“We can breathe underwater?” Jet asked.
“You have never tried going into the water all this time?” Jack asked back.
“Why the hell would I want to go into the water in an alien world when I don’t know what is lurking under its surface?”
“Well, you will have to now if you want that pet armor for your sweet kitty.”
“Are you looking down on my Crimson-manned Lion? You should know that it is the same grade as your pet. How about we decide whose pet is stronger by having them fight, eh?”
“What is the level of your Tame Pet and Master Tamer skills?” Jack asked.
“16 and 12,” Jet answered.
“Hoho! Sure, let’s have our pet fight. You do know that aside from the pet’s inherent skill, a medium pet got another skill every ten levels of Tame Pet and Master Tamer, don’t you? This means your lion should only have three skills at the moment. Not to mention, the highest the level of those two skills, the stronger the pet will be.”
“What is the level of yours then?”
“Hahaha, max at 20. For both! Still want to fight?”
“Ugh, not talking to you anymore,” Jet said.
Jet changed into common clothing before going into the water edge. Jack told him that he didn’t need to. Jack had experienced swimming underwater with full armor. It didn’t hinder his swimming at all. The armor’s weight also didn’t make him sink. Jack mentioned that this was probably a programmed mechanic so that they could fight monsters underwater.
Jet seemed to be having trouble understanding the concept. So, Jack brought him to a part of the lakeside that had a protruding ledge overlooking the lake water below. Jack asked him to change back into his usual armor, before kicking him off the ledge.
Jet was screaming profanities as he fell into the water below. Jack jumped into the water following him. Peniel retreated into her hidden dimension when Jack entered the water, she didn’t want to get wet.
Under the water, Jack saw the old dwarf flailing his arms and legs in a panic.
Jack sent him a message since their voice was muffled underwater, ‘What are you panicking for? It’s not like you can drown.’
Jet stopped his frantic movement. “Hey, I really can breathe here,” He tried saying, only to have water going into his mouth. He coughed a few times before sending Jack the message.
‘You don’t believe me when I tell you? Now, get accustomed to swimming. We will go to the center once you feel comfortable.’
Jack swam around while waiting. The lake had clear water. Many fishes and colorful corals decorated this underwater world of green-blue light. The morning sunlight that managed to pierce through the water gently shifted with the water movement. The sight here was nothing like the murky view inside the river when he escaped Death Associates’ headquarters.
He wondered if Heavenly Citadel’s lake was as beautiful as this lake? But some members had reported that there were monsters dwelling inside Heavenly Citadel’s lakes. Some members had had the misfortunes of becoming their victims. So, not many dared to explore the lake.
<br/>As he marveled at the view below, a large shadow passed by. He was startled because he was too absorbed. Plus, he didn’t sense any hostility. His weapons appeared in his hands ready for conflict, only to find out the shadow was a very large fish swimming lazily by. The size of this fish was as big as him, but the fish treated him as a fellow denizen of the water.
He stored his weapon. Meratis told them there was no monster under this lake. No sense for her to lie. This was a village of peace, so the lake should be peaceful as well. Additionally, his radar didn’t show any red dot.
‘Look at me fly, Jack boy!’ Jack received Jet’s message. He turned and look at the old dwarf. Jet was doing some whip kicks that propel his body before staying still and letting his body float forward.
‘Ain’t you enjoying it? You do know that we have a mission here, right? Are you good to go already? You can enjoy this diving all you like after we get those runic metals.’
‘Sure, sure. Let’s go. My problem with swimming or diving is always with breathing underwater. Now that it is taken out, I have no problem moving underwater.’
‘All right, stay together. We should go that way,’ Jack pointed.
The two swam in that direction. They were not sure how far this sinkhole was, so they continued forward while keeping close to the lake floor. Meratis said the sinkhole was very large, so it should be visible as long as they trace the lake floor.
Suddenly they saw a pillar of light shoot up in front of them. It suddenly appeared and churned the water around it. The agitated water then turned into a water tornado. The energy also radiated out, creating a powerful wave. It happened so abruptly that Jack and Jet didn’t know how to react. The wave hit them and pushed them a distance away.
It was some time before they regained control. They looked at the pillar of vortex in the distance. The vortex lasted for a few minutes before it finally died down.
Jet sent a message. ‘Are we seriously going over there? It already felt so powerful from so far away. What do you think will happen if we get caught up inside that?’
Jack replied, ‘We have no choice. You want that pet armor, right? We should time the interval between when the vortex happens and see if it happens at a fixed time. If it is so, then we can time our approach and search the place within the interval time.’
Jack sank to the lake bed. He sat cross-legged there. One part of his mind was meditating and training mana manipulation, the mana density here didn’t decrease underwater. Another part was counting. The other part was paying attention to where the water vortex had appeared, waiting for the next one to happen.
Jet felt it was a strange scene seeing someone meditating at the bottom of a lake. He would have taken a photo if there was a camera in this world. He spent his time swimming around. Enjoying his time under the water. This was an experience that was not available in the real world, diving without gear for an unlimited amount of time.
After waiting for some while, they saw the energy pillar again, followed by the water vortex. They could still feel the wave rolling onto them. But their current distance was where the wave had reached its weakest point, so the force was not enough to push them again.
‘The interval is ten minutes, the vortex itself last two minutes,’ Jack sent Jet a message.
‘That is a short time. How long do you reckon for us to swim from here to where that vortex is?’ Jet asked.
‘Probably three to four minutes,’ Jack estimated.
‘That has cut down almost half the available time. Do you think we can search for these runic metals in the remaining time? Not to mention we have to leave before that vortex appears again.’
‘We can only give it a try.’
‘So, should we go? Give it a try?’
‘No, let me check the timing another two more times. Make sure the interval is fixed.’
‘All right,’ Jet got back to his swimming. Jack returned to his meditation.
The vortex happened another two more times.
‘So?’ Jet asked.
‘The timing is the same. There are no variations. It should be safe to assume the next one will be as well,’ Jack replied.
‘So?’ Jet asked again.
‘Let’s go!’ Jack uttered and kicked the lake floor, propelling himself forward. Jet swam after him.
‘Pick up the pace. The faster we arrived there, the more time we have for searching,’ Jack advised. He was doing the dolphin kick swimming, his two legs went up and down in a wave motion. Jet copied his style.
After swimming for some time, they finally saw what Meratis described as the sinkhole. It was a very large circular hole at the bottom of the lake. Like a giant cave but going vertically into the floor.
Jack had been keeping their time while they swam here. It was almost five minutes, longer than he had estimated.
‘We don’t have much time. Let’s hurry. Hedite said the deposits give off a green glow, we should be able to easily spot them.’ Jack sent a message.
They reached the edge of the hole. Without wasting any time, they swam into it. What they saw was total darkness. They couldn’t see the end of this hole. It was like a doorway into the abyss.
‘Jack boya?| I don’t see any green glow down there,’ Jet said.
Jack had the Dragon Eye ability that allowed him to see better in the dark. He sent Jet a reply, ‘a?| Neither do I.’
‘What should we doa?|?’
It took Jack a beat before he replied, ‘We won’t know if we don’t try. Let’s just head down!’
Jack dove into the abyss.
Jet took one glance at where they came from. He had the compulsion to just swim back. He then looked down at Jack who was getting farther. He scolded himself. If this youngster dared to go in, he should be ashamed to be scared.
He then dove down chasing after Jack.
