Chapters 111-115

Releasing a few extras to cover the lost chapters and the weekend! Enjoy!

Chapter 111 – Lady Naia

Naia opened her eyes as soon as the first rays of dawn started peering through the windows. Silently, without making a single noise, without the blankets even rustling, in an eerie ghost-like manner, she rose from the bed and entered her bathroom. She looked at the mirror and resisted the temptation to scrunch her face, to clench her jaw in frustration.

She had been on the same mission for fifteen years. Not one moment, not one instant, had she ever broken the facade she had put on. She had been diligent beyond what would have been expected of her, and she had gotten close, so tantalizingly close to her objective. However, for all she served without questioning, for all she had done for the Water Rider Academy, Principal Kaimana hadn’t given her what she had been angling for all this time.

Naia took a deep breath and then splashed her face with cold water. She went into the kitchens of her school building, which she financed with a few missions she took throughout the academic year. She smiled at the cooks, found a light plate assembled for her, and ate while making light conversation with the servants. She had cultivated a flawless image for herself—kind, well-disposed, and interested in the well-being of others beyond what any other elder had done. And she knew she was almost as strong as a real elder, perhaps already stronger than some. But all of this clearly didn’t matter to Principal Kaimana.

As customary of her routine, Naia left the kitchens half an hour later and went to the training grounds. As she walked the halls of the school, she pondered whether it even made any sense for her to still be here, to keep up the appearances when the old man was already at the end of his natural life. When she knew that he would soon breathe his last breath, and so all these years that she had spent trying to infiltrate the Sundered Seas Covenant had been wasted. All this time that she had put into trying to further the mission of the Equilibrium cult was gone.

Considering the recent change in plans that had been communicated to her by none other than Maui, she truly knew that there was nothing she could do to help. Maui had decided to change his approach, to do something almost unthinkable considering how much power the academy still wielded.

However, Naia had been born in poverty, and it hadn’t actually been Kaimana finding her, as most believed throughout the academy. If she had had to wait for Principal Kaimana, she would have died ten times over. She would have starved because the nobles responsible for her territory didn’t clear the dungeons as they were supposed to, meaning that most of these little creatures ran unchecked and routinely drove the inhabitants out of their places. This didn’t allow them to cultivate food or to really build up any resources. So most of the time, they barely survived on scraps.

Naia was just a kid, just ten years old when her savior came. When he found out about her talent, he was still in shambles after Yelena's death. That drove him to find someone who could wield the talent to infiltrate the academy and tear the system down from within.

But Naia felt like she had failed her savior, Maui. Even though Principal Kaimana had nominated her as his assistant, and she was sure she would be nominated an elder before the man died or perhaps right after his death, she still knew she wouldn’t enter the man's inner circle. That much had become clear beyond reasonable doubt.

But perhaps the Deep had rewarded her for her commitment by dropping an unexpected opportunity into her lap. When Maui had told her that none other than his daughter would come to the academy, he had told Naia to keep an eye on her from afar but more importantly, to look for an opportunity. To find someone close to his daughter, Talia—Maui and Yelena’s child—would become a very important pawn. The most important in what was about to unfold in the Great Archipelago. But to control her, to make sure that she would do as told, they needed leverage. And leverage had fallen right in her lap.

She smiled as she saw a blonde girl practicing in the training grounds barely an hour after dawn. Naia smiled at the attempts at conjuring the shield spell, the Sheathotter. It consisted of circulating many smaller shields, barely the size of a palm, superimposed in a scale-like formation in several layers, all interlocked with one another. It was an extremely defensive spell that could only be mastered by someone with tremendous mana control and a masterful grasp over the fundamentals of casting, something way beyond what a second-year student should have been capable of.

Surprisingly, Naia saw that Fiora had already managed to conjure an entire layer together and that she was trying to create the second. However, joining the two would be a challenge even for the talented blonde.

When the time came, she would be the most important in making sure that Talia did what she needed to do.

“Good morning,” Fiora said, bowing her head as soon as she saw Naia, letting the conjured Sun Water dispel.

One of the many things that Naia found remarkable about the girl was that Sun Water was more apt for offense than defense. But when Naia told Fiora that she would be learning a fully defensive spell, the girl didn’t even blink. She had accepted and got to work immediately. The fact that there were only two months of lessons before they would start hunting in dungeons clearly motivated the girl beyond her usual commitment.

Naia saw a younger version of herself in Fiora, a girl ready to do anything to experience a better life, to build a better future. Something that those puny nobles couldn’t even understand. Principal Kaimana, coming from his position at the top, couldn’t really understand what it was like to live among the last of the last in Great Archipelago of Na Moku Kai. To experience famine. To not know where the next meal would come from.

She respected him in so many ways, but she also knew that he would never understand, that he would always oppose the greatness of Maui’s own plans. The same plans that had once been Yelena’s, and that only Maui fully knew at this point.

"Remember to maintain equal pressure between the layers," Naia told the girl. 

The second layer she was trying to create over the first scale-like shield would require much more control, especially if she wanted to conjure it in a split second during battle. 

