Phoenix Phire Chapter 1: 1, a 13 tzameti fanfic

Nicholas Phire was sentenced to life in prison without any possibility of parole. Because of the mercy of a lonely prison guard, a new world is presented to him. Nix finds himself in the Virtual World of Colonial with a hundred-year assignment as Lifestyle player in the Gladis Hub. Will Nix stay in the remote village located on the polar Ice Cap? Or does adventure await for the man whose life was supposed to be over?

Phoenix Phire #Chapter 1 - Inmate 777 - Read Phoenix Phire Chapter 1 - Inmate 777 Online - All Page - Novel Next

The loud slam of the judge's gavel echoed in the courtroom. "Mr. Phire, you have been found guilty on seven counts of First Degree Murder, 53 counts of First Degree Arson, and 12 counts of tax evasion. For these crimes, I sentence you to life in prison without any possibility of parole."

The yellow-eyed man stared at the judge without expression. His four-month trial had witnessed countless testimonies of experts and witnesses. During this time, he hadn't uttered a single word.

His dark hair was shaved close to his head, a coldly handsome face that hadn't seen daylight in six months looked like it had been carved out of ice. Heavy shackles around his wrist, ankles, and waist didn't seem to impede his movement as he followed the Bailiff out of the courtroom.

He sat quietly in the room they had placed him in. His wrist shackles were attached to the heavy-duty table by a steel ring. A copy of today's New York Times sat on the table. July 14, 2125, he wasn't on the Headline for the first time in weeks. Instead, it was a Virtual Reality Company named Gladis that had purchased the employment contracts of tens of thousands of non-violent convicts from the U.S. Government.

A tall black woman wearing an all-black uniform opened the heavy metal door. She was someone he recognized; the guard brought him all his meals and sometimes told him jokes, even though he never spoke back.

"Hey, Nix." Glory had been a guard for more than ten years; she loved to give inmates nicknames. The media had dubbed him Phoenix Phire; it seemed to fit.

The man she had called Nix glanced at her; it was all he ever did. Today there was the smallest amount of sadness in her eyes. As someone who been there for months, he knew what was bothering her. "Don't listen to them Glory, that idiot doesn't deserve a fine woman like you."

Glory's face showed her surprise, her dark, full lips curved in a smile. "So, you do speak."

"I do."

"How come you didn't speak to your lawyer or during the trial?"

Nix shrugged, "the lawyer was a paid patsy; I was never getting off."

The guard smiled and raised an eyebrow, "so you didn't kill those seven people?"

"No. I've killed lots of people, but not those ones."

Glory grabbed a chair and moved it to the other side of the table. She opened her E-pad and sat down while scrolling through the screens. "Want to know where you are going?"

Nix shook his head, "not really. They'll have to silence me sooner or later anyway."

Instead of denying it, she nodded in agreement. "I'm going to quit my job here, but I still have enough pull to get you a nice meal."

"My last supper?" NIx shrugged, "fried chicken, I suppose. Maybe a cold beer to wash it down with."

Glory's laughter echoed in his ear as she opened the door. "A cold one? I'll see what I can do, Nix."

Glory's thick but strong body grew blurry, causing Nix to shake his head suddenly. She was already picking up his tray. The room seemed to spin slightly, his head suddenly feeling heavy. Nix tried to rise up but fell back into the chair. "Drugged?" His last thoughts as he lost consciousness were of her. "Did Glory work for them? No matter, the beer was great."

Vic pushed the stretcher next to the pod and read the information. "Inmate 943, 10 years, Lifestyle Player in Berentia."

"Check." Silas slid Inmate 943 into the life pod and activated the stasis field. "Cya in 10 years. Next"

Vic moved to the next one and stopped. "Why is this guy naked?"

Silas tried not to laugh; he had noticed that one of the prisoners wasn't wearing the orange jumpsuit. He grabbed one from the cart and walked toward the inmate. "Give me a hand, Vic."

A few minutes later, Vic read the information off. "Inmate 777, 100 years, Lifestyle Player in Colonial."

"100 years? He must have been a Stock Broker." Silas slid him in the pod and activated it. "He was the last one?"

Vic nodded and walked toward the elevator. Once they locked this level down, no one would be able to enter. Prisoner retrieval would be done on the first level. Bringing someone up before their time expired, was strictly against corporate policy."

[System Processing... please stand by.]

Nix found himself in a white room; his body was completely transparent. "What the hell?"

[System Message: Employee 777, you have been hired to work for the Gladis Corporation as a Life Style player for the Colonial Virtual Online Game. Your term of employment is 100 years.]

"One hundred years? F*ck off... Where the hell am I?"

[Character Generation Screen, please choose your looks and gender.]

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Nix watched as thousands of different options for hair and skin color scrolled across the screen. "You not hearing me, jackass? Open this f*cking thing up!"

[No Character data has been chosen, using players' physical characteristics as default.]

[Please choose the Life Skill which best suits you. The following options are currently available.]

[Blacksmith, Carpenter, Cook, Tailor, Alchemist.]

"Tailor." Nix started to focus on his last memories before passing out. Did Glory switch him with the non-violent felons that Gladis had purchased?

[Please name your character.]

"Nix."

[Character Generation Complete]

Nix

Strength 10

Endurance 10

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 66

Skills: Hunter/Leather Making/ Tailor [100/100/001]

[Are you satisfied with this character?]

"Yes."

[System Message: Welcome to the Gladis Hub in Colonial. You are bound here, and your workstation is 777. Please follow the yellow ball.]

A yellow ball of light appeared in front of Nix. It pulsed slightly. "Nix, follow me to your work station. I will answer any questions you may have."

Nix fingered the silver bracelet around his wrist. "What is this thing?"

"That is your all-purpose heads-up display. Tap it with your fingers to activate it."

Nix tapped it with one hand; a transparent menu popped up in front of his eyes. There were several categories; all of them were grayed out except local map. "Where am I?"

"You are on the Northern Polar Ice Cap on the Tunis Continent. The surrounding terrain is uninhabitable."

"What am I suppose to do here?"

"You will report to your workstation every day. You have 30 days to raise your Tailor skill to an intermediate level. After that, you will be given assignments and must meet your weekly quota."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then you will not be fed. Do you wish to attempt escape at this time?"

"Um.. what?"

"The nearest city is 200 miles to the South. You may attempt to leave here now or at any time."

Nix gave the ball of light the finger. "Oh, I see. Take me to the exit then."

Three hours later, Nix recovered on the spawning platform. He was wearing the same generic orange jumpsuit he had been wearing a few hours earlier when he made a run for it.

The yellow ball of light appeared in front of him again. "Nix. Do you wish to attempt another escape?"

"No." He shivered slightly at the thought. The temperature outside was probably fifty below zero. Within minutes his body had shut down, and he could no longer move. He probably made it less than a mile.

"Follow me to your workstation, please."

His workstation consisted of needles of all shapes and sizes, and dozens of different materials. A beginner's manual sat on his desk.

"Do your best, Nix. Gladis Lifestyle players enjoy certain advantages over their Colonial counterparts. You may raise your stats easily by performing functions that use that statistic."

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Nix picked up the manual and looked at the cover. "How can I find out about the Colonial game itself?"

"No information is available about the Colonial Game; I can answer any question regarding Tailoring."

Nix looked around the empty space his cubicle resided in. "Where are the other employees?"

"After you reach the intermediate level of Tailoring, your workspace will be added to the Lifestyle Village. In the village, you will be able to make friends and practice hobbies."

3 weeks later

"Employee 777, this is the fourth desk lamp that you have needed to replace."

Nix nodded, "right. I'm guessing this cubicle space is bugged. Will I get a new one when I get to the village?"

"Yes, you have been working hard. You only have 9 days to make intermediate level; at your current pace, you will make it in 5 days."

Nix watched the Light move away. The small square is where he spent his entire day. Meals would appear at his workstation three times a day. A small bed for sleeping would slide out of the wall and be available for eight hours every night. "Display stats."

Nix

Strength 18

Endurance 19

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Skills: Hunter/Leather Making/ Tailor [100/100/42]

"Looks like the push-ups and exercising is working." He pulled the freshly replaced lamp off the desk and began stripping it down. Each light had six feet of plastic-coated wire along with a small J-Cad battery located in the detachable remote. He fed the wire into the small gapped layer he had sewn into the pants. The outside was a light waterproof material, and the inside was a lycra composite cloth. Ideally, the outer layer would act as a windbreaker, while the inner lining would keep sweat from gathering on his skin. He glanced at the pull-over shirt with the built-in hood that he had already completed. The wires were looped into the clothing every two inches; they would be used as heating coils once they received power. He would keep the five batteries taped together in the breast pocket of his overcoat.

That evening Nix stood outside and did jumping jacks while watching the night sky. It was time-consuming, but he would stay outside until he couldn't take it. Putting up with bone-chilling pain was making his cold resistance stat grow steadily. "Three days to finish the pants, then I will make my attempt."

Three nights later, Nix stood at the door. Several last-minute doubts crept into his thoughts. The wind kept the snow from accumulating on the icy tundra, so he hadn't tried to make snowshoes. What if that changed after traveling a few hours? Was it a mistake to start at night? Originally he figured he'd want to be his strongest when it was night, but what about the second night?

"F*ck it. I'm running out of time." He slid on the face mask, pants, and pull-over shirt, making sure to leave the wrapped batteries out. Then he pulled on the leather backpack that contained a blivet for water. Finally, he put on his knee-length coat. He secured the wrapped batteries in the pocket he had sewn into the coat; it had just enough slack so that the wires wouldn't affect his movement.

He left the batteries off to start and began a light jog. He ran for fifteen minutes and then walked for forty-five. Somehow Nix managed three hours without turning on the battery pack. Finally, he flipped the switch and activated it. It seemed like many long minutes before he felt the warmth from the heating coils seeping into his body again; breathing a sigh of relief, he started another fifteen-minute jog.

Once his body was sufficiently warm, he switched the battery pack off. He managed another three hours of travel before he had to turn them on again. It was here that he took his first drink.

Throughout the night, Nix traveled steadily. He would keep the three-hour battery shifts. Daylight was just breaking when the first battery went dead. "F*ck... Did I keep it on too long?"

Twelve hours of moving southward had taken its toll. He had no way to gauge the distance he traveled. It could be anywhere between 35 and 55 miles. Probably somewhere in the middle of that. His fifteen-minute light jogs were shortened to ten minutes.

He stumbled as his limbs reminded him it was time to heat up. Climbing to his feet, he noticed that night had fallen. He walked slowly while letting the last juice of the second batter heat him up. "Two batteries down, three left." His voice sounded raspy in the night air. He sipped water through the straw that he had attached to the inside of his coat. It was red from his cracked and bleeding lips. He hadn't made gloves or mittens, but the sleeves were ten inches longer than his arms. He would bunch the end up with his hands, it wasn't perfect, but it worked.

The second dawn came, and Nix was no longer capable of running. He plodded south with a single-minded will. He would fall, then get back up. Each time he fell, he would dream of staying there and waking up in the warmth of his cubicle.

Sometime during the night, he was certain that he had died. He stumbled forward, forgetting to reheat his clothing. Somehow in the moments before death, he remembered to activate the battery. He collapsed in exhaustion, waiting to wake up.

The cold woke him; he had been dreaming of laying out in the sun, slowly he climbed to his feet and checked the third battery. He had run it dry. For the first time in over a day, he managed to break into a slow jog. "How long was I out? An hour? More?"

Dawn saw the last of his water being used up. Even though he had rationed it, there was only so much he could carry. His body would be dangerously dehydrated given how little he drank the past few days. He knew without looking that he had less than a day before he would freeze to death. Stubbornly he forced his legs to move; he stretched the battery time as far as he could. Death was coming, and it was moving much faster than him.

Night found him walking once again. He had switched on his last battery and could no longer run. During the night, he fell countless times. Each time certain, he would just lay there and die, but somehow, he would always rise up again.

He stumbled onward, the face of his dead sister hovered in front of him. He had burned his way to vengeance many times over. In the end, he had been captured and sentenced. He only felt happiness at the trial. They had paid; it was enough for him to have peace.

His sister's spirit talked to him close to morning. Her beautiful voice soothing his pain. "It's fine, Nick, you can keep going. Aren't you the strongest?"

"No," the words coming from his broken lips sounded garbled... "I am weak."

"No, brother. You've always been strong."

[You have entered the city limits of Cyphix. Do you wish to bind here?]

"Yes."

[You are now bound to Cyphix City.]

Nix collapsed forward onto the ground; his last battery had been long spent. He was exhausted to the point where he could no longer move. "And so it ends here."

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Nix rolled over on the warm stone, slowly sitting up while he gathered his wits. He was on a spawning platform, similar to the one he had experienced at the Gladis Hub. He stood up and removed the outer coat.

"I see you are awake. May I help you, sir?" A feminine voice spoke from behind him. She wore light blue robes. Her black hair hung down her back in a long braid.

"I'm Nix, somehow I've lost my way. Could you tell me a bit about the area?"

She bowed slightly. "Well met Nix. I am Cyan, the temple cleric here. This is the Temple of Shi, the Ice Spirit of Cyphix City. Here, let me download you the local shops and businesses."

Nix felt his bracelet vibrate, he tapped it once, and the heads up display came up (hud). He cycled through the menus; this time, none of them were grayed out. He clicked on the map she had sent him, "I need to earn some money, so I can find a place to sleep. Any ideas?"

"You have yellow eyes, like the sun." She ignored what he said and handed him a token from her pockets. "This is a welcome token, newcomers to the city receive one."

"Oh... thank you." He rolled it over in his hands and then glanced up at her. "What do I do with it?"

Her laughter was light, like a summer breeze. "Give that to any Inn Keeper; it will pay for three days of food and lodging."

"Can you recommend one Inn over the others? I'd like some peace and quiet, along with some good food."

"Try the Kindled Spirit Inn. Tell them that Cyan sent you."

After thanking her, he left the temple. It was cold outside, but nothing like the deadly temperatures he had endured. He slipped on his overcoat and walked down the steps.

He had assumed that Cyphix was small; however, that wasn't the case. The roads were made from a brown stone that gripped his shoes when he walked. The shops were made of red brick, and narrow alleyways separated most of them. As a former arsonist, he noted that Cyphix was unlikely to burn down to the ground.

He passed several weapons and armor shops as he walked toward the Kindled Spirit. He didn't see anything signifying a Tailor business. Carefully, he made his plans. First, he would get a room and something to eat. Then he would access his hud and find out everything he could about Colonial. He hadn't followed Virtual Gaming while he was wreaking havoc in New York. In this instance, knowledge was everything.

The Kindled Spirit was a wood building, the only one on its block. Its architecture seemed faintly European in design, lots of windows, and pointed roofs. He pushed open the heavy door and immediately felt comfort like he hadn't known in months. It was warm and smelled of barbecue and baked goods. A friendly-looking woman of middle age smiled at him when he walked in.

"Greetings Sir! Welcome to the Kindled Spirit. I'm Hyai, the owner. What can I do for you today?" Hyai was a broad-shouldered woman with faded red hair and lots of freckles. Her impressive breasts seemed to defy gravity by sticking straight out. She wore an ankle-length blue skirt and a white buttoned shirt. The buttons protested by straining against the fabric. Small bits of white skin were visible next to each one.

He handed her the token that Cyan had given him. "Cyan sent me. I would like a room and something to eat."

She nodded and favored him with a smile, "We are serving lunch, we have bear stew or fried cod."

"I'll take the stew, and whatever that comes with."

"It comes with a pint, a loaf of bread, and a smile."

He smiled at her words, probably the first time he had done so for a long time. "That seems like a great lunch. Thank you."

He looked around the room. The table he had chosen was close to the fireplace, the warmth against his back, and the crackling of flames gave him comfort. There were no other customers in sight.

He opened his hud and brought up the gaming menu. There was a brief introduction, which he read carefully.

In Colonial, we take you on an adventure that spans seven different continents. We welcome back the days of pirates and seafaring. Not the pirate type? Then start your adventures as a powerful magic wielder capable of leveling entire cities.

Cities are all connected by portals. There is a small fee that is charged for those who are level 20 or higher. Explore to your heart's content, knowing that you don't need to pick a faction class until level 10.

There are two factions within Colonial, Sea Farers, and Terrans. In either of these factions, you can learn melee, ranged or magic skills. There are strengths and weaknesses in both, choose wisely.

There are no adventure classes in Colonial. If you wish to be a swordsman, then you train the sword. Each faction may train, one primary weapon and one secondary weapon. Secondary skills will only do 60 percent of your current primary weapon skill. If you choose the path of magic, then your primary weapon is replaced with a Path of Study.

Weapons in Colonial

Melee

Sword- [All Types]

Hammer

Whip

Halberd [Includes all Spears]

Dagger [If the dagger is both primary and secondary, there are no penalties.]

Ranged

Rifle

Bow

Pistol [If the gun is both primary and secondary, there are no penalties.]

Javelin

[Paths of Magic]

Death Magic: This magic primarily deals with raising corpses from the dead and using them as companions. High-level Death Mages are very rare. This is a result of them being quite weak in the lower and mid-levels.

Water Magic: Water Mages can heal, buff, and use water-based attack spells. With the right support skills, Water Mages may also use ice-based attacks. Ice Magic isn't its own path but rather is a hybrid of Air and Water Magic. Fire creatures have a natural fear of water and incur several penalties while operating in their environment. [See Fire Magic]

Fire Magic: Fire Mages stand alone as the most significant damage dealers in Colonial. The strength of these Mages is directly relevant to the type of fire they can wield. All Mage fires can be used in water environments. Using Mage fire underwater results in the mana pool being used at a much higher rate and a damage reduction. Water creatures have a natural fear of fire and incur penalties when operating in a fire habitat. [See Water Magic]

Healing Magic: The pure path of the healer is the strongest path of all. The cleric posses all the tools they need to keep individuals and groups alive in any environment. The best heals, the best buffs and a few crowd control spells make this class a necessity while raiding.

Wind Magic: There aren't may Wind Mages in Colonial. They are a great support class. They can substantially strengthen Fire, Water, and Range attacks. At the highest levels, Wind Mages are capable of short flights. They have no natural nemesis.

There are many support skills in Colonial. Everything from stealth abilities to first aide. You may learn up to three support skills; their total rating cannot exceed 10.

For Example: Combat Medic=6, Stun=3, Swim=1.

Some Support skills are scarce and can be challenging to find. There are a few that are readily available. Support skills may be reset at any time.

Colonial is an Open World game that lets you choose every detail of your adventure. There is a Main faction quest, but keep in mind that once you start down that trail, there will be many cities that no longer welcome you.

Some of our players choose to become LifeStyle players. At level 10, this is the alternative choice. Lifestyle players are not part of any faction and are considered non-combatants.

"Reading up a bit? It's a good idea." Hyai came back with a tray and set it down in front of him.

"Thank you.' He immediately grabbed the mug, which was way bigger than any pint he had ever seen. He took a drink and coughed a bit. It was sweet and fizzy, although not unpleasant.

"Anything else, Mr. Nix?"

"Some company if you don't mind. Traveling can be a bit lonely." Nix smiled at her and sampled the stew. It was well seasoned, and the meat seemed to melt in his mouth. He sighed contently and continued eating.

Hyai nodded and took the chair across from him. She proved very easy to talk to. She was a widow with one daughter who had married and moved away. She had been running the Inn by herself for nearly a decade. She knew just a bit of fire magic, although by her admission was definitely not a mage.

After talking about local events and business, Nix pushed his tray away. He liked her warmth; perhaps it was her fire magic since he had some experience with fire himself.

She stood up and gathered his tray. "Anything else, Nix?" She had started calling him by his first name about halfway through his dinner.

A hot bath would be nice and perhaps some more company. He smiled so that she wouldn't misunderstand.

Her face blushed slightly, and she looked down. "This isn't that sort of establishment, Nix."

Nix laughed, "I do like a warm woman, but if you're against it, I'll just take a bath."

She handed him a key with a large wooden tag that said 'bath' on it. "It's at the top of the stairs; there's a small closet next to it that has towels."

"Okay, thank you, Hyai."

Ten minutes later, he sunk up to his chin in steaming water. During the last few nights, he couldn't have imagined feeling so warm. The Bathroom was just big enough for the enormous porcelain tub. There was a full-length mirror on the back of the door.

Fully content, he felt himself starting to drift off until a soft knock on the door caught his attention. Hyai opened the door, a towel folded in her hands.

"I brought a towel." Her pretty face blushed slightly, making the scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose stand out more. "I'm flattered, Nix; it's been a while since a man looked at me."

Nix sat up straight in the tub, watching her place the towels down and exit quickly through the door. "Nonsense, you are a beautiful woman."

A long while later Nix stood in front of the mirror, using the towel to dry off, he glanced at his image in the fog steamed mirror. "How did I end up here?"

"You seem very tired, Nix."

The words greeted him when he exited the bathing room. Hyai, the Inn Keeper, was carrying a basket full of fresh linens.

He laughed at her words, "just a bit. A warm bed seems like a distant dream."

"Shall I wake you for dinner?"

Nix shook his head, "I'll sleep instead. Tomorrow I need to get a better feel for Colonial."

"The City Library might be a good place to start. Lots of maps and cultural information that you can upload to your hud."

He watched her walk away. There was something very comforting about her manner. Nix climbed into the warm bed of his room a few minutes later. "I need to find some work, perhaps figure out this World's Geography and then make plans."

He yawned and closed his eyes. "Thanks, Glory," he mumbled softly.

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The flames from the warehouse climbed high into the night. The inferno only a few feet away was filled with screams of the dying and the acrid smell of burning flesh. Smoke, fire, and the screams of the agony, pleasant music to the ears of an arsonist who lived for revenge.

Nix sat upright in bed, the smell of smoke filling his nostrils. He should have been surprised to wake up in a bed of flames, but he wasn't. He quickly patted out the flames and got out of bed. The clothes he had gone to sleep in had been reduced to ashes.

He wrapped a charred blanket around himself and went off in search of Hyai (pronounced Hi-ya). Luckily she had mentioned where her room was.

A sleepy-looking Hyai opened the door at his second knock. "Is there a problem, Nix?"

"Is waking up on fire a problem?'

"It could be. Go back to your room, and I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, the Inn Keeper entered the room. Immediately she walked over to the window and opened it. She frowned at the burnt blankets. "What happened, Nix?"

"I was dreaming of fire, I think. The smell of smoke woke me up, and I found this." The sheets seemed unaffected; his clothes and the blanket were the only victims of the sudden night flames.

Hyai didn't seem angry with him; she was quite calm while she asked him a few questions. "Could you display your stats for me, Nix?"

He nodded and displayed them on his hud.

Nix

Level 1

Strength 35

Endurance 44

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 90

Fire Resistance 100

[Burning Aura]

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 42

"You have a natural Fire Aura. That's really rare." She smiled when she said it, "people with strong ties to the elements sometimes have them. I've never heard of this one, but you'll have to pick up an aura limiter to prevent you from burning down buildings."

"Problematic, my funds are quite low at the moment."

"You have some useable skills. Perhaps you should head down to the Adventurer Guild and take on a few quests."

Nix nodded while he looked at his stats. His strength and stamina had jumped drastically. The lifestyle skills he possessed were now separate. Gladis Corp lifestyle players obviously enjoyed benefits that others did not. Then there was the biggest change of all; he now possessed a level.

"You must have come here directly from your starter city."

Nix nodded, "where can I train weapons?"

"The Weapon Master Guild." Hyai favored him with a smile, "not going to take the path of fire? You seem to have an affinity with it."

Nix shook his head, "I've already been down the path of fire; this time, I'll do something else."

"Were you perhaps considering a Lifestyle path?"

Nix kept his face expressionless. "What makes you ask that?"

"Your stats, only Lifestyle players have dexterity and perception. Normally those two would be replaced with agility and something else."

"I considered it briefly." Somehow he had the feeling that the character generation screen he had seen, was nothing like the ones normal players experienced. "I'll replace those blankets, Hyai."

The Inn Keeper waved it off. "We're friends; it's a small thing. Wait here for a moment."

A short while later, she came back with a box of clothes. "Not sure why I kept these, they should be close to your size."

Nix looked through the box; there were a few other items as well. "Hyai... Is it okay for you to give me these things?"

She nodded and pushed the box toward him. "I've clung to these out of sentiment."

"Thank you, Hyai."

An hour later, Nix was walking down the boardwalk of the aptly named Guild Street. He was dressed in the brown leathers that Hyai had given him. Her husband had been a hunter in his adventuring days before settling down to run an Inn.

The Weapon Guild looked a lot like a warehouse he had once burned down. It was a large, ugly rectangle building with many large ground-level windows that let in the light. There were more than a dozen different booths. Initial weapon training was free of charge, which also came with a beginner kit.

He had never owned a gun in real life. However, he was drawn by the rifle's image on the sign above the old man's booth. The man's face was wrinkled and weathered by years spent outdoors. He wore his white hair in a long ponytail. Despite his age, he stood ramrod straight. His fierce eyes took in Nix when he stopped.

The old man bowed slightly. "Greetings, friend. I'm Salvo, a marksman of the Weapon's Guild."

Nix returned his bow. "I'm Nix. I am interested in learning the Rifle weapon skill."

Rifles and Pistols in Colonial did not require bullets. They fired a magic-based projectile that did physical damage. Guns came with a core that needed to be replaced after several thousand rounds had been fired.

The free weapon was an open site rifle with a sling.

Tucker Rifle: Basic

Description: An easy to use

rifle with decent accuracy.

Bind on Pick-up.

[Do you wish to place this item in your inventory?]

"Yes." His inventory automatically opened. He was sure that he didn't have access to an inventory back at the Gladis Hub. It was much bigger than he would have guessed, and surprisingly it was filled with a complete set of advanced Tailor equipment and a lot of different materials.

He decided on a whip as his secondary weapon. There was no real reasoning behind it. He liked the way it looked. Since both primary and secondary weapons could be reset for a small fee, he didn't worry about making a bad choice.

His last stop was the Adventurer Guild. Initially, he had wanted to spend the day in the library, but the need for credits caused him to delay those plans. The Adventurer Guild in Cyphix was a small brick building with a half dozen self-service kiosks in it. Registration was a simple eye scan, and immediately he had access to the Quest menu. They were listed by level and were limited to three quests at a time. The daily limit for quests was 15.

He picked up a wolf hunting quest to start and headed out. A small mini-map popped up on his hud when he walked out of the town gate. There were red dots scattered throughout the map. "Nice of them to show me where the quest mobs are."

Wolf infestation

Quest: Local farmers are overrun with wolves. Bring down as many of the creatures as you can. Time limit: 4 hours.

As he walked south, the temperature rose quickly. By the time he had walked half an hour, he was comfortably warm. Nix found a small meadow with an abundance of wolves; after setting up on a large boulder, he decided to get started.

As part of his skill training, he understood the basic mechanics of shooting. He aimed at a nearby wolf and pulled the trigger.

Miss*

He took a deep breath, trying not to worry about the huge creature charging toward him. He fired twice more before the wolf tumbled to the ground.

[You have received 100 XP].

[You cannot process the Wolf meat without cans]

He looted the animal to receive 1 tooth.

[Do you wish to skin the Arctic Wolf?]

"Yes."

[Without a skinning knife in your inventory, you are limited to normal pelts.]

[One normal Wolf pelt has been added to your inventory.]

The next four hours was an exercise in patience. Nix quickly decided never to grab this sort of mind-numbing quest again. He managed to reach level four, and his rifle skill rose to 18.

With his inventory full of pelts, he started back toward town. The sound of fighting caused him to stop. Was there someone else hunting here? He was tempted to investigate, but the deafening sound of gunfire, followed by an explosion, made him decide not to. "I'm not strong enough to mess around yet."

An uneventful trip back to the turn-in Kiosk netted him enough experience to make it to level five. The added bonus of 3 thousand credits put some bounce in his step as he headed to the general store he had noticed.

He bought a fine skinning knife for 3 hundred credits. The Aura limiter that Hyai had mentioned was a ring that cost a thousand credits. Nix winced in pain when he bought it. The cans were only 1 credit each, so he purchased a hundred of them.

There were some tables set up in the shop's corner, so he took a seat and enjoyed a hot cup of complimentary coffee. "Since I have the ability, I should start doing trade skills." He examined the wolf pelts in his inventory. There were 83 of them; he had been planning to sell them but refrained when he saw they only sold for 3 credits each.

[Do you wish to process the Normal Wolf pelts?]

"Sure."

His hud popped up, and a progress bar could be seen moving slowly to the right. "That's going to take a while."

He brought up a world map and zoomed out so he could get a good overview of Colonia. There were seven continents. Three in the middle of the map seemed fairly close and could have probably been classified as archipelagos. Set into a triangle of sorts, they were Hispana, Wisteria, and Phelinomia. His current location was Tunis; there were three other large landmasses. Broyan to the south, Escavar to the east, and Jhabi to the west.

From what he could see, dozens of small kingdoms were loosely aligned with each faction. A few mid-sized territories had also formed, but no large empires. He had just finished reading when his progress bar dinged.

[115 Fine Leathers have been added to your inventory.]

He checked their price with the store clerk and decided to sell them for 25 credits each.

He decided to head out again; this time, he would skip the quests and harvest pelts while exploring. Although it was only mid-afternoon, there were dozens of people walking out of the gate. Groups of 4 or 5 hurried together while talking excitedly. Nix fell in step with one of the smaller groups.

"What's going on?" Nix smiled pleasantly, although being over-friendly wasn't his thing. The group consisted of three men, all relatively young. They had the same black hair that looked like it had been cut using a soup bowl.

"You haven't heard? A Salamander has been found! One of the big Guilds from Escavar found it. They are paying 5 thousand credits to each person who volunteers to help."

Nix nodded nonchalantly. "Hmm... Sounds like easy money."

The group parted from him a few minutes later. He didn't ask to join them, and they didn't offer. NIx had seen big corporations take advantage of the masses. This had that same sort of feel.

The meadow he had hunted in earlier was now filled with dozens of small tents. Instead of lingering in the area, he headed west, away from the crowd.

A herd of deer next to a small creek served as the next hunting camp for Nix. There were about twenty of them, all between levels 5 and 10.

He started on the outskirts of the herd. He had expected them to run when he fired, but they didn't. The one he hit lowered his head and charged him. It died five yards from him, having taken five shots.

[You have received 300 XP]

[Do you wish to process the Deer meat?]

"Yes."

[2 cans of fine venison have been added to your inventory.]

[Do you wish to skin the common deer?]

"Yes."

[1 fine deer pelt has been added to your inventory.]

Nix whittled the deer herd down to the last few before they took off running. He didn't bother to chase them; he had made it to level 7 and had his inventory packed with canned meat and pelts.

He washed his hands in the stream, taking a moment to splash a bit on his face. Although the work wasn't hard, it had turned unseasonably warm. Perhaps the presence of a Salamander had something to do with it.

Nix sat on the bank and pulled his boots off. They were a size too big, but he really couldn't complain since they had been free. He soaked his feet in the water and lay back on the bank of the river.

He didn't notice the bubbling of the water until it began to heat up. "The hell is that?"

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Nix pulled his bare feet from the water and took a quick look around. He was quite far from where the Salamander camps were set up. A dim glowing could be seen in the depths of the river. Had the creature managed to escape?

He swam out to the middle of the river and took a deep breath. The water quickly grew uncomfortably hot. Nix dived straight down, wincing as the pain increased. It lay on the bottom of the riverbed, lodged under some deadfalls. It was like nothing he had ever seen. Inside the orange glow was a barely discernible human form. He kicked his feet and grabbed it by the arm with one hand.

Nix coughed and swallowed a bit of the near-boiling river water. His hand had lost all feeling, but the burning agony quickly spread to his arms then torso as he surfaced and made his way toward shore. The Salamander was dead weight, he dropped the creature on the bank and collapsed to his knees in agony.

His hand and arm were charred black, resembling burnt chicken. The shirt he was wearing was still on fire despite being wet, so he tossed it on the ground.

"Now what?" Nix scouted the area again, eventually, people would come if they had the means to track it. They were at the river's edge since the banks were steep, they wouldn't easily be seen unless the person was close.

It moved slightly and then woke up, instantly a bone vibrating screech caused Nix to fall back into the river. He covered his ears, although the noise still numbed his senses. "What are you doing? They'll find us if you don't shut up!"

It stopped immediately, its orange glowing eyes watching him. Nix moved closer, the heat on his face making him blink several times. The lower part of its body was bound in some sort of glowing wire. It had barbs every few inches that dug into the creature's flesh. Each time it moved, the bindings seem to cause it pain as if they were tightening.

"Those look bad." Nix gritted his teeth, "let's get this done." He grabbed the bindings with one hand, they felt cold to his touch, however, the Salamander screeched again in agony.

It stared at him for a moment and then stopped. To Nix's surprise, it nodded at him to continue.

Nix grabbed the bindings again, the creature jumped in agony but this time did not make a sound. Slowly he unraveled the tangled mess that bound it. The barbs pulled free of its flesh, tiny bits of liquid fire spilled on the ground. Although the bindings didn't hurt him, the flames from the Salamander did. By the time he was finished, both of his arms looked like charred smoldering masses of burnt meat. Blood ran down his chin from where he bit through his lip. He fell back on the ground panting when the last of the bindings were removed.

Nix's yellow eyes stared at the Salamander as it rose over him. "Not going to lie, death my be my best option here."

The creature looked at him and pointed at the ring he had purchased earlier.

"My limiter ring?" Nix glanced down at it. The Salamander moved closer, its image becoming clearly that of a female.

"Hide." The word came from her lips, it was clear and concise.

Nix sat up slowly, a groan escaping his lips. "You want me to hide you?"

The Salamander nodded. "Yes."

"Why didn't you speak earlier? My damn hands are useless now." Nix struggled to his feet, "we should move away from the camps.

