A water elemental inside a body of water is invisible by default. Dissert on the subject, one thousand words at least.
My answer would be one word only, though. "Mostly."
Because a water elemental is made of pure water, most of the time. There was some refraction at the edges and in some angles more than others. If you looked carefully, you'd see a blur, a shimmer. If you aligned it perfectly, a rainbow as my body worked as a prism. That's assuming there was light to refract. I swam toward the warm reef on the other side of the birthing sandbank and paused as I got a notification.
> For creating one new species and reviving another, you added these two to your {Progenitor Matriarch} Perk.
>
> Elf[star]: The royal bloodline of the elves, regarded as the first elves to ever walk on Yznaria.
>
> Prismatic Lamia: Imbued with nine elemental affinities, the prismatic lamia excels in magic. They can give birth to either other prismatic lamia or any other combination of affinities.
Dafuq? Did my little stunt work this well? And what is a prismatic lamia? A snake-woman designed by Lisa Frank? I had to know but not now. My mother wasted one month of her life caged. I had to get her out.
I would like to think I was in my element but that was a lie. I was in Apricot's element. She was the one good at this skulking thing. I was afraid. How would mom be? Wounded? Scared? Sad? Did they torture her? I wanted to live a quiet life away from tragedy, for once. Why was the world so cruel to me?
I came across a couple of fish-mermaids. They swam quietly, their many fins doing the job of steering their body as their vertical caudal fins swished to and fro. They had pink in their skin and fat under their cheeks. That malnourished debuff vanished too.
I knew how much food they took. I felt a heat climbing up my chest. The color red stained my sight for a moment. The girls I once was told to kill them. {Force Binding} on one, {Shadow Warp} then {Assassinate} the other. Finish the one bound before she could break free. Fast. Clean. In less than a minute, these two would pay for...
What did they do?
Other than living, trying to survive in these trying times, and maybe listening to an asshole of a mollusk demigod, what were their crime? They killed my sisters, but so did the latter onto them. Yes, I killed those in the ambush, but that was not premeditated murder.
I felt bad about killing them and that was... liberating. No. The one that had to die was the Kraken's herald.
With {Grandmaster T'ai chi ch'üan}, I could see the flows of energy. Two in particular were very strong. Divine in nature, they led deeper into the reef. I followed it, slinking past the ever-growing number of mermaids swimming around sedately. They had not a worry in the world.
I smiled. It was good to hear from her again,
I swallowed some bile,
The fairy spoke adamantly,
She didn't give me time to answer.
I, Arista, didn't want to admit. But I, Arista, knew. If the only path to her mother's freedom was to slaughter every single mermaid in this reef, they would die. I would be disgusted all along. Apricot's most cherished power was the ability to not feel guilt. I had it bottled in a Perk but I, Arista, refused to use it. Lakerta used it. And when she was off of it, she suffered. Her mind was cracked.
Because she didn't let go when she died. Lakerta shouldered the burden of Rosewise's grief and it drove her, compelled her. I was not Lakerta just as no speaking person was the baby they were born as anymore. But more profoundly. I was built out of what they were. But I refused to be just the inheritor of their System Status, wisdom, and memories. I would become myself.
And to be me, I had to start by not being them. I gave Nenandil my answer.
As I approached the ship where Kraken's Herald was with another deific guest, I made an addendum to my manifesto. I would not be them, most of the time. Because right now, I had to.
I entered the sunken ship through the broken keel. The broad head of a big ballista bolt was half-buried in the sand nearby. Someone fought on the surface and dumped their debris in the reef. Just because I could, I used {Legend and Lore} on the ship.
> Derelict wreckage [Queen Monika's Vengeance]
>
> A military vessel from the Kingdom of Virturia in the Scorched Continent, this ship sunk in a battle with pirates. The broken hull was taken by an avatar of the demigod Kraken as his staging place for war games against his brother.
Even the System agrees that what the mermaids were doing was stupid and pointless. They were deceived by them. The burden of those deaths lied with these two demigods.
