CHAPTER 632: CHAPTER 629: UNDERWATER WORLD

Splash—

Patricia’s conversation ended.

Ronald twisted his body and leaped into the water, causing a splash to follow.

Due to the uniqueness of the underwater environment, Patricia did not accompany him, leaving Ronald to explore the potential issues alone.

So...

What exactly was the monster lurking beneath the waters?

Given what he saw in the labyrinth picture book, could this creature, akin to a sea monster, have ties to the heretical magicians? And if it indeed was a product of the mystical side, why could he not sense its magic fluctuations on land?

Ronald’s experiences in the "Infinite Negative Domain" were still fresh in his memory.

Under the Complete Technique, Bapulor, transformed into a colossal monster, emitted such vast and sinister magic power that it could be felt from a great distance away. If there were a similar entity beneath the seas surrounding Springs...

Not to mention a perceptive powerhouse like Ronald.

Even a novice caster who had just stepped into the realm of mysticism would certainly be able to detect such a presence.

"Hmm...?"

He pondered these questions as he gradually descended downstream.

Ronald was about to invoke "Angel of Otherworldly Power" to awaken his underwater capabilities but realized he no longer needed the spell’s assistance.

Thanks to the ongoing effects of the spell from "Origin of Species."

Now submerged in water, Ronald felt even more at ease in this environment than any marine creature, and the gradually diminishing visual range started to change under the influence of magic power.

Ronald looked contemplative.

The awakened abilities provided by "Angel of Otherworldly Power" were tailored to the actual conditions of the user. Now, with the help of "Origin of Species," since he had already acquired the ability to move in water, would the awakening from "Angel of Otherworldly Power" still be the same as before?

With this thought in mind,

Ronald reactivated his abilities.

Magic power silently coursed through him, and he quickly confirmed that his hypothesis was indeed correct.

A new ability—"Extraction."

Because the change was so vastly different from the past,

The ability Ronald awoke to was entirely different from before.

This ability, named "Extraction," could draw out the magic power inherent in the magical tome itself, greatly enhancing the potency of spells, or mixing spells from two different tomes.

The one existing restriction,

was that extracting the tome’s magic power had to be done with utmost caution; too frequent extraction in a short time or extracting too much power at once could cause the tome to go berserk.

"..."

"I’m getting stronger and stronger, huh..."

Continuing deeper underwater, the sunlight gradually waned after dozens of meters.

As the colors of the surroundings shifted with magical vision, Ronald couldn’t help but smirk.

Just like the abilities that Patricia or Heloise had acquired, the power he had now awakened was definitely the most fitting and formidable for him.

But the problem remained.

If he were to confront the man-made deity of Barrier Mountain later on, without rain, could he be sure of victory now?

The battle at Barrier Mountain had happened when the artificial deity was still recovering from serious injuries. Considering the narrow margin of the fight at that time and shifting to the present, Ronald cautiously concluded he could not guarantee a sure win.

Thump-thump—

Lost in thought, Ronald proceeded further downward.

Even though he had descended over a hundred meters, the terrain here still bore the same shape as the continental shelf, and the various marine creatures showed no particular anomalies.

As Ronald continued to advance,

A current swept past his position.

"..."

Ronald steadied himself and then looked in the direction of the flow.

—His field of view was pitch black.

Unless one had sonar equipment or the like,

Expecting to observe distant objects in the sea was utterly fanciful.

So... should I go take a look?

Ronald turned his head to look at the seabed below him.

The sudden current had appeared for just a short time, with a direction and intensity that didn’t fit the environment.

There was value in exploring!

Less than ten minutes after diving, Ronald found the first suspicious phenomenon.

Continuing in the direction of the current, Ronald first ran into a school of fish swimming away in the distance. Having barged through these creatures, Ronald’s view suddenly cleared.

Under the spell vision.

The color of the seawater was a deeper shade of ink green.

And right in front of him, within the boundless ink-green seawater, a torrent-shaped blue current approached from afar, its spread expanding with its forward position.

"..."

Ronald recalled his own location.

This kind of blue current seemed to be coming from the direction of the Wis River estuary!

He silently observed for a few seconds.

Ronald’s body turned in the water, swimming directly toward the blue current, then dove right into it.

There was a slight temperature difference between the blue and ink-green parts.

Besides that.

Ronald didn’t notice any other differences between them.

As he approached the source of the blue current, Ronald was stunned once again.

This was something he had never considered before.

Directly below Springs, and also right beneath the Wis River estuary, a cavernous hole with a cross-section that was easily a thousand square meters was located on the slope of the continental shelf.

The blue current Ronald had discovered did not come from the Wis River.

It actually flowed out from this very hole!

"..."

Ronald estimated in his mind.

As long as the length of this hole was two hundred meters, the space behind it would be right beneath the city of Springs. A depth of a hundred meters was not something industrial construction would dig into.

So even if such a space was hidden below the city,

For humans engaging in normal production activities, it was almost as if it didn’t exist.

The terrain simulated in the picture book maze was indeed incredible...

Ronald subconsciously looked at his right hand. Even he himself, without the maze, would definitely not guess that such a place was hidden here.

What is this?

An underwater version of the Water Curtain Cave, a Shangri-la?

Thump, thump—

Suddenly, the current he had just witnessed appeared in front of Ronald.

In this vast underwater cavern, several currents drilled out from within, then dispersed into the surrounding seawater.

Ronald’s expression instantly changed.

Magic Power!

These currents contained traces of magic power!

But because the amount was so small and the magic power dissipated as the current spread, after extending several tens of meters, the magic energy in the flow would completely disappear, making it unnoticeable to others.

Ronald was filled with doubt.

This magic power did not possess the malevolent nature of heretical magician spells, nor did it have any of the characteristics he recognized.

It was as if...

This magic power was not produced by humans!

"..."

He silently reset his enhancement magic and defense.

Facing the blue cavern ahead, Ronald continued to swim inside.