Michael watched with eager anticipation as the Drone in front of him started to unleash loads and loads of nanoparticles, each one brimming with a power similar to a GodForge piece.
Usually, these nanoparticles would swarm towards a particular part of the Drone to build its upgrade. It would cover the cara, chipping away at its glass screen and its fra before rebuilding it with sothing entirely new. The sa way went with the other upgrades.
But this ti, the nanoparticles practically overwheld the Drone, drowning it in a tsunami—like a world trapped in nothing but stormy waters. He could hear the sounds of tal clashing against tal, the main fra creaking as it underwent uncontrollable turmoil.
This scared him a little bit. After all, Mithril Artifact was supposed to be the strongest tal in the world, but hearing it getting shredded and torn apart made him think that it was close to death.
ChatJK5, how long is this upgrade going to take?
[It will take an estimated 2 days]
That long?!
Upgrades used to only last for a few minutes, an hour at most. But now, it would take 48 hours before he could finally see the fruits of his hard-earned spending spree.
It made sense though, once he thought about it. The Drone would practically be creating 16 new Mini Drones from scratch. It was birthing sothing as complex and as powerful as its own body, albeit with a smaller fra. He was lucky that it would only last 2 days.
I guess it’s fine. I have other matters to attend to anyway.
Speaking of which, he completely forgot that he was still standing in front of Serena.
There was confusion, shock, and awe in her face as she watched the Drone beco sward by bee-like nanoparticles out of nowhere. She would have scread, if it weren’t for the smile on Michael’s face.
He was so excited with the upgrades that he forgot he was in the presence of soone else.
Thankfully, Serena was soone he could trust. He wouldn’t have let down his guard otherwise.
"Your weapon is very... unique. It certainly fits you," she said, complenting him.
"Thank you."
"Uhm... listen," she said, twiddling her fingers in her red curly hair. "I know that you have a lot of things to do, but—"
Just as she said that, the water behind her suddenly started to bubble.
They both turned around, seeing a dark shadow erge from the darkest depths of the lake towards her.
Soon after, a group of five rn erged wearing armor made out of iridescent mollusk shells and corals. And unlike Serena, who had a human upper body and a rmaid’s tail, these rn were more animal than they were human.
Most of them had squid-like faces, each different in size, shape, and color. Their tentacles wriggled uncomfortably as they erged from the water, but they themselves didn’t squirm. Breathing air in the surface world was only a minor inconvenience to them.
"It’s you guys...," Serena said, putting her hand on her waist, annoyed.
Michael recognized them as well. He briefly saw them stand guard in the Sunken Ship territory down in the lake, which was controlled by none other than Princess Octavia.
"Princess Serena, our Mistress is now ready to see you," one of the guards said respectfully.
Despite their reverent attitude, Serena wasn’t having it. "Oh does she now? She’s so magnanimous isn’t she, allowing to finally enter her humble abode?"
In case it wasn’t clear, she was full of sarcasm, which the guards certainly didn’t understand.
"Yes. Our mistress’s generosity extends to everyone."
Serena rolled her eyes. After all, she had been trying to talk with Octavia these past few days, but that girl always deferred to simply using her guards to communicate. It was very annoying.
"Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Princess Octavia would like to talk to you and your guest," the guard said, gesturing to Michael.
Serena’s eyebrows slanted unevenly. "You know him?"
"Yes, sir Keo has visited the princess’ quarters just recently with the esteed Professor Lichtenstein. She would like to know the results of their mission."
"Keo?"
Serena looked at Michael, who quickly gave her an imperceptible signal with his eyes.
And using his shadow, he was able to telepathically ask for her discretion regarding his true identity. He still wanted to keep on introducing himself as Keo. He found that being known as the Professor’s protege opened up doors that were previously inaccessible to anyone else.
’I’ll tell you the details later. Just go with it,’
Serena, the quick-thinking rmaid that she was, imdiately went along with his new identity.
"Ah... so she wants to see Keo. Alright, take us to her."
Octavia’s guards nodded, before moving their hands in a circle, the tentacles in their mouths wriggling as they summoned Aubility Power from their Dao Hearts.
The water bubbled, forming and lding into one another. But this ti the air didn’t escape the water’s surface tension. It built up with more and more volu like a balloon, until eventually forming a giant bubble big enough to house a single person.
Then, they asked Michael to step inside. This was the only way that a human could go into the rn’s territory without suffocating.
Of course, Michael could use his powers to survive, but that wouldn’t really live up to his na as the nerdy, powerless Keo.
So, guided by the rn and Serena, they subrged deep underwater and began descending into the depths.
In the anwhile, Serena kept giving Michael furtive glances, trying to get answers about his history as Keo.
Michael knew he owed her so answers, so he conjured so telepathic magic to communicate with her under the guards’ radar.
’You know Professor Lichtenstein?! And sohow, you’re his protege?!’
’You know about the professor?’
Serena nodded with wide eyes. ’Of course! I rember when he visited Atlantis, even father treated him as a VIP guest!’
Michael thought for a second. A historian eting with the Ocean King could only an one thing. ’The professor went to Atlantis? Let guess. He was trying to do so research on Marianas Jewel, right?’
A gurgling sound escaped Serena’s mouth as she gasped at his words. It almost caught the attention of the guards, but thankfully, a school of fishes swam past them just in ti.
"Do not worry. They’re harmless," said one of the guards. "Fishes have beco braver lately because of the lack of food."
Michael took note of the guards’ words before turning his attention back to Serena, who was still looking at him with pure shock.
’How do you know about that?!’
’The professor told . Princess Octavia wanted his help in finding it.’
Serena’s eyes narrowed. ’Of course she’s trying to find it.’
’Aren’t you?’ he asked her. ’I heard whoever finds it will eventually rule over Atlantis and the entirety of the seven seas.’
Serena quickly shook her head. ’Of course not. I have no interest in that whatsoever. Taking over my father’s job is not on my list of dreams.’
’But don’t you want to find it just for curiosity’s sake?’
She considered it for a second, before saying, ’Still no. Legends say that Marianas Jewel will bring growth and prosperity to the ocean, but conversely it could also cause ruin to the entire world.’
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