Chapter 153

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When I broke to the surface of the water and put my head out, an exotic environment unfolded.

The end of the undersea cave was connected to a vast enclosed cavity.

We stepped out of the spring and onto the ground. Seawater trickled down our bodies, but we didn’t care. We’d have to dive again on the way back.

Agnes commented.

“Right.”

Inside the space created in the middle of the deep sea, there was plenty of air to breathe, and that wasn’t all.

“Gathering.”

The hollow was strewed with plants with silvery green leaves wrinkled like waves. Plants that seemed to rely on the light of the luminescent stones to grow.

In fact, this was no ordinary grass.

It was Undulata, used as an ingredient for the finest potions, alongside Mermaid Tears.

‘I got a herb garden instead of a treasure ship!’

Excited, I plucked Undulata at random and put it in my inventory.

Agnes asked.

“Yes. It’s a top-grade potion ingredient, and it’s hard to grow.”

A thought popped into my head.

I looked back at the mermaids who were darting around through the stream-like cracks spread in the ground.

“Hey, Mermaid Sisters. Did you grow this herb by any chance?”

I asked a little hopeful that I might be able to learn some Undulata breeding techniques.

I was told that this is just a natural cluster.

It seemed that the environment here was optimized for the growth of the tricky Undulata. Coincidentally, Thesilid was exploring the natural environment instead of me. He walked over to the far wall and placed his palm against it.

“Eli.”

His low voice echoed to me and I rushed over right away.

“Why did you call me?”

“Look at this.”

The wall that Thesilid was holding on to looked like it was blocked with rocks.

Water leaked out through tiny cracks.

Without hesitation, he caught the water with his hand, took a sip, and concluded.

“I think there is a Well of Eternal Life behind this.”

“Oh, is the water flowing through the cracks right now from the Well of Eternal Life?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can just drink this water. There’s no need to use the treasure room key… … .”

“Ah, the keyhole is here.”

Click!

Thesilid proudly inserted the key into the lock next to the rock and turned it in a showy manner.

The key that had exhausted its usefulness turned into powder and was shattered. With that, the opportunity to find treasures was gone forever.

Drururrrr!

The treasure chamber opened.

The rocks were removed and a small empty space was revealed. Our eyes focused on the center.

Chungungun.

Water ceaselessly flowed down from the stalactite-shaped luminescent stones embedded in the ceiling and overflowed into a beautiful stone ornament.

In fact, it looked more like a fountain than a well.

Since this is said to be one of the sea treasures, wouldn’t it have the same value and utility as a thousand gold?

I brushed off my lingering feelings and went to the well.

“This is the Well of Eternal Life.”

I took out a ladle and scooped up some water. I brought it to the corner of my mouth to take a sip.

“……”

I dumped the water and the ladle onto the floor, immediately strode up to Thesilid, and grabbed his arm.

“Eli?”

I roughly spun him halfway around and saw the bewildered look on his face. Right then.

“Spit out what you drank earlier! Throw it up right now! Throw it up!”

I slapped Thesilid on the back.

“I’ll just glue it back together!”

“At this rate, it will not end with only the bones like Agnes is worried about!”

I continued to slap Thesilid on the back.

“I was scammed.”

My teeth gritted.

“Well of Eternal Life my foot, this water is a deadly poison that no human should ever drink. This is a poison that my detoxification skill doesn’t work on!”

Learning the cooking skills was a must in this damned SS-level difficulty world. Thanks to that, I was able to appraise almost anything with the ‘Ingredient Detection’ skill.

[ ‘The Well of Eternal Life’

The Water of Immortality has the effect of increasing the remaining lifespan of the body by 3 to 5 times if consistently drunk. However, at the expense of physical longevity, it has the side effect of shortening the lifespan of the soul. Symptoms that may occur with long-term use include:

Early stage: insomnia, nightmares, hallucinations, confusion, mental weakness.

Middle stage: Emotional wear and tear, loss of memory, loss of three major powers.

End stage: Spiritual collapse.

If the recovery period is missed after passing the terminal stage, it ultimately leads to ‘Soul Extinction’.]

It’s ‘Soul Extinction’. It’s the annihilation of the soul!

My hand grew stronger by itself.

Puck!

“……It hurts, Eli.”

A muffled groan mixed with his voice could be heard. My hand, which reflexively braked, hesitated in midair.

Thesilid let out a bitter laugh as he soothingly spoke to me.

“Eli, I don’t think one sip will make much difference.”

“……”

“So you don’t have to worry so much.”

“……”

“Eli?”

I didn’t answer, I couldn’t even flinch.

Because, from the time I’d stopped my hand earlier, I was still mulling over a chilling possibility that had been creeping into my mind.

I looked Thesilid right in the eye and opened my mouth.

“This water increases the lifespan of the body up to five times.”

“Yes.”

“Instead, it’s said that if you continue drinking it for a long time it will destroy your soul.”

“……”

“By any chance, was that the purpose?”

As I vomited out the question, my voice came out with a slight tremble. So I urged him with my eyes instead of words.

Was it like that?

To break the regression?

By eradicating your soul?

No, no, it can’t be. In the 17th round, Terry shouldn’t be that broken yet. The 17th can’t be like that…

“No.”(Terry)

……As expected.

Look, see?

If he’s the Thesilid of this episode, the episode I’m in, he’s supposed to deny this accusation like that.

It seemed that I was holding air into my lungs without realizing it.

I let out a long sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that my speculation was denied. But I was still on edge. I looked into his sea-blue eyes and asked.

“Then can I break it?”

“……”

At this point, I don’t think I even had the mental leisure to wait for a moment of silence.

“Answer me!”

A loud voice came out without my knowledge.

The sound of water splashing around in the distance stopped.

With only the two of us left behind, the cave became quiet to the point of desolation. At some point in time while I was waiting for his answer.

“Eli.”

A low-pitched bassy voice broke the silence. It was his usual gentle, calming tone.

“I will break it.”

“……”

“I came for that.”

Thesilid led me out of the treasure chamber.

The holy sword Libra was summoned in his right hand. It was a sword with an impressive all-white blade and hilt, which had a blue square jewel.

The sword was coated with the holiest Aura in the world and with a flick of the blade, Aura in the shape of a new-moon flew out.

The walls came crashing down, and rubble completely blocked the treasure chamber and the entrance.

“If people find it to try to sell, won’t they be able to dig it up again?”

Water was still flowing over the surface of the collapsed wall.

“Don’t worry.”

Thesilid placed one palm on the wall.

“Blue Torch.”

Blue flames seeped into the walls. Thesilid poured holy power until cold sweat formed on his forehead. As a result, the water flowing on the surface of the wall gradually weakened and eventually stopped completely.

“I’ve dried the water vein. Do you believe me now?”

“Yes.”

After feeling relieved, my thought circuit began to calm down. Only then did I think of reflecting on the stupid thing I said.

“You said you came here to destroy this place. Why?”

This is a Thesilid I don’t know, but his reply to my question was mild.

“Is the matter related to the Well of Eternal Life unknown to the Saintess who even received the revelations from God?”

The sound of laughing rang lightly in his neck like the sound of a musical instrument, thrilling my ears as always. But as soon as it ceased, Thesilid opened his eyes with a very distant look.

“I don’t really like the idea of eternal life.”

“……”

“I’ve imagined this before.”

“……”

“One day, when I become a living corpse, only wanting to die……a time when I can only wait for the next episode……”

I wonder if what he was saying was really imaginary.

“I thought it would be too painful if someone deliberately prolonged my life so I wouldn’t die.”

The eyes of this imaginer were beyond cloudy.

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