Chapter 5: The Oversized Mockery

The first thing Jade noticed when he woke up was the pungent smell of something dying nearby. Again.

He sat up with a groan, wiping sleep from his eyes and mumbling, "If that's another dead sea slug in the coral filter, I swear I'm going to scream."

The Lord's Hut was dim but pulsing faintly with the Lord Core's glow. He stretched his arms over his head, back cracking in places he didn't know could crack. His woven kelp blanket had wrapped around his legs like a seaweed burrito, and he kicked it off with mild irritation.

But his eyes quickly darted to the offering plate in the corner.

Last night, Kaelen had returned with a kill—a beast the size of a minivan, tusked and full of rage. They called it a Mawfang. Jade, in his infinite bravery, had poked it exactly once with a stick and claimed partial credit.

The severed fang of the beast still glistened with congealed gore on the plate.

This was it.

He remembered something buried in the dusty textbooks from Lord Academy orientation week. Something about offering your first true hunt to your territory's Core.

It would awaken a Lord Talent.

Jade squared his shoulders. "Alright," he said aloud, trying to sound braver than he felt. "Let's see what twisted cosmic joke you've got in store for me, world."

He stepped up to the altar and activated the offering.

The Lord's Core surged with a thunderous hum. Glowing glyphs burst across the walls and floor, and the water around him compressed like a deep-sea pressure shift. He dropped to his knees as the Core pulsed—hard.

Then came the message:

[Lord Talent Awakened: Oversized (SS-Rank)]

"As a reflection of your grand presence, all that is given to you shall come in abundance. Rewards, growth, summons, and harvests are doubled in either quantity or quality. A divine mockery... or a blessing in disguise?"

Jade stared.

He blinked once.

Then twice.

"...Did the system just call me fat?"

He leaned closer, rereading the floating words.

'Reflection of your grand presence'—Right. Subtle.

Jade let out a breath and slowly stood. "Oversized, huh? If this was a fantasy novel, I'd be the comic relief side character who dies on page 40. Great."

But before he could roll his eyes too hard, the Core pulsed again.

A second message appeared:

[Secondary Talent Unlocked: Check-In Reward System (A-Rank)]

"Log into your Core daily to receive randomized rewards. Consecutive log-ins increase item rarity and potential bonuses."

Jade blinked again.

"...Wait, what?"

Then, almost like a late-night infomercial—

[Oversized Talent Detected. Check-In Rewards Multiplied.]

You will now receive two rewards per check-in.

Two flashes of blue light burst from the Core, and two items plopped into the offering tray like a vending machine with high blood pressure.

[Breathing Shell: Underwater Air Filter (3 uses)]

[Breathing Shell: Underwater Air Filter (3 uses)]

"Seriously?" Jade picked them up. They were slick pearl-colored shells shaped like a mask. "I'm getting double of the same thing already?"

He fitted one of the shells onto his mouth and took a breath.

For the first time since becoming a Lord… he didn't choke. Air. Fresh, filtered, breathable air. He gasped in delight.

"I CAN BREATHE!" he shouted, flailing like a drama queen on stage. "I AM FREE!"

He twirled once, nearly knocking over a table, then ran out of the hut in an awkward underwater dash, arms flailing like a sea sponge on coffee.

Outside, the trench shimmered with bioluminescent life. His territory had grown since the last week, slowly but surely. The coral walls were now partially fortified. There were watch tunnels, kelp farms, even a semi-functional outpost led by Luka's logistics crew.

It was a mess. But it was his mess.

Jade swam straight to the Summoning Core next, clutching his breathing shell in one hand and hope in the other.

He'd only used it once—on the day he first arrived. That first summoning gave him his initial five:

Kaelen, his muscle-bound warrior

Neris, his silent swift striker and scout

Veyr, his cunning trap master with knowledge in water magic

Luka, his chatty logistician

And one poor unnamed fishman who currently worked the kelp farm in terrified silence

As a Lord, he could summon two new residents per day. But he hadn't used the Summon Core since day one.

It had now been ten full days.

That meant 20 summons pending.

