Ball of Nothing

Chapter 616: Rainbow Scale Fish

The mobile docking station was prepared in less than two hours, and the hatch was finally opened. Zero couldn't wait to be the first one out of the stuffy sinking ship. It had been way too long since he breathed fresh air and felt sunlight on his skin. Bob and Truen didn't blame Zero for his eagerness to get outside. After all, they felt the same.

Standing on the mobile docking station platform didn't feel the same as walking on land. Zero couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed as the waves rocked them gently. The sea otters got busy at once under Ottley's instructions and checked the hull. Thankfully, the volcanic rocks didn't do too much damage to the sensitive underside of the ship. It scratched the hull badly, and some massive dents led to minor structural compromise, but it wasn't anything they couldn't fix.

"The repairs would take about two to three days," Ottley informed them after they inspected the damages.

It wasn't difficult to repair the ship, but the sea otters lacked the tools and materials needed to fully restore the hull. After the volley of volcanic rocks sent their way, Ottley concluded that the Marrissa wouldn't be able to withstand a sea monster king's attacks. The structure was weakened, and even travelling to the initial five thousand meter mark might be challenging. The engine core was also slightly unstable. Pepper claimed that the overheating might have messed up some of the internal circuits and was currently opening it up to troubleshoot the faulty parts.

When Zero heard how terrible the condition of the ship was, his heart ached. Even the Sea Hand's greatest masterpiece was only so-so against the unknown dangers of the sea. Yet, he was grateful they had the Marrissa.

"I understand. Is there any way I can help?"

Ottley looked at the powerful trio and shook his head. "Not for now. Please leave this to us. We promise to complete the voyage and find Indra Seagloo. As the first trouble location is confirmed to be a natural phenomenon and not the doings of Indra Seagloo, we should consider carefully which route we want to pursue next. I'll be honest, the Marrissa might not be a match for anything too powerful. We don't have the proper tools, materials and expertise to reinforce the weakened structures of the Marrissa at the moment."

Zero's expression changed when he heard that. He was sorely tempted to teleport Docky and Pocky over just to bring the Marrissa back to its top form. However, he didn't set up a teleportation waypoint in the sea otters village. Sending someone over to bring the Sea Hand brothers will also take time, not to mention, it would hinder their airship progress. It was a terrible situation to be in, and Zero looked at the two other routes. Time was of the essence, so he had to pick the better option, considering the risk factors now that the ship wasn't in a stellar condition.

"Understood. We will take a short break for now."

Ottley saluted as Zero and Truen prepared to go underwater. Their underwater breathing abilities were convenient, and Bob sulked. He wanted to be with them, but he wasn't good with swimming or water in general. Hence, he transformed into his pet form, hiding in Zero's shirt before escaping into the mindscape just before they plunged into the sea.

Truen didn't know what Zero had in mind as he followed. Initially, he thought the doctor would use diving exploration as an excuse to travel back to land or take refuge in the lamp for a while. However, the doctor did none of that. Instead, he simply dived deeper and deeper until the sunlight felt far behind them.

"Zero, what do you want to do?" Truen asked in the party call. Despite getting better at swimming, Truen still felt very uneasy in the water.

Mii replied to Truen's question and pulled out the mini-map.

"We're looking for the cause of this huge mana fluctuation. Zero wants to get rid of the lurking enemy first before he takes a break in the mindscape. It's not as powerful as the Kraken we defeated, but we won't stand a chance with the ship's current condition. It would get smashed to smithereens."

The red dot on the mini-map grew gradually bigger the deeper they dove, and Truen wondered what kind of sea monster it was.

"I see light!" Bob shouted excitedly from the mindscape. Indeed, there was light.

Zero thought it might be a deep-sea monster with an ugly mouth ready to swallow them whole on sight. However, as they closed in, the dark vision kicked in, and Zero saw that it wasn't an ugly sea monster. If anything, it was a big beautiful bluish-purple fish with only one huge shining scale. The rest of its body was just skin without any scales.

"Who dares intrude on my waters!" the angry fish scowled and cranked the volume of its telepathic abilities to the max.

Truen cringed and felt a brain-vibrating headache. Zero remained calm and looked at the fish. It didn't seem to be a very threatening sea monster, even if it looked strange.

"Why are you naked?" the doctor asked. "Why do you only have one scale?"

The giant fish paused after realising that the newcomers weren't here to take its last scale. Instead, the fish started to wail.

"I've been duped! I've been duped! All my friends left me after they received my pretty scale! Oh, how I've been wronged!"

After deciding that this giant fish was not a threat to the Marrissa, Zero told Truen to use the lamp and rest. His best friend looked rather uncomfortable being in the water, and Zero didn't want Truen to force himself to stay and listen to the fish's story with him.

"It's a long story," the one-scaled fish replied. "I used to be a beautiful rainbow fish until I was fooled into giving all my pretty scales away. Now, I have just this one shining scale. Boohoo! All my friends were fake!"

Feeling slightly sorry for the fish and not in a rush to get anywhere soon, Zero decided to stay and listen to the fish's story.