Chapter 91: Water skills (1)

The next morning, Reidar found Aaron near the forge. The engineer looked as if he hadn’t slept, but his eyes got into focus when he saw Reidar.

“I have it,” Aaron said. A trade request materialized in Reidar’s sight. He accepted without a word.

[TRADE COMPLETE: 50,000 Survival Points received from Aaron.]

Reidar’s eyes narrowed. It was a fortune for a single engineer.

<I wonder how many people you had to borrow the points from. >

“Anyway… I’m leaving to take on the second quest today. The sunken turbine quest.”

“Wh—? I mean, already?”

“Did I have to wait?”

“N-no.” He paused for a second. “I’m going to come with you.”

It was Reidar’s turn to be surprised. He looked at Aaron’s level.

—Aaron Abstuln—Level 29—

“Why would you come on such a dangerous quest at your level?”

“Well… There is still much to d-discuss. I thought it might be good to talk where we are sure we won’t be heard.”

Reidar’s first instinct was to refuse. The last thing he needed was another shadow, one that was likely on the church’s side and that he could trust even less than Lena.

But a cold thought surfaced: the best way to learn Aaron’s secrets was to keep him close.

Fifty thousand survival points was not an amount a single person could gather easily.

Aaron had allies. He was pooling resources from others who distrusted Martin, or he had a far more powerful backer. The Church of Unbinding was the most likely candidate.

If Aaron, or the church, or whoever he was with was going to do something, that was the right moment to strike, and for a simple reason.

Reidar suspected there was a spy in Lena’s group, so the group Aaron was part of, likely the church, was bound to know the Sunken Turbine quest was related to the settlement creator token. If they wanted to prevent Martin from getting his hands on it, that would be the time to act.

<The more I think about this, the more it makes sense. Let’s play along then. This way I will finally be able to figure out what is going on here, and maybe pass some info to Martin.>

He didn’t quite like the idea, after all, Martin hadn’t been honest with him, and actually threw him in the middle of this war. That didn’t mean, though, that he couldn’t pass some words after the quest was done. He would be far when the consequences would start to be seen, so it didn’t make a difference. Plus, he might be able to help those who really deserved his help.

<Maybe this stupid war Martin is having would end this way. Jeez… I’m really stupid…>

“Fine,” Reidar said. “Get your gear. Meet me at the main gate in an hour. I have business with the vendor.”

Aaron gave a curt nod and hurried off toward the barracks. Soon after, Reidar reached the ranger station. His survival points were about to be spent.

The hallway outside hummed with muffled voices as workers sorted out night shift duties. It was a little early for Reidar’s taste, but if they wanted things done right, getting a head start was probably smart.

Reidar tugged his robe closer and moved through the winding corridors of the ranger station.

Since the Sunken Turbine quest would bring him away from the town again, he wanted to get something new with all the survival points he got in the past weeks, and that meant visiting Morv’axil.

…

…

…

Morv’axil Xenth was polishing a row of vials when Reidar arrived. The Thalassari’s black eyes lifted, acknowledging him with a slight tilt of his head.

The vendor was both alien and oddly dignified. Morv’axil’s lipless mouth curled upward in what passed for a smile once he saw the summoner.

“Reidar Miller,” the vendor said. “You returned sooner than I expected. More supplies for your journey?”

Reidar stopped at the counter.

“Not exactly,” he said. “Got a job to do today. Martin wants me to handle the convoy at the lake. I was wondering if there was something that would synergize with my existing skill set and help me deal with this quest.”

The vendor gave Reidar a sidelong glance, clarifying that he knew how Reidar’s trait worked. The vendor could see his status, after all, and maybe he saw people with the same trait on his birth planet or among those in the allied worlds. So, he must have known how the trait worked well. Covering traits in a training seemed impossible since, as much as Reidar understood, there were too many of them.

“Ah, the one with the Abyssal Caller title,” the vendor said. Reidar had been curious about this, actually.

“Forgive me if I ask. Why does the system give titles as quest rewards?”

Reidar asked that because he wanted the thalassari to start talking, as he looked like the guy who liked to do just that. Morv’axil set the vials on the counter and watched Reidar.

The vendor smiled. “The system seldom does things without a justification.” He smoothed a strip of kelp across the counter. “Besides, the system creates rewards based on the situation, among other things, and the rewards are made to attract the survivor into taking them. At least the quests directly made from the system. The quests made by people work slightly differently.”

