Alistair's suspicion would be proven right as he and Simon took over one and a half weeks before their skills finally upgraded, allowing them to maneuver underwater as well as they did above ground. Nessyra had managed to finish a week before him and had returned to Rathos to oversee its development, with Riseth finishing her upgrade shortly after but choosing to stick around and help them develop their skills and explore the local beach. However, Alistair found her lazing about on the beach more than once, though he didn't begrudge her the break.
Simon finished a day before Alistair and took half a day to relax on the beach before heading back to Rathos to speed up their projects with his earth manipulation skills. Alistair let out a cheer when he finally got the notification confirming his upgrade. Having a low water affinity had been a real challenge, and he was glad most of his strong affinities aligned with the concepts he wanted to use. He knew that spending so much time in the water would slowly improve his affinity for the water concept, though it was a slog. Most literature on concepts and affinities he'd read suggested focusing on strong affinities instead of trying to improve weaker ones, except for concepts like magic and combat, which could be boosted with enough training and study.
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SKILLS:
Tier: [Rare]
Name: Sky and Sea Flight
Description: Enables the user to fly at a tiny [MP] cost over time. This skill taps into the concepts of acceleration, deceleration, and control, allowing for exceptional aerial maneuverability with rapid bursts of speed and quick halts at minimal additional [MP] cost. The user can infuse [MP] or [Qi] to achieve extreme speeds during acceleration and deceleration.This skill also allows the user to fly underwater, providing additional environmental protection from water by using manipulation magic to displace water around the user. This enables movement nearly as fast as in the sky at a small additional cost of [MP] or [Qi] over time, which increases with underwater pressure. The User's body augmentations provide additional protection against interference, moderately increasing the skill's resistance to hostile abilities.
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Alistair was confident the skill would prove incredibly useful in the future. It created a small artificial layer through water manipulation and force, preventing direct physical contact with the water. This layer protected him from electricity and heat-based attacks, though it did increase the maintenance cost of the skill. The deeper he dove, the more underwater pressure his skill needed to counteract. Now that he had finally upgraded the skill, they could properly reach out to their new neighbors. Nessyra had prepared gifts from their produce, such as Spirit Orchid wine, metal bars made from Dragonstalk, Lomie meat, and other items she suspected would be well received and could be offered for trade in the future. He wasn't sure how well any of those gifts would be received, though it wasn't a bad idea.
Flying back to the beach, he breathed in the fresh salty smell of the ocean and the sand. Looking over the beach, he found it empty except for the strange green crab turtles. These creatures either lay in the sun or grazed on the nearby grass. They had the body and head of a sea turtle but crab legs and pincers. The Qexrus were a little larger than his foot, most of them around level 15 to 20, and were essentially mundane animals. While he didn’t mind the official name, he couldn't help calling them crab-turtles. His Identify skill eventually adopted this name. He figured he would probably rename other hard-to-pronounce species with names he and the others found more fitting.
As Alistair flew back to Rathos, he observed the significant progress made on the walls surrounding the core of their territory. Small forts were taking shape at regular intervals, indicating their expansion was moving much more rapidly than he had anticipated. Alistair had received several requests to assist with the larger array formations on the walls once they had concluded both diplomatic and exploration matters. Within those walls, pastures spread into the local hillsides, where they were rearing Lomies. Multiple guard towers protected these pastures, as the local wyvern population had attempted to feast on their herd. Considerable effort had been expended to kill the attackers and scare off other wyverns. The towers still found regular use due to occasional attacks from the less intelligent Hukris wyverns, who continued to try their luck despite the increased defenses. The Hukris were the closest thing they had found to pests on this planet; they were numerous and opportunistic and endangered weaker species whenever they spread into a new territory. Their bodies had no real desirable materials besides their cores, which weren't aspected with any particular affinity and swang between camouflage wind and greed concepts.
Flying up to the peak, Alistair continued to scan the surrounding area but didn't find anything amiss. Landing on the platform that now housed his ginkgo tree, he noticed a new, modern-looking door at the entryway to his and Riseth's place. As he approached, the door responded to his aura signature and slid into the rockface, granting him entry.
Descending the stairs, he noticed that the stone floor had been replaced with spirit wood that had a warm golden coloration, filling the room with a refreshing, calming scent of nature. Automata and a few workers glanced at him briefly before returning to their tasks, installing magitech necessities, including screens and other modern conveniences. The space was transforming into a harmonious blend of natural elements and advanced technology.
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Looking for Riseth, he found her talking with Giulia about the interior decoration in front of a new circular window that framed a large built-in jacuzzi, designed for them to enjoy the view while relaxing. Alistair also noticed a nearby shelf where herbs and other treasures were neatly stored, adding to the room's elegant yet functional design.
"Oh hey, Mr. Legendary, you finally finished?" Riseth asked with a cheeky grin before giving him a hug and planting a kiss on his cheek.
"I did. But when did you get all this done?" Alistair asked, bewildered. He had only been gone for a day, and the progress was staggering.
