Tides from the Deep - Blood Devourer

Lilo stepped forward.

Talia could see an intensity in her eyes that the rather diminutive girl hadn’t displayed before.

In fact, even though Lilo was quite a bit smaller than her older sister, Nami, she displayed an imposing aura that made her feel larger than she actually was.

If Talia had to really think about it, it had looked almost counterintuitive that it was Lilo, not Nami, who was the Promised Slayer, the chosen one.

However, as Lilo stepped forward, an aura blossomed around her, as if her Mana was visibly boiling.

That instantly made it clear to Talia that she had been evaluating only the girl’s appearance and not the substance.

Elder Krakatoa himself nodded as his gaze swept over the Promised Slayer of the Moana Family.

Talia thought that the man must have been extremely happy and satisfied that she was in his school.

In fact, she should have asked more about how valuable it was to have a Promised Slayer in one’s ranks.

The Elder looked around the classroom, his eyes sweeping across the students.

“Now,” he said, “who shall assist Lilo in this demonstration?”

No one came forward.

Talia actually considered making her way to the front to confront the little girl and see how strong she was for herself.

The thought of experiencing what a strong noble such as Lilo was capable of excited her.

But Elder Krakatoa was clearly setting this up to be a display of knowledge on Lilo’s behalf more than an actual duel.

Talia felt her mother’s glaive hanging on her back, its weight resting right on her shoulders.

She knew that Lilo was probably armed to the teeth by the Moana family, but she couldn’t help but wonder how her Soul Weapon would stack against the sword Lilo held by her side.

Talia thought that, perhaps, now that her father had unlocked Star Glaive’s potential, she might be able to give herself quite the display of, well, as the course put it, weaponry.

But before she could muster up the resolve to step forward and challenge Lilo, something unexpected happened.

“Well, it looks like we have a legacy name with us. Why don’t you come forward?”

With that, Elder Krakatoa extended his hand, and every person in the classroom turned.

He was pointing at Takai.

Talia hadn’t even noticed that her friend had come to the class.

Takai looked frazzled by the attention.

He stuttered, “Elder Krakatoa, I’m not sure—”

“Please,” Elder Krakatoa cut him off with a kind tone. “Step forward, son. Your father wielded some of the greatest artifacts this Academy has ever seen—and probably still does. He always had a soft spot for magical weapons. If he wasn’t out there being a criminal, trust me, I would praise him even more. Few people had such an intimate relationship with a sword like your father. Since you and Lilo both wield swords, you’re a good match to introduce the course. This is just a demonstration, after all.”

Takai’s eyes were wide with surprise, and the mention of his father had somehow spooked him. But still, he nodded and stepped into the center of the arena to face Lilo, drawing the plain sword he carried with him.

Lilo drew her sword, a slender, thin blade that seemed to shimmer with an inner white light.

“Pay close attention,” Elder Krakatoa addressed the class. “Lilo will demonstrate the basics of integrating Mana into swordplay without any skills. She, like most of her family, wields Tempest Water.”

Talia had heard of Tempest Water when researching the Great Families.

Like Takai’s Silver Water, Tempest Water was mostly an enhancement-geared affinity.

However, unlike Silver Water, which was completely geared toward enhancement and crowd control, Tempest Water presented great offensive capabilities.

On top of that, it was strictly an offensive affinity with close to no defensive capabilities.

It was extremely hard to wield properly, but if one managed to master Tempest Water, it was among the most dangerous affinities to face.

When fighting a wielder of Tempest Water, death could come in the blink of an eye, before you could even notice your own demise.

Lilo closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened them again, there was a faint, deep blue glow emanating from her sword.

The air around her began to shimmer in earnest as if heat was rising from her body. Most importantly, the shimmer seemed to be concentrated, especially around her sword, where the very space seemed to distort.

“Begin,” Elder Krakatoa’s voice rang out.

What followed was less a duel and more a display of overwhelming skill.

Lilo moved with incredible speed, closing the distance between her and Takai in a flash.

Takai, even before they crossed swords, and despite his own heritage as the son of the Sword Demon, seemed completely outmatched.

He barely managed to parry Lilo’s first strike, with the clash of the blades sounding more like the clap of thunder.

The boy backstepped and awkwardly parried two more strikes.

But Lilo’s attack was relentless.

There were miniature whirlwinds forming around her blade, enhancing its speed and power.

Takai stumbled back again and again, struggling to keep up with the simple slashes that Lilo was unleashing.

Even without using any skills, Lilo’s attacks contained power that Takai could currently only dream of.

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the arena.

Takai’s sword, unable to withstand the force of Lilo’s Tempest Water-enhanced strikes, had developed a large fissure along its length.

“That’s enough,” Elder Krakatoa called a halt to the demonstration, and Talia watched as Takai stared at his damaged weapon, shocked.

We need to do something about that, Talia thought.

The herbs that Alani gave her to sell at the Academy would perhaps buy Takai a better artifact.

