Kyle stopped moving, and he started to rapidly sink.
Below the surface, he opened his eyes and looked down into the dark abyss.
When he looked down, his heart almost stopped.
There were six gigantic eyes looking up at him!
“Do not move!” Theodor shouted. “Use your Soul to slowly move your body to the surface!”
Kyle did as ordered and willed the lake to move him upward.
A moment later, Kyle felt a connection with the lake, and he felt like it was willing to do his bidding.
The water in his surroundings gathered below him, increasing the density.
Slowly, Kyle’s body moved back to the surface, and he could finally breathe again.
“You saw the Noble of the Lake, right?” Theodor asked.
Kyle nodded, not daring to say anything or move in any way.
“Good, this will make explaining things easier,” Theodor said.
Kyle felt something moving below him.
“Pull your right leg in. Stretch your left leg out,” Theodor ordered.
Kyle did just as ordered.
“Now, this might hurt a bit, but it is a necessary expense. Whatever you do, do not move. As long as you do not move, you are not in life-threatening danger.”
’Life-threatening? That means I’m still in regular danger, right?’ Kyle thought.
Kyle felt the water around his legs moving.
Snap!
Kyle’s eyes widened as insane pain went through his entire body.
It felt like his foot had been torn off!
’Fucking! This hurts so fucking bad!’ Kyle thought as he gritted his teeth.
“Use your Soul to swim to the other side of the lake. Keep your left leg stretched out. Do not stretch out your right leg!” Theodor ordered.
Due to the pain, Kyle was unable to focus.
The water around him started to move in waves as he tried his best to use his Soul to move forward.
“Careful! Do not cause any disturbances! The Noble of the Lake does not like disturbances!” Theodor shouted.
Kyle’s mind went wild as he did his best to focus.
The water around him calmed down somewhat, and his body slowly moved forward.
After floating forward for about ten meters, Kyle felt something moving beneath him again.
“You know what’s about to come,” Theodor commented.
Kyle’s body broke out in sweat.
Snap!
The water around Kyle bubbled as he lost his focus.
The insane pain had returned!
“Keep moving! Do not make a commotion!” Theodor shouted.
Kyle was filled with anger and terror as he sped up.
Surprisingly, the faster he moved, the calmer the water around him became.
Just when he reached the other edge, he felt something moving below him again.
“Just keep going! Stay calm!” Theodor shouted.
Finally, Kyle felt the ground beneath him, and he quickly jumped out of the lake.
As soon as he landed outside, he collapsed.
While sitting on his ass, he looked at his left leg.
Or, more precisely, what remained of it!
Everything below his knee was gone!
“Good,” Theodor said.
“Good?!” Kyle shouted. “I lost my fucking leg! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
Theodor just snorted and stayed silent.
“What?! I’m talking to you!” Kyle shouted.
The next moment, Kyle heard a splash and looked over.
A small fish with six eyes had jumped out of the lake and was flopping around beside him.
“Don’t let it get back into the water!” Theodor shouted.
Kyle followed Theodor’s command on instinct and grabbed the fish.
“Consume it,” Theodor ordered.
Kyle didn’t need to be told twice, and he immediately rammed his teeth into the fish.
As soon as he swallowed the first bite, he felt his entire body being revigorated.
His leg started to regrow.
In the next moment, Kyle fell into a feeding frenzy and ate the entire fish.
As soon as he was done, he was filled with energy.
’Fuck, I feel like I just took a shot of Basic Mage Stone!’ he thought.
It took about a minute for Kyle’s leg to recover fully, and when it was done, he stood up.
Kyle’s anger had calmed down quite a bit, and he looked at the lake.
“What the fuck just happened?” Kyle asked.
“That is a Noble of the Lake, and it is a very valuable species,” Theodor explained. “The Noble of the Lake is a peaceful beast that benefits the environment.”
“A couple of select and intelligent beasts know about the Noble of the Lake. They willingly enter the lake during dawn and let parts of their body be eaten.”
“Depending on the value of the meat, the Noble of the Lake will grant one of its small copies in return.”
“You are in the Mid First Realm, and you have an Aristocrat’s Body. Your meat is a delicacy, and the Noble of the Lake will give you something in return.”
“You have passed its test, and it now views you as an ally. It will not attack you as long as you don’t cause too much chaos in its lake.”
“From time to time, it will consume some of your flesh to renew its protection. You must not resist when that happens.”
“If you are ever in danger, you can jump into the lake, and the Noble of the Lake will take care of the danger.”
“You must never disrespect it, or it will consume you.”
“Based on your contribution, I estimate that you can now freely swim in its lake for the next week without having to pay more tribute.”
“The Noble of the Lake protects its lake, and fishing for any kind of fish-eating beast is beyond dangerous in this lake. This means the lake is abundant with valuable fish.”
“Your food source for the next week has been secured, and you gained a sanctuary.”
Kyle could barely believe what he had just heard.
Noble of the Lake?
Protection?
What was this, politics?!
That was a fish!
A fucking fish!
He just fed his leg to a fish!
“Go back into the lake. Maybe there’s some valuable ore around. I don’t think any of the locals know how to enter an accord with the Noble of the Lake, which means any ore in the lake is up for grabs.”
Kyle took a deep breath as he tried to wrap his head around this weird concept.
“Sure thing, Boss,” he answered in the end.