“You mean the system used a Skill Book and a trait as bait?”

Morv’axil chuckled. “Not bait. Motivation. The allied worlds want to make sure a new world survives and joins them. When a quest prove central to a community, the system compensates with good rewards.”

Reidar’s gaze shifted from the glowing text to the vendor. “Tell me about the quest monsters then. What should I expect from the Sunken Turbine quest? Underwater combat will be a severe disadvantage for me.”

“Indeed,” Morv’axil agreed. “It will alter movement, visibility, and the efficacy of certain skills too. The Elite Abyss Lurker will not be simple to deal with. At least for the average person,” he winked at Reidar.

“The ’Elite’ modifier grants monsters significantly enhanced base attributes and better skills. It is a superior specimen of its species, a veteran of the sort.”

Reidar’s eyes narrowed. The quests were straightforward enough, but the context felt wrong. “Why these specific tasks? High-level resource gathering seems… ambitious, given the state of the walls.”

Morv’axil paused, its webbed fingers resting on the counter. The vendor’s black eyes fell on Reidar, and he sighed or did its equivalent in Thalassari biology.

“The System doesn’t always factor in the reasons a quest giver has when he or she creates the quest.”

If it wasn’t obvious enough. Quests were actually made by people 90% of the time. The system gave it a reward, and the issuer could increase it if he or she had the resources. The system issued quests directly only in certain cases.

“What Havenwood’s leaders are asking for doesn’t quite match up with how things really are around here, but the system knows.”

“Actually. Was the sunken turbine quest made by Martin or the system?”

“The system, but Martin pooled quite a number of resources. I guess he wanted to power up Lena a little.” He paused. “But given the last developments, I guess you wouldn’t want her there. Martin is not stupid enough to tell you not to go there, as Lena is clearly incapable of completing the quest.”

“She could have gotten summoning skills.”

Morv’axil nodded. “She could’ve also got water breathing skills, but I don’t deal with them. They are too mundane.”

That explained a lot.

<Water breathing skills, uh? I need to get one as soon as I can. Oh right, there is the abyssal caller title.>

That would solve the problem, but only after he completed the quest. The main problem was that his current summoned creatures, strong as they were on land, would flounder in a deep-water environment.

The Bone Militia would be unable to do much, but at least it should in theory be able to stay underwater. The Primal Pack would drown. The Rift-Sprites were elementals, true, but Reidar didn’t know if the aqua sprites could survive in water. He would surely try it, but it would be better to just get something that could do that from the start.

Reidar needed something to guarantee success, not just to rely on some potential reward he would get only after he completed the quest. New skills would be a pleasant addition in situations he knew were likely to happen, but in the future.

The notification flashed.

—[Morv’axil requests to open Trade Interface. Accept?] —

The vendor finally showed the trade button to Reidar. The man straightened and then pressed the accept button.

“Just show me your summoning skills.” Morv’axil raised a brow. “I need something built for water, creatures that can handle the quest.”

“Well, then just give a look at my merchandise!”

Reidar accepted, and the flood of pages unfurled. “Show me skills at Tier 4 or higher.”

The interface recalibrated, entries vanishing as new ones materialized. Each carried a fearsome SP price tag, 45,000 minimum. Reidar’s eyes skimmed the abbreviated listings:

—« Abyssal Serpent Call »—

—« Tidal Surge »—

—« Deep Mariner’s Gambit »—

…

…

…

He exhaled slowly. There were many options, but Reidar didn’t like them, mainly for the costs. There was one, though.

—[«SHOP»]—

« Summon Razor-Gill School »

Tier: 4

Description: Unleashes a school of vicious, fishlike predators to swarm and overwhelm enemies with relentless attacks.

Price: 42000 SP

Requirements: Level 40

Summon Details:

Summons: 10 x Razor-Gill Striker (Caster Level -4)

Spell Type: Batch Summon

Mana Cost: 360 (Fixed)

Duration: 15 minutes

Cooldown: 1 minute

Creature Abilities:

Swarm Tactics: Damage increases by 5% for each other allied Razor-Gill Striker engaged with the same target.

Vulnerable (Electricity): Razor-Gill Strikers take significantly increased damage from electrical attacks.

Note: Upon reaching 100% proficiency, this skill can be upgraded to the next Tier, further enhancing its power and effects.

—[«END»]—

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