Episode 131
EPISODE.66
“Go in and come. This body is waiting here.”
fluff.
Leaving behind Muyaho, who sat down leisurely, Russell moved the new model.
I entered the cave again using fly magic.
Kwagwagwagwa-.
Could it be because of the narrow width of the cave? The speed of the water passing by as if brushing my toes was quite fast.
Its sound reminded me of a beach in a storm.
Not only that.
The long line of stalactites also constantly obstructed the path.
Ssuk-.
Russell’s eyes, which had been avoiding the stalactites through evasive maneuvers, sank deeply.
‘Is it longer than I thought?’
More than ten minutes had passed since I had already entered the cave.
Considering that the length of the first cave was no more than two or three minutes, the second cave was well over twice as long.
In addition, unlike the first cave, which stretched out in a straight line, it even curved.
It was just the right structure to distract the person who went inside.
How long did he fly inside the cave like that?
Russell, who confirmed that the light was coming in from afar, accelerated the model.
Wedge-Ae-Ae-!
I covered the remaining distance of the cave at the same speed as the arrow.
After the sound of the water flowing, the stalactites that stretched like curtains, and the darkness of the cave where you couldn’t see an inch ahead!
Anger-!
The thick scent of grass in the blowing wind brushes the tip of Russell’s nose.
Then a bright sun shone over Russell’s head.
‘This is the sacred land…’
The sacred land where the god of the beast tribe dwells.
As elsewhere in the Kuril Islands, a land covered with huge bushes caught my eye.
Crossing the middle of the green forest is a river with a scale that is hard to see anywhere else.
A river the size of that rushed into that little cave.
‘It makes sense that the current is fast.’
Looking at the river, Muyaho’s words naturally came to my mind.
‘When Shinji came out, he told me to go up the river where the water flows from then on…’
It was a word that did not make sense at first glance.
Because what Russell was looking for was the place where the river of fire overlapped the river of ice.
However, compared to that, what he saw in front of him was just an ordinary river.
If that’s the case, whether the scene he wants is unfolding on the upper side of the river
…
Russell, who stood still for a moment, resumed his flight.
.
.
How long has it been since you started flying again?
It was only when the flight continued for several kilometers or more that Russell noticed the anomaly.
‘Is the water getting muddy little by little?’
It was understandable that the width would become narrower as it went back upstream, but the color of the water became muddy.
Russell tilted his head at the sudden change. However, that was just the beginning.
After going back a few more kilometers from him, Russell was soon able to face a shocking sight.
‘This is…’
Surprisingly, the color of the river was divided into two.
‘The river of red and blue!’
The sight of two rivers flowing on top of one river.
“her-!”
Russell exclaimed at a sight he had never seen before.
What was surprising was the red color of the river.
The winding and steep red waterway seemed to be looking at a river of flame.
What occupies the side is the blue river water.
This was the place where the river of fire overlapped the river of ice.
‘Is it my mistake that I thought it was just lava because it was called a river of flame?’
I couldn’t believe that the word was a metaphor for a red river, not a river made of lava.
Besides, the word river of flame wasn’t completely wrong.
There was a faint but faint smell of sulfur mixed into the crimson-colored river that was flowing into it.
‘hmm.’
It is a majestic sight enough to take away the gaze of any human being.
Nevertheless, Russell’s cold-hearted reason as a wizard was thoroughly analyzing the current situation.
‘Density and temperature and flow rate.’
This was the conclusion Russell came to after a brief observation.
‘The temperature of the red river is higher, and the flow speed is faster.’
It was only a guess, but at a rough glance, the temperature of the red river seemed to be in the late 30s to 40s.
In contrast, blue river water is less than 20 degrees.
The water wasn’t as cold as ice, but it might be metaphorically referred to as flames and ice.
It wasn’t just anything else.
A closer look revealed that the flow rates of the two rivers were also clearly different.
‘The red one is about twice as fast.’
Those insignificant phenomena are making the two rivers flow without mixing.
Through that fact, Russell was able to recall the records of sailors he had seen in a book long ago.
Even in the distant ocean, there are areas where different seawater and seawater collide and do not mix.
‘Laminar flow.’
It was an area where the so-called phenomenon took place. I’ve known about it, but it’s the first time I’ve actually seen it.
‘I never thought I’d actually see a phenomenon I’d only seen in books.’
After admiring the fact for a while, Russell raised his head.
At the same time as recording the mystery unfolding in front of my eyes through magic, I remembered the second half of the verse.
‘Go back to the end of the river of flame.’
It is unknown how far this river continues, but there must be a water source at the point where the river started.
