A blue energy surged from his fingertips and cocooned him, creating a protective barrier that would allow him to descend into the lake's depths unharmed. The flow of mana soon stopped and Kazi established the spherical shape.

'Creating the Magic Barrier without the System isn't too hard,' Kazi thought. 'Maintaining is a bit tougher though.'

"Are you sure this will work?" Elena asked. "This looks very deep."

"I'll be fine," Kazi replied.

"Be careful of the water pressure," David chimed in. "At a certain point, it will crush you."

"I'll be fine. Quit worrying."

Giving his party a comforting smile, Kazi dove into the water. Splash!

The sensation was immediate, his barrier pushing against the water pressure. At thirty metres below, the sunlight dimmed, and the aquatic world took on a serene, otherworldly glow. Luckily, due to his excess strength and speed, his strokes would have received the envy of an Olympic champion.

Kazi pressed on, the pressure intensifying as he descended further. At seventy metres, his surroundings grew even darker, and the barrier shimmered with an ethereal light, casting a faint glow around him. The deeper he got, the stronger he made the barrier, and the stronger the light.

A hundred metres arrived and Kazi came upon a scene that left him awestruck. Treasure chest. Treasure chest, treasure chest, treasure chest. There were dozens scattered and lay nestled in the sand. He lunged forward and opened the closest chest with a soft click, cracking it open to reveal enchanted gems and golden coins.

[ Receive:

200x British Sovereigns

54x Average Pearls

27x Large Opals

32x Small Sapphires

7x Exceptionally Large Diamonds ]

He grinned and looked to the side. He counted the number of chest and reached the number that formed dollar signs in his eyes. 'This is one hell of a haul. Well, finders keepers, losers weepers!'

He couldn't stay for long. It took about three minutes to reach it and it would take another three minutes to go back up. The Magic Barrier, at max capacity, burned a hundred MP a second, which was cut by half from his natural mana regeneration. His total mana reserves went a little over four hundred; meaning, he could only stay in the water for approximately eight minutes.

'It's not enough.'

Two minutes. That was the total amount of time he could stay here, and yet, he had opened up a measly twelve chests in half that time. In his head, he kept track of the time, counting every second to the properest millisecond.

'A hundred and twelve, a hundred and thirteen—'

His eyes looked to the next chest. Screw it, it was time to go up. He wouldn't be able to reach it without wasting precious seconds.

He went up, up, up, his body propelling himself through the water like a squid. His technique was close to flawless and, while the fish drifted alongside him, he saw the underside of the group of canoes.

'The canoes are…shaking?'

Above the surface, he could see flashes of light. Battle, maybe?

His heart pulsed and he forced himself to go faster. Marta was still in training. Would she be able to help their defenceless friends—

Kazi broke off his barrier as soon as he deemed it safe, wanting to save up on precious mana. Cheeks puffed up from holding his breath, he swam. He gasped for air the moment he broke onto the surface, climbing onto his canoe, and scanned their surroundings.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Everybody was…

"You're here!" Elena stood up in exclamation and nearly tripped into the water from the sudden bounce in her canoe. Kazi drifted towards her and kept her steady.

"You guys are okay?" he asked.

"Another one of those horned fish attacked us!" A small smile worked its way on Elena's face, despite her trouble. "But Marta did it! She fended the fish monster off!"

He turned his head to the left and saw the panting Marta. Her armour and staff were a little wet, and her eyes spoke of adrenaline

"I…didn't kill it though," Marta admitted. "The fish ran as soon as my first attack landed."

"You did good though. We're okay because of your." David put a hand on Kazi's shoulder. "How about you? Did you find anything?"

Kazi put on a big grin and answered, "Treasure chests. Lots and lots of treasure chests."

"Like…pirate treasure chests?" Aisha asked, puzzled. The puzzlement turned into a thrilled spark. "Does that mean money?"

"Less money, more jewellery and gems."

Elena cooed in excitement. The others were also thrilled.

"My best guess is that the hidden objective is one of the many, many treasure chests deep in the ocean. Only thing is, when I mean many, I mean MANY. I counted a bare-minimum of forty in my vicinity. It will take a while to unlock all of them and find the correct hidden objective." Kazi pulled his wet hair back, his hazel eyes delighted. "It was really tiring though."