The Salamander followed him as he moved away from the river. It hovered just off the ground, it was noticeably dimmer. They traveled for an hour before they entered the foothills. Nix kept to the low ground whenever possible, as someone who had been pursued by multiple agencies for nearly a year, he was good at hiding.

Another half-hour passed, Nix spotted a small hollowed-out section at the base of a gully. "This should hide us until dark." He left it unsaid, after dark, there would be no way to hide her glow.

She stood near the hollowed section, slowly the flames that constantly surrounded her began to grow. Nix was forced back a step as a wave of super-heated air washed over him. She walked into the hollowed section and kept going. The rock melting around her as she strolled through it like it was air. "Come."

Nix entered the Salamander-made cavern. He could see the waves of heat coming off the freshly melted rock, it quickly absorbed back into her.

She sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall, her breathing labored. "Remove the ring and take my Seed."

Nix stared at her, "take your seed? That sounds an awful lot like pregnancy... pass."

"Fire seed idiot. I must pass it on before I die." The Salamander motioned for him to come closer.

He slipped off his ring and knelt beside her. "Die? Isn't there something we can do?"

She shook her head and extended a glowing hand. A small finger touched his skin, instantly his entire body ignited in flames.

Nix jumped back, his hands reflexively trying to smother the flames. He stopped after a moment, when he realized it didn't hurt. "Is this the fire seed?"

The Salamander shook her head. "I ignited your burning aura. So beautiful."

He frowned at the clothes he had been wearing, they were reduced once again to ashes. "That's going to become inconvenient." He waved his burning hands around, he could see that freshly healed skin was visible beneath the flames.

She moved closer, her face hovering over him. Leaning forward she pressed her lips against his and opened her mouth. The Salamander grabbed his face to keep him in place, after a minute she let go and collapsed to the ground.

"Holy shit. The f*ck was that?" The flames around Nix burned hot and raged, his yellow eyes turned orange. "What did you do?"

She lay on the ground unmoving. Her eyes still open and watching. Her appearance had been drastically altered. The Salamander looked like a young woman, long red hair flowed down her back, light brown eyes that shone with intelligence. "I gave you the seed. If I die, so does the seed."

"Are you dieing now?"

She nodded, losing the seed has hastened the inevitable. She sighed contently, "my name is Shae."

"I don't want this seed Shae, take it back."

"No..."

Nix felt his temper flare up, the flames answered by soaring around him. Although Shae appeared human, the flames didn't bother her. He grabbed her face and kissed her, forcing her mouth open, he pushed his tongue inside.

She pushed against him, howling loudly in protest. "You can't give it back idiot!"

"You didn't ask me when you gave it, now you get the same thing!"

She struggled against him, pushing him away while they kissed. Somewhere during that time that they fought each other, her passion ignited. Her arms and legs wrapped around him and she pulled him closer. She screeched in sonics when the seed started to return, oddly enough, this time it didn't affect him. "Bastard." She moaned against his lips.

Nix wasn't sure about the process, but he could feel the flames inside him rising up quickly. His clothes burned to ashes once again as he willed the fire seed back into her. The roaring of flames was an odd comfort as she screamed in pleasure, her teeth sinking into the flesh of his shoulder.

You have been slain.

He hovered over his corpse for a moment, Shae was seated a few feet away with her back toward his body. There were no signs of flame on her person, but Nix could sense that the seed had returned to the Salamander.

She looked over her bare shoulder at his body, her eyes fierce. "Bastard... you ignited my inner seed."

[Do you wish to recover your body at the nearest spawning point?]

"Yes."

"I hate you!" Shae stomped her foot when his corpse vanished and then left the cave in a flash of flames.

"Damn. That Salamander is a handful." Nix greeted Cyan once again, the Ice Priestess produced an acolyte robe when she was that he was naked. "We keep meeting like this."

Cyan smiled slightly. "Maybe you should leave some clothes here Nix, just in case."

He pulled the robes closer around his shoulders and started walking towards town. On a whim he decided to check his stats.

Nix

Level 17

Strength 40

Endurance 49

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 90

Fire Resistance 100

[Burning Aura]

Weapon Skills:

Rifle 54

Whip 10

Support Skill:

Flame Strands 0

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 42

"Um... 17? I was level seven when I finished the deer." His thoughts went back to Shae when he noticed the support skill. "The hell is flame strand? It has no rating?"

Nix walked near the camp area, there were still many people running about. "She's long gone," he muttered under his breath. A moment later his hud dinged. He opened it up to see a man wearing a black business suit staring at him.

"Mr. Phire, by now you must have realized that a mistake was made." The blonde-haired man with blue eyes didn't bother to introduce himself.

Nix shrugged. "Should I care?"

"Gladia Corp paid for inmates to become lifestyle players under our banner. We also used our influence to gain stat bonuses not available to regular players."

Nix wasn't in the mood to banter with words. "Wake me up then, and we'll talk about it."

"How the f*ck did an idiot like you escape the Hub?'

Nix smiled at the insult. "Not saying. Is there a point to this conversation?"

The blonde man seemed to calm down, he nodded." Yes. We are absolving ourselves. We cannot release you back to federal custody, the publicity would cost us more than you are worth."

"Is that so?" Nix felt the sudden urge to light the blonde man's hair on fire. All that gel, it would go up like a Christmas tree.

"Since you are no longer in the hub. We are making the situation disappear. From now on you are on your own."

"So I'm stuck here?" Nix began to feel a bit of panic seeping in.

"Just for a hundred years."

"Very amusing shithead." Nix knew that he was getting a good deal, but didn't want to give the suit the satisfaction of seeing it.

The businessman looked over his shoulder and then flipped Nix the bird before cutting the connection.

Nix stared at the empty space. "Very mature."

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Nix walked back toward town. Apparently, the Salamander hunters were utterly clueless about their prey escaping. He walked into the same general store he had visited earlier. The shopkeeper was a pale, skinny man with thinning hair. He had told Nix to bring back any pelts or meats, and he'd give him a reasonable price.

"Venison cans? I'll take everything you have, 150 credits each." The man's name was Brison; he also bought the fine deer pelts for 150 credits each. Nix pocketed the money and left with the promise that they'd do business again.

Three blocks down from the general store, Nix found the armor and weapon shop that Hyai had recommended. As someone unfamiliar with virtual games or even gaming in general, he had borrowed one of the assistants to answer all his questions.

"So I can equip myself with heavy, medium or light armor? Why doesn't every go with heavy then?"

"You can't use magic while using heavy armor; also, if you aren't strong enough, you won't be able to move."

The assistant helping him was a petite younger woman with short brown hair and a natural smile. She patiently answered his questions, even though he had to repeat a few of them.

"I'll take this set of medium leather armor; I'll also take the Finisher Rifle."

"The Finisher Rifle is an excellent choice; it's made right here in town by our own gunsmith."

Finisher Rifle: Fine Quality

Description: The Finisher is perfect

for the hunter on a budget. It features

good power at a low cost.

"What's the gunsmith's name? Perhaps I'll visit her if I get the chance."

The assistant smiled pleasantly, "her name is Kyla, tell her Jonie sent you."

"Right, thanks, Jonie" He paid nine hundred credits for the armor and rifle and left the shop. There were still a few hours of daylight, so he decided to take advantage of it.

Keeping as far away from the hunter's as possible, Nix headed east, an area that his hud map had categorized as swampy. The trail he was on converged with another, three players were standing at the fork.

The group watched him approach; they consisted of two women and a man. One of the women stepped in front of him when he neared them, a friendly smile on her face.

"Hey there, want to group up with us?"

Nix shook his head, "pass."

"I'm a healer! You won't be able to find a group with solid heals." The woman persisted, her smile not slipping at all. She was confident in her looks, braided black hair, and blue eyes topped off a face that was made for modeling. It was hard for Nix to take her seriously.

"A healer?" Nix stopped and faced them.

"I'm Nezbit; this is Donri, our tank, and Sila is dps."

"Hmm..." Nix studied the group. Donri was wearing heavy armor, so being a tank must mean he protected the others. "What is dps?"

"Oh, shit..." The woman called Sila spoke, "he's a noob, Nez. Let's get going."

Sila wore her brown hair cut short like a man. This didn't match at all with her voluptuous figure.

Nez held up a hand, "just wait a bit. DPS means that their primary responsibility in group play is doing damage. With that rifle and medium armor, I assume you are dps also."

Nix nodded, "I suppose so."

"We need help bringing down one mob for a quest. The XP should be really good, and you can roll for loot."

"No, thanks." Nix stepped around her and started walking again.

"One thousand credits." The man they referred to as the tank finally spoke. "I'm Don. We don't have enough dps to kill the mob before our healer runs out of mana."

Nix smiled at Don. "Two thousand."

"You cheap bastard!" Sila's face grew red as she shook her fist at him.

"Done." Nez made the final decision. "Follow us, please."

Nix fell in behind Don, who was leading them off-trail. "What is mana?"

Sila frowned at him, "we are so boned."

"When I cast heals, it draws from my mana pool." Nez smiled patiently, "the creature we are trying to kill comes with three adds. Don can tank them all, but I basically have to spam heal to keep him alive."

Nix nodded like he understood. "I see. So, what's an add?"

"F*ck me." Sila, who was walking behind them, couldn't contain herself any longer. She stomped passed them to walk next to Don.

Nez sighed, "don't worry about her. We are getting frustrated. This is our fourth attempt."

"That's a big bear." Nix had followed them to a cave a few miles from the trail. A huge black bear was napping peacefully at the cave entrance. The name in red over his head said Bulo, the Tyrant King.

Nez smiled sweetly, "Nix meet Bulo."

"Let's move this along. I want to get back to the Inn in time for dinner." Nix pulled his rifle and moved a bit further away.

Don walked to the front of the group. "Fine, let's get going." He pulled a heavy-looking ax and charged in Bulo. The animal roared and swiped a massive paw at him.

Nix started shooting, pumping round after round into the bear. He could hear Sila doing the same. The life bar on the bear was steadily dropping. In the background, he could hear the healing chants of Nez.

Three smaller bears spawned in the cave entrance and started toward the group.

"Damn, the adds are early." Sila gritted her teeth in frustration; Nix didn't have high dps.

Nix caught the movement of the smaller bears. A small orange flame popped into his view, with an image of a hand. He imitated the action; a moment later, his hand erupted in flames sending a small strand of fire at the smaller bear. It wrapped around its feet, rooting him in place. Nix held on to his end, the strength of the bear nearly knocking him down.

"The hell is that?" Sila paused in her shooting, her eyes wide with surprise.

The rifle Nix had been firing was automatically sent to his inventory; another flaming image hovered in front of one of the other small bears. He sent a strand of fire toward it, effectively stopping it. "Not my best idea." The two bears tugged in opposite directions, the smell of burning fur reaching the group as the bears roared in anger.

Don had his back to the group but was easily tanking Bulo and one of the smaller bears. Sila had resumed her shooting while Nix struggled to keep his arms from being pulled off. Bulo fell after a few minutes, then Don and Sila killed the closest bear.

Don spun for the other two bears, freezing in place. "You're CC? Hell yeah!"

The fire strand held when someone else damaged the bear; however, it was already down to half its hit points. Two minutes later, the group was high-fiving each other, all the bears were down, and their quest was completed.

Sila approached him and handed him 2 thousand credits. "You should have mentioned that you're CC, I'm sorry for speaking as I did."

Nix waved it off, "mind if I skin these bears?"

Nez had walked up while he was being paid. "You're a hunter?"

Nix nodded. "Actually, a tailor."

All three of his groupmates stopped and stared as he canned the bear meat and took all three pelts. The Bulo pelt had been given an epic rating.

He noticed their stares. "Problem?"

Nez shook her head, "did you say you are a tailor?"

Nix nodded.

Nez gave him a doubtful look. "To be a Tailor, you have to max out hunting and leather making."

"Yep. I should be going. Want to raise my Tailor skill so I can make something with that pelt."

"Right, we'll walk with you." Nez motioned for the other two to follow and fell in beside Nix. "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"Oh, okay. What is CC?"

Nez didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her lovely face gave nothing away. "It's the ability to slow or hold people and mobs at bay. Those flame ropes of yours were CC."

"Right, okay. They are called Flame Strands."

"Damn Nix, what's the rating on that? Seven or Eight?" Sila spoke from behind them; CC support skills were always rated high.

Nix kept his face expressionless. "You're a really good guesser."

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch earlier." Sila's voice was smooth like honey while she tried to make nice.

"No worries, seems like that's your nature."

Don chose this time to have a coughing fit while Nez turned her head to hide a smile.

Instead of getting angry, Sila laughed and slammed a hand on his back. "You just say whatever pops in your head."

Nix nodded, "less confusion that way."

An hour later, they entered the town. Nix left the group, intent on heading back to the Inn to eat dinner and do some crafting. A hand grabbed him, causing him to stop.

Sila leaned close and lowered her voice. "I'm at the Burly Bear, stop in, and have a drink with me. I usually stay up pretty late."

"See ya later then Sila." Nix shook Donri's hand and waved at Nez. "Thanks for the invite."

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Tailoring in Colonial didn't require much actual hand use. Your tailoring skills, dexterity, quality of materials and recipe, dictate what you can make and how well. Once those items are in place, it's a matter of activating the skill and waiting for the progress bar to finish. Gladis Corp had paid a substantial amount of money to give their crafters an advantage. One of these was the 'work-for-stat' ability. Whatever stat Nix focused his time and energy on, would start to rise. He also had the advantage of choosing a tier 3 skill right away. Becoming a tailor as a regular player required two subskills to be maxed out first, hunting and leather-making.

Nix used another stack of white canvas. White canvas was a good material for pants, gloves, and jackets. It had the advantage of being a 50 level task, so it made his skill climb into the 60s rather quickly. It didn't hurt that he had dozens of stacks of 20 white canvas. The top row of his inventory served as his tailoring platform. The tool went in the second slot, base material in the third, thread or strings in the fourth and add-ons in the fifth. Nix didn't know what the first slot was for, it was grayed out. There were three additional slots for miscellaneous items. After these were in place, you could safely close your inventory. Your hud would give you a readout of four things. What you were making. The quantity you could currently make. Your odds of a normal completion and your chances of a special completion. Nix's hud read. [Item] Canvas Jacket, [Qty.] 25, [%] 49, [Special %] 12.

He activated the task and left his room to get some dinner. The progress bar for 25 completions barely moved.

Hyai smiled when he came down the stairs. "You going to have dinner?"

The Inn was quite crowded, from the armbands that many customers wore, he gathered that these were the Salamander hunters. Nix nodded, "what's on the menu?"

"Lamb chops or beef stew."

"I'll take the lamb. Hey, what do these armbands mean?"

Hyai lowered her voice and stepped closer. "It's their guild band. The SG band stands for Sea Gators. They are a huge guild in Escavar. There are a few other guilds, but they removed their bands in the interest of safety."

"SG would start trouble?"

Hyai nodded, "be careful if you run into them."

"No worries."

One of Hyai's employees delivered his food a while later. Nix assumed she was too busy cooking to mingle with customers. The lamb was spiced perfectly and he enjoyed every mouth-watering bite. He tipped the waitress when he finished and headed out the door. It was fairly brisk, the last few minutes of sunlight turned the sky pink.

Nix walked aimlessly, enjoying the walk until he arrived at a familiar shop. The sign overhead read 'Kyla's Guns'.

Kyla was a young woman barely out of her teens. She had red hair that she tied up in twin braids. Her freckled face seemed plain, but when she greeted Nix with a smile, he decided she was pretty. "Welcome to my shop! I'm Kyla."

"Hi, Jonie recommended you. I brought a rifle today, it just doesn't fit me well."

Kyla gave him a warm smile. "Jonie's name is worth a ten percent discount."

"Jonie, Jonie, Jonie, Jonie."

Kyla's laugh made her beautiful. "Forty percent? Can I take my words back?"

Nix nodded, she reminded him of his sister. "Sure, fifty percent and I'll forget everything."

"That's a tough bargain." Kyla held out her hand. "Let me see your rifle."

She clucked her tongue in approval when Nix brought it out. "Finisher is a good choice. I can customize it for you. Let's say for three hundred credits."

"That will work."

[Kyla has requested to add you to her friend's list. Do you accept?]

Nix grinned at her. "Yes. Becoming friends already? Am I that friendly?"

"You are actually. You need to be on my friend list so I can customize your rifle."

Nix moved toward the weapon rack while he waited. Customizing required friends. He opened his inventory, the canvas jackets were all finished. His skill had risen to 72. The first square that had once been grayed out now had a question mark over it. Clicking it showed him an image of Kyla.

Kyla looked up from her workbench. "Sorry, customizing takes a long time with guns."

"No worries." Nix took a seat next to the window and opened his inventory. He clicked on the first slot and added Kyla. In the second slot, he added a 'fine silver needle'. The third slot was 'fine red silk.' The fourth was 'red nylon thread.'

[Customer] Kyla, [Item] Red Silk Dress, [Qty.] 1, [%] 19, [Special %] 4.

Nix activated the task and watched as the taskbar slowly wound down. It took four attempts before he was successful.

"All done Nix." Kyla was holding the rifle in both hands. "Please check it out."

Finisher Rifle: Unique

Description: This rifle has been

customized for Nix. Accuracy and

power have been increased.

Crafted by Kyla.

Nix aimed at the wall, the feeling of awkwardness was completely gone. "Woah... this is really nice."

Kyla winked at him, "then I will triple my price."

"Would you take a barter?"

Kyla nodded, "It depends on what it is. I could use some raw materials, rare woods, things like that."

"Oh... How about this?"

Red Silk Dress: Unique

Description: This beautiful

red dress has been custom

made for Kyla. It's knee-length,

pleated and backless.

Crafted by Nix.

Kyla stared at the dress, her pale skin blushing. "I... let me wash my hands!"

She walked over to her sink and washed her hands carefully before rinsing them off and drying them with a new towel. "Okay, let me see it."

Nix watched her hold it up, her hands caressing the cloth. She nodded to herself a few times before finally looking up at him.

"Two thousand credits Nix, not a credit more."

Nix shook his head, "That's way too much. The dress for the rifle."

"What? That's crazy Nix! This is beautiful... And it's custom made for me." Kyla shook her head, "I'm robbing you at two thousand credits, but it's all I can afford."

Nix put the rifle in his inventory. "Sorry, I insist and you can't make me take it back."

She made a face at him, "now you're being a stinker."

"Maybe so. Thanks for the rifle." Nix walked out the door, leaving a speechless Kyla holding the dress. Stinker... that's what his little sister Lisa would call him. The memory warmed him as he pulled up his hud and found the location of the Burly Bear.

The Burly Bear was designed similarly to the Kindled Spirit. The decor was a bit more rustic and the Inn Keeper was a fat bald man named Hooper. "I'm afraid we don't have any rooms stranger. I can feed you though."

"He's with me, Hoop!" Sila was sitting by herself at the bar nursing a pint. She smiled when she saw Nix. "So you made it, have a seat." Sila patted the barstool next to hers.

He glanced at Hooper, "a pint for me please."

Hooper nodded, "coming up."

"I was afraid the noob would get lost on the way here." Sila leaned closer, the sweet smell of alcohol told him that she had been drinking for a while.

Nix wasn't bothered by the teasing, by any accounts, he was a complete noob. "Help me out a bit then."

"First questions first, you a Dub or Stasis?"

Nix shrugged, "explain those terms."

"Do you log-off at night? Or are you in a stasis pod where you can play for extended periods?"

"Oh, Stasis. Hey, how do I add friends?"

"Use your hud and key the person's name."

Nix brought up his hud and activated the small keyboard. He slowly typed in Sila and then Hyai.

[Sila has agreed to be your friend.]

[Hyai has agreed to be your friend.]

"See that? Easy." Sila tipped back her mug and drained it.

Nix watched her and took a drink of his.

"Sila!" A voice from behind them called out.

Sila grimaced when she looked at the speaker. A strikingly attractive blonde with blue eyes. "Oh.. Hello bitch."

Nix coughed several times and tried to in vain to hide his amusement by taking another drink.

The blonde approached them, she ignored the woman and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's your name handsome?"

"I'm Noob, nice to meet you Bitch."

Sila spat half of her drink onto the bar. Her face turning red while she alternately coughed and laughed. Hooper who had been standing behind the bar quickly turned away from them, but by the way his body was shaking, it was clear he was laughing.

The blond woman's face showed no expression, but her eyes hinted at rage. "Why are you with a man Sila? Everyone knows you like women."

Sila threw an arm around Nix's shoulders. "Correction. I like women and some men."

Uninvited, the blond sat on the other side of Nix. "I'm Trista."

"Pretty name, I'm Nix." Since she wasn't being hostile, he had no issue with being polite.

"Where you been Nix?" Sila still had her arm around his shoulders, "I thought you'd be ready for some drinking after fighting Bulo."

Nix shrugged. "Are you good at appraising?"

Sila nodded, "I'm very good at appraising."

"Okay, give me a minute."

He loaded up his last task, but switched Sila's name into it and replaced the Red Dress with Red Lingerie.

[Customer] Sila, [Item] Red Silk Lingerie, [Qty.] 1, [%] 14, [Special %] 2.

Nix activated the task and waited. It took seven tries before it was successful. Nix pulled the lingerie out of his inventory and held it up.

Sexy Red Lingerie: Unique

Description: This sexy nightwear

as been custom made for Sila. It's

low cut and very short.

Crafted by Nix.

Sila stared at the lingerie, her mouth opening and shutting without any words coming out.

Trista was staring at him, "I'll give you 5 thousand credits for one just like that. I'll double it if you can make matching underwear."

"What? You can make women's underwear?" Sila grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs, she pushed him into her room and slammed it behind them.

Nix grinned at her. "That was rather aggressive."

"My appraisal for the lingerie is around five thousand credits."

Nix tried to keep the greed out of his eyes. "That much?"

"Yes." Sila starting undressing, stopping after she removed her shirt and pants. She had an impressive body that anyone would stare at. "These are the only underwear you can buy in Colonial. They are as uncomfortable as hell. Always riding up and chaffing tender areas." She paused for a moment and caressed the silk with one hand. "I've 20k, you can have it for 2 sets of underwear and the lingerie."

Nix started setting up his queue to make custom underwear for Sila. He clicked on four pair, she was a friend after all. "I don't want to take all your credits since we are friends, 4 pairs for a 10k and we are good."

She nodded and slipped her clothes back on. "Let's go back down and drink some more. We'll see how it goes."

"Sure."

Nix stretched sleepily, the warm sheets not wanting to release him. Slowly he rolled out of bed and dressed in the low light of dawn. He'd always been an early riser. He headed back to his own room and got to work. He was planning on doing a bit of exploring and more hunting. Sila had mentioned the capitol city of Jenzi in Escavar. According to her, he could make a lot of money as a Tailor. After much prodding, she gave him enough information to form a plan.

Starting your own shop in Jenzi required millions of credits. If you aimed a bit lower than your own boutique, you could rent a cart and sell it from the market square. He took a seat on his bed and got to work. First, he made three sets of work clothes for Hyai. Soft fabric that let the body breathe. He had to guess what sort of patterns she would like. He finished it off by making a half dozen sets of underwear. She had been generous with him, so he didn't stop there. Some cold-weather coats, socks, gloves, and hats were also added to the list. He put them all in a box and walked downstairs.

No one was up yet, So Nix sat the box in the kitchen and left a note on it. He found the town portal and brought up the menu options. Since he was below level 20, there was no cost. He chose Jenzi on the continent of Escavar. The menu said there was a four hour time difference, so it would be 1000 hrs there.

Jenzi was a coastal town right off the Sea of Hope. A pleasant ocean breeze cooled his face when he stepped off the platform in the market square. There were several market kiosks off to one side, so Nix keyed the menu on one. The day cart passes were listed as sold out.

"I didn't realize the time difference." Nix felt like cussing until he saw the young girl. She had curly brown hair and bright blue eyes.

The little girl walked up to him, her arms crossed in front of her. "I bet you are looking for a day shop, right?"

Nix nodded. "How did you know that?"

The little girl gave him a serious look. "I'm a tailor, so I can pick out other tailors easy."

Nix glanced around, not sure if she was serious. "I see. What do you want?"

"You can put your items on consignment in my shop. I'll keep thirty percent."

Nix pretended to consider it. "Thirty percent is robbery. Why don't you just steal all my money?"

"I'm a reputable person! I'm Shana from Shana's Boutique."

"Nice to meet you, Shana, I'm Nix."

"Good name." Shana started walking away; she turned she realized he wasn't following. "You coming?"

"You aren't luring me away to get mugged and robbed, are you?"

Shana shook her head, "You obviously don't have anything worth taking."

Nix followed her, smiling at the back of her head while she sped away.

There several shops that sold, armors, weapons, and clothes, but there were only two tailors on Main Street. One was a beaten-down old shop on the corner lot. The other was a two-story building next to a restaurant. The two-story building and the restaurant both had fancy signs with the same name on them, so Nix assumed that one person owned them both.

The young girl made a face at the La'Mon Boutique sign and walked passed it to the corner lot.

The door creaked when it was opened. An elderly lady and a young woman were sitting behind the counter. Walking in, he noticed that most of the shelves and hangers were empty. The shop had definitely seen better days.

"I'm back!" Shana announced her arrival and joined the two women at the counter.

The younger woman narrowed her eyes at the girl. Nix had the feeling that Shana would have been in trouble had he not been there.

"Greetings Sir, Welcome to Shana's Boutique." The older woman stood up and walked around the counter to greet him. She wore a pretty white dress with blue floral patterns on it.

"Thank you." Nix glanced around the empty shop. "I'm Nix. Are you out of business or something?"

"Of course, we aren't out of business. Just waiting for new stock." Shana had her hands on her hips. "Show them what you got, Nix!"

"Um..." Nix looked at the two women and then at the young girl. He struggled to keep a serious look on his face.

"I'm very sorry, sir. My daughter can be a bit much at times." Without a doubt, the woman was Shana's mother. She had the same curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. "I'm Lela, the sales clerk here. This is my mother, Maye."

"It's fine mom." Shana patted the counter. "Show em the goods, Nix!"

"That's enough, Shana. Go in the back room and wait for me." Lela turned back toward Nix. "I'm so sorry, sir."

Nix couldn't bear the look of dejection on the little girl's face as she started walking away with her head down. "Wait, please, Shana, and I agreed for consignment at thirty percent." He pulled a box out of his inventory and sat them on the counter. "I made these. I hope you will honor our agreement."

The older woman looked from Nix to the box on the counter. "You are actually a tailor?"

Shana's face lit up, she quickly jumped up on a chair behind the counter and stared at the box like it was a birthday cake. "I told you he was Gram. Open the box!"

The older woman glanced at her daughter, who seemed to be frozen in shock. "Let's take a look then." She opened the box and looked inside. Her old hands picked up the first piece of lingerie. "Oh my... these are quite nice." There were also a few sets of undergarments in the box, which she also took out and placed on the counter.

If Nix felt kindness for anyone, it was the elderly and the very young. He watched while she went through his work. "What do you think, Maye?"

"I can price general lingerie at 10k, sets of underwear at 10-15k, depending on the color." Maye's blue eyes studied him. "Custom items would sell higher, but that would require you to be here."

Nix nodded in agreement, that was basically what Sila had told him. "I just need space to work for a few hours, and we'll be good."

"Shana, show Mr. Nix to the back shop." Lela pulled a sign stand from behind the counter and wrote the words "Women's Undergarments for sale!" She dragged it outside and set it in front of her shop.

Nix started out using cotton fabric and made several dozen pairs of underwear in blue, white, and red. He laughed at himself, "I'm making ladies underwear. Lisa would have found that hilarious."

Lela poked her head in the back shop two hours later. Nix was still working. "Can you bring some of the product out? There's a line that goes around the corner."

Nix looked up when she spoke. "One hundred sets of cotton underwear, assorted colors. Fifty sets of silk underwear, all red. Thirty pieces of lingerie, also red."

"So many?" Lela watched as box after box was placed on the floor.

"Yep. I'll come back tomorrow morning around 0800."

"Mr. Nix. Don't you want to wait for your money?"

"Just Nix is fine." He walked toward the back exit. "I'll pick it up tomorrow when I drop off more product."

It was nearly 1300 by the time Nix returned to the Market Square, he bought a box lunch for 15 credits from one of the vendors and ate it while he walked toward the front gate.

Outside the gate, there were dozens of groups looking to add one or two more members. Nix had asked Sila a lot of questions while they lay in bed. She told him always to find a group with a healer.

In the end, he found a 20 level archer that wanted to hunt turtles. She insisted that no healer was needed because of their lack of speed.

[You've been invited to a group by Ronnie. Do you accept?]

"Yes."

Ronnie was a dark woman with jet black hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was dressed in brown leather armor and wore her long hair in a ponytail.

"Nix, right? Follow me to the cove, and we'll get started." Ronnie trotted westward from the city, towards the sound of crashing waves.

When they arrived, Nix discovered dozens of 20 level black sea turtles. There were no other hunters around. "Hey, how come no one else is hunting these?"

Ronnie looked at the ground, a flicker of guilt on her face. "They have really high HP and Armor."

Nix felt like he had been conned. "Isn't that a problem?"

Ronnie nodded. "Normally, yes, but I have a new bow that increases my armor-piercing shots. I think it will speed things along."

"Let's try a few." Nix moved to one side, not bothering to take his rifle out.

Ronnie drew her bow back and let it fly towards the nearest turtle. The turtle turned and slowly made its way toward them. Ronnie was shooting arrow after arrow. "Come on, Nix!"

Nix extended his hand and sent a Fire strand at it. Immediately it stopped and started taking fire damage.

"Holy shit! You're a CC class?" Ronnie kept shooting, her damage increasing steadily.

It died much easier than either of them would have thought.

Ronnie looted the turtle. She had mentioned that she was doing this for the shells. "Your CC is fire-based? Turtles are water-creatures, so that makes them weak against fire attacks."

Nix noticed his skinning option was highlighted on his hud.

[Do you wish to skin a Black Sea Turtle?]

"Yes."

[A Black Sea Turtle pelt has been added to your inventory.]

Ronnie looked surprised. "Turtles can be skinned?"

Nix shrugged. "Guess so, let's keep going."

They worked hard throughout the afternoon. Nix had leveled up four times while Ronnie leveled up twice.

"That CC of yours is badass." They had cleaned out the entire cove by themselves.

Nix checked his hud. "Let's call it a day."

"Okay."

[Ronnie has requested to add you to her friend's list. Do you accept?]

"Yes."

"Want to try more turtles tomorrow? I know where some higher-level ones are. No one ever tries them."

Nix nodded at her. "Okay, 1000 hrs at the front gate."

Ronnie flashed her white teeth at him. "Cya, then!"

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Nix found a big rock next to the front gate and took a seat. With the time difference, he still had a few hours until it was dinner time at the Kindled Spirit. The first thing was to make enough undergarments for Shana's Boutique. He spent half an hour doing that and then took out the turtle pelts.

He studied the turtle pelts for a few minutes before deciding to make leather out of them.

[77 Pristine Turtle Leathers have been added to your inventory.]

His Tailoring skill had maxed out at one hundred during his previous bout of making underwear at Shana's boutique. He was now given the option of making recipes. It was basically trial and error.

He started out with a basic undershirt design. Instead of using the recommended lycra, he chose the turtle leathers. To punch through the material, he opted for a curved bone needle. He used refined aluminum thread to keep the seams from pulling apart. When he was done, he checked his handiwork.

Nix stared at the combine icon. Attempting to make a new recipe cost 100 credits. He decided to chance it and tapped it a half dozen times. Just like that, he was 600 credits lighter. "That's crazy."

He was tempted to stop and try something else but instead decided to chance it. "Ten more attempts, then I'll stop." He started spamming the icon again, on the 7th time he met with success.

[You have created a recipe for the Turtle Under Armor-Shirt]

Nix grinned at the message. "Let's do the pants too then."

It took 22 attempts before he received the notification he was looking for.

[You have created a recipe for the Turtle Under Armor-Pants]

The success rate for the actual clothing was only 32 percent. Out of 77 leathers, he was able to make 15 shirts and 12 pairs of pants.

Under Armor Shirt: Black Turtle

Description: This lightweight

shirt is meant to be worn

under your existing armor.

10 to Armor Class

Crafted by Nix.

Under Armor Pants: Black Turtle

Description: This lightweight

pants are meant to be worn

under your existing armor.

10 to Armor Class

Crafted by Nix.

"Can't pretend I don't like those. Better keep a set for me."

It was nearly 2100 when Nix made his way back to the portal platform in Jenzi. Since he had leveled up, the trip back to Cyphix cost 100 credits.

The sign for the Kindled Spirit brought a smile to his face as he walked through the front door. With the time difference, it was 1700 in Cyphix, just in time for dinner.

He didn't see Hyai around so he took a seat at an empty table. There were only a half dozen customers since dinner was just getting started.

Hyai walked out of the kitchen a few minutes later. She was wearing the uniform that Nix had made and was smiling while she worked. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted him.

He waved her over. "Hyai! I guessed on the color, it really suits you."

She stopped next to his table, a smile on her face. "Thank you Nix, I can't remember the last time I was this comfortable working all day."

"What's on the menu today? I'm super hungry."

"Hmm... What do you feel like?"

"I could eat a big venison steak, but I'll choose from the menu."

"The menu is bear stew and salmon."

"Salmon is tempting, but the bear stew was so good yesterday. I"ll have that again."

"Give me a few minutes, we are a bit short-handed tonight."

"No hurry, could I start on a pint?"

"Coming up Nix."

He leaned back in his chair and took a long drink. The sun and sea air had felt good, but it had tired him out a bit. He was resting his eyes when a plate was set in front of him.

"Sorry for the wait Nix."

"Smells great!" He picked up his fork and then stopped. There was a large steak on his plate, complete with fresh green beans and onions. "Woah... thank you!"

She placed a fresh pint in front of him. "Going to have a bath after dinner?"

Nix nodded while enjoying the fresh vegetables. "Want to join me?"