"Magic helps a lot with construction, and capable craftsmen can do something like this with ease. Do you like it?" Riseth replied.
"It looks amazing," Alistair said, nodding to Giulia, who beamed at them with a bright smile.
They turned to face her, and Giulia seemed eager to talk. "Thank you so much for this opportunity. Working in interior design with so many new and great insights from other worlds and incorporating magic has been amazing," Giulia said enthusiastically.
"I should be the one thanking you. You and Riseth have done a great job so far. I can't wait to actually have the time to enjoy this space," Alistair replied.
"Did you know feng shui is an actual thing now? I even got a skill for it and made sure to optimize the space for a harmonious energy flow," Giulia added.
Alistair noted the harmonious and calm energy flow in their space despite his array directing some of it. Giulia continued discussing all the ideas she and Riseth had, talking about which plants could go where and asking if he had any requests. Alistair declined, wanting to leave it to Riseth, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. Looking around, Alistair wondered where Viv was, as she hadn’t come up to greet him like usual.
“Where is Viv, by the way? She usually comes to greet me when I get back,” Alistair asked, peeking into their bedroom, which had also undergone significant changes. The room looked much less sparse, with crystal lamps casting a soft light and black carpets covering most of the floor.
“Your mother took her to her place. She wasn’t comfortable with all the workers around,” Riseth explained.
“Ah, got it,” Alistair replied, as it made sense to him.
Before he could sit down on the new couch in their finished living room, Nessyra entered their home with an eager look in her eyes and Dexter hot on her heels.
"I got a report you returned. Did you finish upgrading your skill?" she asked without much preamble.
Alistair looked longingly at the couch before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I did."
"Great, let's get going then. We've only been waiting for you to finish. By the time we get back, our network should be up and running," Nessyra said energetically.
"No rest for the wicked, I suppose," Alistair said as he trotted over to her.
"Wicked? You? That's an odd expression and not fitting at all," Nessyra replied with a smirk.
He watched as Riseth gave Giulia a hug before hurriedly joining them. Together, they made their way outside, where Simon, Zarrias, Karrut, and one of Oconoe's fully grown offspring waited for them. Alistair hadn't met most of Oconoe's brood yet, and since many hadn't earned a name, a customary practice in their culture, it was difficult to address them properly. Their similar features didn't help either; he couldn't tell if this one was a son or a daughter of his as they all looked like huge humanoid crabs to him.
As they approached, Simon asked, "Are we taking the Artemis, or are we assembling a crew for the Kaiakos?"
"We'll be using the Kaiakos; making a strong impression is key. I had James on standby with our designated bridge crew. They should arrive shortly, so we can board soon," Nessyr said, most of her attention on her system pad.
Alistair felt a bit rushed; he would've loved to relax a little. However, he knew he didn't actually need to rest, and his Grade 8 body could go for weeks without adverse effects. His desire to sleep and rest was more of a remnant from his previous life routine.
"Have we learned anything new about Jade and its people?" Alistair asked Nessyra out of idle curiosity.
"Interestingly, they seem to stay put in their cities, although we detected the signature of a powerful Grade 8 beast attacking them. They managed to scare it off, though it cost some lives," Nessyra replied with a frown.
"Don't they have two or more individuals at Grade 8? Why can't they just kill it?" Alistair asked, puzzled.
"One of the Grade 8 individuals is situated at the center and is presumably the ruler who doesn't want or can't risk their life. The other might be a crafter. Everything indicates they are not a warlike species and seem to be actively struggling against powerful beasts," Nessyra explained.
Alistair wasn't sure how to feel about this. On one hand, he was glad they wouldn't likely have to contend with them. However, their struggle to fend off a single Grade 8 beast didn't bode well either, as they were likely to ask for protection. As he considered the situation, James arrived with a group of uniformed demons and humans, all wearing eager expressions. James quickly deployed the Kaiakos, and the group boarded the ship with enthusiasm, while Alistair and his team followed at a more leisurely pace.
Alistair and the others decided to stay in the entry hangar, knowing they would be dismounting soon. It was a short trip, and the craft's artificial gravity would keep them mostly unaffected by the Kaiakos's takeoff. Nessyra took the opportunity to brief everyone on the procedures and their respective roles. Nessyra, Alistair, and Riseth were expected to handle most of the negotiations, while Oconoe's offspring, apparently a female, would serve as their representative and, through this act, earn a name from those she works with. Karrut would act as a bodyguard, or rather a "lawyer," for the crab woman, also assisting her with Neshan's perspectives and common sense. He would, of course, be on a rotation and would not have to stay on the planet. Their shipwright had recently begun constructing shuttles within the partially finished shipyard, which would allow them to travel within the system. Larger projects would have to wait until the shipyard was fully completed.
Alistair leaned against the bulkhead, waiting for takeoff, as he listened to Nessyra's explanations. He was eager to see what kind of race they would encounter and what they looked like.