INFINITE - 29
"Cmon, Bell! Join us!"
Bell awkwardly laughed before waving one hand dismissively.
"Hahaha… it's fine."
"I prefer staying dry."
Marc simply smiled.
"Okay!"
Marc turned to Juro with an excited grin.
"Alright teacher Juro, I'm ready!"
Juro chuckled softly before asking, "Can you keep your eyes open underwater?"
Marc nodded confidently.
"Alright then," Juro said with a smile. "Follow me."
Without another word, Juro dove beneath the surface, and Marc quickly followed after him while Bell remained sitting quietly near the lake's edge.
The water rippled gently around him as Bell sat in silence, staring at the lake for a moment before slowly closing his eyes.
He took a deep breath.
Then exhaled.
As his breathing steadied, Bell opened his eyes and began carefully pouring mana into them.
A faint strain immediately crept behind his vision.
His eyebrows narrowed slightly, but he continued anyway, slowly forcing more mana through his eyes despite the growing headache and pressure building inside his skull.
...
...
Deep beneath the lake, Marc swam beside Juro while schools of fish drifted through the water around them.
Marc reached toward one of them, but the fish instantly slipped away before he could even touch it.
"Aw come on…"
Bubbles escaped his mouth as Juro simply smiled and continued swimming around as if searching for something.
The deeper they went, the heavier the pressure around Marc began to feel.
His chest tightened.
Marc glanced upward, already thinking about swimming back to the surface for air before returning down again, but then something suddenly caught his attention.
He looked toward Juro.
Even underwater, Marc could faintly sense the flow of mana moving through Juro's body. More specifically... his lungs.
The mana expanded and contracted in a slow rhythm, almost mimicking breathing itself.
Marc's eyes widened slightly.
Juro noticed Marc staring at his chest and only smiled before continuing forward.
After observing him for a while, Marc tried copying it himself.
He slowly guided the mana inside his body toward his lungs, concentrating as hard as he could.
But it was far more difficult than it looked.
The mana kept slipping out of rhythm, and although he managed to stabilize it slightly, all he really accomplished was extending his breath by another minute at most.
Still, Marc looked pretty proud of himself.
Then something glowing in the distance caught his eye.
A soft blue light flickered beneath the water.
Curious, Marc slowly swam closer to it.
As he approached, he realized the glow was floating motionlessly in the darkness below. He carefully reached out and poked at it.
The moment he did—
His lungs burned.
Hard.
Marc's eyes widened as panic immediately shot through him. He suddenly felt like he couldn't hold his breath any longer.
He quickly turned and kicked upward toward the surface—
But something grabbed his ankle.
Marc froze in shock and looked down.
A blue clawed hands was wrapped tightly around his leg.
His heart nearly stopped.
Marc immediately tried kicking it away with his other foot, but before he could free himself.
Two more clawed hands suddenly shot out from the darkness and grabbed his other leg.
His body jerked violently as the creatures began dragging him deeper into the lake.
Marc panicked and frantically looked around for Juro.
Then, within seconds—
Juro appeared.
And drove a punch straight down into the creature below him.
The creature finally emerged from the darkness below.
Its skin was a deep bluish color, slick like wet stone, with six long limbs looking unnaturally beneath the water.
Marc's eyes widened.
The moment Juro's punch loosened its grip, Marc immediately kicked upward and swam back toward the surface.
But the creature suddenly whipped its massive tail.
Water exploded behind it as the force launched the creature upward at terrifying speed. Two of its limbs stretched toward Marc, finger like claws opening wide, ready to grab his legs again.
Marc barely had time to react.
Just before the creature could catch him.
Juro suddenly appeared beside it.
His fist slammed straight into the creature's side with enough force to send its body launching across the lake.
BOOM.
The creature crashed violently into a rocky wall, cracks spreading through the stone from the impact.
Even underwater, Marc could feel the shockwave ripple through the lake.
Juro only smiled.
Marc finally burst through the surface a moment later.
"HAHH—!"
He gasped for air desperately, barely even noticing Bell nearby before quickly inhaling a few deep breaths and diving right back underwater to help.
But the moment he descended again.
The fight was already over.
Juro had somehow tied all six of the creature's limbs together with a thick rope while the creature struggled helplessly beneath him.