She stared at him for a moment, the smile not leaving her face. "Still not that kind of establishment Nix."

Nix relaxed in the heat and comfort of the bath, staying until he was in danger of falling asleep. He was already dressing when he heard a soft knock on the door. Without a doubt he knew it was the Inn Keeper, she was someone who made sure others were okay. "Almost finished."

She was waiting in the hall, a bottle and two glasses in her hand. "Interested in a nightcap?"

Nix covered a yawn and nodded. "I may fall asleep on you."

Hyai laughed and led him to her room. "You're a very straight forward man Nix."

Nix took a seat on a comfortable looking couch. Hyai's room appeared to be a suite, a small desk and couch occupied the entrance area, there were two doors leading to other rooms. "I like things that way."

"Me too, you're spoiling an old woman Nix." The scent of cinnamon lingered in the air while she poured him a glass of wine.

Nix laughed at her words. "You're my first friend here, so I'm going to spoil you a little bit. Just put up with it."

Tentatively she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "That's it for now. Let's talk a bit."

Nix nodded and drained half of the glass. It was a bit sweet for his tastes, but the company was good. "I could use some tips. You use to be an adventurer?"

Nix drifted off sometime during their conversation, he woke when she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Got me drunk and didn't even bother to take advantage of me..."

"You have one glass of wine." Hyai ruffled his hair slightly. "Going to Jenzi again tomorrow?"

"Yep, I teamed up with an archer. We are hunting turtles again."

"Make sure you be careful." She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss before she escorted him to the door. She closed the door behind him, leaning against it for a moment, her full lips curved in a smile.

Nix made sure to get up before dawn, a glance at his hud told him it was 0400, early even for him. He quickly got dressed and made his way to the town portal. Sighing heavily, he paid the 100 credits necessary to travel to Jenzi. "Too spendy."

A few minutes later, he was walking down the side alley to Shana's boutique. The back room was dimly lit and completely empty, but he could hear voices from the front.

Maye was sitting behind the counter, while Lela was cleaning the display windows. The older woman looked up when he walked in. "Mr. Nix!"

"Just Nix is fine Maye, how'd we do yesterday?" He started taking out the product he had made for the day.

"Please open your hud so I can transfer your credits directly." She pushed over a handwritten ledger. "You can check my numbers over."

Nix opened his hud, keeping his face expressionless when just over three hundred thousand credits were transferred. "So... we did good?" He pushed the ledger back toward her, "everything sold?"

Maye nodded, "everything was gone within an hour. I expect it will be really crowded again today."

Nix smiled and looked around, "Where's Shana?"

Lela walked passed him, stowing the cleaning supplies under the counter. "Sleeping, way too early for her to be up."

Maye nodded, "She only got up early yesterday because she was bound and determined to bring back the 'best tailor in Jenzi,' "

Nix laughed at the words, "instead, you got me."

Maye's old face smiled politely. "Your work is excellent. Speaking of that, we should change the consignment contract. Ten percent is pretty standard with these things."

Nix shook his head, "I will keep the current agreement I made with Shana. I find it convenient. Hey, can I ask a question?"

Maye sighed, "why don't I do the tailoring anymore? Two years ago, my bones started aching, my fingers barely work for normal things, and crafting is impossible."

Nix didn't say anything. It explained the current state of things. "Can you do me a favor?"

Maye seemed relieved that he had decided to stay with them. "Of course Nix. What do you need?"

"I want to use a mannequin to display some work that I've done. Not sure if it will gain anyone's interest." He brought out the under armor he had made the day before.

Under Armor Shirt: Black Turtle

Description: This lightweight

shirt is meant to be worn

under your existing armor.

10 to Armor Class

Crafted by Nix.

Under Armor Pants: Black Turtle

Description: This lightweight

pants are meant to be worn

under your existing armor.

10 to Armor Class

Crafted by Nix.

Lela grabbed a mannequin and carried it over, she quickly slipped them on, while Maye examined the work.

"This is your own design?" Maye's face seemed pale as she slipped on her glasses. "Underclothes with stats? I have no idea how to price this either, but we'll put it out front and see what kind of interest we get."

"Okay, don't sell that one though. I'm keeping it for myself."

By the time Nix returned to Market Square the vendors had finished opening their shops and the first customers were starting to wander through. Nix bought another box lunch and stowed it in his inventory for later.

A Day Shop opened right when he was buying his lunch, they happened to be selling a large shipment of a heavy black cloth. Nix bought the entire supply and then headed toward the front gate. It was still a bit early for his meeting with Ronnie.

His rock outside the gate was still available, so Nix assumed his seat and started working on product for Shana's Boutique.

"Been waiting long?" Ronnie flashed him a smile and waited while he finished up what he was doing.

"I had business earlier, but I'm all set."

Nix followed her as she jogged out of town. They passed the cove they had hunted in the day before and continued to run. After an hour Ronnie finally stopped.

"Sorry Nix, we have to do a bit of climbing." Ronnie began to descend into the large cove, she glanced up to make sure he was following.

"This cove is usually underwater?" Nix began to retrace her steps, making sure to go slow. It took five minutes before he stepped onto the wet sand. "I don't see any turtles."

Ronnie pointed to a small cave in the rock wall. It was ten or twelve feet wide, but barely three feet high. "Through there, it's a hidden cavern when the turtles lay their eggs."

Nix tried not to frown. "Okay, after you."

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Nix followed the archer into the dark cave, he had to stoop at the entrance, but it widened into a large cavern almost immediately. His companion brought out three glowing lamps and sat them in a ten-meter triangle.

"Holy crap." As soon as the lights were in place, the turtles were visible. There were at least a hundred of them, and they were double the size of the ones that had previously hunted. "You sure we can kill these?"

Ronnie nodded, "these are elites, so the xp will be much higher."

Nix moved away from her and backed up to the cavern wall. "Okay, let's give it a try."

Ronnie put an arrow in the nearest one, it bounced off harmlessly. "Shit." The turtle charged her, it moved much faster than the non-elite ones.

Nix extended his hand and shot a flame strand at it. His feet dug into the sand of the cavern floor as the creature tried to drag him away. He used his other hand to shoot another strand, the strain on his body immediately decreased, and the turtle stopped moving.

"Nice job!" Ronnie started shooting again. The double flame strands weakening the turtle to the point where her arrows were doing damage. After a few minutes, it died.

Nix started skinning the turtle while Ronnie looted the shell. On a whim, Nix decided to can some of the turtle meat.

"Time to stop Nix." Ronnie called out that she had enough. More than half the turtles in the cavern were dead.

Nix looked at his stats, he had made it to level 26. "It's 1800? Where'd the day go?"

Ronnie smiled at her newfound friend, a bit of guilt seeping in. He was doing most of the killing. "We were busy, it's time to go."

"What about the eggs?" Nix was stepping around the nests, there were at least twenty eggs sitting in the unattended nests.

"Leave em. They are too far along to eat."

Nix shook his head and started putting them in his inventory. "I want em."

The climb back up the rocks seemed easier than the descent as the duo headed toward town at a trot. They stopped running just outside the city gates.

"I have to raid with my guild tomorrow. Want to join me?"

Nix glanced at his companion. She didn't talk much, he liked that. "I'm going to do a bit of exploring tomorrow."

She nodded and walked beside him as they moved toward the market square. They had just arrived when a loud klaxon alarm started sounding off.

Nix covered his ears and looked at his friend. "What is that?" It reminded him of the old Air Raid alarms.

"Get under cover!" Ronnie grabbed his hand and pulled him under a nearby Day Cart. They lay on the cobblestones, while the market emptied very quickly.

Three creatures descended from the clouds and circled the Market. One of them hovered in place while the other two headed toward a different part of the city. A blue-skinned figure riding on a giant Manta scanned the market with pale blue eyes.

Nix stared at the woman, "what is she?" She had what looked like fins attached at her calves and elbows, seashell-shaped ears were visible beneath her long white hair.

Ronnie held a finger to her lips, "Aquarion," she whispered.

A movement in the market square caught the woman's alien eyes. A small girl with curly brown hair darted from under a pile of crates and ran toward Main street. Instantly the Aquarian gave chase.

Nix felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, a sign that he was angry. He rolled from under the cart and ran towards them. "HEY! You ugly Water Bitch! Leave her alone!" He shouted at her to get her attention, but she swooped down and grabbed Shana by the arm before circling around to face him.

She hovered ten feet off the ground. A frantic Shana was squirming in her arms. Alien eyes watched him, there was contempt hidden in those pale pools.

"Normally I talk these things out." Nix walked toward them, his face expressionless, yellow eyes glowing with anger. "Who am I kidding? I never talk these things out." He extended both hands, two flame strands attached to the Manta causing it to veer and nearly crash into the ground. The woman lost her grip on Shana, Nix pulled back against the creature who screeched at him in an ear-piercing tone.

"Human!" The Aquarian looked enraged when it noticed that its prey had disappeared. She drew a sword from nowhere and cut through one of the strands. Suddenly Nix was being dragged across the square.

Ronnie was watching the events from under the cart. "It's a water sword Nix!"

Nix nodded and extended his arm again, a second flame strand wrapped around the Aquarian's forearm, the sword dissolved into water and she collapsed onto her mount with a scream.

The beast circled for a few times, dragging him through every cart in the market. Finally, it started to gain altitude, causing his feet to leave the ground.

"Oh shit." Nix was just about to drop the flame strands when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back. The Manta was still managing to rise when another pair of arms joined the resistance and then another.

Shots started to ring out from nearby, followed by the sound of hooves running on the cobblestone street. The two Aquarians returned just as the Manta the market square died. Nix could no longer hold the strands, he watched helplessly as they rescued their companion and left.

No one stopped him when he skinned the beast and canned some of the meat. Ronnie was smiling at him when he returned.

He knew that she had been the first one to grab him, "thanks, Ronnie."

Her dark face watched him, "you faced an Aquarian by yourself. They are immune to just about everything."

"Except flame." A man's deep voice spoke from behind them. He was sitting on a huge warhorse, he wore heavy black armor and the ax he had slung over one shoulder was on fire. He had a shaved head and a square jaw, definitely not someone to trifle with.

"That was crazy Ronnie!" A dark man picked himself up from the ground. He was one of the ones that had grabbed onto them.

"Very crazy little sister." A woman was dusting herself off, she smiled at Nix. "You must be the CC that Ronnie has been telling us about."

Nix glanced at Ronnie and then back at the woman. "I guess."

"I'm Sharl, the Guild Leader of the Daybreakers." The woman held out her hand. She had a friendly face and bore a strong resemblance to Ronnie.

He shook the offered hand, "thank you for the anchor, Sharl. I'm Nix."

"Thank you for your assistance here." The huge man on the warhorse looked down at them. He nodded politely and then spun his mount and galloped away without saying anything else.

"What are you even doing here Sharl?" Ronnie smiled at her guild leader, "you should still be in Hispana."

"You've been hunting all day so you don't know. Someone is selling under armor gear that has stats."

Nix bit his lip to keep for laughing. "I made those."

Ronnie looked at him sideways. "You're a tailor? That's why you skin everything!"

"Crap, I need to check on Shana." Nix broke into a trot, leaving the Daybreakers by themselves. After a moment they followed him.

The boutique seemed quite when Nix threw open the door. Both women were holding the crying Shana in their arms. He gave her a stern look. "Next time stay hidden when danger is around!"

Shana nodded, her lip sticking out like she might start crying again. "You shot flame from your hands and made her put me down!"

Nix nodded at the description. "Do those things visit often? What do they want?"

"No one is even sure." Sharl and her guildmates had entered the store. "You make the under armor?"

"Yes," he glanced at Maye. "Any interest today?"

"Two hundred thousand a set." Maye had been fending off guild leaders all day. They all wanted them. "That's the best price we can get."

"I'll match that." Sharl was listening to everything, she had very nearly been too late.

"At least it isn't underwear." Nix placed a large box on the counter. "This is ten sets, talk to Maye for a price. She owns this boutique."

Ronnie stepped in front of her sister. "Wait... you make underwear? Is it good?"

Nix shrugged, "come in the back. I'll make you a few sets."

In the end, Maye sold 10 sets of Turtle Under Armor to Daybreakers for two hundred thousand credits each. By the time Nix and Ronnie returned from the back room, the transaction had been completed.

"Good luck on your raid tomorrow." They had invited him to join them, but Nix was itching to do some exploring. He gave Maye the next day's product and said his goodbyes.

He was still smiling a few minutes later when he stepped into Cyphix. He had made Maye accept their 30 percent, but with the sales of underwear and the under armor, he had made almost 2 million credits.

Nix was surprised a few minutes later when he stepped into the Kindled Spirit. Sila and Hyai were sitting together at one of the tables. They both smiled at him when he entered.

Hyai smiled at him. "Hey, Nix."

Sila was trying not to laugh, "at least pretend to be awkward Nix."

Nix shook his head. "Hey."

Hyai got up from her chair and looked over at him. "Pheasant or Rabbit stew tonight?"

"Pheasant I guess." Nix watched her walk away.

Sila was staring at him, her eyes full of humor. "Imagine my surprise to find out one of my old friends and one of my new ones, are actually good friends."

"Good friends? Did Hyai say that?"

Hyai came back with a pint and slid it in front of him. "I said something like that," she admitted.

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"You should go to and hang out with your friends Nicky." The pale girl leaned back against her pillows, her loud breathing seemed weak and raspy.

"As your older brother, I demand an explanation." Nick Phire pointed to the flowers on the nightstand. "Did you pick up a suitor?"

The young woman laughed, her gaunt and pale face turning beautiful for an instant. "Didn't you see the line outside?" Her words turned into a coughing fit, her older brother left his chair to pour her some water. "Don't bother Nicky."

The last words were only a whisper, barely heard over the clinking of ice water being poured. "Why not?"

"I'm already dead."

Nix's eyes opened slowly, the dream didn't bother him. Even though the reality had been brutally harsh, he was content that she was still present in his dreams.

He got dressed quickly and left the room. On Hyai's recommendation, he had decided to take a look around Espana. It was a continent in the central part of Colonial that was bordered by Wisteria and Phelinomia. It was comprised of dozens of island chains and archipelagos of different sizes.

The price to take the portal to Espana was 75 credits, Nix paid with a grimace. The time difference was only two hours, so it was midmorning when he stepped off the platform. On Hyai's advice, he had picked up more cans. She told him of a spot on a small Espana island called Vesu. There were large fish called Malu that would come to the surface to feed. This was a great place to raise your marksmanship skill. Hyai had offered him 3 thousand credits to bring back a hundred cans of the Malu fish. He didn't need the credits, but Hyai relied on hunters to continually change the Inn menu. He had already sold her 50 cans of turtle meat.

The Espana platform was literally out in the middle of nowhere. There were a few palm trees and nothing else. Travel to the nearest city would require you to island-hop for half a day. Before mid-day, you could walk from island to island if you didn't mind getting your feet wet. After that, you could hire a skiff that would transport you for a few credits.

He found Vesu easily enough, and the small rock outcropping overlooking the shallows was exactly as Hyai had described.

Nix found a comfortable position on the rocks and took a moment to enjoy the white sands and aquamarine color of the ocean. "Lovely... time to kill shit."

The Malu head's looked like blue basketballs from his position, they lay peacefully in the morning sun, gorging themselves.

Nix fired three times before he hit one, they were one-shot kills that gave almost no XP. They made great targets and supposedly they tasted great.

He spent the morning shooting the giant fish. Like turtles, the fish could be skinned. After every ten deaths, he would gather them up. He checked his stats and was pleasantly surprised to see that his rifle skill had increased. His strength and stamina had also gone up, more than likely it was a result of constantly playing tug-of-war with his flame strands.

He sat back on the rocks, taking a break and eating the lunch that Hyai had left for him. The warm sun and gentle ocean breeze made napping a real temptation. Instead of giving in he resumed his shooting position and took aim at the water. "What the..."

There was no longer a single fish in sight, Nix stood and shielded his eyes against the reflection, a moment later something slammed into his side, the coppery taste of blood in his mouth told him that he had been injured. He hunched over in the shallows, holding his ribs.

The creature stared at him through pale alien eyes. Its short white hair stood straight up over seashell-shaped ears, an Aquarian. It carried a huge blue hammer in both hands, short fangs made it look more animal than humanoid.

Nix raised both his hands and two flame strands shot out. One landed around an arm and the other around its neck. The creature gave out a silent scream and fell backward into the water. Nix braced himself but was still dragged forward. The pain in his ribs took his breath as he struggled to hold onto the strands. The Aquarian was in even worse shape, it had dropped its weapon and was trying to pry loose the flame strand from his neck.

It clutched desperately at its neck, a moment later both he and Nix vanished from Vesu.

Both flame strands broke when they ported, having dropped his rifle in the ocean, Nix shot another flame strand at the creature, capturing it around one leg. With his free hand, he pulled his whip and lashed it at the Aquarian. He already knew that damage from his flame strands made water creatures susceptible to other damage. However, it was a low-quality whip and didn't do much.

The Aquarian struggled in vain while Nix held it with one hand and whipped it with the other. This part of the fight took several minutes but finally, the Aquarian fell, Nix immediately went up a level.

He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. Wounds and health would gradually recover over time if you didn't carry potions in Colonial. Nix quickly checked his stats.

Nix [Serious Wound-4 hour recovery]

Level 27

Strength 44

Endurance 50

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 90

Fire Resistance 100 [Burning Aura]

Weapon Skills:

Rifle 82

Whip 32

Support Skill:

Flame Strands 0

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 100

"Damn..." Nix swore in the dim light, just realizing that he was in a cave of some sort. Looking around it appeared to be a few hundred meters in diameter. It was mostly filled with water, but there was a large sandy beach with a small hut on it. There were at least a dozen lanterns eerily hanging in the air. The pale blue light they gave off reminded Nix of their alien eyes.

He walked around the perimeter of the cave but didn't find an obvious exit. "Am I going to have to kill myself to leave this place?"

A second trip around yielded the same result. He walked toward the hut, deciding to at least check its contents. Bitter disappointment showed on his face, it was completely empty except for a comfortable looking bed and a small fireplace.

"Has to be an underwater exit." He dived into the water, right away he surfaced. "F*ck!" Nix took a deep breath and dived again. The cold water was a surprise, but more than that, it was fresh water. He searched for an underground exit through a waterway, but he could find none. It appeared to be a lake with no means of escape.

"Wait a sec... that bastard ported us here." He looked around and spotted the Aquarian corpse floating near the beach. He grabbed it by the wrist and pulled it out of the water. A quick search found two items, a ring, and a bracelet.

Water Mage

Ring: Heroic

All Water-based

abilities are greatly

enhanced.

"Okay, that's useless for me."

Deep Blue

Bracelet: Heroic

Description: This bracelet

acts as a portal key. You

may store up to four locations

for instant travel.

Slot: Lake Cavern

Slot: Binding point

Slot: City of Mermaids

Slot: Empty

Nix slipped on the bracelet.

[Lake Cavern may not be changed]

[Copying your binding point to Deep Blue.]

[Do you wish to erase City of Mermaids?]

"Hmm... No, not yet." Nix decided to research the City of Mermaids before getting rid of it. At any rate, the binding point port would save him the credits he paid to return home.

Looking around, he tried to figure out why an Aquarion would bind here. "Was he an outlaw? Perhaps on the run from someone?"

Nix walked down the beach toward the hut. Smiling to himself, he removed all the turtle eggs from his inventory and sat them on the sand. "Don't think you've escaped me, I might come back to eat you once you've hatched."

Laughing to himself he entered the hut and took a seat on the bed. He looked at the ring still clutched in his hand. It was a plain silver ring with a blue stone. He slipped it on and laid down on the bed. "Once I recover, I'll head to Jenzi to check on the boutique."

He fell asleep almost immediately, perhaps because of his lack of sleep from the night before coupled with his injury. When he finally awoke, his hud notified him he had been sleeping for six hours. He rolled out of the bed and stretched.

"Good as new." His hud now had a personal portal icon, he activated it and chose his binding point.

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Nix stepped onto the Cyphix platform and immediately paid for the trip to Jenzi. Once there, he activated Deep Blue and saved Jenzi as the slot four locations. Shana was sweeping the walk in front of the boutique when he turned onto Main street. By the looks of things, the shop was just closing.

"Nix!" Apparently, she had been waiting for him. Shana ran at him and hugged him tightly around his waist.

"How'd we do today?"

Shana smiled sweetly at him, "we did great!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

Lela was cleaning up the shop while Maye was finishing the books. The older woman smiled when she saw him. "Have a seat Nix, we'll settle the accounts."

Nix brought up his hud without being asked, and smiled when the credits were transferred to him. "Mind if I use the back shop for a bit?"

Nix took a seat at the back table and turned up the light as he cycled through his available recipes. Thanks to Gladis Corp, his library of recipes was extensive. First things first, he quickly set up the queue for the boutique's product line.

Once that was working he took out the Malu skins and placed them in a queue to fashion them into a workable leather. With that cooking slowly, he examined the Turtle Under Armor recipe. "A one-piece bodysuit would work better with the Malu skins." He started editing the under armor recipe, he replaced the bone needle with an ultra-thin quill. The aluminum thread was changed to fine grade fishing line. Instead of a shirt and pants, he would try a bodysuit with a ceramic zipper down the back.

Nix shook his head, it looked dubious, even to him. He attempted to make the recipe, finally stopping after forty attempts. "Damn... there goes 4k. Throwing caution to the wind, he continued to click the 'attempt recipe' icon. Fifty attempts, eighty attempts, one hundred attempts. Finally, on the two hundredth and eleventh attempt, he was notified of his success.

He had his head down on the table wishing he could get the credits back, all those credits, gone like the wind. He slammed his hand on the table and opened the recipe, "Let's check out this bitch!"

Wetsuit: Malu Aquatic

Description: Waterproof gear may

be worn under armor or as outerwear.

10 to Speed while underwater, Underwater

breathing. Crafted by Nix.

Nix placed the boutique product line off to one side and placed the Malu skins in his production slots. He had more than eighty of the skins, but at 19 percent success rate, it was likely that he would only end up with 10. He was just about to start it when he noticed the first miscellaneous block was blinking. He activated it.

[Do you wish to place the Water Mage Ring in the enhancement slot?]

The Water Mage ring was said to increase water-based abilities. Did that include making aquatic gear? "Yes."

He queued the process and then walked into the store when he heard familiar voices. Ronnie and Sharl had just come in. Sharl gave him a sweet smile when he entered, exactly like you would when you wanted something.

Ronnie smiled at him, "heya Nix, don't listen to Sharl. She's super jealous."

Sharl made a face at her, "I can't stand it! Prancing around the guildhall in your custom underwear!"

Nix grinned at the picture it painted in his head. "I will make you some Sharl, but I need some information in exchange."

Sharl's face turned serious. As long as its something I can share, I will gladly tell you.

"You are the Guild Leader of Daybreakers?

"Yes, Daybreakers Mid: Division."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm level 50, I have my XP on one hundred percent bank so that I don't level up any further. Mid: Division is levels 30-50. There is a Guild Leader for the Lower and Advanced Divisions."

"Bank? What happens when you remove the XP"

"Currently, I have enough XP to move directly to level 75."

"So as 50 level players go, someone like you would be a powerhouse?"

Sharl nodded without any hint of conceit. "Definitely."

"What can you tell me about Mermaid City?"

Sharl sighed heavily. "It's a Mid: Division Raid that no one has been able to win. There are a dozen floors and a different number of stages on each of them. most strong guilds can make it through the third floor."

"How far has Daybreakers gone?"

"Clean run through the second floor, we wipe sometime before the middle of the third floor."

"How far have the other guilds gone?"

Sharl made a sour face as if she'd bit into something bitter. "The Salamander Guild has finished the third floor."

"I see. Would you take me into the Raid as a guest player?"

"Nix?" Ronnie looked surprised by the request.

Sharl shook her head. "No, we would wipe again."

"What if I were to provide an advantage?"

Sharl's eyes showed more than a little interest. "Show me what you have Nix."

"How many people do you bring on a raid?"

"Depends on the raid. Mermaid City is limited to 60, broken into teams 3 teams of 20."

"What if we equipped everyone with these?"

Wetsuit: Malu Aquatic

Description: Waterproof gear may

be worn under armor or as outerwear.

10 to Speed while underwater, Underwater

breathing. Crafted by Nix.

"Holy Shit Nix!" Ronnie couldn't help herself, "you made that?"

Sharl examined the recipe. "It's not like we don't have underwater gear. However, they are cumbersome and they cut down visibility and speed quite a bit."

Nix didn't say anything, it was obvious that Sharl was still considering it.

"With this gear, I'm confident that we could finally clear the third floor."

Ronnie clapped her hands, her dark face lit up with excitement. "Finish the third floor and you are at the new starting point!"

Nix gave her a confused look. "What's that mean?"

"Wipe any time before the fourth floor and your guild restarts the raid from the beginning." Ronnie couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Finish the third floor and from then on, all Daybreaker raids to Mermaid City start on the fourth floor."

"Excuse me Nix." Sharl walked off to one side and opened her hud.

Ronnie nudged him with an elbow. "She is talking to the Daybreakers, Advanced: Division Guild Leader."

"I see." Nix checked his queue, he had produced 62 Wetsuits, the ring had nearly tripled his success rate. That would be enough for the entire raid. He hid a smile and slipped the Water Mage ring back on his finger.

Sharl closed her hud and walked back to the group. Lela was still cleaning the shop, Maye was stocking tomorrow's product. "I can bring you on the raid, but there are three requirements."

Nix gave her a deadpan look. "They are?"

"Sell us the recipe for the Turtle Under Armor, name a fair price."

Nix glanced at Maye, "price Maye?"

Maye pursed her lips, "Two million, firm."

Sharl seemed to think about it, she was told not to exceed three million credits. "Deal. Requirement two, we will need at least 15 of the wetsuits to do the raid."

Nix shrugged, "I have 60."

"Holy Crap Nix!" Ronnie felt her sister's eye bore into her, "oh... sorry sis. Keep going."

Sharl continued, "that's enough for the entire raid, our chances will be good. Finally, you need to raise your level to 40, your current level is too low."

"I can do that." He noticed Maye watching him. "I miss anything, Maye?"

Maye smiled pleasantly. "The wetsuits will be on loan only, make sure they return them or pay a fair price."

Nix nodded, "right. Loan only."

Ronnie covered her smile with a hand. Her sister was trying to pull a fast one. "Looks like we have to raise our levels up!"

Sharl stared at him for a long moment, before a smile peaked out. "We have an agreement Nix."

Half an hour later Nix and Ronnie were walking down Main Street since he had dropped his rifle in the ocean, Nix needed to replace it. "How much is a mid-tier rifle going to cost me?"

Ronnie considered it carefully, "2-3k if you only want Fine Quality."

"Isn't it crazy that underwear cost more than a rifle?"

"As a stasis player, I'd pay any amount for comfort. Now that I have them, it makes all the difference. No more riding up and having to constantly adjust."

"I should just move to Jenzi and become the lingerie/underwear King."

"Yep. That's what I'd do."

A few hours later, he was seated close to the Inn fireplace, finishing off the pint that came with his dinner. Hyai was wiping down tables.

She looked up from her task. "What did you think of the Turtle Stew?"

"Loved it, making it spicy was a good idea."

The Innkeeper nodded in agreement, "Hey Nix, let's move your room to the luxury suite, it's always empty and I can rent out your old room."

Nix made a face at her, "trying to squeeze me for more credits now that my token has expired?"

Hyai shook her head, "I have a few hundred thousand credits worth of clothes that you made me, so your money is no good here"

Later that night, Nix sat on the bed trying on the Malu wetsuit. One size fits all wasn't ideal in this instance.

"Maybe I can customize it the same way Kylie does rifles."

He quickly took it off and placed it in the tailoring queue. He clicked the first square and cycled through his short list of friends, at the bottom of the list was the [Self] option. This brought up an entirely new Customize option that wasn't available before. He started the process and lay back on the bed.

"Before I get all ramped up for a raid, I need to take a look at Mermaid City." He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. "Tomorrow, just a quick peek."

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"That's better." Nix slipped on the Aquatic suit, he left the rest of his gear in his inventory. Customizing the suit had increased the speed to 15. He had repeated the process in the morning with the Mage Water ring and had further raised that to 18. "I better let Sharl know that next time I see her."

The dark blue aquatic suit felt like a second skin. When examined close you could see the faint outline of fish scales. He activated Deep Blue and chose Lake Cavern. The first thing he noticed was there were a few dozen baby turtles on the beach. They didn't run away when he approached them, so he knelt down next to a group of three that were crawling over each other.

Their shells were still soft and gray, according to Ronnie, they would harden and turn black when they reached adulthood. They were already the size of a dinner plate. He touched the surface of one of the small shells causing the turtle to immediately scurry away. "Damn... don't be such a baby."

He tried it to another one, but instead of retreating, this one moved closer to him. Nix chuckled to himself. "You must be a female." He repeated the action with his other hand, sighing to himself when it crawled away. "Guess it's not my charm after all." He looked at his hands holding them out in front of him. "Is it the ring?"

He walked to the lake's edge and placed his hand in the water. Immediately the turtles made a bee-line toward him. "Let's go swimming then."

He dove into the water, immediately a bubble of air formed around his face enabling him to breathe and speak. He swam a few strokes and then headed toward the bottom. Although he had liked to swim when he was younger, nothing prepared him for how fast he moved with the aquatic suit on.

He used his arms to stroke hard, his feet kicking as he banked and made circles faster than a human should be able to swim. He felt the tiny brushes of flippers against him whenever he would turn suddenly, every turtle in the cavern was following him.

He swam for a long time, until he was completely worn out, both his strength and endurance had improved during the swim. The turtles followed him onshore and when he sat down they crowded in around him. He recognized the first one who had come to him, its shell was a few shades lighter than the rest of them. It didn't panic when he picked it up. "I should give you a name. How about Soup?"

He sat Soup back on the sand and stood up. "Time to go." He activated Deep Blue and chose Mermaid City."

He found himself hovering over a seashell-shaped portal platform. "Of course, I'm already underwater." The platform was at the end of a dead-end hallway. There was a high ceiling that glowed like fluorescent stones. He swam easily down the hall, it came to 'T' after about a hundred meters.

The sound of fighting came from the left side, while the right side was eerily quite. He went left and kept close to the floor. The hallway ended in a steel gate, there was no obvious way to open it. There were bodies floating on the other side, five remaining humans were standing off against a dozen Aquarians.

Two Aquarians in back were obviously casters, the space around their bodies glowed with a pale blue light.

"Keep the tanks alive! How's your mana Mica?" A slender woman with black hair and pale skin fired off shots from her rifle while trying to flank the Aquarions.

"Twenty percent!" A red-haired man with wide shoulders and big belly yelled out. "Pull back Jun Li!"

The slender woman shook her head, "it's too late. The other two groups have already wiped."

Not sure what possessed him, but Nix pushed both hands through the gate and hit each caster with a fire strand, one landed around the neck and the other hit the arm. He braced himself with a foot against the gate and pulled.

Both groups were surprised by the sudden interference. They reacted vastly different. The humans pushed forward to force the fight while the casters were distracted. The Aquarians went into full retreat mode, leaving their casters to die.

The two casters were quickly slain by humans. Nix backed quickly away from the gate when they died.

"Quick, open the gate!" It was the woman they called Jun Li who spoke.

Nix shook his head, "no idea how to do that." He looked down the hall he had come from earlier, a group of Aquarians could be seen racing toward him. "Sorry, gotta go."

Jun Li grabbed the gate from the other side, shaking it in frustration. "Shit!!"

He activated Deep Blue and chose Lake Cavern.

The woman's dark eyes stared, "what's your name?"

Nix shrugged, "you first."

"I'm Jun Li from the Salamander Guild!" The man disappeared in mid-sentence leaving her staring down the hall at the Aquarians.

Mica moved next to her, frowning at the approaching Aquarians. "What the hell were those fire ropes and how is he on that side of the gates Commander?"

Jun Li shook her head. "Both good questions."

Nix appeared next to the hut on the beach, the turtles immediately scuttled toward him. "Now we're friends?" He picked up Soup and stroked her smooth shell, "still gonna eat you, but not just yet."

He slipped armor on over his aquatic suit, while he considered his next actions. "I should have explored further, and not given myself away." Nix kicked the sand in frustration and sat Soup down. He activated Deep Blue and chose Jenzi.

Ronnie had mentioned that they would be doing a bit of shopping before heading out to grind levels. The sister duo stood out among the vendors of the market square.

Nix purchased a box lunch and then walked in their direction. Ronnie spotted him almost right away.

"Nix!" She had her hair down for once, both hands were loaded with bags.

Sharl watched him without saying anything, "do you have room for the swimming ability in your support skills?"

"Maybe, how much does it cost?" Nix was aware that you could only spend 10 points on support skills, he also knew that they could be reset.

Ronnie leaned closer and handed him a bag. "How much do those Flame things cost?"

Nix kept his face expressionless, "they aren't too bad."

"Quit pestering him Ronnie, swimming cost two points, the skill book is super cheap, so I picked one up for you." Sharl handed him a copper-covered book.

Nix grabbed the book with his free hand. "Suppose that will add to our movement speed underwater?"

Sharl nodded. "With swimming maxed and the boost from the Aquatic suits, we'll be super fast."

"Follow me back to the boutique, I've got good news and bad news."

There were still a half dozen shoppers in the boutique when the trio entered. The underwear product line had been selling out in the first two hours every day. Lela was helping a customer when they walked in.

"Welcome to Shana's Boutique." She said it before she looked up, a quick smile formed and she glanced toward the shop door. "Mom is in the back."

Maye smiled at them when they entered. "A bit early to see you Nix, but welcome anyway."

"Tell me the news already!" Sharl's dark face showed her impatience, "I'll take the good news first."

"Sure, that's the way to go." Nix took a seat at the workbench. "I can improve the Aquatic suits to 18."

Sharl smiled, "I'd call that fantastic news, every little bit makes a difference. What's the bad news?"