Inside the QMV's wreckage, I stuck to the corners as I went inside. The divine energy was now intense. Funny seeing the flows of energy like this. Could I become a Qi cultivator? Like in those wuxia novels? I chided myself as I felt I was about to chuckle. Not the right TPO, dammit.
The QMV was upside down, and the Kraken's herald was in the upturned poop cabin. A mass of tentacles was visible through the frame that once held a door.
> Herald of Kraken
>
> Level 91 female giant squid [Demigod Avatar]
>
> Strength ~80
>
> Dexterity ~20
>
> Endurance ~90
>
> HP ~36,000,000
>
> WARNING: This creature is one rank above you. It deals more damage and takes less damage from your attacks. This creature is huge. It has enhanced damage and HP.
I knew I could assassinate that thing. I didn't want to. But then I remembered the zombie worms eating the skeletons of my sisters. At that moment, the squids crawling over their bodies, eating their flesh, were all spawn of this one. Thirty-six million. I've done it before. I can do it again. I took Alloralla's trusted daggers. {Death Contract}.
My {Death Contract} suddenly broke. It was a shock to me, as it never happened before. It meant someone with both the same Perk and a high Soul score. Guess a demigod fitted the bill.
"You can come in, little [Assassin]. You must be pretty strong to put a contract on me," Kraken's contralto voice rang as the tentacles writhed inside the cabin. So much for the murder-hobo option.
"Kraken's Herald," I said from where I 'stood' (hard to stand when you have a dolphin's lower body). "I came to pick up my mother."
"My, my. What a bold dolphin. And what will you do if I don't want to give her back? Murder me?"
I heard Leviathan chuckling.
"I really hoped not, you know? The other gods will be angry if I kill another one of you."
A tentacle shot from the door, breaking the wood and wrapping around me. Kraken's Herald squeezed and pulled me inside. I saw the smaller sea serpent in a corner.
"WHO do you think you are to threaten me?" The giant squid bellowed, causing a lot of bubbles and foam to fill the room. The tentacle squeezed harder, causing me to scream from the sharp pain.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Gritting my teeth, I set my titles. "You better {Appraise} me before you regret it, mollusk bitch."
"{God-Slayer} {Heroine} {King} !?!?! What bad joke is this?" She screeched and squeezed harder. I was lucky my dolphin tail had only the spine for bones. But the soft tissues, and more, my skin, were being crushed and flayed.
"Let... go... of me. Last warning!"
In his corner, Leviathan was apprehensive, "Kraken, the titles are true. She's who she claims to be. You better..."
Kraken tossed me against the cabin wall. I used {Second Wind} to recover some HP instantly.
But the squid-lady wasn't hearing. "I WON. THE DOLPHINS ARE MINE NOW. I'M GOING TO EAT THIS IMPUDENT MORTAL." She screamed and uttered a full-body gormandizing groan.
At least I tried. For 105,000 MP, have a "{Forcefire Maiden}!"
> Force-Fire Maiden stabs and burns Herald of Kraken for 9 million HP and GP. (Base 2,000 x2.26 Willpower x3.76 Skill x10 Overcharge x3 Mana Strike x1.5 Force Affinity x2 Avenger Strike x2 Blood Strike x4 God Slayer [defenses ignored] x1.5 Favored Enemy x0,5 rank ).
The whole room boiled and filled with water vapor. Kraken's blood vaporized and the squid screamed. The cage of force and the thousand bleed debuffs quickly dropped her HP to a sliver. But she didn't die.
A tentacle whipped toward me. I assumed my water elemental form. It brushed past as I dived underneath it. I didn't sustain the cage and she quickly broke through. I used the cover of the vapor and stealthed.
"Where are you?" Kraken's Herald shouted.
Leviathan tried to be the voice of reason, "Kraken, stop and--"
She slapped the sea serpent-dragon with a backhand tentacle. "SHUT UP, LOSER! SHE STOLE MY FAITH!"
