, 14 Mercury Crystals

Chapter 14.14. Mercury Crystal

The moment he entered the water, Kroya intended to use a secret underwater breathing technique on himself, but before he could do so...

The mermaid who was holding him said, "Don't worry, I have already used our mermaid race's sea breathing technique on you."

You can breathe and speak freely.

Kroya tried breathing and found that she could indeed breathe freely. There seemed to be some subtle but exquisite magical changes around her nose and mouth.

If there were a mirror in front of him, he would find that the composition of the magic was like fish gills, helping him filter the air in the seawater.

"Why did you bring me here?" Kroya asked, puzzled. "I haven't heard the Mage Guild mention anything about contracts or anything like that."

The mermaid didn't answer, but simply pulled him by the hand and swam forward.

Seeing that he couldn't get any answers, Kroya had no choice but to give up.

Finding amusement in the surrounding underwater scenery.

The oceans of this world are free from pollution, with colorful corals covering the seabed and fish of all sizes and shapes swimming freely in the crystal-clear water.

Sunlight streamed through the sea, refracting into a dazzling array of colors.

It is indeed beautiful, but it is also dangerous—including some monster-level fish.

They were all enormous, each one larger than a human, and like overlords, they devoured the small fish that couldn't escape in time.

The food here is so plentiful it's practically a buffet.

Let them devour it.

If it were just Kroa here, they would probably have pounced on her and attacked her fiercely, but with a mermaid leading the way, the dangerous seabed became like a smooth road.

As the surrounding sunlight gradually dimmed.

The depth is also increasing.

The beautiful environment has not been affected—some bioluminescent corals and fish have replaced sunlight, though their light may not be as bright.

However, in an environment like the ocean floor, with the ripples of the water, it appears even more enchanting and dreamlike, while the surrounding water magic becomes increasingly intense, seemingly with the addition of some strange other energies.

"It's like the magic of the water element, but it lacks the gentleness of water; instead, it's somewhat violent..."

Chloe thought this might be the reason why she had come to see her.

really,

After swimming for two minutes, the mermaid led Kroa into a cave made of coral. As soon as they entered, Kroa sensed that there was a magic circle set up there.

Moreover, it possesses a very volatile water elemental magic.

He instinctively looked around, and when he saw the wall not far ahead, his eyes widened in surprise—

The black seabed rock wall was covered with some prismatic crystals, which were boldly embedded on it, each of which was filled with extremely abundant but violent water elemental magic.

Water magic crystal ore? No, magic crystals wouldn't be this violent.

What is this?

The mermaid quickly gave him an answer.

"This is the Water Crystal from the Seven Luminaries Crystals, one of the seven sacred crystals left behind by the creator consciousness in legend."

She took out a piece of parchment that was already somewhat worn.

It has densely engraved magical characters on it, and at the bottom is the seal of the floating city belonging to the Mage Association.

She handed the parchment to Chloe.

"Look, the last time the Mage Association sent people to help our Merfolk deal with the Seven Luminaries Crystal was three hundred years ago. Now you have finally arrived."

This entire mine is your responsibility.

Even without her saying it, Kroya could already sense the magical mark on the parchment that belonged exclusively to the Mage Guild—the person who signed this contract must have been at least a level ten or higher Archmage.

This strange magical imprint even has a coercive effect on mages practicing meditation methods provided by the Mage Association.

Incidentally, it also ensures that only mages who have practiced this meditation method can see the specific construction method of the formation and some coded texts.

Although he was no longer forced by these magical forces after switching to the Rainbow Poems, he could still understand them.

Moreover... being watched so intently by a mermaid of the archmage level, he clearly had no choice but to comply.

He sighed helplessly and began to examine the contents of the contract.

Surprisingly, the terms of the contract were very lenient.

The mission requires the mage lords sent later to use a special magic array called the "Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array" to help the mermaid race straighten out the chaotic power within the Water Luminaries Crystal.

That's all.

The densely packed handwriting mostly describes how to build and use the "Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array".

This formation seems to be a simplified version, and the resources and materials it consumes shouldn't be too expensive; they should be available for purchase with level one magic crystals.

This magic array seems to be unique to this great mage; only he possesses it.

That's why mermaids were restricted for so long.

The scroll includes several spell models, hand gestures, and incantations for Water Magic, which is released using the power of Water Crystals. These spells require Water Crystals as their power and are extremely potent.

The parchment also hinted to those who came after that the mermaids were very wealthy, and that the power of this water crystal was of great importance to them.

This line of small characters was written with special magic, and cannot be understood by mages who are not members of the Mage Association.

Basically, it means... people who are naive and have too much money can ask for more compensation.

This is money!

Kroya is short of money right now.

He also needs to purchase valuable magical equipment, help build more magical fields on the island, and gradually transform the entire island.

All of this requires the support of magic crystals and gold coins.

It was like a pillow being delivered to someone who was sleepy.

After a moment's hesitation, he sighed softly and returned the parchment to the mermaid.

The latter looked puzzled: "What's wrong?"

"I don't have enough materials." Kroya smiled bitterly. "You should also know that I was actually exiled and didn't bring much with me at all."

With such a wealthy woman here, if he doesn't plead poverty, he'd be letting down the senior monk who gave him the advice!

"Putting everything else aside, I can't even set up this magic circle."

"That won't do!" The merman reacted even more strongly, immediately saying anxiously, "Tell me roughly how many magic crystals we need. We merfolk may not have much else, but we have plenty of magical materials, enough to exchange for magic crystals."

Upon hearing this, Kroya's heart skipped a beat, only to hear a chilling voice and feel an icy spike pressed against his back.

"Little mage, you must remember, you can't take more! If we find out you've taken too much..."

A surge of magic gathered behind him, threatening to turn him into a pile of minced meat at any moment.

"..."

His expression remained unchanged.

He simply said, "The contract is here, so I certainly won't have any other thoughts... As for the specific amount needed, I'll need to calculate it."

He then shrugged.

"That's good." The mermaid removed the ice spikes, and her expression became kinder: "We have an ancient covenant. If you fulfill it, your territory will not be invaded by the sea creatures during your term of office."

Your territory's inhabitants can also venture into the deeper sea to capture and salvage monsters and magical plants.

Kroya nodded.

Fortunately, the mermaid did not know the specifics of the contract, so he had some room to maneuver. Moreover, if he could rely on the power of the mermaid race, his territory would develop very quickly.

In general, there are pros and cons.

It all depends on how he handles it.

(End of this chapter)