vncnus Chapter 275 First Exploration of the Deep Lake
Chapter 275 First Exploration of the Deep Lake
Chapter 275 First Exploration of the Deep Lake
On Saturday morning, as dawn broke, Black Lake was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, its waters a deep, dark green, calm and still. Karen, Wesley, Fabian, and Ernesto arrived early at the rocky area on the northeast shore.
"This is it." Karen pointed to the familiar serpentine reef. A waterproof backpack lay at his feet, containing the equipment Nico had sent and other tools he might need.
"Are you sure you don't need us to come down with you?" Wesley looked at the bottomless lake and rubbed his arms worriedly. "Who knows what big monsters are lurking in the water."
“This is just a preliminary reconnaissance. I'm a smaller target, which makes my movements easier,” Karen shook his head, his tone calm. “Your mission on shore is equally important. Remember our agreement: remind me every half hour via this sensor.” He took out two small metal plates engraved with simple runes and handed one to Fabian. “If everything is normal on my end, I will tap to respond immediately. If there is no response after five minutes, or if you receive an emergency signal from me, don’t hesitate to find the nearest professor immediately, preferably Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick.”
"Understood." Fabian took the sensor, nodded solemnly, and held it tightly in his palm.
Ernesto checked Karen's backpack to make sure everything was there: "The Gill Grass is in the outermost compartment, within easy reach. Have you memorized the activation incantations for the Radiant Pearl and the Directional Pointer?"
"Don't worry, Ernesto, I've practiced it repeatedly." Karen patted her backpack. "Then, I'll do some warm-up exercises before entering the water."
He removed his outer robe, revealing a close-fitting, partially waterproof training suit underneath. He walked to the knee-deep water, raised his wand, and clearly and steadily chanted the spell: "Bubble Head Charm!"
A huge, transparent bubble immediately rose from above his head, rapidly expanding to envelop his entire head, creating a separate oxygen-rich space. Karen took a deep breath; the air inside the bubble was fresh and plentiful. He slowly crouched down, submerging his entire body in the water. The bubble maintained its shape steadily, effectively keeping the lake water out.
He swam in the shallow water for a few minutes, adjusting to the underwater resistance and visibility. Then, he tried Transfiguration; webbed structures grew between his fingers, and several tiny cracks appeared on the side of his neck, resembling the nascent form of gills. He tried breathing underwater and could indeed extract oxygen, but a strong, inhuman sensation made him frown slightly. After weighing his options, he dispelled Transfiguration and decided to rely on the more stable and reliable Bubble Head Charm. The gill experience felt somewhat strange to him, not as comfortable and controllable as the Bubble Head Charm.
"Let's use the Bubble Head Charm again," Karen said, surfacing to the three people watching nervously on the shore. "Transfiguration still carries some risks underwater, and I'm more skilled with the Bubble Head Charm. We'll keep the Gillscapulae as a backup."
Preparations were complete. Karen double-checked that the sensor connection was working properly, hung the Radiant Bead around his neck with a thin string, fixed the compass needle to his left wrist, and tucked the small bottle of exorcising spices into the pouch at his waist. He nodded to his roommates one last time, took a deep breath, cast the Bubble Charm again, and then decisively submerged into the water.
The icy lake water instantly enveloped her body, but the head-drenching spell ensured her head remained dry and her breathing was unimpeded. The Radiant Bead on her chest emitted a soft yet bright light, like a small searchlight, dispelling the darkness within a few meters in front of her. Tiny suspended particles in the lake water were clearly visible in the beam of light. The compass on her wrist trembled slightly before steadily pointing in one direction, helping Karen determine her bearings underwater. Then, focusing her mind, a faint stream of magical energy emerged, precisely the direction of the magical energy she had detected earlier.
Karen adjusted his posture and began to slowly descend along the lakebed. The Eye of Truth worked unexpectedly well underwater. He could not only clearly see the subtle, continuously flowing stream of magic towards the depths, like a glowing ribbon guiding his way, but he could also sense the magical radiance emanating from the magical creatures in the surrounding waters, much more clearly than on land.
In the distance, a vast yet gentle aura of magic moved slowly, its outline vaguely resembling a giant squid; several smaller but more active spots of magic, carrying faint traces of it, darted through the deeper seaweed—likely Grindylow. Karen carefully avoided these spots, choosing a relatively quiet path and following the flow of magic.
The descent was slow and cautious. The light gradually dimmed, with only the Radiant Pearl remaining as the sole source of light, illuminating a small area ahead. The water pressure gradually increased, causing the bubbles formed by the Bubble Head Charm to contract slightly inward, but still remain stable. The surroundings became unusually quiet, with only the soft gurgling sound of the bubbles rising from the user's own breath.