As Naia watched her student struggle with the technique, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of... was it regret? She had grown genuinely fond of Fiora over the months of training. The girl's progress had been remarkable, and her unwavering spirit was refreshing in a world of entitled nobles.

“Fiora,” Naia said after the blonde had depleted all her Mana, “we have to talk about something.”

Chapter 112 – The Forbidden Vessel

The moment they stepped through the hull of the Forbidden Vessel, reality shifted. Instead of finding themselves inside the ancient ship, Talia and Keahi stood on a massive piece of driftwood floating in an endless expanse of dark water. Other wooden platforms of various sizes dotted the seascape, creating a maze-like pattern that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"This is..." Keahi trailed off, looking around with evident confusion.

"A dimensional dungeon," Talia finished, activating [Eyes of the Abyss]. The Mana patterns here were unlike anything she'd seen before. Instead of the usual flow, the energy seemed to pulse with the gentle waves, as if the entire ocean was breathing.

The piece of driftwood they stood on was easily thirty feet across, worn smooth by countless years in the water. Similar platforms bobbed nearby, connected by floating debris and partially submerged logs that formed precarious paths between them.

Talia caught movement in the depths below. Dark shapes glided beneath the surface, and she saw the Mana ripple around them. Whatever this dimensional dungeon was, the waters were so rich in Mana that she could barely make out those forms. Not even the murky waters of the Abyssal Jaw Dungeon had been such an impediment to her vision.

Kehai went to the edge of the driftwood and peered into the water. "I don't suppose you can tell how deep that goes?"

Talia looked into the dark water, so dark it was almost black, and shook her head.

A distant explosion made them both turn. A giant tail had smashed apart a piece of driftwood. It had moved so fast that neither had time to identify what Abyssal Creature had caused that.

Talia could have dived into the water immediately, like she had done in the other dimensional dungeons she had visited. But she thought that doing that without knowing what creatures rested below could be too dangerous. She briefly also considered activating the Cursed Form, but then she looked at Kehai beside her. She hadn't had the time to look for Keanu since the Ko'a, her grandmother, would have probably soon stationed people all around the Forbidden Vessel. It was only Kehai's Skill and the fact that they had made a beeline for the Forbidden Vessel that allowed them to climb into it undisturbed.

Talia saw a gigantic shape circle closer and closer. "They can feel us. They can feel our presence," she said, gripping her glaive tighter. She had gotten it back thanks to [Recall] on her way out of the barracks.

Before Talia could answer, something massive rammed their platform from below. The impact sent tremors through the wood, nearly throwing them both off balance. Water sprayed up through the cracks, and Talia caught her first clear glimpse of what hunted them—a gray fin the size of a sail, cutting through the water with terrifying speed.

The water around their platform suddenly began to churn once again, and Talia shouted toward Kehai, "Dodge!"

A gigantic shark, thirty feet long, exploded from the bottom of the driftwood. It had four wicked red eyes, one pair larger than the others. Defying any logic, the creature actually roared so strongly that Talia felt a shockwave pushing her away from the driftwood and into the waters below.

Before fully plunging into the black expanse, she caught a glimpse of the creature's level.

[Titanic Shark Level 41]

Talia felt her blood grow cold, almost freezing her veins in fear. She'd leveled up after killing Maleko, but this creature had almost ten levels over her.

Kehai landed on a piece of driftwood gracefully, twisting his muscular body in the air with his dark hair whipping around his face as he somersaulted and landed with his feet together.

Knowing that he could probably take care of himself, Talia activated [Crimson Wisdom] and [Eyes of the Abyss] once again. She saw the Titanic Shark slowly turn and make its way toward her. It was incredibly fast for its size, but more importantly, it was suddenly enveloped in raw Mana, which shot forward from the creature into a massive crashing wave aimed right at her.

Talia used [Missile Swimming], covering her own body with Mana and torpedoing away from the attack. But more and more came from the gigantic shark. She would have pegged the monster as a Constitution-based creature, but it seemed like it also had massive reserves of Mana.

Talia wondered what attributes she would be able to absorb from such a creature. That question kept her from using the Cursed Form. Instead, summoning her Hemomancy, she slashed a massive crescent of Blood Water as big as the humongous attack the creature had unleashed. The attack traveled toward the monster, but moments after it had been conjured, the monster summoned two more crescents that destroyed Talia's attack.

She looked at the creature and barreled toward its side, dodging attack after attack and slashing underwater with all the strength she had. The Star Glaive bit into the skin of the shark, but it only left a superficial wound. Talia immediately followed up by using [Ravenous Wounds], but she could feel the vitality of the massive beast—an entire lake of vitality as she had never felt before from an Abyssal Creature—resisting her.

She clamped her teeth underwater, feeling only rivulets of Stamina and Mana coming her way from the giant creature and thinking to herself, This is never going to end this way.

[Ika Toto - Blood Tide] empowered her, but nowhere near enough to deal the damage necessary to kill the creature. And so Talia had only one card other than the Cursed Form to play. She summoned the new Skill that she had gotten from Maleko, which the Chosen from the Kanaloa family had called a one-in-a-thousand-year Skill.

