While Annie was setting up a fire to dry their clothes, Allen found himself lost in thought.
There's a saying, "As long as you keep thinking, there's always a way," but this was clearly not one of those moments where you could solve everything with a quick brainstorm. After all, Allen didn't have a tranquilizer gun behind his back, nor was he some legendary monk known for brilliant plans.
There was definitely something valuable down there, anything capable of completely erasing stored magic energy was bound to be no ordinary item. If he could amplify its effects, even someone like Voldemort wouldn't stand a chance! Allen could take on ten of him!
I mean, the guy was already in his sixties. Allen might not be able to "pPunch South Mountain and kick North Sea" like the old saying goes, but punching up a retirement home wouldn't be a problem at all.
But here's the real issue, knocking someone out once was questionable enough, but doing it twice? That's just pushing it.
As far as Allen knew, there were only a few magical methods for deep-sea diving, Gillyweed, the Bubble-Head Charm, and Transfiguration, but none of them were viable right now.
Even if Professor Snape had a sudden attack of charity and donated Gillyweed, Allen wouldn't make it in time to use it. The Bubble-Head Charm had already proven to be a failure. And as for Transfiguration... Sorry, Allen hadn't learned that spell yet.
He even considered the Muggle solution, scuba gear, but quickly scratched that idea. The people here were struggling to feed themselves. Who had the time or resources for something that fancy?
Wait a second,
A sudden idea struck Allen. He dug into his bag, pulled out some tightly woven clothes, soaked them in water, and draped them to create a makeshift air bubble. Sure enough, it worked! Totally airtight!
Science is power, no doubt, but sometimes old-school methods can be just as effective in the right moment! All those years of reading martial arts novels hadn't gone to waste after all!
After crafting a few primitive oxygen containers, the two of them dove back underwater. This time, it went much smoother. Amid the magical glow that might vanish at any second, a faint blue light appeared in the distance.
Allen and Annie exchanged a nod and began swimming toward the glow, well, more accurately, Allen pulled Annie down with him. Their swimming posture was so awkward it was painful to watch. Cheating with air tanks really didn't help the aesthetics.
As they approached the glowing point, the system finally kicked in, alerting Allen to its interest in the object. The message shocked Allen so much he nearly dropped half an air tank's worth of oxygen.
While Allen hesitated, Annie reached the platform first. This was her first time on an adventure like this, and naturally, she got a bit too excited upon finding the treasure.
Unfortunately for her, though the object looked mysterious and impressive, it was something the system had claimed, it wasn't hers to play with. Allen made a mental note to make it up to her later with some Häagen-Dazs.
Wait, what the hell?!
To Allen's shock, Annie had already placed her hand on the glowing object, a cold-colored flame that burned quietly under the water.
As soon as she touched it, streams of flame began peeling off from the main body, scattering like fireflies.
These flame fireflies didn't drift away, though, instead, they began to circle around underwater. One or two looked insignificant, but as more peeled away, they joined into a long, shimmering ribbon that danced around Annie, almost like the fluttering sashes of a fairy's robe.
At that moment, the girl truly did look like a little fairy.
But… why wasn't the system responding anymore?
"Come on, System, I know you're in there! Don't play dead! You had the guts to scam me out of all those Galleons, but now you've gone silent?! Get out here and say something!"
…Nothing.
Apparently, the system owed 350 million and had run off with its sister-in-law.
So, there Allen was left to chew his metaphorical melon in silence, sadly admiring the now-radiant Annie, the only source of light in the pitch-black water.
Once the last flicker of flame entered Annie's body, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Huh?" She waved her hand, and a flame burst from her palm. As the fire lit up, the surrounding water immediately began to freeze, white frost forming visibly in every direction.
Ice flames?
But now wasn't the time to admire pretty lights, this wasn't a beach, and the depths of the ocean were far from a relaxing vacation spot.
Wait a minute, Annie hadn't breathed for a while now. Could it be, ?
As if reading his thoughts, Annie nodded. "Yep! I can breathe underwater now!"
Forget breathing, she could talk underwater too! Normally, speaking underwater caused streams of bubbles and garbled sounds due to distortion, but Annie's voice came through perfectly clear.
Allen looked at Annie, no longer needing her oxygen pouch, then glanced at himself, still stuck breathing from his DIY air supply,
Coach, I wanna learn too!!!
…Still nothing from the system.
"Alright, now that the problem's solved, let's head back." That's what Allen tried to say with just a glance, but Annie understood it anyway.
Suddenly, her entire body lit up with a soft white glow, it was the same ice flame, but this time used like a magical lantern.
Obviously, this was the cutest torch in history, the only downside was that the brightness flickered from time to time.
Just as Allen was about to start the journey back, Annie tugged on his sleeve and pointed to where the ice flame had just been.
"Big Brother, something's not right. The rate of magic drain has slowed, but it's still going too fast."
…What?!
Could there be something else down there? Allen's eyes lit up with excitement!
Ha! As a former player of adventure games, you think I wouldn't know to look under the treasure chest?
Buzzing with excitement, Allen dragged Annie to the same spot. He pulled out the werewolf's dagger and began digging furiously into the seabed.
He felt a solid resistance almost immediately, it was a huge stone.
At the same time, the system finally showed some activity, but barely.
Even the notification felt half-asleep, like the system was unimpressed by whatever this was.
"Damn it, System! Get your ass out here!"
A moment later, the system finally responded:
["Ding! Congratulations, you have unlocked an item: Anti-Magic Cloak. Please pay 100 gold coins for processing."]
Allen: ...…
SYSTEM, YOU SON OF A BITCH! !!
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