After diving for about fifteen minutes, Karen felt a slight vibration from the sensor in her arms; this was the first timed alert from the shore.
He immediately tapped the sensor rhythmically with his finger to indicate a response signal – "Everything is normal".
He continued to descend, and the flow of magic seemed to become clearer. Finally, at the edge of the radiant pearl's glow, the outline of the lakebed gradually emerged—not soft silt, but an uneven rock structure. The flow of magic plunged straight into a rock wall covered with thick, dark green silt and aquatic plants.
Karen approached cautiously. This rock face looked no different from the rest of the lakebed. He reached out and gently brushed away the silt and seaweed on the surface. His fingertips touched the hard rock, but in the vision of the Eye of Truth, complex, deliberately concealed magical patterns were hidden beneath the surface.
These patterns share the same origin as the guiding array he had seen earlier at the base of the statue in the secret chamber, but are more ancient, complex, and cover a wider area. They are not merely guiding energy; they are more like part of a huge, hidden "door" or "device" constructed on this rock wall. That continuous, faint energy flow is converging somewhere in the center of this rock wall.
Karen's heart skipped a beat. He had found the finish line.
He cleaned the surface of the rock wall more carefully, trying to reveal more of the texture. As the silt and seaweed were peeled away, some of the carvings became visible—a very abstract and stylized serpentine pattern, similar to the carvings at the entrance to the secret chamber, but more ancient and mysterious, with sharper lines and a sense of primal power.
He tried to approach the rock wall, concentrated, and uttered a hissing sound in a snake-like voice, as if to "open" the area. The sound traveled through the water, sounding somewhat muffled.
The magical patterns inside the rock wall seemed to be activated, illuminating for a moment with an extremely dim light. The entire rock wall also trembled very slightly, almost imperceptibly, and some of the deeper silt was shaken down, revealing more of the carving marks.
But that was all. The rock wall didn't open, nor did any passage appear. Karen could feel that his Parsleyan had triggered something, but it wasn't enough. It was like inserting a roughly correct key into a lock, but being unable to turn it. Something more precise, or a specific item, or perhaps even a specific time or condition, was missing.
He wasn't discouraged; this was expected. He took out waterproof parchment and a special drawing pen, carefully tracing or drawing the exposed patterns and symbols as much as possible. It was a slow and patient process; he had to be careful not to damage the rock face while also paying attention to his surroundings.
During this time, he received two more timed alerts from the shore, which he responded to promptly. He swam back and forth around the rock face, carefully scanning every inch of the suspicious area with the light of the Radiant Pearl, but apart from this unusual area, there seemed to be no other human traces nearby. The stream of magical energy had indeed flowed into this place and then disappeared.
After recording all the information he could find, Karen sensed a slight weakening of the Bubble Head Charm's power. Although it could still last a long time, he remembered his mentor's warning not to linger too long at once. He took one last look at the lakebed rock wall that held the secret, then decisively turned and began to float upwards along the path he had come from.
He rose much faster than he descended. The light gradually brightened, and the water pressure decreased. When he finally broke the surface and breathed in the cool, damp air of the lakeside again, he couldn't help but take a long breath, even though the Bubblehead Curse hadn't suffocated him. Wesley and Fabian immediately reached out and pulled him ashore. Ernesto handed him a thick, dry towel.
"How is it? What's going on down there?" Wesley asked impatiently as he helped Karen take off her backpack.
"Target found." Karen wiped the water droplets from his face and hair with a towel. Although the head-soaking spell kept the water away, the splashes still soaked him. "There is something there, a huge rock wall with very ancient and complex magical patterns on it. The energy flow I sensed earlier flowed into there. I tried using Parseltongue, and there was a slight reaction, but I couldn't open it. It's more like a sealed entrance that requires specific conditions to open."
"Entrance? Where does it lead?" Fabian asked curiously.
"I don't know." Karen shook her head and began to change into dry clothes. "The rock face itself looks like part of the lakebed. It's impossible to tell whether there's solid rock or a passage behind it. I've written down all the patterns I can see, and I'll study them carefully when I get back."
"It's good that you're back safe and sound." Ernesto breathed a sigh of relief. "Every time the sensor went off, we were on edge."
7
Karen smiled. "It's always good to be well-prepared. Let's go back; we need to get this information organized as soon as possible."
The four packed their belongings and left the silent shore of the Black Lake. The lake remained calm, as if nothing had happened; only the wet rubbings on the Karen parchment testified to the long-forgotten secret deep beneath the lake.