Chapter 477: Don’t Go In There

He stared at the water’s surface for longer than he would have liked. However, he wasn’t able to come up with a plan. He was almost entirely sure that a token or, at the very least, a valuable treasure was hidden in the depths of the lake.

The main problem was that he wasn’t able to extend his perception beyond the water’s surface. That made him nervous for multiple reasons. For one, he was rarely ever left completely blind. His spatial skill was very good, allowing him to keep track of his surroundings at all times. It was why he almost never got caught off guard.

Yet, the little turtle had managed to ambush him before he could notice, taking one of his toes as a snack. That small attack had given him more of a scare than he would care to admit.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just the turtle he was worried about. He was concerned that other threats and dangers were lurking in the lake. Threats that he couldn’t sense because of the water’s weird property that blocked his perception.

Not even his mana or aura senses were able to see through it. There was so much mana tangled together in the water that it was basically a brick wall to his mana senses.

However, he realized that he needed to make a decision soon. Either leave for other opportunities, or suck it up and indulge his curiosity.

He slumped his shoulders. When he thought about it like that, the answer was quite simple. He squared his chest and, displaying more courage than he felt, he stepped close to the water’s edge. He bent down to his knees and lowered his head so that it hovered just above the surface for a few brief moments.

He could feel his heart pounding slightly, a mix of anxiousness and excitement. With his perception skill, he had always been calm because he had a general idea of what was awaiting him. He chuckled. The fear of the unknown was surprisingly effective.

Before he could overthink it, he swiftly plunged his head beneath the water. To his shock, when he opened his eyes, he saw everything very clearly. It was as if a thin, illusory barrier covered the surface of the water, preventing people from seeing beneath it. However, once you break the surface tension, that barrier would no longer prevent you from perceiving the water below.

Sure, it was still hard with the unique water, but at least he was able to see various vegetation floating on the bottom of the lake, as well as a small number of fish swimming about.

The lake itself was deeper than he imagined, but not so deep that he couldn’t see the bottom. Of course, the crystal-like quality of the water helped matter, but he would estimate it to be around a hundred feet deep.

He didn’t spot the turtle anywhere, but he paused when he saw a small fish the size of his hand swim nearby. It glanced at Julius with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. It didn’t look aggressive at all and slowly floated closer to him.

He let it get closer to his face and didn’t move even when it nudged his nose. He simply kept on looking at it, and the fish stared right back at him. Then it must have gotten bored or at least satisfied its curiosity, because it turned around and swam off in the other direction.

Julius pulled his head out and wiped his wet hair from his face. He still hadn’t spotted the hungry little turtle, but he had sensed something interesting. There was a section of the lake where a shimmering, light blue glow was emitted. It was down toward the bottom, and Julius’s gut told him that this was where he would find the treasure or token.

However, now that he wasn’t so nervous about going into the water, he took off some of his clothes, leaving only his underwear on. He was about to jump feet first when he sensed someone staring at him.

He turned around slowly. “Umm, can I help you?” He asked the woman archer. She had her stealth skill activated, but Julius had still sensed her approach.

“What are you doing?” She asked, her voice surprisingly soft. Julius watched as she removed her hood that was obscuring her face, and he was surprised at how young she looked. Most of the competitors were older; he was one of the youngest-looking people there. Yet, this girl seemed to be around fifteen or sixteen years old.

Soft black hair, bordering on ashy gray, flowed over her shoulders, framing a graceful face.

He strutted over to the area closest to where he had seen the glow and looked back at her. “I’m about to go for a swim,” he said with a shrug.

“A swim?” She asked, sounding both perplexed and wary. Her bow was at her side, but he could tell from her grip that she was prepared to use it at a moment’s notice.

“Yeah, the water here is pretty interesting. What happened to the rest of them?” He asked, changing the topic.

She tilted her head as she stared at him, deciding whether or not to answer him. “The one you put a hole in his chest died, and his body was removed from the realm a few minutes later. The one with the shield also died. The redhead crushed his head,” she finally explained to him.

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“And the redhead?”

She looked away, not meeting his eyes. “He ran away,” she said.

Julius finally focused his full attention on her. “He escaped from you? An archer on an open plain with almost nowhere to hide?” He found it hard to believe.

She scrunched her forehead with irritation. “Yeah,” she gritted out. It sounded like it pained her to admit that.

He shrugged. Who knew? Perhaps that redhead had a hidden card up his sleeve that helped him escape. Julius was about to judge her.

“So what now? You want to fight me next?” He gestured at his half-naked body. “Although, if you want to do that, I would appreciate it if you let me put my clothes back on,” he said with a rueful smile.

To his disappointment, she shook her head. “No, I don’t have any plans to fight you,” she said, and despite him not trusting her, he believed that was true.

He had felt her use a good amount of mana during that fight with the redhead, and while the redhead had clearly run out before her, she must have used a significant chunk of her mana pool.

Furthermore, if she wanted to attack him, she would have already done so. She was an archer and had decided to approach him. If she wanted a fight, she was putting herself at a disadvantage.

Regardless, he was interested in hearing her reasons for approaching him if that was the case.

“So what do you want?” He asked her.