There was a heartbeat.
Then another.
And then—air.
Jade choked violently, sputtering seawater as he awoke on the cold, coral floor of his sunken Lord's Hut. His throat burned. His lungs screamed. Every inch of his skin prickled with freezing pressure.
But he was alive.
The Newbie Amulet around his neck flickered faintly, dimmer than before. A notification blinked into his mind:
[Life 3 Consumed. Amulet Validity: 6 Days Remaining. No Lives Left.]
He coughed again, rolling to his side. His merfolk summons gathered around him—bulky, monstrous, fish-headed figures with trembling gills and twitching tails. One placed its webbed hand on his chest, chirping a screechy, garbled sound that might've been relief.
Jade couldn't feel anything but pain and resentment.
He sat up slowly, eyes wide as he gazed around the glowing reef cave. The Summoning Core floated beside him, steady but dim. The Lord's Core, cracked faintly from pressure, pulsed weakly behind him.
He clenched his fists.
"This… isn't going to work," he muttered bitterly. "I can't even breathe here. How am I supposed to survive like this?"
He looked at the mermaids, all of them watching him intently.
"I need to get out of here and research things to survive"
He reached toward the Lord's Core and placed his hand on its surface. Instinct and raw desperation guided him.
A screen materialized in front of him:
[Lord Power: World Transfer]
Jade stared. Then, without a second thought, he accepted.
Blue light engulfed his body once again.
He gasped awake in his dorm bed, soaked and shivering.
"Wh-What the—?!" shouted a roommate from the other bunk.
The room was dim, moonlight filtering in through the blinds. His skin was pale, his uniform clinging wet to his frame, and his glasses cracked.
"Jade?" the other boy whispered, rubbing his eyes. "Weren't you…? Didn't you awaken today?!"
Jade groaned and rolled off the bed. "Not now, Quin. I need… I need the library."
"You're dripping saltwater—!"
But Jade was already out the door.
Silvermist's Grand Library was open 24/7 for Lords in training. At this hour, it was nearly deserted—except for the night-shift librarian, an older woman sipping tea beside an enchanted reading lantern.
She looked up, surprised to see someone so late and soaked.
"Emergency recall?" she asked gently.
Jade nodded, teeth chattering. "I need… books. Scrolls. Anything about underwater territories."
Her expression shifted to sympathy.
"Rare type, huh? Not many Lords pull ocean-type Terrains anymore. There used to be one in the Eastern Guild… hold on."
She waved her hand. Shelves rumbled. Dozens of books hovered down.
Jade grabbed the nearest one, flipping pages furiously. But every entry was vague. "Adaptation Runes... Expensive." "Breathing Pearls... Forbidden Artifact Class." "Shellbound Races... Known for disobedience."
Page after page.
He found nothing useful for someone who couldn't even afford a new uniform, let alone ancient relics.
"Are there… any Lords with underwater experience still active?" he asked hoarsely.
The librarian shook her head. "If there are, they don't share what they know. And most who drew ocean types either drowned… or quit."
Jade's hands curled into fists.
"There's nothing," he muttered. "No strategies, no paths. What's the point of awakening someone if their starting line is death?"
The librarian gave a small, pitying smile. "Because some still swim. Even in the deepest waters."
He left without a word.
The next morning, Jade returned to class—uniform dry but eyes bloodshot. Conversations exploded the moment he stepped in.
"Didn't he awaken yesterday?!"
"He's back? How?"
"He didn't die already, did he?"
Jade ignored them all.
He took his seat at the back, opened his notebook, and began drafting.
Objectives:
-Learn to breathe underwater.
-Strengthen Core.
-Train merfolk.
-Avoid Elia Grenvale at all costs.
The moment he wrote her name, her voice cut through the class like a knife.
"Oh my gods—he's back!" Elia shrieked, her long red curls bouncing as she stood. "You actually crawled back here?! I thought Lucien's sword got you."
Lucien, seated beside her, didn't look up from his tablet.
Jade didn't move.
Elia walked closer, voice syrupy and loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You're not seriously coming back here after getting wrecked twice, are you? I'd stay dead if I were you. Honestly, it's embarrassing."
"Class is starting," said Jade without looking up. "Shouldn't you be rehearsing your next fireball instead of spitting hot air?"
The class gasped.
Even Lucien blinked.
Elia's face froze. "Excuse me?!"
"I said I'm not dead. That's more than I can say for your last brain cell."
Muffled laughter broke out around the room.
The instructor entered just then. "Take your seats. Today's lecture is on Hero-tier summon evolution conditions."
Jade turned a page, the echo of Elia's stunned silence warming him more than the school's enchanted heaters ever could.
That lunch break, Jade stayed behind, researching quietly with a tablet in hand. A familiar shadow hovered over his desk.
Lucien.
Jade's jaw tightened. "You here to finish what you started?"
Lucien's expression didn't change. "I didn't tell Elia to attack you."
"Didn't stop her either."
Lucien was quiet.
Then, unexpectedly, "You were underestimated."
Jade blinked.
"What?"
Lucien stared at him. "To survive three relocations and return to school overnight… that's not normal."
Jade laughed humorlessly. "Neither is being thrown into an underwater graveyard."
"You're different now."
"I'm still the same fat loser, Valehart."
"No," Lucien said. "You're furious."
Jade met his gaze. For once, there was no mockery. No superiority. Just… curiosity.
Lucien turned to leave.
"Your mermaids," he said before walking off. "They screeched for you."
"What?"
"Most summons don't react when their Lords die. Yours did. That means loyalty. Potential."
Jade sat frozen long after Lucien left.
That night, Jade sat on the school rooftop, arms around his knees, the Newbie Amulet cold against his chest.
"Six days left," he muttered. "One death, and I'm gone."
Below, the dorm windows glowed like stars. The world kept moving. Laughing. Living.
He clutched his notebook.
I won't die a third time.
I'll change everything.
I'll train those ugly fish freaks into nightmares.
I'll master breathing magic if I have to choke on runes to do it.
And if Elia dares come at me again…
He looked at the moon hanging low over the mountain ridges.
"I'll drag her down with me."