Underwater breathing magic.
Of course, I couldn’t breathe underwater, so it’s a magic I needed to explore the lake.
And enchantment magic was also important since it’s how underwater breathing magic could be cast on me.
“You can ask anything.”
I asked the man some questions about these two magic skills. From the most important.
“Is it possible to enchant another person with underwater breathing magic?”
Since enchantment magic was in effect, the magic that could apply to the target were very limited.
In the game, I knew that underwater breathing magic was also a magic that could be enchanted to another person, but I asked again to confirm.
The man chewed the snacks and nodded.
“Yes, it’s possible.”
“How many people can you enchant one at a time?”
“The number of people is limited to one because my skills are not that high.”
“How long does the enchantment last?”
“The duration varies from person to person, but for an average person who has accumulated no magical powers, it should still last about 2 hours.”
He continued;
“If my magic and your temperament don’t match well, or if your affinity for magic is low, the duration will be shorter than that. However, if you don’t move your body violently, it’s not a magic that consumes a lot of mana.”
If one person was the limit, it meant that I had to leave Asher and go in alone…
Two hours.
It was not enough time to explore the huge lake and find the Mystery, but of course, it was unnecessary to find it on the first attempt, so I thought that was good enough.
Even if the duration of the magic was short, I could not miss this guy because such talent could not be obtained anywhere else right away.
“How long does it take to use up all of your magic power and fully recover it again?”
“It takes at least half a day to meditate with concentration.”
I pondered in my mind for a while.
Considering one hour of exploration, three hours of charging, and rest, was it possible to dive roughly two or three times a day to explore the lake?
Well, no matter what the efficiency was, I couldn’t find such a talented person anywhere else right away, so the hiring was confirmed immediately.
This man also didn’t seem to have any intention of rejecting the request, so I made the offer right away.
“I want to hire you.”
He snapped his finger at my words.
“If you only pay a lot of deposits, of course I’m fine. By the way, when and how long are you planning to explore the lake?”
“The departure is tomorrow. And there is no set period. It could be a few days or a few weeks.”
“...Yes? Wait, that’s a bit…?”
“As you said, I’ll give you a generous amount of the commission. I’ll give you two gold as a start-up and a daily allowance, and five gold on the day you finish the quest.”
After a moment of hesitation, he widened his eyes at the next words.
The money was a lot as usual, and the effect was outstanding, not to mention.
I looked around the party and said.
“I pay for all the drinks you had here.”
“...This is a very generous offer, young master.”
Soon he smiled cheerfully.
“I’m late to introduce myself, but my name is Havel, a first-class adventurer. Excuse me, but what is the young master’s name?”
“I came from a distant city. You probably won’t know which family I belonged to.”
“Oh, right? Anyway, please take care of me. I will do my best to assist with the exploration so that I do not waste the commission you pay! Hahaha!”
And he immediately ordered a few more drinks.
I paid a generous amount in advance and left the pub on the road.
I have a lot of work from tomorrow.
***
The day was bright, and I met Havel at the promised place.
“Oh, are you here?”
Unlike last night, he had a calmer tone of voice.
Apparently, he was a little drunk when we met yesterday.
We went straight to Gaitan Lake by a horse-drawn carriage.
As they moved, Havel talked about himself and more. It was just a story about the past or something like that.
“...So that’s when I first learned the underwater breathing magic.
“Right.”
I asked him with a soulless reply.
“How much do you know about the Gaitan Lake?”
“I honestly know little about it other than that it’s a dirty, big lake. There are also rumors that terrifying monster fish appear when you go deep into the depths of the lake. But, really, how big would the fish living in the lake be?”
I knew Gaitan Lake as one of the largest lakes on the continent.
The creatures living under the surface were also terrifying.
As in a fantasy world, there were terrifying monsters that could not be compared to ordinary sharks or whales.
'I have no intention of going deep, anyway.'
The Mystery I was looking for was attached to the outskirts of the lake, so there was no need to go deep into the center.
If there was a Mystery somewhere in the middle of that big lake, I wouldn’t have even dared to find it.
And even if I met some monsters, there wouldn’t be any problem in dealing with them, since I had already gained [Blood Art].
I thought of the scene of the place where the Mystery of [Space Leap] was hidden.
Again, this was not a Mystery I found myself. I just saw another user’s play video, so I couldn’t pinpoint its exact location.
On the side of the wall on the outskirts of the lake, there were rocks like sea urchins… and there was a cave.
Like the last time I found the [Floating Veil], this time it might be a complete mess again.
That thought got stronger after arriving at Gaitan Lake and seeing the lake’s size in person.
...Crazy.
As I gazed at the endlessly expansive water surface in front of me, I spit inwardly.
It was an overwhelming size that did not differ from looking at the sea from the shore.
And I needed to find a Mystery hidden somewhere here.
I really thought this might take a few months. Even then, I might not still be able to find it at all.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
Havel said as he looked around the lake.
The carriage stopped near the lake, and Asher, Havel, and I walked right in front of the lake.
A lush forest near the lake. This was the earthly landscape that I vaguely remember.
The probability of finding the Mystery was high if you searched this area.
I looked around the lake for a moment and then turned to Havel.
The other asked;
“Are you starting right away?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Then… if something goes wrong with your body, please tell me right away.”
Havel immediately unleashed his magic.
