episode_0150

While it’s called many things—Whale Monstrosity, Calamity of the Sea, Black Cloud, Murderous Whale, and more… ultimately, the name that resonated most with me was 魔鲸 (Makyeong)—Demon Whale.

You might think, “What’s with the Chinese characters in a medieval-style Akasto world?” But the game itself was developed in Korea, so it’s not that strange.

The problem isn’t that, but that this whale monstrosity, which appears in Liberty Port with a certain probability, has a separate official name: Lyngbakr.

It’s probably from some mythology, but it’s unfamiliar and lacks intuitiveness, which is why it’s not used.

So what about “Makyeong”?

This, too, is history that I’ve recorded. As an anonymous veteran player who wrote the strategy guide back then said—

“Ring Fit? Bacchus? Who cares? Let’s just take it from Byakugei and call it Makyeong.”

—That’s where it came from.

For reference, “Byakugei” is from a Japanese light novel that became famous through its anime adaptation.

Even I think it was a perfectly targeted strategy guide that perfectly understood the user base.

Thus, the official name was forgotten in an instant.

The users who accidentally ventured out to sea and tasted disaster flocked to my strategy guide, and thus everyone started calling it Makyeong.

But the name isn’t important.

The lore surrounding this Makyeong is practically nonexistent.

I spent a full day’s playtime traveling the world to write the strategy guide, yet even renowned scholars haven’t given me a proper explanation.

So I left the origins and related stories blank…

Driven by frustration, I completed a perfect summary of Makyeong’s stats and patterns—a full ten pages of A4 paper.

It was such a perfect strategy guide that it seemed like I’d ripped the game data itself. It led to rumors that I was an Akasto developer.

Fortunately, that meaningless rumor quickly disappeared.

This was because the record of my character, known as “that guy who writes strategy guides,” selling 100 Makyeong’s worth of dropped items, was revealed.

I feel bad for Tier.

Wanting a comfortable and fulfilling summer vacation, I continued to ignore and dismiss the ominous signs that kept appearing.

Why…? Because…

As the saying “confirmation bias” goes, people tend to believe only what they want to believe.

Even when a condition for clearing the scenario with an unusual status window appeared, I thought I could just dodge whatever came.

Even though the appearance of Makyeong seemed to overlap with our summer vacation, I believed there was no problem because they mostly appeared near the harbor.

It just… turned out this way.

I reached out into the thick darkness to check my surroundings.

“…Where are we?”

Having jumped into Makyeong’s mouth, it’s clear that we’re inside its belly.

However, it’s a monstrosity with a body length of nearly 50 meters, so its belly isn’t uniform. It could be the upper belly where swallowed prey is stored, or the lower belly where it’s digested and converted into nutrients.

Makyeong’s current location is also important.

It has a habit of diving deep into the ocean after a successful hunt. If we rashly rip open its belly and try to escape, the immense water pressure of the deep sea might crush us.

Whatever the case, getting out of here is non-negotiable.

I first gathered aether at my fingertips to create a small light source.

[Light].

Whoosh-!

Soon, a blinding light enveloped the surroundings, illuminating Makyeong’s stomach.

“…Look at this.”

I already knew from the feel of my hand, but even as she was pulled unconscious into this place, Tier was just reaching out with her hand still reaching out.

I naturally grabbed her hand and pulled her close, and even now that she has regained consciousness…

She’s tightly gripping my hand.

“It must’ve been pretty scary.”

I’ve never heard that Tier has hunted monsters before.

Her job is mainly delivering the words of the Goddess, healing the injured, and wrapping those lost in despair in light.

Therefore, facing a monstrosity many times her size suddenly opening its mouth to swallow her would have been more terrifying than most horror films.

I pulled Tier’s limp body closer, pressing gently against her skin to make sure she would not get cold for now.

And then.

Phssshhh- Thud-

Another ominous sound reached my ears.

