Chapter 144

Chapter 144

Boom!

Merlin weaved around underwater and started slaughtering the fish. Though the fish were fast, they couldn’t swim quicker than 150 kilometers per hour. Moving underwater at such high speeds would defy the laws of physics. However, Merlin’s swimming speed could surpass 500 kilometers per hour and even near 600 kilometers per hour. Moreover, Merlin’s swimming skill freed him from the restrictions of physics. For instance, Merlin could immediately change directions or stop on a dime; he could even control his speed to swim alongside a school of fish, allowing him to reach out and grab one.

Bam!

Whoosh!

Behind Merlin, his two spirits, Younghwi and Shining, took the shape of a net and gathered the gems that were left after each fish was caught. The netting was so fine that it could capture and retain gems of almost every size.

Bam!

“Hmm?”

Up to this point, Merlin faced no issue in turning the fish into gems, but he raised an eyebrow when he felt one fish struggle. There, right before him, was a two-meter-long fish that resembled a shark.

‘Ah, the bigger fish don’t instantly turn into gems by just touching them.’

Yet, did this present a problem for Merlin?

Boom!

Bam!

With the Great Strength Vajra Hand, Merlin slammed his hand atop the huge fish’s head and instantly converted it into a gem. Though the fish was relatively durable, Merlin was a powerhouse in the water. Once his swimming skill reached the S Rank, Merlin had become incomparably quick and powerful within the water.

Whoosh!

“Hmm?”

Merlin had been shooting through the water when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Shining and Younghwi were following close behind him up till this point, but now, they had slowed considerably due to drag. The spirits had collected an incredible volume of gems.

‘Darn it. The volume has increased to this size already- hmm?’

Ting!

At that moment, the massive volume of gems started gathering at one point before turning into a diamond. The hexagonal diamond could easily fit in the palm of one’s hand, and Merlin reached out and grabbed it. Soon, he was met with a text message.

/You have acquired 1,000 Gem Points!/

‘Oh, I guess that’s how it works. Wait, I also have other gem points from the previous event, right?’

When he completed the previous mission, Merlin was given 1,100 gem points. Though he didn’t know if this was a considerable or small amount of gem points, Merlin expected that it was more likely the former. Didn’t he clear the mission and fulfill all its requirements relatively quickly with Arthur and Cruze’s help? However, Merlin had acquired nearly the same amount of gem points after being submerged for just ten minutes.

‘I feel like I’m cheating somehow, but well, as long as it’s beneficial for me….’

As he smiled mischievously, Merlin put the diamond into his inventory. He was now in possession of 2,100 gem points.

‘Now that the net is clear, shall I catch more fish?’

Whoosh!

Merlin zigzagged through the water towards another vast school of fish.

“Welcome back to the Exchange Center, Merlin. It’s been a while.”

“Huh? You remember me?”

Merlin had arrived at the Exchange Center. This was a place where users could convert gold into real-life currency and vice versa, as well as where one could purchase items and gear. The Exchange Center was similar to a ‘Cash Shop’ in other games.

“My memory is excellent. Well, that’s probably the main reason why I was assigned this position. Anyway, how can I help? It’s regarding the event, I presume?”

“Yes, I was told that I needed to come here.”

“You’re correct. One moment.”

The attentive purple-haired lady named Ellen had an ID that read [Exchange Center Attendant], and she soon closed her eyes and split into two identical copies of herself. To do this, she used the splitting image ability that only the attendant NPCs possessed. Though there were thousands of NPCs in DIO, there were much more users, so certain NPCs were given this special ability to compensate.

“You have gem points, right? You need gem points to go in.”

“Ack! Really? How many gem points?”

“One gem point. I think the event planners set this rule to prevent any onlookers from accessing the special market and to only allow users who participated in the event.”

“Ah, one gem point isn’t a problem.”

About an hour had passed before all the gem fish were caught. In that time, Merlin had accrued 8,500 additional gem points. In the end, he was left with 10,000 gem points. Furthermore, Merlin remained underwater the entire time, so no one knew of his existence. By doing this, he could also gather a tremendous amount of gem points compared to other users. Merlin retrieved a random gem from his inventory and presented it to Ellen, who took the gem and threw it in the air.

Ting!

The air started wavering like a mirage before a door appeared. This entrance was similar to what appeared when using a housing card.

Creak.

“Follow me.”

“Huh? You’re tending to me personally? Isn’t there a time limit for your image?”

“The time limit has been extended during this event. It was easier to do that than increase the number of attendants.”

After saying this, Ellen stepped through the door’s threshold while Merlin followed close behind. Once he passed through, the surroundings changed.

Woong! Woong!

“Woah!”

The new area was like a bright collection of shining stars. Large gems grew like trees all over the place, and the ground was tiled with blue gemstones.