"I'll have to customize them to each person on the raid."

"Oh, I see... I wouldn't say that is bad news. I can figure out the raid list early."

Nix glanced at Maye, she had understood immediately.

Maye smiled at Sharl. "Of course, that will mean you will need to purchase them."

Sharl tried not to grimace, Maye only looked like a sweet old lady. "What kind of price are we looking at?"

Maye patted her on the arm, "I'll give you a special discount, of course, let me do some figuring and we'll talk numbers tomorrow."

A few minutes later Nix was walking Sharl and Ronnie back to the portal platform. "Hey Sharl, do you know a person named Jun Li?"

Sharl frowned at the name. "She's the Guild Leader of Salamander."

"I heard some people mention her name and the Mermaid City." Nix stopped before the platform, "I have a portal stone. How do I figure out how many people I can bring when I travel?"

Ronnie's dark eyes flashed at him, "I saw one for sale at the market, a return to Bind stone costs 20 million credits. Don't tell me you bought one!"

Nix shook his head, "one dropped off of a kill I made."

Sharl considered his words, "you have good luck. How many you can take depends on the quality. Most carry only the holder."

"Want to help me see?" He held out both his hands.

The two sisters smiled at each other, Ronnie grabbed his hand first. "You aren't trying to whisk us away are you?"

Nix nodded, "I just said I was."

Sharl grabbed his extended hand and he activated Deep Blue and chose his Binding point. A moment later, the three of them appeared in Cyphix.

"Damn it Nix." Ronnie cursed him and huddled against her sister. Neither was dressed for the cold weather of Cyphix.

"Sorry." He grabbed their hands and activated Deep Blue again, this time he chose Lake Cavern.

The turtles seemed scared of the two women and kept their distance. Sharl and Ronnie were stunned into silence.

"You have an origin stone," Sharl said it in a whisper.

Nix had decided that hiding it from Sharl would be too difficult. She would know the best way to utilize it to their advantage. He linked them the bracelet. "This dropped off of an Aquarion that ambushed me."

Deep Blue

Bracelet: Heroic

Description: This bracelet

acts as a portal key. You

may store up to four locations

for instant travel.

Slot: Lake Cavern

Slot: Binding point

Slot: City of Mermaids

Slot: Jenzi

Ronnie whistled softly. "City of Mermaids was already on it?"

"Yes, the Lake Cavern cannot be removed, I added Jenza for ease of traveling to the boutique."

Sharl's dark eyes stared at him. "There's no telling where in Mermaid City you would end up, it's too dangerous to try. What if you died and lost the bracelet?"

Nix grinned, "yeah... I already tried it out." He told them everything that had happened with the excursion, including the meeting with Jun Li.

"Damn Nix." Ronnie was alternating between frowning and smiling. "You got lucky. What if it had been a throne room?"

Sharl nodded in agreement. "There's no telling where you ended up, but we may be able to figure it out. Can you drop me off at the Jenzi platform? I want to gather everything we have on Mermaid City."

"Yep." He grabbed their hands and then activated Deep Blue. "I'll take you back now."

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"An amazing place Nix." Pon was sitting next to the campfire that he had started, the sounds of a dozen people swimming nearly drowned out his words.

The Lake Cavern hadn't changed much in the four days since he had brought Ronnie and Sharl here. A long table sat on the beach, along with a bunch of chairs. The lamps that were suspended in the air, now put out much more light thanks to Pon the Fire Mage. The twenty-person team worked on their swimming every day, went over the possible scenarios of the raid and would spend the remainder of the day grinding levels in Espana.

There were two things that none of the Daybreakers could figure out. Why Nix was a faster swimmer than everyone else and why the turtles flocked to him like he was the pied piper.

"Hmm... once this raid is done, you Daybreaker interlopers are gonna get kicked out!" Nix waded into the shallows, Soup followed him in, staying close when he dived towards the bottom.

The turtles had been growing at a phenomenal rate, Nix wasn't sure what the mature time was for Virtual Turtles, but he guessed it was much faster than real life. Soup was nearly three feet in diameter.

Nix latched on to Soups shell and he shot past the other swimmers.

"I want to ride one too!" Ronnie had tried many times to get one to accommodate her, but they fled whenever she came close.

He let go of Soup and dived toward the bottom where Sharl was harvesting. Almost immediately after her first swim, the Daybreakers Guild Leader found the Water Spry. It looked like regular grain, but when dried and harvested, it tasted exactly like rice. The entire bottom of the lake was covered in it. "Helping yourself to my crop? I should get Maye in here to quote you a price."

Sharl looked up, grimacing at the mention of the old woman's name. "Why are you still working with that old shark?"

Nix laughed at the comment. Maye had hired some workers to do some much-needed repairs in the shop, it actually looked like a boutique again. "I'm sweet on Lela. Didn't you know?"

"Liar." Sharl glanced up at Nix, "you've been laying low right?"

Seemingly overnight, posters with Nix's image on them were plastered in every major city. The Salamander Guild was looking hard for him, even though he had been careful, it was already known that the trail led to Jenzi and Cyphix.

"They should stop bothering my friends." Nix frowned when he thought of Salamander, they had stopped by the Kindled Spirit Inn and asked a lot of questions, Hyai had quickly shown them the door. Jun Li herself sent him dozens of friend requests until Ronnie had shown him how to block her.

"Once we get to the fourth floor, they will stop bothering you." Sharl had tried on multiple occasions to bring him into the guild, each time he politely declined.

Nix spotted Soup swimming close by, he beckoned her by clucking his tongue. He pulled himself up on her shell and relaxed while she swam in circles around Sharl. "Hope so."

"You know that's an Elite Black Sea Turtle you are riding around."

"Yep, one of us is going to eat the other one day." He reached a hand and rubbed the turtles smooth head, "there's a reason I named her Soup."

An hour later all twenty of the Lake Cavern occupants were sitting at the table. It was the maximum amount that Nix could port, a number that had astounded everyone.

Sharl had her hud up and was going over the plan again. "Our best guess is that the location where Nix spotted Salamander is the first part of the fourth floor. Two other teams are required to operate levers simultaneously to open the gate that Jun Li's group was behind. That group must then proceed down the corridor, after that, we are flying blind. We must finish this stage to lock Daybreakers into the fourth floor."

"Which is cheating... right?" Nix said it with a smirk, it would also be a huge slap in the face to Salamander.

Sharl looked at her old Fire Mage, "how's he look, Pon?"

Pon glanced at Nix, "he's level 40, well equipped and his weapon skills are decent. We've improved his Fire Strands to the point where he can hold three at once." Pon didn't have to pretend to be impressed, the Fire Strands worked as a dot (damage over time) on anything it held. It absolutely tore through water creatures. Nix wouldn't say where he got the strands from, but Pon guessed it must be a Lord Class Fire Creature of some sort. "Still a noob, so he'll have to stick with CC."

Sharl nodded, she understood the last part was for Nix's benefit. "We will go in the morning, so everyone gets some rest."

A few minutes later they all stood in a circle holding hands. Nix had slipped on a cloak with a Daybreakers insignia for the port back to Jenzi. He brought everyone to the Portal platform and then immediately chose to return to the Lake Cavern. He would pick them up at 0800 the next morning.

Nix returned to the beach hut, with the Daybreakers gone, the turtles were much more friendly. As an experiment he had once left the ring off when he approached the turtles, it no longer made any difference in their interaction with him. It did however substantially improve his swimming speed, so he kept it on. With all the swimming they had been doing the past few days, his strength and stamina had steadily increased. The other surprise came when he started working with Pon, his Fire Strand skill had started to improve.

Nix

Level 40

Strength 54

Endurance 59

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 90

Fire Resistance 100 [Burning Aura]

Weapon Skills:

Rifle 90

Whip 77

Support Skill:

Flame Strands 0 [13]

Swimming 2 [100]

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 100

He entered the hut and undressed before laying down on the bed. There was the smallest hint of perfume on his pillows, he had caught Ronnie napping on the bed a few times.

"Thanks, Glory." He smiled at the ceiling and hoped that the guard who had helped him was doing well. A bumping noise at his door made his smile widen. "Really?"

He walked to the door and let Soup in, she waddled slowly to the foot of the bed where a small carpet had been placed. "You're such a baby."

"Report." Jun Li sat behind her desk at Salamander HQ, the nightly scout report was late once again. She couldn't know that the reason they were late was that they dreaded giving her the same news every day.

"Scout Forsha Reporting!" The dark-haired scout saluted crisply.

Jun Li scowled at her, she knew it was protocol, but everything seemed to make her mad nowadays. She returned the salute and gestured for the scout to continue.

"There's been no sign of the Fire Wielder," that's what Salamander had started calling him since no one knew his name.

Junli slammed a hand down on her desk. "Is he a damn ghost?" She picked up a cup and threw it at the scout, it missed her head by only a few inches. "What about the tailor who made the Under Armor?"

"All we know is that the Tailor's name is Nix." Forsha gave a quick glance at the desktop for anything else the guild leader might throw, she gulped when she was the knife-shaped letter opener.

"Nix? How the f*ck did we miss out when the Under Armor was displayed all day on a damn mannequin?" She had heard the rumors regarding the tailor-made gear, but by the time they had investigated, a mid-tier guild had purchased all the stock. "This tailor works in Jenzi, how is it you know nothing else?"

"Nix specializes in women's lingerie and underwear and is most likely a Day Shop owner that sells the product to Shana's Boutique. We also believe that Nix is female."

"A female... did someone see her? What makes you say that?"

The scout hesitated, "well, Nix specializes in women's underwear, so..."

Jun Li picked up the letter opener and flung it at her scout, fortunately, it missed. "Get out!"

The guild leader leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath to try and calm down. Even though she was the guild leader, she was still required to report to the Board. Soon they would find out that the Salamander Guild had actually lost their Salamander. She picked up the poster of the Fire Wielder that sat on her desk. It didn't do him justice. She had stood a few feet away from him, short black hair with a serious but handsome face. His eyes had captured her attention, they looked like twin suns.

She propped the poster up on her desk and stared at it. "How did you get behind that gate? Salamander is leading the other guilds in Mermaid City." Mermaid City was her personal mission. She had locked her level at 50 so she could continue to oversee Salamander's advancement. "Sooner or later I'll see you again."

A knock on the door got her attention. It was Semmi Dow, her childhood friend, and the only person who she wouldn't show her temper too. "Time to call it a night Junie, we're trying Mermaid again in the morning."

Jun Li smiled at her friend. The petite blond would start yelling at her if she dared get mad. "Okay, thanks Sem."

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Nix yawned into his pillow, every night spent in the hut's bed was an amazing experience. It was by far the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. He sat up and slipped on his Turtle Under Armor. He had customized it and managed to improve the stats to 20 AC. He slipped the Aquatic suit over the top of it. His raid gear was super sleek and very light. "He nudged the sleeping turtle with his foot. "Wake up Soup."

He walked out the door, leaving it open so the turtle could leave. The rest of the turtles moved toward him. "You guys are on your own today, try and stay out of trouble."

He activated Deep Blue and chose Jenzi, the Daybreakers were already in place, two of them grabbed his hands and they quickly returned to the Lake Cavern.

Although they were already prepped, they stood in a circle going over a few last-minute items. Nix and Ronnie had the least amount of experience, so Sharl made sure they both knew their assignments. Ronnie would provide range dps in support of the Main Tank. Nix would attempt to hold their tanks in check so the group could quickly eliminate the casters.

"You nervous Nix?" Ronnie was still standing by him, she looked very good in the aquatic suit. She was the only other one in the raid who didn't have armor over the top of it.

"Not really." He had once lain under a parking lot grate for two days so that he could burn the building down Monday morning during their board meeting. Everyone but the board members had been able to evacuate. Later, he had washed off the stench of the gutter, a smile on his face while he listened to the news report on TV.

"Bull shit... my knees are knockin!" Ronnie checked her bow for the fourth time and looked at her sister who was talking to Pon.

"Go take a nap on my bed, am sure you know the way."

Ronnie shook her head, "maybe later. I'm too nervous now."

Nix smiled slightly, his golden eyes full of mirth. "I'll probably be using it later."

Ronnie's dark eyes flashed at him. "Me or Sis?"

Nix didn't say that he would probably bring Hyai. "know what I think when I see two pretty sisters?"

Ronnie grinned at her older sister who had returned in time to catch the last few sentences. "That younger is always better?"

"Nope. Why not both?"

"..." Ronnie.

"..." Sharl.

Nix laughed at their faces and walked toward the rest of the Daybreakers that were forming around Pon.

A few minutes they all joined hands. Sharl was on Nix's left and Pon was on the right. The Guild leader squeezed his hand tightly. She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. "It would take an incredible amount of alcohol to make something like that happen."

"Well... I am the Underwear King." Nix activated Deep Blue and chose Mermaid City.

They ported onto the same platform that Nix had seen a few days earlier. He started swimming toward the 'T'. "To the left is the locked gate where I ran into Salamander, to the right is the hall that I didn't explore."

The entire group swam close to the floor. Nix was in the front next to the scout so that he could provide immediate CC (Crowd Control) if needed. Directly behind them were the two Tanks, Sharl, and Banza.

The hall they followed led to a huge room, the sound of voices made them stop.

Sharl hefted her spear, the end of it was on fire despite being in the water. "Scout it out Wind!"

Wind was a slight man of average height. He wore his brown hair in a long mullet that ended halfway down his back. He was the only stealth user in the group, and the twin daggers that he wielded gave him the best dps in the raid. Wind nodded at Sharl and immediately disappeared.

A few minutes later the scout returned. His cold black eyes were calm. "Sixteen Aquarions total, 5 casters, 3 tanks and 8 melee dps."

Sharl's face was grim, in equal or near-equal numbers, Aquarions overmatched their human counterparts. "Positioning?"

"We're in luck, the tanks are near the casters."

Sharl nodded, "it's a good break. Nix you're on the tanks. Me, Banz and Pon will distract the melee while the rest of you burn down the casters. Ronnie is the main assist, everyone attack her target. When the casters are down, I become the main assist, everyone attacks my target. Do your best on the tanks Nix, even if you can't hold them, keep them busy."

Wind disappeared again, his voice coming from nowhere. "My sneak attack on the first caster will be the signal to start."

Nix moved to one side to give the others room to get by him. Wind attacked the nearest caster, scoring a critical hit, he managed a stun. Instantly Nix flashed toward the tanks, he pulled up halfway and three fire strands wrapped out the arms of the tanks. They screeched loudly, their weapons instantly disappearing. Pon had taught him how to target, for tanks the sword arm was best. They would lose their weapon and take on a penalty when they summoned another.

Nix felts the pull of three tanks but he braced himself on the floor and managed to hold them. The tank's arms had burst into flames, their screams nearly drowning out the rest of the raid. Off to his right, he saw the flash of flames and heard the deafening sound of explosions as the Fire Mage attacked.

The casters went down in quick succession.

Sharl shouted from the other side of the room. "I'm the main assist now, everyone attack my target!"

One of the tanks died. Nix immediately put a second strand on the nearest tank, he died almost immediately. The last tank only lived seconds under the inferno of three fire strands.

Half of the melee were already dead, so he picked three that were trying to attack their clerics. He raised his hand and once again three strands shot out, completely immobilizing them.

"Tanks are down?" It was Ronnie who asked in between shots.

"Tanks are down," Nix affirmed.

The fight was over less than a minute later.

Sharl sent Ronnie to loot the corpses. "Anyone down?"

A cleric named Gypsy-Rose shook her head. "No casualties."

The room had been cleared, there was a raised platform with a lever behind it. The entire raid was thinking the same thing.

It was Ronnie who said it. "It can't be that easy right?"

Sharl shrugged and walked up to the platform, she pulled the lever down and then stepped back. A blue chest rose up out of the floor.

Colonial Message System: Congratulations to the Daybreakers for being the first guild to clear the first stage of the fourth floor in Mermaid City. All members of the raid will receive the Badge of Aquarius.

Badge of Aquarius

Amulet: Unique

Description: The effectiveness

of all water-based skills and

abilities have been doubled.

Sharl opened the chest and linked the four items that had dropped. Since Nix wasn't a member of the guild, he didn't ask for anything. There was nothing he would have wanted. A cool looking spear-gun dropped, somehow Colonial classified that as a bow equivalent, so the only archer in the raid received it. Ronnie was smiling from ear to ear when she equipped it. A necklace meant for healers went to Gypsy-Rose. A tank oriented spear went to Sharl and a flame gauntlet went to Banzi.

Wind made a face at the loot table. "Two tanker items? I feel sick."

Banzi smiled and waved the gauntlet at him. "About time tankers receive a bit of love brother!"

Wind gave him the finger. "When I'm fat and ugly, then you can call me brother."

Nix laughed at their interaction.

A smiling Ronnie joined him, "don't let them fool you. They are best friends."

"I could tell." Nix held out his hand, "let me see it?"

Barracuda

Speargun: Heroic

Description: Weapon

discharges three spears

at a time. 10 Damage to

water creatures.

Nix handed it back, "Guess I won't have to carry you anymore."

"What? No more free rides?"

A door opened up behind the chest after Sharl removed the coins from it, 200k was automatically given to each person in the raid. She waved Nix over and handed him a few hundred water crystals. "They are for crafting."

"Oh, then thank you."

Sharl smiled at her raiding party. "This is our door. Follow me please."

The raiding party walked through the door and down a hallway to a large staging area. They cheered each other when they arrived. They stopped abruptly when they noticed another group approaching them.

[You may now choose Mermaid City, Fourth Floor from any Colonial Portal.]

"Congratulations on clearing the first stage of the fourth floor. I hadn't even realized another guild was on the fourth floor." Jun Li had seen the message along with the rest of Colonial, but she didn't offer any hostility. "I'm Jun Li, Guild Leader of Salamander."

Sharl took the hand she offered. "Sharl, Guild Leader of Daybreakers."

A woman dressed in black noticed him first, she didn't say anything but rather approached him with a smile and offered her a handshake. "I'm Semmi. Please accept my apologies on behalf of Salamander for plastering your likeness all over Colonial."

Nix shook the petite blonde's hand. "I'm Nix. You a Scout Semmi?"

Semmi nodded while she chuckled at his words. "Goodness, your Nix." She turned back toward her Guild Leader who seemed to be frozen in place.

"You're a member of Daybreakers?" Jun Li had finally found her voice.

"I'm a guest player." He smiled at Sharl who suddenly looked alarmed.

"A guest?" Jun Li hid the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Well, good job today Daybreakers. It was nice to finally meet you Mr. Nix."

Nix nodded but didn't say anything.

[You have received a friend request for Semmi Dow. Do you accept?]

"Yes."

Twenty minutes later the raid dispersed and said their goodbyes at the Jenzi portal.

Sharl and Ronnie were the last two.

"Hey Sharl, I'm going to hang out with Nix for a bit."

Sharl shook her head. "Sorry sis, guild business. I need to talk to him."

"It's pointless to argue. I'm hungry and thirsty." Nix activated Deep Blue and chose Lake Cavern.

Ronnie waved to her sister and quickly put her hand on his shoulder. "Next time sis."

Sharl grabbed his hand and stepped closer. "Can't wait."

A moment later all three figures disappeared from the platform.

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All three of them flipped cards over at the same time, Nix shook his head at the younger sister. "That seems like a lot of credits."

Sharl nodded in agreement, "A hundred million credits for a binding stone? What kind of loon would pay that?"

Ronnie stuck her tongue out at her sister. "We could go in halfsies."

Sharl laughed and flipped over another card. "You just answered my question."

Ronnie watched Nix scoop up all three cards again. "How come the only card game you know is War? That's a kids game!"

"Makes sense since I learned it as a kid." Nix turned at the slapping noise. Soup had taken to using a flipper on the floor to get his attention. "Stop with the racket already."

"I'll let her out." Ronnie walked to the door and opened it, Soup scuttled quickly outside. "Love my new jammies by the way."

After drinking all of his wine and chatting for a few hours, the charming sisters had talked Nix into making pajamas. Sharl, who was always cold, went with red flannel top and bottoms. Ronnie opted for the smooth comfort of black silk ones.

Ronnie lay back on the bed and stretched slowly. "It's a crime to keep such a comfortable bed to yourself."

"Which is why the two of you are here." He scooped up the last of the cards and proclaimed the obvious. "I win."

Sharl was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her dark eyes watching him. "What's next for you Nix?"

"Going to investigate the Aquarions a bit."

Ronnie yawned sleepily. "Investigate what?"

Nix remembered back to the Jenzi market. Although the Aquarion had been hostile, it had been very careful not to injure Shana. "They do small raids on cities all across Colonial. Why?"

Ronnie's voice was muffled through the pillow. "My theory is that they eat us."

Sharl made a face, "please stop talking now sis." She glanced back at Nix, "do you have a theory?"

"Not really. Just a lot of questions. Given the risk they run, it must be very important to them."

Sharl considered the idea, "try the Provost Marshal Office in Jenzi. You might find more information with them."

"Good tip. Know where I can hut Mantas?"

"Sure, there's an entire colony of them in Philly." Sharl smiled at his confused look. "Phelinomia. Be careful Nix, they are high-level elites."

"Another good clue. Thank you, Sharl."

He dropped both sisters off at the Jenzi gate a few hours later. They immediately left for Wisteria while he decided to stay and make some purchases in the Jenzi market. The vendors in the fabric section all knew him by sight, right away they rushed to the front of their carts and started listing their current stock. Usually, he bought a lot.

After picking up more fabric he headed toward the boutique. Lela was standing in front of the shop, talking with Sosa, a young Tailor they had hired. Maye had decided that they needed to become self-sufficient and had hired the young man after giving him a few tests. She had also dropped the consignment on Nix's goods down to ten percent. He waved at the two of them and entered the shop.

"Morning Nix." Maye smiled at him. The young man had come out of nowhere and had saved their boutique. He was now considered part of their family. Not only had they made a lot of money, but it helped reestablish their reputation that had plummeted when Maye could no longer make clothes.

Nix sat the days' product line on the counter, then pulled out an additional box. "Thought I would try some new items, want to take a look?"

Maye nodded, her eyes showing excitement. "Let's take a look."

Nix took out two separate items and placed them on the counter.

Swimsuit: Malu Aquatic

Description: One Piece Swimsuit

that features underwater breathing.

Non-combat only. Female only.

Swimsuit: Malu Aquatic

Description: Bikini swimsuit

that features underwater breathing.

Non-combat only. Female only.

Maye carefully examined each one. "Very nice quality Nix. I'll put them on mannequins in the store window and see what kind of interest there is."

"Sounds good Maye." Two small arms wrapped around his waist from behind. He grinned and helped her up on the counter.

"This our new product line Nix?" Shana gave him a sweet smile. "I like it."

"Thanks, Shana." Nix patted her head. "Hey, would you mind talking to me about the Aquarions?"

She made a sour face but nodded anyway. "I don't mind."

"Did you hear them speak or say anything?"

Shana nodded. "The one who grabbed me said to calm down and that she wouldn't hurt me."

"Oh, I see. Hear anything else?"

"She called me an odd name, Caisong or something like that."

"Very helpful. Thank you."

An hour later Nix took the portal to Phelinomia. Like Espana, Phelinomia was a continent made up of a large cluster of archipelagos. The Manta colony that Sharl mentioned was located on one of the bigger center islands call Lapu.

The portal platform was located outside of the city walls, and although Nix was curious to see what the Phelinomia capitol looked like, he decided to hunt instead. After a thirty-minute jog, he was wading into the knee-deep water that surrounded Lapu.

The center of the island was dominated by a large volcanic crater. According to Sharl, it was filled with water and the Mantas guarded it fiercely.

As soon as he stepped into the water, a huge black Manta surged out of the shallows and started flapping toward him. Manta's in Colonial were equally at home in the water or the air.

When it was in range, Nix sent a fire strand at it. The creature turned suddenly, howling in a pitch that hurt his ears, it fled rapidly while towing him behind.

A coughing Nix sent a second flame strand at it, slowing its progress to a slow walk. This gave time for him to get to his feet. The third strand he sent a moment later froze it in place. A few minutes after that, it crashed to the ground.

It dropped a single black pearl. Nix skinned it and canned the meat. He looked down at the corpse and wiped the salt water from his stinging eyes. "So... two strands right away."

Nix spent the next three hours slowly making his way to the crater. There were three kinds of Manta. The Black ones were the largest and definitely the most aggressive. The blue ones were faster, they were like the ones ridden by the Aquarian and then there were the white ones. He had only run into one of them, but that had been enough. Even with three strands on it, Nix had been dragged around for fifteen minutes. In the end, he had broken through with a fourth strand and completely bound it down.

[Your Flame Strands skill has improved to 14]

The sun was high in the sky by the time Nix grabbed the lip of the crater and peeked over. The clear blue water was within a few feet of the top and perfectly reflected the clouds on its calm surface.

He pulled off his armor and stowed it away, then he slipped on the Aquatic suit. He hadn't tried his speed out since he had earned the 'Badge of Aquarius,' but if that stacked with his Water Mage Ring, he'd be difficult to catch.

He slipped quietly into the water, keeping his hand brushing the rock wall, he slowly descended. The first two hundred feet was clear blue water after that small tendrils of plants and seaweed of all shapes and sizes strained upward towards the surface. His blue aquatic suit blended easily with the surrounding plants making him nearly invisible.

Near the bottom, he spotted his goal. He had hoped that the crater was a nesting ground and his hunch had been right. Clusters of nests were being guarded by pairs of Manta. He heart thudded in his chest, there was no way he'd be able to even take one without a full group.

He swam close to the bottom and gave the nesting area a wide berth. There was another small clearing so he was moving toward it when he saw a movement. Two Aquarions were speaking in the area he had targeted. Nix let himself drift closer with small movements of his hands, his body hidden in the weedy floor.

They were both females, to Nix's untrained eye one seemed much older than the other. He was just close enough to overhear their words.

"All four should hatch in the next few days, with the Seas blessing, one of them should be an Aviante."

"I will let you know when it begins." The younger one bowed and waited while the other shot toward the surface.

Nix followed the second Aquarion when it started swimming a few moments later. She swam fast for a few minutes until arriving at the crater wall, surprising she descended into the weeds and disappeared from sight.

He moved forward cautiously to the spot where the Aquarion had disappeared. There he found the entrance to a cave, it was nearly invisible with the weeds covering it. Swimming downward he kept one hand on the wall to keep his bearing as the light quickly dimmed. After a few hundred feet the tunnel ended in a round room. In the middle of the room was a nest with four eggs. The Aquarion he had followed was circling it leisurely.

Without stopped to think, Nix immediately sent out three strands. One hit each arm while the third wrapped around her waist. She shrieked in pain, but couldn't manage to move.

He watched as the Aquarion grew weaker, her life force slowly dwindling. Without reason, he dropped the strands, causing her to collapse onto the floor. She was too weak to do anything as he snatched the eggs one at a time. Her eyes were wide in horror when he grabbed the palest egg.

"Is this the Aviante? I'll leave it if you answer a few questions."

Her pale blue eyes stared at him, with an effort she managed to prop herself up with one arm.

"Ask your questions human."

"Why do you try and take our people? What is the Caisong?"

"How do you know that word?" She raised her hand causing it to glow brightly, immediately Nix dodged to one side and shot out a fire strand. An object she had been holding in her hand dropped to the floor, Nix moved closer and picked it up.

"Is this a weapon?" He shook his head at her and dropped the strand again. "So much for mercy." He picked up the egg and placed it in his inventory.

She laughed at him, blood in the corner of her mouth. "It's too late, I called them."

Nix activated Deep Blue and chose Lake Cavern. He smiled at the laughing Aquarion and at the half dozen Mantas that swam into the cave. "Cya..."

A moment later the human disappeared, leaving the Aquarion howling in anger and grief.

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Nix appeared on the beach outside of his hut. The turtles started moving toward him with Soup leading the way. He walked toward the side of the building and smoothed out a small area, then created a foot high sand barrier before carefully putting the manta eggs down.

Soup was the only one who seemed interested in the eggs but she didn't move beyond the sand wall.

"You better not eat my eggs Soup." He left them in place and walked to the edge of the water and knelt down. Each of the mantas he had killed dropped a pearl specific to their color. He had 25 blue ones, 16 black ones and a single white one. He dropped them all in the sand and started washing them off. The moment they hit the water, all of the turtles surged toward him, clamoring while trying to get to the pearls. Immediately he picked them back up.

Soup was leaning against his legs, gazing up with sea-blue eyes. He carefully held out the white pearl. "If you bite me..." The pearl was slightly smaller than his fist, Soup eagerly took it in her mouth and then flapped away in the water.

"Not going to chase her?" Nix gave each of them one of his blue pearls, they completely separated themselves and enjoyed their meal in various parts of the lake.

He took out the item he had taken from the Aquarion in the crater. Turning it over, he tried to remember how she wore it. It started out looking like a bracelet, but then it looped about three inches, two rings were attached to the loop. "It's a damn puzzle?"

After trying a few different ways to fit, he slipped his hand through the bigger circle and his middle finger through the two rings. The item glowed slightly in his hand and a menu popped up on his hud.

[Defining New User... Please wait...]

Nix

Level 43

Strength 58

Endurance 61

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 90

Fire Resistance 100 [Burning Aura]

Weapon Skills:

Rifle 90

Whip 77

Support Skill:

Flame Strands 0 [14]

Swimming 2 [100]

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 100

[Support Skill: Sea-Beast Master:8 Has been added to your Character]

[Level 1 Stable has 0/20 Beasts]

[Scan Surrounding Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Stand By...]

[20 Sea Beasts and 4 Embryos have been located.]

[Type 1: Elite Black Sea Turtle: 19]

[Type 2: Spirit Animal: 1]

[Type 3: Manta Embryos: 4]

[Do you wish to Train the Available Sea-Beasts?]

"Yes."

[20 Sea-Beasts have been added to the Taming Queue.]

[Do you wish to place the Sea-Beasts in your Stable when Training is Complete?]

"No, leave them here."

Nix activated Deep Blue and selected Jenzi. The Provost Marshal Office was on the other side of the city, it was an enormous stone structure with gray granite steps leading up to large steel doors. He walked in to the fragrant smell of fresh flowers, the last scent he expected to encounter. A familiar-looking bald man was patiently trimming a pot of flowers on his desk. He looked up when Nix walked in.

"Oh, it's you. Great job keeping that Aquarion at bay, impressive piece of work. I'm Sergeant Ton."

"Nice to meet you Sergeant. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

The large man looked at his flowers and then back at Nix. With a heavy sigh, he slid them to one side. "Of course. What may I help you with?"

"I'm looking into the Aquarion attacks. Would you mind if I asked you some questions?"

"Open your hud, Mr. Nix." Sergeant Ton opened his own hud and sent him a file.

[You have received all the pertinent data regarding the Aquarions]

[You have been offered a quest. Do you accept?]

Aquarion Attacks: Hidden Faction

Description: You inquired into a

mystery that no one else seems to

want to solve. Will you be able to?

"Yes."

[Aquarion Attacks has been added to your Quest log.]

The big man moved the flowers back to the center of his desk and resumed his work. Nix couldn't think of anything else to ask so he left quietly. A voice called to him as soon as he stepped onto the street.

"Nix!"

He turned to see a small blonde-haired woman walking toward him. He recognized her from the Salamander guild. "Hi, Semmi."

She smiled, "you remembered my name. Thank goodness, it's so awkward when that happens."

"Were you looking for me? Or is this happenstance?" He started walking toward the market square, she fell in beside him.

"Both... I was walking around, hoping I might run into you."

"I'm not going to join Salamander nor help them as a guest player." Sometimes it was better to get the hard stuff out of the way.

The small woman didn't seem surprised. "Could we purchase raid merchandise from you? I hear that you are really good at improvising new recipes."

"I won't make any aquatic gear for Salamander. Unfortunately, you are competing against my friends."

"Dammit. You're a tough nut!"

Nix shook his head, "I'm not trying to be."

They arrived at the Jenzi gate, she looked disappointed. "Okay. Let's grind some levels some time. What level are you?"

"Forty-three. Sure we can do that." He stepped onto the gate, but activated Deep Blue instead and chose Cyphix.

His good mood at being back instantly vanished in the screams of pain and wails of despair. Multiple buildings throughout the town were on fire. Smoke hung thick in the air, Nix broke into a run and headed toward the Kindled Spirit.

As he moved away from the gate, the damage from fire lessened but was replaced with entire buildings encased in blocks of ice. "The F*ck is going on here?"

The Kindled Spirit appeared undamaged, but there were three scorched bodies. The first two people he saw when he opened the Inn door were Sila and Hyai. The innkeeper was calmly bandaging her friend. Sila looked at him when he walked in.

"Nix!" She seemed relieved to see him, "they took Nez!"

The inn was empty except for the two women. Nix lay a hand on each of their shoulders. "Sorry, but I'm getting you two out of here." He activated Deep Blue and chose Lake Cavern.

Hyai didn't seem as surprised as Sila, "an origin stone?"

"You are safe here. Tell me everything." He brought them to the table that the Daybreakers had left behind and had them sit down.

Hyai took a deep breath. "Raiders came through the gate, dozens of them, all at once."

He sat a bottle of wine on the table. "What were they after?"

Sila took a drink, her hands were shaking slightly.

Hyai shook her head. "At first they were just burning and killing, but then Aquarions descended from the clouds, more than I've ever seen at one time."

"A bit of a coincidence."

Hyai waited until Sila sat the bottle down, then she took a long drink herself. "They were working together. They were taking people. Cyan, Nez, Kyla and a dozen other women."

Nix leaned back in his chair. "Where did they go?"

"The Aquarions escaped into the clouds. They brought all the women and the raiders away with them." Hyai stared at him, "the raiders were part of Burning Sea."

Sila frowned at the name, "that explains why they were so talented with fire magic. They had me too Nix, until Hyai..."

He had seen the bodies in front of the Inn. It wasn't the work of someone who knew a little bit of fire magic. "I won't judge Hyai."

