Chapter 135: 134 Sage

Upper body human, lower body fish—called merfolk.

What about a fish head with a human-shaped body?

【Race: Fishman】

Its eyes bulged like cloudy glass orbs, its body covered in irregularly embedded scales, three bright red gill slits spaced behind its ears, opening and closing rhythmically with each breath.

In their webbed palms, they held simple weapons resembling spears, clearly possessing considerable intelligence—most likely, the traps outside were their doing.

Three submerged Pukji were surrounded in the center of the hall by a group of such fishmen.

After detecting these fishmen, Lin Jun did not order the Pukji to flee; exchanging 2.5 Pukji for more useful information was worthwhile.

Strangely, though they surrounded the Pukji, they did not attack—only stared with dead-fish eyes, as if waiting for something.

Come to think of it, the three stone discs beneath the statue must be an altar—waiting for an auspicious hour to perform a sacrifice?

Perfect—one Pukji each…

Lin Jun had no intention of letting these Pukji self-destruct; this ruin, claimed as territory by the fishmen, held some exploration value—random self-destruction might cause a collapse.

Clearing rubble underwater is far harder than on land.

In his perception, another fishman arrived tardily outside the hall.

The other fishmen promptly parted to make a path.

A withered individual, its skin wrinkled many times deeper than the others, slowly swam forward; unlike the rest, it did not hold a spear but a staff—a Fishman Spellcaster!

The fishmen's intelligence had reached this level?!

Lin Jun pulled up its panel and was surprised to find it even had a name.

【Name: Gugulu】

【Level: lv35】

【Fixed Status: Nefrela's Blessing (Sage)】

【Skills: Water Magic lv7, Mental Magic lv6, Mana Storage lv6…】

【Title: Sage (Intelligence doubled)】

Sage!

What is this Nefrela's Blessing? Can it be applied to Xiao Hei?

Come to think of it, this was the second "Blessing" Lin Jun had seen—the first being Inanna's "Clergy Blessing."

Compared to the Clergy Blessing, which granted Light Element Affinity lv4 and Light Magic lv4, this Blessing granting the Sage title was clearly superior.

Who is this Nefrela? How is she even more formidable than the Clergy?

Uh… a god?

The moment this thought surfaced, Lin Jun immediately wanted to sever the connection to all three Pukji and never come down again.

Simply put, gods were too strange—entirely in the realm of the unknown—and Lin Jun had no desire to get involved, not now at least.

But Lin Jun forcibly restrained the impulse—it was only a Blessing…

Inanna, blessed by the Clergy, had never been watched by them constantly; this fishman hiding in the dungeon surely wouldn't be under constant surveillance either.

Besides, Nefrela hadn't even been confirmed as a god.

"Outsider, tell me—what do you seek by entering this place?"

!!!

The old fishman Gugulu's staff glowed with magical light.

Telepathy?

Lin Jun was startled that the old fishman knew such a spell.

Unlike the fishman's ugly appearance, the voice in the telepathy was gentle and intellectual.

If one forgot its fishman identity, just listening to the voice, Lin Jun might imagine it as an elderly scholar with white hair in a library.

This is the 【Sage】!

I wonder—if I obtained this title, would my voice become like this too?

It didn't surprise Lin Jun that this clever old thing realized the Pukji could communicate—after all, the first trial to enter here was opening the mechanism door.

After brief thought, Lin Jun abandoned the option of pretending ignorance and replied:

"I have no intention of disturbing you; my entry here was accidental.

I am searching underwater for possible fissures—do you have any clues?"

If communication is possible, cooperation follows; on this point, these fishmen were even easier to approach than the tree spirits. The tree spirits had previously held a grudge against Xiao Hei, but these fishmen had no prior conflict with me.

Moreover, regarding fissures, my interests align with the fishmen's—if this fishman leader isn't a Bai Chi wearing the 【Sage】 title, he should understand the stakes.

Indeed, the fishman Gugulu replied: "Fissures? There were some, but they vanished long ago."

"There were some, and then vanished"—that likely refers to the Demon Tide Period.

"None now?"

"The fissures I mean might not be large—even a small opening less than a palm's width could be one."

"Have you noticed any places recently where the water flow was strangely abnormal, or any other anomalies?"

Upon hearing this, Gugulu turned to a fishman beside him, whose body was noticeably larger than the others.

The two fishmen emitted a series of "gugulu" sounds—perhaps their language?

If they have a language, could dissecting a fishman corpse yield "Fishman Common lv1"?

Several minutes later, Gugulu said: "Within our range of activity, we have detected none."

"May I ask, roughly, what is your range of activity?"

"Beyond this building, half the underwater expanse." Gugulu did not conceal it.

That range is enormous.

To be honest, after searching for fissures until now, Lin Jun believed the seventh layer likely had no fissure, but it was still better to be cautious.

"If that's the case, I'll search elsewhere."

The Pujis tried retracing their path, and the fish-people showed no intention to stop them.

"Wait," Gugulu suddenly spoke mentally, "have them help us search for the fissure too."

At Gugulu's gesture, three fish-people—including the large one from earlier—followed behind, and Lin Jun did not refuse.

After leaving the ruin, the three fish-people swam ahead voluntarily, thoroughly demonstrating their underwater survival skills.

They maintained a triangular formation, skillfully weaving through undercurrents and precisely identifying underwater paths.

When sporadic demonic creatures lunged from rock crevices and sand piles, the fish spears' cold glint always arrived before the roars.

And when facing more dangerous predators, the fish-people would suddenly alter their swimming rhythm,

while those truly hazardous demons hid among aquatic plants or concealed themselves within the complex terrain of boulders and ruins, waiting until the threat passed.

Though there was no communication along the way, the fish-people protected the Pujis exceptionally well.

The three Pujis barely had a chance to use their skills; following behind them gave Lin Jun the feeling of trailing behind a tree demon on the sixth layer.

After more than ten hours of exploration, Lin Jun had nearly covered the entire seabed and indeed found no fissure.

Watching the three fish-people return into the ruin as the gate slowly closed, Lin Jun felt a strange unease.

It was just… too friendly.

If it were me, seeing outsiders break into my own home, throwing them out naked would be considered generous.

Yet these fish-people were willing to help search for the fissure.

Of course, the reason must lie with the old fish-person Gugulu—the fish-people clearly obeyed it, and its friendliness must stem from some hidden consideration.

But it was ultimately not a bad thing.

Perhaps I should communicate more with them; next time I might ask about the ruin and their beliefs?

……

……

……

The three diving Pujis did not return to the surface; without 【Mana Storage】, their energy had been entirely depleted after a full day of exploration.

In fact, had it not been for the fish-people conserving the Pujis' energy, they would have starved to death much earlier.

The three diving Pujis ceased movement near the ruin and vanished into the fungal web.

Not long after, one fish-person found the three Puji corpses still untouched and carried them all back into the ruin.

(End of Chapter)