I'd call her a Krakaren if it wasn't already copyrighted. I think I read it in some web-novel before I died. I think she was talking about the "GP" {God-Slayer} damages.
The tentacles whipped through the room, thrashing, and crushing everything. I weaved and bobbed, letting the currents push my elemental form.
The enraged demigod-monster was not listening. "I'LL KILL YOU--"
Time's up. Have an encore. "Forcefire Maiden!" I shouted but didn't actually cast the spell. Instead, I just placed a Force barrier around the squid's head.
"AHHHHH!" Kraken screamed, the tentacles breaking the derelict ship further.
"Sister! That's the same spell she used against Bundus!" Leviathan shouted. He wrapped himself around some tentacles, trying to restrain the Kraken.
"Now. I offer you two a truce. Release my mother, let bygones be bygones, or keep on fighting. You can even destroy this form. I'll be reborn somewhere, regain my strength and levels, and come here to finish our altercation. Or you can cooperate. As I see your game has ended. Kraken won. Am I right, Herald of Leviathan?"
I dismissed the Force spell with a light show before Kraken could break it or I ran out of MP to sustain the barrier. She didn't need the morale boost of breaking my constraints.
"Let's cooperate. Nurture the mermaids, close the rift between the two tribes. Heal the reef. No more death. That's my offer to you. Cooperate with me and earn my friendship."
Now that my offer had no threats of violence, I triggered {Divine Negotiator}.
> Contested Charisma check passed.
>
> Contested Charisma check passed.
>
> You gained 20 points of proficiency in [Diplomat]. Two abilities are available.
> You solved the conflict against level 91 Herald of Kraken[Demigod]. You gained 26,3 billion Exp. (Base 82,810 x 512 Fast Learner x3.05 Exp Boost x7,59 Favored Enemy x3.05 Monster Exp x4 Class Rarity x2 Racial rarity x2.25 Size x0.5 peaceful resolution).
>
> You solved the conflict against level 87 Herald of Leviathan [Demigod]. You gained 16 billion Exp. (Base 75,690 x 512 Fast Learner x3.05 Exp Boost x7,59 Favored Enemy x3.05 Monster Exp x4 Class Rank x2 Racial rarity x1.5 Size x0.5 peaceful resolution).
Someone (Wyxnos) tweaked (nerfed) the size Exp bonus by half to just 50% per size.
> You reached Pale Dolphin-Mermaid level 20.
>
> You gained 15 Attribute Points, 7 Magic, 4 Mind, 4 Willpower, 3 Charisma, 4 Endurance, 4 Luck, 4 Dexterity.
>
> You gained 10 Perks.
>
> You have 19 unused Perks. <---- Worst decision paralysis case ever.
>
> You reached Vagabond level 20.
>
> You gained 350 Skill Points <----- Haxorz bugged Class.
>
> You reached Diplomat level 40. Your proficiency is now 115/135.
>
> You reached Musician level 40. Your proficiency is now 95/135. One ability is available.
>
> WARNING: You have one open Path choice. If you rank up now, all unused Experience will be divided by 10,000. Please select your second Path before moving onward.
>
> WARNING: You have two hours to spend your Skill Points or they'll be allocated to random Skills.
>
> Ultimate Surpasser granted you 18 Attribute points. <--- (sarcastic) Look at you. Already paying dividends. Groan... Only thirty-something more lives to go.
> Wetsuit Gambeson, Wetsuit Cowl, and Wetsuit Gloves merged into Mermaid's Wetsuit. Mermaid's Wetsuit reached level 62.
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Cloth Armor I (uncommon): Reduce damage to the wearer by 10%. Reduce damage to the item by 25%.
>
> (...)
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Cloth Armor IV (uncommon): Reduce damage to the wearer by 40%. Reduce damage to the item by 80%.
>
> (...)
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Mending Aura V (rare): Heal the wearer by 0.0001% of their maximum HP every second. Repairs item by 0.001% of its maximum durability every second.