“Uh- oh- wait—”

Was this not its upper belly? Or did it move to the lower belly unknowingly through muscle movement? A strange digestive liquid from the middle section began to engulf us.

“We’re in trouble…”

Fortunately, this digestive liquid isn’t concentrated enough to dissolve a mana user. What it dissolves are usually accompanying byproducts—ship debris, marine life unsuitable as nutrients, or ordinary people.

And the most important thing…

Thump-Thud-

Is clothing.

. . .

I tried sensing the Oracle I left on the beach, but I got nothing. Makyeong’s thick layer of fat or mana seems to be scattering and suppressing aether.

Around then, Tier slowly regained consciousness.

Rustle-

“Ugh, my head…” “You’re awake?” “Ugh… where are we—Aaack!!”

Sadly, our swimsuits weren’t designed for battle and didn’t have mana enchantments. They dissolved completely, flawlessly, in Makyeong’s weak digestive fluid.

Tier didn’t know. She thought I stripped her naked. Given our prior experience… She frantically covered her chest which was absolutely far from covered in my eyes, and moved away.

“Are-Are-Are you crazy—?! In a place like this… like this…” “It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t undress you; this thing’s digestive fluid melted them away.”

I showed her I was also naked, which was counterproductive.

“That’s a lie…? You took them off yourself to enjoy it, didn’t you…?”

I wound up taking out the towel I’d pulled from the [Dimensional Storage] to cover Tier. Coming into contact with her skin, soaked in digestive fluid, it started melting with a foul smell.

Phssshhh—

“It’s… really true…” “Why don’t you believe me?” “But…”

Tier subtly lowered her gaze. It landed roughly below my navel.

My magical abilities are not yet high-level enough to open more than two Dimensional Storages simultaneously, and I had just used it to retrieve the towel, causing the black fog that was mosaicing my crotch to disappear.

Twitch- Twitch-

The natural consequence of this revelation was that my pride and joy, reunited with the world’s light, and made a strong impression on Tier’s naked figure , resulting in its forceful awakening.

“It’s a physiological response, okay? It’s unavoidable. All men are like that.” “Th-that’s… it is…?” “Of course.”

Of course, if it had been a man, this would have meant nothing. But I decided not to say that.

I shone the light around Makyeong’s belly, inspecting it.

“We need to get out… but that’s the problem.”

I explained everything I’d been worrying about to Tier.

Ripping open this thing’s belly won’t work, and contacting the outside world is difficult. Waiting it out either is also impossible since there’s no telling when we’ll drift to its lower abdomen.

Tier quietly listened and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry… because of me…” “No, why do you need to apologize? This is just an accident, it’s not your fault.” “But…”

Thud-

Tears welled up on Tier’s chest.

“It’s because of me that we can’t get out…”

Honestly, it’s hard to deny. If I was alone, I could simply force my way out, ignoring the water pressure. The problem is that I would never have ended up in the beast’s belly in the first place.

But at this point, what good would that statement do?

I gently stroked her hair.

“It’s not like that, kiddo. Don’t cry, don’t cry.” “Sniff- sniff—” “I’ve always wanted to come inside a monstrosity’s belly like this! Really. Just look, where can you get this kind of experience?”

I gently hugged her and patted her back to soothe her.

And when our skin touched, and our nipples brushed against each other…

I unconsciously got hard again.

“Ugh… seriously, you…!! Even in this situation—” “It’s a biological response! A wild woman is right in front of me, would you expect my genitals to not react?” “Anyway you can talk… Pffft—”

But compared to before, I’ve definitely calmed down. It seems that I’ve recovered my composure somewhat because I can smile.

And a moment later… Tier’s physiological response hit.

Gurgling—

“Ugh…” “Hey, are you actually hungry in a situation like this?” “It’s… it’s an internal response…”

I have not eaten for some time, indeed. I’m hungry, too, so I’m beginning to wonder if it’s time to get something to eat—

“Ah—!!” “Wh-what…?”

A fantastic idea popped into my head. An easy escape method.