I slowly crept my way toward the temple building sitting on top of the Aztec pyramid. The advantage of being underwater meant that I could skip the stairs and just go there directly. I nervously kept an eye on my surroundings, keeping watch for any monsters laying in ambush. The numerous pillars gave ample opportunity for things to hide behind and I didn’t want to get caught unawares… again.

I had a track record of stumbling into dangerous situations due to either not paying enough attention or underestimating the dangers of a situation. And even if I told myself I’d pay better attention next time, I still managed to somehow fail. I was still salty about that whole eel situation had all that power now, but I got taken out by a single spell. Maybe it was time to invest in some more defensive abilities if the chance presented itself.

I arrived at the top of the stairs without running into any monsters and took in the sight of the temple before me. It was lined with the pillars that were all around the place, but these ones were decorated with engravings of various sea monsters. The entrance was just a large square hole in the wall with no doors to be seen and I could see more of the mysterious lights inside, bathing the interior in a green hue.

I carefully approached the entrance, stopping at the threshold to scan the large hall. There were more of the pillars inside, forming a path toward the other end of the hall. Aside from that, there was nothing of note inside. I looked up at the ceiling, finding that the entire thing was decorated with a giant carving. I couldn’t quite make out the entire picture due to the pillars being in the way, but it seemed to be a gathering of sea monsters, congregating toward the center of the hall in a whirlpool-like fashion.

After making sure that I couldn’t spot anything suspicious or dangerous, I made my way inside, quickly going to either side of the hall to scan for hidden enemies. There was nothing. I’d gotten used to the fact that there were no monsters around due to this being the territory of an island guardian, but I was starting to feel the paranoia creep up on me again. This was an underwater temple. A place of challenge. There had to be something here that would attempt to stop me from just grabbing the gem and then dipping.

Or maybe the challenge was to find one of these temples in the first place. If that was the case, the temples might be protected by the system, just like the ruins had been on the fourth layer. In that case, it would make sense that there were no monsters around. The fact that I couldn’t know for certain put me on edge as I crept forward while keeping an eye on my surroundings, and the other on the large carving on the ceiling.

I recognized a few of the depicted monsters, some of which I’d seen in one of the layers, some of which looked like regular animals, like crabs or squids, and some of them looked downright terrifying. I did notice that they got bigger and stronger the closer I got to the center, the fake water dragon that I fought being featured pretty close to it.

In the center of the whirlpool was the depiction of what I assumed to be a deep sea gem. It seemed to hold a great significance to the aquatic monsters, as the carving depicted them either being drawn to it or protecting it. Around the gem, four monsters were prominently featured. Seeing as they were closer to the gem than even the island guardian eel, I assumed they were the hunters of this layer.

Yeah, I’d probably have to pass up on hunting a hunter on this layer. I was almost killed due to being careless against an island guardian, and fighting a water-bound hunter seemed like a beyond stupid idea. I’d get one on the next layer, for sure. Maybe two to make up for this layer.

I continued down the hall, eventually coming to the other end where a stairwell was leading downward into the pyramid. I stared down the stairway, noting how there was no light down there. This was obviously a trap. The gem was probably at the bottom of the pyramid and I needed to make my way down there to claim it. I summoned three void javelins, keeping them at the ready to provide me with light and to protect myself should I need it, before starting my descent into the dark.

I swam about a meter off the floor, slowly following the stairs that started to curve around at some point, keeping my eyes on a swivel while searching for a hint about what it was that I would face down here. The walls, ceiling, and stairs down here were completely featureless, refusing to give me any hints about what was to come and eventually, I arrived at the bottom of the stairs which lead into an unassuming hallway.

The light coming off my javelins was weak at best, and I could only see a few meters ahead. I stopped for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did, I simply continued on my way. As soon as I moved off the stairs and into the hallway, I suddenly fell to the ground.

Entering Deep Sea Temple #34 (The Primordial’s Lair)

Welcome Traveler!

You have entered a system-generated dungeon. You may not leave until you have completed the objective of this dungeon. Good Luck!

Objective:

- Defeat the primordial one.

Reward:

- 1 Deep Sea Gem.

I was wondering what the hell this was all about when the stairwell behind me got blocked off by a moving wall. I stared at my only path of retreat, rudely closed off by the system. I read through the system notice again, noting that it explicitly stated that I wasn’t allowed to leave until I defeated whatever this primordial one was. This probably meant that I couldn’t just blast my way through the wall.

Just to be sure, I tried anyway.

One disappointment later, I faced back into the empty hallway, beckoning me to delve deeper into the dungeon. What the hell were these dungeons anyway? Were they around since the first layer and I just never found one? Was this the first layer that got them? I really wished there was some sort of guide for this whole system, but alas, I was left to figure it out on my own. The only person I knew that had any idea of how all of this worked, Tim, refused to tell me because apparently, the system threw a tantrum when non-travelers revealed how traveler stuff worked.

Well, maybe this was just regular system stuff and Tim could tell me about it. I’d have to ask when I went to the bar later. For now, it appeared I had little choice but to complete this dungeon. I was gunning for the deep sea gem anyway, so it was nice to know exactly what I had to do to get my tentacled hands on one of them.

I should probably assume that whatever this “primordial one” was, it was probably at the very least on par with an island guardian, if not stronger. I quickly checked my skill points, once again realizing that I was still missing seven points to buy the ability to see the spell matrixes of other creatures. It would probably come in handy in the upcoming fight, but there was nothing I could do about it for now. I’d just have to give it my all and try to not get caught by surprise again. At least there was no water down here.

With my determination renewed, I started down the hallway, deeper into the dark.