"I use to run with Burning Sea, years ago before I got married. Even my husband didn't know." Hyai looked down at her hands, refusing to meet his gaze. "I was a bad person Nix, someone who did horrible things."

Sila looked at her in surprise, she only knew Hyai the Inn Keeper. "You saved my life. Thank you Hyai."

Two hours later, Sila and Hyai had fallen asleep on the bed. Nix was sitting on the floor studying his hud. The Provost Marshal had given him exact details of every attack, interviews with the victims, even the notes of the investigators.

They always took females. Until today their ages tended to be between 6 and 13. This also the first known instance of Aquarions working with humans.

Nix activated the Sea Beast Bracelet. The menu options appeared on his hud.

[All Available Sea-Beasts in the Area have been Tamed.]

He chose the add to Stable option.

[Level 1 Stable has 19/20 Occupants]

"Why only 19?"

A movement next to his feet brought a smile to his face. "You don't like Stables Soup?"

He bent closer and lay a hand on its smooth head.

[Bind this Spirit animal to you?]

"Yes." Despite the circumstances, he chuckled, "you my spirit animal Soup?"

[Spirit Animal has been bound.]

"Display my stats."

Nix

Level 43

Strength 58

Endurance 61

Intelligence 25

Dexterity 25

Perception 25

Cold Resistance 90

Fire Resistance 100 [Burning Aura]

Weapon Skills:

Rifle 90

Whip 77

Support Skill:

Flame Strands 0 [14]

Swimming 2 [100]

Sea-Beast Master 8 [Lvl 1]

[Level 1 Stable has 19/20 Beasts]

[Spirit Animal 1/4]

1: Soup [Elite Black Sea Turtle]

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 100

"Let's see what you're made of Soup."

Soup: Spirit Animal

Elite Black Sea Turtle

Description: If your spirit

beast dies, it cannot be summoned

again for 3 days.

[Atttack Rating Medium]

[Defense Rating High]

[Special Attack: Sonic Boom]

He cycled through the menu, familiarizing himself with the commands. There were Four basic Commands: Attack, Defend, Hide and Retreat.

He looked at the Sea Beast Bracelet. "No wonder the Aquarions are constantly kicking our ass."

"What are you going to do Nix?" Hyai had her head propped up with one hand.

"Suppose I'll gather some allies and go find our people." Nix shook his head before she could speak. "You can't come with me."

"I'm an old woman, but still pretty strong."

Nix smiled at her words, "strong yes, old... not so much."

A few hours later, he dropped them both off at the Kindled Inn. All the fires had already been put out and the ice had been removed.

Sila looked a lot better after some rest. "Be careful Nix."

"I will. Both of you stay close to the Inn."

Hyai nodded, "what will you do Nix?"

He activated Deep Blue. "Gather some strong allies."

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"Once again, not our best effort." Jun Li stood in front of her raid group, three groups of twenty were required to advance to the 2nd stage of the fourth floor. Two of those groups had to fight through to the lever rooms while the last group went through the gate that those levers opened. Once the gate was open you only had a few seconds to get through.

"We aren't there yet Junie, we need to build a bit more strength." Semmi thought back to the Daybreakers. With the exception of their Guild Leader and Pon, they were not that strong. Was the CC guest making the difference?

June Li nodded, "After seeing the Daybreakers finish the stage, I was pumped to come in here and put it behind us." She sighed heavily, "but we are going to have to wait a bit longer."

"Let's make a deal, Guild Leader Jun Li."

Jun Li turned at the sound of the voice. "Nix... What sort of deal?"

He stood their calmly, his sun-colored eyes staring. "I'll get a group of you on the other side of that gate, right now."

The Salamander Guild stared at him, everyone in the guild felt that they were much stronger than the Daybreakers. They had to have had some sort of workaround.

June Li tried to keep her voice calm. The first stage of the fourth floor would halt their progress for at least a few weeks longer. If they could finish it off now..."What are your terms?"

"Cyphix was raided by members of the Burning Sea, they were aiding the Aquarions." Nix paused, the smiling face of Kyla the gunsmith entering his thoughts, "They took some of our friends, and I want to get them back."

Jun Li hid the excitement she felt, finishing the first stage of the fourth floor would put her ahead of schedule. "I need a few minutes to discuss it with my guild."

Nix waited calmly, the Salamander Guild had been discussing his proposal for a few minutes. In exchange for getting them through the last gate, they would give him two days of their time, starting immediately.

"It's a no-brainer, Junie." Semmi kept glancing back at Nix, he seemed calm on the surface. "We'd spend the next few weeks wiping here anyway. If a few deaths chasing Aquarions is the price, then we'd be foolish not to pay."

Saintess nodded in agreement. The red-haired cleric was Salamander's primary healer and a big part of their success. "It's a chance to make some friends."

Jun Li nodded, "let's do it then."

Semmi removed one of the dps from their 20 person group and added Nix. "Show us what you got."

Nix moved closer and grabbed Saintess's hand, "Join hands please."

A dark-haired scout frowned and grabbed his free hand. "Fine, but if we start singing... I'm out."

He waited until they had all joined hands, then he activated Deep Blue and Chose Mermaid City. A moment later, nineteen members of the Salamander guild arrived at the portal behind the gate.

"Follow." Nix flashed down the hallway and took a right, he waited for them at the entrance to the next room.

"You think this is on the level?" Saryn kept checking to see if they had returned. He was the second group's tank, as the weakest group they had been held responsible for holding the rest of the guild back. If they could get past this, then maybe Jun Li would get off their back.

Binder shrugged, "I'm just glad I don't have to run that damn east-side gauntlet today. We should have a few minutes before they..."

Colonial System Message: Congratulations to the Salamander Guild for clearing the first stage on the fourth floor in Mermaid City.

The twenty man group entered the staging area a moment later. The normally serious Jun Li was smiling widely. "Semmi you go with Nix, everyone else pack your gear for a two-day mission and meet in Cyphix in one hour."

Semmi and Nix took the Mermaid City Portal back to Cyphix. Repairs were already underway as carpenters and masons worked side-by-side in an attempt to erase the visual evidence of the attack. Nix didn't like the look in the people's eyes, they looked scared and tentative, not like the hardy pioneers that they were the day before.

"I need something that belongs to one of the women who were taken." Semmi activated an item and a small white creature appeared next to her feet. It immediately hid behind her legs when it saw Nix.

"Is that thing a pet? Kinda big for a rat." Nix tried to keep a straight face, he desperately wanted to ask her more about pets.

"What?" She stooped down and picked up the furry creature. "She's a fox! Don't listen to the bad man Tilde."

"Follow me, we'll go to Kyla's shop." Nix led the way to the Gunsmith shop, the door wasn't locked. He walked in and took a left up the stairs. Kyla had a small apartment above her shop.

He felt a bit odd going into someone else's home uninvited, but he pushed the door open.

"Clothes will work best, something she was attached to." Semmi walked in behind Nix and searched for the bedroom. She smiled at the decor, they had very similar tastes.

"I made her a dress a while back, she told me she loved it." Nix glanced around the apartment, it was more feminine than he would have guessed. He let Semmi search the bedroom while he stayed in the common area. Kyla wouldn't like some guy going through her bedroom.

"Nix?" Semmi came out of the bedroom holding a red silk dress. "You made this?"

He nodded, "yep, traded it for my rifle."

"I have an entire closet of guns you can have! Make me one!"

"Focus, please... If your fox-rat can track down my friends, "I'll make you anything you want, at cost of course."

"Deal! And don't take it back." Semmi stowed the dress away and waited for him to lead the way out.

Nix closed the Shop door when they left and headed back toward the Kindled Spirit.

"Seems like a crowd has arrived." As Nix approached the Inn, he could make out members of Daybreaker, Salamander and an entire group of armed riders. Hyai was standing in front of the Inn talking to the riders.

Semmi jumped in with both feet. "Salamander Guild, camp outside the gate and await further instructions."

Sharl spotted them and waved. "Nix!" She hugged him and then quickly stepped back, she could sense that the raid had really bothered him. He had already told her his plans to bring Salamander onboard. "Hey, at least we were number one for a while!"

Nix liked Semmi's idea, "could you have your people camp outside the gate also?"

Sharl nodded and gave her people directions, both she and Ronnie stayed.

"You big armored Bull! Have your people camp outside the gate. Then come in and I'll make you something to eat!" Hyai was scolding a large bald man, when he obediently turned toward his men, Nix recognized him as Sergeant Ton.

Ton scowled at him as he walked past, the look on his face made Nix laugh.

"Jun Li is inside," Hyai said quietly. "Come in and I'll fix you something to eat."

Fifteen minutes later, the group was sitting down together planning their next move.

Semmi leaned back in her chair, casually watching the other people sitting at the table. "I've already released Tilde, she's looking for the trail. Once she finds it, she'll track them down and stay close.

"Finding them is important, but so is catching them. The reason they get away every time is those flying mounts!" Ton's booming voice echoed in the Inn.

"Don't yell at everyone Bane." Hyai wagged her finger at the Provost Sergeant.

Ton looked down at his plate and pushed his food around with a fork. "Yes Mum."

The sight of a three hundred pound man being scolded like a child made Nix smile shamelessly. Hyai had told him that her daughter had married and moved away, she hadn't mentioned that her son-in-law was Sergeant Ton from the Jenzi Provost Office.

Jun Li nodded in agreement, "they are a strong and elusive race."

"The going price for a flying mount is 500 thousand credits, no exceptions. This is only for people taking part in this exercise." When Nix spoke, the entire table stared in silence.

Sharl was the first to recover. She had seen his turtles, had he found a way to train Mantas? "I'll take forty for the Daybreakers."

Jun Li stood up, her hands on either side of her plate. "Are you serious?"

Nix nodded, "Yes. Wait for me at the camps outside the gate."

He had stopped at the Lake Cavern to empty out his Stable before heading to out. He temporarily erased the Jenzi Slot and saved the Phelinomia portal. An hour later Nix was wading in the knee-deep water bordering Lapu. He activated the Sea Beast bracelet.

[Scan Surrounding Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Stand By...]

[140 Sea Beasts have been located.]

[Type 1: Manta: 136]

[Type 2: Green Sea Turtle: 4]

[Mount type beasts have been detected. Train mounts for stables?]

"Yes."

[Qeued: 40 Manta Mounts]

Nix watched the progress bar, he had played a hunch. Why would the Aquarions have flying mounts if no one else could? That was the real purpose of the bracelet. Even if he took it off, he would have access to his stables since he now had the Sea-Beast Master skill. The bracelet was for training new beasts.

He had talked to Hyai before he left, she was setting up the payments from Salamander, Daybreakers and the Provost Office. He had asked her to set up a roped off area outside of the makeshift camps. Training mounts must be fairly quick since it finished substantially faster than his turtles had.

He activated the summon mount option from his bracelet. A blue manta appeared in front of him, a small leather saddle and bridle already attached. He had noticed that the Aquarions stood on them, so he hopped on and reached down for the bridle.

It rode exactly like a horse. He arrived at the Phelinomia gate a few minutes later, then stowed the mount and activated Deep Blue. He took a deep breath and chose Cyphix.

He appeared at the Cyphix gate and immediately summoned the mount. He jumped on quickly and headed for camp.

Hyai had been waiting patiently. Forty members of the Daybreakers were standing outside of the roped-off area. They had paid her Twenty million credits. A noise from the camp caught her attention, it rose in volume and continued as more people looked skyward. She nearly cried when she saw him, he was flying a few hundred feet off the ground and moving fast. He circled once and landed next to the Inn Keeper.

"I'm back."

He jumped off the mount and motioned for Sharl to move forward. The transfer process was straight forward and part of the Sea-Beast bracelet menu.

[Do you wish to transfer ownership of Manta: Mount Type to Sharl?]

"Yes."

Semmi ducked through the roped area after he transferred the fortieth Manta. "Tilde has found the trail, it won't be long now."

"Thanks, Semmi. Gotta run, more mounts to get."

He activated Deep Blue and chose Phelinomia. It was going to be a long afternoon.

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The last trip to Lapu only required him to pick up 15 Manta. He brought them quickly back to Cyphix then made one last trip to the Lake Cavern to grab his turtles.

"Display Stable content."

[19 Elite Black Sea Turtle, 1 Aviante Manta: Mount Type)

He had found only one white manta all day, of course, he kept that one. Soup didn't need to be stored in the stable to be summoned.

"Why did you need our Aquatic Gear?" Ronnie was flying next to him. He decided to stick close to the Daybreaker Guild, even though Jun Li had invited him to stay with Salamander.

Nix checked the queue on the upgrades, still a bit left before it finished. "The Aquarion Badge we received for first clear, enabled me to increase our speed from 18 to 36. It doesn't sound like much, but any advantage we can get at this point."

"That's fast, " Sharl was on the other side of Ronnie and was listening in on the conversation.

They traveled due east for nearly four hours before Semmi gave the signal to stop. At this time Nix gave everyone back their Aquatic gear and then moved beneath the water.

The rest of the force had older, less evolved aquatics for underwater travel and definitely noticed that the Daybreakers had some advanced gear. The moment they submerged, Nix summoned Soup and got rid of the Manta. He sat comfortably on her shell while she easily kept up with the Manta mounts.

They dived nearly straight down for about a half-hour before leveling off. It was here that the group stopped and sent out scouts. The seaweed from the ocean floor was thick, enabling the force to hide quickly, Sharl and Nix were joined by Semmi, Ton and Jun Li.

"Tilde says we are very close, the scouts should have no problem finding them." Semmi was staring hard at the Sea Turtle that Nix was sitting on. As a pet owner, she knew another spirit animal when she saw one.

June Li finally asked the question on everyone's mind. "How did you tame the Mantas?"

Nix didn't want it to seem like too big of a mystery so he came up with a plausible story. "I stole an artifact from the Aquarions at the Lapu Crater."

Jun Li's dark eyes locked on him, "getting into that colony is not easy."

Nix nodded in agreement, "took me half the day to kill my way in. Things got a bit scary when I entered their nesting grounds."

Sharl smiled to herself, she knew exactly where the next Daybreaker raid would be. "The Lapu Crater is a nesting ground?"

"Yes, one of their Mount Tamers spotted me and chased me into a water cave. I got the artifact from her."

Ton scowled at the idea of Aquarion Mount Tamers. "That's how they get the mounts? I had assumed that it was some natural ability they had as Water Creatures."

Nix shook his head, "nope, it's just a device. Not sure how many they have or how they get them."

Semmi moved closer to him and placed a hand on his pets shell. "Did you take this turtle from them too?"

"Yes... Her name is Soup."

The pretty blonde didn't hide her smile when he said the name, "she's beautiful, don't you dare eat her."

Wind and a Salamander scout name Rival returned to the commanders together. Rival gave his report first. "They have established a camp a few minutes east of our position. The camp has about 30 guards, most of them are melee, but I counted a dozen casters."

Jun Li considered her scout's words carefully. "So we outnumber them three to one, that's good enough odds for us."

Wind shook his head, "there's more. There's a second group west of them, eight in all. Four Casters and four melees."

Sharl cursed softly, "we'll have to divide our forces."

Juni Li glanced at her second in command, "how many would we need to divert to handle eight Aquarions?"

Semmi frowned at the question, "At least sixteen, but if you want to win that fight, then more like twenty-five."

"Shit!" Ton's mailed fist slammed into his palm. "We have a hundred people, that sounds like a lot but it isn't when you consider that one Aquarion has no problem handling two of us."

"Why fight the smaller group?"

Everyone looked at Nix when he asked the question. Only Sharl knew that he was a complete noob, but he was also quite smart. "They will most certainly join the fight if we leave them alone."

Nix nodded, "Of course, I'm not saying we should ignore them." He patted Soup's shell. "She's faster than anything in the sea."

"Distract them?" Semmi considered the idea, "it might work for a while, but they'd turn around sooner or later."

June Li hid her smile behind a hand. He had guts, "even a few minutes allows us to trim the main group down."

Wind continued his report, "the prisoners are being kept in a stasis pen at the center, they are being guarded by six humans."

"Me, Wind and Rival can take down the guards and free the captives," Semmi spoke casually, those in Salamander knew that she was formidable.

Nix had seen Nez fight and assumed that Kyla could handle a weapon. "Cyan, Kyla and Nez are all experienced, if you bring them weapons you'll gain two clerics and a dps right away."

Semmi nodded, "that would help." She smiled at her friend and patted her on the shoulder. "You have to do the heavy lifting Junie."

Jun Li pointed to Nix. "You let the smaller group see you and then lead them off. I'll bring Salamander directly in on the main group, while the Daybreakers and Provost team come in from the other side." Jun Li glanced at her second, "thoughts?"

Semmi shook her head, "Us scouts will already be in place, the three of us will take out the human guards and then free the prisoners. We'll make sure that whoever is in shape to fight will have a weapon to do so."

Jun Li looked around at the rest of the command group. "Anything else?"

Ton's eyes were bright with excitement. "If we do this, it will be the first time that the Aquarions have been run down and punished for their raids. It will show everyone that they aren't untouchable."

Sharl looked at Nix and then motioned back at her guild. "I'll brief my people and be ready in five minutes."

Nix followed Sharl back to the Daybreakers, she kept stealing glances at him.

"Nix... don't let them catch you." She lowered her voice and leaned closer, "use your bracelet if it appears that you are going to be captured."

"I will. Be careful yourself."

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "You should lose the Mount Artifact Nix."

He nodded, "I understand." With only one mount artifact, unless humans found more, everyone would want it. Holding onto something like that in the long term would paint a target on him.

Nix headed west in a large circle, the stopped a few miles from his target where the plant life was the thickest.

He activated the Sea-Beast Menu and summoned the turtles.

[Command: Hide]

Nineteen Elite Black Sea Turtles faded into the thick weeds. From a few feet away Nix couldn't see any of them.

Sharl led the Daybreakers and the Provost team to a position just north of the main group. She rode her Manta next to her sister, occasionally their eyes would meet.

Ronnie pursed her lips, "think Nix will lead them away?"

Sharl nodded, "you've seen how fast his turtles are."

"Right... Did you tell him our thought regarding the Mount Artifact?"

"Yes." Sharl knew that he understood. Let everyone think it's gone, and hide it back at the Lake Cavern.

Jun Li checked her people and made sure they were in position. As the leader of the Main Assault force, she would carry most of the burden in the rescue attempt. Something like this would get out quickly if they were successful, with the exception of Mermaid City, Aquarions had always been given a wide berth. "No more free passes."

All three scouts stealthed and were moving into the Aquarion camp. Semmi felt her heart pounding in her chest, she had never attempted anything like this before. She was following Wind as he moved easily. As a scout, she could stealth and see through stealth. Normally she wouldn't have followed behind, but the Daybreaker scout gave off a fierce sense of danger. What other tigers hid in that small mid-tier guild? She frowned at the sleek aquatics Wind wore, she'd make Nix craft one for her after they rescued his friends.

They moved into position and then waited. When Nix made his move, there would definitely be a ripple effect at the main camp. The operation would start then.

Nix lay prone on the turtle's shell, holding himself in place with both hands. She swam easily toward the Aquarion camp, while he kept an eye out for them. "Come on Soup, let's go get us some Aquarions."

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Kyla sat next to Nez while they both stared at the Aquarion camp. The raid on Cyphix had happened so quickly, she hadn't even grabbed a weapon. The gunsmith had run out into the street when she heard a scream and immediately was struck down by a blow to the head. When she woke, the cleric next to her was treating her injury. The hopelessness of the situation was starting to seep in. The pretty redhead wiped her tears. She thought about the man who had come to her shop a few weeks ago and had made her a dress. She'd only been able to wear it once. She bit her lip to keep from crying, once the Aquarions took you...

Nix and Soup headed straight toward the smaller Aquarion camp. He didn't flee when they first spotted him, instead, he pretended to panic and gave them ample opportunity to respond to his presence. Then he had soup bank to one side and head in the opposite direction. All eight Aquarions from the camp gave chase.

At the main camp, near the prisoners, all three scouts struck at the same time, according to their own style. Semmi and Rival cut the throat of their targets, while Wind stabbed his dagger into the base of the skull.

The Aquarion Main camp responded to the Nix sighting by turning their attention outward just long enough for the scouts to kill all the human guards.

"It's a distraction! They're after the prisoners!" An Aquarion Matriarch stepped toward the center of the camp, both of her hands bathed in blue light.

At this time the Aquarion camp was struck on two sides in a pincer attack, for a moment it was complete pandemonium.

Sharl and Pon sighted the Matriarch at the same time. The dark woman flashed toward the target, her flaming spear drawn.

"Pon, soften that bitch up!"

The old fire mage saw that the Matriarch was about to cast, and quickly cast wall of flames, making her take a step backward. Ronnie who was following Ton while he pushed toward the captives, spared a glance back and sent a three-shot burst into the Matriarch's back with her speargun. The Aquarion leader twisted in surprise exposing herself just long enough for Sharl's spear to find her throat. The Daybreaker guild leader stabbed through her and pinned her to the ground. Fire roared from Pon's hands as he baptized the water creature in flames.

The camp's only Matriarch had been taken down, seconds into the fight. The camp's center had become a bloody mess, human's from Burning Sea were slaughtered by the assault teams. Wind and Rival defended Semmi while she disabled the Stasis Pen. With the magic dampening field of the Stasis Pen turned off, both Cyan and Nez instantly bathed in yellow light.

Semmi spotted the target that Tilde had been tracking. She tossed the gunsmith a rifle and then defended an attack from a sword-wielding Aquarion. Kyla grabbed the weapon and along with Cyan and Nez joined the fight.

"Phaedra! The main camp is under attack!"

The young Aquarion woman scowled at her underling. "Matriarch Selune is there. What could possibly happen?" Normally she would have returned right away, but she had recognized the human. It was the same one who had snatched the Manta eggs and stolen her Ricoli Bracer. The Matriarch had given her another, but the humiliation of being bested by a human had been hard to take. Had it not been for her family's rank, she would have most likely been punished severely.

"You ready Soup?" The pair sped past the ambush spot, they had let their lead slowly dwindle over the last few minutes.

[Command: Attack]

The Black Sea Turtles surged upward from the thickly weeded floor and slammed into the Aquarion pursuit from underneath.

Soup banked hard and charged into them while Nix kicked free of its shell and flashed toward the target. Nix had three flame strands on her before he recognized her as the woman from the Manta nests. This time, there would be no mercy.

The seven remaining Aquarions were no match for the sea turtles. Although Nix had killed many sea turtles himself, that had always been on land. In the water, it was a completely different story. The Aquarions were instantly torn apart and then consumed.

Phaedra howled in anger while her squad was eliminated. She collapsed to her knees begging for her life. "Cai-song... Spare me and I will tell you!"

Nix dropped the flame strands. He spotted another Sea-Beast bracelet on her wrist, he promptly tore it off and stowed it away. "Trying to trick me again? Tell me something that I'll believe."

"The Cai-Song is an Aquarion artifact that changes male babies into female babies."

Nix stared at the Aquarion, not sure if she was speaking the truth. "Sorry, I don't believe you." He raised a hand that suddenly was glowing orange.

"Wait! It's true, all Aquarion babies are inherently male." Phaedra's face was a picture of misery, forced to give away their races secret to protect her life.

Nix considered the idea, what did this have to do with them grabbing human females? "Keep talking."

"In order for the artifact to work, a pregnant Aquarion is placed on the artifacts altar."

"I have a feeling that you are skirting around the issue. I'll let you go if you tell me everything. Or else you'll be turtle food."

"There's a second altar. A female human of a certain age must be placed on it."

"You use our females to change the gender of Aquarion babies before they are born? What happens then?"

"Nothing happens then, the Aquarion returns home and has her baby naturally."

"Why take the women from Cyphix? None of them fit the age requirements of your previous abductions."

"It's getting more difficult to successfully reach our quotas of human females..." She trailed off without finishing.

Nix felt a thud in his stomach, he swallowed the bitter taste to keep from retching. "You were planning to breed them, like cattle?"

Phaedra didn't dare answer, she knew her life hung in the balance.

"And the men from the Burning Sea? Volunteers to do the mating, I suppose?"

She nodded.

"Leave now, my word is good I won't harm y..."

Soup flashed toward her, her beak latched onto her throat and with a quick twist, her head separated from her body. Her limbs were spasming as her body slowly fell.

"..." Nix.

Colonial System Message: The Aquarion race has been capturing human females for nefarious purposes. To read the official announcement, please open your hud now.

[Quest Completion: Aquarion Attacks]

[You have raised your Hidden Faction level to Ally]

[For Exposing the Aquarion Abductions to the World you have received the title of Knight of Colonia]

[You have been Awarded the World Seed.]

Jun Li and Semmi watched as Sharl distributed their share of the loot. The wounded had been healed and morale was high. By any standard, the raid had been an amazing success.

Semmi stole a glance at Wind, the Daybreakers scout was cleaning his weapon on the far side of the camp. "We underestimated how strong the Daybreakers are."

Jun Li nodded in agreement. "Sharl held down an Aquarion Matriarch by herself, while their fire mage slow-roasted her."

A movement from the edge of the camp caught Semmi's attention. A man riding a sea turtle entered and was heading towards the center. "He made it back."

"Looks like he's uninjured," Junie glanced sideways at her friend. "Sure would like to pull him into the Salamanders"

Both Ronnie and Sharl had their backs to him when he entered camp, he was nearly on top of them before they noticed.

"Nix!" Ronnie flung herself at him and hugged him. "You made it back!"

"Sure. It was cake." He accepted a hug from Sharl and then waited while the rest of the leaders made their way toward them. "The group that was chasing me broke off the pursuit when the camp fell. Not sure where they went."

"Great Job Nix!" Ton's boom voice resumed its previous loudness, he shook Nix's hand while pounding him on the back.

Jun Li and Semmi were all smiles. It the end they had gained quite a bit from the raid, including advancement to the second floor of stage four. Jun Li shook his hand, "I hope we can continue to cooperate Nix."

Semmi smiled sweetly, "I'll put in my clothes order when we get back."

Nix returned her smile but didn't say anything. He held out the Mount Bracelet and placed it in Ton's hands. "I'm giving this to the Provost Office, the Daybreakers, and the Salamander Guild."

The three commanders stared at him in shock. Sharl seemed the least surprise but her face showed her curiosity.

"You three led your people here and risked the most. I've already profited from it, so I've decided your three organizations should share it equally." Nix shrugged at their expressions, "I'll leave the details to you."

"Nix..." Jun Li wasn't surprised by people very often.

He smiled and left them all staring at each other while he walked toward the center of camp. The survivors were all sitting a circle, they looked tired but very happy.

Kyla had heard everyone talking. It had been Nix who brought the others together in an effort to save them. "Thank you, Nix"

"Your welcome. Did you get your dress back?"

"Yes... Did you go through my clothes?" Kyla covered her blushing face with both hands. "Now you know that's my only dress!"

Nix laughed at her expression. "I expect my forty percent discount now."

Kyla made a face at him, "twenty percent stinker..."

The ride back to Cyphix was peaceful. The captives doubled up with their rescuers. Cyan was standing next to Nix while they rode his White Manta.

"I want to thank you personally also Nix. Now that I know what they were planning." She shuddered when she thought of it.

"Time to heal and put that behind you." Nix grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

Cyan stared at the City as they approached. "It's much brighter from the air."

Many cheers came from the street when the entire group circled once and then landed outside the gates. Friends and family of the prisoners rushed out to embrace them. Nix stowed his manta in the Sea-Beast stable and bid goodbye to Cyan.

He walked toward the town gates, many people were patting him on the back and offering congratulations while he walked. He spotted Sila crying loudly while she hugged Nez close. Nix smiled and sighed contently. He hadn't done many good things in his life, this had a nice feeling.

Hyai was waiting for him when he entered the Inn. "Upstairs you go. There's a hot meal and a bath waiting for you."

"Sounds good." He let her pull him up the stairs to the Luxury Suite. It had a sizable bed and a fireplace that was burning. The warmth of the room made him instantly sleepy.

"Do you like it? From now on, this is your room." Hyai pulled out a chair for him at the small table and poured him some wine. "There's a private bath through that door, I'll help you after you eat."

Nix looked down at the large steak and fresh vegetables. "Spoiling me Hyai?"

Hyai sat down across from him and pour herself some wine. "Haven't even started to yet."

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Nix smiled at the rather impressive view. Hyai was sitting at the foot of his bed dressing while humming softly to herself. There was something incredible about the way she put on her bra. Gently holding her soft breast in one hand while lifting it and placing it neatly in its silky pocket. He sighed contently, it's great to be the Underwear King.

Two weeks had passed since the Allied Raid on the Aquarions. The Provost Office in Jenza built a Manta Stable right inside the city. They oversaw the operation and sales in exchange for a slightly bigger piece of the pie. A pie that they shared with the Salamander Guild and the Daybreakers.

The Sea Beast bracelet he had given the Alliance was only capable of taming Mounts. It didn't have a stable or any other options. Because of this, Manta hunting had become big business. Originally Manta mounts were going for 1 or 2 million credits. These prices dropped to around 5 or 6 hundred thousand as more people began hunting Manta and selling them to the Provost Stable. Nix was one of these hunters, he would get one million per animal. Unlike other hunters, his mantas were never damaged, and he'd sell them in groups of twenty. The rest of the hunters would turn in slightly injured beasts and in quantities less than five.

Hyai looked over her shoulder at him. "What are you planning for the day?"

Things had changed between them over the past two weeks, the easy bond between them had strengthened. "I'll drop off some product at Shana's, then I'm going to meet up with the Daybreakers and resume the search."

With humans suddenly possessing flying mounts, the Aquarions were being constantly hunted. The predator had become the prey. The Burning Sea guild had colluded with the enemy, once the word had been spread, they were forced to hide. Nix had taken up a quest to root out the Burning Sea once and for all.

Hyai bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Be very careful Nix. They are a bit more powerful than they were when I ran with them. I hear rumblings of someone called Alpha."

"We've heard those same rumblings. Don't worry, I'll stick with the Daybreakers."

An hour later Nix had dropped off the product for the boutique and was heading for his rendezvous with the Daybreakers in Broyan. At the last minute, he decided to leave the Turtles at the Lake Cavern. Broyan was completely landlocked and the turtles would be at a disadvantage on land.

He turned them loose in the lake, but not before giving each of them a Manta pearl to eat. He had saved a white one for Soup like he always did. "You're so spoiled. Stay and relax, I'll summon you if I need too."

Although Soup didn't communicate with him, he had the feeling she knew exactly what he wanted. He laughed when she took the pearl and hid at the lake bottom. All the turtles had their own places they would eat.

"It's interesting that you've brought so many animals here." A figure spoke softly from the doorway of the hut. She wore black leather gear with a mask that covered her face, she had her hands held out straight in a gesture that showed she was unarmed.

Both of Nix's hands glowed orange. He had been working with Pon every day, he could now hold five flame strands. He had locked his level at 50 and was working on building his strength. He kept his face expressionless, he had thought that he was absolutely safe here. "You're trespassing friend and I'm in a bit of a rush."

"I mean you no harm. On the contrary, we are allies."

"I'll choose my own allies. Five seconds to explain things before I motivate you."

"I'm Filamina of the Souza Accord."

[You have discovered the real name of the Hidden Faction]

[Your actions have allied you with the Souza Accord.]

Nix studied the mysterious woman. "So we are allies. We'll get back to that, how did you enter this place?"

She held up her arm and showed him a bracelet. "The same way as you, of course, Deep Blue."

He stared at the bracelet she was wearing, it appeared to be just like his. "Where did you get that? I'm getting tired of having to press through your vague answers."

"Sorry... Truth is I'm scared of you, even though we are allies." She raised up her hands and pulled down her hood.

Nix stared in shock, of all the things... She had shoulder-length white hair that was tied up in a ponytail. Her face was ghost white, she stared at him with pale alien eyes. "An Aquarion?"

She watched him for a reaction. He was already being talked about among her people. Stories of his fire ropes were widely known, once he put them on you, you were dead. "Please don't attack me."

"Okay, I'll admit that surprised me." Nix's heart was slowly starting to recover, an Aquarion was the last thing he expected.

"I have this bracelet because this Lake Cavern once belonged to my family. The bracelet you have was in the possession of my brother."

"He ambushed me, and I took it off his corpse."

"I figured so, he was someone who liked to kill, even when it had no purpose."

Nix moved a few steps closer, she wasn't as tall as most Aquarions, but her ears and serene beauty bore the trademarks of her kind. "Are you here for revenge?"

"No, my brother and I were mortal enemies. I only dared come here because he hadn't been seen in such a long time." She took off the bracelet and tossed it to him. "There are only two of these, so no more surprise visits."

Nix stowed the second Deep Blue bracelet. "Why are you here?"

"My people have been split by rebellion. My faction desires peaceful co-existence with your race. Our ideas of peace have caused us to be cast out and hunted down by our own kin."

"By exposing the Aquarion agenda to Colonial, I helped you?"

"Yes, mostly." She took a few steps closer, her hands clasped behind her back. She had been looking for him for weeks, it had only occurred to her recently that he may have been the one to slay her brother.

"Say I believe you. What do you want from me?"

"I"ll share everything I know, even if you don't help." She stared at his yellow eyes, they weren't nearly as frightening as the stories stated.

"For instance?"

"The Ricoli artifact you have. It would have given you the Sea-Beast Master attribute. Right?"

"Maybe."

She unconsciously took a step back, a sense of danger emanated from him. "The Ricoli artifacts are charged with a single-use support skill. You took yours from Phaedra, she already possessed a rare attribute, so the Sea Beast Skill in her artifact would have been unused."

"Isn't that a huge waste of power?"

"The rare attribute she possessed was the Matriarch Skill, that takes up all the rating points. All future Matriarchs have it. Once she became a Matriarch, her skills would have reset and then she would have used the Ricoli."

Nix considered the possibility that she was telling the truth but something didn't seem right. "So all Matriarchs have the Sea Beast skill?"

