Legendary Traveler: By Earning Progress Points I will Become Supreme!-Chapter 207: Operation Set Up Cavern (5)

Three large tunnels, with seemingly different origins, appeared in the dim, almost dark expanse several dozen feet in front of Aoni, all of which pushed out water like a sprung leak or turned-on hose.

Combined, the three created an immensely powerful current that took nearly all of the Lad's physical strength to swim against as he drew near. Still, they knew that he had swum out of the main force, acting against his body only to end up between two of the tunnels, treading water and straining his eyes to look into their depth.

Strangely enough, now that he was no longer subjected to the intense heat, Aoni was beginning to realize something very important.

The central current appeared to be the primary source of power and temperature in the main underwater current. That fact alone sparked a budding curiosity in his mind as he swam closer to the one on the far left.

However, when he did, the first thing he came to realize was not only that the water blasting out of the tunnel was significantly cooler, but the current was at least 5 times weaker than the central one.

Think of the central being the rush of water coming out of a broken dam, whereas the one on the left was like a barely open faucet.

Finding this peculiar, Aoni swam with all his might in the direction he had come, through the central stream, and broke free from it only to understand that the situation with the far right tunnel was exactly the same as with the one on the left.

'Weird, three currents, two weaker and wayyyy colder, yet the water coming from one is basically pulling all the weight. Considering how much of a struggle it was just to swim against the current and the temp being so high, that leads me to believe it's the main source from the aquifer and the least likely spot for the bugs to come in from.' Rolling onto his back and taking a fresh breath of box air, Aoni flipped open the pouch on his left hip and pulled out…a 2-Star Energia Crystal.

Why you may ask, because he was about to do something dumb, aka, investigate a dark ass tunnel hundreds of feet underwater that would more than likely be filled with creepy crawlies that wanted to kill him.

Focusing on the task at hand, Aoni began his investigation by delving into the rightmost tunnel, and at first, things were going well; traveling deeper and deeper into the pitch-black tunnel, pushing out cold water, and using his Energia Crystal as a light source, he was unhindered for some distance, until the walls of the tunnel began gradually narrowing.

---

Two breathing cycles later, the tunnel had grown so narrow that Aoni was forced to stop, as only Glacia would likely be able to snake her way into and progress further into the darkness.

'Well, one thing's for sure, no bugs here, either way, just to be safe,' holding up his crystal so the area was well-lit, Aoni reached into the pouch in the center of the dive belt and withdrew two small stones.

The amount of water coming out of this space is negligible at best, so it won't significantly affect anything in the lake; I might as well go ahead and seal it off.

Looking down at the two Node Stones, Aoni didn't hesitate and pumped both with Energia until the runes printed on their surface lit up with red light…and then…he crushed them both, causing a burst of light to emit from his closed fist.

This light transformed into a glowing orb that surrounded his right hand, marking the completion of the first two steps of using a Node.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Next, he carefully placed his glowing hand on the nearby rocky tunnel and closed his eyes; that's when something magical happened.

Feeling a wave of power coursing through his body thanks to the Node, Aoni's vision swirled as a three-dimensional model appeared in his head, providing more information than he could have gathered by merely traversing the tunnel and fumbling about in the dark.

Technically speaking, this was a phenomenon that would only occur when using two or more Nodes. Usually, all you'd have to do is apply Energia, crush the stone, and either throw the orb or place it down in a designated location for it to work.

However, when using two or more Nodes, it triggers a builder mode of sorts, where everything within a certain distance of the designated point is laid bare for the wielder, allowing them to pick and choose where they'd like to place the Node's effects.

In the case of Aoni, he'd used Nodes of Terrain Manipulation: Stable Restructuring, and with them, not only would he be able to close up the tunnel but make it so that it never existed in the first place.

More importantly, using the Mock-Builder mode, he could see just how far the tunnel went on, as long as it was within the range of the Node, which in this case was 400 feet in every direction. *He used 2 2-Star Nodes to buff the effect*

'I see, so this tunnel is basically a dead end; either way, I don't want anything to come in by digging their way from the opposite end, so I'll go ahead and close the whole thing.' He thought while tapping away on the model of the tunnel and spinning it around like he was using a hologram table or tablet.

After about a minute, feeling content with what he'd done, Aoni backed out of the Mock-Builders mode and made a hasty retreat as the tunnel around him began trembling.

This time, and this time alone, he'd actually been quite smart, making the decision to start the restructuring at the end of the tunnel he couldn't explore instead of any old random point, giving himself enough time to vacate the area safely.

Swimming with all his might, by the time Aoni was safely out of the tunnel and back in open water, he could hear the strange sound of shifting rock and looked back to watch as the tunnel closed up like a mouth, leaving nothing but a solid wall where once had been a gaping hole.