The silence that followed my warning was heavy and the Hunters stood frozen. The revelation of an underwater kingdom hadn’t just turned their plans upside down, it had completely shattered their confidence.

"Underwater..." the archer muttered. "A C-Rank Gate... That is not supposed to happen."

"Gates are unpredictable," Seok responded to him, even though his own voice lacked its usual certainty. "But if what he says is true, our current weapons and strategy are completely compromised."

As the reality of the situation settled over the group, a small and hesitant voice broke the quiet.

"I... I can help with that."

Everyone turned. The young female mage who had been trembling earlier stepped forward as her boots squelched loudly in the underwater mud.

Her face was still slightly pale from the terror of the Swamp Behemoth, but now it also had a hint of fierce determination.

"What do you mean, Hana?" Seok asked, and his eyes narrowed behind his smeared glasses.

"I have a specialized sub-aquatic affinity spell," she explained. Her voice was shaking slightly, but it gradually gained strength as she spoke.

"It creates a localized mana film around the target’s airway, allowing them to filter oxygen from the water and move without fluid resistance for up to thirty minutes. It... it should let everyone breathe and move freely down there."

A shared sigh of relief went through the Hunters.

’Well, if she can actually pull it off, then fine,’ I thought.

’But she was literally shaking like a leaf when that worm popped out of the swamp. I just hope she can keep her focus and maintain the spell under pressure without getting distracted or scared. If her concentration breaks while we are forty feet down, half these guys are going to drown in their own armor.’

"If you can cast it on the group, then do it," I said loudly. "But do it before we reach the place. Once we are in, there is no turning back to recast it."

"R-right!" Hana nodded quickly and immediately pulled out a small glowing crystal from her pouch.

Then she closed her eyes and began the chant in a low voice. Soon, a faint crimson light began to radiate from her hands, which suddenly spread outward across the surface of the water and wrapped around the bodies of the Hunters.

With the breathing issue temporarily solved, we began moving forward again. The water level was rising higher with every step, and within a few dozen meters it was right at our chin level.

Suddenly, Seok came to a halt. He didn’t turn around completely, but his head shifted back toward me.

"Umm... Can you take the lead?"

I paused walking, and the water lapped against the bottom edge of my paper bag mask.

"You are the leader here, Seok."

"I am a leader who knows how to fight on solid ground," Seok replied while turning to face me fully, and I could see that his eyes were deadly serious.

"I know nothing about an underwater kingdom, or anything about mermaids. You somehow seem to. If I lead, I will just be guessing in the dark, and that will get people killed."

As he spoke, the rest of the Hunters looked at me with their eyes filled with a mixture of pleading, desperation, and awe.

But it was the mage girl, Hana, whose gaze lingered the most. Her wide, pleading eyes were practically begging me to take charge.

Looking at her face closely for the first time without any distractions, a strange sense of familiarity struck me.

’Wait... why do I get this feeling that I’ve seen her before?’ I thought as my eyes narrowed under my mask. ’Is she a named character from the novel? Or maybe someone associated with a major guild? I can’t place it right now, but she is definitely not just a random extra.’

"Fine," I said. "I will lead. But if I tell you to move, you move. No hesitation."

"Understood," Seok replied and stepped aside to let me pass.

I glanced down at Vera. She was standing perfectly still beside me. Her fingers were still tightly hooked into the fabric of my sleeve.

"Let’s go," I whispered to her.

Together, we walked to the front of the line.

I didn’t actually know the exact coordinates where the kingdom would appear. But because everyone had put their absolute trust in me, I had to maintain this illusion.

We all walked through the fog for what felt like an eternity. The only sounds were our breathing and the steps of ten people pushing through dense liquid.

Then, the environment began to change.

The trees around us were no longer bare. Symbols of mermaids were carved into the trees.

’There it is,’ I thought as soon as I saw it and recognized it instantly. ’The black mermaid symbols. The marking of their outer territory.’

This exact detail had been explicitly highlighted in the story to warn readers that the protagonist was entering the high-danger zone.

I raised my hand and signaled a halt. Instantly, the entire line stopped.

"This is the border," I announced. "The territory begins right here."

I turned my head slightly, looking down at Vera.

"Can you swim?"

It was a bit of an obvious question considering her terrifying physical capabilities, but I still wanted to ask it anyway. To answer me, she just nodded slightly, and I noticed her mask moving.

"Good."

I reached into my pouch and pulled out the two breathing potion vials I had bought with the last of the money I had with me.

Even though Hana had cast her spell, I wasn’t about to risk our lives on the concentration of a trembling mage.

I handed one vial to Vera. She took it and deftly lifted the bottom edge of her mask just enough to clear her lips, then drank the shimmering blue fluid in one swift gulp.

I did the same and felt the cool, tingling sensation of the potion as it granted me a secondary layer of magic on top of Hana’s spell.

Now, both Vera and I had one red layer on our bodies and a blue layer above it.

After using them, I tucked the empty vials away and adjusted my paper bag, ensuring it was secure.

"Stay close to me," I murmured.

"I always do," she replied.

And without another word, I took one more step forward. However, my boot met nothing.

The muddy ground beneath us completely vanished. In an instant, gravity took over, and both Vera and I disappeared beneath the dark green surface of the swamp.

"Woooo..."