Technically, He's Aquatic

Kill me.

A moment later, a hollow voice escaped the fallen Gerard.

"Unbelievable. I got stronger by devouring every one of those bastards I'd laughed and joked with, and now I can't even beat some random human passing through."

However it looked on the surface, Gerard had taken a heavy blow. When the people you know are killing each other — and you're part of it — there's no way to walk away unscathed. On top of his quiet despair, he had now been defeated by a single ordinary human. All the power he'd gained had counted for nothing; he'd been beaten down anyway, and with that, every last hope drained out of him.

Of course, this was nothing more than a delusion on Gerard's part. Seyul was no passing human — he had once been the strongest being in an entire world. If Gerard had managed to inflict so much as a scratch on him, he could have been hailed as the Spear King or the Spear God on the spot. Even unable to draw on any of that power, Seyul was not someone Gerard could ever have contended with.

"Fine."

Seyul answered the plea for death without a moment's hesitation. There was no reason to spare him, so he intended to grant the wish cheerfully.

"Hey. Before I die, there's something I want to ask."

Gerard spoke as Seyul approached quietly, spear in hand.

"Back in the day, I happened to hear one of your people's tales of heroes, and I admired it. I trained with the spear hoping to become like that, and I got driven out of my homeland for it, and in the end... this is what I became. Was admiring something a mistake?"

Like a lantern show flashing before a dying man, Gerard's past replayed in his mind. A hero's story he'd stumbled upon as a child — the tale of someone who had commanded the world with nothing but a single spear, without the overwhelming might of a monster. He himself had been a worthless low-tier monster, and that was precisely why the story had captivated him. If a human hero could grow that strong, then couldn't I grow strong too, mastering the spear the way he did? That hope was what had driven him to devote himself to the spear — and it was the seed of everything that followed. He honed his craft with hope in his heart, drew the hatred of his fellow monsters for it, and was exiled to the Land of Outcasts. He'd struggled even there, but the ending was what it was: swayed by a forbidden power, toyed with by that same power and by the spear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he'd trained his whole life, and now waiting for death at the hands of a human whose name he didn't even know. If he couldn't say at least one thing before the end, he wouldn't have been able to bear it — that was all his murmured question had been.

"Admiring something isn't a sin. But compromising is."

Gerard flinched at the answer.

"Compromising?! ...I see. So I compromised without even realizing it."

A vacant expression spread across his face, as if he'd just grasped something monumental.

"You're right. I did compromise. When someone was draining other people's power to hunt me down, I should never have done the same thing back."

"There are methods you can never accept, no matter how dire the crisis. This isn't the kind of thing where 'just once and never again' counts as an excuse. Once you do it, you end up like you are now — endlessly craving the power of others, having thrown away even the thing that mattered most."

Seyul didn't know the precise details of Gerard's backstory. But one thing was clear enough: this man had spent his entire life sharpening his spearwork.

"Win or lose, you should have overcome it with the spear you'd devoted your life to. From the way you talk, you were proud of your spearwork — but the moment you failed to do that, you'd all but abandoned it. After you fell this far, did you ever once truly train again? Or did the spear's raw power just get stronger along with everything else?"

Seyul wasn't sneering. It was a scolding delivered in earnest — because he, too, had once been bewitched by magic and other overwhelming powers and let his spear, his true weapon, fall by the wayside.

It's too late for him now, but I can't just watch and say nothing.

It hit too close to home, which was exactly why he'd offered his last piece of bitter advice.

"No... I didn't. I was satisfied with nothing but the growing power of the spear as I took more strength. As the price of my compromise, I neglected the very spear I'd clung to so desperately."

Gerard murmured the words in a tone of sheer wonder.

"Huh. And you're saying this to the guy who's about to kill you?"

Gerard was shrugging off his own death. If his plea to be killed a moment ago had been pure despair, this remark carried a certain lightness — because if he thought of his death as the price of one wrong compromise, it was the only conclusion that made sense.

"Hey. This time it's my turn to ask a question."

It was just as he was closing his eyes to accept death.

"When you die... can I take your spear?"

"What?"

Gerard was left gaping at the completely out-of-nowhere request. The viewers, who had been quietly watching a man's final moments, snapped wide awake.

Astonishment. Disbelief. Laughter. All three reactions came pouring out at once.

Oblivious to all of it, Seyul continued.

"The spear I'm using right now — it's actually a cheap thing I picked up off the ground somewhere. Which is probably why it's starting to feel off in my hand."

Seyul showed him his spear.

"So I was thinking I'd take yours instead."

"You could just take it after you kill me. Why ask?"

"Because taking it with your blessing looks better."

"Unbelievable."

Even as he found the request absurd, Gerard gave a small nod.

"Do as you like. I'll have no use for it once I'm dead anyway. Though my spear isn't anything special either."

"For something not special, it held up pretty well."

"...Come to think of it, I did feel like it had gotten better than before, partway through all that chaos."

"It improved while you were using it?"

"I suppose it drank the blood of my enemies along with mine, as its master. Want to take a mystery item like that home with you?"

"As long as it's sturdy and holds a decent edge, I don't care."

That was one line he really shouldn't have let slide — but Seyul brushed it off without a second thought.

