<h4>Chapter 182 The Tree of Blood! Part-1.</h4>


    Oaklum, City outskirts, seashore.


    Next Day, Morning.


    "So, how are we going to go underwater?" (Riya)


    "Hmm, I and Rio likely don''t need to breathe oxygen, so we can swim without worrying about drowning..." (Link)


    A-rankers are partial superhumans, they can use mana in ce of oxygen to supply energy to their cells, and thus they don''t really need to breathe at all, making them immune to drowning due tock of oxygen.


    (S-rankers and above-level individuals don''t need to breathe, eat, or sleep at all. As they have already broken through their racial limits they could easily live on mana alone...)


    This means that Zach, Riko, Rio, and Link all four of them could directly swim to that underwater cave without worrying about theck of oxygen andplete the mission all by themselves.


    Moreover, they can use mana to protect themselves from the underwater pressure


    (A-rankers may look weak in front of the S-rankers, but even they are not to be underestimated either. S-rankers are rare, thus A-rankers are the actual backbone of the awakener society who keep the whole society functional.)


    Zach nced at the map of the area andpared it with the Intel that was provided by the academy.


    "Hmm, it seems the underwater cave is about 2 miles deep, the water pressure at that deep level of the sea would be extremely high..." (Zach)


    Just when everyone was contemting about it, Rio nced at Lia and said in a confident tone.


    "How about I split this sea for you? It will be a spectacr sight to watch..." (Rio)


    Lia rolled her eyes at Rio''s words, she knew that if Rio really tried it seriously, he might actually do this kind of thing.


    "No, we still don''t know what we may encounter in the cave, don''t waste your mana here..." (Liam)


    Rio tilted his head towards Liam and replied.


    "Tch, I was trying to flex in front of my girlfriend, can''t you stay quiet for a while?" (Rio)


    Hearing Rio say that everyone rolled their eyes in awkwardness. Rio really dared to say it out loud.


    "Ahem, Riya don''t worry I can also make the water disappear by punching it once!" (Link)


    ''Damn you Rio! How dare you flex in front of me!'' (Link)


    Riya just tilted her head in confusion as she didn''t even know why they were bothpeting about destroying the sea.


    *p*


    "Ahem, okay guys, enough ying around! I asked Ellie just now, and she agreed to take us underwater, as for protecting you guys, leave that to me!" (Liam)


    Hearing Liam''s deration, everyone nodded their head.


    Then Liam nced at Fade and said in a mocking tone.


    "By the way, you can cling to her ws like usual, hehe trash...." (Liam)


    "D*mn you rich bast*rd! I am not going with you all! I can go by myself!" (Fade)


    If ordinary people had received this mission they would have to use ''underwater travel'' artifacts that are usually very slow and fragile.


    But in this group of students, none was an ordinary person at all, each of them had the capability to back up their exceptional talents.


    (Riya is the only passenger princess of this group and everyone is ready to protect her... she seems to have some serious ''healer privileges'' with her...)


    Healers have the privilege to be protected by the whole party as they are a very important part of the party. Without a healer, a party is vulnerable to fatal injuries.


    To keep everyone alive, keeping the healer alive and healthy is the first and foremost priority of the whole party.


    This is basic knowledge and everyone knows it.


    If the need arose, even Fade would have to protect Riya, just like Riya healed Fade in the dungeon of Maya despite the grievances between them. (But as long as Link is there, no one else needs to really worry about Riya''s safety...)


    ...


    As nned, Ellie turned into her dragon form and everyone sat on her back. (Except for Fade and Kira, they both decided to use the artifact to travel underwater...)


    Liam ced his hand on Ellie''s back and rubbed her scales gently.


    ''Okay, I leave it to you, bless my magic for a while partner...'' (Liam)


    [Haha, that tickles... okay, here we go, Master] (Ellie)


    Ellie opened her wings and flew into the air without any hesitation.


    The nice breeze of wind hit everyone in the face and made them feel refreshed.


    "Wohhooo! I never even thought in my dreams! That I would be able to one day ride on the back of a real dragon! This feels so nice!" (Zach)


    Arge smile appeared on everyone''s face as they nced at the sea below them.


    If not for Liam convincing Ellie, none of them would have been able to ride on the back of a dragon, like this. This is like a dreame true for most of them.