"You used up all your mana?" Marta asked.

"Pretty much."

"Let's go home then," David suggested. "Better to stay safe than risk waiting for you to heal and be attacked."

Kazi agreed. It was time to go home.

***

Splitting ways with Aisha, Elena, and Marta, only David remained. He said he wanted to check out some weapons. He wasn't interested in battle but he did desire self-defence.

"I know exactly where to go," Kazi said.

At the corner of the Merchant District was the stall keeper with the white bandana. The nice Turkish man was perfect for Kazi and Sun-young, and would continue to be for William.

Kazi blinked and stopped. David did too, albeit with a puzzled look.

"What's wrong?" David asked. He followed his gaze and saw a stall and four men intimidating the man heading it.

"Look at this, lads," a thick British accent called out, gesturing toward the weapons on display. "A humble blacksmith and his shiny toys. Quite the collection you've got here, old man."

The stall keeper bore a hint of weariness but an undercurrent of resolve and replied calmly, "My weapons are made with pride and craftsmanship, boy. They are supreme tools and not to be used recklessly."

The blond grabbed a nearby sword from the stall and waved it dangerously. His three friends chuckled and did the same, touching swords and spears without permission. "Tools, you say? How about you show us what these 'tools' can do?"

"Hey, that's not nice." Kazi approached him with a small smile. "Look, the man is uncomfortable. Put those weapons back."

David was behind him, panicking, and whispered, "Kazi, what the hell are you doing–"

"Or what?"

Like David expected, someone bumped into him. Absurdly tall, arrogant, bald, and decked in thin metal armour. And yet, Kazi didn't move. Like a brick wall, the bald bully slammed into Kazi and recoiled back. His friends immediately laughed at him and the bald man glanced back at them, pissed, and growled at the lean male.

"You picking a fight!?"

"Relax," said the blond, the leader. His eyes, blue-greenish and sharp like a snake. Ruggedly attractive and dripping with arrogance. "We're not here for a fight, and I respect someone that stands for another."

"But Nash—"

His blue eyes snapped to his tall friend. "I said let's go."

The four males left, albeit not without making faces and complaining to their leader. Nash, the name of the leader, shrugged off their complaints. David, who had been holding his breath, let out a sigh and turned Kazi by the shoulder.

"What was that? Did you see that bald guy? He was twice our size!" David shuddered and pointedly said, "I'd really rather not make enemies."

Yet all David saw were the unfazed eyes of a warrior.

"Did you think we'd win without making enemies?" Kazi paused to let him answer. He didn't. "David, this isn't some simple task. We aren't playing around. We're here to win. If we can't even stand up for what's right, then forget winning and getting a wish."

He gently pushed David's hand aside and went up to the stall keeper. "Hey! I hope I didn't go too far."

The stall keeper cracked a smile, hands on his toned arms. "You came right on time. Hooligans pester me from time to time and usually I can't do anything about it. Now, what can I get ya?"

"Before that, can I ask something real quick?"

The stall keeper gestured. "Go ahead."

"If I wanted stuff to sell, where would I want to go?"

"Your best bet is the Big Three Guilds. They have everything. But…" The stall keeper's eyes went up, then down. "Personally, I would recommend the Guardians. They have the biggest banks. You can count on them for a fair exchange."

"I'm assuming it's because of Riba?"

"You got it."

Kazi nodded to himself. Interest—or specifically the notion of unjust gains—was a forbidden concept in Islam. And since the Guardians were a religious institution, they followed religious guidelines. Having no interest was no doubt a universally popular idea that favoured the consumer. But replacing interest to create balance was another Islamic principle—the sharing of risk between all parties in a transaction. Mudarabah (profit share), Ijara (leasing), and Murabaha (cost plus selling), all unique methods to circumvent the lack of interest to gain profit.

Well, it didn't matter to Kazi. What he wanted was points in exchange for the items he gathered from Gate 5. He wouldn't be taking out a loan or buying an expensive item just yet.