Cass waited only as long as it took to recover her Focus to get back to making air pockets. As soon as it was full again she stood.

But pain laced up her leg as she put her weight on it.

She staggered but caught herself with her staff and the lip of the fountain.

Alyx said something, concern heavy on her voice.

Cass waved it away, an even smile plastered over her lips. She was fine.

She pointed at the fountain.

Alyx nodded and sat up a little straighter, her eyes scanning the dark corridors feeding into their room.

Cass took another step toward the underwater passage. Her leg screamed in pain. She grit her teeth. If she just put most of her weight on the staff instead, she’d be fine.

She’d said she could do this. She said this injury wasn’t going to slow them down. She would finish as many air pockets as possible before the poison wore off.

She stepped into the fountain, the cold water an unexpected balm against the scabbing injuries. But it did nothing for the jolt of pain as her foot connected with the stone floor.

She trudged forward, water splashing with every pained step. It had to fade eventually.

She dove beneath the surface and entered the passage. Her poor swimming was not made better by the leg injury or the venom coursing through her blood. At least the buoyancy of the water reduced the weight on the leg.

She pushed herself onward. Further and further into the dark water, past the most recent air pocket, and further still.

In deafening silence, she dug out the next pocket with Elemental Manipulation. And then the next. And the next.

Slow and painful.

Silent and painful.

Cass spent her Focus, then dragged herself back to the fire beside the fountain.

Alyx said something in Jothi, but Cass didn’t catch any of it. Was she asking about progress? About her condition? About the weather?

Cass had no idea.

The best she could do was smile and shake her head and hope Alyx would understand.

Cass plopped herself down beside the fire. Her head hurt. Her leg hurt. Her chest hurt.

Poison Resistance has increased to level 3.

She inhaled in relief as the skill numbed the pain. Not completely. Not even remotely. But it took the worst edge off. It was only a stabbing pain now rather than a burning one.

It was a long wait, waiting for her Focus to recover again. She didn’t sleep. She couldn’t.

Her thoughts spun around her ceaselessly instead. A thousand words that might make things better, but not a single one that would.

The second her Focus recovered, she was up again. She threw herself into the next set of air pockets.

Elemental Manipulation has increased to level 8.

Somewhere between the ninth and tenth, the venom wore off leaving her with only the ache of the remaining wounds and the weight of Salos’s ire on her heart.

She finished the eleventh air pocket and returned for another break, her Focus depleted again.

She sat beside the fire, wishing the warmth would fill her.

All too soon, her Focus had recovered again. Still wet, she walked back to the passage. Her leg supported the weight already.

That was magic healing for you though. Anything would recover in no time, it seemed.

Health: 16/40

All it cost was her health.

Two more air pockets were needed, for a total of thirteen, before Cass found the end of the passage.

Above, there was an open space. Cass crouched, to push off the floor of the passage.

Stop.

Cass froze. It was the first thing he’d said to her in hours.

If you insist on taking that woman with you, regroup with her before continuing into the unknown. His words were flat. Completely empty of the anger he’d held earlier. But also of the warmth Cass had come to expect.

Cass turned and pushed off the wall instead, paddling back to Alyx and their campfire.

Are you—

Don’t, Salos interrupted her. Don’t talk to me.

Cass pursed her lips and focused on swimming back.

She emerged from the fountain to find Alyx stretching.

Alyx smiled when she spotted Cass. She said something in Jothi.

She says you came back quickly this time, Salos translated.

Cass nodded. “All done.”

You would say that with these words, Salos said without prompting. Cass repeated them for Alyx.

Alyx said something else, pointing to the fire.

She says you should recover the rest of your Focus and then you two can go.

Cass nodded and took her usual spot beside the fire. She held her staff across her lap, twisting it in her hands. The minutes passed. Her Focus crept back up toward full.

Salos had asked her not to talk to him. But all she wanted to do was ask him how he was doing.

She shouldn’t. She needed to respect at least this much.

He had to talk to her eventually. Was he working up to it?

He had to understand she hadn’t meant to command him. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him. That she would do better.

