B4 - Chapter 18 - Manifesting Bubbles

One thing they needed to confirm was what happened when the potion expired, and, thankfully, it had a very telltale sign. As the effect began to wane, you'd start expelling the extra air, usually through unprompted burps, which might have been why it had the nickname "Bubblebelly Tonic" that Sylwel preferred.

While Lily, and especially Hana, would have preferred not to do something so crude, they couldn't deny that it was a good warning. The more bubbles you belched, the closer you were to running out, and the more reason you had to head to the surface immediately. Lotte found the whole thing extremely amusing, especially the embarrassed reactions on Hana's face when it first happened.

As for Lotte's magic test, it had not gone as planned. She quickly discovered that all of her spells except for the scales would contaminate the water around them, and since she was not immune to her own poison, it was a risk for even herself. To her relief, the dungeon seawater seemed to clean it out relatively quickly, as if it had created a permanently poisoned area that would have been disastrous.

Hana also confirmed that her light spells were mostly fine, only being a bit slower traveling through water than in the air. Her wind spells were another story entirely and effectively entirely unusable unless she wanted to sacrifice her held breath for the magic. If she was casting above-directed spells into the water, she was fine, and if they managed to obtain a boat or other form of above-water transportation, attacking from above might be the better option, since the waters here didn't go very deep.

Arakil casually mentioned to Lily that Hana would need to learn how to manifest air as part of her spellcasting to have them work underwater, something she had probably never needed to do as air was generally everywhere. According to Arakil, this applied to almost every form of magic, with earth mages usually suffering the most in this regard if there was no ground nearby.

As for Lily, her Astral spells were perfectly fine. In what Arakil called true neutral fashion, they were just as effective in the water as outside, with maybe her Starburst being marginally slower. As for her Nebula Veil, it depended on how she manifested the cloak, and in its default, almost ethereal form, it was as if the water didn't exist. If she reinforced it to be more physical, potentially to block something non-magical, it started to show signs of moving with the current.

I wonder if I could try to find a way to swim with my cloak?

Lily tried a few things, and while she failed to find a way to improve her swimming, she did manage to dive down by wrapping herself entirely in it. As for swimming, she thought that she could try using the cloak almost like underwater sails, but it had not gone as planned. If she figured out how to enchant her cloak, that might change, but for now she figured it was better to learn some water glyphs and inscriptions.

Throughout the day, they saw no signs of monsters in their self-proclaimed safe area, so they spent some time gathering as much coral and plant material as they could. For this, Hana didn't even need to use a potion, as she had more than enough time to dive down, grab what she could, and swim back to the surface. Lily took no such risks, as while her cloak could get to the bottom quickly, it couldn't help her get back up.

During their harvesting, they also found a few rainbow shells, enough for each of them to keep one on hand. They also decided to try leaving while underwater to confirm that it could be done as Professor Elius had described. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, almost more like a vacation than a trip into the dungeon, but they all felt it would rapidly change once monsters were thrown into the mix.

"I suspect our first task is to head to the closest island," Hana said, pointing at the horizon. "From there I bet we hop from island to island, progressing deeper into the archipelago."

"I hope our special reward is something to help on the floor," Lotte replied. "That goes for the regular treasures as well. If this dungeon is supposed to be fair, then it better give water-based items."

Lily agreed with that assumption, as their rewards from the second floor had usually been sort of forest-themed. If they could get their hands on magic boots for swimming, or something that could create an air pocket underwater, that would be a tremendous advantage.

And even if we can't, hopefully I can bridge the gap with glyphs!

She had already tried drawing underwater with her wand, and while it added some difficulty to the task, it was not impossible. If she wrapped her arm in her Nebula Veil, it was extremely doable, with the cloak providing some cover and bracing against the minor currents.

As for the glyphs themselves, they appeared to function as normal. Of course, she had problems similar to Hana's when she tried to use wind or fire, and both failed underwater. Lily was feeling a bit disheartened at that, until Arakil spoke up and said it was a minor modification she could make.

While Hana and Lotte were busy, Lily secretly followed Arakil's instructions and made the required change. She had thought it would be a sigil, or maybe an auxiliary glyph, but it was actually a change to the crest, something she would have never expected!

[These are the manifestation versions of fire, water, earth, and air crests. You can see they are largely the same, only receiving some extra flourish to their design and being filled in. All your already existing sigils and knowledge will work with these, but be warned that the Mana cost of these is significantly higher. It might seem that you are only filling a small gap, but it's far denser than you realize when merely drawing outlines.]

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It took Lily almost no time at all to successfully replicate the upgraded air crest, and she found an isolated spot underwater to try it out. She was just making a simple wind blade spell, especially after Arakil's warning, and completed it in very little time. Of course, even with his warning, once she drew the enhanced crest, she noted how much more Mana it required to fill it out.

