Chương 77: Chapter 78: Adventure Times (IV)

"I am just inadequate in this field..." Her voice trailed off as Dawn immediately turned her head, sensing a suspicious magical aura in the air.

"Ember," she called, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. The last thing she'd noted was him scooting around in the corner. She swiftly flew down to that same corner, eyeing the surface of the wall ahead, where she could still feel a trace of magic lingering. A line formed between her brows. Without hesitation, she poured her mana into it, tentatively probing the flow in case she noticed something.

To her surprise, her thread of mana was literally pulled through the spherical stone lodged inside the wall as it began to move. Soon, that pull in her mana turned into a tug at her entire being. Dawn could have resisted the force for a few more seconds, if she intended, but she didn't. She let it yank her through the wall.

"They think they're so smart," she snorted, "outsmarting me with that captivating and intricate rune puzzle—" Darkness spread before her eyes as her voice trailed off. In her stubbornness, she kept staring despite her every instinct crying against it. A kaleidoscope of flickering light spread across her view, leaving her breathless and a little light-headed. Her physical and spiritual form shifted through a fissure of time and space, throwing her somewhere other than where she had been standing a moment ago.

"—While leaving the direct lever in plain sight. These old bastards." She shook her head, taking in everything in her new surroundings. A look of interest grew in her cerulean eyes.

"Mhm," she turned around, eyes shining as she peered at the Abyssal currents running overhead.

"Perhaps this is exactly the test Grandpa intended for me." But before she went about her actual assignment, she'd have to find her little apprentice first. Only the Zion knew what kind of foolish business he'd gotten into while she wasn't with him. Dawn hesitated no more, bringing out three spider constructs to send them off to scout ahead of her.

"What?" The little spider construct rounded him, Dawn's voice broadcasting through it in a higher pitch than usual.

"You didn't think I'd figure out how to get through the wall? You give me too little credit, my little henchman."

"No, I'm surprised that you can talk through that little bugger," he said, as his heart eased. At least he was not alone in this.

"Did you see the message I left for you, or were you teleported somewhere else?"

"I saw your message. Well, one of my scouts did. I didn't think you'd travel so far in such a short time, though." Ember smiled sheepishly and showed her the Manathema.

"I might have been a little carried away finding something interesting." The spider scout drew closer, scanning the gemstone in his palm.

"Please tell me you hadn't removed them from the wall. Do you have any idea what that is?" Ember shrugged.

"It seems valuable enough. And it seems to be able to repel those deadly currents."

"You're right about that. It's something of great value. Even back in Suncrest, where I'm from, a Mirrorstone like that was rare."

"Then we should go about collecting some more," Ember said, his lips curling into a grin.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Dawn stopped him.

"These stones weren't placed here randomly. They've probably been protecting some of the inner mechanisms from the abyssal currents. The few you've already collected probably haven't made things any more dangerous, but if you strip all the stones from the walls, I have no idea what would happen to this place. The whole region might collapse on us." Ember's face went pale, his eyes widening in horror.

"Maybe I should go return them to their rightful places."

"There's no need." Her voice paused.

"Wait, how many have you collected so far?"

"Seven, all in the same size as this one." Ember wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a disgruntled cry from that little spider.

"Fine, fine! Just don't try anything unnecessary until I catch up to you. I'm not that far off from where you are." Ember nodded, and a silence fell between them.

"So, abyssal currents," he said, eyeing the colourful streams flowing along the walls.

"Is that what they're called?" This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"In layman's terms, yes. Some call it negative mana, since it neutralises any form of mana, but many of the academics disputed it."

"What are they exactly, though?" he asked.

"I can say for certain there's a negative charge of lightning in there, mixed with abyssal mana, and attuned elements like darkness and such in low density. And it just doesn't neutralise mana. It ate at your Will as well." A line formed between his brows.

"I think you did well by bringing one of those Mirrorstones with you." Her voice rang from his left, much clearer than it had through that spider construct. Ember immediately turned to find her graceful form darting towards him.

"Negative mana or not, Abyssal currents always mean bad news. Even with all my expertise, these currents can bypass my most powerful wards like nothing." Ember was so delighted to see her that he almost pulled her into a bear hug. However, he didn't act on the urge lest he made her uncomfortable. Still, graced with her presence, he felt much more relaxed about exploring these alien structures.

"If it's that dangerous," he said, tossing her the gemstone, "then you should keep one of these on you." She caught it and eyed the stone.

"Thank you." Ember produced another for his own safety, his gaze drifting back to the stream.

"I guess we should divide them equally, since we're in this together."

"No, you can keep them all to yourself," Dawn insisted.

