Versatile Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-719

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not long after crossing the safe zone, the group immediately discovered lots of reefs scattered across the ocean. These reefs were made of coral that had eroded after being exposed to the sun and the wind over a very long time, as their surfaces looked like they had been polished.

Normally, these reefs were not supposed to appear here, mainly because it was likely that the ships arriving at the port would hit them. Perhaps it had been a long time since people were sent to get rid of the reefs because of the falling economy.

“These reefs are called bamboo shoot reefs. It’s quite a surprise to see so many of them here,” the knowledgeable Jiang Yu started to analyze again.

Mo Fan was an eager learner. He immediately went up to Jiang Yu when he heard his explanation.

Mo Fan was the only one interested in listening to Jiang Yu’s never-ending talk about Astronomy and Geography, maybe because it was the field he was lacking the most knowledge of.

“Why are they called the bamboo shoot reefs? They don’t look like bamboo shoots to me,” asked Mo Fan.

“Here, take these goggles and put your head into the water. You will see why they are called the bamboo shoot reefs,” said Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan was bored too, so he simply followed the instructions.

He put on the goggles and suspended himself at the side of the boat with a difficult posture before dropping his head into the water.

The water-vision goggles were quite effective, giving Mo Fan a very clear view under the water.

The water was deep and serene blue with plankton drifting around. The depth within a few hundred meters was serene blue, and beyond that, the water became dark, ocean blue. Further down, it was nothing but darkness…

Swaying in the water, Mo Fan saw a rough, thick shadow extending from where the reefs were to the bottom of the ocean.

They were still not too far out from the land, so Mo Fan could barely see the bottom. The shadow was simply rocks shaped like ridges poking out of the water. The reefs above the surface were their peaks.

Mo Fan discovered lots of similar shadows growing from the bottom of the ocean. Some had only reached halfway from the surface, some were close to the surface, but still under it. Some had only grown a little bit out…

From his distance, it looked like a forest of rocks growing at the bottom of the ocean, a remarkably strange sight!

“The bamboo shoot reefs grow every day. They can absorb impure substances, dust particles, and rubbish in the water and turn them into rocks like bamboo shoots. The rocks eventually grow extremely tall, it’s a very interesting kind of coral!” Jiang Yu explained to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan lifted his head from the water. He washed his face and said, “It’s interesting indeed. It’s my first time seeing rocks that can grow like a plant. Speaking of which, these bamboo shoot reefs above the surface of the water should be around four hundred feet tall. They are actually quite spectacular. The water close to the land is not as clean, either.”

“These bamboo shoot reefs are good stuff since they can purify the water, but most cities don’t like them, since they are the main reason that many ships sink,” explained Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan nodded.

It was fairly understandable. These bamboo shoot reefs were quite scary too. For some ships with a deeper waterline, they might not spot the bamboo shoot reefs on the surface, and the ships might still hit the reefs. It was likely that the growth of these bamboo shoot reefs was one of the factors that greatly hindered the development of the city.

“Steer away, avoid the area ahead, there are lots of dead bamboo shoot reefs there,”Liu Meng said to the sailor urgently.

“Where? The detector isn’t showing anything,” replied the white-uniformed sailor.

“Just listen to me, steer away now!” Liu Meng’s voice turned hoarse as he began to panic.

The sailor steered the ship to alter the course to avoid the area ahead despite being skeptical.

Suddenly, the ship shuddered, alarming everyone after being fairly relaxed along the journey. The air suddenly stiffened.

“What happened?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“The starboard has lost some paint after a little scratch. It’s not a huge problem, but luckily the ship did alter course. Otherwise, the hull would have hit the sharper coral below,” a sailor reported after inspecting the situation.

The sailor in the cabin looked at Liu Meng in astonishment. He immediately reevaluated the fisherman before him.

“Young man, impressive, how did you know there were dead bamboo shoot reefs there?” asked the sailor called Zhao Jing.

“I go fishing with my uncle every day. Even though our boat rarely hits the bamboo shoot reefs, he still taught me how to determine if any of them are nearby. I can’t really tell you how, but either way, I can tell where they are!” Liu Meng had learned the ability at a very young age, thus it was hard for him to explain the details.

The truth was, he was relying on the movement of the waves, the reflection of the sunlight and his experience to make the call. It was a necessary skill for every fisherman. He was more familiar with the sea than anyone else on board.

“Brother, that’s very impressive of you!” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

“Of course… uhh!” Liu Meng had a pleasant smile before he was shocked to see that Jiang Shaoxu had changed into a bikini. The pieces of cloth that were smaller than his palm were covering the important parts of her stunning body, leaving the rest of her milky-white, tender skin exposed in the air.

Liu Meng had seen a bikini on the television, but he had never seen one in real life. He immediately swallowed hard!

Jiang Shaoxu was smiling like a vixen while holding a cocktail glass in her hand. She totally looked like she was on a vacation. Her buttocks shook while she was walking to the deck. She did not forget to turn around and asked with a smile, “Do you want to help me with the sunscreen?”

Liu Meng nodded slowly…

—

“We’re quite a distance away from the land. There are lots of islands around us, most of them were only a few thousand meters square in size. We should be able to see the Rock Island where the crew encountered the sea monsters.” Ai Jiangtu had come from a military academy. Unlike the rest of his undisciplined teammates, only he and Nanyu were busy figuring out a strategy to handle the sea monsters, as expected!

Based on the information provided by Lin Junxian, there was a whole tribe of sea monsters here. They were still unfamiliar with one another’s capabilities, hence it was impossible to tell if they were able to take on a whole tribe of demon creatures.

Most importantly, they were in the middle of the ocean. Ai Jiangtu had already asked around. Only three members of the team were experienced with fighting underwater, which meant that their fighting capacity would be a lot weaker.

“Let’s set up a camp there. We’ll decide if we are going to use the device to get the creatures’ attention after we’ve prepared ourselves,” said Nanyu.

“It’s unwise to use the device, we still don’t know how many sea monsters are there. If there are over ten thousand of them, we’ll simply die after being trapped by the creatures!” Ai Jiangtu immediately turned down the suggestion.