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Hardened Cloth (rare): Protection reduction from attacks cannot reduce the item's protection to less than half.
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Skin Mimicry (rare): The item can emulate the color and texture of the wearer's skin, becoming impossible to distinguish with casual observation.
>
> (...)
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Water Mending V (rare): When immersed in water, heals the wearer by 0,001% of their maximum HP every second and the item by 0.01% of its maximum durability every second. This supersedes Mending Aura.
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Enchanting Potential I (rare): Multiply this item's enchanting potential by 2.
>
> Mermaid's Wetsuit gained the Perk: Enchanting Potential II (rare): Multiply this item's enchanting potential by 3.
I barely noticed that my clothing was shifting and adapting as it leveled up.
The two demigods and I swam out of the wrecked ship. Kraken had finished what the pirates' ballistae started.
"Sister!" Leviathan seemed to really care about her. I felt bitter having to negotiate with them. Thousands of mermaids died in their stupid wargame.
I had to warn Nenandil,
I swam next to the still injured squid. She was bleeding from a thousand wounds that wouldn't heal. "Hey, Kraken. Let me try and heal you."
"It's useless. I tried it myself," The massive squid moaned (as in lament, dammit). "Healing magic won't work."
"I think I can heal the wounds I caused. I feel so. Let me try."
I used {Spiritual Healing} on her. I didn't have the fourteen million SP required to fully heal the divine mollusk but I could staunch the bleeding and ease the pain.
She quivered with relief but didn't thank me. Leviathan nodded his dragon head. I think he was smiling. Hard to tell. I had very little peaceful interactions with either dragons or divine beings to learn how to read their expressions.
"Okay. I'm going to pick up my mother, you two gather the mermaids. We have a reef to regrow."
I transformed into a water elemental and dashed toward Nenandil. I checked my unallocated Exp. I had thirty-two point six billion Exp that would become three million if I ranked up now. It wouldn't even push me to level eighty-one. I refrained from ranking up now. It would be better to use them as quests. I could hand out more than three hundred million Exp in quests using {Royal Order}. It might be the key to heal the rift between both tribes.
The mermaids guarding them were poking at a sphere of ice with their spears. I curbed the angry impulse to just murder them and instead tried my new toy.
"You there, mermaids. I order you to leave this place and rejoin your sisters at the reef. I offer this as a quest to you."
> Contested Charisma check won.
They saw only a mermaid-shaper blur but were compelled to obey the {Royal Order}. The Exp bonus was as good as killing a monster their level and without the risk of death. The twelve guards went away. I didn't even look at the Exp cost to issue these quests.
One they were gone, Nenandil crossed the ice as if it wasn't there. "Damn, girl. Look at you, all grown up!" She grinned.
I dove and hugged the tiny fairy, "Good to see you too, partner. How's our prisoner?"
Nenandil prepared to snap her fingers and maybe bring the ice down but she stared at me, "You might want to fix those weird titles before."
She was right. I hid my titles.
"Better," she snickered and snapped her fingers. The ice vanished, revealing my mother in the cage. It was made of broken reef tied with algae. She wasn't harmed but it was impossible for her to break out of there without alerting the guards. The bindings held the coral facing inward and without a tool she coudn't reach them.
"MOM!" I shouted and barreled toward the cage.
"Arista! You're alive!" She whimpered and cried.
I tried to grin but the saltwater got into my eyes, "Of course I am. Nenandil is my familiar, she'd vanish if I died. Now, I bestow upon you a quest. Get out of this cage and hug your daughter."
I mean, I had a hundred billion Exp budget to spend on quests, it would all be lost on the rank-up (it would still be worth 3 levels, but big deal). Divided by a hundred, it was still a lot of Exp. I hoped enough to pacify the reef. With some mental gymnastics, I split my order into two separate quests. One to get out, and another to hug me. Mom's quests cost me three and a half million each. She was level forty-seven.
