Chapter : 612

"Your clothing is completely irrelevant," Olivia stated coldly. "We have an official mission. We must retrieve the artifact. You will enter the water. You will complete your assigned duties."

Ken shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He slouched his shoulders. He pouted.

"My clothing is highly relevant," Ken argued lazily. "A main character must maintain a consistent visual aesthetic. It is a fundamental rule of animation. If my suit shrinks in the wash, my pants will become too short. I will look like a clown. I refuse to fight monsters while wearing tight pants."

Olivia took a step forward. She pointed her spear at the ground. She looked incredibly strict.

"You are not a main character," Olivia scolded. "You are a servant. You lack basic military discipline. A true warrior does not care about wet clothes. A true warrior adapts to the terrain."

"I am adapting," Ken smiled a goofy smile. "I am adapting by staying on dry land. I will guard our lunch bags. Guarding the food is a very critical tactical role."

Naomi walked over to Ken. She wore her simple gray shirt and dark pants. Her red hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. She did not frown at him. She did not yell. She smiled a very warm, bright smile. Her green eyes sparkled with genuine affection.

She stood right next to him.

"Stop whining, Ken," Naomi teased softly. She looked at his messy hair. "We cannot leave you on the shore. We need you with us. You always find the best clues."

Ken looked at Naomi. He gave her a lazy, relaxed grin.

"I can find clues from up here," Ken mumbled. He pointed a lazy finger at the lake. "I will use my superior vision. I will spot the shiny rock from the surface. You guys can swim down and grab it. I will cheer for you very loudly."

Laxmi jumped onto a large boulder. The fire user grinned a wild, excited grin. She tossed a tiny orange spark of fire between her fingers.

"I totally agree with Ken!" Laxmi cheered. "Water is terrible! I cannot use my fire magic underwater! If I throw a fireball, it will just turn into sad little bubbles! We should just get rid of the water entirely!"

Zinia crossed her muscular arms. The strong earth mage looked at Laxmi. "How do you plan to get rid of an entire lake, Laxmi?"

Laxmi punched her open palm. Bright flames roared around her knuckles. "I will just boil the whole thing! I will heat the water until it evaporates! Then we can just walk down the dry crater and pick up the prize!"

Sayma sat on a flat rock. The intelligent Vice-Captain pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She opened her neat notebook. She clicked her pen.

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"That is a highly inefficient strategy, Laxmi," Sayma noted politely. "Boiling a lake of this massive volume requires an astronomical amount of thermal energy. You would completely deplete your mana reserves in three minutes. Furthermore, the resulting steam would cook us alive."

Laxmi pouted. She extinguished her flames. "Science ruins all my fun ideas."

Luna lay flat on the grassy ground. The lightning user rubbed her sleepy eyes. A knitted blanket covered her shoulders. She let out a massive yawn.

"Swimming sounds incredibly tiring," Luna complained lazily. "You have to move your arms and legs at the exact same time. It is too much coordination. I want to rent a glass-bottom boat. We can just take a nice boat ride. I can sleep on the deck."

"We do not have a boat, Luna," Zinia chuckled deeply.

Risa stood behind Zinia. The sweet pink-haired healer hugged her stuffed teddy bear tightly. She looked at the dark water. She looked very nervous.

"I do not like deep water," Risa whispered softly. "I cannot see the bottom. What if there are giant fish down there? Giant fish have very sharp teeth. I do not want a fish to bite my toes."

Ken pointed a finger at Risa. "Risa is absolutely right. Deep water is terrifying. This is exactly why water levels are the absolute worst part of any video game. The game designers always put scary fish in the dark corners."

Ken started pacing back and forth on the shore. He waved his arms wildly. He began a massive, highly dramatic rant about anime logic.

"Think about the mechanics!" Ken shouted cheerfully. "When you go underwater, your movement speed drops by fifty percent! You try to dodge an attack, but you just float away slowly! It is incredibly frustrating! The controls become totally sluggish!"

Olivia glared at him. "This is not a game, Ken. Stop talking nonsense."

Ken completely ignored her strict tone. He kept pacing.

"And do not forget the oxygen meter!" Ken warned the group. He tapped his chest. "A tiny blue bar appears over your head. It starts ticking down immediately. If the blue bar empties, you start taking massive damage! You have to swim around frantically. You have to look for giant, glowing air bubbles just to survive! It gives me massive anxiety!"

Naomi laughed a quiet, musical laugh. She watched him pace. She really enjoyed his silly stories. "We will not have a blue bar over our heads, Ken."

"We might!" Ken argued. He stopped pacing. He slouched his shoulders again. "And what about the music? The background music always changes in a water level. It turns into a very fast, very stressful ticking sound. It ruins the entire relaxing vibe. I refuse to participate in a poorly designed aquatic stage."

Ken reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. He opened the bag. He popped a crispy chip into his mouth. He chewed it slowly.

"Also," Ken mumbled with his mouth full. "I once watched a very famous pirate cartoon. The main character ate a magical fruit. The fruit gave him stretching powers. But it took away his ability to swim. He sank like a stone. What if I ate a secret magical fruit? I might sink directly to the bottom. It is a massive safety risk."

Sayma pushed her glasses up again. She looked at Ken politely. "You did not eat a magical fruit, Ken. You just ate a potato chip. Your buoyancy levels are perfectly normal."

"You never know," Ken grinned a goofy grin.

Princess Iris stood near the edge of the water. The violet-eyed royal wore her crisp dark blue uniform. She held her silver rapier at her side. She looked at the dark lake. She felt a profound sense of determination. They needed to find the weather relic. They needed to save the outer districts from the drought.

"We must proceed," Princess Iris commanded smoothly. Her voice was calm but totally firm. "The relic is down there. We cannot wait on the shore. We must find a way to descend safely."

Olivia marched forward. She stopped right next to the Princess. She pointed her silver spear at the water.