Chapter 108: Orb or Egg...?
They swept through the area for a long while, passing ruined hunting grounds and fields of shattered stone.
’Ahh... the Loricati really dominated this place,’ he said, weaving between the remains of a broken orb. ’Other creatures must have learned to stay far away.’
Cindy’s voice came soft and a little disappointed.
"Nothing interesting huh..."
Gray brushed past the black curtain-like plants, letting the thin fibers slide over his bell.
’You’re right. But we should still search carefully. Sometimes the best finds look like nothing at all.’
They moved deeper, following the path where the dark plants grew thickest. The water was colder here, and the light from distant orbs faded until even the faint green glow of the grotto was a memory.
Then Gray stopped.
Ahead, suspended just above the seafloor, was a massive orb.
It was easily the size of a small ship, its surface smooth and dark as polished obsidian. Faint violet veins ran across its shell like lightning frozen in glass, pulsing with a slow, deep rhythm that was almost too faint to feel. It didn’t float like the smaller Loricati pods. It hung there, heavy and still, as if the water itself was holding it in place.
Cindy’s voice dropped to a whisper.
"Gray... that’s not... is that a Loricati?"
Gray extended his senses, feeling for the familiar static of a living creature. The creature was alive, of that he was now sure, but it was sleeping.
The system flickered uncertainly, as if trying to read something beyond itself.
[ANALYZING...]
[ANALYZING...]
[IDENTIFICATION FAILED]
[SUBJECT LEVEL: ???]
[SUBJECT STATUS: DORMANT]
[DANGER LEVEL: UNKNOWN]
’It’s sleeping,’ Gray said quietly. ’And I can’t identify it.’
Cindy let out a shaky breath.
"That’s... not normal."
’It’s enormous,’ Gray said, his tentacles twitching. ’If this thing wakes up...’
He didn’t finish the sentence. The violet veins pulsed again, once, slow and deep, like the slow thrum of a dormant god.
"Gray... let’s go back," Cindy whispered. "Please."
Gray hovered there, staring at the great orb, feeling the faint, impossible pull of its sleeping presence.
’...Let’s just take a closer look.’
"Absolutely not!"
’What, are you scared?’ he asked, his mental voice carrying a faint, teasing edge.
Cindy’s response came immediately, sharp with anxiety. "Of course I’m scared! That creature is dangerous — it doesn’t feel like it belongs here. If we wake it up, we’ll die instantly!"
Gray drifted slightly closer, studying the orb’s surface.
’I know that,’ Gray said, his voice calm. ’But I’m curious. The Loricati... maybe they’re its children. Or its guards. Maybe they’re not hunters at all, they’re protectors. They attacked because we got too close to this place.’
"But they chased you the first time we came here, Gray," Cindy said. "They weren’t protecting anything back then. They were hunting us."
Gray tilted his bell slightly, as if considering it.
’Yeah, that’s just a theory. Maybe the Loricati really are the children of this thing. But... look at it, Cindy. Doesn’t it look like an egg to you?’
"...An egg?"
Here’s the English translation and polish for this dialogue:
---
Gray nodded slowly, his tentacles curling with thought.
’Yeah,’ he said. ’Like a massive egg waiting to hatch. This thing might be far more dangerous than it looks.’ He paused, studying the pulsing violet veins. ’Maybe even stronger than the Sun Eater. Or the other leviathans.’
Cindy’s voice came, hesitant and tense.
"Don’t tell me... you’re thinking about killing it before it hatches?"
Gray let out a short, humorless pulse.
’Impossible,’ he said. ’I can’t kill it with my current strength. Do you think I could even break through that shell?’
Cindy was quiet for a moment, then spoke carefully.
"...No. I don’t think any of your attacks could scratch it. That shell absorbs mana, I can feel it from here."
’Oh? You can feel that?’
Cindy’s voice carried a touch of pride despite the tension.
"Even though I’m just a soul now, I was once a mage. I can feel the mana being pulled into that thing. It’s absorbing energy from the water itself."
’That’s... unexpected. It might be refining its mana, growing stronger inside the shell.’
"This is getting scarier by the second..." Cindy murmured.
Gray was quiet for a beat, then said,
’Hmm. What if we lure some leviathans here? Let them destroy this thing for us.’
Cindy’s response came instantly, sharp with disbelief.
"Gray, that’s insane! Do you think a leviathan is the same as those serpents we fought? They’d swallow you whole before you even got close to this place!"
Gray let out a resigned pulse.
’Yeah, yeah, I’m crazy. But you’re right, leviathans aren’t as stupid as those lowly serpents. They wouldn’t fall for the same trick.’
Cindy’s voice was firm.
"Then let’s leave this place before that thing wakes up."
’Agreed,’ Gray said, already turning. ’We’ll come back when I’m stronger.’
But before he could move further, Cindy’s voice cut in, sharp with excitement.
"Wait, Gray! I think I see something."
’Where?’
"Near the corner of that thing, by the rocks."
Gray turned and focused on the spot. The system flickered to life.
[BLUE PEARL MUSHROOM — RARE FLORA]
« Analysis »
A rare deep-sea mushroom that grows only in areas of concentrated mana. The Blue Pearl Mushroom absorbs ambient mana and condenses it into a dew-like bubble on its cap. Consuming the mushroom grants a permanent +10 INT.
Gray drifted closer, the glow of the mushroom reflecting in his tentacles.
Cindy’s voice came, filled with wonder.
"That’s... that’s one of the Seven Miracle Herbs. It’s called the Blue Pearl Mushroom. It enhances mana control and expands the mana pool of whoever eats it." She paused, confused. "But it only grows in places with extremely high mana density... why is it growing here? Unless—"
Gray’s gaze shifted toward the massive dormant egg behind them.
’Unless the thing inside is giving off enough mana to make this whole area fertile.’
....
Then Cindy whispered, "We really need to leave."
Gray drifted toward the Blue Pearl Mushroom, his tentacles already reaching for the glowing cap.
’I’m taking this first,’ he said.
"Gray!"
’Relax. We’ll be gone before that thing even notices.’
"Then hurry!"
Gray plucked the mushroom from the rock, the dew-filled bubble trembling on its cap. He pressed it against his feeding surface and absorbed it in one smooth motion. The mana hit him like a cold current, spreading through his body and settling behind his bell.
[PERMANENT STAT INCREASE APPLIED]
[INT: +10]
[MP: 700 → 850]
But there was no time to savor it, so he turned and swam fast.
The dark plants whipped past him, the black curtain-like fronds tearing against his bell as he pushed through them.
Then, against every instinct, he glanced back.
The massive orb was still there, suspended above the seafloor. But now, one single eye had opened.
It was huge, dark, and depthless, its surface reflecting Gray’s fleeing form like a mirror in a lightless void. It didn’t move or blink, it simply watching him go.
A cold wave of primal terror shot through Gray’s body.
’Cindy...’
"I see it," she whispered, her voice trembling.
They kept going, the eye staring after them without following, until distance and darkness swallowed it whole.