Talia didn’t really need the money.

She had a powerful class and weapon that convinced her she didn’t need to spend a single coin on herself for now.

Her mother hadn’t left her any money that she knew of, but she was confident that completing missions would be enough to net her a small fortune.

Water Riders, despite all the resources that they needed, rarely went broke since there were so few of them and because so many kept dying on dangerous missions.

Thankfully, those dangerous, deadly missions often had large rewards, though.

Elder Krakatoa stepped closer to Takai and, as if by magic, fished a sword out of his sleeve, giving it to him.

“This is a simple sword with a reinforcement enchantment,” the Elder said, coughing awkwardly. “I’m sorry your sword broke. I hope it didn’t have sentimental value.”

Takai shook his head.

“It didn’t,” Takai said, taking the sword from Elder Krakatoa and putting it in the sheath at his side.

Weirdly, the Elder had managed to match the size of the sword so well that it perfectly fit into the sheath of the old one.

What Talia found interesting was that there was clearly some manner of confusion in Elder Krakatoa’s eyes.

He was probably wondering how Takai, being the son of the Sword Demon, didn’t wield a stronger weapon.

But knowing the lengths Lani had gone to in order to hide herself and to sever Takai’s connection with his father, there was no way that one of his father’s swords was somehow just left lying around.

It was a shame, Talia reasoned.

A swordsman was only as good as their sword, just like the recent duel — if it could even be called that — had proven.

Although a sword alone didn’t make you a swordsman, no swordsman could be one without a good sword.

I don’t know anything about the price of weapons, Talia thought. I should go to the market in town and see for myself how expensive it would be to buy a decent sword.

She didn’t want Takai to fall behind, and it was imperative that they managed to find him a good weapon, no matter what.

Elder Krakatoa addressed the class again with a measured tone.

“Let's discuss Enchanted Artifacts. In fact, they’re instrumental, or even a strict requirement, for a Water Rider’s survival.”

He gestured to Takai's new sword.

“This sword Artifact has a basic reinforcement Enchantment, increasing its durability. However, there’s a great variety of Enchanted weapons, armor, and trinkets beyond simple Enchantments such as this one.”

The man took a second and continued.

“Despite this not being an optimal classification, we distinguish between Single-Effect, Multi-Effect, Legendary, and Soul Artifacts.

“Single-Effect Artifacts are the most common, with enchantments like increased durability or elemental damage. Multi-Effect Artifacts combine two or more enchantments. Legendary Artifacts possess unique enchantments and are almost impossible to fabricate en-masse. They’re usually made of naturally formed materials from the strongest Dungeons and are refined by our craftsmen into actual unique weapons.”

He paused briefly.

“Usually, we consider Soul Artifacts above the Legendary ones. That’s because a Soul Artifact forms a bond with its wielder, evolving in strength over time, with no seeming limit on how powerful it can become. They're exceptionally rare, often tied to prominent lineages or remarkable individuals.

“The problem with Soul Artifacts, however, whether it’s a weapon or armor, is that they don’t start at their strongest. The most basic effects they have will stay active even when they’re passed down, but to develop them into their strongest form takes decades.”

The Elder produced a large sphere from his seemingly bottomless sleeve.

“This is one of my Legendary Artifacts. This one has served me much better than most Soul Weapons would have ever had. It took me three decades to make my Soul Weapon stronger than this orb here. That’s because anyone with enough Mana can activate a Legendary Artifact.

“In fact, most of you would be better served by a Single-Effect Artifact than a Soul Weapon as things stand currently.”

Krakatoa turned to Lilo.

“Lilo is wielding the famous Soul Weapon of the Moana Family. Would you mind showing us again?”

Lilo proudly raised the thin white sword over her head.

“White Rose, a Moana Family heirloom,” Elder Krakatoa stated. “Could you tell your fellow students about its public, most-known effects?”

“It amplifies the user's Tempest Water affinity,” Lilo said. “It also allows its user to gradually develop and evolve a Wind Water Affinity and an Ocean Affinity.”

“It develops Affinities?” Talia mumbled, flabbergasted.

Even Star Glaive, her mother’s Soul Weapon, whose Skills Talia had considered otherworldly up to now, seemed to pale compared to White Rose.

As she spoke, a faint mist formed around the thin blade.

“Soul Weapons evolve with their wielders,” Krakatoa explained. “As Lilo grows stronger, White Rose will unlock new abilities.”

Talia reached for the thick pole of her glaive, frowning and suddenly feeling inadequate.

Talia wondered if her mother's weapon had once been as powerful as White Rose or if it had lost some of its strength over the years.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Elder Krakatoa addressed the class again.

“Now, I want you all to pair up and practice channeling your Mana into your weapons. Even if you don't have an enchanted weapon, this exercise will help you understand the principles behind weapon enhancement. I’ll explain how in a moment.”

As the students began to move, Talia felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned to see Keanu standing there with a friendly smile on his face.

“Want to partner up?” he asked.