Our glyph ink could never fuel this… I guess manifestation crests are too much for my talismans.

Happy with her drawing, despite it being done underwater, she activated it and watched as the spell formed. With the usual spell, you would see it harness the wind into the blade, but this time it conjured it from seemingly nowhere and sent it hurtling forward. Aside from how it started, nothing else was different, which made Lily very pleased with the result.

Of course, seeing the new manifestation crests did cause Lily to question one thing: where had the water been coming from for her in all her previous glyphs? Arakil answered that there was actually moisture in the air, and that unless she was in an arid environment, or somewhere like a volcano, she wouldn't ever need to draw the water manifestation crest.

Fire received a similar yet opposite explanation, something mentioning a spark igniting oxygen in the air, but it started to get far too technical for her liking. While Lily loved understanding glyphs and all their details, she was not a fan of this side, preferring to just say "it's magic!" as the real answer.

But it was getting late, and the group finally decided to leave the dungeon. They grouped up with Hana reluctantly putting on her uniform, not wanting to appear in the Regarth hallway in her swimsuit. Then they went underwater while Lotte fumbled with the shell as she attempted to blow it underwater.

To their surprise, it seemed the shell worked even better underwater, as she had barely blown at all before that deep tone echoed in the water. The shell had barely shattered, and the group suddenly found themselves making a splash on the stone floors.

The trio looked very weird, with their hair soaked and their skin damp, yet their clothes were almost bone dry. The older students knew what had happened, but some of their fellow first years stared at them like they were nutcases. Before they could do anything, a teacher rushed forward, pulling out a small scepter and waving it, which seemed to suck up all the water in the area.

The group thanked the teacher for his help, and he waved them off, clearly having seen drenched students arrive suddenly multiple times before. Unfortunately, while it had dried them, it had done nothing for the sticky saltiness left behind by the sea, so they were now desperate for a good bath, as even Lily's bracelet wasn't enough.

After a good wash-up, the group left for dinner, where they ate and excitedly discussed their future plans. Lotte wanted to brew up more potions, and there was still the lotion to try out. Lily promised to spend one of their afternoons together trying to brew it by using their Personal Development allocation.

After that, the trio departed, with Lily needing to get ready for another night of trying to convince the stars. She almost didn't go, as after basically an entire day of swimming she was exhausted to the extreme. The previous dungeon floors combined could not compare to the physical activity on the third floor.

"Please don't let me fall asleep outside," Lily pleaded to Arakil. "Drop your book on my head if you have to, to wake me up."

[Very well.]

Thankfully, her request was not needed, as a stern warning while she was dozing off was enough. With no visible progress again, she returned to her room a little early, practically passing out in her bed the second her head touched the pillow.

***

"Big news! Four groups have managed to reach the third floor already," Alice announced as soon as her class began.

The students stirred, though judging by the lack of shock or surprise, it sounded like rumors had already been circulating. Perhaps the boys or Clarissa had proudly announced their accomplishment, and it had been making the rounds.

"Who was first?" Arthur asked.

"Definitely not you," Clarissa snarkily replied.

Arthur's clenched fists tightened in response, but before he could respond, Alice beat him.

"Hana, Lily, and Lotte," Alice said, pointing at the trio.

Clarissa's face paled. "What? How?"

Alice shrugged. "That's what the dungeon record says. Feel free to ask the Headmaster yourself to verify, but they were over three hours before you."

Lily had to hold back a laugh as Clarissa was now doing her best fish impression from how momentarily shocked she was. When she recovered, she flashed a glare at Lily's group before sitting down with a harumph.

"Looks like flying really paid off," Hana whispered with a nudge.

Alice cleared her throat, indicating to the class to quieten down, which they quickly did to not anger her.

"Anyway, that means we will soon have some lessons on the third floor. Maybe next week at the earliest, to give more of you a chance to get there yourselves before seeing it in class. For those of you who have made it, try not to spoil the surprise. Obviously I can't stop you, but think of the others and how excited you were when you first entered."

The groups who had made it nodded in understanding. Lily herself knew exactly what Alice was talking about, as that moment when you exited the dark tunnel to the bright beach was simply breathtaking. She also caught glimpses from Arthur and Thomas, indicating that they wanted to talk sometime after class.

I bet they want potions. Or maybe they want to discuss potentially teaming up?

Lily really wondered how hard it would be to coordinate meeting up on the third floor. One thing she had considered was entering again from the second floor, which might reset your entry point, though whether that was a good idea was debatable. Hana suggested that the third floor probably had a large island at the center of the archipelago, which then branched out.

That seemed reasonable, and would probably be how Alice would enter with the entire class for their group lessons. In the back of her mind, she also knew that flying was a solution, though she wondered whether an alternative sailing option was feasible.