Chapter 318: Swimming in the Ocean!
Jax looked out into the beautiful ocean, that was as far as his eyes could see. The next moment, Jax stepped forward, letting gravity take hold as he descended down into the water.
From his perspective, he could see the rushing sea rising towards him in shimmering blue and silver light until inevitably,
~WHOOOM!~
The surface of the sea split around his body. There was no splash and no violent disturbance. As if he was a natural, the ocean simply welcomed Jax like he was natural a part of it.
Water folded away from Jax like obedient silk, mana spreading instinctively around him in a smooth sphere as he entered the depths.
A faint glow pulsed beneath his skin as Jax’s magic activated naturally, allowing him first and foremost to breath as if he was an ocean creature.
Then, other forms of magic activated, giving him pressure resistance, under-water temperature stabilization and movement enhancement.
None of these things required conscious effort anymore, all would be done using his magic.
The moment seawater surrounded him fully, his magic adjusted instinctively to the environment, creating a seamless flow between body and ocean.
Jax exhaled softly and instead of bubbles escaping, the mana around him converted oxygen effortlessly.
Due to all of this, he felt incredibly comfortable in the water, as if he was one of the Merfolk himself.
"...Nice."
Sunlight streamed down through the upper waters above him, fractured into countless golden rays that danced through shifting currents.
The ocean looked impossibly alive. Schools of luminous magical fish drifted past in spiraling patterns like living constellations.
Looking to his left, Jax could see coral formations stretching across underwater cliffs in colors so vibrant they almost seemed unreal, it was like a vibrant rainbow.
Massive crystal growths protruded from ancient stone ridges, glowing faintly with natural mana. Even the currents themselves carried traces of magic laced all throughout them.
The pulse of magic echoed all around Jax, and soft streams of energy moved through the sea like invisible rivers.
The deeper he looked around, the more beautiful it became. Still, Jax didn’t have time to go sightseeing, so he began moving around.
There was no kicking or ’swimming’, the water simply carried him where he wanted to go. Mana wrapped around his body and propulsion formed naturally beneath him, letting him glide effortlessly through the ocean with almost supernatural smoothness.
The sensation reminded him vaguely of flying, except it was quieter and softer. The ocean carried an entirely different atmosphere from the skies, just endless flowing calm.
Far above, sunlight shimmered through rippling water, below, the deep stretched infinitely, remaining dark and mysterious.
Jax’s senses expanded outward immediately, mana spread across impossible distances as he began to search and scan all around.
He scanned for currents, magic, life, dimensional magic auras, spacial distortions, and much more. Anything unusual, anything hidden that pointed towards a concealed civilization of powerful water people.
However, Jax’s senses found absolutely nothing, causing the Demon King to frown slightly, "...Seriously?"
All he could sense was ocean. Endless ocean. His senses stretched further, but found still nothing. No signs of a hidden Kingdom, mana clusters or anything of the sort.
Which honestly was impressive to Jax. Sabrina clearly hadn’t exaggerated. Whatever concealment protected the Merfolk Kingdom? It was absurdly effective, even for him.
In fact, he was now considering that some form of divine magic was assisting them in protecting their Kingdom.
Still, Jax kept moving deeper. The sunlight slowly weakened above him. The blues darkened, water cooled and mana density shifted.
The wildlife changed too. Smaller fish disappeared, with larger creatures beginning to appear much more commonly, oceanic mana beasts.
The first one drifted through a canyon beneath him. A colossal serpent nearly the size of a castle tower. Bioluminescent markings glowed softly across its body while translucent fins shimmered through the currents.
Its eyes lazily opened as Jax passed overhead. The beast was clearly ancient and powerful, yet strangely peaceful.
The beast merely watched Jax for a couple moments and then drifted away, minding its own business.
Jax blinked once, "I need one of those,"
Further down, he spotted something resembling a whale from back on Earth. Except impossibly larger, basically mountain-sized.
Ancient runes glowed faintly across its body like naturally formed constellations. Smaller sea creatures swam around it in enormous spirals. The thing radiated mana so dense it almost distorted the surrounding water.
Jax paused briefly.
The creature opened one massive eye, looked at him and similar to the serpent, ignored him completely, returning to its beauty sleep.
Jax moved forward, the ocean deepening further. Coral forests replaced rocky shelves. Massive underwater plants stretched toward unseen currents.
Glowing jellyfish larger than carriages drifted overhead like floating lanterns. Some released sparkling mana trails that slowly dissolved into the water. Others moved in coordinated groups, illuminating entire underwater valleys.
The deeper he traveled, the stranger things became. Currents moved unnaturally. Mana fluctuated. Tiny spatial distortions occasionally appeared.
Faint enough most people would never notice, but Jax noticed everything. His golden eyes glowed brighter.
Mana Refract activated instinctively, past disturbances flickered around him. Old mana trails. ancient movement, broken currents, ships lost long ago.
Beasts passing through. Strange invisible routes carved through the sea. His expression sharpened as he noticed certain things.
"...Interesting."
From what he saw, some currents repeated. Not naturally, but clearly intentional as if they were being used as pathways.
Hidden roads beneath the ocean. Jax followed one of these hidden roads, but found nothing, and the second one he followed also yielded a similar result.
However, the third one, he felt a faint sensation brushing against his senses, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
He stopped, turned slightly and his mana spread again. Searching, but all he could sense was ocean, currents and drifting mana.
"...Hiding well." Jax muttered.
Still, he managed to notice some things. When that thing brushed against him, it felt very intentionally obscured, yet he knew it was present.
Probably using divine magic from a Goddess he hadn’t met as of yet, but that didn’t mean he’d give up.
"...Hang on, kid."
Golden mana pulsed softly around him.
"I’ll find them."