Chapter 124: Next Quest: Finding the other Keys

With the death of Damyan, the enemy squad who are after them finally falls completely.

However, one person was still missing.

"Where's Ivan?" Jude asked as he approaches both Kayn and Charles.

"I don't know," Charles shrugged his shoulder.

"I haven't seen him," Kayn would definitely target Ivan first if he was within the group he had killed earlier.

"We have to find him!" Jude exclaimed with panic.

"I am afraid but I think it's already too late," Kayn shook his head to dismiss Jude's plan. So much time has already passed. And if Ivan really escaped during the events that took place earlier, then he should have reached quite far by now. Chasing after him would just be a waste of time.

"Instead, we should think of a way to escape,"

"Escape?" Charles felt slightly confused.

"If Ivan reaches back to the Canyonside Town. There's no doubt that he will spread to everyone what he had seen here. The person who wanted to kill us would definitely be the first one to get informed. So, we should make a run for it before it's too late,"

"I have grown attached to the Canyonside Town over the past months of my stay in the town. And as much as I want to stay, we have no other choice but to transfer to another territory," Jude sighs regretfully.

"If we can catch up to Ivan, we should be able to stay, right?" Charles genuinely doesn't want to go to another territory. He likes staying in Canyonside Town and has already made plenty of friends over the course of time. And unlike other territories he had visited in the past, he already treats the Canyonside Town as his second home.

"I've already told you. Chasing after Ivan is just going to be useless now. There's also a possibility of another squad just waiting nearby," Kayn tapped Charles' shoulder. He understands full well the feeling of leaving a place one has already called home.

Hearing Kayn's assumption, Jude's face instantly turned ugly. "We should go,"

He jumped to the side of the Guardian Turtle and started informing him about their plan of going to another place.historical

Jude spent quite some time persuading the Guardian Turtle before the latter eventually give its consent.

"Hold on tight!" Jude quickly warned Kayn and Charles. Unlike on land, the Guardian Turtle is very fast underwater.

Whaash!

As soon as Kayn and Charles hold onto something, the Guardian Turtle suddenly dived deep into the river.

The deeper they went, the stronger the force of the current became.

Kayn gripped his hands very tightly so that he won't let go. Charles also did the same time.

Not far from them, they could see Jude being protected by some kind of barrier.

"This is unfair," Kayn thought to himself as he quickly realized that the Guardian Turtle has personally concocted a barrier to protect Jude.

Not long after, Kayn could see a huge cave in the distance.

He never truly expected that there would be a cave deep inside the lake that is even bigger than the Guardian Turtle itself. On second thought, this finally explains how exactly the Guardian Turtle came to the lake.

From where they are, they could see that the cave is very dark and there's almost nothing for them to see.

Nevertheless, the Guardian Turtle continued swimming in the direction of the cave without any fear.

Soon, they entered the cave. But unlike what Kayn had initially expected, the cave suddenly turned very bright.

Looking all over their surrounding, they could see countless snails of varying sizes moving all over the wall of the cave that are emitting different colors of light over their shells.

Although Kayn couldn't say anything, it's quite evident in his eyes that he was impressed with the unexpected beauty inside the cave.

As soon as they entered the cave, the speed of the Guardian Turtle significantly decreased, allowing Kayn and Charles to rest their tired arms.

"Come here," Jude called out.

Without wasting any time, Kayn and Charles swim toward the barrier that's protecting Jude.

They got into the barrier with no effort and were finally able to catch their breaths.

Charles laid down on the shell instantly.

On the other hand, Kayn approaches Jude.

"Do you know about this place?"

"Yes, this is where the source of the springwater of the Springwater Canyon came from,"

Hearing that, Kayn can't help glancing in the direction of the Springwater Source Bosai not far from them.

He previously thought that the Springwater Source Bonsai on top of the Guardian Turtle is the only source of springwater for the Springwater Canyon. It seems like he was wrong.

As if to confirm such thought, a field full of Springwater Source Bonsai soon appeared in Kayn's view.

He couldn't help his mouth opening widely in shock.

The field surrounded an entire portion of the cave, as if like moss.

