Right after Isaacs and Alyna left the lake, a silver-haired man in a black suit came to the mermaid's abode.
He did not come alone. Twelve black-robed figures trailed behind him. Two of them carried a basket of oranges.
The silver-haired man picked up a pebble, then threw it with all his might towards the lake.
Boom!
Some of the lake water overflowed into the air. Not long after, drops of water rained down on them for a while.
The mermaid surfaced.
"KAAAAAA! I'm enjoying my meal! Who dares to disturb my home?"
The half-fish woman was angry. She hit the surface of the water several times.
Seeing the lake guard angry, the silver-haired man approached her. He extended his hand while putting a friendly smile on his face.
The mermaid squinted. She was suspicious of the strange man.
"My name is Gavin Bael. I'm an explorer who happened to be passing through. I'm here to make you an offer."
The half-fish woman crossed her arms. "What the heck! You just made a scene, you think I'll take it? Don't joke around. I don't care."
Gavin sighed.
"Well, maybe you'll change your mind."
Gavin looked back, gesturing a finger at his men. One of them threw an orange fruit from the basket at him.
He held it out to the mermaid.
"Have a taste. This is the most delicious fruit in the world. You mermaids will definitely like it."
The mermaid glanced at the orange fruit in the man's hand. Naturally, she laughed sarcastically.
Her reaction raised a question in Gavin.
"Oranges?" The mermaid looked away, sounding slightly disgusted. "Throw away the poisonous food."
Since Isaac and Alyna had left, the Mermaid had an abundant stock of oranges. For the past three days she had eaten only citrus fruits until she was sick to her stomach. The Mermaid could not eat anything after that.
Of course, Gavin wasn't happy to hear that. Nevertheless, he tried to persuade her.
"Don't be like that. You should try it first. This orange is different. It's special. It only bears fruit once every 1000 years."
The mermaid clicked her tongue. "The same person who came here also said the same thing as you. Fruit?" She snorted. "Those green oranges taste very sour."
The half-fish woman shooed Gavin and his men away. She hurled harsh words at the first-ranked Demon Lord.
"You go already! Don't come back to my lake again! You're just a vadalize."
She waved her hand as if shooing away a beggar.
Watching their boss being treated like trash, the group of men in black looked furious. Some of them even hid weapons under the sleeves of their robes.
Only Gavin still looked calm.
"Hmmm... let's put it this way. Find me a scaly egg, then I'll give you another delicacy besides oranges. How about it?"
The offer made by the silver-haired man sounded familiar to the Mermaid. "Scaly eggs? Oh, so that's your goal. You're trying to use me like that sneaky guy. You'd better get lost. There are no more eggs in this lake. Wait 30 or 20 years."
The mermaid snorted.
"What a waste of time," she added.
The mermaid quickly dived back into the lake.
One of the men in robes approached Gavin who was still standing by the lake. A hoarse voice came from the man's mouth.
"Lord Gavin, are we going to let that mermaid languish. We're per-"
Surprised, the robed man felt a sudden aura of horror from Gavin. This frightened him.
"Lord..."
Gavin stared intently at the lake.
"Kill that mermaid."
The silver-haired man turned and walked away from the lake. His men followed behind him. Only one black-robed man remained in place.
The man touched the surface of the lake. A murky liquid came out of his fingertips. The liquid spread, turning the lake's clear-as-glass color into a disgusting brown. Not long after, fish floated to the surface of the water.
Mermaid, the guardian of the lake, also floated to the surface after thousands of her friends died. Her eyes turned completely white and foam came out of her mouth.
She's dead.
.
.
.
"So, where are we going?"
Isaac and Alyna explored the wilderness. As usual, the red-headed woman kept talking nonstop. To silence her, Isaac accelerated their travel by running. Hoping that she would stop talking to catch her breath.
However, Alyna was a duchess. Stamina was the least of her concerns. She could still talk while running.
The two of them kept moving until they got out of the forest. They entered the flowering grassland region.
A carpet of colorful flowers greeted them; purple from violets, white from bloodrot flowers, and warm pink from strawberry flowers. In the distance, they could see black mountains covered by clouds at their peaks. A few evergreen trees stand tall amidst the thousands of flowers.
Despite the beautiful view in front of them, Isaac had a sour look on his face.
"I hate this place," he muttered.
Hatchu!
The pollen from the flowers tickled his nose, making him sneeze repeatedly.
Isaac had a high perception stat. This meant that all of his senses were working optimally.
His sense of smell was very sharp. He could smell the fishy scent of blood and the pungent smell of perfume from a radius of 1 kilo meter. Thanks to this keen sense of smell, he was sensitive to foreign particles scattered in the air such as pollen.
That's why, he made it difficult for Pippi's request to create a flower garden in the dungeon.
"Oh... looks like someone is showing weakness."
Alyna quipped at Isaac who kept sneezing.
"Looks like I'll have to make a flower garden in the dungeon, just in case of treason," she added. The woman laughed.
Although Alyna sounded joking, Isaac took it seriously. No one could accurately predict the future. Situations can change quickly.
Without a word, Isaac ran through the flower bed.
"Hey, wait!"
Alyna irritably caught up with him.
The monsters inhabiting the flowering meadow were slightly different. If the forest was dominated by beast-type monsters, the water was dominated by pisces, while the flowering meadow was dominated by insect-type monsters.
The insect monsters were large in size. Some of them had a variety of shapes. Such as the life-sized killer bee or the blue-banded beetle that emits a sound that could damage the hearing. Despite their large bodies, their eggs were the size of chicken eggs.
Isaac found many of their eggs, but he didn't take any of them.
Because his target this time was not an egg, but a baby mammal.
After about thirty minutes of running and avoiding dozens of unnecessary battles, they came across a large hole in the middle of a lilly field.
The hole was like a tunnel that had been dug. From inside, there was the sound of wind blowing. A sign that there was air in the hole.
Alyna squinted at the appearance of the hole. There was not a glimmer of light after ten meters in. There was only total darkness.
"Are you afraid to go in, Alyna?"
Catching a glimpse of the duchess's face, Isaac had already guessed that Alyna didn't like the terrain they were about to cross.
The red-headed woman clicked her tongue, giving him an annoyed look.
"You underestimate a duchess, baron?"
Isaac snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. He shook his head for a moment, then went into the hole first.
Alyna called out to him, but Isaac ignored her. The duchess reached into her inventory and pulled out a yellow crystal orb. Her mouth twitching, the crystal orb lit up brightly and floated away.
"At least bring some light, you bastard," she sighed irritably. She quickly climbed down the hole.
When they entered the hole, unbeknownst to them, two demons in combat-ready suits were following them.
.
.
.
Inside the hole is like a cave. The air was stale. There was no sound other than their breathing and footsteps. Thanks to Alyna's crystal orb, they could see the terrain within a five-meter radius.
Isaac walked quickly. His keen senses allowed him to see in darkness. Alyna was on guard. All her stats were focused on strength and magic, making women need to be extra careful. Because attacks can come from anywhere.
Krcckckckc! Krckcckckk!
Suddenly, a rodent sound echoed through the air. Alyna quickly took out her weapon. A curved scythe.
Isaac also took out the double pistols from his inventory. He glanced at Alyna, their eyes as if talking to each other.
Isaac's lips moved, but no sound came out. Nevertheless, Alyna still understood the meaning of his words.
"We're surrounded."
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