River’s Servant – Part 2
After the greeting, the fishmen drew closer.
Surrounding the boat—
Like a school of sharks circling a wounded whale.
I looked at them calmly.
Then one of the larger fishmen traced letters into the river.
[Are you not afraid of us?]
I replied indifferently.
[You’re a little ugly, that’s all.]
“Kyat!”
“Kiiiii!”
“Kyakyak!”
The fishmen opened their mouths wide, baring their teeth in what seemed like a threatening display.
But under the flashlight’s beam, I could see their faces clearly. With [Bright Eyes], I could read their expressions through my inner vision and interpret them effortlessly.
[Amusement]
[Delight]
Those two emotions.
In other words, that bizarre sound was their laughter.
They weren’t trying to intimidate me.
‘Still, their appearance is pretty jarring.’
Even among Arcane Seoul’s monsters, they ranked high in ugliness.
But you know what?
They were actually human.
Just like the hybrid bloodlines of the Arctic.
In Arcane Seoul, the definition of humanity was simple:
Can they produce offspring with normal humans?
And can those offspring go on to do the same?
From a biological standpoint, both the Arctic hybrids and the River’s Servants of Lake Nasser were just different races within the same species.
‘Magic mutations are terrifying, really.’
Maybe some specific gene produced unique mana, leading to forms like theirs.
While I was thinking that, one of the fishmen waved a finned arm threateningly.
[Human. Would you like to visit our village? We’d like to commemorate meeting a human we can actually communicate with.]
[Sounds good.]
[Alright. Do not resist—just accept it.]
Splash.
The fishman splashed water at me.
It evaporated into mist and swept over me.
I calmed my mind and accepted the mana wave.
A spell was cast.
No—this wasn’t a spell.
It was better described as divine power.
The air grew heavy.
Like I had plunged into the deep sea.
Through the dim, murky vision, I saw the fishman form letters.
[Don’t panic. It’s a River Affinity Blessing. Once you enter the water… Oh?]
I know. I get it.
No need to explain.
I didn’t even finish reading the message before I dove into the river.
Splash!
The water embraced me gently.
The world cleared.
The fog vanished, and even underwater, my vision was as clear as if I were on land.
I could breathe freely without an oxygen tank.
Movement felt effortless.
It truly felt like I had become a fish in water.
[Where do we go from here?]
I couldn’t use Supreme Flame underwater.
So I used a different trait.
[Ice Carving]
Ice spread from my fingertips.
English letters formed from shards of ice, floating up with the current.
The fishmen stared at them in awe.
[This human has many talents.]
[He can control both fire and ice…]
[His soul must be strong. He can handle opposing forces.]
[He’s not one of the Osiris Temple, is he?]
[If he belonged to that selfish god’s cult, he’d have started attacking us on sight.]
[He’s an interesting human.]
Was it thanks to the River Affinity?
Or simply because I was inside the river now?
The fishmen’s ultrasonic chatter came through clearly to my ears.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any trait that let me speak back in ultrasound.
[Follow us!]
The fishmen all turned at once.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted.
The fishmen shot forward like cannonballs.
Waves rolled outward, as if the lake might split apart.
I couldn’t fall behind.
I moved too.
Even without a swimming trait, I had the Sky Harpy and Phoenix Boots.
If I could triple-jump in the air, then water was nothing.
Swoosh!
I followed after the fishmen.
When I poured mana into my movement, I was even faster than they were.
And that was without using Acceleration.
The fishmen turned to look at me and opened their grotesque mouths wide.
[Not bad!]
[For a human!]
[Try to keep up with this one!]
We raced through the water, constantly trading places.
I could’ve won if I wanted to, but I didn’t.
They were all level 5 or 6—barely above novice tier.
Beating them would’ve been pointless.
Like flexing on little kids.
Still, there was one obvious difference.
Huff, huff, huff.
[Monster…]
[That’s not a human! That’s a spirit! He must’ve been blessed by a water spirit!]
[One hundred percent, no doubt!]
By the time we reached the village, the fishmen were all out of breath.
I was the only one who wasn’t.
At the entrance of the village, I took a moment to look around.
There wasn’t much to see.
No grand structures. No bizarre architecture.
Just a network of intricately carved underwater caves.
In the game, it was infamous for being hard to navigate.
The magic of the mist grew even stronger inside the lake, and the flashlight was the only way to make it through.
