Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Chapter 547: Searching the worm’s stomach (bonus)

It was an unfortunate timing that her father’s words rang inside her mind.

’It’s your chance to grab his heart, daughter! Take it’

Reena slapped her own head to get rid of those silly thoughts. Just because her opinion of Michael changed, didn’t mean that she was ready to marry him, or that he was ready to marry her.

“Are you okay? Do you need some oxygen?” Michael asked her, inching closer to her to inspect.

She quickly scooted away from him and waved her hands no.

“I’m fine! I’m fine! You can just stay there.”

Michael was only worried because he noticed that the oxygen in the environment was getting dangerously low. It would explain why Reena was acting so weirdly.

He needed to make something that could help her breathe.

He then raised his hand and created a magic circle in his palms. As mana flowed through his veins and into the circle, an invisible wave of energy propagated outwards.

This was a simple search spell, one intended to find specific elements somewhere around the soil. The waves would bounce back as visible light once it found what he wanted to find.

Soon enough, his vision was filled with glowing patches of rock and soil that illuminated the worm’s dark stomach.

He was a little bit worried that there weren’t enough materials, but thankfully, the worm swallowed deep enough underground to contain all the specific metals he needed like copper and zinc.

Reena finally looked up and saw him using complicated magic spells to form and bend the minerals into two thin cylinders, one made out of copper and the other made out of zinc.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

Michael smiled. “These are called electrodes.”

Once those electrodes were done, he just needed two more ingredients. One was water, which was easily done through a simple [Water Ball] spell.

The other was an acid liquid, which was plenty inside the worm’s stomach.

So, combining all those things together, Michael was able to make a make-shift water electrolysis, which was able to make oxygen that can be breathed in for the time being.

He made a simple breathing mask using wood and connected it to a metal tank via leaf straws.

The tank contained the water electrolysis contraption, which allowed it to be filled with oxygen gas that can be breathed in using the mask.

“Here, try this on,” he said, learning towards her.

“What are you?!—“

Reena was flustered and became unable to run away from Michael’s mask.

“Breathe…”

Although he was giving her instructions on how to use the mask, she couldn’t quite make out what he was trying to say because her thoughts were filled with erratic arguments with herself.

She was trying to deny the words that her father had been telling her all this time.

Finally, she had enough and instinctively took a big breath.

And as soon as she felt the clean, fresh air in the mask, her head immediately cleared. It was as if she regained consciousness for the first time in a long time.

She now held the mask all on her own and kept breathing it in.

“breath… What is this?…breathe…”

“That’s called an oxygen mask. The reason why you’re feeling so dizzy inside this place is because it doesn’t have enough oxygen. With that tank, you’ll have no problem breathing again.”

“It’s okay to ask for help once in a while. It doesn’t make you any less of the woman you are now,” he told her.

Reena didn’t know what he was talking about, but the results were clear. She didn’t feel like she’d pass out at any second anymore.

She couldn’t help but look at Michael in amazement. Not only was he a genius in the Mystic Arts that can control four elements at once, but he was also a genius in invention and innovation! He was even able to make such a life-changing machine with only a limited amount of materials.

“This thing is really useful for people living in a higher altitude. I’ll probably create a new product for them in the future so that they don’t get oxygen deprived,” he said, blurting out his ideas.

“This is amazing… you’re amazing,” she muttered out.

“Thanks. Now, you can stay here while I go and find something out there.”

Reena immediately grabbed his arm. “What are you talking about? I want to come with you.”

Michael thought about going alone, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a companion around to help him. “Are you sure? I think it’s much safer here.”

But no matter what he said, she was determined.

“I thought you didn’t want to be my ally or my friend. What changed your mind? Do you think I’m cooler now?” he asked, joking.

“What?! N–no!”

Reena began inhaling the oxygen mask at a faster pace.

“Relax, I was joking. Let’s go.”

He began jumping through the different floating islands of the worm’s stomach. Reena followed closely behind him, holding her wooden mask close to her mouth.

Eventually, they reached a huge pile of trash, as big as a small mountain, in the worm’s stomach. It was made out of slightly decomposed wood, soil, and other natural ingredients that the worm swallowed in its lifetime. There were also some few bits and pieces of armor, clothes, and weapons that the worm probably ingested a few years ago.

Despite the large heap, Michael felt the call in his heart grow deeper as he looked at this mountain.

It’s here.

He quickly ran towards the heap and began rummaging through it.

“What are you trying to find?” Reena asked him. And even though she didn’t have to, she got her hands dirty and helped Michael search for whatever it was he was trying to search for.

It’s close.

He closed his eyes and let his body get a feel for the item’s location. He let his own body move towards it, keeping himself in full concentration.

Using magic, he moved thousands of kilograms of decomposing wood and soil. Still, the sheer size of the mound left a lot of places left to search.

Eventually, he did find something.

In the distance, he saw something peeking out of the soil. Its distinct white color made it easy to spot among the black and brown mulch that composed this small mountain.

He quickly picked it up and dusted off the soil around it.

It was an oval shape with a mouthpiece and several evenly spaced holes along its frame.

He recognized it to be an ocarina.

An instrument? That’s what was calling me?

But upon closer inspection, he realized that this wasn’t just a simple instrument. It was a Mithril Relic!

He didn’t expect to see such a unique remnant of the past.

Does this mean that the worm is thousands of years old?

Of course, the ocarina could have also been left behind by a modern human just a few years ago.

What does it do?

His curiosity led him to gently blow on the mouthpiece.

And although he knew he wasn’t good at playing musical instruments, he still expected some kind of note to play when he blew on it.

Instead, he just heard nothing.

I guess it deteriorated…

But it was at that moment that the whole worm started to tremble.