"Yes, after they become Matriarchs, they use the Ricoli artifact to become Sea Beast Masters."

"Then why didn't the Matriarch from the raid, use it on my people?"

"She had recharged it and gave it to Phaedra to replace the one that you took. The Sea Beast Master skill can only be used when wearing the Ricoli artifact."

"Is that right?" He slid off the Ricoli artifact and stowed it away.

[Command: Defend]

A moment later the surface of the lake erupted as the turtles burst out of the water and surrounded him.

The Aquarian gasped in surprise, "you don't need it."

"No, Not after I learned the skill."

She shook her head and repeated herself. "None of us can use it without wearing the artifact."

"I only need it to tame new Sea Beasts or mounts. I don't wear it otherwise."

"What about the artifact you gave the Allies?"

Nix frowned at the Aquarion woman," you are remarkably well informed."

She looked down at the ground, "I want to gain your trust, but I have no idea what I should say."

Nix nodded, " On that we agree. As for the allied artifact, they have the original one that I used to train the skill."

"That means that the charged artifact that Matriarch Selune gave to Phaedra..."

"Is in my possession," Nix finished the sentence for her. "Wait, you can recharge the artifact?"

"Matriarchs can."

Nix nodded, "okay, that is reasonable. Why would the Matriarch do that?"

"Phaedra was an extremely important person."

"I'm having a hard time trusting you. Sorry."

"I can tell you about this place if you like. My father created it with a world seed."

"Shit... I've been trying for weeks to find out what they are used for. Why would I be awarded something without any directions?"

"World seeds create a world space like this." She hesitated before continuing, "World seeds can also be added to existing spaces."

Nix looked around the Lake Cavern, although a bit small, it had grown on him. "Why would I want to do that?"

"World spaces have limited space, so two added together make a bigger one."

He looked at the small hut, "I definitely don't want to lose that bed."

She smiled knowingly, " As I remember, it is very comfortable. I use to come here often as a child."

"So you know how to activate the World Seed?"

"Call me Mina." She stepped closer and held out her hand.

"Nix," he shook her hand. It was small but he got the sense of incredible physical strength.

"To use a World Seed by itself, activate it anywhere and it will build the space according to its specifications."

Nix nodded, "that makes sense. What about the adding thing you mentioned?"

"To add it to an existing space, you must be inside the space when you activate it."

"I see, so if I want to keep the space from the Lake Cavern, I could activate it now."

"Yes."

Nix grinned at her. "That's very interesting."

[Do you wish to activate the World Seed?]

"Yes."

[You are inside an existing World Space, the two spaces will be combined and the current portal keys will remain active. Do you wish to continue?]

"Yes."

[A world Seed has been activated, all living creatures will be preserved while the World Space is being built. Please exit now, or you will be returned to your Binding point.]

She looked tentatively at him, "Where are you going?"

He shook his head, "we aren't at that level of trust yet." He believed her, but he wouldn't risk his Daybreaker friends on a hunch.

"I've no way of keeping in touch with you, it seems that I've failed my mission." She slipped her mask back in place.

He watched her for a moment and then pulled out the second Deep Blue Bracelet. "This is just a loan. Don't give me a reason to regret."

She caught the bracelet that he tossed to her. He couldn't see the slight smile on her lips. "Thank you, Nix."

He activated Deep Blue and chose Jenzi, immediately from there he used the city portal and paid a hundred credits for travel to Broyan.

The humidity of the place hit him when he stepped off the platform. The city of Cella was the biggest in Broyan it was a sprawling city with white buildings and white stone roads. Nix squinted against the glare of the morning sun. "Would it kill them to make a brown building?"

"Probably." Ronnie watched him step off the platform, the younger sister laughing while he shielded his eyes.

Nix looked around the square, it was typical for Colonial besides the bright white stones. "You on pick-up duty?"

Ronnie nodded, "yes. Follow me please."

He followed the dark-haired archer toward the city gate, "Somethings different about you. New armor?"

Ronnie smiled over her shoulder at him. "You know it's my hair. Do you like it?"

"Very nice." Nix gave the only acceptable answer, although in this instance he agreed. Her normal long braid down her back had been trimmed to shoulder length. "Since Sharl has been letting hers grow out, I didn't want people to confuse us."

Nix nodded in a noncommittal way. No one would ever confuse slim and athletic Ronnie with her older sister. Having seen them both, he couldn't say if he preferred one over the other.

As soon as they went through the gate, they both summoned their Mantas. The Daybreakers had been thriving since the Jenzi Flying Mount Stable was introduced. They received thirty percent of the profits as did the Salamander guild. The Provost Marshals Office received forty percent for overseeing the day to day operations.

Ronnie glanced at Nix's white mount and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "Won't you find me one of those Nix?"

"Does the color really matter?" Nix hadn't really shown her the difference, but the white mantas were much faster in both the air and water.

"Of course, look how pretty it is."

They headed south from Cella. A few minutes later they arrived at a small clearing. Pon, Wind, and Sharl were all waiting.

The old fire mage took a long drink from the canteen he was holding and then put it away. "Keeping an old man waiting so long, where's your respect Nix?"

Nix smiled knowingly, "in this humidity, you probably should actually put water in your canteen rather than booze."

Pon nodded, "I know it, but there's something pleasant about being drunk in a swamp."

He accepted a hug from Sharl and a respectful nod from Wind.

Nix unsummoned his mount and waited. They were searching for a splinter faction of the Burning Sea that was known to inhabit the Fel marsh south of Cella. The Fel marsh had the disadvantage of not being able to be scouted from the air. The soft muddy area made travel on foot very slow. It was roughly five hundred miles across and extended from Cella, all the way to the ocean. For the most part, the thick foliage created an impenetrable canopy a dozen yards off the ground. It was overgrown to the point where you couldn't see the sky above. It darkened the area substantially, making it difficult to stay on your path. All sorts of land and sea-beasts hid in its shadows.

The rest of the group stowed their mounts as well. Mantas refused to have anything to do with the marsh. Nix could sense the uneasiness of his Aviante before he put it away

He activated the Sea-Beast bracelet that he had hidden under his sleeves, while he waited for the others. Everyone assumed that he had given his Sea-Beast bracelet to Sergeant Ton from the Provost Marshals Office. Technically that was true, he hadn't mentioned that he had acquired another.

[Scan Surround Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Standy By...]

[109] Sea-Beasts Located]

[Type 1: Salt Water Crocodile:28]

[Type 2: Toxic Sea Snapping Turtle: 14]

[Type 3: Venomous Sea Snake: 31]

[Type 4 Swamp Adler: 24]

[Type 5: Salt Water King Lubo: 1]

Nix read the list and began to have second thoughts about not bringing his turtles. They were only at the edge of the marsh, and yet there were all these creatures. Even though it was technically a swamp, you couldn't see the water, it was covered by a spongey moss that was a large part of the local wildlife's diet. His huge sea turtles would have been bogged down and unable to move properly.

[Do you wish to Train the Available Sea-Beasts?]

He used his hands to make the choices, he didn't want to bring a bunch of swamp animals back to his Lake Cavern but he was curious. What the hell was King Lubo?

[Train Type 5: Salt Water King Lubo]

[Salt Water King Lubo has been added to the Taming Queue.]

He pushed his sleeve back down and walked back to the group. They were all staring at Wind's hud.

Ronnie's face looked nervous. "Wind's scout class has a skill that displays nearby threats. You wouldn't believe how many poisonous creatures are within a few yards of us."

Nix kept his face expressionless, "pretty sure I would."

Pon summoned a glow lamp, it hovered a few feet overhead. It would give out just enough light to see the ground beneath your feet, but it couldn't be seen from a long distance.

Wind closed his hud and moved toward the edge of the clearing. "Walk where I walk. One misstep and you'll find yourself back at your binding point. That's if you die before they start eating you."

Ronnie swallowed hard and moved closer to her sister. "Why didn't we just go swimming with Nix?"

They walked single file in the dimly lit marsh. Although the trail was covered with the spongey moss, each step you took would sink into the mud. Everyone's feet were soaked within a few minutes.

Two hours into the journey they found a campsite. Long was kneeling beside it, going through the ashes. He pulled out the charred remains of a small rodent, immediately drew his daggers. "Be ready!"

A stinging sensation on the back of his neck, followed by two more on his face were all the warning Nix had before the world went blurry and he collapsed to his knees. Reflexively, he activated Deep Blue and chose Lake Cavern.

[Lake Cavern is in the process of being upgraded. Travel is not available at this time.]

Before he could choose another option, his vision faded and he fell face-first into the marsh.

He woke slowly, a good while later. His hands and feet were bound and he had been thrown in a small cage. He shook his head to clear it, slowly the blurriness went away and his vision returned.

He shared the cage with Wind, who gave him an embarrassed shrug. "Good thing you brought me along."

Nix nodded in agreement, Ronnie and Sharl were tied up in a second cage, but Pon had been tied and hooded. Everyone feared casters.

[King Lubo has been added to your Stable 1/19]

Nix caught a glimpse of his captors. They walked hunched over, their hands nearly dragging the ground. Their bodies were covered in green scales and they were piling wood onto an already roaring fire. "What the hell are these," Nix whispered?

"From what I can see, these are Sythryn. They live in the swampy areas in small numbers. However, these are evolved a bit more than they should be. They are using fire and tools, more like another humanoid race than the reptiles they should be."

"I'm confident that I can summon strands, even tied like this." Nix did a quick count, "only six of them, but..."

Wind nodded, "it's a few too many. It pains me to say that I can be of no use in my current situation."

Sharl and Ronnie caught his eye, they were both okay, although the younger sister looked scared out of her wits.

Nix smiled at them then glanced back at Wind. "It's fine, I have a trump card. Be ready for anything, I'm not sure what will happen."

[Summon King Lubo]

[Command: Defend]

A minute went by and then another, but nothing happened.

"The hell is going on." Nix glanced around but couldn't see anything. However, suddenly the swamp seemed to have gone deathly quiet. A movement at the corner of his eye caused him to turn his head.

A four-inch-tall creature, that looked suspiciously like a gecko was standing on his shoulder just inches away. He had small webbed feet and a gold ridge on his head that looked a bit like a crown. It was King Lubo.

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Wind stared at the little lizard on his cellmate's shoulder. "Please tell me that's not your trump card."

Nix sighed heavily and started trying to work loose his bindings. King Lubo took a step closer to his face, a small webbed hand touched his cheek.

King Lubo

Description: A tiny gecko-like

creature, may change colors at will.

Special Characteristic: Immune to Fire.

[Attack Rating: None]

[Defense Rating: None]

[Special Ability: Mass Hysteria]

King Lubo chittered loudly from Nix's shoulder, drawing the attention of all six of the Sythryn.

[Fear the King]

A gentle wave pushed out in all directions from King Lubo, it felt like a pleasant breeze. An instant later there was total chaos. All six of the Sythryn screeched in fear, covering their faces they ran in circles and straight lines. Slamming into each other, one fell down and rolled in the fire. In the end, each of them charged mindlessly into the marsh.

Nix watched them run away and turned toward the scout. "Gonna burn you Wind!"

Wind nodded, "do it!"

The scout turned his back toward him and a moment later one strand shot out and wrapped around Wind's wrist. To his credit, he didn't make a noise although his face was a frozen mask of pain. The smell of burnt flesh and rope blended together, a few seconds later Wind pulled his hands free of his restraints and the strand vanished.

After freeing his own feet, the scout freed Nix quickly. "Get the locks!"

Nix nodded and sent a separate strand around the locks of each cage. Within a few minutes, the group was free and reequipping themselves.

Wind glanced at the lizard on Nix's shoulder once again and gave it a respectful nod, "Impressive."

Sharl starting going through the things left behind by the Sythryn. "We probably have a few minutes, but let's check for clues and get out of here."

King Lubo darted from his shoulder, moving in a blur he stopped on a pile of sticks and mud. He chittered loudly at Nix.

The normally stoic scout walked over and started removing the top layer of sticks. He stopped after a few seconds and turned back to the group, "found something!"

It took a few minutes to uncover the four partially eaten and decomposed bodies. They had obviously been there for a while.

Sharl pointed to their armbands. "Burning Sea. These Sythryn seem abnormally aggressive, not to mention the other characteristics."

Pon nodded, the old man was so angry that his entire body gave off an intense heat. "I've been here many times in the past. Those things have changed drastically, something or someone is causing it."

King Lubo darted back onto Nix's shoulder.

Wind stared at the King hard and then back at Nix. "Hey Nix... Can I have that gecko?"

"Sure." Nix gently picked up King Lubo and placed it on Wind's shoulder.

[Command: Protect Wind]

"..." Sharl.

"..." Pon.

"..." Ronnie.

The members of Daybreakers witnessed something they had never seen, Wind looked happy for the first time since he had joined the guild.

Sharl patted her best scout on the shoulder and then addressed the group. "We aren't in any condition to continue, let's head out."

Nix nodded in agreement, "I want you to meet someone. A member of the Souza Accord has approached me. Honestly, I don't know what to think."

Pon's old face was finally losing some of its anger. "What is the Souza Accord?"

Nix decided it was best just to put it out there. "An Aquarion Rebel faction that wants to peacefully co-exist with humans."

The Daybreakers stared at him for a long moment, each of them wondering if they had heard right.

Ronnie's face looked scared, "Co-exist? You know the things they've been doing?"

Sharl nodded, "I'm with my sister on this, an alliance of any sort is most likely a trap. Isn't odd that this comes after we've been able to even the scales?"

"I would welcome a peaceful faction if that is what they are." Wind spoke quietly, "I would be willing to listen."

Pon looked at his friend, despite outward appearances he knew the scout to be a calm headed person who thinks things through. "I would also listen and see what this faction says."

"Okay, I'll bring the four of you back to Jenzi and then take Pon and Wind back to the Lake with me."

Sharl stepped closer and grabbed his arm. "The Aquarions are at the Lake Cavern?"

Nix nodded, "just one. We parted earlier, so she may not be back yet."

"I'll come Nix," Ronnie was against it, but she wanted to stay with Pon and Wind.

Sharl sighed heavily. "Am I being too stubborn? Damn it, I can be open-minded about this also. Count me in."

Nix smiled at the Daybreakers Guild Leader, "Okay then, join hands please."

Nix activated Deep Blue and chose the Lake Cavern.

A moment later the group of five appeared on the beach.

[Lake Cavern has been upgraded and changed to Sea World.]

[The amount of slots that can be stored in the Portal Key is now six.]

[Beach hut has been upgraded to Beach Cottage.]

The rest of his group stared at him, sure that he had brought them someplace else.

The Cavern was gone and replaced with a blue sky. The lake that had been a few hundred meters across was easily a mile wide. Nix could see beach all the way around it. A hundred meters of beach ended in a tall rock wall that stretched skyward. A cozy looking cottage sat peacefully near the rocks.

"There's surf!" Ronnie was standing in the water, kicking her feet at the white foam.

A moment later there was a disturbance in the middle of the water, the turtles surfaced and were racing toward the shore. Nix could see Soup in front, easily pulling away from the rest.

He waded into the shallows and dipped a hand into the water before touching it to his lips. "It's Saltwater!"

Nix rubbed Soup's head for a moment before turning around. His group was still staring at him. "I received a World Seed as part of my Quest."

Sharl had taken off her shoes and was scrunching her toes in the soft sand. "What Quest?"

"I solved the mystery behind the Aquarion Attacks."

Pon whistled, "if you were awarded a World Seed, then that was a Major Quest."

Nix laughed at himself, "I didn't even know what it was, so I was too scared to use it."

Ronnie finally noticed the cottage and ran towards the front door. "Dibs on a room!"

Nix shook his head and walked toward the cottage, "forget it."

Despite running toward the door, she stopped before opening it and waited for Nix. "Why not? You gave that sweet gecko to Wind!"

Nix shrugged, "Wind never asks for anything."

Ronnie stuck her tongue out at him, "that makes me sound like a mooch."

The old fire mage laughed, "kinda does."

The inside had changed drastically. The front door opened to a small living room and dining room. A small galley kitchen was nestled neatly behind it with a huge pantry closet attached. A quick walk around showed that there were three identical bedrooms. Ronnie had jumped on each bed as they entered to see if they matched the comfort level of the hut bed.

"This one is mine right?" Ronnie lay flat on her back in the bedroom closest to the door, she had declared that all the beds were acceptable.

Nix shook his head, "forget about it." A glance out the door showed that it was getting darker. "Damn..."

All of them ran outside to watch as the small Sea World had its first sunset.

Pon stood in the surf watching it, the old mage was smiling from ear to ear. "This is a huge upgrade Nix."

"I was told that there were two ways to use a World Seed. One was by itself and the other was by combining it with an existing one. This is the later obviously."

A few minutes later the entire group was enjoying a sunset swim in the new Sea World. All three men had donned their Malu Aquatic gear. While the women were trying out their new swimsuits.

Wind was sitting in the surf, playing with King Lubo. "Did you make those swimsuits Nix?"

Ronnie was wearing a one-piece Malu swimsuit while Sharl had opted for the bikini version.

Swimsuit: Malu Aquatic

Description: One Piece swimsuit

that features underwater breathing.

Non-combat only. Female only.

Swimsuit: Malu Aquatic

Description: Bikini swimsuit

that features underwater breathing.

Non-combat only. Female only.

Nix nodded, "sure did."

Pon smiled while he watched his guild leader run through the surf. "On behalf of all the men in Colonial, thank you."

Wind looked up from his gecko and nodded in agreement. "You are the man Nix."

Nix entered the water and lazily climbed on Soups shell as she swam in circles. Sharl swam toward him and he helped her up.

"Hey!" Ronnie chased after them shaking her fist.

"Let's lose her Soup." Nix grabbed Sharl with one hand and Soup's shell with the other as she dived and accelerated.

The Sea had an abundance of plant life. Unlike its predecessor, it was teeming with small fish and sea life. Sharl and Nix were given an underwater tour of the Sea by Soup. There was a small coral reef and a network of tiny caves.

Soup slowed down and her two riders were able to sit up comfortably. Sharl's long hair was flowing in the water. "That's a big accomplishment you know. As long as I've been playing, the Aquarion raids were part of our life. You've been here just over a month and you have solved a major quest."

Nix smiled and leaned back slightly. "Sounds impressive when you say it like that. However, you did help me recovering the Cyphix captives. That raid led to me solving the quest."

"You've been affecting a lot of changes on a world scale since you've been here." Sharl's dark face held a hint of amusement, "you don't have some hidden ability or anything do you?"

Nix grinned at the obvious fishing. "Sure, but it isn't hidden. I am the Underwear King."

A few minutes later they walked out of the surf together. Pon had used his fire magic to light a fire on the beach. Wind was sleeping peacefully while Ronnie and Pon were talking.

Ronnie made a face at her sister, "I want a free tour with Soup also!"

Sharl hid the smile that bubbled up. "This is you asking for stuff again."

Wind suddenly popped up, his eyes darting toward the cottage. "Someones here!"

An instant later a figure dressed in black appeared on the beach. Nix stood slowly and motioned for his friends to follow. "Time to meet Mina."

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Nix brought the group to see their guest. He stopped a few feet away and introduced everyone. "Mina these are members of the Daybreakers. "This is Sharl, Ronnie, Wind, and Pon." He turned to his friends and gestured to the woman dressed in black. "This is Filamina of the Souza Accord."

She pulled down her mask and slipped her hood back. There was a sharp intake of breath. It's one thing to be told someone is an Aquarion, but being up close and personal is a different story. "I am glad that you have brought your friends to meet me."

Pon stepped forward and extended his hand. "Never did I imagine that I would shake hands with an Aquarion, perhaps this is a good omen."

She shook his hand, she actually knew three of the four people Nix had brought. The trio were known as the Silent Killer, Fire Hands, and Death Spear. She suppressed a shiver, there were probably only ten humans that her people had given names to, and four of them were standing in front of her. "You will have a lot of questions. I will answer everything."

"Come inside and have a seat, there's no need to stand out here." Nix led them inside and made sure they were comfortable, before taking a seat in a chair next to the sofa.

"This is super odd right?" Ronnie had been staring at the Aquarion woman the entire time. "Sitting down on a couch with us?"

"Call me Mina, I'm getting used to it." She turned her pale blue eyes on Nix. "I was scared to death to meet him."

Ronnie wrinkled her nose, "scared of Nix?" She favored him with a smile, "It's those fire strands right?"

"Ronnie..." Sharl interrupted her younger sister before turning to Mina. "I have a question."

Mina understood the difference between the sisters instantly. "Ask your questions."

"Won't the Aquarions die away as a race if they don't continue to steal human girls?" This was the sticking point with Sharl, any life form will fight when faced with their extinction.

"It's true that our babies are inherently male. Eventually, we will die out." Mina was silent for a few moments before she continued, "I am only 25 years old, my life expectancy is about four hundred years. If this baby stealing were to stop today, the last of us would die out in about four hundred and fifty years."

The old fire mage had been watching her carefully, sometime during the conversation he had stopped thinking of her as the enemy. "How many people are in your faction?"

"Not many, we are cast out and hunted down. There are about six hundred of us left." Mina glanced downward, "we are constantly moving from place to place."

"You're trying to convince your people to walk a path that will lead to their extinction." Sharl had decided that Mina was telling them the truth, but also that she was seriously misguided. "They will not accept that. What can Six hundred do against hundreds of thousands?"

"We will do what we can. Build our strength, and build the strength of our allies. There will be a day when we destroy the artifact that has taken so many human girls."

Ronnies dark eyes shone with emotion, "I will join your cause."

Sharl tried not to frown at her sister's words. "Let's be clear, the artifact didn't take a single human girl, it is incapable of doing so. That was done by your people."

Mina locked her eyes on Sharl, "We can make you stronger. Strong enough to fight your way into the temple where the artifact is kept."

"It's on the twelfth floor isn't it?" Pon spoke in a whisper, "lore says that a powerful artifact waits at the end of the Mermaid City raid."

Mina nodded, "the god pathway that the humans walk to explore Mermaid City, eventually leads to the artifact."

Wind whistled softly, the noise made Mina jump slightly. "We are on the second stage of the fourth floor. We had to cheat to get there."

Sharl frowned at her scout, "the strongest human guild is also there."

"We can help you get through the stages. It will take some time, but we will work with you and present shortcuts whenever we can. On the last floor, you will face the Elder Matriarchs. If you defeat them, you will be able to complete the mission."

Pon considered her words, "you should tell us why you are really here. I believe you are sincere about this mission to destroy the artifact. I also know that such a thing is months away, even with your help."

"There's a serious threat to your race in the South. A Beast-Master has arisen and grows stronger every day."

Sharl leaned forward slightly, she too had heard the rumblings of someone called Alpha. "What is a Beast-Master?"

"She doesn't know any more about him than we do." Nix nodded slightly at Mina, "I will join you and the Souza Accord. I give you leave to bring all of them here."

Sharl looked at him in surprise, he had jumped in rather quickly. "I think it's a bad idea to bring them here."

Nix looked at her with an innocent smile. "Do I tell you who to allow into your Guild Hall?"

Ronnie covered a laugh when she saw her sister's expression, Nix had a point.

Mina's pale face showed her shock, she hadn't expected that Nix would offer them sanctuary. "Thank you, Nix, and I want to thank all of you for listening to my words."

Sharl bowed slightly, "I will speak with my officers and consider this carefully."

Nix brought them all back to Jenzi and then immediately returned to The Sea-World. When he returned he noticed Mina was kneeling on the sand studying his Manta eggs. "They should hatch soon."

Mina nodded, "very soon. You stopped me from talking about the Beast-Master. Why?"

"From the sound of things the Beast-Master skills might be similar to the Sea-Beast Skills that your Matriarchs have."

Mina touched the surface of the Aviante egg, "A skill that you also have."

"I wish to hide those skills as long as I can." Nix held out a hand and helped her up. "If the enemy is a Beast-Master, I don't want him to see me coming."

"I'm going to start bringing in the members of the Souza Accord since I have your permission."

She disappeared from the beach and Nix immediately brought up his Sea-Beast Menu. "I'm going to need animals that can fight on land and sea, something vicious."

He released all the animals in his stable, this included King Lubo. The King and Wind had taken a liking to each other, it would be up to the scout to make it permanent.

Nix was sitting on the couch of the luxury suite in the Kindled Spirit when Hyai walked in with his dinner and an unexpected guest, Cyan from the Temple of Shi. Hyai would leave a dinner menu on his desk every day, later they would eat together in his room. It was a comfortable thing that reminded Nix of his childhood. The three of them sat down and starting eating their dinner.

"I hadn't expected to see you here Cyan. It's an unexpected surprise."

The black-haired woman smiled at Nix, "I should have come by sooner to say thank you."

Nix waved it off, "I only did my part."

Hyai poured them all wine, "Cyan has another reason for visiting today."

The temple priestess nodded in agreement. "Something has happened to Shi, the Ice Spirit that inhabits our sanctuary. She grows steadily weaker yet I can find no reason."

Nix noticed that both women were watching him carefully. "I'm not a healer. What can I do for an Ice Spirit?"

Cyan shook her head, "the issue is in her Domaine. Her presence in our Temple is only the smallest of seeds. From our altar, I can send you directly to her."

The Domaine of an Ice Spirit didn't sound like the most welcoming place to Nix. "Let me guess, lots of Ice and freezing temperatures?" The thought of it brought back the memory of his trip from the Gladis Hub.

"Yes, however, you will have the blessing of the temple. The cold will not bother you." Cyan clasped her hands together, "I am already in your debt Nix, you will be rewarded handsomely for your service."

Nix enjoyed a good night sleep and despite Cyan's assurances of the Temple's blessing, he packed several extreme cold-weather items that he had made especially for the trip. At dawn he entered the Temple of Shi, Cyan was waiting for him.

"I am ready." Nix stepped onto the altar, dreading the feeling of biting cold.

"Receive the Blessings of Shi and travel with her favor." A white light enveloped Nix, comfortable and warm when it faded he found himself standing in a vast ice cavern. As Cyan promised, he was quite comfortable.

"She said I would be sent to where the problem lays." Nix brought up his hud map and marked his location. The cavern was several miles across, somewhere in here was Shi the Ice Spirit.

He walked for several minutes before he found a clue, blood on the snow. The tracks to two different groups were present, there were splatterings of blood everywhere, a running battle was being waged. From the looks of it, at least one side was Aquarion. Aquarion blood was a few shades lighter than human blood, it stood out on the cold white surface.

Nix broke into a trot and followed the tracks. A few minutes later the sounds of fighting reached his ears, he slowed down and readied himself.

A half dozen Aquarions were surrounded by a dozen of their own people. Nix noted that there were no Matriarchs present. The three casters of the larger group were in the back, closest to him. "Can I assume you are from the Souza Accord? And that these others are your enemies sent to deal with you?"

There had been a short pause in the battle as the larger group had moved in to surround them. However, when he spoke, he received the attention of both groups.

One of the Aquarion men from the surrounded group spoke, " I am Zhava from the Souza Accord, you should flee quickly and save yourself."

"Since we are allies, I can't do that."

A single male from the larger group turned to face him, he was one of the casters. "Kill the rebels, I will deal with the human."

Instantly three strands reached out and latched onto the speaker's throat, he screamed soundlessly and dropped to his knees. Nix sent a strand at the other two casters arms since they were both holding weapons, their combined strength yanked him to his knees. He struggled to get up while holding them at bay.

Footsteps from the left of him warned of someone approaching. Two Aquarions had broken off from the main group and were charging him with weapons held high. He quickly dropped the single strands he had on the casters and put them on the charging melee, something slammed into his side a moment later. He skidded across the ice for a few yards and rolled quickly to his feet.

He had managed to kill one of the casters, but now he faced two casters and two more melees. "I'm f*cked."

He raised his hands and an instant later the two charging melees burst into flames, they collapsed on the ice, kicking and screaming. "The hell..."

"You're not allowed to touch him." A voice spoke from the air behind him. A red-haired girl bathed in flames hovered above the ground, she placed herself between Nix and the Aquarions.

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Shae's eyes glowed with fire, the cold air cackling as her pulsing heat pushed it away. She stared at the Aquarions, "you are ruining my reunion with him. Leave now or else."

The nine Aquarians who at been attacking immediately ported away. The members of the Souza Accord had nowhere to go.

"Shae, please excuse this group. I came here to help them." Given her personality, Nix felt it wiser to say he was helping them. As soon as he saw the Salamander, he realized why the Ice Spirit was suffering. There was a Lord Class fire beast in its domain. He quickly slipped off his limiter ring.

She nodded and extended a finger, instantly his aura lit up and her eyes went wide with pleasure. "So beautiful."

Nix looked down at his bare arm, the flames coming off him were alternating between blue, yellow and orange. Of course, his clothes had instantly burned to ashes. He glanced at the Aquarions, "wait here, please. I will get you to safety."

Zhava looked like he wanted to talk, but he had a water-creatures healthy fear of Salamanders. "Very well."

The Aquarions watched as the Salamander grabbed his hand, two naked people who were bathed in flames walked away, completely oblivious to the trail of melted ice and snow they left behind.

She took him to a small cave that she had undoubtedly made by walking into the rock, a rather large piece of red skin was laying on the cave floor.

"Did you shed your skin?" Nix pulled his hand free and knelt to look at the red salamander skin. "It's beautiful."

Shae watched him, a smile playing on her lips. She seemed completely unconcerned that she wasn't wearing clothes. "You can have it if you like.

Nix picked up the salamander skin.

[Convert Salamander Skin into Salamander leather?]

"Yes."

[37 Lord Class Salamander Leathers have been added to your inventory]

Shae placed a hand on his arm and slowly the flames coming off of their bodies burned out. "You found me... even in this desolate place." She sighed happily and embraced him, she rose up on her tiptoes for a kiss.

Although it surprised Nix, he found that he didn't mind. "I am glad to see that you are doing well Shae."

She kept both hands on his shoulders, quietly looking up at him. "You have beautiful eyes, like the sun."

Nix returned her smile. "That's very sweet. You can't stay Shae, you are causing serious harm to the Ice Spirit who resides here."

Shae nodded in agreement, "I want to find someplace safe where no one will try and capture me."

"We'll have to disguise you. If I made you some clothes, would you wear them?"

She nodded before standing on her tiptoes for another kiss. "They burn off sooner or later. The Guild that imprisoned me would often try to put clothes on me while I was in this form."

"I can try to make you something." He sent her a friend request.

[Shae Balefire has agreed to be your friend]

"We are definitely friends now Nix," her voice was filled with humor.

He decided to use the Malu Aquatic as the model for his attempt. In the second slot, he added a brimstone splinter needle. The third slot was Lord Class Salamander Leather. In the fourth slot, he added fine asbestos thread. He would use the bodysuit design with a ceramic zipper down the back.

To attempt to make this recipe required five hundred credits per attempt.

"Damn, that's a bit spendy." He started clicking the 'attempt recipe' icon. Fifty attempts, one hundred attempts, three hundred attempts. Finally, on the four hundredth and fourth attempt, he was notified of his success.

Nix swallowed hard, two hundred thousand credits gone like that.

Lord of Fire: Primal [Elemental]

Description: This red bodysuit is

immune to flames from within.

It's light, flexible and can be worn

under any kind of clothes or armor.

it has a ceramic zipper in the back for

easy removing.

He set up the queue to make two, one for Shae and one for him.

[Customer] Shae, [Item] Lord of Fire

He activated the process and then added two standard red dresses as well. She could wear them over the bodysuit, they'd be fine if protected from her flames. They also look less conspicuous if she was near people.

"I have a question Shae."

"You want to know how I had come to be in such a weakened state last time we met?"

Nix nodded, "if you don't mind talking about it."

"I was wounded badly by a Water Lord. A small guild called Ravenous found me and nursed me back to health. At first, I lived there peacefully, then one day I woke up surrounded by a half dozen water mages. They bound me to an elemental stone and then began to harvest my energy."

Nix frowned, "I haven't been here long, but I've never heard of a guild by that name."

Shae shook her head, "having a bound Fire Lord in your guild gives you fire enhancements and bonuses that other guilds don't have. Eventually, they became a strong guild and changed their name to Salamander."

"That guild I do know, I've worked with them in the past." Nix patted her head softly when she looked alarmed. "How did you escape?"

"I sacrificed part of my core seed to break my bonds. It was dangerous and left me quite weakened. The rest you know."

Nix nodded, "I'm friends with Semmi Dow and Jun Li. I assume you know the names?"

Shae frowned, "I know them. Semmi would spend a lot of time talking to me. She would often get mad at Jun Li for not setting me free."

"I will take you someplace safe."

A while later Nix and Shael returned to the spot where they had left the Aquarions. Shae was smiling from ear to ear. Her red hair hung down her back, and she wore a slim-fitting red dress over the top of a red bodysuit. She had ignited several times at Nix's suggestion to test her clothes. They had not burned.

Zhava had been sitting with his group, he stood up when they approached. "Thank you both for coming to our aide earlier."

"I have a mission here that I must finish, please wait." He glanced at Shae, "point me to where the Ice Spirit is."

Shae pointed to the direction he had originally come from. "There's an ice cave less than a half-mile that way."

"I'll be back shortly, please get along."

The ice cave was located about fifty feet up the side of a rock wall. Nix made his way up slowly on the icy path. Thanks to the blessing of the temple, his cold immunity was still intact. His breath crystallized into vapor each time he exhaled.

The ice spirit sat on a gray rock, her white hair floating around her. She wore a white robe much like the one that Cyan had. Her human form was that of a small girl. When he approached she opened her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I have been sent by Priestess Cyan to take the Fire Lord away from your domain."

"Her presence draws power from me, with each day I grow weaker."

Nix knelt down on one knee and bowed his head, "She will be gone once I leave this place. Will you be able to recover?"

"Yes. I am Shi. I know you Nix. When you revived at my Temple, you had been killed by ice." She stood up and lay a hand on his bowed head. "Never again will Ice be your enemy."

[You have received the permanent blessing of Ice.]

