Second Age, year 143, Kingdom of Virturia, the throne room.
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King Romulus IV of Virturia sat on his throne. It was the end of the court session and he was exhausted. There was a call for an extension from the archmagister and he let the nobles and dignitaries go. Only the King’s inner circle and the supplicant mage remained in the throne room.
He wasn’t happy. Marlowe was a strong [Archmage] but his loyalty was questionable. The wicked man had too much ambition to be a proper vassal. If the King hadn’t the confidence that comes with being level two hundred and the confidence he could take on any challenger, he would have the slimy mage executed.
So far he allowed the [Wizard] to live because he was useful. Something he could reconsider anytime.
"So, archmagister. What matter is so urgent you need an extension of the court session?"
Marlowe, the archmagister, knelt on the floor. "Sire, we detected a great pulse of magical energy coming from the ocean a few months ago. We studied the region with clairvoyance and I couldn’t wait to report it."
"Proceed," the King said as he tried to hide his annoyance. It was almost anger by then. If he took months to study the blasted thing, why couldn’t he wait one more day?
"It was a region of the ocean without any islands or other features. But after this pulse, we observed the place with farseeing magic and found a brand new island. Fully forested with verdant vegetation.”
“Verdant?” The King asked. In this era of eternal darkness, plentiful vegetation was a rarity.
“Indeed, sire. But I brought this to your attention not because of that. I believe annexing this island is paramount to our kingdom’s prosperity. The island is in a strategic position to dominate the western sea and is defended by an atoll that appeared with it. I believe the vegetation on the island might hide undiscovered species of herbs and plants. It is in a high-density mana zone, so the herbs will be extremely potent even if they are common. Which I doubt."
"What do you suggest we do?" Romulus asked, already knowing the answer.
"We should mount an expedition and claim the island for ourselves, Sire. it will be a great source of power and wealth for us."
For himself, Romulus was sure the sleazy archmagister actually meant. “Show me!” He ordered.
The [Archmage] created an illusion of the land viewed from above. He saw the coast and the island in the western ocean, about two days away on a galley. Whoever controlled that island would rule over the ocean trade, indeed. It was big enough to support a small settlement or military fort.
“Does it have freshwater? A river or a lake?” Romulus asked.
“I couldn’t see up close because there’s too much distortion. However, to support trees that large, the island must have a source of freshwater. An inner pond, probably, as I couldn’t see any streams flowing into the sea. We must make haste, sire! If pirates or another country reaches there first, we’ll need to fight to conquer it. Worse, the first one to reach the island will have free access to its many riches.”
The third Prince, Rhenius, stood from his chair. "Father, allow me to lead this expedition. I shall claim the island for our Realm."
Romulus was about to grant his son's request when Queen Eleonora grabbed his hand. "Archmagister Marlowe, is the island uninhabited?" she asked.
Marlowe's lips twitched. "No civilized people are living on the island, my Queen."
Romulus caught the lie by omission, "But there are people. Explain," the king's inquisitive gaze pierced through the mage's deception.
"There are mermaids around the island, sire. Nothing of concern. They are basically monsters with human features. These primitive fishes don't even understand the concept of clothing."
"That might be dangerous, brother," Cadrel, the Duke of Arlington, conjectured. "Mermaids are capable of speech and they use weapons."
Romulus knew he had to decide now or Marlowe would gain too much prestige. He could take possession of the idea and then blame the mage if it failed, or deny it and later hear “I told you so” if some other power seized the island. Fortune favors the bold, he concluded.
“Nonsense,” the King bellowed. “We shall have that island. It will make the perfect staging spot for our fleets. With a naval base there, we can dominate the western trade routes. Marlowe, do not fail us!”
To his surprise, his troublemaker of a son stood up. Mermaids were known for their sex drive and he suspected the kid wanted to have that exotic experience firsthand.
"Uncle, when did you become such a coward?" Prince Rhenius mocked. "Primitive women with bone spears are no match for our prowess. I will go and conquer the island! That, I promise."
Romulus pondered and decided to follow their advice. His son was in no way weak. And if the mage wanted the island so badly, he could go himself.
"Prince Rhenius, Archmagister Marlowe," the King declared, "I ask you to do the job of surveying the island and assessing the danger posed by these mermaids. Suppress them or slaughter them all. You are to claim the island for our kingdom at any cost."
