The Mighty Mage
Chapter 307: Drown

Chapter 307: Chapter 307: Drown

The bus shuddered violently as it descended through the portal, surrounded by a cacophony of warped, otherworldly sounds.

The students inside were all unconscious, slumped in their seats, oblivious to the danger rapidly closing in around them.

The portal’s swirling lights cast an eerie glow over their still forms.

The vehicle plummeted, weightless, toward an unknown destination, its frame groaning under the pressure.

Finally, the bus burst out of the portal, emerging into a vast, dark expanse.

Below was a churning, pitch-black sea, its waves crashing together like the teeth of a hungry beast.

With a deafening roar, the bus slammed into the water, creating a massive splash that sent waves rolling in all directions.

For a moment, it bobbed on the surface, groaning like a dying whale. Then, it began to sink.

The students were jolted awake by the sudden impact.

Panic spread like wildfire as they realized they were trapped in a sinking bus.

The murky water began to flood the lower levels, quickly rising to their knees.

Gu Jin, who had been seated near the middle, snapped awake.

Her instincts immediately kicked in, and she quickly assessed the situation.

The scent of the incense still lingered, dulling her senses, but she fought through the fog in her mind.

Around her, students screamed, pushing and shoving in a desperate attempt to escape.

The air was filled with the sound of frantic breaths, cries for help, and the gut-wrenching groan of the bus as it was pulled deeper into the abyss.

It was chaos, a maelstrom of fear and desperation.

Gu Jin’s eyes darted around the bus, searching for any sign of an escape.

The water was already up to her waist. She noticed that some students with calm expressions had begun to glow with a soft, blue light.

They were the students with water elemental abilities.

"Water Body!" someone shouted.

Gu Jin watched as one of the students—Shi Luguo, a water-element user—used an advanced water spell, transforming his body into a fluid, almost gelatinous state.

He slipped effortlessly through the narrow gap of a broken window, escaping into the dark sea beyond.

Others with the same element quickly followed suit, their bodies becoming as flexible as the water around them.

In seconds, they squeezed through the smallest openings and vanished into the depths.

Other elements tried to use their elements but they couldn’t cast any spell.

Gu Jin’s heart sank as she realized the grim reality: only those with water elemental abilities could escape easily.

She, however, had no such powers. She was trapped.

The water level continued to rise rapidly. It was now chest-high, and the cold was seeping into Gu Jin’s bones.

Students around her screamed, some trying to smash windows with their bare hands, others attempting to push open the emergency exits that were jammed shut.

Gu Jin clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

"No, I won’t die like this," she muttered to herself, her resolve hardening. She could hear the roar of the ocean outside, and feel the bus sinking deeper with every passing second.

Her first instinct was to enter her personal space.

But when she tried, she felt a painful, jarring resistance.

It was as if the portal they had passed through had sealed off her access.

"Think, Gu Jin, think!"

Taking a deep breath, she turned her focus back to the bus. Her eyes fell on a large, reinforced window.

It seemed like the only option. The water was now up to her chin, and she had to tilt her head back to breathe.

With a fierce determination, Gu Jin swam to the window, taking a deep breath just before submerging herself.

She curled her fists and began pounding on the thick glass.

The vibrations shot up her arms, but she ignored the pain, her mind consumed with a singular goal—escape.

Every punch was fueled by the primal need to survive.

The water was freezing, sapping her strength with each passing second.

Her knuckles were raw, and bleeding, but she kept hitting, driven by sheer willpower.

The bus continued to sink, and now only a few pockets of air remained at the top.

Students around her were screaming, crying, and gasping for those precious last breaths.

Gu Jin was running out of time.

As she punched with all her might, Gu Jin felt the glass give way ever so slightly.

A small crack appeared, spider-webbing across the window.

Her heart leaped. There was hope! She struck again, this time putting all her weight behind the blow.

CRACK!

The window finally shattered, and water gushed in, almost knocking her backward. But Gu Jin didn’t hesitate.

She grabbed the edges of the broken window, ignoring the sharp shards that cut into her palms, and pulled herself through the opening.

Cold water enveloped her, stealing her breath away.

She was disoriented for a moment, spinning in the dark sea, the bus now a sinking silhouette behind her.

Gu Jin turned to see the bus fully submerged.

She could make out the panicked faces of the students still trapped inside, their hands pressed against the glass, eyes wide with terror.

When they saw the broken window, hope appeared in their eyes, and one by one they exited the bus through the window.

Kicking her legs, Gu Jin swam upwards with every ounce of strength she had left.

Her lungs burned, begging for air, but she pushed on, her vision starting to blur from lack of oxygen.

Just as she felt she could hold her breath no longer, she broke through the surface, gasping for air.

The night sky stretched above her, stars twinkling coldly, indifferent to the horror below.

One by one, other students emerged around her, coughing and spluttering.

Those who had the water element spell seemed to adjust better, swimming gracefully toward a distant shoreline that was barely visible in the moonlight.

As Gu Jin floated, catching her breath, she heard something ominous—a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the water.

Her eyes widened as she realized that the dark sea was far from empty.

Shadowy figures began to circle beneath them, the sleek forms of magical sea beasts, drawn by the commotion.

Gu Jin’s heart skipped a beat.

"We escaped the bus, only to become prey," she thought bitterly.

One of the water-element students shouted,

"Swim! Swim to the shore!" His voice was filled with urgency.

Without a second thought, Gu Jin began to swim, her muscles screaming in protest, her body numb from the cold.

But the fear of being dragged underwater by whatever was lurking below was a powerful motivator.

Gu Jin hurriedly swans toward the shore, her heart was beating loudly when suddenly she remembered about someone.

Her heart froze as she looked around desperately.

Where was he?

Among all the survivors, Gu Jin didn’t see Long Yifan at all. After looking around for a few seconds she spotted Gu Aihan.

She was swimming toward the shore like others desperately but...she didn’t see Long Yifan...at all.

Where was he?

Gu Jin gritted her teeth. Her mind was conflicted with two emotions.

One thought through her mind,

’Just leave him! He doesn’t even love you! God damn it! He loves that woman! Even if you save him, he won’t feel anything for you! Your own life is in danger!’

But her heart kept on shouting,

’You can’t leave! Absolutely cannot! He didn’t leave you when you were in need of help. Though he never loved you, he saved you once!’

Her mind shouted,

’Shut up! She has already paid the favor by curing his sister!’

Her heart roared back,

’So what? Can it be on the same level? She saved his sister to return his favor as well as the selfish reason of making him see her brilliance! He on the other hand saved her just because of his will!’

’But...’

Gu Jin’s inner monologue is interrupted when she feels the approaching danger. With gritted teeth, Gu Jin decided and her mind shouted at her,

’You will f*cking regret your decision!’

The next second Gu Jin dived back into the deep water, narrowly avoiding the creature that was lunging in her direction.

......................

The icy water closed around Long Yifan, swallowing him whole.

His vision blurred as he sank deeper into the dark, frigid depths, his lungs screaming for air.

Panic gripped him like a vice. His limbs flailed uselessly, struggling against the pull of the sea.

Each frantic movement only served to drag him down faster, the cold water seeping into his bones.

’I’m going to drown...’ The thought hit him like a sledgehammer.

His aquaphobia had always been his greatest weakness, a fear so deep-rooted that even the sight of a shallow pond could send shivers down his spine.

Now, it was a living nightmare, the kind he had hoped he would never face.

’Why... why is it so hard to breathe...?’

His body began to numb, the cold turning his limbs into lead. He could no longer tell which way was up or down. The world had become a blur of inky blackness.

’I’m... I’m going to die here...’