He returned to Shae and the Aquarions a few minutes later. "Sorry for the wait, time to go."

Nix activated Deep Blue and chose Sea World."

The beach was crowded with Aquarions when the small group appeared next to the cottage. Mina spotted them first, her face lit up with joy when she recognized her friends.

For a moment he thought Mina was going to hug him. "Where did you find Zhava and the rest?"

"They were in the domain of the Ice Spirit Shi. A dozen Aquarions were trying to kill them when I showed up."

Mina stared at him and then glanced at Zhava who only nodded. "It seems that I owe you thanks once again Nix."

He shook his head and pulled Shae closer. "This is Shae Balefire, she is the one who saved your people."

"Shae Balefire?" Mina took a step back, "a Salamander?"

Nix nodded, "she has decided to visit us for a while. Shae this is Mina, a friend, and an ally."

Shae looked around, "so much water Nix." She caught sight of the beach cottage, "is that our home?"

Nix shook his head, "I think it's safer for you to make some new caves in those rock walls."

She smiled, "it's like you don't trust me Nix."

Nix returned her smile and nodded in agreement, "it's just like that. Don't burn my house down."

"Fine." She flipped her red hair at him and flew toward the rock wall above the cottage.

A few hours later Nix sat on the beach with Zhava and Mina. Most of the Aquarions were busy making an underwater village. The Aquarions have a class called Weavers. Weavers could grow and form all sorts of underwater plants into shelters. Although Aquarions could thrive on land and sea, most of them preferred the sea.

Soup paddled slowly out of the water and placed her head on Nix's lap. Like the other turtles, she was curious about the new inhabitants.

Zhava watched Soup's interaction with him, "that's a beautiful turtle."

Nix nodded and glanced at the rock wall overlooking the cottage. It had glowed bright red for nearly an hour. He could only assume that Shae was making herself at home.

Mina followed his glance, Nix seemed to have a wide assortment of friends. "Are you going to look for the Beast-Master now?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning I'll take up the hunt."

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Pon and Wind were waiting for him the next morning when he dropped off some product at Shana's Boutique. They were talking to Lela while she swept off the walk. "You two here for some new underwear?"

Wind shook his head and very nearly smiled. Pon just nodded, "yep, silk g-strings."

Nix chuckled at the fire mage, "yeah, that's gross."

The three men headed toward the Jenzi platform. Nix had received a message that Pon was looking for him. "So... Hyai told me that you wanted something."

Pon nodded, "a small guild called Vesuvius was wiped out last night on the Tsai Peninsula in Broyan."

"Broyan again, please tell me it's not more swamp."

"No, not this time. Timber mostly." Pon stepped on the platform and chose Cella. The three of them immediately summoned their Mantas and headed west.

Nix noticed that King Lubo was perched on Wind's shoulder enjoying the ride. "How's the King?"

Wind nodded, his face completely serious. "He's doing great."

Pon opened his hud and sent Nix the coordinates of the attack. "Vesuvius is a mid-tier guild, they are comparable in strength to the Daybreakers. My contact says they were gathering herbs for their Alchemist."

Wind stopped what he was doing and glanced at the fire mage. "Nansu?"

Pon nodded, "the area they were gathering in is a beginner area. Nothing there higher than single digits."

Nix noticed the interaction. "Who is Nansu?"

"She makes potions of all kinds, and I mean everything. Every guild in Colonial wants her," Pon explained.

A few minutes later the trio circled the tip of the Tsai Peninsula. A man and woman were waiting there. Pon identified them immediately. "That's Nansu and Chael."

Nix landed his manta and quickly stowed it. Chael was a lean looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Nansu barely came up to his shoulder, her black hair was cut short like a mans and was worn slicked back.

Chael immediately cut to the chase. "You here about the attack?"

Pon nodded, "something we are working on might be related, so we thought it was worth the trip to ask a few questions."

Nansu pulled a bag out of her inventory and then dumped its contents on the ground. "It's a wolf, or at least he started out as one."

The creature was about four feet long, its legs were bent awkwardly in a position that meant it walked upright. It had heavily muscled shoulders and possessed clawed hands instead of paws. Its upper canines extended below its jaws by a few inches.

Nix rolled the carcass over, the bones on its ribcage looked like they'd been heavily reinforced. "Did they exhibit signs of intelligence?"

Nansu shook her head, "not really. They attacked like a wolfpack, it only took three of them to kill our Main tank."

A flash of brown was all the warning they received as three beasts jumped at them from the rocks, all three were wrapped in strands of fire before they managed to close the distance. Wind vanished suddenly while Pon took a step back and faced the opposite direction.

Nix managed to hold six strands on the three beasts while Chael raised his rifle and fired into them. An explosion followed by miserable howls and the smell of burnt fur permeated the area.

Pon and Wind had killed four of the beasts, while Chael and Nix killed three.

Chael gave Nix a nod of approval. "A CC class? That's awesome."

Nix pointed to the three that had attacked first. "These were the smaller weaker ones, sent in as a diversion."

Pon kicked one of the ones he had roasted, the four that had come in from behind were easily double the size. "When did you pick up the sixth strand Nix? The flame quality is better too, super-heated."

He shrugged noncommittally. "A person with a talent for fire has been helping me." He knelt next to the largest beast.

[Do you wish to skin the Wolfman?]

"Yes." Nix skinned all seven beasts and then turned back toward his group. "I'd call this bad."

[Seven Pristine Enhanced Wolfman Pelts have been added to your inventory.]

He held up the pelt for Nansu to inspect. "Magically enhanced, that means it isn't some mutation."

She looked at the other pelts as well, "they all have the exact same enhancement, impossible to occur naturally."

A movement in the distance caused Nix to summon his Manta and fly south. He pushed his Aviente to top speed and drew his rifle. Aiming carefully he fired shot after shot at the fleeing figure. It disappeared in a flash of light.

Nix was already on the ground and inspecting when the others arrived. He knelt next to a rock with a single drop of blood on it.

Pon smiled when he saw it, "I'll get Semmi."

Wind looked at the drop of blood and then back at Nix. "Nice shooting."

Nansu and Chael had finally caught up, they shared a manta between them and were forced to ride slower. The alchemist shook her head at Nix, "are all the white mantas that fast? It's like the rest of us were walking."

Wind looked at the white manta and then back at his. "You always have nice things."

It took about an hour for Pon to return with Semmi. She had her white fox pet in her arms and sat her down next to the drop of blood. It immediately started moving inland.

They followed Tilde from the air, the animal moved easily through and over every type of terrain. It stopped in a canyon about eighty miles from where they started.

The group landed together while Semmi picked up her pet. She soothed it quietly, "She's really scared, we should get some backup."

"F*ck us." Chael was looking at the canyon they were in, lined on both sides were dozens of the Wolfmen. A single man stood among them, he was dressed in animal hides and wore a wolf mask.

"Come closer to me, but don't make any sudden moves." Nix activated his Sea-Beast bracelet.

[Scan Surrounding Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Stand By...]

[No Sea-Beasts have been located.]

[80 ineligible Wolfmen, already tamed.]

[7 ineligible Tree frogs]

[14 ineligible Field Mice.]

The Wolfmen leaped from the canyon walls, tearing toward them much faster than a two-legged beast should run.

"Grab onto me." Nix activated Deep Blue and chose Sea-World.

A moment later all five of them appeared on the beach. Immediately Nix raised both hands in front of him, "the inhabitants of this place are under my protection."

Shae was sitting on Soup wearing only her bodysuit while the turtle paddled through the shallow surf. There were several Aquarions in sight, most of them appeared to be relaxing. All four of Nix's companions froze, they had heard his words but they hadn't quite understood.

Pon was the first to move, He ran toward Shae instantly recognizing her, "SHAE!" The Salamander smiled when she saw the old fire mage. He hugged her tight while saying her name. "I was so worried!"

Wind approached also, but much more slowly. "Freedom looks good on you." He had lobbied for her release on many occasions.

Pon wiped his eyes after Shae finally pushed him away. He frowned at Nix, "you could have told me!"

Nix shrugged, "You should have freed her."

Both Pon and Wind stared at the ground, they both knew that they hadn't done enough.

It was Shae who lightened the mood. "Hey! That's in the past, this is my new place."

Nix looked confused. "How do two players from Daybreakers know the Salamanders Fire Lord?"

Pon's old face broke into a smile. "I use to visit them, many fire mages did. Shae knows a lot about the flame."

Wind nodded in agreement, "I would tag along, she is easy to talk to. Even for me."

Zhava walked toward them, stopping a respectable distance away. "Mina is back Nix."

"Oh okay, thanks Zhava." He glanced at Chael and Nansu, both of them seemed shocked beyond speech. "There's a rebel faction of Aquarions that are fighting for the right to co-exist peacefully with humans. They are called the Souza Accord, these are their members."

Pon took a deep breath. "I've decided Nix, I'm with you on this. If I need to take a leave of absence from Daybreakers, then I will."

Wind nodded, "Same."

"Check this out, Pon!" Shae floated in the air and erupted into flames, only her head, hands and feet were on fire. Her red bodysuit remained unharmed, although it glowed brightly.

Pon clapped his hands, "Did Nix make that?"

Shae nodded, "He's made me a few other things as well."

Nix looked around and discovered that Semmi hadn't moved, she was standing on the beach, holding her head in her hands while she cried.

Shae floated down and extinguished her flames. "Sem... don't cry like that."

Nix watched while the Salamander consoled her friend. He left them there to catch up and went inside to talk to Mina.

Mina was sitting on the couch when he entered, she was wearing her normal black leather gear. He briefed her on the events of the past twenty-four hours.

She looked troubled by the story. "You are sure there were 80 tamed beasts?"

Nix nodded, "that's four-times what I can hold in my stable."

"Eighty tamed beasts makes him the same level as an Elder Matriarch."

"We were about to get eaten." Nix was watching her expressions, at first, he had difficulty reading Aquarions, until he knew what to look for. "There's more right?"

"This ability to enhance the beasts in his stable, only the Elder Matriarchs are capable of that."

"The only Sea-Beasts I know that can battle his on land are Salt Water Crocs." Nix also knew what their weakness would be, lack of speed and mobility. Nothing like the super-fast hit and run wolfmen.

"I have an idea, but we have to get you to the fifth floor of Mermaid City."

Nix smiled at her and leaned back on his comfortable couch. "Let's do that then."

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Semmi and Zhava walked in together, the Salamander scout smiled in appreciation. "This is quite the upgrade you've been hiding Nix."

Nix didn't reply. "How is the Fourth Floor's 2nd stage looking?"

Semmi sighed in frustration, "impossibly difficult."

"This is Mina, a friend, and an ally of mine."

Semmi greeted the Aquarion, her face showed none of the nervousness that other humans had shown when first introduced. "So Mr. Nix. You seem to be hiding a few things. Shae Balefire, the rebel faction of Aquarions. What else are you harboring in your secret Sea Lair?"

"Turtles, Manta eggs and women's underwear."

"That is curious. Don't you make men's underwear also?"

"Just for myself." Nix gestured toward Mina, "she's taking me to the fifth floor."

Mina pursed her lips, "how's your level Nix?"

"Locked at 50," Nix teased her with a smile, "I'll tell you what the fifth floor looks like when I see it."

"You'll need a strong guild to take on Mermaid City." Semmi returned his smile, "I can guild you right here."

Nix opened the Guild hud interfaced and applied for a new guild. He paid the 5 million credit fee and named it, 'Inferno.' "No thanks."

Semmi wasn't surprised to see him start his own guild. Nix was hard to predict. "I can come as a guest player if you like."

"Maybe next time." Nix stood up and headed toward the door, "I'll be ready in a few minutes, just have to return everyone."

Pon and Wind were still talking with Shae. They both asked to remain at the Sea World for the time being.

Nansu had to be pulled away from one of the Aquarion herbalists that were planting seeds. "Can I come back? That herbalist Fajii knows all about sea medicines."

"This must be kept a secret Nansu."

Nansu was standing next to Chael, they both nodded in reply. After spending time with both of them, Nix realized they were an item.

"We won't say anything Nix." Nansu held up a bag she had received for Fajii, "I'm going home to plant these."

[Nansu has sent you a friend request.]

[Chael has sent you a friend request.]

"Fine, I usually drop off items at Shana's Boutique in Jenzi every morning. If you are there I'll bring you in."

[Nansu is now your friend.]

[Chael is now your friend.]

Semmi grabbed his hand, her face serious. "I won't say anything to Junie, but you should."

Nix shook his head, "this is enough for now." He activated Deep Blue and chose Jenzi. After dropping them off he immediately returned to the Sea-World.

By the time Nix returned to the cottage, Mina had geared up. She had removed the black outfit that she used to move around in human lands and was wearing the caster battle gear of Aquarions.

"Tell me more about what we will face."

"You don't wish to bring anyone in with us?" Mina had been surprised to learn that he wouldn't be taking any of his friends.

"It's not that I don't want to bring my friends, the time isn't right."

"I have several points in Mermaid City saved onto Deep Blue. Since the slots were increased, I was able to add more."

"Right, my Deep Blue came with a saved point that enabled both the Daybreakers and Salamander Guilds to move directly to the second floor."

"We'll be jumping floors Nix, all the way to the end of the fifth. A single Matriarch stands between us and advancement."

Nix whistled. "Can the two of us defeat a Matriarch?"

"It will be difficult, she'll have forty sea-beasts also. However, the enhanced Vilas should give us an edge.

"What's a Vila?"

"It used to be a smaller version of the Salt-Water crocodile, however, an Elder Matriarch has enhanced them and purposefully set them loose on the God Path."

Nix considered her words for a moment. "I thought there were strict rules regarding interference by the Elder Matriarchs?"

"The God path is the human route that weaves in and out of Mermaid City. The God Path only uses copies of us to fight human progress. The Elders have managed to seed several areas with creatures that weren't supposed to be there."

Nix sighed heavily. "I've always wondered why the top guild hasn't climbed higher."

"This is why. There are six stages on the fourth floor. The sixth stage itself is nothing but a race. If we are able to win, you will advance to the Fifth floor which has seven stages."

"The Cai-song Artifact is at the end of the 12th floor?"

"Yes, your current strength is not enough to even consider it."

Nix equipped his under armor and Malu Aquatic gear. He released his stable into the Sea World. It didn't much matter to him, the turtles were friendly with him no matter what. He could always pick them up again later. "Let's give it a try then."

Mina nodded and held out her hand, then activated her Deep Blue and chose Mermaid City Slot three. An instant later they disappeared from the Sea World and appeared over a platform in a large empty room.

Nix glanced around, there were four hallways leading to the room they were in. He summoned Soup.

Mina pointed toward the North hall. "Down that hall is the Matriarch and end of the fifth stage. We want the South hall, those are where the Vilas are.

Mina swam leisurely down the south corridor, to her surprise Nix had no problems keeping up, even though he wasn't riding Soup. She pulled up just before they arrived at another room.

Nix didn't have to pretend to be impressed. If the Vila had been a small crocodile at some point, then it had undergone major changes. Its legs were lengthened and ended in four webbed feet with terrifying claws. Its body and snout had been shortened quite a bit. Rows of razor-sharp teeth in a mouth that was nearly as wide as it was long. They were roughly the size of a large wolf, even the scaled body looked like it had been reinforced.

Mina smiled at his reaction. "The Elder Matriarch probably has something much more refined already, she trained these up and left them here."

Nix returned her smile, "it's not even my birthday."

"Go ahead Nix."

[Scan Surrounding Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Stand By...]

[80 Sea Beasts have been located.]

[Type 1: Enhanced Vila: 80]

Nix looked at the menu. "There's eighty of them."

"The Elder Matriarch would have emptied her stable here, just take your twenty, that will be enough to finish off this floor and take on the Beast Master."

[Do you wish to Train the Available Sea-Beasts?]

"Yes."

They waited patiently while the progress bar moved, retraining beasts that had been tamed once seemed to go a bit faster than the first time.

"I only have twenty beasts in my stable at this time, the Matriarch we are about to face will have forty."

Mina nodded, "they will be standard sea-beasts though, nothing enhanced. There's no telling what type of creature she'll have."

"Still, it will be forty against twenty, I don't want you to get hurt, Mina."

Mina lips curved in a smile, "it's a necessary risk."

[20 Sea-Beasts in the Area have been Tamed.]

He chose the add to Stable option.

[Level 1 Stable has 20/20 Occupants]

"No." Nix removed the Ricoli artifact from his wrist and handed it to her. "Time for our side to have an Aquarion Sea-Beast Master."

"Nix..." Her pale eyes stared at him, her mouth opening and then closing in surprise. He was giving her a charged Ricoli artifact, the kind that only Matriarchs had access to. "Thank you."

"We're allies, the stronger you are the better it is for me." Nix waited while she went through the activation process and then started training Vila.

Mina stared at the access bar that only Matriarchs of her kind usually watched. "Whenever you want to use it to retrain beasts, you just need to ask me." Unlike her, Nix didn't need to be wearing the Ricoli artifact to use the Sea-Beasts to fight.

"Thanks, I will do that if this Matriarch we are about to fight doesn't have one."

"Right! Of course, she'll have one. Thank you, Nix!"

A few minutes later they returned to the room they had initially ported into. They both summoned their stables. Nix couldn't stop his heart from pounding, they were some scarey looking creatures.

This time they headed down the North hall.

"Together we have forty beasts, the Matriarch will also have that many. What kind of tactic do you favor Nix?"

"You stay out of the battle and have your beasts defend me. I will also put mine in defense mode."

Mina looked at him, her face showing concern. "What about the Matriarch?"

"Leave her to me, if it goes badly use Deep Blue to retreat and we'll regroup back there."

Mina knew that some of the humans in Colonial were immortals, so she went along with his plan. "I've heard how terrifying your fire ropes are, I will be sure to watch carefully."

"Um... right. Let's go then"

[Command: Defend Nix]

They stopped at the entrance to the room, the Matriarch was standing there by herself, none of her beasts had been summoned yet.

Nix glanced at Mina, her face showed that she was also surprised. He flashed toward the Matriarch, she looked up just as six fire strands landed on her, two around her neck and two around each arm. She screamed soundlessly while her eyes reflected absolute horror. With six strands on her, she couldn't move at all. Mina decided to set her beasts on her and the water clouded light red with blood as twenty Vilas tore into the Matriarch. It was over in less than a minute.

Mina swam up to the Matriarch corpse and removed her Ricoli artifact, she handed it to Nix. "You can handle a Matriarch by yourself." Her face showed her shock, "you may even match up with an Elder if her beasts were stabled."

Nix slipped on the artifact and then pulled it off again immediately.

"What's the matter Nix?" Mina moved closer and picked up the artifact he had dropped.

"There are beasts stored in that one, I can't put it on until it's emptied."

Mina smiled, "fortune favors us then. We'll take them back with us.

Nix walked to the platform that had risen up out of the floor, he opened the small black chest.

He made a face at Mina, "all fire gear. One katana, a pistol and a pair of boots."

"Better change Mina, Salamander or the Daybreakers could be in the staging area."

Mina nodded and quickly changed into her black gear with the hooded mask. She followed Nix through the exit.

Colonial Message System: Congratulations to Inferno for being the first guild to clear the fifth stage on the fourth floor in Mermaid City. All members of the raid will receive the Ring of Fire.

Ring of Fire

Ring: Unique

Description: The effectiveness

of fire-based skills has been

doubled.

Mina refused to put the ring on, she tossed it to Nix. "Want to clear six now?"

Nix shook his head, "if it's just a race, then I'll come back with allies so we can maximize the clearance rewards."

Mina nodded and held out her hand. "Head back now?"

Nix grabbed her hand and activated Deep Blue, then chose Sea-World. "Yes, good job today. Let's head home."

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"I have her." Nix broke the news matter of factly. "I know Salamander wants her back, but that will never happen."

Jun Li stared at the man sitting in front of her desk at their Guild Hall. "The Salamander Guild has been looking for her for weeks, we've expended thousands of manhours and countless resources trying to recover her."

Nix shrugged, "the quicker you come to terms with her permanent departure, the easier it will be."

"Nix, I have a board that I answer to. It's an easy thing for them to remove me from this position."

"Worthless... A small guild named Ravenous helps a wounded Fire Lord, then in an act of betrayal enslaves her, profits immensely and even dares calls itself Salamander."

"Those weren't my choices Nix! I wanted to make things better for her!"

"I see, then you aren't really the Guild Leader, are you? Just a very attractive figurehead who does what she's told."

Jun Li stared at her desk, her face pale. Semmi had told her much the same thing when they would argue. Since welcoming corporate sponsors, Ravenous had grown into the extremely powerful Salamander Guild. "There are huge penalties if I quit. What would you have me do?"

Whatever Nix had been expecting, he didn't think that Jun Li would put her head down on her own desk and cry. "It's quite easy. Get fired. Make the decisions you want until they've had enough and replace you. Corporations don't understand the loyalty involved with fighting and raiding alongside someone."

Semmi nodded, "it's the way to go. Let's do the things we want until they get fed up with us and kick us out. We started doing this for fun Junie." Semmi had grown up with Jun Li, she knew that the Corporate run Salamander Guild was slowly changing her. "Nix is on the last stage of the fourth floor, he told me advancing to the fifth floor is merely one race away."

"I should tell you the rest. The secret won't last long anyway, no matter how careful we are. A rebel faction of Aquarions called the Souza Accord, have approached me."

Nix explained the events of the past few days and how he was now harboring the entire Rebel Faction. Afterward, Jun Li was completely speechless. The Corporation behind Salamander wanted to make the Aquarions out to be monsters. Child abductions and regular raids on cities made that way too easy.

Jun Li looked pale when she heard the news. "You have Aquarion allies?"

Nix nodded. "Should I be restricted to a path where changing or rethinking past decisions isn't allowed?"

Semmi smiled at her friend. "Come on Junie, let's do it. No more logging off every night. We'll purchase a three-year stasis package and play the way we want!"

"You guys are dubs?" Nix didn't have to pretend that he was surprised. "Won't a lot of your players follow you if you leave?"

Jun Li frowned. "Not really, I've been a dreadful bitch when under stress."

Semmi laughed loudly, "that's the cold hard truth."

[Official Forum Announcement from the Salamander Guild]

The Salamander Guild has discovered the existence of a rebel faction of Aquarions that have been fighting for the right to live peacefully with humans. Members of the Souza Accord have separated from their Aquarion brethren in the interest of pursuing peace and cooperation. Although we have been enemies in the past, Salamander feels that moving forward toward a peaceful existence is in the best interest of Colonial.

Within an hour of the release of the statement, all the officers of Salamander had been removed and replaced. Salamander issued a statement retracting what Jun Li had posted and quickly distanced themselves as the entire Colonial forum overloaded with questions.

Salamander was forced to give Jun Li and Semmi a sizeable severance package. The only member of Salamander that followed them was Saintess, the guild's top cleric. The three women waited for Nix at the Jenzi gate, they spotted him a few minutes later leading a small group.

Semmi waved to get his attention. "Looks like he picked up some additional help."

Nix smiled when he saw Jun Li, he was being followed closely by Nansu, Chael, Banzi, Gypsy-Rose, and Ronnie. The three Daybreakers had put in for leave-of-absence, while the two members of Vesuvius had deguilded. "You are looking much better Junie."

Jun Li felt her face turn red, only Semmi called her that. The truth was the moment she was removed as guild leader, she had felt better than she had in months. "Thank you, I feel good."

They all joined hands and Nix activated Deep Blue before choosing the Sea World.

Mina sat with Pon and Shae on the beach while watching the sea creatures play in the ocean. Once a sea creature was tamed and turned loose, it would no longer act aggressively, unless directed to do so. There was something odd about watching the Vilas run playfully through the surf. The Ricoli artifact that had been picked up on the fifth floor contained dolphos. They bore a close resemblance to dolphins, the biggest difference was the mind-numbing sonic attacks they were capable of. They were incredibly rare, for a Matriarch to have twenty of them was very dangerous.

Mina turned as the sudden crowd that appeared near the cottage. "Nix is back."

Nix noticed Shae staring at Junie, but he had decided not to get involved. The Salamander stomped up toward the new arrivals and promptly grabbed the shocked woman before flying her off to the recently formed caves high above the ground.

Semmi didn't seem bothered by it. "They'll sort it out properly."

"So many new visitors Nix." Mina was wearing her black gear, she knew that her human allies were more comfortable around her because of it.

"Right, some new faces. This is Mina, from the Souza Accord. Mina the new faces are Banzi, Gypsy-Rose, and Saintess.

The Daybreaker cleric smiled in greeting, "just call me Rose."

Saintess nodded and made a similar comment, "Tess is fine for me.

Ronnie sighed when she saw Pon and Wind. "I tried to talk Sharl into coming, just give her some time."

Pon put an arm around her shoulders, "she'll come around. She approved our leave quick enough."

Nix took a look around the beach. 'Any ideas on what we should do for housing?"

"We should buy a wharf." Nansu was scanning the nearby Aquarions for her friend Fajii. "There's a whole community of people in Espana that live on houseboats. Some of the houseboats are pretty nice."

Nix liked the idea, housing was definitely an issue. "How do you transport a houseboat?"

"You buy them in a bottle initially, then launch them by placing the bottle in the water." Nansu had watched one being launched, it was amazing. "They're kinda spendy, the cheaps ones are around eight hundred thousand credits, while the more expensive ones can run up to five million."

Nix wasn't worried about the cost, "I'll give everyone who has joined us five hundred thousand toward the purchase of one."

"Me and Chael can go with you, I wanted to pick up some locally grown herbs. You can purchase wharves also, but they are quite expensive."

Chael made a face when he remembered the cost. "Around fifteen million credits for a good wharf. It comes in a huge crate that can travel through portals."

"Thanks, Nansu, I'll take you up on your offer."

"Everything good now Shae?"

After briefing everyone on the events of the fifth stage, Nix had guilded everyone except the Daybreakers. Shae had brought back Jun Li just as they were finishing up. The former Salamander guild leader looked like she had been crying, but apparently, things were better.

Shae smiled sweetly, smoothing her red dress while she walked beside him. Several people stared at her when they walked by. That was due mostly to her being very attractive. "Yes of course. I can be very magnanimous."

Nix chuckled, "nice word." Everyone had decided to come along to Espana. Shae had claimed his arm and was enjoying a stroll through the Market.

The shop that sold houseboats had an impressive stock. They also sold ships and boats of every size. Before leaving the Sea-World, Nix had transferred five million credits to the ten members of his raid force. Some of them had already decided to double up in order to get something nicer.

Nix spent fifteen million credits on a wharf. It had twenty berths for boats, but more could be added later if needed. He also spent twenty-one million credits on a three-level, sixty-foot houseboat. He had only planned on spending around five, but while he was reading the amenities, he decided to splurge. The Shop would deliver the wharf crate to the city portal, from there the responsibility of moving it was Nix's.

The wharf was a simple 'T' design. It extended out two hundred feet from the shore and then extended left and right for a hundred feet. There were five berths on either side of both short legs. Many of the Aquarions had come ashore out of curiosity.

The wharf was equipped with docking ropes and lights. Out of courtesy, they had left the nearest berth empty for Nix, but the rest of them had become first come first serve. Pon and Nix were the only ones who hadn't doubled up. Semmi, Tess and Jun Li were the only ones who had tripled.

"Not going to put yours in yet Nix?" Zhava had been watching everyone place their houseboats. Semmi, Tess and Jun Li had the biggest.

"Guess I will." Nix walked down the wharf, it was anchored into the ground, so there wasn't any sway. Semmi was standing on her houseboat watching him.

"Finally going to show us what you got Nix?" Semmi called over Tess and Jun Li to watch. "With all the credits you spent on that wharf, I bet you went cheap."

Nix didn't say anything, he knelt in the middle of the craft berth and placed the bottle in the water. He ignored the gasps of surprise as the houseboat slowly took form. The deciding factor in getting this one had been the hot tub on the third deck. "Yeah, don't hate the Underwear King."

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The sound of the sea had lulled Nix to sleep, even though he had been busy planning the next day in his head. One moment he was wide awake and the next he was sleeping peacefully face down on his pillow. The bed on the third level of his new houseboat was King Sized and quite comfortable. Something pulled him slowly out of his slumber. He sat up in bed, the Sea-World's moon lit up the back deck of his boat nicely.

She sunk deeper into the water of the hot tub when he opened the sliding door leading to the back deck. He caught a glimpse her pale back before the Aquarion hid in the bubbles.

Her hair was braided in a complex system that went well with her white hair. This was the same braid that Nansu wore, so Nix assumed it was the Alchemist that Nansu spent so much time with. Since he slept in shorts, he slid into the water, sighing contently while sinking up to his chin. "I'm Nix, we really haven't been formally introduced."

The Aquarion didn't seem embarrassed or shy. "I'm Fajii."

"You do realize this is my boat, the place where I'm going to be staying."

Fajii nodded, "the bubbles called to me."

Nix laughed. "Did they? I can see now that this isn't your fault."

Again Fajii nodded, "how come the other sea homes don't have bubbles?"

"It cost too many credits."

The Aquarion's pale eyes watched him, "having them is better."

"Do you have a swimsuit Fajii? I guess I haven't learned much about Fajii anatomy."

"Like the dark girl? Her's is very pretty." Her face showed that she was interested, she had admired Ronnie's swimsuit. "I'm always in the water so my clothes are suited for that, but the bubbles are different."

"I can make you one just for the hot tub."

[You have sent Fajii a friend request.]

[Fajii is now your friend.]

Fajii smiled and nodded. "I'll give you something nice tomorrow."

"Since you don't need the underwater breathing features, we aren't limited to color. Do you have a preference?"

Fajii stared at him for a long moment before answering. "The Fire Lord's clothes."

"You want red? Very bold."

Since the swimsuit was simple, it only took a few minutes.

Swimsuit: Red [Aquarion]

Description: A Sleek one-piece

swimsuit that is both comfortable

and stylish. Custom made for Fajii.

Crafted by Nix.

She stood up after trying it on. Nix hadn't bothered to think about the difference between Aquarions and humans. She looked very good in red, her lean muscles rippled beneath her pale skin.

"I like it," she proclaimed before sitting back down.

Nix stifled a yawn and stood up. "I need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

A few feet away three women were ducked down behind the rail of their houseboat. Tess had her hand out. "I win, pay up."

Semmi transferred the credits to her, "I thought we were about to witness a historical moment."

Jun Li looked back at the Aquarion that was still sitting in Nix's hot tub. "Everything works the same way right?"

Tess and Semmi looked at each other and then shrugged.

Tess, Rose, Banzi, Wind, Pon, Ronnie, Chael, Jun Li, Semmi, and Nansu were all fitted for new Enhanced Aquatic gear that was a hybrid between the Black Sea Turtle Under Armor and the Malu Aquatics. Nix had designed it to be worn under armor or by itself, which is what he preferred. Nansu wouldn't be part of the normal raid force, but for closing out the fourth floor Nix decided to bring the alchemist along; since the rewards were likely to be substantial.

"You sure you don't need me to come?" Mina had been busy helping her people with the construction of their village. She spent a good portion of her day traveling to human cities and purchasing things from vendors.

"No worries, since I've finished the fifth stage, I'll be able to access the sixth stage directly from the staging area." Nix wanted to limit Mina's exposure to human areas until more people got used to the ideas of Aquarion allies.

They held hands in a circle and Nix activated Deep Blue. A moment later they appeared in the staging area of fourth floor. There was already a group there.

Jun Li sighed when she saw who they were, "it's Salamander of course."

Semmi noticed right away the person running things. "They brought Shank in to run the guild? I wonder how much that cost them."

Nix glanced over at the Salamander guild but didn't say anything. "Who is Shank?"

Jun Li scowled at the name, "he's an eighty level sharpshooter, or at least he was. Those two bitches that shadow him are in the same boat."

Nix felt that all three were very dangerous. "Explain please."

Jun Li nodded and explained. "Shank and the twins are dps. There's a high-level raid in Espana that features a whirlwind obstacle. By now all the guilds know to go around, going through the whirlwind route costs you two levels."

Nix nodded as he understood. "So the three of them went through multiple times in order to come back to fifty."

"Correct, and you end up losing your gear unless you took all of it off beforehand."

Nix was tempted to turn his Vilas loose on them, but he held himself back. "What sort of advantage will they have over normal 50 level players?"

Jun Li kept a straight face, in reality, Nix was a complete noob to gaming. "At level 60, once your skills are maxed out, you gain modifiers at each level. Those modifiers stay regardless if you lose a few levels."

"Let's go." Nix summoned Soup and sat comfortably on his back while moving slowly to the entrance to the sixth floor.

They appeared a moment later above the platform on the sixth stage. Nix held up his hand. "No one leaves the platform yet."

Mina had told him that the sixth stage is really just a race, it was why he had been upgrading and customizing gear all morning. Sooner or later his true strength would be known. He wasn't on par with the Beast Master, but he could definitely shock some people. "Nansu you will ride Soup and head down the middle hall with Chael and me. Junie, you take the right hall with Tess, Wind, and Semmi. Pon that leaves you Ronnie, Rose, and Banzi. It starts when we leave the platform, we are strictly racing the clock."

Ronnie smiled at him, "what will you give me if I beat you?"

Nix returned the archers smile, "nothing. The faster we go, the better the reward. Everyone ready?"

Ronnie stuck her tongue out at him. "Last one there has to host a cook-out on the wharf."

Nix nodded in agreement. "Go!"

A flash of blue and Nix as gone, he moved down the center hall staying close to the floor while looking for obstacles. There were objects placed in their paths as the halls twisted and turned at odd angles. In the center hall, Nix was staying ahead of soup, with all his item enhancements he was a match for her on a course with obstacles. Nansu was cheering Soup on, while Chael was steadily losing ground on both of them.

In the right Hall, Wind was steadily pulling away. He was the only one in that group with the Aquarion Badge. The left hall race was high contested, no one held the advantage so that race had become a dead heat.

