Hal gazed at the sea, taking a few heavy breaths while eating.

It was now lunchtime.

'Damn it, that huge silhouette was Tiki Island all along?' he cursed inwardly.

He needed to enter the Temple of Chaos again to progress, but like earlier, there was a damned guardian.

Hal didn't even know what the creature looked like.

The fact that it wasn't willing to leave the darkness certainly helped him familiarize himself with the surroundings of the trench, but whenever he would try to enter the depths, the sense of danger would instantly return.

The guardian was certainly on high alert.

'Do I have no choice but to fight it in its territory?'

Just the thought of fighting a massive beast underwater made Hal shudder, but that was the only solution he could think of.

Otherwise, he would only be wasting time here.

'No…let's not be hasty and observe for a while…'

He at least knew where to go now, and that was progress.

It was wiser to spend some time looking for other possible options. Fighting whatever the guardian creature was should be his last option.

Hal spent more time pondering.

When he fought the tyrant chicken-lizard, there was an objective he needed to achieve before Chaos allowed him to pass through the entrance.

Perhaps there was something he needed to accomplish in this trial stage first?

Otherwise, if he forced the issue and attempted to enter the temple, only to be kept out by another barrier, then there was a high chance he would lose his life.

He had to approach the matter with caution.

'In the meantime, I should clear out the surroundings of the trench as much as I can…'

Preparing his next attempt to be as smooth as possible was the better thing to do.

Tomorrow, he shall risk his life once more and unravel the appearance of the guardian of the depths.

Hal hunted sea beasts for the rest of the day.

Somehow, he formed a habit of disposing of the slain beasts' corpses in a certain direction, like a god bestowing food upon the creatures of that part of the Southern Sea.

In fact, there was already one such creature depending on the "blessings", as he had been sending the corpses close to the aquatic beast's resting area from his first day in this specific trial.

A long beast slithered out of a hole-den, retrieving yet another massive fish corpse sent its way.

The creature brought the free meal into its safe space and stayed there for a while to eat it before bursting out again, more energetic than it had been yesterday and significantly more than the day before.

It swam towards the direction from which the food was coming.

As for what the aquatic beast's objective was, only the divine knew.

Another hour passed.

The sun has begun its descent, and in a few more minutes, Hal would leave the waters, too.

He swam back to the Great Carralis Canyonlands as fast as he could, not wanting to stay in the water at night.

Who knew what horrors would emerge from their lairs come nightfall?

Unbeknownst to him, one such horror was already observing him from a distance, watching as he fought and killed yet another four-finned tuna and sent its corpse flying in the habitual direction.

Hal then conjured a shield and used it as a ride back to land.

Everything was ready.

He already set up various traps, cleared the surrounding area as much as he could, and familiarized himself with the area around the depths of the trench.

He shall attempt to draw the guardian out tomorrow and take a look at its form and appearance.

Passing the night in his tiny alcove, the morning sun rose, its warm rays waking Hal up.

He had a rather hearty breakfast. After all, it might very well be his last…

He then regulated his breathing and steeled his heart before walking to the edge of the canyonlands.

With another deep breath, he activated his unique-tier spells and dove into the water, swimming towards the trench with a determined look.

He arrived a few dozen minutes later.

The massive silhouette wasn't so unsettling to him now, finding out it was actually Tiki Island bound to the depths by mysterious purple chains.

'Phew…let's do this.'

For starters, Hal conjured a disposable ironwood puppet, preventing it from sinking with the help of a conjured shield.

He then swam a bit farther away, circling the intensifying darkness of the trench with the help of [Shadow Walk].

Once in position, he dismissed the shield, allowing the ironwood puppet to squirm as it sank deeper and deeper.

The guardian naturally sensed the movements, immediately leaving its hiding spot beneath the island.

It then waited patiently for the invader to get a bit closer before bolting over as fast as it could.

'It's coming!' Hal sensed the disturbance in the waters, swimming into the trench himself, though not as deep as the disposable puppet dared to.

Eventually, he directly sensed the guardian's presence as it got closer and closer.

'Now then…show me what you look like!'

Swimming a little closer to danger, Hal cast [Illuminate], granting himself a few seconds of vision in the early depths of the trench.

Then he saw it.

A massive dragon's head with maws wide open, about to snap shut and crush his ironwood puppet.

However, instead of having four legs and wings, this one had two, sharp-clawed and muscular arms, eight pairs of massive, wing-like fins, and its long whiskers swayed in the water, extending all the way to the darkness, where Hal's light-elemental spell couldn't reach.

The aquatic beast quickly reacted, turning to look at the source of the light, screeching in an eerie, intermittent tone that resembled a whale's cry and a slow version of a dolphin's laugh.

Hal immediately blinked away without hesitation. He was ready to get the hell out of there and plan his next move.

But before he could, he heard another sound.

A mystical hiss made its way to his ears the moment another silhouette, similar in size but a little smaller than the Sea Dragon's, whooshed past him a few dozen meters from his left.

Another aquatic beast had appeared, and it was rushing straight for the guardian.