Above the mage

Chapter 119 Taking a Different Approach

It was midday, and the sun was blazing overhead.

The riverbank, covered with pebbles, shimmered with a faint golden light.

This golden luster does not come from the reflection of light, but is inherent in these pebbles themselves.

Luca, whose face was somewhat pale, walked out of the mine.

He was the first person to enter the mine and also the first to leave.

Compared to when he entered the mine, his basket was now filled with pieces of light gold ore of varying sizes, weighing about thirty kilograms.

This weight is definitely a considerable challenge for Luca, who has almost never done heavy physical labor.

So just digging it out of the mine and carrying it out, before even starting to transport it to the top of the cliff, Luca was already covered in sweat and his face was slightly pale.

However, when he saw that only Instructor Shahu was on the riverbank, and knew that he should be the first person to leave the mine, he felt a little proud.

Luca unloaded the basket and sat down on the ground, panting, completely disregarding his image.

But the next moment, Luca, who was still catching his breath, heard a splash from the riverbank.

He instinctively turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

Gao De, whose face was also somewhat pale, emerged from the river.

He shook his head vigorously to shake off the water from his hair while breathing in the fresh air from the river.

It wasn't until he exhaled all the stale air from his lungs that Gao De finally recovered, his body rising and falling slightly with the ripples on the water's surface.

"Why don't you come up and rest for a bit? You've been training all morning, and you're exhausted. It's easy to have an accident underwater. Even with a safety rope, it's best not to take such a risk," the expressionless instructor Shahu said to Gao De.

There are many thick logs protruding from the water's surface on the river.

A specially made elastic rope was tied to the thick wood, and the other end of the rope was tied around Gao De's waist.

If Gaode encounters an emergency underwater, it can press a buckle on the rope, and the rope will pull Gaode to the surface quickly with great force.

This is a "safety rope," designed to ensure trainees' safety underwater to the greatest extent possible.

"I still have some strength left, let me try a few more rounds." In response to Instructor Shahu's reminder, Gao De simply shouted.

Then he lowered his head, plunged in, splashed his feet on the water's surface, and submerged again.

"He's not planning to mine, but to go into the water to harvest clams?" Luca asked Instructor Shahu, panting as he witnessed the scene.

Instructor Shahu nodded silently.

"Huh?!" Luca exclaimed instinctively, then quickly asked, "He collected several maid clams this morning."

Upon hearing this question, Instructor Shahu's gaze held a somewhat enigmatic meaning. He gently shook his head. "Not a single one."

Luca forced a smile and said, "He's really unlucky."

"It's not bad luck, he hasn't even started trying to collect clams," Instructor Shahu said through gritted teeth, sounding somewhat exasperated. "He's spent the whole morning learning to scuba dive."

"What?!" Luca was so shocked that he stood up without even catching his breath, staring in disbelief at the calm surface of the river where the splash had subsided.

Someone who can't even dive and needs to learn on the spot is actually planning to complete their school enrollment task by harvesting clams?

Is it that he's being delusional, or that he's commendably courageous?

"When this kid first went into the water this morning, he couldn't sink at all. In order to learn to dive, he could only go into the water by holding onto a rock. He used such a stupid method to learn to dive."

Instructor Shahu witnessed Gaode's "magical operations" all morning and had been harboring a lot of complaints, which he naturally poured out like beans:

"After struggling all morning, I can now barely dive into the water without relying on rocks."

"call!"

While Instructor Shahu was talking to Luca, two more people emerged from the mine, each carrying a full basket of water gold ore. They were also covered in sweat and had pale faces.

It was Kaplan and Gerica.

Kaplan collected about 30 kilograms of water gold ore on this trip, while Gerica collected much less, about 20 kilograms.

In terms of mage talent, Kaplan and Luke can't even come close to Gerika.

But in terms of sheer strength, Gerica is no match for her two "brothers" from the same family.

The light was dim in the water, and in the shallow areas you could see aquatic plants swaying with the current and common fish swimming past you.

You can even see the sandy beach at the bottom of the river. The sunlight shining on the river surface reflects off the surging waves, creating large patches of shimmering, fish-scale-like light and shadow on the sandy beach, a dazzling and dreamlike spectacle.

However, there are almost no maiden clams in the shallow waters.

To collect maid clams, you must search in deep water.

Gaode Maps is like a clumsy little fish learning to walk, trying to open its eyes wide while swimming diagonally towards the deeper waters.

As he descended deeper and deeper, his vision gradually darkened.

Moreover, Gao De had just learned to dive and his diving skills were not yet proficient, so he did not dare to dive too deep for the time being.

Swimming was a skill he possessed in his previous life.

Although I've traveled through time, my swimming skills remain the same; they won't disappear just because I've traveled.

The problem is that just because you can swim doesn't mean you can dive.

Swimming is simply the ability to move on the surface of water, while diving involves activities underwater.

Gaode Maps can only be learned on the spot.

During his diving lessons, he also realized that Instructor Shahu was absolutely right to advise them to take the mining route.

Diving is a highly specialized activity that requires specialized equipment.

Without proper equipment, humans cannot breathe underwater and must constantly surface to breathe, limiting their underwater activity time.

Another issue is water pressure. As diving depth increases, water pressure also increases, and people gradually begin to feel uncomfortable. There is also the issue of water temperature in deep water, which is also difficult to resolve.

Visibility in deep water is extremely poor.

During the limited time spent underwater, one must endure physical discomfort and search for maiden clams in the riverbed where visibility is extremely poor.

With so many buffs stacked up, you can imagine how difficult the task of harvesting clams is.

Moreover, water is not absolutely safe.

This body of water belongs to the territory of the Seres Magic Academy.

The academy's mages regularly hunt ley line creatures that come into contact with this body of water.

But even excluding these, the undercurrents and whirlpools at the bottom of the river are still extremely dangerous.

Despite facing so many "difficulties," Gaode still firmly chose the clam-harvesting route.

The reason is quite simple.

In the water, Gao De stared wide-eyed, a faint, almost imperceptible glint of light flickering within.

This is the mark of the 0-ring spell [Detect Magic] being cast.

However, Gao De used [Detection Magic+].

[Detection Magic+] (Prophecy, 0-ring):

You can detect the aura of spells and magical items within 20 meters: determine if there is magical aura, and detect the quantity and intensity of magical aura.

Additional: In addition to spells and spell items, you can also detect auras in creatures.

Clams are living organisms.

The maid clam, being a magical auxiliary material, naturally possesses magical radiance.

Therefore, as long as he casts [Detection Magic+], Gaode can ignore the darkness at the bottom of the river and the hiding place of the mud maid clam, and accurately find the maid clam within 20 meters through magical light.

It's like it has a built-in "radar".

This is what he relies on.

(End of this chapter)