The archmagister bowed, “It shall be done, Sire!" He boldly promised.
"I'll see it done, Father," Prince Rhenius said, nodding his head. Next, he challenged his uncle. “Now, Duke. Would you support us in this noble mission?”
Arlington had to answer or lose face. “I’ll send my daughter with you. She’ll help negotiate with the mermaids.”
He didn’t mention which but Romulus knew which one. What his brother didn’t lack were children to throw away. With as many wives and concubines he had, it was hard to not have plenty of progeny.
The gauntlet was thrown. Romulus quickly started on his plan B. In case that mission failed, he would lose a son, a niece, and the archmage but none of them were too important to the prosperity of the nation. Even better, he could use their demise as a focal point to rally the people.
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I was on the island shore in Rosewise’s form when I saw a freaking war galley crest the horizon. I transformed into Alloralla and used my 20/2 [1] elven eyes. Thirty oars on each side and a large sail.
A {Light} spell worked as a searchlight in front of the ship in this eternal darkness. It was coming straight to the island. Four ballistae on each side promised a painful death to whoever attacked that. It was a military ship, I was sure of it. They were coming from the east so they were the furthest away from the Sunrods. I knew the humans would go crazy if they saw magic lights in the water.
I sent a mental call to my fairy familiar. Once she teleported to me, I explained what was going on to her.
“That’s bad,” Nenandil huffed. “You overdid it with the island. It’s humming with magical power.”
“What should we do, o wise lady Nenandil?” I said with a hint of dramatic sarcasm. “What’s your problem, really?”
“Mortals tire me. They are too shallow and whiny. And they think I can solve all their problems,” she confessed honestly.
“Dump the work on the heralds, those sea monsters are too lazy,” I suggested. “Or take a vacation here on the island or inside my soul.”
“Hum,” she hummed, staring at the ships on the horizon. It was dark but the ships had lanterns on them. They didn’t bother with the stealth approach.
“I’m going to put a fairy ring here and spawn some fairies,” I suggested.
“They’re almost as bad,” she shot it down without looking at me. “Spending a century with a certain someone made me a worldly fairy. Now I’m stuck somewhere between the two.”
“But I’m putting a ring here anyway. I need it for long-range teleportation.”
She accepted with a sigh. Nenandil faced me and nodded. “Right. With these magical trees, we’ll get a lot of dryads. Hope you save some men from those ships for them.”
“We can ask for volunteers,” I said without much conviction. I knew the men, especially humans, were against interspecies breeding.
“I’m sure you’ll find a pervert or two that won’t mind spending their life banging all kinds of ‘monster girls’,” she said wiggling the air quotes.
We could spare the time to talk. The ships would take two or three hours to reach us. But not so much if we wanted to mobilize the reef for battle.
I changed shapes to my favorite bird and tweeted, “Let’s do a quick scouting mission, shall we?”
She climbed aboard as I shifted and we flew toward the ship on the wings of a needletail. I sped past the first ship with my fairy rider and spotted another four vessels behind. They were all brimming with soldiers. My {Detection} told me there were five hundred, largely humans with a handful of elves and some halflings too. More than eighty percent of them were male.
I felt conflicting emotions. On one hand, I had just ranked up and could use some Exp. On the other hand, I didn’t wish to kill anyone. I would probably end up murdering again. I didn’t want that. Why was this world so geared toward violence like that?
Getting a “peaceful resolution” award was hard. It involved having both parties wishing to kill each other and then turning it around. if it was easy, people would cheese Exp that way. They didn’t.
On the way back, I dove into the lagoon, assuming my normal form and instantly donning my wetsuit with the [Hero] Perk. I could feel the drums of war throbbing in my ears.
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Queen Eathelin was in the cave, checking our food stores. I'd crafted some gold-plated boxes enchanted with core slivers to preserve food. Putting a magical fridge underwater would be bad but a conservation enchantment was easy for me. On two alcoves of prominence in the cave, the demigod avatars apparently slept. Some mermaids bowed before them as they passed in some sort of... no. Exactly as a religious ritual.
