Rogue Villain-Chapter 181: Half A Month
Ackster was surprised for multiple reasons after finding what had to be the Sea God Temple.
He hadn’t expected to find it this quickly. Considering how much he stood to gain from getting his hands on the Sea God Manual, Ackster had been willing to offer a month or more of his time searching. Since he would be training at the same time, it wasn’t a complete loss. But it wasn’t efficient progress, so it was still a demerit in Ackster’s books.
So, finding it in less than half of the expected time was a surprise but a very welcome one for Ackster.
But in addition to finding the Sea God Temple so quickly, Ackster was also surprised at the condition of the place.
In the original story, the place had been in ruins. There was no doubt about it. It had been completely wrecked.
That could have been because of The Hero’s and the Kraken’s fight. It most likely was because of that.
But now, the Sea God Temple appeared to be somewhat intact as it hid at the bottom of a deep crevasse.
The pale, cylindrical pillars held up a simple triangular-shaped domed roof. At first glance, it looked like the temple was just an oversized and relatively simple altar. The swirled carvings on the pillars and the symbol of a trident in front of a crashing wave at the center of the ceiling added some detail.
However, the Temple’s decor remained straightforward. But it was nonetheless majestic.
As Ackster swam down and pushed himself onto the surprisingly soft sandy ocean floor and stood in front of the Sea God Temple, he could feel an indescribable pressure of antiquity and might surround him. He could feel the Temple’s age merely by standing in front of it.
Ackster already knew the Sea God Temple was old since it was mentioned in the original story and since there weren’t any mentions in the Guild’s records of a Sea God. But he hadn’t expected he could feel the vestiges of time hanging around the Temple despite its seemingly intact structure.
But considering it was the Sea God Temple and located in the sea, maybe it wasn’t affected by the wear and tear the sea could cause. A fighting Kraken and Hero, on the other hand, was most likely more than enough to reduce the Temple to ruins.
Ackster peered into the darkness beyond the entrance stairs leading into the underwater cliff wall.
Unlike the ruins he had expected, he was standing in front of a seemingly intact temple. He couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive since it wasn’t what he had expected, and he didn’t know what would lurk within.
But then again, the Temple had gone without an owner for longer than Ackster could conceive. There shouldn’t be anything within, at least not that originally had something to do with the Sea God, that could threaten him.
There was a big difference between something dangerous related to a God or someone worthy of being called a god and something dangerous nesting in the abandoned Temple.
However, since the Sea God Manual had remained intact, Ackster didn’t dare make any assumptions.
But regardless of what awaited his entry, Ackster wasn’t going to back out now. He was going to enter the Temple and find the Sea God Manual no matter what. He just had to tell Mio the good news and let the slime know he might be gone for a little longer than the previous times he dove into the water.
Mio gave him a thumbs-up from the other side of the boat.
Ackster nodded and dove down again. He could feel the tension rising as he got close to the Temple again. But he could also feel his anticipation grow.
The pillars and the Temple itself were larger up close, but Ackster didn’t feel like an ant as he entered, even if he looked like one.
He wondered slightly how such a large temple had gone unnoticed when he had found it relatively quickly. But he looked up right before entering to catch one last glimpse of the sky.
He couldn’t. That was how far down he had found himself.
The ocean floor was deep, and the fissure ran even deeper through it like a large crack. The Temple had probably been buried in the ground in the annals of time before an earthquake or tectonic movement slowly broke open the crust and allowed the Temple to peek at the light of the world again.
Ackster briefly grew eager to know what else lay hidden inside the world, what other secrets there were to discover. But he set thoughts like those aside. Unless they were concrete and helpful in his quest to defeat The Hero, stories and remnants of history would have to wait until after he had stopped The Hero.
And now, Ackster had to devote his entire attention to the Sea God Temple. He couldn’t afford a slip-up, especially not due to something as foolish as daydreams.
As Ackster entered the Temple corridor past the entrance, the light cut off, and he couldn’t see anything, even with Darksight.
’That confirms it.’
Although the Sea God Temple was abandoned, it wasn’t in a state of disrepair. Fortunately, the darkness vanished almost immediately as blue, polished-smooth crystals lit up one by one along both walls.
Ackster looked back. The exit, the temple entrance, the polished and slightly worn stairs, and the ocean were still there. He could see them, but when he squinted, he could also see a thin blue, barely perceptible film separating the Temple’s insides and the outside world.
’I guess that’s how it’s maintained itself.’
Some kind of magic protected the Temple and prevented dust from gathering or the insides from eroding. Ackster found it lucky since that meant he could inspect and admire the extensive murals spanning across the walls and reciting epic stories of who Ackster assumed was the Sea God himself.
Seeing the man, who, of course, wielded a trident, defeating legendary beasts, stopping floods, and drowning volcanoes, Ackster was beginning to look forward to the manual even more. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
With anticipation battling the wariness in his heart, Ackster advanced through the corridor.