"If you ever run into that man someday, be careful. He's surely taught that cursed technique to others besides me."

With the bargain struck, Gerard left behind that advice — his final testament — and lost his life to Seyul's spear.

"Hm~."

Having finished off Gerard, Seyul tossed away his old spear and picked up the new one. He swung it through the air a few times, nodded in satisfaction, and continued on his way.

When Seyul simply fixed his eyes forward and walked on, the viewers were flustered.

They pressed Seyul to explain the full story, but there was no chance he'd indulge them. In the end, the chat window raged on for a good while before winding down with a collective sigh.

Seyul walked only the path he wished to walk. He paid no mind to anything that tried to stop him — until he ran into an unexpected obstacle.

"A river?"

The road simply ended, and in its place stretched a river. An enormously wide, deep-looking one at that.

As Seyul stood puzzling over the river, narration chimed in right on cue.

Once the narration laid out the situation, the chat — quiet until now, everyone content to just watch him trudge along — burst into noise.

Anxious chatter. By the game's setting, Seyul's current location was the borderlands — a zone where comparatively weak monsters roamed. The mainland beyond the river was where the stronger ones appeared. So the proper route was to comb the borderlands thoroughly and buff up as much as possible before crossing. But Seyul had ignored every bit of that and charged straight ahead, so the worry was only natural.

The viewers fretted mostly over whether he could hold his own on the mainland. As for whether Seyul could cross that river — they didn't even consider it a question. It was a foregone conclusion. Because the moment he arrived at the water's edge, the NPC assigned to help travelers across appeared automatically.

Human. Stop right there.

"You again?"

Seyul's brow creased at the sudden voice. He knew it on the first syllable — by now, it was all too familiar. And sure enough, the God of Water stood before him.

"I told you not to come, so why do you keep showing up!"

You think I want to be here?!

The God of Water shouted right back. He didn't want to come either — but the Five Gods had no choice; guiding the game's progress was their function.

Listen carefully, human. I have no desire to come face to face with a scoundrel like you any more than you do. So I'll offer my simple assistance, and then I'll be gone.

His hatred had piled up to the point where he couldn't even bear the sight of Seyul's face — a face as beautiful as some supreme work of art. Wanting to part ways as quickly as possible, he cut straight to the point.

This river is home to the half-fish folk called mermen. Try to cross it half-heartedly, and you'll find yourself fighting them in the water — their home ground.

The mermen themselves weren't especially strong, but the field was the problem. Even a fairly seasoned player could lose if they slipped up in an unfamiliar environment like underwater. That was why, whenever a player reached the river, the God of Water lent his aid for the sake of the game's flow.

I will now grant you a blessing that lets you breathe underwater and move as freely as you do on land. With this blessing, fighting beneath the surface will cost you nothing. Note that it dissolves once you cross the river, so you can accept it freely.

An unavoidable natural obstacle — and a blessing that lasted only briefly. The God of Water believed that much, at least, Seyul would accept.

"No."

Seyul's will had not budged an inch.

As Seyul shook his head, the viewers shook theirs along with him, and the God of Water began to tremble with rage just as he had last time.

What is it THIS time?!

"I just don't want it."

You won't even take a temporary blessing to make it easier to fight the fish-men underwater? Then what exactly is your plan?!

The God of Water demanded, as if cross-examining a witness.

"I'll swim across."

At Seyul's breezy answer, the god's eyes went wide.

You're refusing my blessing, just to casually SWIM across waters teeming with mermen who exist ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠specifically to kill people like you?

"Yep."

Then why refuse the blessing in the first place?!

"Is swimming with your power the same thing as swimming with my own?"

You're insane.

The sheer audacity of planning to swim, unaided, across that deep and sprawling river left the God of Water speechless.

Most of the viewers could only gape. But Seyul had his own reason for confidence — that was the whole point of this stubbornness.

I'm a Melusine.

The Melusine were not simply a species of female-presenting dragons. They were water dragons, said by legend to dwell in rivers and lakes. As aquatic creatures, swimming came to them as naturally as breathing. Ever since becoming one, Seyul had boasted swimming skills that could make mincemeat of any fish.

They can live underwater full-time, so a game version of me should manage at least that much.

Trusting in his own abilities, Seyul walked toward the water's edge.

"I'll get across on my own, so stay out of it."

Waving a hand at the God of Water, Seyul plunged into the river without a moment's hesitation. Every viewer watched in stunned disbelief as he began swimming his way across.

I've had ENOUGH! You goddamn wretch!!

No one reacted more violently than the God of Water.

You insufferable fool! Is that any way to treat someone who came all this way to HELP you?

He'd come out of the goodness of his function to assist, only to be slapped down again and again — how could he not boil over?

I will never forgive you. Just you wait — soon enough, you'll regret every one of your actions!

In place of the God of Water, who vanished with a furious roar, a system message appeared in his stead.

Some viewers grumbled in sympathy with the god, but others sang a different tune.

Opinions split — some condemning him for making an enemy of a god, others praising him for it. Seyul paid it no mind whatsoever, simply gliding calmly on through the water.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen the message. If a god turned hostile, he would simply smash his way through with his own two hands and be on his way.