"Mom!" I shouted in ultrasound as I sped down the tunnel. Funny, only the dolphin-mermaids looked my way. It meant that the fish-mermaids had a normal range of hearing. Good to know that. Genowefa was looking good with her diaphanous two-meter long yellow and blue fins. Would love to get some of that sushi on a conveyor belt. Not the time for that either!
Startled, she swam to meet me halfway into the cavern main hall, "What's wrong, daughter?"
I pointed up. My heart was beating so fast it was about to jump out, "Five ships with around five hundred soldiers are coming our way!"
Putting everything in perspective, we had a massive advantage. Humans couldn’t fight underwater very well or not at all. But I believed they had a huge level advantage on us. We still hadn’t recovered from the “Herald games”. The death toll was too big.
I had to weigh the wellbeing of the mermaids against my wish to avoid the rabbit hole my previous selves fell into.
The choice was easy.
“This pacifist run was already ruined,” I said as if the grapes were green.
“What was that, Arista? Nevermind!” Mom said and put herself to go around shouting orders, "We need to mobilize everyone!" Mom said. "Nerin, Medaya--"
I locked her arm with my wrist. "No. We lost too many mermaids during the tribal skirmish. Tell everyone to keep their tails well underneath the water."
"Arista, this is our land. Our kingdom. We want to defend it as well," Eathelin protested.
I stared into my mother's eyes. "Okay. Look, I'm in charge of the Kingdom's defense, and since I have a hundred-thirty Proficiency in [Diplomat], I'm the Kingdom's foreign relations minister. I'm 'advising' you, my Queen, to leave these matters in my hand."
> Contested Charisma check won.
I wasn't even actively using the abilities... I felt like a bunch of 8-bit cyborgs in a trenchcoat. Persuade... Persuade... Persuade... If this wasn’t brainwashing, I'd bite my fins.
"I believe in you, my daughter. Give 'em hell, my dear."
We talked in the middle of the underwater cavern. Keeping the news sub rosa was not a concern but I was still impressed by the speed the gossip spread. There was an electricity in the air, tension as if the mermaids were expecting something. It didn’t take long for me to figure out why they were like that.
Silly me.
I projected my voice. "Oh. And let it be known that any mermaid that pops her head overwater near the ships won't get any attention from the men."
It reminded me of when I kicked an anthill. Horny mermaids dropped whatever they were doing to swim out of the cave and go around the lagoon to spread the gossip. Even Leviathan opened one eye.
I swam next to the twenty-meter long serpentine sea dragon. “That’s bullshit and you know that. If such rule was in place, Bundeus wouldn’t have sunk the world in an eternal night. Speaking of which, Wyxnos is taking his sweet time to fix it.”
With the second divine core, Galbarar should be able to increase the sunlight hours from three to five, I guess. Either something happened or Wyxnos had other plans for the core.
“I need you two to standby. I’m going to try and solve this peacefully, if possible. But I won’t have a single mermaid killed in a stupid war again. You two will come with me, now.”
The Herald of Kraken didn't open her eyes but she showed her intentions clearly by rumbling a gormandizing groan as she raised the tip of one tentacle pointing up. I took that as the kaiju version of a "yeah, I want to eat chipotle chicken burritos tonight".
But wait. Could I afford to miss this opportunity? I swam next to the Herald of Kraken and explained my plan to her. She liked it and made only one demand. I laughed and agreed.
“Do that, and I vow to let go of any grudge I still have toward you. And if it devolves into a battle, you can eat humans.”
> Divine Negotiator Active.
>
> Contested Charisma Test Won.
I was human once. If you count the species I’ve been a member of, that was the most frequent one. However, I was not going to be queasy about who eats what. It’s not like the bodies are being desecrated or anything, from all this time as a spiritualist, once the soul departs the body is just meat. Such was the way this world dealt with souls. Maybe it is different for each world. I don’t know, my sample size was one.
Shrouded by {Grandmaster Surreptitiousness}, I surfaced outside the lagoon to see the ships coming straight for the atoll. A guy in robes was with his arms stretched, as if he was the king of the world, on a boat like Leo. Except that he was chanting a spell instead of shouting. {Grandmaster T'ai chi ch'üan} let me feel the flow of magic. He was aiming a spell at the reef, probably to blow it up and let their ships enter the atoll.