[Soul Domain]

Chapter 113 – Soul Domain

The moment Talia activated [Soul Domain], she felt reality twist around her. Just like with Maleko's domain, the water began to ripple with raw power—but this time, it was her power. Dark tendrils of Blood Water spread outward from her body, creating a spherical zone of influence, perhaps a hundred feet in diameter. Within this space, she could feel every drop of water, every current, every ripple of Mana as if they were extensions of her own body.

The Titanic Shark circled the edge of her domain, its four red eyes glowing ominously in the dark. Talia could sense its hesitation—the beast had never encountered anything like this before. Neither had she, for that matter. The Skill felt both familiar and alien, like wearing someone else's clothes that somehow fit perfectly.

Unlike Maleko's version, which had manipulated fire and magma, her [Soul Domain] drew from her Blood Water. 

The Titanic Shark attacked once again, entering her domain and releasing another crescent of pressurized water that could have probably sunk a massive ship. But the scariest thing happened when the Titanic Shark crossed into her [Soul Domain]. Talia had felt an inexplicable sensation—a murderous pull similar to the one she had felt from Ravenous Wounds. She gave in, not afraid of her powers anymore. And when she did, nothing changed in the large stain of blood she had created underwater. However, the attack rapidly fizzled out, its Mana dissolving into the [Soul Domain] below it.

[Soul Domain] consumed Talia's Mana at an insane pace. But as the attack had fizzled out, she felt an injection of new Mana entering her body through her Skill. The [Soul Domain] had absorbed the attack of the Titanic Shark, and it didn't stop there. As if Ravenous Wounds encompassed the whole domain, with Talia not even needing to activate the Skill, tendrils of Blood Water latched onto the one open wound of the monster. The tendrils also became sharp and pierced the Titanic Shark in multiple points, bringing it down, secured against the [Soul Domain], and immobilized.

The Titanic Shark thrashed all around, moving its gigantic body, trying to free itself. But [Soul Domain] was clearly not a common Skill. It was the strongest Skill of a Chosen, and it was now showing. More tendrils nailed the Titanic Shark down to the Blood Water, and soon a gory spectacle ensued. Ravenous Wounds, possibly Talia's most crystalline Skill, sucked out the vitality of the monster through the tendrils of Blood Water that it generated.

But the [Soul Domain], empowered by Blood Water, had become like a beast alive. In the way that Maleko's [Soul Domain], empowered by his Fire Water affinity, could burn everything and generate insane temperatures that made it hard to even breathe in it, Talia's [Soul Domain] became a gobbling mess of red, sharp claws with barbed edges. Like a cat's tongue, it started grinding down the gigantic monster, grating first its skin and then its flesh away, releasing its vitality into the [Soul Domain], which transferred it back through Talia.

And Talia, unlike with any of her other Skills, felt a rush of vitality as if there was no loss of energy during the transfer. Ravenous Wounds wasn't a perfect Skill, and neither was Blood Siphon. She would lose a lot of the energy in the process—it would just evaporate. And most importantly, she had to first damage the monster before she could fully start absorbing it. But that wasn't the case for [Soul Domain]. It felt as if every little bit of power from the monster was being poured into her.

Soon, there was nothing more of the Titanic Shark. She released the [Soul Domain], dispersing it, feeling her Mana reserves, even while empowered, starting to dwindle. She emerged over the surface and clutched a piece of driftwood, feeling notifications pouring into her head.

[You have defeated Level 41 Titanic Shark!] 

[You have absorbed Lv. 41 Titanic Shark Life Force.] 

[+77 to your Primary Mana Channel (313/3000 to Level Seven)] 

[+15 to your Constitution (6/6 to 1 Constitution)]

[You gained 1 Constitution!]

[(9/9 to 1 Constitution)]

[You gained 1 Constitution!]

[+15 to your Wisdom (1/1 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(2/2 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(3/3 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(6/6 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(1/9 to 1 Wisdom)]

Talia widened her eyes. 

She had gained two Constitution and four Wisdom Attributes from a single kill! It hadn’t been as insane as her gains from killing Maleko and his goons, but it was nothing to scoff at, considering that the Dungeons probably pullulated with such creatures. 

[Lifestealer reaches Level 34!]

[You gain two Free Attributes!]

[Lifestealer reaches Level 35!]

[You gain two Free Attributes!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Hemomancy reaches Level 29!]

[Hemomancy reaches Level 30!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Eyes of the Abyss reaches Level 21!]

[Missile Swimming reaches Level 29!]

[Missile Swimming reaches Level 30!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Crimson Wisdom reaches Level 17!]

[Crimson Wisdom reaches Level 18!]

[Ika Toto - Blood Tide reaches Level 19]

[Magic Funnel reaches Level 13!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 2!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 3!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 4!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 5!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 6!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 7!]