Any second, he’d say something snarky. Any second he’d call her a fool.

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The minutes ticked on.

Her Focus ticked up to full.

Another minute. Just one more.

The fire crackled beside her. Water dripped off the tail of her braid.

Cass sighed. Or maybe he wasn’t ready yet?

She stood up and waved for Alyx to follow her. It was time to move on, whether she and Salos were ready or not.

She led Alyx through the tunnel, from one air pocket to the next. Alyx kept up with ease. Even with the partial armor set, Alyx was a more powerful swimmer. Was that an effect of stats or simply more experience swimming?

Either way, while it had taken Cass many hours to make the air pockets, it took closer to a quarter of an hour to lead Alyx through with them in place.

Before they knew it, they were emerging on the other side.

It was a wide room, lit from above by a sky of glowing crystals. All around them were basins of water arranged in tidy rows. They ranged in size from bathtub to swimming pool, all filled with dark water. Most contained small, glowing, lizard-like creatures. They were aquatic, their limbs sporting trailing fins, speckled with glowing scales.

Abyss Salamander Young

Lvl 4

[The young of a powerful predator of the darkest reaches of Azorth’s oceans. Adults can swim through stone as easily as water. Only one in a hundred make it to adulthood in the wild. Only one in a thousand survive to become a terror of the stories.]

They ranged in level from as low as two to as high as twelve and in size from that of Cass’s hand in the bathtub-sized basins to that of large dogs in the swimming pool-sized ones.

Alyx asked something, of which Cass only caught: “Where ….. we ….?”

She asked ‘Where are we’, Salos translated, his voice still empty, as they crept through the room, This is the nursery. We are looking for a monster labeled as Lord of the Deep by the system. He translated that phrase by phrase for Cass to relay to Alyx.

They passed more tanks.

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 3)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 3)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 4)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 3)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 4)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 4)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 5)

Abyss Salamander Young (lvl 3)

Cass couldn’t help but think of the tropical fish aisle at the pet store, just hundreds of iridescent creatures waiting for the day they get to leave. All hoping not to die without ever leaving their store tanks.

Will there really be a second one? Cass asked.

She passed another tank in silence.

Wouldn’t it be a better system to only have the one and promote the backup only when the first dies? she continued, pushing for the edges of his boundaries.

She passed another pair of tanks. She had just about given up on him answering any of her direct questions when he spoke again.

Transferring titles is hard. There was the barest trace of emotion in his voice. Something between his usual smug pride and frustration, if only the slightest whiff of it. Idempotent titles are worse. It is too easy for an obscure power or ability to interfere with the process. Best case, you end up with multiple copies of the title, worst case, you end up with none. Better just set it up with all the future lords holding the title in the first place and avoid a lot of unnecessary headache. Besides, it is not like people are supposed to end up back here in the first place.

We did though. Cass said, pushing her luck further.

She felt a ping of cold from the necklace. With my help.

But it wasn’t exactly well hidden, Cass said. Some part of her knew she should just leave well enough alone. He was talking to her. Grudgingly. Reluctantly. But he was. There was no need to antagonize him. But he was so sure he knew everything all the time… Anyone who can breathe underwater could do this.

Whether you can or not is hardly the issue, he said. Getting to this point is not easy either. The entrance is on the back end of the temple. You would normally have needed to fight your way deep in to get here. Besides, Trials aren’t just about combat ability. If you have the guts and the know-how to get here and win this way, that is just as deserving of a reward as someone who beat their way through the Lord the standard way.

I guess we start looking for that Lord then, huh? Cass said.

He didn’t say a word.

Cass sighed. Good job, Cass. She shook her head, focusing on the task at hand. There was no shortage of basins to search.

Most contained the salamander young. They zipped about their tanks with a childish joy. Cass would have liked to watch them longer if she wasn’t pressed for time. It was an almost hypnotic dance the way their fins trailed behind them through the dark water…

Cass blinked, shaking her head and focusing. A notification blipped at the edge of her vision:

Status Effect (Abyss Hypnosis) Resisted.

“Salos!” Cass hissed aloud in surprise.

