Chapter 8: Into the Mystic Ocean

Katsu stretched his arms and let out a satisfied sigh. "Alright, I'm feeling better already—"

The moment he swung his legs off the bed and stood up, a horrific pain shot through his entire body.

"GAHHHHHHHH!"

He immediately collapsed onto the floor, face-first, twitching.

Simon, standing near the door, didn't even flinch. He casually adjusted his gloves. "Yeah, that's what happens when you burn yourself out."

Katsu, still lying on the floor, groaned. "Why… does everything… hurt?"

Simon shrugged. "You used too much fire and overloaded your body. Consider this a learning experience."

Katsu weakly lifted his hand. "S-Simon… g-give me a minute…"

Simon opened the door. "Nope. Quest time. Get ready."

Katsu twitched. "I CAN'T EVEN MOVE!"

Simon didn't even look back. "Skill issue."

Katsu let out a long, suffering groan as he forced himself up. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest. He stumbled, wobbled, and eventually managed to limp after Simon like a newborn deer.

Simon led him outside the inn, walking at a normal pace. Katsu, however, was trailing behind, panting like he had run a marathon.

"C-Could you slow down?!" Katsu huffed.

"No."

"W-Wait for me, damn it!"

"No."

"PLEASE."

Simon stopped, turned around, and stared at Katsu, who was hunched over like an old man.

"…Fine," Simon said, sighing.

Katsu let out a relieved breath. "Thank you—"

Simon suddenly vanished.

"Wait—WHAT?!"

Katsu looked up and saw Simon already half a mile away, waving.

"CATCH UP, SLOWPOKE."

"YOU SON OF A—"

A While Later…

After what felt like an eternity of suffering, Katsu finally caught up to Simon—only to be instantly horrified by where they were.

The Mystic Ocean.

A vast, endless stretch of deep blue water lay before them. The waves crashed against the shore, their sound eerily calming despite the terrifying reality of what lurked beneath. Katsu could already see strange, shadowy shapes moving under the surface—some way too big for comfort.

He gulped. "Uh… Simon? Why are we here?"

Simon cracked his neck. "We got a mission."

Katsu's face turned pale. "Please tell me the mission isn't inside the ocean."

"It's inside the ocean."

Katsu screamed internally.

"Simon." Katsu grabbed him by the shoulders. "You do remember I use fire, right? The thing that dies instantly in water?"

Simon smirked. "Yeah. That's exactly why we're here."

Katsu blinked. "I hate that sentence."

Simon folded his arms. "Listen. You're a Ranker now. That means you can't afford to have obvious weaknesses. Water users will destroy you if you don't learn how to fight in these conditions."

Katsu groaned. "I swear, you are the worst mentor ever."

Simon ignored him. "Anyway, the mission is simple—retrieve a golden chest from the bottom of the ocean."

Katsu frowned. "That's it? That sounds way too easy."

Simon smirked. "Well, there's just one problem."

Katsu sighed. "Of course there is. What is it?"

Simon pointed at the ocean.

"There are monsters down there."

Katsu stared at him.

"…How big are we talking?"

Simon shrugged. "Probably massive."

Katsu internally screamed again.

"W-Well," Katsu stammered, "at least you're here to help, right?"

Simon grinned.

"Nah, I can't swim."

Katsu's eye twitched.

"…You. Can't. SWIM?!"

Simon shook his head. "Nope."

"THEN HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO—" Katsu stopped mid-sentence. "Wait. Then how do you expect me to do this?!"

Simon grinned. "You'll figure it out."

Katsu lost it. "NO. I AM NOT GOING DOWN THERE BY MYSELF."

Simon sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine. I guess I'll help a little."

Katsu crossed his arms. "A little? What does that even—"

Simon suddenly grabbed Katsu by the back of his shirt and dragged him toward the ocean.

"W-WAIT WAIT WAIT—"

Into the Depths…

The moment they stepped into the water, Katsu shivered. "This sucks already."

Simon waded in effortlessly, completely unfazed. "Hurry up."

Katsu groaned but followed, his body adjusting to the temperature. As they walked deeper, the water level rose to their waists… then their chests… until they were fully submerged.

Katsu held his breath, his body screaming at him about how bad of an idea this was. His fire was completely useless down here. He felt vulnerable. Exposed.

Then… the ocean floor disappeared beneath them.

Now they were really swimming.

Katsu turned to Simon. "So, uh, where exactly—"

Before he could finish, something moved.

A shadow passed beneath them.

No. Not a shadow.

An eye.

A massive eye, easily the size of a house, opened beneath them, staring directly at them.

Katsu's entire body froze.

Slowly, the rest of the creature's shape became visible. It was gigantic. Hulking. Beyond anything Katsu had ever seen.

Katsu turned to Simon, eyes wide.

Simon raised an eyebrow.

"Welp."

Katsu internally screamed for the third time today.

To Be Continued…