That’s why the negotiation route was more popular than the extermination one.
Talk things through with the River’s Servants, summon the River Goddess, then kill her.
[Human?]
[Why is there a human here?]
[Looks like the northern patrol brought him.]
[He has the River Affinity on him!]
The fishmen guarding the outskirts approached.
At the same time, they signaled inward.
Through the clear view, I saw fishmen deeper inside quietly retreating.
They were wary.
No surprise—how many times had they been attacked by the Osiris Temple?
The mayor had acted like they were always on the receiving end, but the truth was the opposite.
[Patrol Captain. Why did you bring a human here?]
[Captain of the Guard. Isn’t he a strange human? He could’ve wiped out our patrol squad alone. But instead, he greeted us. He didn’t fear us or show any disgust.]
[Hmm…]
[I brought him because I thought he came here looking for us.]
Sharp.
There could be several reasons.
This cave village was also a massive trap.
What if they brought me all the way here only to revoke the River Affinity?
That would be bad.
A great escape would be my only option.
Knowing the village’s location wouldn’t help me then.
[You make a fair point.]
The guard captain twitched his grotesque lips.
[Keep your enemies close—and those whose intent you cannot discern, even closer. Well done. You may go. I’ll take it from here.]
[Yes, Captain.]
The two of them spoke openly in front of me.
As if it didn’t matter whether I heard or not.
The patrol squad headed back north, leaving only the guards behind.
The guard captain and his lieutenant were level 7.
Same level as me.
The two of them, along with their squad, surrounded me, scanning me from head to toe.
[Human. Did you come seeking us?]
[Yes.]
I answered with frozen letters. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity.
[And your reason?]
What should I say?
I stared at the guard captain and his lieutenant.
I could feel it.
Their gaze, as persistent as if licking at my soul.
Both of them had the [Eyes of Truth] trait.
That meant I had to speak only the truth.
[I came to receive a single drop of the goddess’s blood.]
[…What?]
[Blood. I need it for a reconstruction elixir.]
For a moment, they just blinked, mouths round with disbelief.
Then, they opened their jaws wide and roared with fury.
[How dare you!]
[To the goddess!]
[Rip him to pieces!]
[A vile human, just as we suspected!]
[You came here with wicked intent—we’ll kill you where you stand!]
The guards spread their arms wide.
Water surged, and weapons were summoned from beyond the space.
Harpoons carved from giant fish bones.
Bone armor, bone helms, bone shields.
In 0.01 seconds, they were fully armed.
The lake roared in wrath, supporting their fury.
[For one who dares defy the sacred will of the goddess, there is only death!]
An overwhelming force.
It felt like staring straight into a hurricane.
But I remained completely unfazed.
Because I already had a flute in my hand.
I brought it to my lips and played.
An ancient magical artifact capable of calming typhoons and soothing raging seas.
In the game, it manifested as a forced Peace Zone.
It worked the same here.
The furious lake settled at once, and the charging fishmen lost their will to fight.
[Huh?]
[Uhhh?]
[W-What is this?]
[What magic is this?! What kind of spell did you cast?!]
What do you mean, what kind?
It’s the Manpasikjeok.
I waved the Manpasikjeok and formed letters of ice.
[What do you think? Shouldn’t this be enough to reach the goddess too?]
[Hmm, you…]
[Wait a minute. That artifact seems to affect you as well, human.]
[Of course. Mutual attack prevention. That means we’re forced to talk. There’s no such artifact that only restricts one side.]
[Hmm.]
The guard captain still glared at me with suspicion.
But the hostility wasn’t deep.
The earlier attack was more of a show of threat than a true killing intent.
My Inner Eye said so. My [Understanding] trait whispered it.
If they were serious about killing me, they would’ve revoked the River Affinity first.
‘No wonder they struggle to talk with anyone.’
But I understood.
They’d only ever been surrounded by people who wanted to kill them—
—whether for religious reasons or for profit.
[Are you saying you want to speak with the goddess… to receive her blood?]
[Exactly. Think about it. The goddess is level 8. You think I could steal her blood and live? That would be suicide.]
Negotiation through dialogue.
At this point, it was the only viable method.
[But the goddess is—]
The lieutenant began to speak beside him.
[Lieutenant!]
The captain cut him off immediately.
No need for that.
I already knew.
Before they could say anything else, I stepped in.
[I know. The goddess isn’t in her right mind right now, is she?]