Mina had been right, the sixth stage was mostly a bonus floor. The real challenge on the fourth floor had been the fifth-stage Matriarch and the Vilas that had been seeded by the elders.

There was no chest for the end of the sixth stage, just a bunch of smiling friends ribbing the former Salamanders, who had all been a bit slower.

Jun Li had known about the Aquarion badges, so she had figured they would be trailing everyone.

Tess shrugged it off like a good sport. "Guess we are cooking tonight!"

They exited together, Salamander was in shambles, trying to recover from a complete wipe.

Colonial Message System: Congratulations to Inferno for being the first guild to clear the Sixth stage of the fourth floor and advance to the fifth floor. All members of the raid will receive a 20 modifier to the skill or ability of their choice.

Semmi whistled, "oh my, that is nice."

"Careful... here comes trouble." Jun Li was watching as her former guild walked towards them, there were sixty of them in the staging area. "One of them is streaming."

Nix moved to the front of the group. "Spread out, don't make a move unless I do."

Shank was a lean, dark-haired man who wore his hair in a topknot and carried a long-barreled rifle in his hands. On either side of him were exceptionally attractive blonde twins, they were both sword wielders and looked to be geared toward speed and dps. The sharpshooter approached them, all of his guild watching. "How did a bunch of traitors manage to get to the fifth floor?"

Nix ignored him and smiled at the twin on the left. "I'm Nix. You're the older one right?"

The blond stole a glance at her sister and then nodded. "How did you know that?"

"The older twin is always the prettier one."

She tried to hide it, but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Perhaps you don't realize the situation you are in." Shank sneered at him, angry at being ignored.

[You've been challenged to a Guild Battle. Do you accept?]

Nix laughed loudly. "F*ck, you're a brave bastard. Challenging the eleven of us with only sixty people." Nix summoned all 20 of his Vilas. "I accept!"

[Command: Defend Me]

Nix put six flame strands on Shank as he was bringing his rifle up, he dropped in onto the ground, screaming in agony, the thick fire strands burning into his skin. "Feel the love shithead!"

Both twins moved toward him at once, Nix swam upward dragging the screaming Shank with him. The twins were intercepted by a handful of Vilas who coordinated their attacks and took them down easily. Blood filled the water as the Vilas started to frenzy. He quickly sectioned them off in groups of four and assigned them defense.

[Command: Defend Nansu]

[Command: Defend Saintess]

[Command: Defend Gypsy-Rose]

[Command: Attack Shank ]

Shank died miserably in the jaws of the Vilas, howling in anger while returning to his binding point. In only a few minutes, all of Salamander had been wiped out, with the exception of a healer named Philoe. Philoe had been the one tasked with streaming, he hadn't been attacked since he wasn't taking part.

Nix smiled at Philoe who was still streaming. "You picked the wrong side shithead."

[Command: Attack Philoe]

[Your Sea-Beast Master skill has improved to level 2]

[You can now stable 25 Beasts.]

The last thing Philoe streamed was twenty Vilas tearing into him while he screamed in terror.

Nix glanced at Ronnie who was staring at him opened mouthed. "Will they come back?"

Ronnie shook her head, "they lost a guild challenge and so can't revive for an hour."

"Oh, I see..." Nix noticed all the gear on the ground. "What about the gear then?"

Ronnie finally snapped out of her surprise. "It's all ours, challenging and accepting Guild fights can be crippling."

Semmi nodded while she began looting. "Every person forfeits two items, usually weapons."

"Holy shit Nix." Ronnie moved closer, her dark face flashing a smile at him. "We wiped out Salamander!"

Pon was standing next to Wind, they both had their arms crossed in front of him. "Care to share what just happened Nix?" Pon had faced Matriarchs in the past, he knew exactly what that skill was.

"I possess the Sea-Beast Master Skill. It gives me the ability to train and control water creatures."

Jun Li was watching him carefully. "How come you can train the Sea-Beast skill?"

"I managed to steal a charged artifact meant for one of the future Matriarchs." It sounded a bit thin to Nix. The artifact should have been a 'mount trainer' only in his hands. He suspected that the Gladis Corporation had inadvertently aided him when they had illegally enhanced their lifestyle players.

No one else said anything, they finished looting and then returned to the Sea-World. He had Jun Li and Semmi prepare a statement for the forums. After they logged off tonight, they would return as 3-year term stasis players.

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Official Forum Statement: Inferno

Many of you have heard the news that we at Inferno uncovered. There is an artifact that uses female humans to change the gender of unborn Aquarion babies. Our allies in the Souza Accord have been working with us as we investigate this matter fully. Recently we have discovered the location of this artifact, it is the mission of Inferno and the Souza Accord to permanently destroy this device.

Jun Li smiled at her friend and posted the statement. As promised they had used their severance package from Salamander to purchase a three-year stasis package. A large company called Neuron was one of the most popular and reliable stasis companies. They would handle investments, send you regular updates on the world events and even transfer your game credits into real-world assets if you wanted.

Semmi glanced at the time, in thirty minutes a driver from Neuron would arrive and bring them to the stasis facility. The entire process would take less than an hour. Both of them had already given Neuron their log-on and gaming information so that their pods could access their Colonial avatars.

Nix put the sixth strand on her, she smiled encouragingly.

"It's actually very pleasant Nix." Shae had no issues moving while being held, she was too strong. "See if you can hold it!" She focused and waves of heat pushed away from her, each hotter and stronger than the last, the flame strands began to increase in thickness.

Nix's eyes had turned into twin suns, the salamander bodysuit glowed as his aura lit up. He gritted his teeth, blood running down his chin while he focused.

Pon was watching them off to one side, he had already guessed that the strands were related to Shae. If Nix ever decided to walk the path of the fire, he would most likely stand at the top of fire mages. The old mage smiled when a seventh strand began to form, instead of shooting toward the Salamander it hovered for a moment and then split into two separate strands, both of them wrapping around Shae's arm.

Shae nodded in approval. "That's eight! You may be part Salamander Nix. Well done!" She broke the strands by absorbing them, Nix collapsed to his knees gasping for air.

Nix looked up at her while trying to catch his breath. "Not long ago, that would have come in extremely handy."

She slipped her red dress over the salamander suit that she wore. "I want to talk to you about something Nix."

He nodded and followed her as she walked toward her caves. She slipped a hand through his arm just like she always did.

"I'm going to enter metamorphosis for a while Nix. It's how we elementals improve ourself."

Nix glanced up at the caves, she had taken him there earlier. Shae had made quite a lair above them all. "Is this safe?"

Shae shook her head, "I will be quite vulnerable during this time. Normally only mated elementals would even dare try it. One would stand guard while the other goes through the process."

"No one comes to Sea-World without me letting them in. It will be inconvenient, but I will confiscate Mina's access key until you are finished."

Shae smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Nix, last time I attempted it I was attacked by a Water Lord." She moved close and kissed him. "Should only be a few days, but it can last up to a few weeks."

"Don't worry about anything, you'll be safe here."

Shae didn't say anything else, she floated upward and entered her caves, leaving Nix staring skyward.

He found Mina in the Cottage, unlike most of her kin she enjoyed living and sleeping on land. "I'm going to need your Deep Blue bracelet for a period of time. If you need to run an errand, I will be more than happy to take you."

Mina nodded and handed him the bracelet. She didn't ask why he wanted it, nor did he volunteer any more information.

Nix walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch. The Aquarion leader was the only one currently staying in the cottage. Everyone else was enjoying life on the wharf. "I want to start looking for Alpha again. He couldn't have disappeared."

Since the last time they saw him in Broyan, the only lead they had was the outlaw city of Kryn. A man wearing a wolf mask had been seen there. The coastal city was avoided by everyone except hardened criminals and people looking for hardened criminals. Assassin's for hire, thievery, whatever you needed doing. Kyrn was the place you went to hire bad people, even law enforcement stayed away.

"Could I see your hooded mask Min?" Nix opened his inventory and chose a sturdy black cloth, after exploring different options, he had discovered that if he placed an item in one of the enhancement slots, he could duplicate it. If he did that while using his own name in the first slot, he could copy it to his own specifications.

"Sure," Mina handed him the item he asked for. "Thank you for making me all the clothes, you do amazing work."

Since Mina spent a lot of time in human cities and out of the water, Nix had designed several outfits that helped mask her identity. "We're allies."

The Aquarion nodded in agreement, "that's your answer whenever I thank you for something."

Nix duplicated the hood and then handed it back to her. "Because it's true."

Mina pursed her lips slightly, "Nix... I saw Fajii wearing a very nice outfit that you made."

"Hmm? Do you mean the swimsuit?"

Mina nodded, "yes, that's what she called it. Would it be too much trouble..." She didn't finish her sentence.

"You want one? What color?'

Mina considered it for a moment, "the same as your eyes, if possible I'd like the two-piece one."

"Sure Min." He didn't have any yellow cloth, but by adding red and green cloth to the enhancement blocks, he could adjust the fabric color to something very close to yellow.

Swimsuit: Yellow [Aquarion]

Description: A Sleek bikini

swimsuit that is both comfortable

and stylish. Custom made for Filamina.

Crafted by Nix.

Kryn didn't have a city portal, the quickest way for Nix to get there was by using the portal to Cella and then taking his Manta the rest of the way. He pushed his Aviante to top speed, staying close to the ground. Lots of people had Mantas nowadays, but everyone knew who owned the white one.

He stowed the mount just after the city came into view and switched to a black one. The black mantas were slowest, but they were also the most aggressive. If he were to be attacked while riding, the black manta would most likely defend him. No one rode them because they were uncommonly stubborn, they always died during conventional taming.

The city of Kryn was a sprawling assortment of one-story buildings. Given its proximity to the forest, nearly every building was made of wood. A steady ocean breeze brought a wide assortment of unpleasant odors coming from the settlement. The city itself was separated from the rest of Broyan by a river that gave it the same characteristics of an island and was only accessible by three long wooden bridges.

While under the pretense of watering his manta, Nix released his stable and quickly placed them all in the water beneath the middle bridge.

He pulled his mask over his face and rode the black manta toward the first bridge. It was a steady structure with huge wooden beams sunk deep into the river's muddy bottom. The beams were as thick as a man's waist and coated with pitch to protect against the elements. Nix chuckled when he saw them, super-dry timbers coated with pitch (Pine Tar), a fire-starters wet-dream.

He moved under the bridge to block the view of anyone watching and shot out eight strands onto the two closest beams. He only needed to keep them in place for a minute before beautiful orange flames licked their way up to the main structure.

He rode past the middle bridge and then repeated the process on the far one. He was riding fast, high-above Mainstreet, before the flames were visible. While scouting Kryn he had targeted a group of wood buildings close together. He landed on the roof, at the place where they came together and once again sent his fire strands onto dry wood. By this time, cries of alarm had arisen from the city. Two of the bridges leading into town were on fire.

Nix rode his manta high into the air and moved back toward the middle bridge. There was no law enforcement in Kryn, by the same token, there weren't any firefighters either. The fire spread quickly in all directions. Since half the people in town were pirates, the docks were immediately congested with people trying to board their ships and leave. The fire raged toward them, the smart criminals abandoned their plans and swam for it.

The yellow-eyed man watched as the flames grew higher. There was a reason that he had left one bridge untouched. Had he set it on fire, then everyone would have immediately swum across the river. Since it wasn't, people grabbed what they could carry and ran for the bridge.

No one on the bridge was moving quickly, it was only about thirty feet wide and not meant for the fast exit of five thousand people carrying their valuables.

He spotted him way faster than expected, walking down the middle of the bridge and wearing his wolf mask. Nix smiled and dived his Manta toward the bridge, "found you, shithead."

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[Command: Attack My Target]

Twenty Vila came up out of the water, instead of running around to the riverbank they scampered up the thick bridge beams like spiders, claws gouging into the hard timber as the moved upward toward the man with the wolf mask.

Nix pulled his rifle and took aim before firing repeatedly, his Aviente stopped a hundred feet off the ground and hovered in place. The crowd around the masked man instantly scattered, some people going as far as to jump off the bridge to avoid the gunfire.

He tried to turn and run back toward town, but the push of people rushing out caused him to give up immediately. He ran toward the rail just as the first Vila leaped onto the bridge. A moment of panic saw him try to summon his beasts but instead the nightmarish creature clamped onto his face and bore him to the ground. His screams were drowned out by the vicious growls of a half dozen predators tearing him to pieces.

Nix landed immediately.

[Command: Defend Me]

The Vila surrounded him when he dismounted, right away that created an empty space around him. No one wanted anything to do with the beasts surrounding Nix. He pulled the mask off the man, he was average looking and could have easily passed for a college kid. A partially severed forearm had a familiar-looking device on it.

Nix picked it up and examined it for a moment. "Not good." He stepped back onto his mount and quickly gained altitude. Kryn, the docks and most of the ships were now ablaze. The flames reaching hundreds of feet into the air. He headed along the coast, away from the flames. After a few minutes, he landed and activated Deep Blue.

There was a small crowd of Aquarions huddled around the cottage when Nix appeared among them a few moments later. Zhava's thin face smiled pleasantly at him when he approached.

"The Aviante has hatched Nix." Zhava was kneeling on the sand, pulling bits of eggshell off of the slimy white manta.

Nix stepped forward and picked it up gently before walking toward the surf. "Going to do you a solid by cutting down the sand travel a bit." Although mantas could thrive on land and sea, they usually hatched either in or very close to the water. He knelt down and held it in the surf, slowly its tiny wings began to flap as it moved towards deeper water.

All the Aquarions were smiling excitedly, apparently, the hatching of an Aviante was a good omen.

Nix caught the Aquarion leader's eye when he turned back toward the cottage. "Need to talk Min."

Mina nodded and followed him back to the cottage. She was wearing the two-piece swimsuit he had made her. She closed the door behind her and took a seat on the couch. "You seem troubled Nix."

"Just a bit." He sat the device and the wolf mask on the table in front of her.

"You found him?" Min picked up the artifact and then froze in place.

Beast Master Bracer

Enables the training of

the Beast Master Skill and

may be used as a stable for

twenty beasts. Custom made

for Zenic.

20/20 Enhanced Wolfmen

Crafted by Alpha

If Aquarions cursed, Nix would have expected to hear it now. Min's teeth were clenched and her brows were furrowed.

"Nix... This is being crafted by someone."

"It would seem that way," Nix agreed. "My question would be, how many has he made?"

"The materials to make the Ricoli artifact are quite rare, I have to assume that this is also the case for the Land-Beast version."

"What if it's not?" Nix turned over the wolf mask and examined it. Then he handed it to Mina.

Wolf Mask

Hides the identity of

the wearer. Provides heightened

night awareness. Custom

made for Zenic

Crafted by Opaz

"It provides another clue." Mina handed it back. "Is that a tailored mask?"

"Yes," Nix added it to the enhancement slot and then chose himself for the first block. "Opaz used a standard wolf pelt for the material. Let's see what it does with an enhanced wolfman pet."

"Can you tell the level of Opaz's tailoring skills?"

He didn't need to make the recipe first since he already had an example. The recipe would be made automatically once the first one finished. "It's high, but that isn't the troublesome part."

Enhanced Wolfman Mask

Enables Nightvision, enhanced

hearing and 5 to all stats.

Custom Made for Nix.

Crafted by Nix.

Mina watched him carefully, unlike other humans, he didn't often show emotions. She could see surprise and fear in his eyes. "What is the troublesome part?"

Nix frowned and slipped the mask on, instantly his entire demeanor changed to that of a predator. "That mask was made at the Gladis Hub."

Mina walked with him out of the cottage. He hadn't spoken since he took the mask off. She had no idea where the place he mentioned was, however, she understood it was somewhere he wanted to avoid.

"Let's talk about it later Min, I need to consider our options."

Mina nodded, "could you bring me to Jenzi in the morning? I want to pick up a few things."

"Sure, you can tag along when I drop off the product line for the boutique." They parted at the wharf with a wave and Nix headed towards his houseboat.

The wharf was a bit loud, in particular, there seemed to be a large amount of activity on his boat. Nix took the stairs up to the top level and shook his head in disbelief. "Just make yourself at home guys."

Pon, Wind, Ronnie, and Rose were all in his hot tub. Ronnie flashed her pretty smile at him, "the hot tub was a great idea Nix!"

Nix nodded in agreement, "you should have got one yourself."

She laughed at the face he made. "Sharing is caring Nix! Besides, no one but you can even afford something like this."

"Fine, enjoy yourselves. I need to sleep a bit." Nix opened the sliding glass door and closed it behind him. A moment later he collapsed silently on the bed.

Nix opened his eyes a few hours later, the sun had already set and most of the inhabitants had turned in for the night. A glance at the back deck told him that his hot tub was empty. He stared at the ceiling over his bed, there was no mistake. The Gladis Hub used certain threads that couldn't be found anywhere in Colonial. The mask had been made with a camel-hair thread, it was the only animal hair thread in his inventory. It was one of many items that he had brought with him from the Gladis hub.

The sliding door from his back deck slid open, an Aquarion with braided hair and a red one-piece swimsuit peeked in. She smiled tentatively, able to sense the serious atmosphere. "May I come in?"

Nix nodded and sat up on the bed. "Feel free to use the hot tub Fajii."

"Thank you." She moved closer and sat down, before handing him an object. "I told you that I would bring you something nice."

Nix whistled and took it from her hands. It was an enormous seashell covered in beautiful leopard-like markings. Out of habit, he held it up to his ear.

Fajii cocked her head to one side. "What are you doing?"

"My people say that you can hear the sea when you put a shell up to your ear."

Fajii laughed and shook her head. Her laugh was pretty, the kind that made you want to join in. "That's silly right?"

"I suppose it is. This is a beautiful shell though. Thank you."

Fajii looked pleased, "May I ask you something Nix?"

"Go ahead."

"I saw Chael and Nansu touching their mouths together while hugging. What were they doing?"

Nix gave her a deadpan look, "feeding each other."

Fajii's pretty face seemed less confused. "Oh, like a youngling."

He chuckled and nodded, "just like that."

"Why are you laughing Nix?"

He smiled and shrugged at her. "No reason, suddenly I realized that you are very attractive."

Fajii shook her head, "Among my people I am not considered pretty."

"Really? Why is that?"

Fajii held up her hand and spread her fingers wide showing her webbed fingers. "It's called shorthand when the webbing ends at the first knuckle, Aquarion men find it unattractive."

"I bet the added dexterity is quite handy for an alchemist."

She turned her head and pointed to her ear. "My ears are barely larger than yours."

"Ears and hands are important in determining Aquarion beauty?"

Fajii nodded, "very important."

Nix slowly shook his head. "I would call you a stunningly beautiful woman."

Fajii looked down at her hands for a long moment, as if considering his words carefully. "Those are very nice words. Thank you for saying them."

"It's late, but you can stay if you like."

Fajii had a small understanding of human nature, but she did understand the invitation. A small smile showed on her lips and her voice lowered to a whisper. "Does everything work the same way?"

Nix chuckled at her expression. "Probably."

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Nix dropped off the product as promised at the boutique. Mina tagged along and left right away to run some errands. They tentatively planned to meet at the portal platform in Jenzi at noon.

That gave him a chance to visit Hyai at the Kindled Spirit in Cyphix. Morning time at the inn was always a bit slow. They didn't serve breakfast so generally the staff spent that time cleaning and prepping for the rest of the day.

Hyai was carrying an enormous bucket of potatoes when he saw her, without any hesitation, he followed her into the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves.

"Nix!" She set the bucket down on the kitchen counter and hugged him tightly.

He sighed contently, there was something overwhelmingly warm about Hyai. "You wash em and I'll start peeling."

Hyai raised an eyebrow, not sure if he was serious. "Can you peel potatoes Nix?"

"With my dexterity? Like a champ."

He helped her in the kitchen most of the morning. They talked mostly about the rumors concerning Alpha. "I'm not convinced that Alpha is some super-powerful person. It's just as likely that he or she is a jeweler and nothing else."

Hyai was slicing long thin strips of meat while Nix talked. They had long finished the potatoes and moved onto other things. "This artifact you mentioned, if he had a dozen of them; What would he be able to do?"

Nix whistled softly, "just about whatever he wanted to. It's a quick strike army that could be inserted anywhere. I don't even want to think about it."

Colonial System Message: Portal connections to the continent of Broyan are temporarily out of service.

Nix sat down the peeling knife he had been using and looked at Hyai. "Why would all the connections to Broyan portals be closed?"

"A few years ago, the portal to Cella was closed when the city came under attack."

"I'm going to take a look, it's nearly noon anyway so I need to head back to Jenzi." He handed Hyai a box of clothes he had made for her and then gave her a quick kiss before heading out.

"Nix? " She looked at the box in her hand and then at the quickly fleeing culprit. "Spoiling an old woman?"

Nix laughed and waved goodbye, "guess so."

He picked up Mina at the Jenzi portal and then activated Deep Blue. "We need to find out what's going on in Broyan."

Colonial System Message: The Kingdom of Valis has come under attack.

Colonial System Message: The Kingdom of Neptia has come under attack.

Colonial System Message: The Kingdom of Trifelez has come under attack.

Colonial System Message: The Kingdom of Berma has come under attack.

A few minutes later, his entire raid team along with a few Aquarion additions was sitting on the top deck of Nix's houseboat. He handed out custom wolf-masks to everyone in the raid. "Is that every kingdom in Broyan?"

Pon shook his head, "There's a small island kingdom called Safarza that is highly defensible and its shores have embedded cannons. There are only three major cities in Safarza and no portal platforms."

Pon used his hud to show a map of Broyan. Just off the west coast was an isolated landmass nestled in numerous mountain ranges.

Nix whistled, "no wonder it hasn't been taken. What's our easiest entry point to Safarza?"

Jun Li had been sitting next to Pon, she pointed to the far western continent. "Jhabi to the west, it will be a few hours by Manta. That's really our only option."

"Prep for an extended stay on the western side of Safarza, from there we can move into the Berma kingdom and figure out what's going on." He glanced up at Min who was watching quietly, "we'll need about twenty Aquarion fighters, that will keep our strike group at thirty."

Mina nodded, "this will be a good time for us to build trust with the kingdom's under attack."

Juni was using her hud to organize everything. As an experienced raid leader, she knew exactly what to do. "I'll prep for a tent city and a month worth of supplies."

"Thanks, Juni, I'll be relying on your experience during this operation." Nix examined his own wolf-mask while Semmi talked about supplies with Pon and Juni. "We'll try out our newly acquired night capabilities to gain an advantage.

Satisfied with her list, Jun Li forwarded to Nix. "You'll have to take me to Jenzi for a supply run."

"Let's go now." Nix grabbed her hand and activated Deep Blue.

By the time the sun was setting on the Broyan continent, a dozen tents had been pitched on the eastern shores of Safarza. They were hidden nicely on three sides by huge rock formations. In addition to the sleeping quarters, there was also a mess tent (Meals), the TOC, (Tactical Operations Center) and a supply tent. The highly efficient former officers of the Salamander Guild had set everything up. Nix knew enough to step aside and let experts work.

The raid group was sitting in the TOC, a central hud was displaying the 3-D map of Broyan. Jun Li was standing next to it. "We are an hour from Berma by Manta. Wind and Semmi are currently scouting the capital city, we'll make our decisions based on the intel they bring back." Jun Li was wearing all black since they had decided to operate at night. Her long hair was down, she looked relaxed for once.

Mina was sitting next to Pon and Ronnie, she had an easy way about her that made humans feel comfortable. "Nix, you should tell them what to expect."

Nix nodded and moved next to Jun Li. "If you face someone with a wolf mask on the ground, do not engage. It may seem like they are alone, but most assuredly they are not."

Ronnie already knew about the Beast Masters. "Air and Range then?"

Nix nodded, "Stay on your Manta, do not bring the fight to the ground if you can help it. These Beast Masters can have anywhere from twenty to eighty beasts."

Mina held up the Beast Master Bracer, "if you kill them, then make sure to take this. Like the Sea-Beast Master bracer, they always drop on death."

Ronnie reached for the bracer and turned it over in her hands, she flashed a smile at Nix. "Can I have this?"

"Sure... it's basically a pretty paperweight now. These are customized to the person. They also contain stable storage for the Beast Master, they are helpless without it."

Nix and Mina had talked about the differences between the Sea Beast Masters and the Land Beast Masters. The Alpha had figured out how to make the Land version of the Ricoli artifact. Nix was a hybrid version of the Sea Beast Master, the ability to use and store beasts without the artifact was unique to him alone.

Ronnie slipped it on her hand, "it's pretty but I want the wolfie things too. Where did you get this one?"

Nix smiled, "Kryn."

The old fire mage chuckled slightly. "You know... Kryn burned to the ground yesterday."

"I did them a favor, that place was an eyesore and all that dry wood was definitely hazardous."

The team sat around discussing different approaches and possible targets when Wind and Semmi returned.

Wind uploaded his notes to the map that was currently being displayed. Semmi started the brief.

"The capital city is under siege by a small force, they have taken the palace and also hold both gates exiting the city. City guards are dying by the dozens whenever they face these wolfmen."

Jun Li zoomed the map to display the capital. "Do we know how many?"

Wind nodded, "two on each gate, I also counted forty beasts at each location."

"So four Beast Masters hold the gates." Mina frowned, that was more than they had planned.

Semmi glanced at Wind and continued, "it gets way worse than that. I counted at least ten more in the castle, their beasts are patrolling the halls and keeping the royal family locked in their rooms."

"Smart... hold the ruling family hostage and the army is helpless." Jun Li shook her head and looked at her party. "Any ideas?"

"I'll contact the leaders of the army, if we can take the city gates back they can lay siege to the castle." Semmi had already scouted out the location of Berma's army.

Pon nodded in agreement. "If we take the gates fast, the people in the castle will think it was the army. They won't be looking for us."

"Mina and I will have to split up, each of us on a gate team. We'll send our beasts in and use range damage from the air." Nix shot a glance toward the two archers in the group. "I'll take Chael and Ronnie will go with Mina."

Jun Li considered the plan. "The rest of us could already be on the Castle Roof. We should already be in play in case the gates go sideways on us."

Nix gave Ronnie a hand up. "It's cloudy out tonight, 0200 is generally when people are the most tired."

Jun Li closed the hud, "let's plan on that. That gives everyone a few hours to sleep. Make sure you are ready!"

Nix walked into one of the sleeping tents and lay down on a cot. Ronnie had picked the one next to his. "Get some rest, Ronnie."

The dark archer yawned sleepily, "don't have to tell me, I stayed up too late last night."

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Chael and Nix hovered a few hundred feet in the air about half a mile from the West Gate. Ronnie and Mina had taken up a similar position at the East Gate. The Berma army had already been notified that they were planning on moving into the city, they would move in quickly to surround the castle once the gates were taken.

Chael noticed right away that the portcullis was up. "Why leave it up if you're trying to lock the city down?"

"It doesn't make sense unless they are hiding something close by." Nix activated his Sea-Beast Bracelet.

[Scan Surrounding Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Stand By...]

[No Sea-Beasts had been Located.]

[Eighty ineligible Wolfmen, already tamed.]

Nix cursed softly. "There are two more wolf-masks hiding close by, the forty we see is only half of what's waiting."

Chael slipped on his wolf mask, the night instantly lighting up. "I still only see the two beastmasters. Does this mean that the other gate is hiding reinforcements also?"

Nix nodded, "head to East gate and warn them. Change of plans, stick with Mina and follow her lead. I'm going to create a diversion here."

"Okay Nix, use your flare if you get in trouble."

He landed quickly and hid his beasts in the underbrush, it would take them a minute to cover the distance to the gate. Then he gained altitude and moved toward the gate. He knelt low over his black manta and patted it on the shoulder. He was perfect for night raids.

He stopped when he was directly over the gate, roughly five hundred feet. His wolf-mask showed him the exact location of the two beastmasters that were in view. He pushed his manta in a steep dive and then pulled up only a few feet above them. He shot out four strands immediately, two around each beastmaster neck, then he kicked Shadow to climb fast. The smell of burnt flesh and a sizzling sound like bacon on a hot grill followed him up as the Manta shot skyward.

He released the strands at a thousand feet, smiling at the terror-filled screams as they two beastmasters fell to their deaths. Nix banked shadow and quickly spotted the other two beastmasters who had come out of hiding. The forty beasts guarding the gate disappeared as their masters slammed into the cobblestone with sickening splats.

The two remained beastmasters were both range fighters and immediately started shooting at Nix. He landed quickly and headed away from them on foot. Night shooting at two hundred yards proved too difficult, as he was able to duck behind a large boulder and bring his rifle up.

Nix smiled when he saw their wolfmen giving chase. "You f*cked up." He started shooting at the Beastmasters with his rifle.

[Command: Attack my Primary Target]

[Command: Attack my Secondary Target]

After assigning priorities, Nix started shooting at the incoming wolfmen. The first ones were still 30 yards away when his Vila ambushed the unsuspecting beastmasters. He fired into the front wolves, sending them down, the ones immediately behind stepped right on them without any thought.

"F*ck!" Three wolfmen leaped from twenty feet away, Nix sent two flame strands on them, chopping them down in mid-jump. The follow-up wave knocked him down and he felt sharp canines puncture deep into his shoulder.

[Ignition Burning Aura]

A second wolfman grabbed hold of his leg, a moment later the beast screamed in pain as its prey burst into flames. The pack of wolfmen surrounded him but stayed back, they possessed a beasts natural fear of fire. Then they suddenly vanished, along with the flames coming from Nix.

A naked Nix quickly redressed and headed toward the beastmaster corpses as he considered the event. "My aura ignited when my life was threatened, not only did it drive back the wolves but also healed me." He checked his stats, the Burning Aura was now grayed out. "One and done?"

He picked up all four beastmaster bracers and stowed his Vila away. He summoned Shadow and immediately the animal collapsed on the ground. A quick inspection showed that he had taken a few shots to the wings. Not life-threatening, but he was done flying for the evening.

Nix entered the city on foot and headed toward the castle. He was supposed to rendezvous with the main force on the castle roof. He had a flare that he was to fire off if he couldn't make it for whatever reason.

A stomach-turning smell told Nix that he was approaching a sewer grate, he slipped on his second wolf-mask and bent down to pry it open. "It's as good idea as any."

Chael quickly located Ronnie and Mina in the skies above the gate. After explaining what Nix had found, Mina decided to change plans.

"You and Ronnie will find cover at the top end of your range. Both of you focus on one beastmaster, you should be able to take him out."

Ronnie estimated the distance she'd need for night shooting. "Hundred and fifty meters for me, we'll find cover and leave the mantas ready."

"Kill the one and then mount up and retreat. They'll continue to chase as long as the two of you stay low to the ground."

Chael spotted a small ridge that would provide them cover. "We'll head there. What will you be doing?"

"I'll be staying in the air out of range, however, my beasts are already in hiding."

Mina stayed high in the air, waiting as her team moved to cover. As soon as they started shooting at one of the beastmasters, forty wolfmen charged at their position. She waited, stalling to see if any hidden beastmasters would come out.

Chael fired one last time, killing their target. Both him and Ronnie leaped for their mounts and quickly gained about twenty feet of altitude. The snapping jaws and heavy breathing of canines followed them.

As soon as the one beastmaster fell, the two that were in hiding summoned their beasts and sent them to guard the gate. Mina frowned when they didn't pursue. "Guess we'll see whose pets rule."

She sent her twenty Vilas at one of the newcomers, the other beastmasters animals were too far away to help in this fight. Her Vilas were on him before his beasts could react. A quick kill and the odds were even.

Ronnie noticed immediately when the wolfmen that had been chasing them turned around. "Chael!" She banked her manta and headed back toward the gate. She quickly overtook the wolfmen and opened up on their master.

The third beastmaster was torn apart just as the remaining wolfmen rejoined the fight. Several of Mina's beasts had minor wounds, but nothing serious. A wolfman versus vila fight only last a few minutes, Chael and Ronnie caught up and were able to kill the last beastmaster.

Mina landed long enough to collect all four bracers. A flash of light from the West gate drew her attention. She waited for a flare, but there wasn't one.

Chael had seen the flash also, "should I head back to the West gate?"

Mina shook her head. "He won't fail."

His enhanced wolf-mask actually made the sewers worse, since it granted night vision and enhanced his other senses. It wasn't his first time in a sewer, Nix had been forced to use them in the past to retreat and move closer to his targets. He had an unfailing sense of direction and immediately headed toward the castle.

He quickly discovered that the sewers were teeming with rats, small reptiles and other tiny predators. Rather than worry about them, he summoned his Vilas.

[Command: Guard Me]

His beasts immediately went out in all directions. Apparently, anything within fifty feet of him was considered a threat that needed to be eliminated. The sewage was ankle-deep and Nix quickly discovered there was no quiet way to walk through it. Instead, he decided to keep moving quickly and relied on the thick stone walls to mask any sounds he was making.

The passage he was moving down entered a large chamber about ten minutes later. There were five other passages that emptied into it. Large stone steps headed upward on the far side.

"Of course... What would a sewer be without big-ass alligators?"

Nix stabled his Vila, he didn't want to risk them in a fight. The sewage water in the chamber had risen to waist high, the alligators would definitely hold an advantage.

[Scan Surrounding Areas?]

"Yes."

[Scanning, Stand By...]

[15 Sea-Beasts have been Located.]

[Type 1: Mutated Crocodile: 7]

[Type 2: Alligator: 8]

[Do you wish to train the available Sea-Beasts?]

"Yes, train Mutated Crocodiles."

Nix waited while the progress bar slowly moved across the screen. His twenty vila would normally have taken up all the slots, but his Sea-Beast Master skill had leveled up recently and he had gained five slots.

As soon as the training was finished, Nix set them to fight the others and started wading toward the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a small door. He glanced back and released the five crocs he had trained, they immediately stopped fighting.

The door wasn't locked, he stepped in and shut it behind him. He quickly undressed and donned his third set of gear. The stench of the pair he wore in the sewers was sure to attract unwanted attention. "Good thing I'm a tailor," he whispered softly to no one in particular.

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