A nasty-looking spirit fish glared at a large rock. After staring down the rock for a while as if in a staring contest, it suddenly opened its mouth and shot out a darkish liquid. As the swiftly flying black liquid touched the rock, a sizzling sound was heard, and smoke rose.
Then, the rock suddenly seemed to stir, and cracks spiderwebbed across its surface before it split and separated. A small crevice among them opened vertically, revealing a yellow pupil. Elongated fragments turned into pincers, and the largest fragment became a torso.
The time it took for the large rock to transform into a crab was shorter than the time it takes to draw a single breath. The eyes of the spirit fish and the crab, which had revealed its true form, met. Neither made a sound, but their gazes toward each other were filled with fierce hostility.
They soon clashed violently. The crab was sturdy, and the fish was fast. The spirit fish’s attacks could not penetrate the spirit crab’s shell, and the spirit crab could not keep up with the spirit fish’s swift movements.
As their weapons struck each other's weaknesses, their fight remained at a standstill. However, as if determined to settle the score with stamina if not with their weapons, they continued to fight without backing down. It was then.
“Kuaaaah!”
From down below, from the bottom of the river, a fierce roar echoed out. The movements of the fiercely fighting fish and crab stopped as if by magic. Their gazes, once fixed on each other, turned downwards to where the roar had come from.
The fighting spirit that had filled their eyes was gone, replaced by a deep sense of fear. Without a word, they hastily fled the scene. This was happening in various places nearby.
All the demons and spirit beasts that heard the roar moments ago were hastily fleeing. They looked like prey fleeing from a predator, and in fact, that was exactly what they were. They were now fleeing from the violent brute of this river.
This had become a daily spectacle for some time now. After the catfish that was originally the Master of the River disappeared, all sorts of aquatic spirit beasts that had been suppressed by the catfish's presence and unable to enter the river began to creep in.
The one they were wary of was the serpent that had killed the catfish and become the new Master of the River. Since only a few spirit beasts and demons living on land had directly witnessed the serpent killing the catfish, the aquatic spirit beasts did not initially know that the serpent was the new Master of the River.
They came to know this fact thanks to the sacrifice of one aquatic spirit beast. That aquatic spirit beast, knowing the catfish was gone, was the first to enter the river and roamed about as if it owned the world. Then, it instinctively sensed the place in the river with the densest spiritual energy and set foot there...
And there, it came face to face with the serpent. The moment it saw it, the aquatic spirit beast instinctively felt that the serpent was no ordinary opponent, but it did not take it too seriously. It thought the serpent was just another creature that had come to claim the masterless river, just like itself.
So, it attempted a light check to gain the upper hand. In human terms, it was something like a staring contest mixed with insults.
In the world of aquatic spirit beasts, this was like a slightly rough greeting, and even if a few more sparks flew, it was common for most to just growl at each other and go their separate ways. But that serpent was different. As soon as it was provoked, it bared its hideous fangs and charged straight in.
The aquatic spirit beast, though startled, did not back down and fought back, but it wasn't long before it was unilaterally pushed into a defensive position. The serpent was massive, and as massive as it was, it was powerful, and despite that, it was also quite fast. In the end, the aquatic spirit beast admitted defeat and tried to flee.
In such cases, the winner would usually let the loser go, even if they could catch them. This was because there was more to lose than gain by chasing down an opponent who had already admitted defeat and was retreating. Taking an opponent's life is by no means an easy task.
Who would sit still and offer their neck when someone is trying to kill them? Whether the opponent stands a chance or not, they will naturally resist with all their might, and killing such an opponent to the very end inevitably involves considerable risk for the one with the upper hand.
That is why in fights that are not hunts, it is very rare for things to be taken to the end. But that serpent was different. It relentlessly pursued the retreating aquatic spirit beast, engaged in a bloody battle, and eventually tore it apart and killed it while it was still alive.
The aquatic spirit beast, watching its own body being torn apart and entering the opponent's stomach, wailed desperately until the very end. The other aquatic spirit beasts nearby heard its cry clearly, and some even witnessed it from a distance. More than fear, they felt a strange, hard-to-describe emotion.
Unfamiliarity? Discomfort?
Whatever it was, they were instinctively drawn to the smell of blood. Two had fought, one died, and one was injured. This was the reason why they didn't engage in fights to the death with non-prey.
Because if one gets injured and weakened, there is a risk of becoming someone else's prey. Now, the serpent was in such a predicament. One aquatic spirit beast, most strongly drawn by the scent of blood, loitered around before launching a surprise attack on the serpent.