It was time to find it and go up the Red River.
* * *
Red and blue.
The two rivers continued for dozens of kilometers without mixing.
The width of the river, which used to be wide no matter how far back it went, has also been reduced to less than half.
‘It’s almost time to see the end.’
Unless the characteristics suddenly appeared somewhere, these two waters must have come down from the water source maintaining similar characteristics.
In other words, there will be a water source that flows blue water and a water source that flows red water somewhere.
What Russell was looking for was a source of red water.
‘Because if it’s the end of the river, there’s nothing else to think about other than the water source.’
Sure enough, before long, the point where the two rivers diverge is finally revealed.
Unlike the blue river that runs in a straight line, the place where the red river flows extends to the side like branching.
‘found.’
Spotting him, Russell swerved at once. Then, once again, we started to climb up the waterway.
‘Is it a volcano…’
I saw that a volcano was located not far away. The red river was flowing from the very volcano.
As you go up the river, the smell of sulfur rising above the water begins to get thicker.
‘The temperature has risen even higher.’
It would be an impossible story if it had nothing to do with volcanoes or sulfur springs.
As expected from Russell.
The source of the red waterway was located on one side of the volcanic area.
Push shush shush-.
Geysers with a strong smell of sulfur rise from all over the place alternately.
The gushing geysers were also red, as if they were affected by the color of the water.
In the middle of such geysers, there was a water source.
It was a water source in the form of a small lake, and the water flowed out of it and mixed with the geysers that spouted out, forming a valley and flowing down.
“According to the passage, this is the right place-?”
I took a closer look around, just in case, but there didn’t seem to be anything special.
‘What happened?’
If the place mentioned in the verse is not here, or if that is not the case…
‘Isn’t this the end of the river?’
Just then, a sight caught Russell’s eye.
It was a scene where air bubbles were gushing out like water gushing over the surface of the water source forming a red lake.
‘no way…?’
Looking at the scene, Russell sighed within a moment to think about it.
‘Ugh. It’s my seller.’
Shaking his head, he raised his mana and threw himself into the middle of the hot sulfur lake.
with a plop!
.
.
bugle-.
Heat rushed in from all sides, heavy enough for the body to subside.
It is water mixed with sulfur that has been heated to reach several tens of degrees.
‘There’s no way the fish can survive.’
As I thought, nothing existed in the water.
Of course, I heard that there are some microorganisms that live in this environment, but I couldn’t see them.
The heat that an ordinary human would have burned instantly upon jumping into the water.
Nevertheless, the heat of the sulfur water did not damage Russell’s skin.
Not only was his skin covered with a solid magic barrier, but he was also supported by the understanding of the flame attribute, which had reached the end of the advanced level before he knew it.
Thanks to this, Russell was able to move his body and open his eyes in the water without difficulty.
‘Let’s see-.’
What Russell was looking for was the real water source that created this sulfur lake.
The fact that air bubbles rise to the surface means that there may be another space connected to this lake somewhere.
‘Of course, whether that space is a space that people can enter is a slightly different issue.’
It was worth trying even if it was a feeling of grabbing a straw.
just as expected.
Bugrrrr-.
After wandering around in the water for a while, Russell found a gap in his eyes where bubbles of air leaked out.
‘Is it over there?’
Finding a gap, Russell eagerly moved his limbs.
I approached the gap where air bubbles were leaking out.
‘Do you think I can get in?’
The entrance to the gap thus discovered was at a level that one person could barely get in and out of.
Moreover, the inside seemed to be wider than the entrance seen from the outside.
‘Let’s go in.’
Thinking so, Russell immediately dug in.
bugle-.
As the movement moves, the leaking air bubbles vibrate wildly.
The water was warmed up by nearby magma, and the temperature was high, and it was in a gap where even the light didn’t shine properly.
It is also impossible to guarantee whether there is a separate space to breathe.
If he had been a criminal, he would not have dared to throw himself into the lake of sulfur, let alone enter through the cracks.
However, Russell was far from an ordinary person.
Thanks to steady training, the increased lung capacity was equipped with the ability to hold your breath for a long time several times longer than others.
As well as-.
‘If I had to, wouldn’t it be possible to break through the ground?’
-The perpetrator also had the ability to solve problems in a way he never could.
How long did he squeeze through the cracks and climb up the underwater cave?
At some point, a change occurred.
Paaaa-!
A red light soared along Russell’s temple as he was swimming.
It stretched forward, lighting up the middle of the underwater cave.
A path of light was created as if to keep following this light.
Hwaaak!
dragon-swallowed wizard
