Chapter 20

I read through the vendor menu carefully, finding myself drooling over numerous pieces of gear I couldn't afford. He had half a dozen instruments, breeding pairs of fish I'd not encountered before, and notated maps of several ocean regions I hadn't explored. I had to grit my teeth to keep from buying everything I could.

After several long minutes of mental wrestling, I decided on three types of cheap medicinal herbs, a few maps, and five new pieces of gear.

{Sea Dragon King's Tail Fin Belt

Armor +250

Swim Speed +200

Charm +100

Inheritance of the Dragon King: double attribute acquisition (passive)

Bind on Equip

Cost: 4000 Ancient Coins}

{Sea Dragon King's Earring

Intelligence +50

Wisdom +50

Charm +25

Luck +5

Bind on Equip

Cost: 100 Ancient Coins}

{Sea Dragon King's Anchors

Strength +50

Dexterity +50

On use: anchor feet on ground

Cooldown: None

Restrictions: Must be submerged to activate

Bind on Equip

Cost: 1000 Ancient Coins}

{Sea Dragon King's Crown

Armor +100

Charm +50

Natural Camouflage +250

Bind on Equip

Cost: 500 Ancient Coins}

While I had the opportunity, I also bought four of the instruments he offered so I could use them with my new skill. For each one, I grabbed three copies—one to keep, one to give Trace, and one to sell.

{Sea Glass Dragon Flute – Instrument

On Use: Remove Negative Status Effects

Cost: 50 Ancient Coins}

{Turtle Drum – Instrument

On Use: Remove Negative Status Effects

Cost: 50 Ancient Coins}

{Siren Hair Harp – Instrument

On Use: Remove Negative Status Effects

Cost: 50 Ancient Coins}

{Conch Horn – Instrument

On Use: Buff Strength, Constitution, Stamina, and Movement Speed +50% for 30 min

Restriction: Sage

Cost: 100 Ancient Coins}

I also bought myself and Trace one of the Bracelets he had one sale.

{Sage's Bracelet of Friendship

On Use: transport user to nearest Sage Trainer

Restrictions: Sage

Cost: 500 Ancient Coins}

"You have a lot of gear labeled Sea Dragon King," I commented as I exited the shop. "Did you defeat him?

The Sage laughed like I'd said something hilarious. "Not at all, child. I would never dream of dueling the King. In truth, my title isn't Sage, but Royal Sage. I serve his Highness, the Sea Dragon King. The items I have for trade only bear his title because they're prototypes for his birthday gift."

I scratched my head, wondering if that could be true or if NPCs could fib. "If you're a Royal Sage, then shouldn't you be at the Palace?"

He laughed again as he pulled a kelp leaf from his belt and used it to tease the fish hovering around him as if they were cats. "Not at all. It's a Sage's duty to wander the land. The extra title merely requires me to send regular reports to the Capital about the state of the realm."

"That's good, I guess."

The Sage's expression was amused as he waved me away. "Off with you now. I can't hear the song of the ocean with you hovering around, disturbing the currents."

"I'm sorry. I'll go. In case I didn't say it, thank you for your time and thank you for trading with me."

[Sage Karson's Favor +10]

I started to swim away when the Sage suddenly called out. "Hold on a moment, spawnling. I have something here you might find useful. I didn't intend to give it to you, but good manners should be rewarded."

[Sage Karson has given you a gift.]

Surprised, I opened my inventory to find [Sage Karson's Journal, Volume 2].

"Thank you!" I exclaimed over the unexpected bounty. "I already read the Mayor's copy of your first journal and found it really helpful."

The Sage seemed pleased with my words. "Is that so? In that case, the next time we meet I'll give you the chance to earn the third volume. You'll have to work for it, though."

"I will!" I promised. "If you have a quest for me—"

"Not now," he interrupted. "Come find me in a few days and we'll see whether I have anything for you to do."

I didn't want to overstay my welcome and he'd already told me to leave twice, so I quickly dived back into the canyon holding the Cerulean Forest. I found a safe outcropping halfway down to pause and rest.

I immediately equipped all my new gear. I started with the Sea Dragon King's Crown. Since I didn't have a mirror, I couldn't tell how it looked, but I could tell I still had seaweed in my hair and strings of pearls. I assumed the pearls were the reason it had such a high armor rating.

Next came the Sea Dragon King's Anchors. At first glance, the obsidian rings around my ankles didn't seem much different than my old set. But when I turned them off so I wasn't anchored and touched my ankles together, they showed their true worth.

My feet transformed into a pair of fluttering flippers! The minute I pulled my feet apart, separating the two hoops, the illusion disappeared and my feet went back to normal.

I quickly equipped the Sea Dragon King's Tail Fin Belt, eager to see what magic it held. I gasped in surprise when it appeared around my waist. It wasn't only a belt, but a golden scale-covered skirt like some of the higher-tier NPCs wore—the kind that intelligently transitioned from tail to skirt depending on whether I was swimming or walking.

I'll admit, I danced in place out of pure joy. With the combination of the transitioning belt and foot anchors, I now had my own tail. I finally felt like a real merman instead of just a human posing as one.

Nothing could stop me from swimming laps around the forest in true merman style, allowing myself to acclimate to swimming with my feet together. I did at least five circuits before I realize how incredibly fast I was moving. The tail's speed bonus was no joke. Small whirlpools formed around me when I tried a few flips, twists, and quick U-turns. When I chose to suddenly stop in place, my belt skirt billowed out, somehow keeping me from drifting off or sinking.

I now possessed absolute control over my movements. Those damn payara wouldn't be able to touch me anymore.

After seeing the incredible Sea Dragon King gear, the bracelet and earrings were almost a disappointment. The Sage's Bracelet of Friendship was an upper arm cuff made of puka shells. The earring was a solitary blue pearl hanging from the end of a long, delicate chain.

The Sage's Journal filled in many of the blanks for the second tier of Atlantean crafting recipes, but I decided not to use any of them yet. I still needed to hand over a good portion of materials to buy into the guys' money-making scheme. It wouldn't be fair to demand an equal share unless I offered enough resources and coins to catch up with everyone else's efforts.

Since the guys still hadn't messaged me yet, I left the Cerulean Forest to explore the Forgotten Battlefield. Just like when I entered Oyster Hollow, there was a clear delineation between the maps. For the Hollow, the water quality changed. Here, the ground dropped away.

The Battlefield rested inside a jagged, circular crater several hundred feet lower than the level where the Forest rested. I stood on an overlooking ridge, taking in a wide view of the Battlefield. I had to admit it wasn't what I expected. Considering the Mayor said it was a stereotypical place full of jagged rocks and shipwrecks, I'd imagined it would be a wasteland.

The Forgotten Battlefield was a bright and colorful fairy forest. There was even a very, very big mangrove tree growing up out of the center of the map. It rose up so high, it actually broke the surface of the water, telling me it had to be a thousand feet tall. Yet the water was so pristine, it tricked my eyes into thinking the thousand feet was only a hundred or so. It felt like all I had to do was reach up and I'd be able to touch the ocean's surface.

I did see shipwrecks dotting the landscape, but they were covered in coral and home to swarms of colorful tropical fish, squids, and patrolling sharks. I wanted to swim down there and explore, but I received a private message before I could.

"Bwahahaha. You have fallen into my network and there is no escape."

That had to be Shey.