CHAPTER 225: MANA POOL (1)

The sun was bright and the air was cool, making for a perfect, gentle afternoon in the heart of New Haven.

At an outdoor café in one of the city’s bustling new plazas, three young people sat around a simple metallic table, their conversation a low, comfortable murmur.

One of them, a broad-shouldered young man with a spear leaning against his chair, looked up, and his face morphed into a wide, familiar grin as a white-haired boy made his way to their table, occupying the only empty seat.

"Adrian, my man! About time you showed up!" Karl greeted him with high energy.

Nyra, Serena, and Karl. They were all present. Adrian looked at his three closest companions, a rare, relaxed smile on his own face. "How’s everything been going?"

"Training’s been a blast! The new recruits are getting stronger by the day," Karl said proudly.

"It’s the same over here. Nothing quite special has happened ever since," Serena added calmly.

Nyra simply took a sip of her tea, an amused and knowing look in her eyes. "I don’t believe for a second you called all of us over just for a casual chat," she said with playful suspicion. "Spill it."

Adrian chuckled a bit.

"You’re right. While I was working on the final calibrations for the Planetary Barrier, I found something important."

It had been a week since Adrian had concluded the monumental task of installing and activating the Planetary Barrier. .

He had worked continuously on the project, pushing himself to his limits. As a result, he had decided to take a few days off to rest and recuperate. Feeling invigorated, he had assembled his closest friends, not just for a break, but to discuss this new, incredible opportunity.

They all looked intrigued, their full attention now on him. They knew that anything Adrian declared to be ’important’ usually had world-changing implications. Serena was the first to voice the question on all their minds. "Mind telling us what it is, Adrian?"

"A mana pool."

"Mana pool?" they all chorused the question at once, their expressions a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

Adrian ignored the coincidence and answered, "That’s what I’m calling it, for lack of a better term. It’s a natural convergence of mana. As mana is distributed across a planet, it flows in currents, like rivers.

Over millennia, there tend to be locations where these currents meet, creating a natural reservoir. More mana is drawn to these points, accumulating over time, making it the most mana-dense location in an entire environment."

He paused with a look of excitement in his eyes. "And I believe I’ve found the ’pool’ for the entire planet."

Nyra’s eyes glowed as she quickly grasped what Adrian was implying. "So, you’re saying we could cultivate there? And the sheer density of the mana would accelerate our progress?"

"Exactly," Adrian confirmed. "That’s the plan. The dense mana there is obviously a finite resource, but based on my scans, it should be more than enough for a breakthrough or two. Or even more, in the best cases."

Serena, who was now a Transcendent herself after months of diligent cultivation, added a thoughtful, cautious point. "From your words, it sounds like you haven’t actually been there yourself."

Adrian admitted it with a nod. "I haven’t. I was only able to sense the immense concentration. I decided it would be best for us to go together. There’s a significant risk of powerful magical beasts being found at a place of such power. It’s best to take every precaution."

"Tsk," Karl clicked his tongue, a thrill-seeking grin spreading across his face. "That just makes it even more fun! We shouldn’t be scared of a few mere beasts! A good fight is the best warm-up for cultivation!"

"He’s not wrong," Nyra agreed, her own eyes alight with a competitive fire. "A challenge would be welcome. Are we going now? Will the other Transcendents be joining us?"

"No," Adrian said, shaking his head. "It will be just the four of us. The mana in the pool is incredibly pure and potent. Your potential will make the best use of it. It would be a waste to use it on those who won’t gain much"

"So, what are we waiting for?" Karl asked, already grabbing his spear.

***

The journey took them past the familiar rugged mountains of Duragut and out into a territory that made up most of Thanad, yet was almost completely unknown...

The Great Ocean.

For years, the vast oceans of the world had been an absolute frontier. Their depths were largely inexplorable, more so for an undeveloped world like Thanad.

"Is this the place?" Serena asked, looking down at the endless expanse of deep blue water from the Voidstrider’s window.