"They're your find, even if your idea of freeing them from the formation was ill-conceived." He could only smile sheepishly.

"So, how extraordinary are these Mirrorstones?"

"More than extraordinary, they are one of the more extravagant things out there, though that's more due to their rarity than anything else," Dawn explained.

"As for their usefulness, there's none other than what you've already discovered."

"The ability to repel Mana?" She nodded.

"But while that ability might sound extraordinary, it also makes it impossible to craft anything useful out of them. Runes wouldn't work on them, nor would any form of mana. You cannot even use them in armour, as it will make the enchantment malfunction." Still, Ember didn't see himself selling them. Well, definitely not all of them. He could spare one or two to buy himself something useful for him or his family.

"So these abyssal currents," he asked, collecting his vials, "what's their purpose? Is there any use for them, given how much of it is running along these walls?"

"I'm not sure," she said tentatively.

"Abyssal currents are fairly common inside rifts, and sometimes in dungeons or pocket realms too. If I have to wager a guess, I'd say they serve some purpose related to spatial manipulation. Like expanding the dimension of a pocket space or folding them into smaller space." His eyes widened in surprise. He'd read some records in his clan's archives about spatial manipulation, of the creation of pocket realms, just as Dawn had mentioned.

But what sounded plausible on her lips, was something more akin to folklore and legend in the records he read. It was certainly a pipe dream for someone of his rank and station, but Ember wasn't planning to stay at Tier 6 forever. He would grow. And perhaps, if he could master something like this someday... Is there any way I could get an attunement out of this?

"Don't even think about it," Dawn interjected, cutting his train of thought.

"What do you mean? I'm thinking of nothing."

"Your ability to feign ignorance is decent, but you don't have a skill for deception or acting, do you?" She snorted.

"I'm genuinely warning you. You don't want to find out what those abyssal currents can do to you. Even if you survive them, they can wreck your mana foundation beyond repair. Hell, I shouldn't even have to explain this. You should already know abyssal mana and your own mana don't mix well—not to mention the lightning charge running through it." Ember made a face, for being found out. There seemed to be no arguing with her on this, so he simply promised he wouldn't try anything reckless.

"What about the dark water?" Ember asked.

"If those dark currents are called abyssal currents, can I call the dark water abyssal water?" Dawn spared him an amused glance.

"Sure, why not? There's no academics here to correct you. Call it whatever you like."

"I'm also guessing it's some confluence of abyssal mana, water, and something else."

"That 'something else' you're looking for is Darkness," she said, acknowledging his guess. She paused a moment before adding, "There's no corrosive force in it, but the concentration of abyssal mana and dark mana there is enough to drain your mana dry if you're to dive in it. Perhaps you don't even need to dive. Your mana will waver and keep weakening the longer we linger here." Ember felt a chill run down his spine. Is that what that mortifying sensation was about? He quickly examined his mana foundation.

Finding nothing amiss other than his mana acting a little lethargic, he sighed in relief. He could rejuvenate the lethargy with a little exercise. Ember was fine with that.

"We should get out of here," Dawn said, "and find our way to wherever this place actually leads." Ember agreed, but as he took his first steps, he faltered, glancing back at the stream.

"Can I collect some of this abyssal water first?"

"And what would you need that for, my foolish protégé?"

"I don't know, maybe I can..." He paused.

"It seems like it could be useful."

"It does have some real uses," she admitted.

"Mainly in mana-draining artefacts, or essence cells. But it's not nearly as valuable as you think. Those Mirrorstones you collected are probably worth hundreds of times more than a litre of this abyssal water." Despite her explanation, Ember still hesitated, torn between the choices. Dawn heaved a sigh and walked over to him, holding out her palm.

"Give them to me. You'll only end up draining your own mana trying to collect it."

"Ah, hey!" Before he could get another word out, she'd already snatched the two vials from his hand and scooted by the bank. Dawn wove her own mana into a small telekinetic pull. The thin strings of mana radiated a brilliant silver as they rippled over the water's surface. The dark substance began to devour her mana as well, but not nearly as fast as his had. Perhaps it was her life and light attunement at work, as she was able to guide a thin stream of dark water into the vials before corking them.

After filling both vials, she handed them back to him.

"Happy now?" she said. Ember thanked her, his gaze lingering on the two vials. Their coldness seemed to seep through the glass, through his gloves, and into his palm. He was never much of a studious student, at least not in the field of chemistry or science. However, things like that made him morbidly curious.

"Come on," she hurried, "we're burning daylight here." He quickly scurried after her, pocketing the vials as he went, wondering what other alien things he could find here.