The serpent, however, did not back down and fought back. Another fierce battle ensued, and the serpent was victorious once again. This time, it didn't even give its opponent a chance to escape and tore out its throat in one move.
And this time too, as if to show all the onlooking aquatic spirit beasts, it devoured the incapacitated enemy alive on the spot. It was a ferocity rarely seen among aquatic spirit beasts, or any spirit beast for that matter. Such a temperament was separate from being strong or weak.
The aquatic spirit beasts were intimidated by the serpent's unusual ferocity. Some still had gleaming eyes, captivated by the scent of blood, but even so, they could not recklessly charge at the wounded serpent. On the contrary, they even trembled and backed away whenever the serpent's vertically slit pupils turned towards them.
Perhaps they were hoping for someone brave and impatient to step forward a couple of times first, but no such brave aquatic spirit beast appeared until the serpent left. The serpent's first impression was that intense.
They still did not know that this serpent was the new Master of the River succeeding the catfish, because although the serpent's first impression was intense, they did not feel the same level of power from it as they did from the catfish.
The natural pressure one could feel from a being approaching a Great Spirit Beast was not felt from the serpent. Of course, its ferocity was surprising and overwhelmed many aquatic spirit beasts, but it was more akin to a sudden shock from the unexpected.
If they had known the serpent was that ferocious, the aquatic spirit beasts would not have let the wounded serpent leave so easily that day, and they would not have let it be even if they had known it was the new Master of the River. As the Master of the River, the catfish's rule was firm and thorough.
He did not allow any aquatic spirit beasts into his territory, which caused dissatisfaction among the many who coveted the river's spiritual energy. Some of those dissatisfied aquatic spirit beasts bravely entered the river, but each time, the catfish drove them out with all its strength, even killing some.
After this happened a few times, the aquatic spirit beasts had no choice but to give up their greed for the spiritual land. For them, going to a spiritual land was, metaphorically speaking, like wanting to live in a place with good water and air, but who would try if they had to risk their lives for it?
If they had a bit more cunning, they might have formed an alliance to drive the catfish out, but unfortunately, most aquatic spirit beasts were simple-minded. Unless they inherited a special bloodline or became a Great Spirit Beast, words like cunning or strategy were concepts from another world to aquatic spirit beasts.
Anyway, thanks to the simple minds of the aquatic spirit beasts and its own powerful strength, the catfish had maintained its position as the Master of the River quite stably for a long time. If it hadn't encountered a serpent that one day fell from the sky, the catfish's iron-fisted rule could have continued for much longer.
But there are no 'what ifs' in the world, and a new master appeared in the river that all the aquatic spirit beasts coveted.
However, this master, though it had defeated the catfish, was not stronger than the catfish, and in fact, seemed weaker, so the aquatic spirit beasts that had been forced to keep their heads down under the catfish's presence naturally raised their heads.
If the serpent had tried to act like the Master of the River in the catfish's manner, they would have torn it to shreds in an instant. But the serpent did not do so. Instead of declaring the entire river its territory like the catfish, it stayed in a small area, maintaining a moderate presence.
Other than crushing the bones of one aquatic spirit beast that unknowingly poked its head in, the serpent did nothing out of the ordinary and just protected its territory. This behavior of the serpent was that of a typical spirit beast, so the other aquatic spirit beasts didn't pay it much mind.
They perceived the serpent as ferocious and strong, but alright as long as one didn't invade its territory—one of their own kind. The river was wide, and there were plenty of places to stay, so no one coveted the territory of the strong and ferocious serpent. The aquatic spirit beasts each secured their own territory.
In the process, there were not a few minor clashes, but they remained at a minor level and did not escalate into fights to the death like the one the serpent had. Again, the river was wide, so if it didn't work out, they could just move to a slightly less desirable place.
Thus, the period of minor disputes passed, and the ecosystem within the river found peace. Occasionally, there were disputes over prey, and some aquatic spirit beasts unable to control their ferocity would pick fights with others, but those were nothing more than a light breeze blowing from time to time.
A peace draped over a balance that was not quiet but had found its place. However, this peace vanished in an instant like a midsummer night's dream. The serpent, which seemed to be staying in its territory and keeping to itself, ambushed and killed an aquatic spirit beast that was enjoying the sunlight on the surface.
It was, for no reason at all, a surprise attack. The aquatic spirit beasts that witnessed the scene were thrown into confusion. Some were afraid, and some were provoked and bared their teeth.
But none of them dared to attack the serpent. It was for the same reason as before. They instinctively feared and avoided getting injured by fighting a formidable foe.
