As we moved into the temple’s entrance, we found the space inside flooded with seawater. However, we all knew that this wouldn’t continue to be the case for long. If the dungeon had been entirely underwater, there was no way we would’ve brought Niedz, Lukas, or Gahedd here. They barely had a grasp on the fundamentals in the first place, so there was no point trying to turn them into underwater combat specialists right from the get-go.
Still, we’d have to stay in the water for a little while longer. According to Capitan, though, only the first floor was flooded, and it wouldn’t take us that long to get through it.
That wasn’t to say that we wouldn’t encounter any problems, of course. Diego was the first to notice. The water, which had been calm until now, filled with a sudden sense of menace. Something large was approaching.
It was actually easier to tell which direction it was coming from than it was on dry land—though that might have been because whatever was approaching was sticking to relatively simple movements. In other words, it was coming straight for us.
As one, Capitan, Diego, and I looked in the direction the presence was approaching from and drew our weapons. I had a one-handed sword, Capitan had his broad-bladed hunting knife, and Diego had a spear.
Recognizing from our combat stances that something was awry, Niedz, Lukas, and Gahedd drew their own weapons several moments later. Their movements were sluggish, weighed down by the water, but that was something they’d have to get used to on their own. Capitan seemed fine, having done this many times before, and Diego seemed used to it too. I’d participated in my own fair share of underwater combat during a decade and change of adventuring, so I knew how to handle my weapons in a way that would minimize drag in the water.
Of course, that didn’t change the simple physical truth that it was much harder to move down here. I would need to stay on my toes.
That was when the fish monster came into view. It was large, relative to us, but if you’d placed it next to the behemoth outside the temple, it would’ve seemed like a baby. Nothing that scary, basically—at best, it would only be able to swallow two or three adults whole in a single bite.
Which was...actually still pretty huge.
Since it had approached us as soon as we entered the temple, I wondered if it was a gatekeeper of sorts. It probably wasn’t all that strong, since we were still on the first floor, but the question was: How would we go about this?
Well, according to the usual dungeon delving best practices, the right answer would be to match our movements to Capitan’s, since he knew this place the best. When I looked in his direction, he returned a look of his own that said, “Just leave this to me.”
Or at least, that’s what I thought it meant, but I was probably right. The water might’ve robbed us of our ability to communicate with words, but our longtime mentor-student relationship wasn’t for nothing.
Assuming my read on his intentions was correct, Diego and I wouldn’t approach the monster with Capitan, but instead protect Niedz, Lukas, and Gahedd. I swam over, taking a defensive position in front of them. After motioning with hand signs for them to stay away from the monster lest they be swallowed up in one gulp, I turned my attention back to the fight that was soon to break out.
Diego, having watched me and Capitan move, seemed to have understood the plan. He positioned himself at the halfway point between us, ready to assist either of us as the need arose.
Since we’d known we’d be getting into underwater combat, we’d discussed several patterns and formations beforehand. Still, pulling them off this smoothly was a good sign, given the impromptu nature of our party.
Well, sign or not, there wasn’t going to be a future for us at all if we didn’t manage to defeat this fish monster. I wasn’t worried, though. After all, it was Capitan fighting—he was strong enough that I had no illusions over which way this fight would go.
The monster took in our positions, and Capitan—now its closest prey—waited for it calmly, knife at the ready. While ordinarily a fish’s swimming speed underwater far outstripped a human’s, the moment the monster opened its vast maw to swallow Capitan whole, he kicked the water and dodged upward, a little to the side.
The movement brought him above the fish’s head, and even at a distance we could tell that it put him in an advantageous position. Naturally, Capitan didn’t miss this fact himself and lifted his blade high. His movements were polished, exactly the same as they would have been on the surface—including their speed.
I wanted to ask why there suddenly seemed to be no resistance in the water, as well as how he’d manage that kick-off move, but right now, that was less important than the fight taking place before me. Without a sound, Capitan’s knife took the shortest path down toward the fish monster’s head. A moment later, the head separated entirely from the monster’s body.
Diego, Niedz, and the others looked on, wide-eyed. I understood why they were surprised; Capitan’s knife wasn’t a particularly long weapon—certainly not long enough to decapitate a fish of that size.
But the fish’s head had been parted from its body nonetheless.
I was certain Diego, Niedz, Lukas, and Gahedd had the kind of adventurer’s pragmatism that let them accept the truth before their eyes, but they still had to be wondering how Capitan had done it. The hunter, however, paid no heed to their surprise, simply signaling for us to continue forward.
If we lingered, it wouldn’t be long before other monsters—large and small—would wander over to feast on the fish’s corpse. It would be best if we got out of the water before that happened.
The others seemed to have realized this as well, because they wasted no time in swimming after Capitan. Niedz, Lukas, and Gahedd in particular reacted quicker than I’d normally have expected them to, perhaps because being in the dungeon itself had heightened their nerves—and that was a good thing, in this case.
Of course, it wouldn’t do for them to be too nervous, so I’d have to continue keeping an eye on them, giving them a nudge in the right direction here and there. For now, though, it looked like they’d be fine.
The question was how long that would remain true, since I would be testing them to see their limits in combat. I didn’t think it would be too harsh, since it wouldn’t be underwater combat, but nothing was ever certain.
There were a lot more things I had to think about for this dungeon delve, compared to the usual...
As we continued farther inside, light came into view, filtering down from the water’s surface. Obviously, since we were still in the temple, I didn’t mean the ocean’s surface, far up above. What lay ahead of us was only a continuation of the dungeon.
Capitan was the first to reach it, pulling himself out of the water. Diego followed after him, then Niedz, Lukas, and Gahedd. I was reaching up, on the verge of joining them, when suddenly, my vision went black.
Was I drowning?
Wait, no—I didn’t need to breathe.
So then, why...?