Hellbents
Chapter 36: The Ocean

No one really knows how deep an ocean is. The sunlight only shines on the surface. Other than the darkness, people would not be able to stand the water pressure the further they dived.

The ocean though with calm waves, often hides the presence of unknown monsters.

Another name for the ocean, "The blue hell of the world."

"Just calm down, Miss. We've been through this route dozens of times, and it's still safe!" one of the staff denied the excitement.

"From how often did you conquer the gate on this route?"

"Never!" Unaware of Ava's intentions, the staff again chimed in cheerfully.

The gate in the law is random, Ava has never read any tool that can predict it. Then considering that seventy percent of the world is covered with water, the possibility of a gate under the ocean is very large. And his conquests were still not effectively organized.

Like the incident in the city of Englerock last week, an outbreak can occur at any time because the gate is not maintained.

Then imagine if a gate on the seabed broke many times without anyone being aware. The higher level limit presents a high level monster as well.

That's why sailing in the middle of the ocean is actually very risky.

But not many people seem to think that way.

The ship that was sailing in the darkness of night turned on all the lights they had, probably due to the presence of important figures on the upper floor, the VIP floor. But on the other hand, this passenger ship is the perfect target if there are hungry underwater monsters.

Or maybe this is just Ava's paranoia talking.

"Why is your face shrinking like that? There's cockroaches in your food?" Dom asks out of curiosity, but Ava is almost ready to argue again with the man if he intends to insinuate her. Apparently, the couple's sisters had experienced it themselves.

"You realize we can't escape if a monster attacks us now?"

"Oh, Miss smartass is scared?" Ava finally gets all the satire per hour, persistent this one man.

"I won't help you if you're attacked later" Ava's tone was equally cynical.

Dom said, "What can you do? Sprinkle that famous powder? If I fall asleep later what?"

"That's why I made a gas mask, Mr. Big nose," so upset Ava to lead to body shaming.

"A big nose signifies strength!"

"There's no correlation!"

"You guys are so familiar, yes," suddenly River interrupted, his statement very suddenly and completely far from reality.

"Yeah! I finally have friends!" Lorah also added, unaware of Dom's increasingly darkened expression.

Being Ava's friend isn't that bad.

"Hey, I'm the one who should not feel welcome here," Ava pointed at Dom with her finger, pouting.

Dom immediately slapped his finger, then snarled. That was followed by a gaze as sharp as Ava's blade that seemed to pierce through the head.

"Uh, um, do you know who's upstairs?" Nice try for River to divert the conversation.

Ava glanced at River's puzzled look, then sighed. His emotions started running wild. "I heard that one of them was a Berloi royal marquess with the rankers they sponsored."

"So only the higher-ups rely on their money." Dom rolled his eyes.

"Well, money is one form of power" Ava said, lightly mentioning the secret. "After all, you should focus on the ranker if you really care so much about power."

Dom just snorted, turning his head. In contrast to her brother who was sulking from feeling defeated in an argument, Lorah innocently asked, "Ranker is definitely strong, huh?"

"True, someone is called a ranker because his high level, high level means great strength as well" River explained, as friendly as ever.

Ava was also busy eavesdropping from earlier this afternoon because this one figure, "She said, their level had already exceeded 100, a swordsman with fire attribute."

"I imagine so, too," Ava nodded at the little girl's imagination.

"Enak dong, they can burn meat at any time." Ava was intrigued by that sentence. Hearing Lorah who had suddenly discussed food, she seemed to be hungry already. By the way, their orders have not come yet either.

"My fire was never worn like that, little girl, maybe I'll try it later." The unfamiliar voice behind Ava shocked everyone around them. He even barely snatched the vase in the middle of the table that was used as a decoration against anyone who managed to slip undetected behind him.

"Well, just calm down." A large hand patted the top of Ava's head, perhaps realizing an automatically activated defensive stance by instinct.

Finally Ava turned her head, finding a dark-skinned middle-aged man who was still fit and handsome despite the obvious traces of age on his face, reminding Ava of Al.

Name: Leo Ib

Race: Beastman Lion

Level 109

Coin: 9282737648399

Power :35

Speed: 29

Duration: 28

Where :43

Levels that high ...? He was the ranker they had just talked about?

"I feel like you've just done something rude to me, Miss," again the man opened his mouth. Maybe because of the high level, this one man is more sensitive than the target of his previous observations, but fortunately his skill is still unknown.

And also .. no one ever said that the ranker was a beastman. Or is that fact kept secret?

In a situation like this, it's best for Ava to be stupid. "Ah, Mister is ...?"

"Include me," Ava shook the man's hand, "Ib Lange, the magician swordsman you guys were gossiping about."

Langes. A different last name. This man had indeed covered up his identity. Given the surname of a beastman is very special, even ordinary people can guess directly their species if it is knowledgeable. Leo, as one would expect, is the scientific name of the lion.

"Rina Hoffmann, herbalist."

"I thought you were an alchemist." Not the time, Dom.

"Ah, River Doyle, tamer," River hurriedly replied.

"Morah Acinonyx. Um.., I don't know yet," Lorah looked glum at the end of her sentence. So Ava was hoping to calm the girl down, "You're a kid, so there's no need to rush. After all, this kind of class is not official."

For reasons still unknown, Ib the ranker also tried to override Ava to comfort the boy in front of her, "True, I myself was still dabbling until I was 27."

"Okay then."

The attention of the table also moved to Dom who had not introduced himself. But the person in the limelight turned his face away, "I don't want to reveal my identity to strangers." Ava immediately kicked the man's leg under the table, which resulted in a vicious plot of his victims.

"We get a fiery youth here," Ib chuckled to himself with his sentence.

Was it ... a word game?

"I still can't believe people know like-"

But Dom's babble must be cut short due to a sudden announcement from the ship's staff.

"Cleasure! Attention! All passengers please return to their rooms! A great storm is coming! Repeat again, all passengers please return to their respective rooms! A great storm is coming!"

Ah, goddamn.