normally ballooning and shrinking; now squeezed tight.
Miserable.
Not just pain, but a weird mood-killer.
This discomfort was alien.
A monster hit would hurt, but bearable. This novel suffocation? Brutal.
Not even halfway, and she wanted to flee.
In that moment, she thought of Winter, still laughing up there.
‘I wanna beat Yoo Gyeol’s ass so bad...’
On surfacing, knuckle-flick that blue punk.
Surprisingly, the thought helped a bit.
Ventilated her foul mood.
But not even 5 minutes later—
Heart discomfort returned. Throat tightening. Vision blurring. Claustrophobia closing in.
Trapped alone in a tiny room.
All compounding to torment her.
And it didn’t even feel like training.
‘No rewards? Just pure suffering?’
This didn’t feel like training.
Torture.
‘What the hell?’
In games, don’t they give buffs around now?
Like an air bubble for breathing. Or finding water-gill items?
Exercise builds muscle feel.
Fights bring insights.
She came to boost mana. If she felt it growing, that’d motivate.
Then suffering would have purpose.
But this dive? Just body abuse.
‘Give me something, you bastard. No fun in this...’
Yeoreum cursed the sea.
But this wasn’t a game-crafted trial. Just nature’s edge. She wasn’t the protagonist. Nature was brutally indifferent to one baby dragon.
Yeoreum knew that.
A villain to blame might help?
She pictured one.
‘Yoo Ji-tae, you son of a bitch...’
Recent memory surfaced.
He’d shoved her into the depths.
Couldn’t she catch her breath first? World-ending?
Climb up, soothe herself?
Just a quick breather before retrying. Why block that...?
Not just block—shoved her down harder.
She’d startled, snorted water by mistake. Sneezed a ton.
And those staring eyes from above.
Think I’m pathetic?
Scared?
Just prepping a bit...
Thinking it over, real grievance built.
Meant to vent, but emotions surged.
......Why am I suddenly so pissed?
Depth past 150 meters.
She’d avoided looking around.
Those black-wall things loomed way closer.
Like locked alone in a cramped room—she’d ignored peripherals.
That stress must’ve triggered it.
Having a meltdown...
Yeoreum shook off the thoughts. Stupid.
She trusted Yoo Ji-tae now.
He wouldn’t see her as pathetic. Wouldn’t dunk her pointlessly.
Reasons existed...
Even so, the distraction let her forget the misery briefly.
Breathing still hitched. Apnea reflex. Diaphragm contraction—called that.
Happened once before. Again now.
For a split second, wanted to bolt.
But holding it passed. She could endure more.
......Yeoreum pressed on.
Another eternity-like 10 minutes passed.
The distant floor neared her eyes.
Finally, on the vast, flat ‘training ground’—
Yeoreum’s pale foot touched down.