    As they were on the outskirts of the city, there weren''t any humans in the vicinity here, and thus they didn''t need to worry about someone seeing Ellie''s dragon form soaring into the sky.


    Liam nced back and said to Zach.


    "Senpai, stop grinning so much, you still have to look at the map..." (Liam)


    Hearing Liam''s voice, Zach finally came to his senses and nced at the map shown by the hologram-generating device.


    "Hmm, let''s see, okay... we need to fly for about five minutes at our current speed, then we can dive directly into the sea..." (Zach)


    Hearing Zach''s voice, Link said in a doubtful tone.


    "This cave is so far away in the ocean… who the heck even found it in the first ce!? Did they have nothing better to do than finding some random caves?" (Link)


    "Well some people have too much free time I guess…" (Zach)


    Before Link could say anything else, Rio suddenly whispered in his ears in a low voice.


    "Just like how you neglect training to research which new candy should you buy for Riya next…." (Rio)


    "Ahem, cough! I-I understand, people have their motives I guess… cough!" (Link)


    ''I guess that person who found this ce must be as diligent as me then….wait!'' (Link)


    Link was taken aback by Rio''s voice.


    ''What The f*ck! I didn''t even notice this guy sneaking around me! When did he appear behind me!?'' (Link) (No one can detect the professional thief…)


    Link hurriedly distanced himself from Rio and protected Riya behind him, Riya just tilted her head in confusion as she nibbled on her candies. She didn''t understand why Link was behaving so weirdly today.


    Ignoring the highly alerted Link, Rio just went back and sat beside Lia while holding her hand.


    Only after a few seconds did Link finally rx.


    ''Seriously, this guy is so fast, now that he has reached A-rank, will I even be able to keep up with his speed?'' (Link)


    For Link, seeing others be stronger than him is the biggest face-p on him. He is extremelypetitive and seeing Rio be stronger makes him want to train harder.


    He thinks that if others be stronger than him, he won''t be able to protect Riya from them. (Bro is too overprotective over her….)


    …


    After waiting for a while, they all finally arrived at the site.


    "Okay, this is the ce…" (Zach)


    Zach pointed at the sea and showed Liam where they needed to go next.


    Liam nodded his head andmunicated with Ellie through telepathy.


    ''Ellie, this is the ce, dive down now…'' (Liam)


    [Understood!] (Ellie)


    At Liam''s order, Ellie started to dive down without hesitation.


    "Okay everyone, now I will cast the ''air bubble'' spell, it will protect us from the water pressure and provide oxygen, Ellie will bless my magic so we don''t need to worry about it breaking…" (Liam)


    "Just keep sure that all of you stick to Ellie''s back, don''t stretch your hands out of the air bubble''s radius!" (Liam)


    Everyone nodded their heads at Liam''s words and agreed with him.


    [Intermediate Wind-!


    Just when Liam was about to cast his magic, Ellie suddenly stopped mid-air and hurriedly flew back to the sky. Liam''s chant got disrupted and he stopped casting his magic.


    Everyone had a confused look on their faces as they all nced at Liam in confusion.


    Before Liam could ask Ellie about the situation, Ellie''s urgent voice sounded in his mind.


    [Master! I sense danger ahead….] (Ellie)


    ''What happened?'' (Liam)


    A confused look appeared on Liam''s face, this was the first time he heard Ellie say that it was ''Dangerous'' to go somewhere.


    Coincidentally, a simr thing happened in Lia''s head.


    [Kiddo, when we were close to the sea earlier, I sensed a familiar presence…] (Kai)


    [It''s better to leave this ce early, I don''t want to see that old thing again…] (Kai)


    [If it was the prime me, this would have been nothing but I am not so sure now…] (Kai)


    ''What is actually going on, Kai?'' (Lia)


    [You see, I sense a…] (Kai)


    [I sensed the presence of a…] (Ellie)


    [Dragon!] (Kai and Ellie said it at the same time…)


    …


    …


    Author''s Notes.


    Yo! It''s your beloved author here! Hoho, things seem to have taken quite a surprising turn all of a sudden, who would have thought a dragon was residing so close to the city…


    Question of the day.


    Do you think Link will be able to keep up with Rio''s speed?


    1.Yes (We believe in the power of love!!)


    2.No (No one can catch up to the speed of the legendary thief!!)


    By the way, don''t forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.