“Explain the plan, Danko,” Broken said. “How do we reach the chamber at the end of the tunnel?”
Danko nodded briskly before squatting down and grabbing a stone to sketch out something in the soil layer covering the cave floor.
“My Lord,” he started, “this large pool leads to a long underwater tunnel. At the end, there’s a vast chamber. It seems like it was used for something significant in the past, though I’m not certain what. However, within it lies a Trial Domain, and I believe it’s tied to a secret in that chamber at the end of this pool.”
Broken cross-referenced this explanation with what he saw on his map, confirming that Danko’s description was accurate.
“Alright, so we just need to dive and make it to that chamber,” Broken said.
Danko set down his crystal lamp on the ground.
“My Lord, the current in this pool is quite strong, making it difficult to carry the lamp through the water. We will have to dive without any light,” he explained, pointing to the dark, foreboding pool. “But there’s no need to worry. A little light from the crystals in this cave still filters into the water, giving us some visibility.”
“You really are a suicidal maniac, aren’t you?”
“But how can the currents in a pool be so strong?” he asked, noticing how calm the surface appeared.
“Inside, it’s completely different, My Lord. It’s like there’s a whirlpool constantly refilling and draining the water in this pool.”
Broken shook his head. “This is not a good idea,” he said. “Let me hold the lamp.”
Grabbing the lamp, he positioned himself close to the edge of the pool. “I’ll jump after you.” Danko nodded. “Alright, My Lord.” He reached into his trouser pocket, took out a small vial, and drank its contents. With a nod of confidence, he then leapt into the water.
Without hesitation, Broken gulped down the underwater stamina potion and followed suit, plunging into the pool’s dark depths.
He held the crystal lamp tightly, its light shimmering in the water and casting eerie glows around them. As he descended, he could see Danko’s graceful movements leading the way. The realism of this virtual world struck him once again. The sensation of swimming felt incredibly lifelike, as though he was truly navigating through an underwater domain. The game developers had indeed outdone themselves; players could learn to swim virtually while gaining practical skills applicable to the real world.
“This game is truly amazing,” he thought, marveling at the authenticity of his surroundings. He adjusted his movements, striving for efficiency, and kept his eyes on Danko, following his lead deeper into the underwater corridor.
For a few moments, Broken felt a wave of panic wash over him, but he tried to calm himself. Swimming in such utter darkness, without any guarantee of safety, was more daunting than he had expected. Even though he wouldn’t truly die if he ran out of breath, his nerves were far from steeled against the challenge.
It was so dark around them, as though he was swimming aimlessly, despite seeing his position on the map steadily moving towards his goal. In contrast, Danko swam with agility and confidence, as if he was perfectly at home in the water, almost as if he was swimming straight into danger without a care.
Why was Danko so confident about diving into these depths without any additional potion for the return trip? Broken had neglected to confirm this crucial detail with him. Was Danko truly that reckless and unaware of the risks?
Damn, this Beastkin really has some serious guts, he thought. Or could Danko actually withstand swimming for this long? Was it because he was a rat-man?
“Do rats really have the ability to swim? I don’t know,” he mumbled to himself, realizing he had never looked into the swimming capabilities of rats.
Danko swam with incredible agility, gracefully diving and pausing near the bottom of the pool as if to draw attention to something.
Broken brought his lamp closer, revealing an astonishing sight. The floor of the pool was rich with iron ore, more than his map had indicated. Seeing it in person was far more striking than any usual mining expedition.
This underwater cave was truly a treasure trove of natural resources. But how could they mine it if the pool was filled with water? Could they possibly drain the water and transport the ore to the city?
Danko gave a thumbs-up and nodded before resuming his swim. Taking the cue, Broken hastened his pace, determined to keep up.
After a few minutes, the murkiness of the water began to give way to a bright light entering from above. Without hesitation, they swam upward towards the surface.
As Broken surfaced, he was immediately struck with a sense of awe at the sight before him.
It was a large, stone chamber illuminated by the glow of several crystals embedded in the walls. Despite the age of the chamber, with dust and moss scattered about, the crystal lamps seemed to automatically light up as they entered.
The atmosphere felt ancient, and some carvings could be seen in a far corner of the room, intricately engraved into the stone wall. It looked almost like a series of paintings etched into the chamber’s rock surface.
“What is this place?”
“Follow me, My Lord.”
Broken climbed out of the pool and onto the rocky floor.
“This place looks like someone once lived here.”
“Yes, My Lord,” Danko replied.
Broken continued. “And it seems this place harbors a secret. Why else would it be located so deep within a cave, hidden behind an almost unreachable pool of water?”
As Broken stepped onto the stone floor in the center of the room, he lifted the crystal lamp to illuminate the ground beneath him. Softly muttering to himself, he said, “I don’t know how long this place has been abandoned.”
In the middle of the room stood a square-shaped dimensional portal. Turning to Danko, Broken asked, “Is that the Trial Domain you mentioned, Danko?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Danko confirmed with a nod.
“You did a very good job,” Broken commended him.
Broken approached the stone wall, carefully removing the vines and moss that were obscuring the engravings. The intricate pictures and text began to come into focus, though some clarity
was still needed.
“Danko, help me clear these vines and moss,” he requested.
“Yes, my Lord,” Danko replied, quickly joining him.
They spent several moments cleaning the wall, driven by curiosity about the message left
behind by whoever had occupied this place long ago.
Upon closer inspection, several stone engravings appeared to narrate a story. The first painting showed a woman in a graceful dress, handing a sword to a man kneeling in front of her. The second painting depicted the man, now wielding the sword, fending off several
attackers.
Broken studied the paintings intently, trying to decipher the words beneath each scene. He pieced together the fragmented phrases, attempting to understand the story as a whole.
“No way.” he muttered.
For some reason, he was suddenly reminded of something he, Lily, and Freya had been discussing recently. Could this be related to the Goddess of the Moon and King Elandorr?