Magic Spring Pearl

From the outside, the Thirsty Sea Glow Algae engraved with the Song of Red showed no change, but they seemed able to live entirely out of seawater now.

Because... through the Astral Spirit Body, Kroya could hear their thoughts-

"We can finally leave!"

"No more getting eaten by giant octopuses!"

"To shore, to shore!"

The Thirsty Sea Glow Algae circled Kroya in wild delight. A clear blue glow surrounded him, making the young man's calm expression look especially mysterious and elegant in the night.

Wherever he went, the Thirsty Sea Glow Algae followed.

It was as though they had become his magical familiars.

[Engraving successful: Thirsty Sea Glow Algae (Poem of Rainbow Light · Song of Red, first movement)]

[Thirsty Sea Glow Algae can leave seawater and remain active outside nighttime hours.]

[When gathered together, Thirsty Sea Glow Algae can concentrate red mana and sing the Song of Red, improving the effects of meditation.]

[The power of Thirsty Sea Glow Algae will gradually shift from water to water-fire dual element. Promptly engraving more spells of the same elements can increase their power.]

After carefully reading the descriptions, Kroya felt a surge of delight.

They could improve the efficiency of his meditation!

He had truly struck it rich this time. Improving his meditation efficiency meant speeding up his advancement and the rate at which he gathered mana.

He could not have asked for a better effect.

Thoroughly satisfied, he was just about to step out of the seawater when he suddenly looked toward the stretch of beach the Thirsty Sea Glow Algae had been feeding on.

Under the moonlight and the algae's blue glow, the beach looked exceptionally white-the beaches here all seemed to consist of this pure white, fine sand.

It certainly looked beautiful. In the daytime sunshine, it would surely make a fine vacation spot.

But in this world, a white beach like this was of no use at all.

If the Thirsty Sea Glow Algae had approached the beach because they craved more mana, then... could something be buried in the sand?

As soon as the thought occurred to him, he beckoned to the people nearby.

"Someone, dig this spot up!"

With that, he stepped onto the beach and stood silently to one side.

His orders were absolute, of course. Besides, they had just witnessed the mage's impressive feat of taming the Thirsty Sea Glow Algae. Soldiers immediately stepped forward and began digging with grunts of effort.

Sand was not easy to dig through, but their efforts soon opened a hole. There really was something underneath.

It looked like the edge of an enormous clam shell.

Most of it was buried deep in the sand, but judging by the tiny portion exposed, it had to be at least as large as a person.

Kroya narrowed his eyes and examined it.

The shell looked as though it had been plated in silver. Light seemed to flow across its surface under the moon, and its naturally formed wave-like patterns were strikingly beautiful.

A faint aura of mana also lingered around it.

But there was no trace of life.

Good, it isn't alive. If something this big were alive, it would probably be a magical beast of at least the second rank, wouldn't it?

Kroya let out a relieved breath and ordered, "Keep digging."

The soldiers grunting away at the hole knew nothing about it, but Batos seemed to remember something. He hurried over to Kroya and lowered his voice.

"My lord, when I came here to take up my post as lord, I heard a story. They say the sea around this island is home to a kind of giant clam favored by the Moonlight Goddess..."

"A giant clam favored by the Moonlight Goddess?" Kroya was inwardly unimpressed, but he said, "What a coincidence. Finding something like this under such moonlight could be considered a gift from the Moonlight Goddess."

It was not that he was afraid to make a few irreverent remarks. Gods truly existed in this world, and faith in them was deeply rooted. Worship of the sea god and the moon goddess was especially common in coastal regions.

People prayed for smooth voyages and safety under the moonlight.

As a mage, he was naturally a nonbeliever, but who knew whether there were followers of the moon goddess among these people? Since he already seemed so mysterious, adding a layer of "divine radiance" sounded rather good.

Surely the moon goddess would not mind him borrowing a little of her prestige.

After hearing Kroya's words, Batos continued, "They say that under the Moonlight Goddess's protection and blessing, these clams produce pearls like water that never decay."

"Oh."

He nodded casually.

From a mage's perspective, this simply meant that the giant clams gathered water-element mana to nurture a mana crystal or something similar.

As long as mana crystals were stored properly, they really would never decay-they would merely lose their mana and grow dull.

He was somewhat eager to see it, but he also understood the wisdom of keeping wealth out of sight. Once the bathtub-sized giant clam had been fully unearthed, Kroya promptly ordered it transported to the castle.

The Blaze Horse was conveniently there.

Whatever was inside, he could examine it at leisure back in the castle.

Before leaving, he generously announced, "Two copper coins for each person!"

If there really was something valuable inside the shell, he would gladly reward them with gold coins, let alone two copper coins.

Spending a little money to win people over.

It was a worthwhile transaction.

And so, he soon returned to the castle with Rob and the four knights.

The four knights carried the giant clam together into a secret chamber beneath the castle. Then, with Kroya's permission, Joshua took a knife and began prying its shell open.

The shell was remarkably sturdy. Even though the giant clam had long since died, it remained tightly shut.

"Hah!" After considerable effort, with every muscle bulging, Joshua finally managed to pry open a narrow gap.

The instant that gap opened-

A strange current of water-element mana, like a blowing sea breeze, drifted out through the gap in the shell and swirled through the dim basement.

The Thirsty Sea Glow Algae beside Kroya seemed restless with anticipation, but they obediently stayed behind him without approaching.

Having pried open the gap, Joshua looked at Kroya, silently asking whether he should open it further-what if Kroya did not want them to see what was inside?

Kroya merely gestured for the other three to help.

"Open it all the way. Let's have a look."

With his permission, the four knights pulled together and soon lifted the shell completely open, exposing everything inside to their eyes-

In the very center of the shell, which had already begun turning into mana crystal, lay a "pearl" roughly the size of a head. No, it would be more accurate to call it a bead of water.

Clear water flowed around its surface, yet not a single drop spilled out. It flowed only over the pearl itself.

Wisps of water mana seeped from within, forming ripples of water mana around it like a sea breeze.

There was a slight chill.

It looked truly wondrous.

Only then did Kroya understand. What Batos had said was actually true. This was not a crystal formed from concentrated water elements, but a genuine bead of water!

He stared at the pearl for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. He immediately ran back to his bedroom and searched through a pile of magic books.

At last, he found the answer in Wendy's Travelogue, a book recording the customs and strange tales of various lands.

It was a Magic Spring Pearl. In other words, it could transform an ordinary spring into a water vein infused with mana!