Gina led the party down a goat path carved into the side of the high ocean cliff.

The crashing waves masked the sound of their boots on the loose rocks.

They reached a small, rocky cove hidden directly below the ruined lighthouse.

A dark opening in the cliff face marked the entrance to the hidden sea caves.

The smell of old salt and decaying seaweed was very strong in the dark entrance.

"The water gets very deep inside," Gina warned quietly.

She hugged her grimoire to her chest.

"My father said the cult built their shrine in a sunken temple at the very bottom of these tunnels."

"How are we supposed to breathe down there?" Lora asked.

The merchant looked highly annoyed at the prospect of getting her expensive silk clothes soaking wet.

Gina opened her grimoire and flipped to a marked page.

"I can cast a sustained water breathing spell. It creates an invisible bubble of fresh air right over your mouth and nose. I practiced it in the bathtub a lot, so I think it will hold."

’She learned high-level elemental magic in a bathtub,’ Kai thought with an amused smirk.

’What a prodigy.’

Gina closed her eyes and muttered a soft incantation.

A pale blue light flared from her small hands. She reached out and touched Kai’s shoulder, then moved to Eliza and Lora.

A refreshing breeze washed over Kai’s face. He took a deep breath and found he could breathe perfectly fine, even when the ocean spray hit him.

"It works," Eliza smiled. She raised her free hand and summoned a bright orb of holy light.

"I will light the way. Kai, take the lead."

They stepped into the freezing water.

The ocean swallowed them quickly as the tunnel sloped steeply downward. The water was pitch black except for the glowing orb of holy light floating right beside Eliza’s blonde hair.

The silence of the flooded tunnel was heavy and unsettling. The only sound was the steady thrum of the ocean currents pushing against their bodies.

Lora swam right beside Kai.

Her silk shirt clung tightly to her curves in the water.

She caught him staring and offered a wink, entirely unbothered by the cold or the danger.

Gina swam close behind him, clearly terrified of the dark shadows moving just past the edge of the holy light.

’This is definitely a classic dungeon crawl,’ Kai thought, keeping his blessed dagger ready in his hand.

’And classic dungeons always have a gatekeeper.’

They swam deeper into the winding tunnel for another ten minutes.

The narrow walls suddenly opened up into a massive underground cavern as ruins of ancient stone pillars littered the sandy floor.

A sickly green glow pulsed from a large archway at the far end of the room.

"That is the sunken temple," Gina pointed, her voice carrying clearly through the magical air bubble.

Before they could swim toward the archway, the sand below them erupted.

A massive sea serpent burst from the ocean floor.

The beast was easily forty feet long, its scales were a dark, mottled green, and its huge jaws were lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

The serpent let out a silent, bubbling roar that shook the water around them.

Its glowing yellow eyes locked directly onto Eliza’s bright holy light.

[System Event: Mini-Boss Encounter]

[Enemy Type: Deep Cavern Leviathan]

"Scatter," Kai yelled.

He kicked his legs hard and pushed himself backward right as the serpent lunged forward.

The massive jaws snapped shut on empty water right where he had been floating a second ago.

Eliza reacted instantly.

She threw her orb of holy light straight at the monster’s face. The bright flash temporarily blinded the beast.

It thrashed its heavy tail wildly, smashing into a broken stone pillar and sending chunks of debris sinking into the sand.

"Gina, freeze the water around its head," Kai ordered loudly.

Gina did not hesitate.

She pointed both hands at the thrashing serpent and focused her mana. The water temperature dropped dramatically.

A layer of solid ice formed instantly over the serpent’s snout, freezing its jaws shut.

The beast thrashed even harder, trying to shake off the heavy ice.

"Nice shot," Lora cheered. She swam right over the serpent’s back and fired a steel bolt from her small hand crossbow. The bolt embedded itself deeply into the softer scales near the monster’s eye.

The serpent roared in pain through the ice. It swung its massive tail in a wide arc, aiming right for Lora.

Kai activated his Shadow Step.

The magic pulled him through the water much faster than he could swim.

He reappeared directly above the serpent’s heavy tail and drove his blessed dagger straight down with all his strength, pinning the tail to a flat stone slab on the ocean floor.

The beast was completely immobilized. Its mouth was frozen shut, and its tail was pinned to the rock.

It wriggled frantically, trying to pull free from the blessed steel holding it down.

"Eliza, hit it now," Kai shouted, holding his dagger firmly in place.

Eliza raised her hands and focused all her holy magic.

A brilliant beam of pure, burning light shot from her palms. The holy beam struck the serpent directly in the center of its dark chest as the light burned straight through the tough green scales, purifying the dark corruption inside the beast.

The serpent shuddered violently and then went completely still. The yellow light faded from its eyes, and its body slowly drifted down to rest on the sandy floor.

[Mini-Boss Defeated: Deep Cavern Leviathan]

[Experience Gained: +800 EXP]

[Party Synergy Bonus: +15% Affection Gained]

[Level up!]

[Level Up!]

Kai pulled his dagger free and swam back to the group.

He wiped the blood off his blade using the clean water. He looked at the three women floating around him.

They worked together perfectly as a team.

"That was incredible," Gina gasped.

She swam right up to Kai and wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. She buried her face in his chest, her heart beating wildly against him.

"You pinned that huge thing down with one hand."

Kai laughed softly and wrapped one arm around her waist to comfort her.

"I had a lot of help. Your ice spell was perfect."

Lora swam over and patted Gina gently on the back.

"He is right. You did great for a beginner. Now let us go crash that cult meeting before the ice melts."

They turned away from the dead monster and swam toward the glowing green archway of the sunken temple.