Chapter 14 - The Lake in the Middle of the Forest

The guild was slightly damaged, and Syura was still standing in front of the broken door.

The entire guild was frozen in silence.

Then, Syura slowly tossed Yosu’s sword.

"This is your sword, Master Yosu."

"I'm returning it."

Yosu gave a faint smile toward Syura.

"Don’t get cocky, kid. I still don’t acknowledge you."

"But for now, you may join," Yosu said.

Elena just let out a sigh.

"As Master said, you may join," Elena said.

"Thank you very much, Master Yosu, Elena."

Elena asked Syura to hand over his identification card.

"Alright, now give me your ID card."

"I’ll replace it with a new one," said Elena.

Syura gave his old ID card to Elena, and Elena walked over to the registration area—though the desk was already split in two.

"Come back later."

"For now, you're free to go wherever you want," Elena said.

"Alright, I’ll take a little walk," said Syura.

Syura slowly left the guild.

The guild's atmosphere returned to its usual liveliness, with people chatting about what had just happened.

On the other side...

Syura was walking east.

"I’d better start selling in this town."

"From the start, I just wanted to live a relaxed life," said Syura.

Then on his way, Syura met someone who was farming.

"Sir, do you know which direction the forest is?"

"I’m looking for some fresh fruit," Syura said.

"Sure, kid, just follow this road and then turn left," the farmer replied.

"Alright, thank you, sir."

Syura continued walking east, then turned left.

Then, an old man sitting on a porch called out.

"Hey, young man, where are you headed?" the old man asked.

"I want to go into the forest, gramps,"

"To look for fresh fruits I can sell," said Syura.

"Be careful—deep in the forest there’s a lake with black water."

"If you touch it, you’ll die," said the old man.

"Alright, thank you, gramps," said Syura.

Syura continued walking, with houses still on both sides.

After a few minutes, he finally saw a dense and lush forest in the distance.

"Finally, I see it."

Syura walked closer to the forest.

Tapp… tapp… tapp—the sound of Syura’s footsteps toward the forest.

A few minutes later, Syura arrived at the forest’s entrance.

"A lush and green forest."

"There must be plenty of fresh fruits," said Syura.

Syura stepped deeper into the forest. He saw apples, mushrooms, and bananas.

"Everything looks so fresh."

"They’ll definitely sell well," Syura said.

After walking even further, he noticed an opening among the trees.

Syura walked toward the gap.

Tapp… tapp… tapp—the sound of Syura’s footsteps approaching the gap.

When he arrived, Syura saw a lake with pitch-black water, with dead and withered plants surrounding it.

"So this is the lake the old man mentioned," said Syura.

Syura activated his skill:

[Scanning Area]

A hologram notification appeared:

[Cursed Lake]
[Depth: 10.00.00.00 meters]

"An unbelievable depth."

"There must be something there," said Syura.

Syura got closer to the lake, and when he reached the edge, he activated more skills:

[Underwater Vision]
[Infinite Breath]
[Body Armor]
[Speed Diving]

"I’m going in now," said Syura.

Splash!—the sound of water splashing from the lake.

Syura, with incredible speed, headed straight for the lake’s bottom.

Once he reached the bottom, Syura saw a blue steel gate with white engravings.

"So this is the cause," said Syura.

Slowly, the gate opened.

Crack—the sound of the gate opening.

As the gate opened, the water slowly drained, revealing what looked like a vast and luxurious royal hall.

The entire room was blue, with white and gold accents.

Seated on the throne was a stunningly beautiful and elegant woman in a blue dress.

"You’ve entered my domain without permission," said the woman.

Then, a hologram notification appeared:

[Yelena: Queen of Death Water]
[Threat Level: Intercontinental]
[Recommended Rank: N]

Without further words, Yelena released her skill:

[Death Water Slash]

Slashhh—the sound of her attack.

Syura dodged it, and Yelena’s slash split half the room in two.

Syura activated his skills:

[God Step]
[Shadow Step]

Suddenly, Syura was behind Yelena.

[One Slash]

Slash—the sound of Syura’s attack.

Yelena’s body was sliced, but she just laughed.

"HAHAHAHAHA, IT’S USELESS!!!"

"WATER CANNOT BE CUT!"

"I AM THE WATER ITSELF!!!" Yelena shouted.

Before he could react, Syura was struck by Yelena’s counterattack.

[Crystal Water]

BOOM!—the sound of the attack hitting Syura.

Syura fell and stepped back for a moment.

[Step Back]

"NOT BAD!!! YOU CRAZY WOMAN!!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Syura laughed.

Yelena, offended by being called crazy, unleashed her full power.

"CRAZY!? DID YOU CALL ME CRAZY??"

"TSK!"

"FEEL THIS, BRAT!" yelled Yelena.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"—Yelena’s roar.

The room exploded into chaos, water slowly flooding back in.

On the surface, the lake water shot upward, murky and black.

The old man from before saw this and stood up suddenly.

"WHAT IS THAT!!!?? WHAT’S HAPPENING!!??" shouted the old man.

Back to Syura—

Yelena had completely transformed. Her dress had turned into water, surrounded by a terrifying blue aura.

Yelena moved swiftly, almost invisibly. She was already in front of Syura.

CLASH!—the sound of water striking a blade.

"If you are water, then I am air," said Syura with a slight smile.

[Infinite Air Slash]

"Sorry, Yelena. You’re still too weak for me."

With explosive aura, Syura struck Yelena:

Slashhh
Slashhh
Slashhh

Yelena’s body was sliced into thirty parts and could not reassemble.

"WHAT’S HAPPENING!!!???"

"I AM WATER!!!"

"I CANNOT BE CUT!" yelled Yelena.

"You’re too weak, Yelena," said Syura, walking toward the exit while sheathing his dagger.

Slowly, Yelena vanished.

[Yelena, Queen of Death Water: Defeated]
[Item Drop]
[Death Water Bracelet]

Syura returned to the surface, emanating a terrifying aura.

"Water, fire, and ice..."

"They're all weak."

The water, once black and filthy, now sparkled like spring water.