"Yes," Adrian replied, his eyes on the systemmap. "We’re in the right sector. The concentration is getting stronger, but the source is deep. Much deeper."

The Voidstrider could easily function as a submarine, but Adrian suggested they fly above the surface for now. After flying for another thirty minutes, following a signal only he could see, they finally approached the designated area.

"The ambient mana here..." Serena whispered. "It’s incredible. I can feel it in the air."

Adrian smirked. "That’s nothing compared to the real deal."

Serena looked down at the seemingly bottomless ocean and gulped.

"Are we... are we supposed to go down there?" she asked with fear in her voice.

"Scared of a little water, water mage?" Karl laughed.

Adrian placed a comforting hand on Serena’s shoulder. "Don’t worry. I’ll be right there." He then addressed all of them with a serious tone.

"Remember the threat. Whatever lives down there could be of Transcendent-level, and it will be in its natural element. Stay close, stay alert, and follow my lead."

After they had planned their approach, Adrian gave the final command.

"Let’s dive." He didn’t need to remind them that as Transcendents, they had surpassed most mortal limitations.

The need to breathe underwater was a trivial concern they could overcome with simple mana control, and their bodies were more than capable of withstanding the immense pressure of the deep.

Without hesitation, they plunged downwards.

The descent was a journey through worlds. The initial surface was warm and full of life. But as they swam deeper under their own power, the world quickly gave way to a deep, mysterious blue, and finally, as they descended further and further for what felt like an eternity, to an absolute and oppressive blackness.

The sheer weight of the ocean above them was a pressure that even their Transcendent bodies could feel.

They kept descending until they were so deep that not a single photon of light from the surface could penetrate the water.

Adrian could still see, but it wasn’t the same for the others. He didn’t need to say anything before a brilliant, warm light bloomed beside him.

Serena had cast a powerful light spell, a miniature sun that pushed back the abyss and illuminated a breathtaking, alien world.

They were in what looked like a long-drowned city. They finally approached a colossal chasm in the seabed from which the incredible concentration of mana was emanating.

"The pool is within a cavern at the bottom of this trench," Adrian’s voice echoed into their head.

Karl, who had been silently watching the strange new world, suddenly stopped mid-swim, tapping Adrian on the shoulder and making a series of muffled, gurgling sounds.

Adrian immediately opened a telepathic link among all of them, allowing Karl’s frustrated thoughts to come through clearly.

’Man, this is so boring! We’ve been swimming for ages! We didn’t even see a single beast. Tsk!’

’Please, Karl, don’t jinx—v

~VWOOOOM!~

Serena couldn’t finish. A soundless, concussive boom vibrated through the water, and in the next instant, Adrian had grabbed the three of them, his suit’s thrusters firing in a violent burst that shoved them dozens of meters away from their spot.

A gigantic, dark shadow, moving at an impossible speed, shot through the space they had just occupied.

They saw the gigantic shadow circle around and come to a stop in the light of Serena’s spell, and they could only mutter a silent thanks as they realized Adrian had just saved their lives.

It was a shark-like beast of horrifying proportions, easily thirty meters long. Its eyes were not the dead black of a normal shark, but an intelligent, malevolent crimson that glowed in the dark. What truly made it unsettling was its aura; it was a pure Transcendent power.

The shark had beaten empty air, and from the deep, rumbling growl that vibrated through the water, it seemed very angry at them.

Serena, having recovered some distance away with the others, couldn’t help but sigh, her thought directed squarely at their reckless companion.

’Way to go, Karl. Thanks for jinxing it.’

Karl didn’t look the least bit worried. In fact, he grinned even more and tightened his grip on his spear.

’Welp, at least it can’t get any worse than this!’

WHOOLP~ RUMBLE~

As if in direct response to his hubris, a series of deep, resonant calls echoed from the abyss below.

From the oppressive darkness, four more pairs of glowing red eyes ignited. Four more colossal, shark-like beasts emerged from the shadows, flanking the first one, their bodies identical, their auras all radiating the same, terrifying Transcendent power.

"Ah, shit."

"Hell, yeah!"