She laughed and then gasped as she probably read the notification. I handed her a knife.
"Hands?" Mom asked.
"I got a lot more surprises for you. Cut the kelp and get out."
She got out and gasped, "It was real. hundred-six thousand! How?"
I reached out with my arms, "Hugs first, explanation later."
The curtains closed for this act. Let me have my moment.
----------------------------------------
With the rescue part of the mission behind me, I spent my Skill Points before the window to do so closed. I raised {Dodge} to Grandmaster 90 for 175 points. Then I did the same to {Backstab} with the other half of my Skill Points.
> You gained the Perk: Master Dodge (rare): When you fail to dodge, you [Skill Level /2]% chance to halve the damage.
>
> You gained the Perk: Grandmaster Dodge (very rare): When you dodge an attack, the attacker is staggered by 0.2 seconds. This interrupts chained attacks and lowers the accuracy of the next attack by the same enemy by 50%.
>
> You gained the Perk: Master Backstab (very rare): You deal double damage when your Backstab actually hits the target's back.
>
> You gained the Perk: Grandmaster Backstab (ultra-rare): When you backstab a target capable of becoming unconscious with a blunt attack, you can choose to forfeit all damage to render the target unconscious for 6*[Base damage + Sum of Multipliers] minutes.
I got some great news from mom. Since the quest reward came from my pocket, {Boosted Exp Split} tripled the award. That meant my Exp transfer efficiency with the quests was one to thirty-three, not to a hundred like I thought. That prompted me to spend two Perks finishing two Exp series.
> Improved Exp Split V (very rare): When splitting Exp between a group, you treat the group as if it was 67% smaller.
>
> Champion's Spoils V (ultra-rare): If you win a challenge, you gain 205% more Exp.
I vowed to leave five Perks as my rainy day fund. It's been some time since the System spent my Perks automatically to save my life and I think I might need it again in the future, with two demigods angry at me. That left me with twelve Perks to spend.
> You purchased the Perk: Extra HP I (uncommon) You gain one extra base points of HP per level.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Extra HP II (uncommon) You gain two extra base points of HP per level.
I never bothered to pick these before, but now I needed survivability. How was it again? Faster (sea)horses, aged booze, and... bigger resource pools.
> You purchased the Perk: Body & Soul (ultra-rare): Add half your Endurance to determine your SP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Body & Magic (ultra-rare): Add half your Endurance to determine your MP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Agile Soul (ultra-rare): Add half your Dexterity to determine your SP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Agile Mana Circulation (ultra-rare): Add half your Dexterity to determine your MP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Mind Over Soul (ultra-rare): Add half your Mind to determine your SP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Mana Control (ultra-rare): Add half your Mind to determine your MP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Wilful Soul (ultra-rare): Add half your Willpower to determine your SP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Mana Compression (ultra-rare): Add half your Willpower to determine your MP pool.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Coral Singer (very rare): You can spend MP and SP to nurture, heal, and grow coral. The effect scales with your musical ability.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Coral Shaper (ultra rare): You cannot be harmed by contacting living coral. You can use your Coral Singer ability to shape coral.
For the last two slots, I picked some racial perks of the Pale Dolphin-Mermaid. The former was a requirement of the latter.
> Level 80
>
> Strength: 18+29 / 27 - Dexterity: 10+31 / 27 - Endurance: 24+31 / 27
>
> Mind: 24+31 / 27 - Willpower: 24+29 / 27 - Charisma: 8+29 / 27
>
> Magic: 24+29 / 27
>
> Ego: 24+29 / 27 - Luck: 8+34 / 27 - Soul: 24+29 / 27
>
> HP 4,449,120 (2,256 HP/s)
>
> MP 2,777,268 (301,338 MP/h)
>
> SP 1,488,227 (91,584 SP/h)
Seventeen of these Attribute bonuses were from the Class and didn't count for the big hundred. Not to mention the twelve in all physical because my tail was a real dolphin's.