But just as he had swum halfway across, he suddenly felt something huge and soft coil around his leg, followed by an immense force.
Without the slightest chance to struggle, he was dragged under.
Glug, glug...
The people beside the pool saw Polaris suddenly sink as he swam. A few bubbles rose to the surface, and the entire pool returned to deathly silence.
"..."
"-There really is a monster in this pool! What happened, Polaris?"
They exchanged glances, and Ma Ren asked urgently.
"-I don't know, but I suspect it's some kind of large creature... an octopus? Or maybe something else. I couldn't see clearly."
"-Then we won't wait for you. Sanity keeps dropping. We can't waste time."
"-Let's risk it and bring back whatever we can."
"-Spread out before entering the water so the monster underneath can't catch us all at once."
The players briefly exchanged a few words in public chat.
They ran around the edge of the pool, spacing themselves a dozen meters apart.
"-I'll count to three. Enter the water together, then ignore everything else and swim straight for the treasure chest!"
Ma Ren gave instructions in public chat.
"-Okay, got it!"
"-Understood!"
"-Let's start."
But just as Ma Ren was about to begin the countdown, a drastic change suddenly swept through the pool.
Splash!
The water churned as though boiling, sending spray flying.
Dozens of small, densely packed dark shapes shot out of the water and charged toward the players on the bank.
"Monsters! They're coming ashore! Fall back!"
Ma Ren had no time to type in public chat and shouted directly instead.
The others needed no reminder. At the sight, they were startled, then hurriedly backed away.
Only after recovering their wits did they see clearly what had emerged from the pool, giving them