Juro noticed Marc and turned toward him with a grin, giving him a thumbs up.
Marc couldn't help smiling back.
Then Juro grabbed the bundled limbs and pushed the creature toward Marc, motioning for him to carry it.
Marc confidently grabbed hold of it.
And immediately sank.
His eyes widened in panic as the creature's weight dragged him downward.
"MMMPH—?!"
Juro somehow managed to laugh underwater before casually grabbing the rope with one hand to stop Marc from sinking further.
Then, with his free hand, Juro pointed toward his own arm.
Marc blinked before focusing closely.
Inside Juro's arm, mana was flowing steadily through the muscles themselves.
Marc suddenly understood.
He quickly grabbed the creature again and began surging mana throughout both of his arms.
A faint pressure spread through his body as strength rushed into his muscles.
Juro smiled and let go.
This time, Marc managed to hold the creature without sinking.
Though barely.
His whole body trembled from the weight.
So Marc pushed even more mana into his legs and slowly started swimming upward.
The creature was still insanely heavy, but with mana reinforcing his body, it became manageable.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Marc's head finally broke through the surface.
"Bell!" he shouted between breaths. "Quick! Help me with this—it's sooooo heavyyyyy!"
Bell immediately stretched one hand toward the water.
Mana flowed out from his palm before wrapping around his arm.
Then the mana extended beneath the lake, taking the shape of a massive translucent hand.
The mana hand grabbed the creature.
The instant it lifted slightly, Bell's eyes narrowed from the weight.
"Heavy..." he muttered.
More mana immediately poured from his arm into the construct, strengthening it.
Bell slowly closed his real hand into a fist.
The giant mana hand mirrored the motion perfectly, tightening its grip around the creature.
Then Bell carefully lifted his arm upward.
The mana hand followed, slowly raising the creature out of the lake.
Once it was fully above the surface, Bell guided it toward the shore before finally releasing his grip.
The creature dropped heavily onto the ground with a loud wet thud.
Marc stared at it in amazement before looking back at Bell.
"You can do that too?!" he said, smiling.
Bell simply adjusted his sleeve a little. "It's not that impressive."
"It's VERY cool!"
Marc chuckled before turning back toward the lake.
"I'm gonna go check on Teacher Juro. Thanks, Bell!"
And with that, Marc dove back underwater.
Meanwhile, deep below the lake, Juro looked upward toward the faint light filtering through the surface.
"Looks like the kids are working pretty well together."
A small smile appeared on his face.
Then suddenly.
Something grabbed his leg.
Juro glanced downward.
Another creature.
Same blue skin. Same long limbs.
Then more hands emerged from the darkness below and held his legs, trying to drag him deeper into the lake.
But Juro didn't move even an inch.
The creature paused in confusion.
It immediately used all six of its limbs, violently pulling against him with everything it had.
Still nothing.
Juro slowly looked down at it and smiled.
Not kindly.
The creature froze.
Juro calmly pulled one arm back, clenched his fist.
And punched downward.
The impact exploded through the water.
The creature's body instantly went limp as it got knocked unconscious from a single hit.
Right at that moment, Marc swam down toward him.
He arrived just in time to see Juro casually holding another unconscious creature in one hand.
Marc's eyes widened.
"...What."
Juro simply gestured for him to take it.
Still stunned, Marc grabbed the creature and started swimming back toward the surface again to repeat the same process as before.
As Marc disappeared upward, Juro suddenly noticed something glowing off to his left.
A faint blue light.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly approached it.
The light moved.
Then suddenly darted away at terrifying speed.
One of the same creatures.
Its powerful tail whipped through the water as it fled deeper into the lake.
But Juro casually chased after it.
The creature moved fast.
Juro moved faster.
Within seconds, he caught up beside it.
Then.
He drove an uppercut straight into its jaw.
BOOOOM.
The force launched the creature upward like a cannonball.
It shot through the lake, burst out of the water, and continued flying high into the air.
Above the surface, both Marc and Bell looked up in shock.
"Woaa..." Marc muttered.
The creature continued soaring upward before finally dropping back down onto the ground near the shore with another massive crash.
Marc stared at it with sparkling eyes.
"Wooaa!."
A second later, Juro emerged from the lake right beside him.