[Human!]
[How dare you say such blasphemy!]
[Why? Is speaking the truth blasphemy? That’s how humans are. And you’re humans too, aren’t you?]
[This bastard!]
Seems I really hit a nerve mentioning the human thing.
The fishmen raised their bone spears.
But the mana, the lake—did not move.
You don’t underestimate the Manpasikjeok.
It may struggle against level 9 divinities, but it worked just fine on mid-tier gods, high spirits, and ancient dragons.
[So, to speak with the goddess, we must first help her come to her senses.]
[What did you say?]
[Human… you mean…]
[If the goddess regains her mind, I get the blood I want, and you get back your guardian and mother. Isn’t that a win-win for both of us?]
A ripple spread through them.
Their crushed-deep-sea-anglerfish faces all contorted in a visible mix of disbelief and hope.
[That’s possible?]
[The goddess can come back to herself?]
[Impossible! That cursed concrete wall’s been up for a hundred years! We’ve tried everything since—what could a single human possibly do?!]
[Still… we don’t know until we try.]
[You trust a human?]
[If it’s this human, maybe we should.]
[Yeah! I’ve never seen a soul so pure and powerful!]
[Someone with a soul like that wouldn’t lie.]
[At the very least, he’s not one of Osiris’s servants!]
Opinions were split.
A small debate formed on the spot.
It seemed there was a bit of a misunderstanding, so I added a clarification.
[Just because I use this flute doesn’t mean the goddess will immediately return to her merciful and generous self.]
[Then what?]
[Her clarity will only be temporary. How could the River Goddess be whole when her river is blocked?]
I turned my head north.
Toward where Aswan likely was.
Toward the Aswan Dam.
The Aswan Low Dam, completed in 1902, and the Aswan High Dam, completed in 1970.
Those two dams were the cause.
Once Egypt’s traditional local deity and goddess of the Nile—
Anuket fell into decline, lost her name, and was reduced to a mere high spirit.
Most likely, the conflict with Osiris had played the largest role.
[Then we must break through the concrete wall!]
[Let’s kill the humans!]
[Exterminate them all!]
[Break the dam and drown the city!]
[Only then will the goddess come back to life!]
Too extreme. Seriously.
And they didn’t even have the power to do it.
The guard captain furrowed his brow and turned to me.
[So what? Are you going to help us attack the humans? Even though you are one yourself?]
I could help.
But that would be stupid.
The fishmen held an advantage over Aswan City in terms of raw power.
But zoom out to all of Egypt, and they were severely outmatched.
And it wasn’t just Egypt.
The Osiris Temple was the dominant religion across Africa. If Aswan got attacked, the entire continent would descend on them.
Inside the mist, the fishmen had the advantage.
Outside the mist, the humans did.
That’s how the balance had lasted over a hundred years.
[We need a different approach.]
[Like what?]
[That’s something the goddess must decide for herself.]
In the game, the extermination route was the most popular.
Killing her gave the best rewards.
You could also massively increase your reputation with the Osiris Temple.
The problem was, with my current strength, I couldn’t kill her.
‘Just get the blood and get out.’
If things went well, maybe I’d get some extra benefits too—but there was no guarantee the goddess would accept my offer.
Still, even in the worst-case scenario, I’d get the blood.
That was enough.
[Hmm…]
The guard captain fell into thought.
Then dismissed his bone equipment back into the space beyond.
[This is beyond my authority. Come with me, human. I’ll bring this matter before the Council officially.]
[Very well. Please convene them as soon as possible. I can’t stay here long.]
[The goddess’s recovery is the greatest hope of our kin. I’ll summon them immediately.]
It didn’t take long.
Not even a day or two—
The Council was convened that very day, the day I arrived in the fishmen’s village.
In a massive cave, fishmen council members gathered, packed tightly together.
[So.]
A fishman with an enormous body spoke.
[What’s your method for helping our goddess regain her senses? Tell us something concrete. If there’s a chance, we’ll support you with everything we have.]
Hopeful gazes fixed on me.
There were suspicious looks too.
And even outright hostility from a few.
I accepted all those emotions and answered.
[It’s simple. We have to beat her nearly to death.]
[…What?]
[Beat her. Until she’s on the brink of death. That’s where it starts.]
A moment of silence.
Then—
A deep, icy stillness filled the air.
–TL Notes–
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he’s such a troll fr