[Name: Talia]

[Age: 17]

[Class: Lifestealer Lv. 35]

[Rank: Adept]

[Primary Mana Channel (Water): Level 6 {Flowing}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Blood): Level 7 {Surging}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Dark Water): Level 3 {Awakened}]

[Core Skill #1: Blood Siphon Lv. 27]

[Core Skill #2: Hemomancy Lv. 30]

[Core Skill #3: Eyes of the Abyss Lv. 21]

[Auxiliary Skill #1: Missile Swimming Lv. 30]

[Auxiliary Skill #2: Crimson Wisdom Lv. 16]

[Auxiliary Skill #3: Blood Confluence Lv. 18]

[Auxiliary Skill #4: Tailwind Lv. 5]

[Auxiliary Skill #5: Ika Toto - Blood Tide Lv. 19]

[Auxiliary Skill #6: Magic Funnel Lv. 13]

[Auxiliary Skill #7: Soul Domain Lv. 7]

[Form Skill #1: Cursed Form Lv. 5]

[Strength: 40]

[Agility: 7]

[Constitution: 10]

[Intelligence: 13]

[Wisdom: 12]

[Charisma: 37]

[Free Attributes: 14]

[Talent Trees:

Bloodborne Warrior (1)

Carmine Thunder (1)

Sanguine Guardian (1)

Hemomantic Artisan (1)

Crimson Sage (1)

Life Thief (1)

]

[Free Talent Points: 14]

Talia looked at those numbers and, without hesitating twice, dumped all her Free Attributes into Charisma. 

[Name: Talia]

[Age: 17]

[Class: Lifestealer Lv. 35]

[Rank: Adept]

[Primary Mana Channel (Water): Level 6 {Flowing}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Blood): Level 7 {Surging}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Dark Water): Level 3 {Awakened}]

[Core Skill #1: Blood Siphon Lv. 27]

[Core Skill #2: Hemomancy Lv. 30]

[Core Skill #3: Eyes of the Abyss Lv. 21]

[Auxiliary Skill #1: Missile Swimming Lv. 30]

[Auxiliary Skill #2: Crimson Wisdom Lv. 16]

[Auxiliary Skill #3: Blood Confluence Lv. 18]

[Auxiliary Skill #4: Tailwind Lv. 5]

[Auxiliary Skill #5: Ika Toto - Blood Tide Lv. 19]

[Auxiliary Skill #6: Magic Funnel Lv. 13]

[Auxiliary Skill #7: Soul Domain Lv. 7]

[Form Skill #1: Cursed Form Lv. 5]

[Strength: 40]

[Agility: 7]

[Constitution: 10]

[Intelligence: 13]

[Wisdom: 12]

[Charisma: 51]

[Free Attributes: 0]

[Talent Trees:

Bloodborne Warrior (1)

Carmine Thunder (1)

Sanguine Guardian (1)

Hemomantic Artisan (1)

Crimson Sage (1)

Life Thief (1)

]

[Free Talent Points: 14]

And so, a new notification rung in her head. 

[You have unlocked a new Charisma Perk for reaching a total of 50 Charisma.]

[You have unlocked Perk - Aura]

Perk: Aura of Charisma

Unlocked when reaching 50 Charisma Attributes.

The effect of Charisma increases by a further 30% on top of your Feats of Charisma Perk. 

You can now project an Aura to intimidate or beguile your enemies.

An aura exploded forth from her, pushing the driftwood away and stopping at ten feet from her. She could feel it wasn’t consuming Mana but that it was still pulling on some mysterious resource inside of her, perhaps her very Soul. 

"You managed to really kill that thing," Keahi said, paddling a piece of wood close to her and extending a hand.

Talia took it and stood on the platform under the artificial sun of the dungeon, drenched from head to toe.

"It wasn't easy," Talia said.

"Maleko's Skills certainly made it easier."

"Yeah," Talia said, fascinated. "I had heard rumors that you could absorb things, but I didn't believe it. My family specializes in Blood Water, and I've never heard anything like that."

"It's probably just inheritance from killing the Kraken for good," Talia lied shamelessly.

"A level 41 monster by the entrance of this dungeon," Keahi said. "Means there might be something even more terrifying by the end. If whatever you're looking for is behind the boss, you do realize there's no way we're going to make it alive there, right?"

Talia looked around, not answering, and took a deep breath.

"What are you looking for?" Keahi asked.

"The exit," she said. "I would like to send you back. You're deadweight to me right now. No offense."

"Well, offense taken," Keahi said, and they both noticed that there was no entrance or exit, which was sort of unique for a dungeon.

"I guess you're stuck with me," Keahi replied.

Talia looked at the dark and handsome young man and, for a second, selfishly thought that there could have been worse people to be trapped in a dungeon with.

"We'll use my Skill, Blood Siphon, to keep ourselves alive," she said. "You don't really need to eat or drink or even sleep while I use it."

"Fascinating," Keahi replied. "But yes, we will need to kill the boss."

"I will need to do that. You probably just need to stay back."

"I feel very emasculated," Keahi replied with a grimace.

"Can you fight underwater monsters that are more than ten levels above you?"

The boy sighed and shook his head.

"Then I'll take care of that, and you can keep watch."

"Lovely," he replied with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. "I feel like I'm your steward boy."

"I like that," Talia smiled. "Yes. You are. I crown you, my little steward."