While they were confused and hesitating, the fight ended, and the serpent, covered in blood, returned to its territory. Its attitude, its appearance, seemed completely ordinary, as if returning from a hunt. From that seemingly ordinary, and thus more extraordinary, appearance, the aquatic spirit beasts finally began to vaguely understand the difference between them and the serpent.
To them, each other were competitors and enemies. But the serpent did not seem to regard them as competitors, enemies, or even its own kind. To the serpent, they were prey, no different from the ordinary fish.
* Jaekyung let out a roar to warn the small fries not to even accidentally enter his territory. It was a simple method, but against fish heads, such a simple approach was effective.
‘It still stings a bit.’
The eel-like spirit beast he had hunted three days ago. There was nothing particularly special about it, but its will to survive was the strongest among all the spirit beasts he had hunted so far.
That intense will to survive transformed into an extreme fighting spirit at the brink of death, and thanks to that, Jaekyung had to shed quite a bit of blood before he could kill the creature. The wound on the side of his head, bitten at the moment he tried to deliver the finishing blow, was particularly severe.
That one attack the eel-like spirit beast had unleashed at the end was so powerful that his scales, harder than rock, had shattered helplessly. After finishing the hunt, Jaekyung immediately headed to the place with the elixir water, but he hesitated right in front of it.
The elixir water, which had been reduced by half after he used it to heal his eye, had recovered by about ten percent, but even that seemed insufficient in Jaekyung’s eyes.
The thought of whether he should waste a treasure, equivalent to an extra life, on such a minor injury came to mind, and Jaekyung felt it was a waste to use the elixir water on a small wound that was nothing more than some broken scales and a bit of torn flesh.
Jaekyung, who had been looking at the elixir water with the feeling of a child staring at a treat on the table, eventually decided not to use it. There's a saying that if you save it, it goes to waste, but isn't there also a saying that you shouldn't use medicine for just anything?
This kind of wound was bearable compared to being blind in one eye, and Jaekyung had a certain degree of confidence in his own healing abilities. Thus, Jaekyung slept for three days in front of the elixir water, and when he opened his eyes, the wound on the side of his head had healed slightly.
The scales were still torn off, and the flesh was exposed, but it was still an improvement compared to three days ago.
‘I should lay low for a while.’
Hunting is good, and showing off his might is good, but all of that is only meaningful if his body is intact. No matter how much fear he instilled in the aquatic spirit beasts, if the day came when he was ailing, that day would be his last.
After all, these spirit beasts, whether they live in water or on land, have an instinctual ability to smell blood that is second to none. After thoroughly checking his body's condition besides the injured side of his head, Jaekyung soon left his territory and headed for the surface.
As he moved, he sensed the presence of not a few aquatic spirit beasts. As soon as they detected Jaekyung's aura, they were busy fleeing as if their tails were on fire.
‘My efforts until now weren't in vain.’
It was worth it to have acted like a madman and shed blood. The roar he had just let out with all his might would have echoed throughout the entire spiritual spring, so his territory would be peaceful for a while.
‘It was a choice I had to make, but looking at it now, it's not so bad.’
Jaekyung knew better than anyone that he couldn't do things like the catfish, nor could he become like it. So, he decided to open the gates of the river, of the spiritual spring, wide. He allowed the aquatic spirit beasts that the catfish had driven out to enter and guided them to settle in their own places.
Thanks to this, the spiritual spring, which had once felt almost desolate, became bustling with all sorts of aquatic spirit beasts, but for Jaekyung, this was not a loss. After all, as long as he could protect the place with the elixir water, he didn't care about anything else.
What worried him was that with a large number of aquatic spirit beasts entering the spiritual spring, a creature aiming for his territory, or more precisely, the elixir water, could appear at any time. It could be in ten days, or a month, but what was certain was that such a day would inevitably come.
He could reduce the risk by staying and guarding the elixir water, but of course, Jaekyung couldn't do that. He had to hunt, and to do that, he had to leave his territory and even get out of the water altogether. How could he stay in front of the elixir water like a guard dog?
So, Jaekyung had to seek another way. The method he found at the end of his search was to see blood. It was to show the aquatic spirit beasts gathered in the spiritual spring just how violent he was.
People fear the king on the throne, but they also fear the gangster in the back alley. It was the same for spirit beasts. Jaekyung saw through this and unleashed his ferocity to his heart's content without hesitation.
As a result, he became a different kind of king from the catfish. The aquatic spirit beasts might not acknowledge it, but their reaction of backing away and fleeing was an admission of that fact.