Echoes of the sword clicking up from Bella’s foot resonated through the chamber of waterfalls and death. Her right hand instantly caught the leather handle and with one inward swing, that dug up from his solar plexus and straight into his heart, the man smiled.

“Did you think I seriously didn’t know of the presence of that sword… but how pitiful…” the man smiled, seemingly unphased by the weapon lodged into his chest, causing Bella’s face to crumble with fear. “Yes… that’s right… no normal weapon can damage me- oomph…”

All of a sudden, he leaned forward and coughed up a mouthful of blood, his pupils shaking with surprise. And as his face paled, his head tilted upwards, only to see Bella’s fearful expression wiped from her face, replaced with an uncanny grin that sent shivers down his spine.

“You… bitch…”

“I got lucky, taking such a weapon. And, if you were aware of its magic-negating properties you would have taken it away from me at the beginning of each death of mine… on top of that, you were careless. If you were a careful person you would have taken it anyway even without knowing of its properties so don’t blame me…” Bella’s expression darkened into a cold blank sheet of emotions. “… but blame that tiny **ing brain of yours.”

Round 10: The Merman Water Lord

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Reward has been granted

Reward has been placed in your treasure trove

You may collect your rewards at the end of the gauntlet

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You have completed the Gauntlet of Misery

The Lord of Oceans recognizes your conviction

The Lord of Oceans has provided you with extra rewards

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Rewards

1. Undead Merman Core (x2)

2. Merman Skill Book: Merman Systema

3. Merman Skill Book: Merman Swords Arts

4. Merman Skill Book: Merman Spear Arts

5. Merman Skill Book: Merman Bow Arts

6. Merman Skill Book: Merman Dagger Arts

7. Merman Skill Book: Merman Shield Arts

8. Merman Skill Book: Water Resonance

9. Merman Passive Skill Book: One With Water

10. Agony Core: Tormenting Thoughts

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Extra Rewards have been provided

Rewards

1. Skill Fusion Orb (1 Time Use)

2. Scar Easing Beans

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Would you like to claim your rewards?

.𝒪𝒱𝓁xt.𝑐𝒪𝔪

All of these panels were a treat to see, but Bella had nothing else on her mind besides escaping this hellhole. And with the reluctant groans of the executives watching over the events that occurred before their very eyes, they released her back into the dark polluted ocean where she was forced to tread water.

…

“These assholes…” I huffed, continuously treading water while anticipating a wave of heavy mana, yet… for some reason, I felt fine. The mana was still definitely there, but I felt adjusted to it. It was almost as if that gauntlet had tempered my body to the extreme conditions of this world.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH

Waves sloshed me back and forth, attempting to tear me under their white sea foam. Salty water stained my lips with each rocking motion and with every large movement that I made, a cup of sea water poured down my throat.

SWOOSH… SWOOSH… SWOOSH… SWOOSH…

And then suddenly, it all began to calm down. The water softened and even seemed to harden, keeping me afloat without me having to expend any energy to tread water. It was as if a floaty device was carrying me across the ocean, into the far distance where a towering spire of orangish-brown rock cut into the clouds.

The Lord of The Sky awaits your presence

After a few hours of letting myself get carried by the waves, I washed up on the sandy shore of orange sand. Clearly, this was a mesa environment with colorful rock and towering peaks of earth and land.

“Seems more like the lord of the ground would be more fit for this…” I muttered, standing up slowly in order to assess my body’s situation.

I had gotten a bit of rest while letting myself get washed across the ocean so my mental fatigue was mostly gone, but strangely all of the stress that had been built up and all of the negative emotions within me were… gone?

“I feel almost empty.”

Walking up the small slope, I saw a few monsters roaming the sky. With a skeletal body and wispy green eyes, I could immediately tell there were undead here. A dungeon break with undead is extremely dangerous due to their lack of stamina, so I could only wonder what the adventurers around here were doing.

“You’re no longer in the world you know,” A voice echoed from behind me but just as soon as I snapped my head around, the scenery around me changed. I was suddenly in a small cavern embedded high into one of the various tall rock formations erected across this orange biome.

“Who are you?” I asked a man with long black hair, flawless light brown skin, piercing obsidian eyes, and a single beauty mark beneath his left eye. He was beautiful, to say the least, and a man no woman could help but drool at. “You’re hot as **… god damn.”

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat, an obvious sign or me to shut up. “Anyways, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Lord of The Sky, otherwise known as the Ancient Dragon. The first dragon. The primordial-”

“Okay, whatever. Dragon… hmmm… where am I?” I quickly asked, cutting the man off who was just about to finish his epic speech. His entire face deadpanned at my rudeness, almost taken aback at how carefree I was since I wasn’t even paying much attention to him now. I was instead looking around, seeing the piles of treasure and the gaping open hole revealing myself to a bed of clouds that looked like I could just walk across.

“*sigh*… Maybe I chose wrong… whatever… You’re currently in a world that no longer exists in your time. To be more accurate, you’re in the First Eon, unlike you who comes from the seventh.”