Chapter 111 – Lady Naia

Naia opened her eyes as soon as the first rays of dawn started peering through the windows. Silently, without making a single noise, without the blankets even rustling, in an eerie ghost-like manner, she rose from the bed and entered her bathroom. She looked at the mirror and resisted the temptation to scrunch her face, to clench her jaw in frustration.

She had been on the same mission for fifteen years. Not one moment, not one instant, had she ever broken the facade she had put on. She had been diligent beyond what would have been expected of her, and she had gotten close, so tantalizingly close to her objective. However, for all she served without questioning, for all she had done for the Water Rider Academy, Principal Kaimana hadn’t given her what she had been angling for all this time.

Naia took a deep breath and then splashed her face with cold water. She went into the kitchens of her school building, which she financed with a few missions she took throughout the academic year. She smiled at the cooks, found a light plate assembled for her, and ate while making light conversation with the servants. She had cultivated a flawless image for herself—kind, well-disposed, and interested in the well-being of others beyond what any other elder had done. And she knew she was almost as strong as a real elder, perhaps already stronger than some. But all of this clearly didn’t matter to Principal Kaimana.

As customary of her routine, Naia left the kitchens half an hour later and went to the training grounds. As she walked the halls of the school, she pondered whether it even made any sense for her to still be here, to keep up the appearances when the old man was already at the end of his natural life. When she knew that he would soon breathe his last breath, and so all these years that she had spent trying to infiltrate the Sundered Seas Covenant had been wasted. All this time that she had put into trying to further the mission of the Equilibrium cult was gone.

Considering the recent change in plans that had been communicated to her by none other than Maui, she truly knew that there was nothing she could do to help. Maui had decided to change his approach, to do something almost unthinkable considering how much power the academy still wielded.

However, Naia had been born in poverty, and it hadn’t actually been Kaimana finding her, as most believed throughout the academy. If she had had to wait for Principal Kaimana, she would have died ten times over. She would have starved because the nobles responsible for her territory didn’t clear the dungeons as they were supposed to, meaning that most of these little creatures ran unchecked and routinely drove the inhabitants out of their places. This didn’t allow them to cultivate food or to really build up any resources. So most of the time, they barely survived on scraps.

Naia was just a kid, just ten years old when her savior came. When he found out about her talent, he was still in shambles after Yelena's death. That drove him to find someone who could wield the talent to infiltrate the academy and tear the system down from within.

But Naia felt like she had failed her savior, Maui. Even though Principal Kaimana had nominated her as his assistant, and she was sure she would be nominated an elder before the man died or perhaps right after his death, she still knew she wouldn’t enter the man's inner circle. That much had become clear beyond reasonable doubt.

But perhaps the Deep had rewarded her for her commitment by dropping an unexpected opportunity into her lap. When Maui had told her that none other than his daughter would come to the academy, he had told Naia to keep an eye on her from afar but more importantly, to look for an opportunity. To find someone close to his daughter, Talia—Maui and Yelena’s child—would become a very important pawn. The most important in what was about to unfold in the Great Archipelago. But to control her, to make sure that she would do as told, they needed leverage. And leverage had fallen right in her lap.

She smiled as she saw a blonde girl practicing in the training grounds barely an hour after dawn. Naia smiled at the attempts at conjuring the shield spell, the Sheathotter. It consisted of circulating many smaller shields, barely the size of a palm, superimposed in a scale-like formation in several layers, all interlocked with one another. It was an extremely defensive spell that could only be mastered by someone with tremendous mana control and a masterful grasp over the fundamentals of casting, something way beyond what a second-year student should have been capable of.

Surprisingly, Naia saw that Fiora had already managed to conjure an entire layer together and that she was trying to create the second. However, joining the two would be a challenge even for the talented blonde.

When the time came, she would be the most important in making sure that Talia did what she needed to do.

“Good morning,” Fiora said, bowing her head as soon as she saw Naia, letting the conjured Sun Water dispel.

One of the many things that Naia found remarkable about the girl was that Sun Water was more apt for offense than defense. But when Naia told Fiora that she would be learning a fully defensive spell, the girl didn’t even blink. She had accepted and got to work immediately. The fact that there were only two months of lessons before they would start hunting in dungeons clearly motivated the girl beyond her usual commitment.

Naia saw a younger version of herself in Fiora, a girl ready to do anything to experience a better life, to build a better future. Something that those puny nobles couldn’t even understand. Principal Kaimana, coming from his position at the top, couldn’t really understand what it was like to live among the last of the last in Great Archipelago of Na Moku Kai. To experience famine. To not know where the next meal would come from.

She respected him in so many ways, but she also knew that he would never understand, that he would always oppose the greatness of Maui’s own plans. The same plans that had once been Yelena’s, and that only Maui fully knew at this point.

"Remember to maintain equal pressure between the layers," Naia told the girl. 

The second layer she was trying to create over the first scale-like shield would require much more control, especially if she wanted to conjure it in a split second during battle. 

As Naia watched her student struggle with the technique, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of... was it regret? She had grown genuinely fond of Fiora over the months of training. The girl's progress had been remarkable, and her unwavering spirit was refreshing in a world of entitled nobles.

