Chapter 179: Marble Reef
Percy felt the temperature go up rapidly, as the red glow in the distance intensified, the very water around him vibrating.
Apparently, that light he’d seen the other day was an underwater volcano – and an active one at that! From what Enki explained, his people tended to build their towns and cities in similar locations all around Atlantis, settling as close to the volcanoes as they safely could. These were their main sources of heat – and also food, as they attracted marine life of all shapes and sizes.
This particular volcano was called Samo, and its eruptions lasted a couple hours at a time, interspaced in regular intervals around five times longer than that – according to Percy’s estimates. This was how the townsfolk kept track of time, though each region on Atlantis had to rely on a different system.
‘If you’re done staring at the lava, we should get going while it’s still bright…’ Enki rolled his eyes.
‘Hey, I know you’re used to it, but this is quite a novel experience for an outsider.’ Percy protested.
The boy shrugged, before swimming towards the Marble Reef they’d seen the day before. They hoped to make it there while the eruption was still underway, as the extra light would help them in their search. If they missed it, it would just make their life harder until the next one.
‘Say, are you sure those eels are rare?’ Percy suddenly asked.
As he’d come to learn, Enki was a rather fearless kid. He didn’t seem scared to return to the reef in the slightest – almost as if he hadn’t nearly died there just yesterday. In fact, Percy had to force him to ask the caregiver at the orphanage to lend him more of the antidote, in case they got bitten again. After some placating, the lady had begrudgingly agreed, though a single dose wouldn’t help much if the place was teeming with the creatures.
‘Geez, will you stop nagging me about that already?!’ Enki scoffed. ‘I’ve been playing there my whole life! This is the first time this happened!’