That's one problem wizards have. Their spells take too long to cast without spending a lot of Perks. Sorcerers, on the other hand, are wasteful with their MP. The spell the wizard was casting would send a shockwave of force to break the atoll.
I pooled a hundred thousand MP and readied myself. Once he finished his spell, I counterspelled it. Confused, he came forward and I {Appraised} him.
> [Royal Archmage]
>
> Level 125 human male.
>
> Strength ~ 20
>
> Dexterity ~ 50
>
> Endurance ~ 60
>
> Mind ~ 80
>
> Willpower ~ 80
>
> Charisma - 20
>
> Magic ~ 90
>
> HP ~700,000
>
> MP ~ 3,500,000
And I was complaining about my Attributes. The confused [Archmage] came to the bow of the ship and almost fell in the water as the rowers reversed their paddles and attempted to stop the galley before it crashed into the reef.
"What happened, Archmagister Marlowe?" A guy clad in polished and ornate plate armor - on a boat in the middle of the ocean - came next to the wizard and asked.
"Something interfered with my spell, Your Highness," the [Archmage] answered. "I'll cast it again but I believe there are powerful energies in this atoll. But it was worth the trip. My MP regeneration doubled just by staying near this place of power. We must conquer this island at any cost," he ranted like the madman he was.
I became invisible and ethereal. Hidden, I made my way to the ships. If he was casting that siege spell again, I had a good three minutes before he finished it.
The prince turned around and shouted, "Signal the other ships to encircle the atoll and find an entrance. There must be one. Coral can't grow at an even height like this."
I checked. My Wellspring was wide open, I wasn't excluding anyone. But just that fragment of the conversation told me what I wanted to know. They were invaders. Conquerors, they said. I used {Shadow Warp} to move to the ship's deck. I avoided doing that before because I'd be forced to remove my wetsuit or it'd take damage when dry. Invisible, I did just that and shifted my tail into legs. I'm not focusing. I should've done that before teleporting. I used Alloralla's bodysuit instead. It had the same level of protection as the wetsuit but it would chafe if I wore it for too long. I might need to train another suit that can pick Perks to help with my skin condition.
The rowers were on the main deck watching. {Detection} showed there was nobody below deck. A great opportunity for me.
Still intangible, I went around the ship, storing anything not nailed down in my item box. Food, supplies, chests, furniture, ballast, oars, barrels of water, even their waste buckets.
"Toss a Light spell over the island. I want to see it with my own eyes," The armored prince said.
The ship rocked as it bounced up from the lack of ballast.
"Yes, your Highness, Prince Rhenius," Marlowe answered with feigned submission. The archmagister was pissed his magic didn't work. He'd lost face with the prince. I let the light magic pass. If he wanted to feed my trees with his magic, who was I to stop him.
"{Siege Spotlight}!"
> You learned the spell {Siege Spotlight}.
The nobles and knights assembled gasped when they saw the bright emerald foliage of my island. Excited, they started to chat and declare how they had to obtain the island. One elf noble even saw the fruits and nuts the trees were loaded with.
"C'mon, Marlowe. Break this damned reef so we can claim our prize. The men are getting anxious," Prince Rhenius goaded.
Marlowe started to chant. I prepared a counter but with only five thousand MP. This close and unaware, it was enough to redirect his spell. Why work harder when I could work smarter? The synergy between my {Warding Affinity}, {Force Wall Mastery}, and {Force Affinity} Perks gave me a huge edge in MP to strength ratio.
> You learned the spell {Siege Ram}.
Hmm. Was this guy some sort of [Siege Archmage]? A strategic spellcaster? I finished my spell and the {Siege Ram} bounced, going completely off-course. The booming ram of Force magic went straight up, screaming like a banshee and exploding hundreds of meters above the ocean.
"Marlowe! What is happening? Answer me!" An angry Rhenius demanded.
I used this opportunity to {Appraised} the prince.
> [Royal Champion]
>
> Level 145 human male.