“Fiora,” Naia said after the blonde had depleted all her Mana, “we have to talk about something.”

Chapter 112 – The Forbidden Vessel

The moment they stepped through the hull of the Forbidden Vessel, reality shifted. Instead of finding themselves inside the ancient ship, Talia and Keahi stood on a massive piece of driftwood floating in an endless expanse of dark water. Other wooden platforms of various sizes dotted the seascape, creating a maze-like pattern that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"This is..." Keahi trailed off, looking around with evident confusion.

"A dimensional dungeon," Talia finished, activating [Eyes of the Abyss]. The Mana patterns here were unlike anything she'd seen before. Instead of the usual flow, the energy seemed to pulse with the gentle waves, as if the entire ocean was breathing.

The piece of driftwood they stood on was easily thirty feet across, worn smooth by countless years in the water. Similar platforms bobbed nearby, connected by floating debris and partially submerged logs that formed precarious paths between them.

Talia caught movement in the depths below. Dark shapes glided beneath the surface, and she saw the Mana ripple around them. Whatever this dimensional dungeon was, the waters were so rich in Mana that she could barely make out those forms. Not even the murky waters of the Abyssal Jaw Dungeon had been such an impediment to her vision.

Kehai went to the edge of the driftwood and peered into the water. "I don't suppose you can tell how deep that goes?"

Talia looked into the dark water, so dark it was almost black, and shook her head.

A distant explosion made them both turn. A giant tail had smashed apart a piece of driftwood. It had moved so fast that neither had time to identify what Abyssal Creature had caused that.

Talia could have dived into the water immediately, like she had done in the other dimensional dungeons she had visited. But she thought that doing that without knowing what creatures rested below could be too dangerous. She briefly also considered activating the Cursed Form, but then she looked at Kehai beside her. She hadn't had the time to look for Keanu since the Ko'a, her grandmother, would have probably soon stationed people all around the Forbidden Vessel. It was only Kehai's Skill and the fact that they had made a beeline for the Forbidden Vessel that allowed them to climb into it undisturbed.

Talia saw a gigantic shape circle closer and closer. "They can feel us. They can feel our presence," she said, gripping her glaive tighter. She had gotten it back thanks to [Recall] on her way out of the barracks.

Before Talia could answer, something massive rammed their platform from below. The impact sent tremors through the wood, nearly throwing them both off balance. Water sprayed up through the cracks, and Talia caught her first clear glimpse of what hunted them—a gray fin the size of a sail, cutting through the water with terrifying speed.

The water around their platform suddenly began to churn once again, and Talia shouted toward Kehai, "Dodge!"

A gigantic shark, thirty feet long, exploded from the bottom of the driftwood. It had four wicked red eyes, one pair larger than the others. Defying any logic, the creature actually roared so strongly that Talia felt a shockwave pushing her away from the driftwood and into the waters below.

Before fully plunging into the black expanse, she caught a glimpse of the creature's level.

[Titanic Shark Level 41]

Talia felt her blood grow cold, almost freezing her veins in fear. She'd leveled up after killing Maleko, but this creature had almost ten levels over her.

Kehai landed on a piece of driftwood gracefully, twisting his muscular body in the air with his dark hair whipping around his face as he somersaulted and landed with his feet together.

Knowing that he could probably take care of himself, Talia activated [Crimson Wisdom] and [Eyes of the Abyss] once again. She saw the Titanic Shark slowly turn and make its way toward her. It was incredibly fast for its size, but more importantly, it was suddenly enveloped in raw Mana, which shot forward from the creature into a massive crashing wave aimed right at her.

Talia used [Missile Swimming], covering her own body with Mana and torpedoing away from the attack. But more and more came from the gigantic shark. She would have pegged the monster as a Constitution-based creature, but it seemed like it also had massive reserves of Mana.

Talia wondered what attributes she would be able to absorb from such a creature. That question kept her from using the Cursed Form. Instead, summoning her Hemomancy, she slashed a massive crescent of Blood Water as big as the humongous attack the creature had unleashed. The attack traveled toward the monster, but moments after it had been conjured, the monster summoned two more crescents that destroyed Talia's attack.

She looked at the creature and barreled toward its side, dodging attack after attack and slashing underwater with all the strength she had. The Star Glaive bit into the skin of the shark, but it only left a superficial wound. Talia immediately followed up by using [Ravenous Wounds], but she could feel the vitality of the massive beast—an entire lake of vitality as she had never felt before from an Abyssal Creature—resisting her.

She clamped her teeth underwater, feeling only rivulets of Stamina and Mana coming her way from the giant creature and thinking to herself, This is never going to end this way.

[Ika Toto - Blood Tide] empowered her, but nowhere near enough to deal the damage necessary to kill the creature. And so Talia had only one card other than the Cursed Form to play. She summoned the new Skill that she had gotten from Maleko, which the Chosen from the Kanaloa family had called a one-in-a-thousand-year Skill.

