[Chapter 65. Sunken Treasure]

  Searanox dragged himself onto the flat surface of the newly materialized drone, his soaked clothes clinging to him like a second skin. As water pooled in the slight concavity of its design. He settled into a prone position, his muscles protesting the movement as the drone began to move. Its acceleration measured and deliberate, nothing like the jarring launches he typically employed that could disorient even his enhanced senses. It skimmed across the water's surface at a pace just faster than a brisk walk, the smooth glide a stark contrast to his earlier struggles on foot.

  His drones were already engaged in two separate skirmishes in the distance, their crimson beams cutting through the misty air. One squad held its ground against more of the crab-like creatures, their coordinated beams methodically cutting down the armored crustaceans. Each impact accompanied by the satisfying crunch of carapace and the acrid smell of vaporized flesh. The second team faced off against what appeared to be humanoid figures, their movements erratic beneath the shafts of dim light filtering from above.

  The travel drone carried him closer, maintaining its steady pace across the dark water. As he approached the platform where the humanoids fought, he could make out more details in the gloom. Their skin had a sickly green-grey sheen, wet and glistening even in the cavern's muted light. Gaunt frames supported by spindly limbs that moved with unnatural jerks, ended in webbed hands and feet that slapped against the stone with wet, unpleasant sounds. Tattered remnants of what might once have been clothing hung from their emaciated forms, little more than rotting rags that offered neither modesty nor protection.

  As his drone drew within range of the battle, a System window materialized in his vision.

  The drone settled with a soft scrape against the wet stone, the sound almost swallowed by the cavern's constant roar. Searanox slid off, his boots making a wet sucking sound on the algae-covered surface. The distinctive squelch echoing faintly in the vast space. He approached the nearest corpse, nudging it with the steel toe of his boot. The impact causing the body to shift with an unpleasant wet slap. The creature flopped onto its back, revealing a grotesque face with wide unblinking eyes that stared at nothing and a mouth filled with needle-like teeth.

  He crouched down. His fingers probing the tattered rags that passed for clothing, the fabric disintegrating at his touch. Nothing. No armor, no weapons, not even a scrap of metal. He checked the other bodies with the same result, his movements methodical and efficient. They were little more than wild animals, armed with claws and teeth. Their possessions worthless, their existence reduced to mere obstacles in his path.

  His eyes scanned the small stone walkways between the shimmering pools of water, the reflected light dancing across the wet surfaces. The memory of his recon drone's findings surfaced in his mind like a ghostly image: a mostly submerged tunnel, near the right-side wall.

  The travel drone drifted lower skimming just above the water's surface, its smooth movement barely disturbing the glassy expanse. He stepped onto it, letting it carry him toward the tunnel entrance. It was roughly a meter high and just as wide, its darkness seeming to absorb the dim light that struggled to penetrate the cavern. The water within was still and undisturbed, a mirror that reflected the cavern's ceiling like a window to another world.

  From his vantage point on the drone, he could see the bottom of the pool; the water was crystal clear, revealing scattered stones and algae that clung to the tunnel floor like green velvet. He looked down at his soaked clothes and sighed before slipping over the edge of the drone into the water below. The cool liquid enveloping him. He thought it would be difficult to swim in his full armor and coat but to his surprise; it was fairly easy, his enhanced strength compensating for the drag of his gear.

  The dive lasted longer than expected. He was already two minutes underwater and inside the tunnel before he surfaced to take a breath, the air rushing into his lungs with a satisfying gasp. Not that he needed to, but he didn't want to be caught needing air only to find none available—a lesson in practicality over pride.

  Searanox swam through the narrow tunnel, his movements powerful and efficient. The water parting before him as he made his way deeper. He entered a slightly larger chamber, the space opening up around him like a hidden sanctuary. A small raised platform like some sort of coral table stood at its center, its surface rough and irregular. A beam of light from a hole in the ceiling illuminated its contents, the shaft of light creating a dramatic spotlight that made the objects below seem almost sacred. A literal pile of shiny rocks and shells of all shapes and sizes, their surfaces gleaming in the focused beam. Their colors ranging from deep blues to brilliant pinks, each one unique yet collectively worthless.