But with his new Oversized Talent…

20 summons × 2 = 40 merfolk.

Jade's eyes widened.

"I'm about to become king of a very crowded aquarium."

He activated the Core.

One by one, they came.

A light burst from the summoning glyph, forming silhouettes in the water that solidified into people—half-human, half-merfolk.

He counted aloud.

"One, two, three… eleven, twelve—holy sea spit—twenty-four, twenty-five…"

By the end of the ritual, forty new merfolk floated before him, blinking and dazed.

Some were armored, others robed, a few were shirtless and confused. A couple looked like experimental gene edits between jellyfish and elves.

A few even bowed instinctively at the sight of the Lord's Core.

Jade tried not to hyperventilate.

He clapped his hands. "Welcome, all of you, to… uh… the glorious and expanding territory of... Blue Moon? Working title. I'm your Lord. Try not to panic. Also, avoid Veyr's traps. They bite. Literally."

The crowd blinked at him.

Then bowed. Some confusedly. Some reverently.

Jade rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay… time to do the grown-up thing and assign roles."

It took two full days to organize the new residents.

Out of the 45 total merfolk in his command now, Jade divided them into basic military structure under his four original commanders.

Kaelen took charge of the Heavy Defense Units—mostly spear-wielders, tanky builds, and two huge crab-like men who grunted more than they spoke.

Neris formed the Rapid Recon Squad, selecting the fastest and most agile from the group. She said nothing throughout, just tested each one with mock races through the coral tunnels. Those who survived her full-speed swim without vomiting got in.

Veyr handled Tactical Ops. Ambushers. Trap experts. Two sharp-eyed twins who used poisoned darts. One grumpy eel-merman who insisted on booby-trapping their own barracks.

Luka? Logistics.

But not just supply chains anymore.

He had built rotating shift schedules, patrol logistics, and resource quotas for every task. He even introduced color-coded shells for roles.

"Yellow stripes for delivery workers. Red tips for combat trainees. And I'm giving myself a glittery green one," Luka said proudly.

"Why glittery?" Jade asked.

"Because I deserve it."

Fair.

As he hovered over his newly growing map interface that evening, Jade felt something shift inside him.

For the first time since arriving, he wasn't just surviving.

He was ruling.

"Still no shampoo though," he muttered, scratching his scalp. "But I'll take the army."

Later that night, he activated his Check-In Reward again.

The Core pulsed and presented:

[Enchanted Coralstone: Fortification Material x50]

[Mana-Infused Coralstone: Fortification Material x50]

"Oh hell yes," Jade whispered. "Luka's going to scream."

He immediately dumped the materials into the construction menu and reinforced the entire southern ridge.

Overnight, the coral hardened into a luminous, mana-reactive wall capable of absorbing shock waves.

The next morning, Jade ran drills.

Not himself. Obviously.

Kaelen led the melee units in full-combat exercises. Neris drilled underwater maneuvers. Veyr ran trap-avoidance tests on unlucky volunteers. Luka hosted a PowerPoint underwater about kelp preservation. Somehow.

Watching from his coral throne—a bit taller now, with added seashell cushions—Jade gave commands via his glowing slate.

"Squad B, rotate to north watchpost! Squad C, report inventory to Luka!"

He even got a tiny conch-shaped communication glyph that let him speak to the commanders at will.

"Veyr, how's trench six?"

"Trapped. Spiky. Filled with things that scream."

"Excellent."

"Also I think one screamed my name."

"...We'll talk about that later."

As drills wrapped up, Jade stood at the edge of his territory, overlooking the vast ridge that marked his territory's southern border.

The Core pulsed gently behind him. The merfolk moved with purpose now—his people. His units.

He took a breath through the breathing shell, letting the filtered air calm his racing thoughts.

This was no longer just survival.

He was becoming a force.

But then… he spotted something on the horizon.

A glimmer. A pulse of mana.

His eyes narrowed.

Another Lord?

A probe?

Or something worse?

He didn't know yet.

But his fingers curled around his slate.

"Let them come next," he whispered.

And this time… he'd be ready.