"Can you ask the Guardian Turtle to get close to the field of Springwater Source Bonsai?" Kayn kindly requested. He obviously can't forget about what he came to Canyonside Town for.

"Raphael, can you get close to the Springwater Source Bonsai?"

Raphael is the name of the Guardian Turtle.

"I guess that's something to expect from a turtle's name," Kayn thought to himself.

The Guardian Turtle grunted in response before slowly approaching the field of Springwater Source Bonsai.

As soon as they got close enough, Kayn quickly started gathering Springwater Source Bonsai.

Jude and Charles also did the same as they want to benefit from whatever Kayn intended to use these materials later on.

After they gathered dozens of Springwater Source Bonsai, the Guardian Turtle suddenly swam farther away from the field as if telling them that they have gathered more than enough and gathering more would start affecting the ecosystem of the Springwater Canyon.

Kayn and the others understood it, so they also decided to stop plucking any more Springwater Source Bonsai.

Honestly, Kayn only needed one Springwater Source Bonsai. But he thought that it would be nice to have a few more for other uses in the future.

"If it's okay to ask, what do you need these Springwater Source Bonsai for?"

"I plan to visit a volcano in the future, and this Springwater Source Bonsai would be very helpful at that time,"

It's already common knowledge that the weakness of fire is water.

"Can we come?" Charles felt interested and wanted to know if they can join.

"You definitely come as long as you don't steal what I wanted from that place,"

"There would definitely be other treasures," Jude assures.

"I've already seen someone betraying their friends, lovers killing their partners, and allies backstabbing their comrades just for the sake of earning more benefit and profit," Kayn sternly warns them and reminded them that he isn't ignorant despite his young age.

"You'll eventually learn to trust us," Jude muttered confidently.

Time continued to pass as the Guardian Turtle swims through the tunnel deep underwater.

After a few hours of swimming, they finally exited the cave and were instantly greeted by a beautiful coral reef.

Without needing to ask, they know that they are now in an ocean somewhere in 'The Bridge'.

Not long after, the Guardian Turtle finally resurfaced on the nearby shore.

Kayn and the others quickly jumped off the back of the Guardian Turtle.

"Finally there's ground!" Charles celebrated.

Unlike Charles, Kayn started observing their surrounding and took out a map in his Storage Ring to find out where exactly they are.

On the other hand, Jude is currently communicating with the Guardian Turtle to tell it to stay hidden nearby this shore.

Jude approaches Kayn and asked, "So, where are we?"

"Seaspring Bay," It wasn't hard to locate their location because it is the only ocean nearby to the Springwater Canyon. In addition to that, Seaspring Bay got its name because the ocean around it is mixed with spring water.

"That was quick," Jude felt surprised. "If I remember correctly, there's a village nearby this place called Sea Spring Village,"

"We can go there to get some materials that we will need in our quest,"

"That's exactly what I plan on doing," Kayn nodded in agreement.

The quest that Jude mentioned is something the two have discussed along the journey.

Because they've found out the existence of the keys, they decided that they would look for the others so that they can finally leave 'The Bridge'.

Although it is not time yet to start looking for a way to get out of 'The Bridge', Kayn still agreed to it since it wouldn't disrupt his plan. Moreover, he plans to leave 'The Bridge' as soon as possible once he finally gets what he wanted from this place. To make matters even better, each key can actually detect other keys nearby them. So, this quest is quite convenient for him.

Charles finally enjoyed enough of the sand so he asked, "Which way do we have to go to get to the Sea Spring Village?"

"Just a few hundred meters to this direction," Kayn pointed north.

"You and I will gather the materials in the Sea Spring Village, while Charles," Jude looks at Charles. "You stay here and protect Raphael,"

"Why me?!" Charles opposes.

"Because you fit the role perfectly,"

Without waiting for Charles' response, both Kayn and Jude immediately left. Regardless of what he would say, they don't care as he can't change their final decision.

As Jude watches Kayn and Jude leaving him, the Guardian Turtle, Raphael, suddenly resurfaces beside right him.

"Hel..hello.. big guy.." Jude uttered with a shaking voice.