The pressure from using the skill quite literally dislodged the spear, and therefore me, from the teeth of the creature and pushed me back toward the water. As I contoured my body to be in a much more favorable position to enter the water, I took one last look at the Leviathan, and a smile crept on my face as I gripped my spear close to my side.

  After falling for a few moments, I dove back into the water like a bullet, immediately swimming away from the point of entry, knowing that the Leviathan was right behind me.

  But of course, that didn’t hide the smile that crept on my face. It was bleeding, and not just a small cut or a small wound. Its entire face was mangled. I could even see the white of its skull behind its beautiful scales.

  Turns out unleashing an Unbound skill within the mouth of a creature is a surefire way to bring it to the brink of death, though I’m not quite sure it’s at that point yet. But just going by its face alone, it couldn’t be too far off.

  It was literally a mangled mess of gore and blood and all matter of things that make up the body of a Leviathan.

  But regardless of whether it was on the brink of death or not, the fact remains that it wasn’t dead. There was no notification of my victory and no sign of the battle ending, which means there was obviously still more work to be done.

  A few moments later, even though I was underwater, I heard the impact of the body of the Leviathan crashing into the ocean. The force with which it landed quite literally pushed me away as the water swelled up all around me, and no matter how good I’d got with swimming underwater, I wasn’t strong enough to resist the displacement the Leviathan just caused.

  By the time I reorganized myself, I turned to face whatever would be coming my way, only to find that the creature wasn’t moving. It was just floating there, looking at me, or at least its head was pointing in my direction. I could no longer see its eyes. Funnily enough, though, it wasn’t sinking, just floating.

  I know it’s not dead. Is it baiting me now?

  No…I have a feeling this is a type of creature that is far too proud to do something like bait me, but it is weakened. The rest of its body is strong. I’ve barely touched it, and even the water bullets didn’t cause blood to spill when I hit its flank.

  But that last attack I formed inside of its mouth likely did a lot of damage to its head, far more than I could even see. But it’s still alive, and even though it’s a newborn, I won’t drop my awareness. At the same time, I can’t just sit here and wait for it to recover. I needed to end the battle, and this was as good a time as any.

  Keeping an eye on the creature, I slowly swam up to the surface of the water, and for the briefest of moments I broke the surface to take another deep breath, then went back down. Gone were the days of my enhanced lungs, so I couldn’t quite breathe underwater as well as I could on day one of all this happening.

  Funny enough, even though I’m stronger now than I was then, it goes to show how important Traits are, even if they aren’t of a higher rarity.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  I came back down to see the creature in the same position, unmoving. Of course, it wasn’t like I was without my own wounds. Even now, the inside of my body hurt like shit, and blood every now and then trickled out of my mouth. Whatever that roar did, it rattled and shook something within me, and I had a feeling it was my Skill and my Trait and the fact that I was underwater was helping to keep some of the pain away.

  And perhaps, if this wasn’t a newborn in front of me, it likely would’ve had far more tricks to use in this battle. It just goes to show how big the world is. The creature before me was a newborn, and if my understanding of that word is still correct, this could quite literally be its first day of existence, or perhaps its first couple of days.

  Either way, it’s been very little time for it to pick up new tricks, learn how to fight better with its body, how to dominate an opponent, and truly put its jaws to good use. A newborn, one that could’ve killed me if my array of abilities didn’t allow me to survive well in water.

  I could only hope my cousin has picked up a few tricks himself, or he will choose not to do this battle. Whatever the case, I can’t let that distract me too much.

  Steeling my heart, I began swimming toward the unmoving creature, ready to react at a moment’s notice, trying to time my approach with the ebb and flow going on in my body.

  While that was going on, I kept my focus directly on the Leviathan, just waiting for even the slightest of movements. But there was nothing. It just floated there, still, unmoving, and silent. Not even so much as a ripple in the water around it.

  Part of me wanted to pause, to stop from doing what I was about to do. As someone who loves and adores the water, that of course includes the creatures that live within it. Even when I fished with Grandpa, a lot of the time it was catch and release.

  But…I suppose there were also many more moments where we didn’t release and instead took things home to cook and eat. Even then, there was always a great respect in me for anything that lived in the water.

  Something as majestic as this deserved all the respect that I have for the sea, but unfortunately, there could only ever be one outcome, one of our deaths.

  I eventually entered the range I needed to be in, and with one last look at the magnificent creature before me, even in its mangled and weakened state, I timed my words with the arrival of the flow.

  Ocean’s Maw.

  …

  Congratulations.

  You have hereby completed the F Grade Gauntlet. Upon acceptance of your reward, you will be transported to the E Grade Lobby. Be aware the E Grade Lobby is shared with all those who enter the Gauntlet. Once again, congratulations.

  Please accept your reward.

  Class

  System Note: Choosing to accept this reward will cause your Class and all associated Skills to change.

  A couple of big revelations were just given to me, but if I knew anything about this dungeon, then I knew I didn’t have all day to sit here and think about this. I like my current class, and it’s one I relate to, and I like my skill set. I am stronger than I was when I started this journey, and I know I’d be far more effective as a fighter on land, and of course even more so when in water.

  But that’s it, isn’t it? I didn’t forget how strong that wall of lava was. Yes, I’m stronger now. Yes, I have better skills. Yes, I have better Traits. Yes, I can likely use my skills longer than I could before, and I wouldn’t be so exhausted after one use.

  But I highly doubt those lava people will be following me into the ocean to fight. My abilities themselves didn’t get stronger. I didn’t get physically stronger. I don’t hit THAT much harder than I did before I entered the dungeon.

  Yes, I’m stronger, but I’m not at the level of strength I need to dominate my opponents, not based on the information given by the refugees.

  The dungeon has rewarded me with strong skills, strong weapons, and strong Traits. There’s no reason to think it wouldn’t reward me with a strong class, and it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

  Reward Granted: Class

  Abyss Diver (Unbound)