Trapped Inside the Beta Test World for 1000 Years-Chapter 51 – Koi

If it weren't for Shinobu Oshino's divine intervention, Xia Ya would have spent at least two more days in the water looking for the key, possibly even bothering Luke, only to conclude: the damn key wasn't in the water this time.
Finally, holding incense to repel the sea creatures, he'd search back and forth in the dark passageway, taking at least three days.
In short, luck was truly on their side, for both of them.
"Try using a 'Purification Spell' on it."
Xia Ya held the key up to Mia. The priestess immediately clasped her hands together, her expression serene as she prayed.
A few seconds later, a golden light enveloped Xia Ya and the key in his hand, slowly contracting.
Hiss.
The light sphere seemed to be pricked by a needle, its contraction speed suddenly accelerated, and its shape became irregular. Finally, the golden light awkwardly disappeared, turning into a lump of chewed gum, sticking to the key.
"Huh? What's this?"
Mia's eyes widened in surprise. The "Purification Spell" usually disappeared in a flash, leaving nothing behind. What was this? Something that could eat the purification spell and leave leftovers!
"So it didn't work... As expected, they wouldn't leave such an obvious backdoor."
Xia Ya scraped off the sticky residue from the key, washed it in the water, and found it unchanged from before.
This was the residue from the divine battle, and it couldn't be purified so easily, as it was the power of the gods. The mechanical spirit, Tin Soldier, besieged by the Seven Sacred Spirits, was also known as the Mortal God, a mortal who walked the path of divinity, eventually abandoning his weak mortal body to embrace machinery.
The residue on the key was his power, strongly repelling divine power. The purification spell was also a form of divine power, naturally causing antagonism, and the sticky lump was the result—the divine power, the main component of the spell, dissipated, while other mixed components shrank into a sticky mess...
To completely unlock the seal on this key, the proper procedure must be followed.
But until then, anyone using divine magic on Xia Ya could be blocked by the key.
However, if it came to that, the followers of the Sacred Spirits alone would be enough to overwhelm him. This thing was just a broken key; its special trait was just a bonus. The doors it could open were what truly mattered.
"Tell me, Xia Ya! What is this?"
Mia's pleading was something Xia Ya could never resist, especially since she was so persistent.
Xia Ya straightforwardly explained everything. This little bit of setting completion wasn't enough to affect her faith.
"Oh, so there are mixed components in divine magic too... Xia Ya, do you know what that is?"
"How would I know..."
Xia Ya rolled his eyes. He was just a gamer; what did he know about Illusory Realm?
"So Xia Ya doesn't know everything either..." the girl murmured, her delicate profile giving Xia Ya an urge to take a bite.
Delayed by Shinobu Oshino for five or six minutes, the two set off again.
Beside them, the dark river flowed with faint glimmers, like stars shining in the pitch-black night sky. By this weak light, one could see the rugged rock walls on both sides of the river and the glowing sand left behind by the water.
This was the scale sand from the body of the Glowing Bigmouth Fish, the dark river koi.
Xia Ya knew the koi was coming.
The Glowing Bigmouth Fish was likely designed to spark players' enthusiasm for rare spawns. This creature had extremely high physical and magical defense, with a nearly permanent "99% reduced movement restriction effect" and an almost immune "Luck" buff. If killed, it would drop a pile of glowing sand and scales, creating a spectacular scene.
These items had only one use.
To sell.
To sell for a lot of money.
That's why it was called a koi, a fish that could make someone rich overnight, much more practical than any forwarded koi.
Usually, when Xia Ya hunted this fish, he would chase it through the undercurrents, performing acrobatic feats like a white stripe in the waves, slowly wearing it down like a dull knife cutting meat. But today, he had someone with him, a level 50 priestess, making it much easier! Divine magic dealt true damage!
Physical and magical defense, huh? Eat my divine magic!
"Wait for my signal, then throw a 'Holy Burst' into the water."
"Okay!"
Mia stared intently at the river, letting Xia Ya lead her forward.
They moved slowly, with Xia Ya listening carefully to the sound of the river.
Suddenly, a "plop" sound, like bubbles popping, came from the water. The sound was barely audible, even if heard, it was easy to ignore, but Xia Ya was extremely sensitive to it.
After all, the koi he had camped for over the years could fill a Maengron-sized fish tank!
"Now!"
As soon as Xia Ya spoke, a blazing golden light shot from Mia's hand.
It was only the size of a basketball when it left her hand, but its brilliance and heat were overwhelming. As it followed a strange arc into the dark river, it suddenly expanded to a diameter of one or two meters, the high temperature causing a sharp hissing sound in the water, and for a moment, white mist enveloped the entire underground river.
As the river water evaporated, nothing could be seen. But Xia Ya heard a "slap" sound, a sign of a fish coming ashore.
—That was the sound of a fish flopping on the ground before it cooled down.
Then, a burst of light exploded in the air, with self-illuminating scales mixed with light-reflecting sand scattering everywhere.
Xia Ya dashed forward, almost reaching the Bigmouth Fish's corpse at the same time as Mia's "Requiem," then spread his hands on the ground, cleaning it as if a dog had licked it!
"Glowing Gravel (Mixed Fish Scales)," the item description was unusually simple, just two words:
"Sell me"
He had over a hundred of these in his backpack.
Very stable.
Meanwhile, the Bigmouth Fish's corpse evaporated at a visible rate beside him, and the girl who had completed the requiem had an exceptionally serene expression, serene like a death god.
Damn, racing against the Grim Reaper...
"Alright, let's keep going!"
"Okay!"
...
Half an hour later, they finally reached the place where Simon and the other three were tied up.
From the moment they arrived at the Fight Club and Maka evacuated the thugs and gamblers, Luke guessed it was Xia Ya, so he had the sea monster clear out a batch of sea creatures in advance, leaving the remaining path unobstructed.
Simon and his three companions were knocked out, while the sea monster had also retreated to the depths of the fish tank.
Luke stood there quietly, his thin figure as lonely as a weed rooted in a desolate desert. Empy stood in front of him, the only scenery.
He instinctively didn't want others to see Maengron, nor did he want anyone to know about his relationship with that ugly monster.
"Luke! I knew you'd be here!"
Mia bit her lip, wanting to rush forward but was held back by Xia Ya.
"If he longed for your embrace, he wouldn't have left alone..." Xia Ya tried to speak as tactfully as possible, not wanting to hurt Mia.
Luke rejected Mia not only because she was Frederick's apprentice but also because she was like a flame, unaware of how to contain her warmth. Not all love can be accepted. Mia was a child who didn't know how to love, psychologically younger than Luke, yet she wanted to express sisterly care.
But with her ability, she couldn't achieve that, as she was mentally younger than Luke.
Some people are born to be loved, like Mia. Those who love her receive far more in return than the love they give. Her concern for Luke was fine, just misguided. Like most parents' overused phrase, "It's for your own good," using right and wrong as a measure is too narrow and rigid, just ill-timed.
And Luke, because of loneliness, matured early.
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread.com".
Because he matured early, he was lonely and accustomed to solitude.
"Nice catch, Luke."
Xia Ya smiled at him, pointing to the post where Simon and the others were tied.
Luke couldn't help but smile back. Xia Ya's words gave him a comfort he had never felt before, an unspoken mutual understanding and cooperation, followed by praise.
How nice...
But when his gaze fell on Mia's face, his expression froze slightly, then he waved his hand in a panic, picked up Empy, and jumped into the water.
Mia: "Huh???"