[Soul Domain]

Chapter 113 – Soul Domain

The moment Talia activated [Soul Domain], she felt reality twist around her. Just like with Maleko's domain, the water began to ripple with raw power—but this time, it was her power. Dark tendrils of Blood Water spread outward from her body, creating a spherical zone of influence, perhaps a hundred feet in diameter. Within this space, she could feel every drop of water, every current, every ripple of Mana as if they were extensions of her own body.

The Titanic Shark circled the edge of her domain, its four red eyes glowing ominously in the dark. Talia could sense its hesitation—the beast had never encountered anything like this before. Neither had she, for that matter. The Skill felt both familiar and alien, like wearing someone else's clothes that somehow fit perfectly.

Unlike Maleko's version, which had manipulated fire and magma, her [Soul Domain] drew from her Blood Water. 

The Titanic Shark attacked once again, entering her domain and releasing another crescent of pressurized water that could have probably sunk a massive ship. But the scariest thing happened when the Titanic Shark crossed into her [Soul Domain]. Talia had felt an inexplicable sensation—a murderous pull similar to the one she had felt from Ravenous Wounds. She gave in, not afraid of her powers anymore. And when she did, nothing changed in the large stain of blood she had created underwater. However, the attack rapidly fizzled out, its Mana dissolving into the [Soul Domain] below it.

[Soul Domain] consumed Talia's Mana at an insane pace. But as the attack had fizzled out, she felt an injection of new Mana entering her body through her Skill. The [Soul Domain] had absorbed the attack of the Titanic Shark, and it didn't stop there. As if Ravenous Wounds encompassed the whole domain, with Talia not even needing to activate the Skill, tendrils of Blood Water latched onto the one open wound of the monster. The tendrils also became sharp and pierced the Titanic Shark in multiple points, bringing it down, secured against the [Soul Domain], and immobilized.

The Titanic Shark thrashed all around, moving its gigantic body, trying to free itself. But [Soul Domain] was clearly not a common Skill. It was the strongest Skill of a Chosen, and it was now showing. More tendrils nailed the Titanic Shark down to the Blood Water, and soon a gory spectacle ensued. Ravenous Wounds, possibly Talia's most crystalline Skill, sucked out the vitality of the monster through the tendrils of Blood Water that it generated.

But the [Soul Domain], empowered by Blood Water, had become like a beast alive. In the way that Maleko's [Soul Domain], empowered by his Fire Water affinity, could burn everything and generate insane temperatures that made it hard to even breathe in it, Talia's [Soul Domain] became a gobbling mess of red, sharp claws with barbed edges. Like a cat's tongue, it started grinding down the gigantic monster, grating first its skin and then its flesh away, releasing its vitality into the [Soul Domain], which transferred it back through Talia.

And Talia, unlike with any of her other Skills, felt a rush of vitality as if there was no loss of energy during the transfer. Ravenous Wounds wasn't a perfect Skill, and neither was Blood Siphon. She would lose a lot of the energy in the process—it would just evaporate. And most importantly, she had to first damage the monster before she could fully start absorbing it. But that wasn't the case for [Soul Domain]. It felt as if every little bit of power from the monster was being poured into her.

Soon, there was nothing more of the Titanic Shark. She released the [Soul Domain], dispersing it, feeling her Mana reserves, even while empowered, starting to dwindle. She emerged over the surface and clutched a piece of driftwood, feeling notifications pouring into her head.

[You have defeated Level 41 Titanic Shark!] 

[You have absorbed Lv. 41 Titanic Shark Life Force.] 

[+77 to your Primary Mana Channel (313/3000 to Level Seven)] 

[+15 to your Constitution (6/6 to 1 Constitution)]

[You gained 1 Constitution!]

[(9/9 to 1 Constitution)]

[You gained 1 Constitution!]

[+15 to your Wisdom (1/1 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(2/2 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(3/3 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(6/6 to 1 Wisdom)]

[You gained 1 Wisdom!]

[(1/9 to 1 Wisdom)]

Talia widened her eyes. 

She had gained two Constitution and four Wisdom Attributes from a single kill! It hadn’t been as insane as her gains from killing Maleko and his goons, but it was nothing to scoff at, considering that the Dungeons probably pullulated with such creatures. 

[Lifestealer reaches Level 34!]

[You gain two Free Attributes!]

[Lifestealer reaches Level 35!]

[You gain two Free Attributes!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Hemomancy reaches Level 29!]

[Hemomancy reaches Level 30!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Eyes of the Abyss reaches Level 21!]

[Missile Swimming reaches Level 29!]

[Missile Swimming reaches Level 30!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Crimson Wisdom reaches Level 17!]

[Crimson Wisdom reaches Level 18!]

[Ika Toto - Blood Tide reaches Level 19]

[Magic Funnel reaches Level 13!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 2!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 3!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 4!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 5!]

[You gain one Talent Point!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 6!]

[Soul Domain reaches Level 7!]