Hm? What was that? He sounded like he’d just woken up.

Hypnosis? Cass asked pointedly.

Huh? Oh. Yes. Abyss Salamander have a minor hypnotic effect. I’d, erm, forgotten, honestly. It was never an issue for me. I was a much higher level when I last worked with them. It–it would seem that it is more of an issue now…

Hey, focus. Cass snapped in front of her own eyes and looked up at the ceiling for good measure.

Ugh, it seems my resistance to the effect is nonexistent in my current state, even while consciously thinking about it. His displeasure radiated off his necklace in waves. That is just my state now, I suppose. Those last words were only just more than a whisper, Cass had to focus to hear them.

He sighed. When he spoke again, he had taken on the emotionless tone again. It is a harmless effect. A defense mechanism for their young. Not uncommon among magically inclined species actually. It just fills the target with awe. Just enough to distract a would-be predator. Not enough to stop anything with even decent Will. Not enough to stop something significantly higher level either.

So I can just ignore it then? Cass asked incredulously.

More or less. You should be able to feel it pulling at your attention now and should be able to push the distraction aside.

Cass slowly looked down at the tank in front of her. Like he said, as they glided through the water, the lights wove a net, drawing her attention. But it was like children pulling at the sleeves of an adult, easily pushed aside now that she knew that was all it was. With a breath, it became nothing more than background noise.

She looked over the room, to see Alyx staring blankly at the tank in front of her.

“That might be a problem,” Cass muttered to herself. Salos didn’t respond. She tapped her foot thinking for a moment. Clearly, he’d fallen under again. Would she be able to explain what was happening without his help? Could she shake him out of it long enough to have him help? It was worth a shot, she supposed.

She shook Alyx, waving her other hand in front of her face.

“Hey,” Cass said in English, more for the auditory disturbance than anything else.

Salos and Alyx exclaimed at the same time.

Help me explain to her what’s going on before you drift off again, Cass ordered.

Yes. He quickly rattled off the words Cass needed who repeated them as carefully as she could.

Alyx frowned but nodded. “Thanks. I… careful.” She said a few more things, but that was all Cass caught and Salos either didn’t bother to translate or was already unable.

Skill Earned: Jothi Language Comprehension (lvl 1)

[Jothi is the primary language of the Jottena Peninsula. A language of class and learning.

Increased proficiency with the spoken language.]

Cass blinked at the notification. Was it because she finally knew enough words to pick out scattered meaning? She didn’t feel any different with the skill which was almost a relief.

Alyx was still talking, but Cass didn’t manage to catch any of it, even with the skill. Salos was still silent, so Cass just nodded. Hopefully, that was the right answer.

Alyx turned back to the pools, scanning over them slowly but with purpose. Cass returned to the task too.

As she had already observed, most contained the salamanders, but some contained other things instead. Eggs, also glowing, were a common alternative. Identify marked them, unsurprisingly, as Abyss Salamander Eggs.

Other tanks contained plants or mushrooms. None had interesting descriptions according to Identify and none had useful effects according to Foraging. Some were described as having water-cleansing properties or as being a favorite food of many water-bound herbivores, but Cass had yet to see any of those.

“What do all these things eat,” Cass muttered more to herself than anything. Salos still didn’t answer.

Cannibalism was possible, she supposed. Given the population and how unguarded the eggs were that seemed unlikely though. Unless they were unable to move between tanks, she supposed.

That thought froze her on the spot.

Could they move between tanks? How else could they always be in a tank appropriately sized for them? With none of them appearing overcrowded?

Were they like fish? Always growing to fit their tank? But then why be in small tanks in the first place? Maybe some young got trapped in the small tanks when it flooded last?

And the eggs? Alone in some of the smaller basins? Was it a coincidence that it was only the smaller basins with still unhatched eggs?

Or had they been placed there? And if so, by whom?

Hell, it was too orderly here for this to be a natural formation. This was managed. But managed by who?

There was a thud from across the room. Cass’s hair stood on end along her arms as she felt another’s gaze drift over her body.

Or managed by what?