NOVPUB
Chapter 1090: Traces of Argardus?
Sensing something coming from beneath his ship, Vicente opened his eyes, putting his studies on teleportation formations aside.
Leaving his simulative thoughts about the steps he would need to complete to activate one of these formations, he moved towards the bow of his ship. As he moved, he caught the eye of his companions, in particular Rex, who was there keeping an eye on his surroundings.
"Is there a problem, master?" The Flaming Lion asked, leaving where he was sitting to look out to sea, in the same direction Vicente was looking at the moment.
"There’s something calling me," Vicente said, looking through the thick layer of surface water of the first few meters of depth, seeing an area of darkness below where they were and then going deeper.
His electromagnetic vision ability came into play, enabling him to see far beyond what the eyes of a Grand Magus could reach.
"Larissa, Lyra, let’s stop here!" he said aloud after realizing that something of value was far below them. He couldn’t say exactly what, but every moment he looked down into the depths of this marine area, he felt a stronger connection with something that seemed to contain a power comparable to nothing he had ever experienced before.
Lyra and Larissa stopped the ship as quickly as they could, before one of the two left the vehicle’s command area and looked at Vicente with a questioning look.
"What’s wrong? Did you notice a problem?" The elf Lyra asked.
"Not exactly. I think there’s an opportunity below where we are!" Vicente said with a smile, although he wasn’t so sure where this opportunity would lead them.
"Opportunity?" Larissa left the cockpit and approached the bow, moving her senses to the depths of this stretch of sea. "I don’t feel anything."
"Neither do I."
"Me neither."
Rex and Lyra confirmed the same as Larissa, both looking at Vicente expectantly for an explanation from him.
He hadn’t expected his companions not to be feeling anything. The feeling of power and strong elemental concentration was practically screaming at him to stop and explore the area.
’Nobody’s feeling anything? Is this a question of affinity? Or maybe it’s related to my magical sensitivity?’ Vicente asked himself silently, not hurrying, despite his sudden behavior at first.
"How strange..." He muttered to his three companions. "But I’m sure there’s something underneath." He looked at them, wondering whether they should come with him or stay. "I want to explore the underwater area below. What do you think?"
They were in a part of the Sea of Stars that were far from any island. There could be the famous underwater tribes, such as the snake tribe that had almost wiped them out before they reached Amae.
Rex and Larissa remembered that experience very well and naturally couldn’t help but fear and respect the underwater world. They’d even had their underwater journeys on this trip alongside Vicente, but every time they’d done so, it had been for short intervals of time and because they had no better alternative.
Now, however, there didn’t seem to be a storm brewing, and no creatures were attacking them. This made them both feel uncertain as they thought about what Vicente wanted to do.
Lyra knew a lot about the theory of what happened in the underwater world and also had reason not to want to go, without any prior preparation or necessity, into the ocean’s depths. "This could be dangerous," she said to Vicente. "Are you sure you’re feeling something? Could this be some kind of trap?"
"Whether it’s a trap, I can’t say. I’m confident that there’s something underneath us and my senses tell me that it could be worth it." Vicente confirmed.
It was very difficult to ignore one’s senses. Magicians grew up used to considering what was dangerous or safe, interesting or bad, using their senses. When they sensed something, they naturally went in search of the answers in whatever way they deemed appropriate.
Vicente was no different from the absolute majority of magicians. Even though his rational side told him about the dangers of traveling to the underwater world to investigate something unusual, he was entirely willing to take the risks.
But it wasn’t entirely irrational. As he stood there looking out to sea, chatting with his friends, he couldn’t help but see an opportunity to accelerate his plans.
’This here is either a very strong illusion to lure me into some kind of trouble, or it’s something of great value that will help me get to Argardus. I can’t ignore it. This could be a chance for me to find more answers and clues for the way ahead!’
"Well, you can stay here and wait for me. I’ll try not to be long." He looked at them almost as if he were asking for a favor.
Leaving them alone in this place could be as bad as throwing them off a cliff!
Now the surrounding situation seemed calm and stable, but they knew that this was the most unpredictable place in the world. At any moment, a weather effect could change everything, or even some native marine who was interested in destroying them. Hell, they couldn’t even rule out the possibility that they might run into others traveling and that could lead to trouble.
Although encounters with island natives or individuals from lower planes were very uncommon, the Sea of Stars was used by beings from all corners of Anicane. With over 10,000 islands and 10,000 lower planes, there were a lot of beings traveling in the Sea of Stars almost all the time!
But if staying there was dangerous enough, going to the bottom of the sea, anywhere in this great world, would be a challenge to one’s vitality.
Staying where they were, the three of them might or might not be hit by trouble. But going to the bottom of the sea would almost certainly mean that they would have to fight for their lives!
"Let’s stay." Larissa said in a suggestive tone, looking at the two companions next to her.
"Yes, that sounds best." Rex agreed. "Let’s not get in my master’s way."
"I hope you get something and get back soon." Lyra said to Vicente, not discouraging him. "Good luck."
With his companions’ decision, Vicente didn’t insist on taking them with him, nor did he take much longer to leave. After a long look at the three of them and then at their surroundings, he wished them the same. "Good luck to you, too. See you later."
With those words, he jumped into the water, moving his mana to prepare to breathe underwater, just before swimming towards the marine depths of this region.
