Chapter 108: Unexplored Caves

Chapter 108: Unexplored Caves

Chapter 108 - Unexplored Caves

Kai swam past Mr. Clam through the crevasse. A cold current caressed his fingers against the stillness of the pond. Squeezing between the rocks, the path shrank and descended into darkness.

Mana Sense told him it grew wider further up, but the choke was too narrow. He would risk getting stuck.

It had already been more than ten minutes since he resurfaced; wrestling with Mr. Clam also took some effort. Kai pushed on the seafloor with his feet and began his ascent, stopping midway to get Eles attention.Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

Ele, I found an underwater cave! Kai exclaimed as soon as they breached the surface.

His sister didnt show the excitement he expected. Are you sure its not a dead end? Ive searched this pool a few times before and Ive never found anything.

Come, Ill show you.

Diving back down, Kai swam straight for the crevasse, gesticulating to explain his findings to her. Ele still looked skeptical.

His crystal light couldnt illuminate past the first bend. The water contained slightly more essence than the rocks, outlining the shape of a larger cave. Without Mana Sense, it would be impossible to determine if the tunnel led anywhere. Her skill wasnt high enough to recognize the subtle difference.

After a fruitless waving of hands, they took another detour to the surface. Ele listened to his explanation in silence.

Im sure theres a cave below.

Its not that I dont believe you, his sister saidKai could feel the but coming from miles away.

But can you know the dead end is not just a little further up? Ive seen plenty of tunnels. Most of them lead nowhere. The fact a place is hidden or hard to reach doesnt mean it contains anything valuable, or that is worth the risk.

What about the current, you felt it too, right?

I wouldnt call that a current, the waters are always in flux. There could be many reasons for that. Her calm and conciliatory tone crushed his dreams with boring logic that irked him to no end.

Shes treating me like a kid who claims he found a treasure in his backyard.

Kai swallowed a snappy response. It wasnt the time to act like a brat.

From her point of view, what are the odds of someone finding a secret treasure on their first outing? But just because its rare, it doesnt mean it never happens. Having 24 Favor must be worth something.

Whether it was Blessed Swimmer or his luck, Kai felt it in his bones - that cave was worth exploring.

Whats the harm in trying?

Apart from getting stuck several meters underwater and drowning, you mean? Ele sighed and softened her tone. I speak from experience. I know you want to find a great treasure. But that passage is too small even for you. Trying to enlarge it would only risk it collapsing on us.

Jackpot!

Kai hid a smile. The moment she moved the topic from a straight no to an insurmountable problem, he had won.

What if I can widen the entrance at no risk?

When the gears started turning in her head, it was already too late. How would you do that?

With magic, Kai conjured a fish made of water. Her eyes widened as it swam around her, before jumping into the pond. His sister stared at him with mute wonder.

I didnt apprentice all these years for nothing, Kai said proudly.

Are you sure you can enlarge that tunnel safely?

Completely.

Ele put on a token resistance before admitting defeat. I guess theres no harm in trying, but dont be disappointed if you dont find anything. Thats how it goes most of the time.

The feeling in his gut only grew as they swam closer. Even if he was tempted to blast a hole through the stone, with Ele watching, he tried to use more finesse.

The rock formation looked porous but solid. His reserves mostly contained Water mana, with just a smattering of Earth. It would take half an hour to gather the necessary essence to shape the stone. With his high-level Water Magic and the advantage of the environment, it didnt seem worth the hassle.

He gestured to Ele to move back and relocated Mr. Clam out of the way.

Be safe, little buddy.

Using what little Earth mana he had, Kai studied the stone and widened some cracks. With everything ready, he touched the rough rock and let the mana flow through his hand. Water moved forward at his command, flowing through the tiny fissures in the stone.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a low rumble resounded through the pond as large chunks of rock separated from the rest in a burst of chips. Quickly casting another spell, Kai pushed them away to ensure the fallout didnt seal the tunnel.

Closer. The light was almost within grasp. Just a little more and everything would be okay.

