From a dark cave on the side of a mountain, a misty figure emerged. Her silky hair rolled like waves, following down to her butt, and droplets of water occasionally fell off.

She gave out a heavy sigh, then muttered, breaking the silence of the morning, “This mutation… what a bothersome thing,” and lept into the valley below.

The snowy valley had no plants growing in it, but ferocious beasts were still common all around. In the area around the mountain range, thick jungles slowly gave way to desolate ranges of stone, where only carnivorous predators could survive. Human civilization had long since known to avoid the hostile region, but nothing stopped the Magus of Ocean Currents from going where she pleased.

Suddenly, a monster taller than a house raised its body from rocky crevice. Much more suddenly, a jet of water erupted from the magus’ hand and sliced through the monster’s skull, instantly killing it. Less than half a second had passed between the monster showing itself and the magus killing it, and she continued on her way without pause.

Those beasts, which could kill hundreds of mages or thousands of magicians, were little more than flies to the magus. For dozens of miles, the magus dashed through the valley and killed whatever creature foolishly intercepted her path. In her wake, hundreds of bodies fell and were consumed by lowly scavengers.

Finally, after traveling for most of the morning, she arrived at a large pond in the center of the mountain range. The pond had a width of only about eight feet, but its depth exceeded measurable distances. As of yet, nobody had found the bottom of it, and some scholars speculated it traveled all the way to the other side of the planet.

Legends talked about an all-powerful magus who struck the planet with a massive spell, which pierced all the way through the planet and created the rippling mountains that radiated out from the pond.

The woman, being a magus herself, knew not to dismiss the legend as entirely fictional. She had seen many wondrous things in her lifetime, and the lack of imagination in a magus would eventually lead to their death.

Indeed, when she investigated the depths of the pond the week before, she discovered things that only belonged in legends. She shuttered just thinking about it and took a look down at her palm.

Even a week after having exited the pond, her skin still dripped with water. Something had happened to her when she swam in the pond, and her body mutated. Nothing had changed about her thoughts, but her physical body constantly excreted a pure, clear water.

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She worried that she would eventually transform into one of the many monsters she slaughtered along her journey to the pond. The rampant mana that existed inside the pond hand already seeped into her flesh, and it was only a matter of time before it penetrated into her skull, where her mana was stored. Once her mana was turned over to the mysterious force that infected her during the last dive, she feared she would lose control over her thoughts.

But, before that happened, she needed to get to the bottom of the pond. She tried staying away from the pond for a week, but her proximity to the pond had no effect on the magic that controlled the exterior of her body. Before she died due to the influence of the foreign mana, she needed to investigate further into the pond.

She took a breath of air, then dived into the pool. With her magus powers, she could sustain herself solely with mana, and she quickly transferred her oxygen needs over to mana. As she swam deeper, her magic also kept the water pressure at a bearable level, and she pushed herself downward without any issues.

At five hundred feet underwater, the light from above dimmed to a point where the magus could no longer see, and she was forced to provide her own light. She flexed her brain, and eight spheres of light rotated around her body. They illuminated the walls, and she continued on her way.

At five thousand feet underwater, the magus began to feel external mana acting upon her body. She had ignored the warnings the previous time she descended, and it was too late to turn back She couldn’t roll back time, and thus she only had the open to continue.

At fifty thousand feet underwater, nearly ten miles down, the external mana assault the magus’ body with unrestrained vigor. She could feel her sanity being ripped away, yet she didn’t stop traveling. Ever further into the abyss, she continued.

Several miles later, when the magus felt she could no longer hold on, she fell through a gap in the water and landed on a hard, stone floor. The water around her shifted to air, but the sudden relief from the water’s pressure didn’t at all relieve the pain she felt. The hostile mana in the air only got worse, and her eyes began to lose sight.

Not far from where she landed, two creatures stood up and approached her. They spoke among themselves for a few seconds, then sat on the stony ground and watched as the magus’ body transformed into that of a monstrous creature.

The two natives of the land inside the crust of the planet laughed at the woman’s detested new form, then flicked their mind and turned her to dust. In an instant, the Magus of Ocean Currents died.

One of the creatures spoke in their demonic language, “The humans are getting more powerful.”

The second creature replied, “Let’s tell the chief. Hopefully, we’ll get to go on the next round of exterminations.”

The first creature laughed, and the two of them flew off into the distance.