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  He thought, his drone had indicating something of interest. It hadn't specified what, but it wouldn't have classified a pile of stones as significant. Taking another breath, he dove again, the water cool against his skin as he swam around the small mound. His movements stirring up fine silt that danced in the beam of light from above. He began digging into it with his hands, the smooth stones and rough shells scraping against his armored gauntlets. But he gave up after a minute, the pile shifting and resettling with frustrating stubbornness.

  He surfaced, the water streaming from his hair as he broke the surface with a soft splash. He then summoned a cargo drone. The cube-shaped construct appeared above the water in a shimmer of blue light, its metallic surface reflecting the cavern's dim glow. With a mental command it descended. As it reached the small mound of stones and shells, it began sucking everything into its storage space.

  A blue flash later the coral table was empty, the bare stone exposed for the first time in what must have been ages.

  The cargo drone unceremoniously dropped the stones and shells back into place, their clattering sounds echoing softly in the cavern. Then slowly drifted back up out of the water, dripping small plumes of liquid as it ascended. Searanox held out his open palm and in a dim blue light, a few items materialized in his hand as the cargo drone deposited the remaining items onto his palm.

  In his hand he held a gold bracer with a slightly ornate design, its surface etched with faint swirling patterns that caught the light. And more than a few silver coins, their edges worn smooth with time. The ten silver coins vanished into his minor storage ring, while he examined the golden bracer more closely. Its weight solid and reassuring in his grip.

  He finished reading the last line, a thought surfaced: `

  A deep grin tugged at his lips as he slipped the bracer onto his wrist. The gold warmed against his skin, the engraved wave patterns seeming to shift in his peripheral vision. He could already imagine the tactical advantages—sustained combat without the need to pull back for healing, reduced reliance on Carmen's limited magic. The ability to push harder, faster and deeper into dungeons that would have otherwise forced a retreat.

  He dismissed the cargo drone with a flick of thought, the cube vanishing in a soft blue shimmer that left behind only the lingering scent of damp stone. He swam back through the narrow tunnel, the dark water save for the sliver of light ahead that grew larger with each powerful stroke. The silence broken only by the rush of water past his ears and the distant, muffled roar that reminded him of the cavern's immense scale.

  When he reached the travel drone, he grabbed its edge and pulled himself halfway up before an irritating thought struck him. The mental oversight gnawed at him, a small but sharp reminder that even with his enhanced intellect and systematic approach. He still missed the obvious occasionally.

  With a soft shake of his head, he pulled himself the rest of the way onto the drone's flat surface. The smooth metal cold against his soaked clothes. After he settled back into the familiar prone position, water pooling around him. He gazed over the lower levels of the open space. The huge waterfalls that fell from one plateau onto the next, their thunderous roar creating a constant vibration he could feel through the drone's chassis. The few that fell from the high ceiling, their streams catching the dim light like liquid crystal, their impact creating misty clouds that drifted and swirled in the cavern's immense volume.

  Just then one of his mental connections was cut, the sudden absence jarring like a phantom limb. His gaze drifting to the last known location it had occupied. In the distance he could see crimson and violet flashes of light, brief explosions of energy that punctuated the gloom. But no real detail of the engagement that had just cost him one of his mechanical extensions. He turned and looked at the other squad of drones already flying away, continuing their sweep of the right side with mechanical indifference. Their crimson beams occasionally lancing out at unseen threats.

  The travel drone lunged forward toward the far side, where one of his drones had just met its end. The acceleration pressing him slightly against the damp surface as the drone cut through the misty air with renewed purpose, a predator moving to investigate the fate of its pack mate.