Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Sea Tomb of Malevolent Light (1)

Under Li Mei’s introduction, Zhao Tianhe quickly gained an understanding of the underground dungeon known as the Abyssal Light Sea Tomb.

As for Jeros? Naturally, he was off on an adventure!

After the briefing, Zhao Tianhe felt quite satisfied. The Abyssal Light Sea Tomb was indeed an ideal place for him to showcase his abilities. The entire environment was aquatic, inhabited solely by undead-type monsters. Occasionally, water elementals appeared, but they too possessed undead attributes.

The bosses respawned more frequently than in C-rank dungeons, averaging once every five days, with their strength fluctuating between C+ and B+ levels.

Due to the high density of dungeons nearby, the leaked life energy sometimes manifested as monsters in the outside world. Therefore, the island’s coastal defense teams patrolled frequently. Should they encounter troublesome monsters, they would call upon nearby heroes for assistance. Each squad member carried specialized magical devices for communication with the coastal defense, which Li Mei promised to help Zhao Tianhe collect at the hero apartment’s management office shortly.

Incidentally, this hero apartment complex was officially called the “Bal Island Integrated Hero Residence,” but locals commonly referred to it as the “Fuguang District.”

After receiving the magical device, Zhao Tianhe mentioned to Li Mei his desire to learn culinary skills.

“Culinary skills?!” Li Mei was taken aback, even a bit angry. “Spending time on that kind of thing?!”

In the entire B-rank squad, apart from Li Mei herself, everyone was a summoner paired with otherworldly spirits. As an ordinary hero, her entry was undoubtedly due in part to talent, but more so to her diligence.

She trained relentlessly, mastering not only spells but also various martial techniques, intending to pursue a path of dual magical and martial cultivation. This rigorous training was why she could hold her own against formidable opponents like Artoria in the arena.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Zhao Tianhe quickly explained, sensing the tone in Li Mei’s voice. “I’m honing my culinary skills to improve my strength. My talent system requires it.”

“Oh, I see…” Li Mei sighed. “Forget about paying for lessons. I’ll ask my mother to teach you.”

“Your mother is a professional chef?” Zhao Tianhe asked.

“Yes, she used to run a popular casual restaurant in the Fuguang District,” Li Mei said with a smile. “In terms of culinary skill, my mother is absolutely the best on the entire island! She even won the Bal Island Culinary Championship three times!”

“That’s wonderful!” Zhao Tianhe exclaimed excitedly, eager to visit, but time was short, so he had to postpone it until tomorrow.

After the party in the front yard dispersed, the group gathered their gear and boarded the association-assigned transport vehicle stored in the nearby flying ship warehouse, setting off eastward.

The Abyssal Light Sea Tomb lay thirty kilometers east of Bal Island, beneath the ocean surface at a depth of seven hundred meters.

As they entered the sea, the summoner Roar quickly cast a force field shield spell to prevent water from entering the flying ship before the entire team submerged into the ocean.

Feeling the shift in gravity, Zhao Tianhe gazed through the window at the darkening seawater outside, his mood tinged with subtle emotions.

“First time riding a submarine…” Zhao Tianhe thought with a small surge of joy.

The entrance to the Abyssal Light Sea Tomb was a pale green light curtain, irregularly shaped and spanning several hundred square meters.

As the flying ship passed through the curtain, seawater was kept outside, separated by the barrier.

Through the forward window, they saw a vast wetland, with knee-deep water in most places and over a person’s height in others. The water teemed with green algae-like organisms, emitting faint green luminescence that slowly rose and coalesced into vague, ghostly humanoid shapes.

These were the most common monsters of the Abyssal Light Sea Tomb: the Abyssal Light Phantoms. Resembling paper figures, these strange undead beings drifted aimlessly without facial features.

Some phantoms, curious about the flying ship, slowly floated toward it, but most wandered indifferently.

“I’ll clear them out,” Jeros stood and said.

He opened the hatch and flew upward, magic swirling around him. He conjured numerous holy light orbs, which he unleashed, obliterating the approaching phantoms into mere fragments.

“Each ordinary monster grants 10 experience points; it looks like Artoria’s Holy Sword Wielder form and mine will level up quickly,” Zhao Tianhe thought with satisfaction.

Unlike the reactions of other phantoms and low-level dungeon monsters, which did not approach after a death, these phantoms fled desperately.

This exemplified the characteristic of B-rank dungeon monsters: biological cognition.

This biological cognition did not refer to their bodies but to their minds—they understood survival and avoidance rather than being puppets manipulated by the life energy’s hatred of “old species.”

Although, if a magical disaster occurred, these monsters would slaughter humans and other old species without hesitation, but when in a position of weakness, they avoided direct confrontation.

However, occasionally when phantoms fled, two would mysteriously merge into one.

These phantoms had unstable forms and easily fused, producing unpredictable results.

“All clear, we’re landing,” Li Mei announced as the flying ship descended onto a glowing green patch.

Zhao Tianhe stepped out and observed the green light on the ground, noticing countless tiny glowing dots moving like little tadpoles.

The larger ones that flew upward to form the phantoms were likely mature stages.

Li Mei then cast concealment and defensive spells on the flying ship, while disdainfully unleashing a fire shield spell.

Wherever she passed, the surrounding green light was scorched to nothingness.

The others showed no strong reactions, as these green lights were essentially microorganisms formed from alien life energy, posing no threat to those with powerful life essences like themselves.

Yet, if these entities swarmed outside the dungeon, even the green light alone could become a massive weapon of destruction surpassing a nuclear bomb.

Ordinary life would be eroded by this energy!

They transformed all creatures into similar abyssal light forms, which spread like a zombie virus, continuously and rapidly propagating.

“Let’s stick to the usual plan for the first layer: each person covers one direction,” said the blue-skinned giant Han Al with a smile, addressing Zhao Tianhe directly. “You and Li Mei team up; Jeros will cover the center.”

Han Al, the blue-skinned giant, was the squad leader, evident from his summoner being a level six mage.

This grouping was requested by Li Mei, for reasons that needed no explanation.

Zhao Tianhe nodded, glanced at his skills, and decided to summon Artoria Alter for a trial run.