"Just like I thought," Jack grumbled.
They had traveled through the magical tunnel, the various lake creatures unable to see them thanks to the elemental's power (clone). But they hadn't seen any trace of Pumpkin Girl.
This meant she had headed even deeper, right in the mermaid kingdom. Then again, that much was expected, the eel finally admitting she had been asking tons of questions about it earlier.
The transformed NPC merchant's attitude had done a 180 ever since Jack's sincerity toward Pumpkin Girl had moved him.
The elemental chuckled in the background.
"This is as far as I'll bring you. With this, I've done my part: you have three days after which I'll devour you. Make good use of it, hehe." Then he left.
— RUMBLE! —
The air pocket they had been in disappeared. Water filled their surroundings as they quickly consumed water breathing pills, observing the area.
[Reached Hidden Mermaid Kingdom Entrance!]
[Good Luck Opening the Way!]
They now stood at the very bottom of the lake.
An imprint of a gigantic door was etched into the rocky lake floor. There were plenty of mermaid statues seemingly protecting it, their eyes shining pearls.
"Woo?!" (So beautiful!)
The little wolf excitingly swam around, observing the shiny rocky creations. Those looked so mysterious! It then copied its master, searching for clues.
"Legends say that only a true mermaid can enter this place. Only their songs have the potential to even move stone." The eel commented.
"And yet she passed through somehow…."
"Woo?!" (Singing?!)
The little wolf cleared its throat before it started singing to the statue next to it. "♪♪ Woo~woo~woo! ♪♪" but there was absolutely no reaction from the sculptures.
They had to figure out how to open this quickly. The lake monsters had cleared the area after sensing the elemental, but they'd return for sure since he was gone.
In fact, the being had never actually left.
It was hiding, stalking the party while licking its inexistent lips. Jack perishing would be the cue for him to harvest the human's soul. He couldn't wait!
After all, he knew the puzzle to be unsolvable….
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"Guys, look over there!" Jack pointed to the door.
In the middle of it, an intricate design seemed to form…a gigantic eye?! The eerie part was that it even seemed to be blinking at times.
"I suddenly don't feel too well…."
"Woo!" (Scary!)
Jack scoffed at their shaking. What was the point of worrying? At the bottom of the lake, any Boss spawning would instantly murder them anyway.
"I think this eye is the one we actually need to impress…." He theorized.
"What?! But how? Can an eye even hear a song?" The eel asked, perplexed.
"That's what we'll know soon…." Jack stepped forward.
A second later, he began singing..not that this atrocity deserved such appellation! He sang from the heart, powerfully, valiantly, and out of tune. "♪♪ My LiTtLe aPpLe! ♪♪"
Under the bystanders' horrified eyes, the statues reacted…in the wrong way! One after the other, they began cracking. It was as if they preferred to die than listen to him!
[The Nearby Statues Are Wailing!]
[They Regret Lacking the Ability to Commit Murder!]
But then he finally stopped, peace finally returning to the area…
"W-what the heck was that?!" The eel was shaking even more. There was no way they'd be able to succeed, and the place's occupants would come back soon.
"Did you see that?" Jack's voice echoed.
"Yes, I did! We're utterly screwed! They almost turned to rubble!"
"No, not that. There was an order to it. I sang, the statues hated it and cracked…. only afterward did the eye seemingly blink with disgust. An order: it reacted!"
Was the human turning crazy…
"Woo!" (You're right!)
The little wolf had already understood. The eye judged the performance…..based on the statues' reactions! As for how to exploit that…surely its master would have a plan.
"How is that supposed to help us…."
"Hehe, you'll see. It will be your time to shine!"
The eel couldn't help but feel uncomfortable seeing Jack's grin. Wasn't the man expecting a little too much from him?! His discomfort only became worse as he heard Jack's plan…
.
.
.
The elemental was rejoicing.
How foolish! They were all extremely foolish!
The party was still hanging around the area, still utterly stumped. That much was obvious, thanks to their slumped shoulders and furrowed brows.
But that wasn't the issue. The wolf had gotten bored without them noticing and begun playing a little too far away from the group. Oh, this would be so delectably entertaining!
That's when it finally committed a colossal mistake. While playing, the wolf mistakenly entered a group of Octopuses' path!
It panicked and retreated, but it was already too late. It had utterly aggroed them, and they had locked on its position!
The little wolf failed to run away, and it even brought the enemies back to their group! The two humanoids instantly turned crazy with worry.
They were at their wits' end, ready to clutch at straws…
"Quick, you try singing too!" Jack screamed.
"A-alright…." The shivering eel complied.
As for his voice….it was pretty bad. In the NPC's state of panic, it simply couldn't produce the notes correctly. Then again, its voice wasn't that amazing in the first place.
That's when the octopuses finally reached them.
The monsters didn't lose any time as they created the perfect hunting ground for themselves, spewing ink all over the place. The visibility instantly became nil as they went to the assault!
In the darkness, it was near-impossible to tell what was happening. But one thing was clear…the octopuses were producing casualties, the sound of bones shattering echoing all around!
— Kacha! Kacha! Kacha! —
But then it somehow continued. The monsters had already killed a dozen people, yet some still remaining?! This didn't make any sense!
But that's when the ink cloud finally disappeared.
Tons of crushed skeletons, mere summons…
Utterly "awed" mermaid statues….
Confused Octopuses…
The stone eye in the door checked the aftermath. Thanks to the ink, it had missed the process: all it knew was that the eel had begun singing, and now the statues were "happy".
Their faces looked utterly pleased by the song as if they hadn't ever heard anything better. This was one huge hurdle, given they had heard mermaids sing before!
The stone eye couldn't help but be impressed, concluding that the trial takers had succeeded. Thus it activated its powers, the entire door rumbling in response.
It started shaking violently, gradually glowing a bright, magical blue. Then its entire surface began transforming, mermaid patterns seemingly swimming on it!
Finally, it began parting, revealing a bright blue passageway that looked crystal-like. It was opening!
The octopuses watched the whole process happen in a reverend state, but the elemental in the background couldn't be more outraged. The human had so very obviously cheated!
Jack was in fact just coming out from behind a statue, chiseling tools in hand, grinning. He had forcefully changed the statues' expressions, working under the ink's cover!
He chuckled, even winking at the hiding elemental.
"Let's go, shall we…"
The other two came out of their hiding spots, all three jumping into the blue world, the elemental left stomping its inexistent foot in the back. Bloody scheming bastards!
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[Successfully "Solved" the Puzzle...]
[Welcome to the Mermaid Kingdom!]