Blue light gathered in his hand, and I slowly absorbed the light into my body.
I felt the magic that filled my whole body. After gaining [Super Sensory], I felt the energy such as magic much better.
...Ha.
The magical effect appeared immediately.
Even if I didn’t breathe in or breathe out, I didn’t feel stuffy at all.
“This is amazing,” said Havel with a slightly startled look on his face.
“The young master has never used magic, but the enchantment’s efficiency is considerable, isn’t it?”
“Efficiency?”
“I think you have a high affinity for magic. Whether its martial arts or magic, if you honed your magic properly, you’ll be great.”
What, he meant I had a talent for magic?
I thought it was lip service, but looking at his expression, it didn’t seem like that.
It didn’t matter now, so I turned my attention back to the lake.
Then...
Where should I begin?
There’s no reason to drag things out.
I started taking off the clothes I was wearing one by one.
It was impossible to swim in the water in these thick clothes.
So I took it all off except for the thin T-shirt and pants I was wearing underneath.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“...Oh, yes.”
With a slightly bewildered face, Asher carefully accepted the clothes I had taken off.
“Oh, and be careful not to move too vigorously in the water, young master.”
I listened to Havel’s warning and sent the two back to the carriage.
I was going to be in the water for a while, so they didn’t have to stay it here.
“Hmmmm…”
Alone, I relaxed lightly and approached right in front of the surface of the water.
There wasn’t much pressure on diving.
This was because one of the other specialties I could show off, having been immersed in games all my life, was scuba diving.
Unlike me, my brother, who was very active, would take me out of the house and carry me around on holidays. Skiing or climbing.
Among them, scuba diving was the one that my brother and I especially enjoyed together. Because it suited my taste.
Of course, I was naked right now, but I had [Super Regeneration] and could move without getting tired, so I was not worried.
Splash!
I dived into the water and immediately checked my breathing again. There’s no problem.
The mana consumed while holding my breath was also clearly felt through my [Super Sensory], so there was no problem here either.
***
Havel said that the enchantment efficiency of my body was good, so that’s why.
I swam slowly, moving my limbs.
The [Super Sensory] made the vision in front as clear as on the ground whether I didn’t expect that the effect would be the same underwater.
As I went deeper, fishes passed by me one by one.
I stopped at a suitable point and started moving sideways, looking at the wall of the lake.
From now on until I found the Mystery, it was an endless struggle in this way.
...And roughly two hours passed.
I grabbed the stone beak protruding from the wall, stopped my body, and sighed inwardly.
'There is no end to this.'
I expected it, but after experiencing it myself, it felt different.
I went back for once because my magic power was slowly dropping.
I went back to where I marked the starting location and went up to the ground.
Returning to the carriage, Asher and Baros were having a meal with Havel.
“…Are you here, sir?”
Seeing my wet look, Baros briefly twitched the corners of his mouth and lowered his head.
It might have been subconsciously, but I could see it very well because of my [Super Sensory]. The other obviously wanted to laugh at my current appearance.
Havel asked me.
“Did you find what you’re looking for, young master?”
I shook my head.
“I think it’s going to take a lot longer than I thought.”
Drying myself over the campfire, I ate with them.
And in the late afternoon, I went back to the lake and continued the exploration, but again, the Mystery could not be found. That day’s exploration was over.
A week passed like that.
I came to the lake early this morning, and I swam in the water in search of the Mystery.
However, because I still couldn’t see even the tail of this Mystery, doubts arose whether this could actually be done.
'Is it really possible to find it?'
If I could, I would have already used a lot of manpower for this, but I can’t because I was looking for a Mystery.
I lay in the water for a moment, drifting blankly, meditating.
If I had the certainty that I could find it, I would invest no matter how long it took, but the problem was that I wasn’t sure.
It was when I was thinking about whether I should postpone the search for the [Space Leap] until later...
“...?”
I could sense a huge monster approaching quickly from afar.
The next thing that appeared in sight was a gigantic shark. Almost the size of a ship.
[Lv. 51]
...Why did such a guy come out when I didn’t even go deep into the lake?
As soon as it saw me, it opened its mouth wide and rushed towards me.
This bastard.
I immediately tried to shoot a drop of blood using [Blood Art].
But then, again, I sense another one approaching quickly from the other side.
Blue magic energy cut through the current and hit the body of the shark that was rushing towards me.
Whoops!
The shark that was hit directly by the attack struggled in pain and lost consciousness.
Then I felt something approaching me, grabbing my waist.
...Uh?
I looked at the one who grabbed my waist.
A woman with blue hair covered with scales.
It seemed like she thought I was in danger and was trying to save me.
I couldn’t speak because I was in the water, so she caught me and dragged to the ground in an instant, knowing nothing. Why was this girl so fast?
“...Whoa!”
The woman who came out to the ground exhaled heavily, then looked at me as I sat blankly and shouted.
“Hey! Are you crazy, human? Did you go so deep intending to die?!”
“...”
“Hey, I’m totally blown away. You’re so lucky. I was really planning to ignore you, but I still ended up saving you.”
She grunted like that and started wiping away the moisture from her body.
Then, the scales that had been covered with water began to slowly return to the human skin.
I opened my eyes a little when I saw that.
...Seawater tribe?
woooow it's mermaids! :D
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