With a satisfied grin, he said, "Now we've got three for each of us. We can eat until we're full, hehe."
Marc immediately grinned back.
"Yeah!"
The two of them climbed out of the lake and stepped back onto land.
Marc blinked as he touched his clothes.
His shirt and pants were still completely dry.
Juro smiled before raising one hand toward Marc.
Mana flowed out from his palm, turning into a stream of warm air that wrapped around Marc's body. Within moments, the remaining moisture completely disappeared.
Then Juro casually did the same thing to himself.
As the two finished drying off, Bell stood up from the ground.
"I guess we're heading back to that tree now."
"Yup!" Juro replied cheerfully.
Marc immediately stepped forward excitedly. "Let me help carry one of these!"
He grabbed one of the creature's limbs, exhaled slowly, and began surging mana through his arms again.
But almost immediately.
Marc noticed something strange.
The moment Marc tried lifting the creature on land, his expression immediately changed.
The thing was somehow even heavier outside the water.
"WHY is it heavier up here?!" Marc groaned as the creature barely moved an inch.
"Arghhh what the… they're so heavyyyyy!"
Juro burst out laughing.
Then, without even looking strained, he casually grabbed one Plumpia with one hand and another with his other arm.
Marc stared at him in disbelief.
Juro only grinned before motioning toward the third creature with his head.
"You and Bell can carry that one back to the tree."
Then he casually started walking ahead as if the massive creatures weighed nothing at all.
Marc and Bell exchanged a look.
"…Alright," Bell sighed.
The two grabbed two limbs each from the six-limbed creature.
Before lifting it, both of them began reinforcing their bodies with mana.
Bell glanced at Marc and said, "Don't just strengthen your arms. Use mana on your legs and stomach too, your core helps support the weight."
Marc nodded.
He quickly redirected mana toward the areas Bell mentioned.
Then together, they slowly lifted the creature off the ground.
Barely.
The weight immediately strained their entire bodies, but the mana flowing through their muscles kept them from collapsing.
Step by step, they slowly followed behind Juro.
Sweat gradually formed across Marc's forehead while Bell's breathing became heavier from the constant mana consumption.
Even then, neither of them let go.
Ahead of them, Juro casually glanced back over his shoulder.
A small smile formed on his face.
…
By the time they finally reached the tree again, Marc and Bell immediately dropped the creature onto the ground before collapsing against the trunk beside it.
"Haaahh… augh…" Marc groaned, stretching his sore arms. "My arms are dying…"
Beside him, Bell quietly tried regulating his breathing.
"Dammit… that used a ridiculous amount of mana."
His whole body felt exhausted.
Bell looked down at the creature lying on the ground.
"That damned Plumpia..."
Meanwhile, Marc pointed toward the creature and looked at Juro curiously.
"Teacher Juro, what's this creature called?"
Juro smiled casually.
"That creature's called a Plumpia. They're pretty famous for their ridiculous weight despite their relatively small size."
Marc immediately sat up.
"Ehhhhh?! Small size?! We're basically the same height as this creature!"
Juro laughed.
"Well yeah. You two are still kids, you're both still growing. Honestly, you might even end up taller than me one day."
Marc chuckled before looking back at the creature.
"What are Plumpias like anyway?"
"Hmmm..." Juro crouched beside the creature and rolled it over slightly. "Well, for starters—as you can see, they don't have eyes."
Marc leaned closer immediately.
"Oooo. Wait, do they not have ears either?"
Juro raised a finger with a grin.
"That's what most people thought at first too. But after researchers studied them more closely, they found tiny ear holes hidden inside one of their gills."
"Oooooo."
"But hearing actually isn't their strongest sense," Juro continued. "They mainly rely on vibration."
He pointed toward the faint blue lure attached near the creature.
"That blue light attracts fish and smaller creatures. Then once something gets close enough, even the slightest movement in the water lets the Plumpia detect exactly where its prey is."
Marc awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Ahahaha… so I basically walked right into its trap like prey…"
"yea" Juro said with a laugh.
Bell quietly listened from the side while watching Juro explain everything so naturally.
"He really is knowledgeable..."
"Not just about magic either."
"He's honestly impressive."
Juro finally stood back up and stretched lightly.
"Alright," he said with a smile. "Time for lunch."
Marc smiled brightly.
"Yeah!"