“It’s called Anyform Stone. It’s a mineral that can be molded into any form with whatever property desired.”

“A mineral? It isn’t a gemstone?”

“No. Look closely.”

Ellen grabbed a random green gem and imbued it with power. Then, the gem started folding and getting smaller.

“It’s not cracking but folding….”

“At first glance, you might think that it’s a gem, but it is weaker and softer than copper. Also, it has a precarious existence. If it is taken out of this Illusory Area, it’ll cease to exist. Anyway, that’s beside the point.”

With this said, Ellen retrieved a book and handed it to Merlin. Based on the book’s thickness, it seemed that it was around 100 pages long. On the cover, the title [How to Use Gem Points] was written, and on the side, grooves could be seen, probably to denote each chapter for quicker reference. Upon closer inspection, Merlin counted seven grooves.

“How to use gem points?”

“Right. Gem points can be used to purchase a flying shuttle, but there are also many other uses for them, such as buying weapons or magic ingredients. Shall we take a look at the flying shuttle first?”

Woong!

Ellen opened the book and placed her finger on a specific part of one page. Soon, a magic circle appeared, measuring around ten meters in diameter, and a huge flying shuttle slid out from it. The flying shuttle looked like a four-person sailboat with mast and all.

“Woah! That’s a flying shuttle?”

“We carry an extensive stockpile of different flying shuttle models. Wouldn’t it be weird to purchase something without seeing it first?”

After hearing her reply, Merlin turned his head towards the flying shuttle. The vessel was emanating magic waves, though the source was unknown. These waves caused the surrounding space to ripple like a mirage.

“This is the most basic flying shuttle model. It can be purchased for 500 gem points, but its top speed doesn’t reach 100 kilometers per hour. However, since this model is made from Aerial Stone, it can technically fly for 24 hours straight.”

“So, in essence, it’s a magic boat. What does it consume for fuel?”

“The shuttle has a rechargeable feature that allows it to constantly absorb mana from its surroundings until it reaches its maximum capacity of about 100 Tetra. If four beings were aboard this shuttle, it could operate for an entire day without a break.”

Merlin seemed surprised at this.

“It can fly for such a long time with just 100 Tetra?”

One hundred Tetra was equivalent to 100 magic power points. Of course, 100 Tetra wasn’t a tiny amount by any means. Yet, this vessel was larger than a modern-day SUV, so Merlin could only have it hover in mid-air for around ten minutes before 100 Tetra was used. However, Ellen shook her head.

“As I mentioned earlier, this flying shuttle is made of a buoyant material, so hovering doesn’t consume any magic power or energy. If the mast’s sails are unfurled and allowed to catch the wind, it can move without any assistance.”

Merlin turned his attention to the book and looked at the next flying shuttle model. When he placed his finger on the image, the flying shuttle above his head returned to the magic circle before another model appeared, seeming much slimmer.

“This is the ‘Crow’ model. It’s relatively fast in relation to its cost, and there’s an option for a one or two-passenger model. It can store 500 Tetra, but the model doesn’t possess any natural buoyancy properties, so it can only fly for around ten hours. However, it can reach speeds of Mach 3.”

“It looks like a modern-day stealth aircraft. The motorboat from the last event and now this… why does DIO have such similar items to Earth… huh?”

Upon closer inspection of the Crow model, Merlin couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise as he used Enhanced Eyesight to peer into the vessel’s inner workings. The internal structure was similar to….

“T-this… this is based on a modern-day Earth item? It has moveable exhaust nozzles to better direct movement and has turbojet engines. Can this type of design be used in an online game?!”

Merlin wasn’t surprised by the technology implemented in the Crow model, as the technology already existed on Earth and wasn’t anything new to him. Yet, certain technologies and designs were considered top secret and withheld from the general public. For example, the moveable exhaust nozzles and turbojet engines were hallmarks of the modern-day F-22 Raptor. The F-22 Raptor wasn’t considered the ruler of the skies solely due to these two components, but this sort of top-secret leak in a game could cause significant problems in the real world. If a user who possessed the right set of knowledge and skills were to get their hands on this flying shuttle, they could easily reverse engineer this tech.

“Oh, you’re able to understand the flying shuttle with just a glance. From what I understand, there’s a magic barrier that restricts anyone from looking within.”

“I can easily see through such a barrier. If you really didn’t want anyone peering within the inner workings of the craft, you could have just restricted access completely through the DIO system.”

Seeing Merlin’s brow furrowed, Ellen couldn’t help but give a chuckle.

“The safety restrictions placed on a Level 3 flying shuttle should not be seen through unless someone has a Master-level Enhanced Eyesight ability… well, whatever. If you saw the internal workings of a Level 5 flying shuttle, you’d really freak out- huh?”

Flip.

Ellen’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Merlin flip to the next page. This page should have been restricted, making it physically impossible to get to, but Merlin did just that.