Kill The Old Ones!

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Fighting under the turbulent sea was indeed difficult.

Ren was literally facing a force of nature and its inhabitants, and they are not happy with him being there at all.

He couldn’t even loot in peace because there’s just no hiding for him. The moment he dived into the sea, the water and the creatures living in it immediately knew that there was an intruder.

There was no blending in or hiding from the monsters living in the depths. Even if Ren were to make himself look like a naive mortal, all that would do is to make the monsters around him think that he’s a tiny snack.

The waters of this sea weren’t normal. In a way, it is sentient because of the strange rules of this world. The monsters living within it also had an effect that made the waters even weirder.

When Ren dove in, he immediately felt the waters resisting him and pulling him down. It was literally trying to drown him the moment he went in. The seaweeds, the seafood, and even the corals themselves were actively hunting him.

It sent the message loud and clear: he’s not welcomed here. Everything in this sea will pursue and will do their best to kill him—or anything that is not born in this sea.

This is what the last ten stages of the archstones were like. It was the ultimate challenge that kept people stranded for years, some even decades.

If it weren’t for Ren being the tough guy that he was, he would’ve died within the first 15 minutes after he dived in here.

Fortunately, Ren wasn’t scared of walking up against a natural disaster. He was a mini-force of nature himself, and he decided that something like this wouldn’t stop him.

Since he couldn’t hide his presence anyway, he didn’t bother hiding at all. He jumped into the sea and began looting like a bandit, swimming against the current and completely unafraid of the locals.

The head honchos of this sea were the Flood Dragons, of course. The smallest of the bunch was about 25 meters long, and an ordinary one could grow up to 50 meters. Anything beyond that will be elites, lords, and bosses.

Of course there were the ordinary sea creatures too: schools of fishes, crustaceans, etc. Seafood, as he calls them. They weren’t threats to him, at all, but they’re there.

The sea was vast, and its bounties were plenty. Stages 91 to 100 were literally the ones that have the most loot one could possibly get.

Sunken ships with treasure chests and valuables, deep-sea minerals and ores, and all other rare resources that would fetch extravagant prices on the market...

Sure, this sea was dangerous, but the resources here were plenty. If one could get even 10% of the total bounty it has, they’d return to the real world as billionaires easily.

Ren doesn’t lack credits or resources, but even he couldn’t say no to looting this sea. Especially not when he feels unstoppable and inevitable.

It wasn’t easy, especially with the flood dragons harassing him, but he made it work. That said, not even he could take every single treasure in the sea. At most, he gets around 50 to 75% of the bounty; the rest were either not worth it or simply too hard to get to.

But even with that much, Ren’s earning was still impressive. He’s literally richer than the whole Banished Arms Clan. If he wanted to, he could totally buy the whole neighborhood where the clan was located, and he wouldn’t even feel that pinch.

He didn’t do it, of course, but if he really wanted to, he could.

That’s not his current concern, though.

Right now, his main concern was killing his Flood Dragon King—the boss of stage 100.

At 100 meters long, Ree felt its presence before he even saw it. He felt it as soon as he spawned on the lone island in the middle of this vast sea. He instantly knew where it was and felt how strong it was.

He had no doubt that the monster also felt his presence when he appeared. It was just waiting for the moment he dived into the sea to have an excuse to attack.

Some people would take time to make preparations before confronting this thing and its lackeys. Ren, going here solo, didn’t wait.

He’s already as prepared as he’d ever be, so there’s no need to delay this fight any longer.

So, not even a minute after he spawned, he stepped into the waters. He walked on the surface of the water as if it were a flat surface. That was enough to provoke the ire of the Flood Dragon King.

It rose from beneath the waters, standing tall and proud and roaring at him as the skies darkened and the storm approached.

The whole world instantly became hostile to Ren, but he didn’t care. He looked up with eyes brimming with fighting spirit. He didn’t wait for the monster to make a move; he took the initiative.

The very first clash between them was explosive. The Flood Dragon King attempted to swallow him whole, and it almost succeeded.

Alas, it failed to chew him. Ren used his whole body to pry open its mouth and kicked one of its fangs, breaking it to pieces. The monster trashed and caused a tsunami that sunk the safe zone, but Ren didn’t care.

Ren also grabbed the tip of its tongue and gave it a strong tug on his way out. The trashing of the monster made it difficult to get a stable foothold, but Ren didn’t need it. He could literally hover or fly for a short duration; he could even use air as a solid platform to stand on, so it’s no big deal.

Defanged and with its tongue lost in quick succession, the Flood Dragon King immediately fell into a disadvantage. It’s not down yet, far from dying, even, but losing something to such a puny creature definitely angered it.

It sent its minions to attack, bestowing them with the ability to swim in the air and gain impressive mobility just to stop the human from causing it more pain.

Ren saw this happen, but he didn’t panic. Instead, he braced himself and began darting around like a frenzied firefly.

The size difference between him and the flood dragons was immense, but it doesn’t mean that he’s at a disadvantage, not at all.

Even with the blessing of their king, Ren still moved faster than the flood dragons. He knew their weak spots and wasn’t afraid to exploit them.

He punched, kicked, yanked, threw, and flew all over the place, leaving torn and dead monsters behind him.

The more the storm above him raged, the more active and dangerous Ren became.

Even with the Flood Dragon King participating, Ren was simply unstoppable. His punches were enough to repel it despite the size difference. Ren failed to break its tough scales, but not because he couldn’t. It’s because he didn’t want to just yet.

He handled the ordinary flood dragons, the elites, and the lords without any problems. He left no intact bodies in his wake. Even with more than one attacking him at the same time, Ren was simply too nimble and too strong for them.

Ren could literally pick a flood dragon lord at the scruff of its neck and use it as a whip to discourage others.

He appeared to act more monstrous compared to the ones he’s up against; even the Flood Dragons themselves were horrified by the sight.

Ren’s rampage only calmed down once only the flood dragon king was left.

It was bruised, terrified, and whimpering at the sight of the monstrous human before it.

But instead of killing it, Ren ignored it and dove to the sea. He then began looting around. He didn’t care what the Flood Dragon King felt at all. If it tries to stop him, Ren will teach it a lesson.

Only when Ren was satisfied with his looting spree did he return to where the Flood Dragon King was to finish the job.

Unlike other monsters, though. The Flood Dragon King didn’t explode into monster parts when it died. It didn’t turn into loot, per se. Its whole body remained.

Ren wasn’t surprised. He knew this would be the case. So, he dissected the whole thing and placed it in his inventory. It only occupied a single slot too; the parts could stack together.

As the countdown for his return to the real world began, Ren looked around at the devastation he caused. The skies were clearing up, yes, but the sea will forever be changed because of what he did.

Or not. It’s procedurally generated by the archstones, after all. But he did cause a lot of destruction around him. It’s just not visible above the surface of the waters.

When the countdown ended, Ren returned to the real world. As he appeared in the plaza, he instantly felt eyes on him.

Ren didn’t have his disguise. He knew this and didn’t care. He made his way to the port, aware that the people around him were whispering, and teleported to the gate key at home.

As soon as he returned to the clan, though, he felt something above.

Up there, an ancient and mystical roll was slowly unfolding. He recognized what it was, and it brought a small smile on his face.

”Well, it seems that my name will, once again, rock this entire city to its foundations.”