The rumble in his head thumped like a gong. His whole body and mind screamed that something was deeply wrong.

Like the shattering of glass, the mesmerizing light faded away to reveal a golden pearl shimmering with iridescent light. It sat a palm from his outstretched hand, sitting on the fleshy mouth of the biggest damned clam he had ever seen. Large enough to swallow him standing up.

Fear blasted through the desire to grasp the treasure. Mana flooded his skills before he could form any coherent thought. Blessed Swimmer, Empower and Water Magic. They all worked together for a single desire - getting away from Mama Clam before he became her snack.

Mana Sense warned him the mollusk had noticed something was wrong, probably reacting to his sudden burst of mana. As his skills took effect, Kai pushed against the water like never before in his life, while the walls of flesh began to snap close.

No, you dont!

More Water Mana surged to slow the closing shell, just enough for his body to dart out faster than his sprint speed. Kai crashed on the opposite wall of the cavern.

Blessed Spirits, this hurts.

The impact punched the air out of his lungs. With his desperate flight, he had lost most of his oxygen.

Thank fucking Yatei Ive got the ring. I could kiss Elijahs grumpy face right now.

Activating his emergency plan, he released the bubble of air from his spatial closet and used Water mana to keep it around his head. He took a deep breath, followed by a long string of curses worthy of a seasoned sailor.

Fucking mollusk!

His Mana Sense had never left the awakened beastthough it felt weird to call a shelled invertebrate a beast. He had no idea how the skill missed that. Mama Clam remained at the other end of the cavern, not showing an ounce of shame for her actions.

To add insult to injury, the cheeky clam opened her shell once more, enticing him to give in another shot. The light of the golden pearl filled the cavern, though its allure was only a fraction of what he felt before.

Impudent mollusk!

Kai let go of the air bubble, the oxygen level too low to be worth keeping. The prudent course of action would be to leave.

But he still had a considerable chunk of Water mana, and his hurt pride didnt allow him to leave like that. Especially with a mana treasure in front of him with such beautiful light

Nope, snap out of it, you moron!

Mana sense confirmed Mama Clam was at the early stages of orange grade.

Not sure if I should be happy or not. Id have buried myself in a hole if I had gotten charmed by a red-tier mollusk.

Despite her unthreatening appearance, the beast was bound to have far higher attributes than him. That multicolored illusion could only be an instinctive form of magic, it could also be the reason why Mana Sense didnt notice from a distance.

I need a plan.

The matriarch's cavern had the highest density of mana and housed no other clams or tiny fishes. Exploring the cavern, Kai noticed the shell sat right at the mouth of a tunnel which seemed to be the origin of the current.

He preferred to avoid a direct confrontation, even if he could injure it, the mollusk could simply close its shell and wait him out. That was the whole reason they had a shell.

A clam is still a clam, awakening can only improve her wits so much.

Taking a stone from the seafloor, Kai threw it at the pearl with the help of some magic. As expected, the mouth shut instantly.

A few seconds later, the shell opened again, and the rock was thrown out.

No take backsies. Its rude to refuse a gift.

Kai threw it back in, eliciting the same reaction. An annoyed pulse of mana resounded through the mollusk. Getting an idea, he swam closer, within spell range.

The snap was extremely quick, and he wasnt confident in outspeeding her. Instead of waiting for her to get ready into position, he struck right as Mama Clam was about to spit out the rock, her shell halfway open.

Pumping the spell with all the mana he could spare, a tentacle of mana sneaked inside her gaping maw, grabbing the pearl with lightning-quick speed. He could feel the clam trying to close again. Caught mid-action, her reaction was too slow and stuttered.

Thanks, Mama Clam. A fair trade for almost eating me.

It was the biggest pearl he had ever seen, larger than his fist and rich with mana. As he was admiring his loot, Danger Sense warned him again.

The matriarch propelled toward him using her two halves to push against the water.

Without thinking twice, Kai put the treasure inside his ring and ran, chased by a furious Mama Clam.

Damn greedy mollusks. I should have known Mr. Clam took after you.