[Undertow Anchor (Orange):

Greatly reduces forced movement caused by currents, drags, pulls, and body-checks from large aquatic enemies. While guarding or thrusting, the wearer becomes even harder to displace.]

Martin’s expression tightened with focus.

"Even your drag is not enough now."

In the next moment, he pushed forward instead.

That was when the real difference sank in.

He moved through the water with steady pressure rather than the usual dull resistance that slowed every step and lunge. Even while advancing into current and monster force, his legs kept driving.

His approach stayed solid, and the Baby Kraken’s attempts to halt him suddenly felt weaker, as though the lake had finally stopped fighting on its behalf.

[Trench Advance (Orange):

While guarding, bracing, or advancing into enemies, the wearer is far less hindered by drag, current, or impact. Forward movement remains steady underwater, making it difficult for enemies to halt the wearer’s advance or push them off the front line.]

Martin exhaled slowly through his nose.

"So that is it," he said. "I am not just holding my ground anymore. I can press through everything it does."

The Baby Kraken answered with a full-body surge that churned the nest into chaos. Pressure rolled through the water.

Tentacles crashed at him from several angles, and the lake itself seemed determined to slow everything he did.

It still did not matter, because his footing stayed true even as the terrain shifted beneath him.

[Broodwater Skin (Orange):

Reduces movement loss caused by wet terrain, shallow water, and currents. The wearer gains improved balance and footing in slippery or waterlogged environments.]

His attacks, guard timing, and skill flow remained smooth, as though he were fighting on open ground instead of at the bottom of a lake.

[Deep Current Frame (Orange):

Removes underwater penalties from normal attacks, guarding, and spear/trident skill activation. Attack speed, recovery, and stance control underwater are treated as though the wearer were fighting on land.]

Then the final truth settled over the battle.

Martin no longer felt like a man enduring the water. He felt like its master.

For the first time since entering the game, the lake did not seem like something he had to push against. It yielded around him. Every motion that should have been slowed, dragged, or dulled instead went through cleanly, and the sensation sent a sharp thrill through his body.

The last of the resistance vanished from his movement. He turned without drag, lunged without slowdown, and guarded, pursued, and changed angles with the same force he would have carried on land.

Faced with an aquatic monster in its own domain, Martin was no longer the intruder. He was the stronger thing in the depths.

[Abyss Hunter Form (Orange):

The wearer becomes a true hunter of the deep. Water offers no resistance to movement or combat actions. Dashing, lunging, turning, guarding, and pursuit retain full power underwater. The wearer gains increased resistance to knockback, drag, and stagger when facing aquatic monsters, as well as improved control when holding ground against large enemies.]

A quiet thrill ran through Martin.

"This is what the whole set was building toward," he said. "Underwater, I am stronger than you now." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The Baby Kraken understood it too late.

Martin surged in and met the nearest tentacle with his shield before twisting with the impact and ripping his trident across the limb in the same motion.

Another came from below, but he kicked off the lakebed, turned cleanly through the water, and drove the trident down through the softer flesh beneath it.

When a third tried to coil around his torso, he tore free before it could tighten and slammed the shield forward hard enough to jolt the monster’s entire body backward.

He looked neither slowed nor pressured.

He looked inevitable.

Above and behind him, Ao Tenshin drifted at the edge of the fight, her little body drawn tight with excitement. She dipped forward each time Martin broke through another attack, then stopped herself before crossing the line he had set. Even from a distance, her bright eyes seemed to shine with pride, as though she understood that this victory had to belong to Martin alone.

The Baby Kraken retreated toward the nest in a frenzy, dragging its torn tentacles through a cloud of dark blood. Martin gave chase immediately. No resistance touched him, and no drag delayed him as he cut through the water like a spear loosed from a god’s hand.

As the Baby Kraken opened its maw and reared its head back, it thrashed in one last burst of desperation. Its torn tentacles flared wide through the blood-dark water, and its swollen body twisted as though sheer panic might wrench it out of Martin’s reach.

Martin caught the angle at once.

He drew his arm behind him.

For one sharp instant, the whole lake seemed to hold still around him. His shield stayed forward, his body remained anchored, and his eyes locked on the target through the churned water.

Every piece of the set, every kill, every day of grinding, and every moment of mastery came together in that single motion.

Then he threw the trident.

The Baby Trident shot through the water in a straight, vicious line and buried itself in the Baby Kraken’s head.

The monster convulsed, its body jerking once before collapsing into the nest.

Silence spread through the lake.

Ao Tenshin darted forward first, unable to hold back anymore. She circled Martin once in a quick burst of excitement, then drifted in front of him with a proud little lift to her posture.

Martin looked at her, and the edge of his expression softened for a moment behind the visor. "You did well too, Angel," he said quietly.

A heartbeat later, the system windows appeared before him.

[You have acquired Spear Throw Mastery.]

[You are now eligible for Warden Class Evolution.]

Martin stared at them in the dim water, feeling the weight of the moment settle into him. He had come here to test his new equipment, but what he had really done was open the path to something larger.

The Warden was waiting.