A Comprehensive Network: An Endless Adventure Begins as a Wanderer

The four people returned to the third floor.

Cheng Yi squatted down next to the hidden door and touched the iron ladder with his hand.

The ladder was slippery and covered in moss.

"I'll go down first."

The iron ladder stretched into the darkness, and there was the sound of water below. Cheng Yi climbed down until he stepped onto the water.

A ring on his hand was subtly gleaming.

Ring for walking on water.

The cave is very large with a low ceiling. Stalactites hang down from above, with water dripping from their tips onto the water's surface.

Alice climbed down the ladder, her feet touching the water, creating ripples, but she didn't sink. Karen cast Water Walking on the others; a thin layer of light shone beneath their feet, as if they were walking on transparent glass. They were unsteady on the water, swaying precariously.

Be careful.

The poet climbed down the ladder.

Karen was the last to come down. The emblem was held to her chest, its soft light illuminating the surrounding water and what was underwater.

Three sharks are lurking in the water, watching intently.

When the first one charged out, Cheng Yi dodged to the side and thrust his short sword into its gills.

The blade pierced through, and the shark twisted its body violently, its tail lashing the water and splashing up a spray.

Blood gushed from its gills, staining a patch of seawater red. The shark floated motionless on the surface, its white belly up.

The other two did not come up.

Cheng Yi waited a few seconds, and the water returned to calm. The shark's carcass slowly sank into the water, then was dragged away by two swimming shadows.

Cheng Yi wiped the short sword on his trouser leg and put it back in its sheath.

The four continued deeper into the cave.

At the end of the cave was a small bay. A faint beam of light shone in from the cave entrance, grayish-white, like a gloomy dusk.

A merchant ship was anchored there, one of its masts broken, and there were burn marks on its hull. A bright green lion's head figurehead stood at the bow.

"The Emerald Lion," Karen said.

Four people boarded the ship. The deck was deserted, cargo was scattered everywhere, fruit had rotted into mud, and cloth had been torn to shreds.

Cheng Yi's Observation Haki detected a faint aura—in the captain's cabin, very light and faint.

He pushed open the door. A half-grown child was curled up in the cupboard, soaking wet and shivering. His lips were purple, and there were several abrasions on his face, the blood already dried.

"Don't be afraid," Karen crouched down. "We're here to rescue you."

The child looked up, his green eyes filled with terror. "Those eel monsters... they took all my friends away..."

"What's your name?"

"Raff. Raff Frog Water."

Ignats leaned against the doorframe. "Frog Water? Benji Frog Water's son?"

Lav nodded hesitantly.

"Don't think about it anymore." Alice stood in the doorway. "Get them out of here first. Kid, you stay here and hide."

The crew members were locked in a room deep inside the cave.

Deep inside the cave was an iron gate. The gate was unlocked, and dim light shone through the cracks.

Cheng Yi pressed his ear against the door and heard someone speaking softly inside, still using that indistinct eel language.

He pushed open the door. Inside the spacious cave were twelve crew members bound together, four in a group, tied back to back.

Two eel-men sat by the door, playing a game with coral pieces. Upon seeing Cheng Yi, they jumped up, grabbed their harpoons, and prepared to run deeper into the cave.

Alice's longsword was faster than them. The sudden blade severed the first eel-man's leg, sending it crashing to the ground with a sharp screech. The other was struck by a throwing knife and pinned to the wall, motionless.

Cheng Yi walked up to the crew and cut the ropes with his short sword. A middle-aged man stood up and rubbed his wrist.

"Erling Hearst," he said, "thank you for your help. I am the captain of the Emerald Lion. My crew member Gregory is still in the next cabin."

In the next room, at the end of the cave, was an even larger cavern. Stalactites hanging from the ceiling resembled inverted swords, their tips dripping water that then flowed into a shimmering basin.

The basin is inlaid on a cracked bluestone slab, with wave patterns carved along its edges.

A gigantic eel-man stood beside a basin of water. Its skin was a deep blue, like the night of the deep sea, and it was covered in pustules and tentacles. Crackling sounds emanated from its body, and blue-white arcs of electricity coursed beneath its skin.

[Level 5 Eel Boss/Calamity/Boss/Legendary Transformation]

Six ordinary eel-men were scattered in the cave, some carrying harpoons, some carrying javelins, and some empty-handed, with long and sharp fingernails.

A sailor knelt before a basin of water, his hands resting on the edge, muttering incantations. The water in the basin was glowing, a bluish-white light, as if electricity was dancing within it.

Karen raised the holy emblem.

The oak emblem glowed with a soft golden light in the dim cave.

"Great Father of the Oak, I beseech you to grant us the power of nature."

A ray of light emanated from the emblem, enveloping the four people. Cheng Yi felt lighter, his movements smoother, as if something was gently pushing him from behind.

Blessing spell.

All your checks receive a +2 bonus.

"We're here!"

Ignats' fingers plucked the strings rapidly, producing a sharp sound like a knife slicing through the air. A sonic wave struck the foremost eel hunter, sending it flying and crashing into a stalactite.

He turned to Cheng Yi and Alice and said:

"Hurry up, you've been enhanced!"

The poet's inspiring light shone upon the two of them.

Your next attack or saving throw receives a +3 bonus.

Cheng Yi disappeared from the spot.

A shadow flashed, and he appeared behind Calamity, his short sword aimed at the back of the neck. Just an inch from the scales, a blue-white arc of electricity shot out from Calamity's body, striking his arm.

My arm went numb, and I almost dropped the short sword.

【HP: 86%】

"Its body is electrified!" Karen shouted.

Alice rushed forward.

She gripped the longsword with both hands, and the blade began to glow. It wasn't the cold glow of an enchantment, but a scorching, golden-white light, as if someone had stuffed a ball of the sun into an ingot.

The Holy Slash!

The blade struck the back of the eel-man Calamity. Golden flames exploded, the arc of electricity momentarily swallowed by the light. The eel-man Calamity let out a sharp screech, its body lurching forward as a gash appeared on its back scales, black blood gushing out.

A devastating blow to the Holy Slash!

Ignaz's fingers plucked the strings rapidly. The sound changed; it was no longer a sharp chord, but a gentle, hypnotic melody.

The sound of enchantment.

The eel-man's movements slowed down, and the electric arcs weakened, changing from crackling to a faint hissing sound.

"Now!" Ignac shouted.

Cheng Yi vanished from his spot, appearing behind the calamity in the clouds with a treacherous air.

But at that moment, a cunning glint flashed in the eyes of the eel-man Calamity.

It was completely unaffected by the enchanting voice!

A tremendous power burst forth from its body, accompanied by blue lightning flashes.

Legendary resistances, and legendary moves.