[Name: Talia]

[Age: 17]

[Class: Lifestealer Lv. 35]

[Rank: Adept]

[Primary Mana Channel (Water): Level 6 {Flowing}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Blood): Level 7 {Surging}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Dark Water): Level 3 {Awakened}]

[Core Skill #1: Blood Siphon Lv. 27]

[Core Skill #2: Hemomancy Lv. 30]

[Core Skill #3: Eyes of the Abyss Lv. 21]

[Auxiliary Skill #1: Missile Swimming Lv. 30]

[Auxiliary Skill #2: Crimson Wisdom Lv. 16]

[Auxiliary Skill #3: Blood Confluence Lv. 18]

[Auxiliary Skill #4: Tailwind Lv. 5]

[Auxiliary Skill #5: Ika Toto - Blood Tide Lv. 19]

[Auxiliary Skill #6: Magic Funnel Lv. 13]

[Auxiliary Skill #7: Soul Domain Lv. 7]

[Form Skill #1: Cursed Form Lv. 5]

[Strength: 40]

[Agility: 7]

[Constitution: 10]

[Intelligence: 13]

[Wisdom: 12]

[Charisma: 37]

[Free Attributes: 14]

[Talent Trees:

Bloodborne Warrior (1)

Carmine Thunder (1)

Sanguine Guardian (1)

Hemomantic Artisan (1)

Crimson Sage (1)

Life Thief (1)

]

[Free Talent Points: 14]

Talia looked at those numbers and, without hesitating twice, dumped all her Free Attributes into Charisma. 

[Name: Talia]

[Age: 17]

[Class: Lifestealer Lv. 35]

[Rank: Adept]

[Primary Mana Channel (Water): Level 6 {Flowing}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Blood): Level 7 {Surging}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Dark Water): Level 3 {Awakened}]

[Core Skill #1: Blood Siphon Lv. 27]

[Core Skill #2: Hemomancy Lv. 30]

[Core Skill #3: Eyes of the Abyss Lv. 21]

[Auxiliary Skill #1: Missile Swimming Lv. 30]

[Auxiliary Skill #2: Crimson Wisdom Lv. 16]

[Auxiliary Skill #3: Blood Confluence Lv. 18]

[Auxiliary Skill #4: Tailwind Lv. 5]

[Auxiliary Skill #5: Ika Toto - Blood Tide Lv. 19]

[Auxiliary Skill #6: Magic Funnel Lv. 13]

[Auxiliary Skill #7: Soul Domain Lv. 7]

[Form Skill #1: Cursed Form Lv. 5]

[Strength: 40]

[Agility: 7]

[Constitution: 10]

[Intelligence: 13]

[Wisdom: 12]

[Charisma: 51]

[Free Attributes: 0]

[Talent Trees:

Bloodborne Warrior (1)

Carmine Thunder (1)

Sanguine Guardian (1)

Hemomantic Artisan (1)

Crimson Sage (1)

Life Thief (1)

]

[Free Talent Points: 14]

And so, a new notification rung in her head. 

[You have unlocked a new Charisma Perk for reaching a total of 50 Charisma.]

[You have unlocked Perk - Aura]

Perk: Aura of Charisma

Unlocked when reaching 50 Charisma Attributes.

The effect of Charisma increases by a further 30% on top of your Feats of Charisma Perk. 

You can now project an Aura to intimidate or beguile your enemies.

An aura exploded forth from her, pushing the driftwood away and stopping at ten feet from her. She could feel it wasn’t consuming Mana but that it was still pulling on some mysterious resource inside of her, perhaps her very Soul. 

"You managed to really kill that thing," Keahi said, paddling a piece of wood close to her and extending a hand.

Talia took it and stood on the platform under the artificial sun of the dungeon, drenched from head to toe.

"It wasn't easy," Talia said.

"Maleko's Skills certainly made it easier."

"Yeah," Talia said, fascinated. "I had heard rumors that you could absorb things, but I didn't believe it. My family specializes in Blood Water, and I've never heard anything like that."

"It's probably just inheritance from killing the Kraken for good," Talia lied shamelessly.

"A level 41 monster by the entrance of this dungeon," Keahi said. "Means there might be something even more terrifying by the end. If whatever you're looking for is behind the boss, you do realize there's no way we're going to make it alive there, right?"

Talia looked around, not answering, and took a deep breath.

"What are you looking for?" Keahi asked.

"The exit," she said. "I would like to send you back. You're deadweight to me right now. No offense."

"Well, offense taken," Keahi said, and they both noticed that there was no entrance or exit, which was sort of unique for a dungeon.

"I guess you're stuck with me," Keahi replied.

Talia looked at the dark and handsome young man and, for a second, selfishly thought that there could have been worse people to be trapped in a dungeon with.

"We'll use my Skill, Blood Siphon, to keep ourselves alive," she said. "You don't really need to eat or drink or even sleep while I use it."

"Fascinating," Keahi replied. "But yes, we will need to kill the boss."

"I will need to do that. You probably just need to stay back."

"I feel very emasculated," Keahi replied with a grimace.

"Can you fight underwater monsters that are more than ten levels above you?"

The boy sighed and shook his head.

"Then I'll take care of that, and you can keep watch."

"Lovely," he replied with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. "I feel like I'm your steward boy."

"I like that," Talia smiled. "Yes. You are. I crown you, my little steward."