They turned away from the cavern and began swimming upward as quickly as they could. No one wanted to find out what else lived in the deep ruins.

Aria kicked her legs hard. "Move, move, MOVE—before another giant sea crab shows up!"

Caria checked her timer. "We still have a few minutes left, but not enough to relax."

Sophia held her glowing orb higher, lighting the path. "Stay close. These tunnels twist."

Lyra kept an eye on the currents. "Nothing is following us. For now."

Puddle swam around Rhys in circles. "Master! Don't drop the shiny ball!"

"I won't," Rhys promised, gripping the Tidal Mana tighter.

They passed through the broken stone archways, past drifting jellyfish, and through the narrow coral tunnels they had fought through earlier. Some smaller sea creatures peeked at them from cracks but didn't attack—probably scared after the battles.

As they swam upward, the water slowly brightened.

"Almost there," Sophia said, relieved.

Aria grinned. "First thing I'm doing when we reach the surface is breathing NORMAL AIR."

Caria smirked. "I want food. Real food."

Puddle raised a fin. "Snacks!"

Lyra looked at Rhys. "You did well. This wasn't easy."

Rhys shrugged. "Everyone did. We made it together."

Finally, sunlight broke through the water above them.

They kicked upward—

And burst through the surface with a splash.

Aria gasped loudly. "AIR! BEAUTIFUL AIR!"

Sophia wiped water from her face. "We made it back in time."

Caria checked her charm. "Thirty seconds left. That was close."

Rhys held up the glowing orb. The Tidal Mana pulsed gently in his hand, brighter now under the sunlight.

Lyra floated beside him. "One of the three materials… found."

Aria pumped her fist. "Then let's go get the next ones!"

Rhys swam back toward the shore, smiling.

"Yeah. We're one step closer to restoring that sword."

Rhys and the others had barely reached the shore when a loud splash echoed behind them.

Six players climbed out of the water and formed a semicircle around the group. Their guild tag showed on every nameplate:

[MukeKing]

Aria groaned. "Oh great… trouble."

The leader stepped forward — a tall guy with messy gray hair and a crooked grin. His name:

MukeKing_Slasher

He pointed straight at Rhys. "Hand over the mythic sword," he said. "And those rare materials you just found."

Rhys frowned. "How do you even know about the sword?"

MukeKing_Slasher shrugged. "We heard about it at the Pearlforge. You were asking the old craftsman about Severance Tide. Word travels fast — and my crew follows leads. A mythic sword like that? It makes a player valuable. We can use it to climb ranks, or sell it to our guild bosses. Few people in the whole server ever get a weapon like this."

Aria's jaw dropped. "They heard us at the shop?!"

Sophia tightened her grip on her blade. "So they tracked us afterward."

Puddle hid behind Rhys. "Master… they look mean…"

MukeKing_Slasher cracked his knuckles. "Here's the deal. Hand everything over now, and we'll let you walk away."

Aria spat, "We're not handing anything to thieves!"

Caria stepped forward, calm and sharp. "We earned those items."

Rhys moved into the center, Runius raised. "If you want the sword," he said quietly, "you'll have to take it from us."

The enemy players laughed.

"Confident, aren't you?"

"You're only a small party."

"We'll sell that sword and be set."

Lyra drifted a little to the side, watching. She didn't step in — she let Rhys and the others handle this.

Aria cracked her knuckles. "Finally — a fight I can punch without the ocean getting in the way!"

Sophia drew the Warden Blade. "Stay together."

Caria readied her daggers. "Quick and clean."

Puddle shifted into her small battle form. "Master! I'm ready!"

Rhys planted his feet and raised his sword. "Team — get ready."

The six MukeKing players pulled their weapons.

The fight started.

The moment both sides moved, the beach exploded into chaos.

Sand flew.

Water splashed.

Steel clashed.

The MukeKing players rushed forward in formation—well-trained, used to fighting as a group.

But Rhys's party didn't freeze.

They moved instantly.

Two melee fighters rushed Aria at the same time — one with Twin Axe Mastery, the other with a Heavy Hammer Charge skill glowing under his feet.

They came fast.

Aria's eyes lit up.

"Perfect."

The axe user activated Whirlwind Combo, spinning his axes in a deadly circle.

Aria leaned back, sliding her foot in the sand, then dodged under the spinning blades. She kicked off the ground and launched herself upward.

Aria Skill: Heavy Punch

Her fist slammed straight into his stomach.

THUD—BOOM!

A shockwave burst underwater inside his armor, and he was launched into the tide like a broken arrow.

The hammer user roared and activated Impact Smash. The hammer glowed orange with impact mana.

Aria turned, raised both arms—

CLANG!

She caught the glowing hammer head with her bare hands. The sand under her feet cracked from the force.

"Slow."

Her arms tightened. She twisted the hammer sideways, ripping it from his hands.

Aria Skill: Piledriver Smash

She lifted the hammer and slammed it onto the man's armor, sending him spinning through the air until he slammed into a palm tree and slid down unconscious.

Aria tossed the hammer aside.

"One after another… easy."

On Sophia side..

The rogue activated Shadow Step, blinking behind Sophia and slashing with poison-coated daggers.

Sophia didn't flinch.

Her blade lit up with a faint blue aura —

Warden Guard Stance.

She spun around and blocked perfectly.

Clash!

Clash!

Clash!

Fast, clean, controlled.

The rogue vanished again with Blink Slash, aiming for her neck.

Sophia's eyes hardened.

Sophia Skill: Guard Counter

She parried the attack from behind without even turning her head, then elbowed him, forcing him into the open.

He threw sand in her face.

Sophia raised her left hand.

Light Purge.

A flash of light blasted the sand away instantly.

The rogue froze.

Sophia stepped forward, her blade humming.

Sophia Skill: Crescent Slash

A crescent-shaped mana wave cut across the rogue's chest, sending him flying backward. He hit the sand hard, rolled, and teleported away in panic with 1 HP left.

She lowered her blade.

"Done."

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