>
> Strength ~ 90
>
> Dexterity ~ 80
>
> Endurance ~ 90
>
> Mind ~ 30
>
> Willpower ~ 40
>
> Charisma - 40
>
> Magic ~ 30
>
> HP ~7,000,000
>
> MP ~ 500,000
Woot? What are they feeding people this age? Level hundred was a rarity before, now they pop like candy? Well, not like candy, at least. None of the other nobles on the deck had a level above a hundred. I guess Virturia puts a lot of effort and investment in the growth of their scions. That and the changes to the Exp tables.
"I'll try again, sire!" The man in robes hastily answered.
He started to cast the same spell, slower this time. I guessed he was trying to find me. But that gave me a window of time to weave my own spell with improved stealth. I wasn't messing with his spell, just changing the terrain. And I'd overcharged the dispel too much the first time. The [Archmage] tried to break the atoll again three times before he gave up. The prince wasn't happy. At all.
"Your Highness, something is interfering with my magic! I think this island has some sort of guardian spirit. I’ll need time to recover my magic."
And that is my cue to cut him off from the {Wellspring}. The [Archmage] sagged with dismay as he noticed his MP regeneration plummet back to normal levels.
A knight ran up to the poop deck. “Sire, we’ve been robbed! All our supplies and food disappeared!”
"YOU INCOMPETENT BUFOONS!" Rhenius screamed at the knight and the mage. "All of you! How did a [Thief] enter our ship? Is it the mermaids? And you, [Wizard], why can't you just break some sea rocks!"
Let the prince rampage. I left the ship and made my way to the others.
The security of the other ships was even worse than the prince’s flagship. Twenty minutes was all that took for me to wander around the ships like a ghost, vanishing everything into my item box.
An army fights on its stomach. How would they fare now that they couldn’t even sail?
Before the sulking mage could recover his MP, we made our second-to-last move before things got violent.
I took a vantage point outside the ship, hanging from the railing with {Absolute Clinging}. Then I set the fairy loose.
"Foolish mortals!" Nenandil shouted as she approached. "This island is not for the likes of you. Turn your ships around and forget you've seen this place."
"What monster is that?" A fat and clueless noble asked. If that was the average for the opposition, this fight was as good as won.
"That, gentlemen, is an elder water fairy," an elf wearing nobleman’s clothes answered. "She's a rare guardian creature. To the fae, she's royalty. There’s something familiar about her but I can’t pin it."
His features were different from the Pekothian Fulgen high and star elves or the Auvanini wood and dark elves.
"A princess then?" Rhenius asked, clearly interested. But this close, I could see greed in his eyes. A vain wish to conquest and prove one’s worth. If I had to guess, this guy was very low on the Royal totem pole. Low enough to be considered for discard or puppetry.
"Nonsense. That's just an overgrown insect!" Marlowe spewed his vitriol. "Don't be swayed by Lord Treehugger! She's one of the bounties of the island. Just one of her wings could be used to make each--"
Treehugger, really? That wasn’t the elf’s real House of a family name, as my multispecies-enhanced hearing picked the subtle cues of disgust in his vocalization. I wished to learn more about his circumstances. But enough musing.
The [Archmage] never got to finish his sentence. No, not me. The elf slapped him across the face. "You'll respect the elder fairy, [Wizard]! If you dare hurt her, you will face my wrath."
"I can't read her level," one of the nobles said, frightened.
“We took your supplies and oars,” Nenandil continued. “You’ll never see the inside of our Sanctuary Lagoon. The island is off-limits for humans. Submit and we’ll give you the means to return home.”
One could hope one day these greedy bloodthirst barbarian conquerors would take a hint and scram.
Before Nenandil could act, the prince laughed. It surprised me how good of a villain’s laughter it was, it had those megalomaniac, arrogant, and 'I'm invincible' notes. "I’ve had enough of that! Stupid insect. I am a direct descendant of the First Hero, slayer of two Demon Lords. You will not stand between me and my goals!" Rhenius declared.
What the fuck? The First Hero had no direct descendants! I surely didn't have any offspring, ever.
Nenandil winked and vanished, dismissing her material form and returning to my soul. Nobody tracked her spirit so we were safe.
“Seize…” The prince shouted and immediately shut up.
The old me would’ve backstabbed the prince. This Arista here? I {Shadow Warped} to underneath the flagship and summoned Nenandil back.
We cast the same spell, “{Tidal Wave}!”
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[1]: 20/2. Ten times the visual acuity of a human.