Marinus has been swimming for a month. The water was colder now. It reminded him of the time he was alone. Of the time, he did every task mermaids would ask of him in the hopes of being adopted.

But that time was gone now. He had a family to go back to after this task. He neared the pale white, dead, his mind supplied coral reef and wondered how to get past it.

Alba lived just behind it. In the dungeon of stingrays. She was the boss of the dungeon. But Marinus had seen her before. He knew she ventured outside the dungeon occasionally.

“Hello? Madam Alba? I need to speak with you,” he called but received no answer. He had heard stories about mermaids dying in this dungeon, but what choice did he have? He needed to meet Alba, the sea witch.

Quickly he swam up and then looked for the entrance of the underwater cave. He found it, but there was a giant stone over it. It was an unspoken rule that dungeons that wanted people to delve into them had no right to bar their entrance.

Theanore wanted nothing to do with adventurers, but this dungeon core was different. Marinus swam closer to the entrance and saw writing on it.

If you have come here to seek,

That which we keep.

If you have come here to know,

What we do, reap and sow.

Then prove you can give and not just take,

And we will prove the same.

If you have come here to seek that which we keep? Well, Marinus has indeed come for a life-extending ring. But what was with the reap and sow? A dungeon sow traps and mobs and reaped death. But not every dungeon. Could this dungeon be like Thea?

And how does he prove? He had an item with four enchantments on him, water, earth, air, and lightning ring. If he left it by the entrance, could the stone move?

It was level 9999 on the scale of all four enchantments. It was more precious than the gear of the average adventurer that came here, right?

Marinus took the ring out of his bag and placed it next to the entrance.

“I have many more of these. I can pay for what I have come,” said the merman, and the ring was absorbed into the stone. The stone glowed and then moved aside. Marinus grinned and swam inside.

There were many mobs inside. Sharks as big as Whitetooth. Eels that had bolts of lightning around them. Giant crabs clapped their pincers at him threateningly. But none made a move to attack.

Marinus swam further in, and then he saw a barred door. Sharks swam closer to him. Now he had no hope to evade them. He understood why they hadn’t attacked when he was near the entrance now.

There was writing on the door too, and a sand clock was upturned and sand trickled down. A riddle with a timer. The cost for failure? Death. The riddle read:

You paid one price,

But what of another?

What does your heart desire?

What is so dire,

That you come here,

And change the sharks’ ire?

“I need to find a life-extending ring for my fiancé, Theanore. She will live only 150 years and I 300. I can’t spend 150 years without her. I rather the sharks tear me apart now,” spoke Marinus truthfully. The door glowed and it opened. Marinus swam through the door and swamped it just in time for a shark to ram into it. On the side of the wall was written:

You speak from the heart,

But know a fact.

Mermaids, merman, and the like,

Are not welcome to pass this spot.

If you are a fish in truth,

Lay down here and sleep.

This was all the warning Marinus got as the water began to drain around him. He waited until there was some space between the ceiling of the tunnel and the water and activated the changeling skill.

So, this was why all mermaids that came here died. The dungeon played dirty. It took payment, got a confession from the heart, and then it crushed all hope of the merfolk who was foolish enough to enter it.

Most mermaids and mermen had no use for the changeling skill, so they died at this point. They, and everything that needed water to breathe. Was the core room past this point? Was this why the defenses were so cruel?

This dungeon was obviously meant to be delved by merfolk. It was underwater where the darkness ruled, and the pressure was almost unbearable even to Marinus. No human could have survived to the entrance. No merfolk would have survived past this tunnel.

Or maybe it was supposed to be delved by a team of merfolk and humans? The underwater refuge skill could have gotten a human to the entrance and to this tunnel. But Marinus had no time to think about this. He was at least glad that there were no mobs in the tunnel.

Walking down the length of this stretch of the dungeon, Marinus realized why there weren’t any mobs. There was nothing to eat or drink here, and the tunnel was narrow. Starvation and thirst waited to reap what the dungeon had sown by allowing someone inside.

“I understand now,” said Marinus. “The second line of the riddle of the entrance. You sow traps and unfair challenges, and you reap death. Why? The Dungeon core rule book that was signed by the dungeon cores of this world forbids you from doing this. I know grandpa Thinker personally. He will rip you a new one for your conduct!”

As a merman, he could drink salt water too. But he had no idea of whatever or not the dungeon of stingrays was truly underwater, so he had taken some water skins with him before he left. He even had food in clay boxes. He just hoped that this tunnel was not going through the entire seafloor.