103: Blood in the Water, Part Eighteen

Blood in the Water, Part Eighteen

Sometime later, as Neve watched Erin continue to practice her new Techniques, Ahlakan walked out of the tent holding up a potion. 

One that looked quite a bit darker than any other she'd made. 

"I'm finished," she announced happily. 

"Nice." Neve stood up, walked over, and Ahlakan handed her the flask. 

"I made it the same way I usually make my potions, but... It really doesn't look like it would be helpful..." 

[Nah,] Neve hid a grin as she turned away, looking down at this thing. [It will be. Just not in the usual way.] 

The prompt she saw as soon as the flask was in her hands was why she believed this. 

Eel Essence

{Poison}

{Uncommon}

{Coating a weapon in this will apply a paralyzing effect on its next hit. The effect lasts (2) seconds.} 

[I'm guessing it's only 2 seconds because of Ahlakan's Alchemy rating. If she were to train it to be higher, would the duration of the paralysis increase?] 

"I'm pretty sure I can get some use out of this," she told Ahlakan with a smile. "Thank you." 

The girl looked away, seeming embarrassed. She ran a hand through her hair and said: 

"You're welcome. If you find anything else like that, by all means, bring it to me. I will do my best to produce something that can help you." She turned her head east, then, toward the entrance to the Third Floor. "I'm no fighter, but... I'd like to think that through these potions, I could be there with you in these battles." 

There was a brief silence. It seemed like Ahlakan had a little more that she wanted to say, but hesitated. At the same time, impatience was slowly creeping in on Neve's heart and she was, once again, caught between the desire to put this revenge plan on "hold" and the desire to leave the safe zone right now. 

Just as things were getting painfully awkward, the latter won out.

"I'll look for more stuff, then." 

---

Neve and Erin went back to the hall where they'd found the Survival trial. Proceeding deeper into the submerged part of the city, the two of them moved mostly in silence. 

Of course, they were keeping their eyes peeled for any enemies they could potentially test Erin's new weapon on. But, at the same time, it seemed like there were some things Erin wanted to say and she was just waiting for the right moment. 

That moment just so happened to be now. 

"So, tell me again, what exactly did these people you're looking for do to make it so that you'd throw away passionate sex, flirting, and just generally good times with a cute girl like Ahlakan just so you could hunt them down? Must have been quite the terrible deed." 

Sighing, the events that transpired on the very first day of the Final Challenge went through Neve's mind. 

"... I was with them, in a group, originally," Neve told the lamia as they continued to walk down the dark, emerald-lined hall. "We were supposed to go through all of these places together, but, the 'rules' basically implied that some people in the group were making things harder than they needed to be. So, those motherfuckers just killed them. It was a group of one hundred people and most of them died in one night. That," she said with a heavy amount of emphasis, "is why I'm chasing these assholes down." 

Erin did seem surprised, but after a brief moment of quiet pondering, she asked: 

"For them to have killed so many, this group you're tracking must be extremely strong, extremely numerous, or both. Are you sure you-" 

"There are only 5 of them left," Neve interrupted her after a quick check of the player count. "The... uh, voices told me." 

Erin stopped when she heard that. 

"5 left?" She asked, raising a brow. "Out of how many?" 

"I don't know, I think there were like 30, maybe 20 of them before." 

"And, now, there are only 5 left?" She asked again.

"Yeah." 

"... Neve, your reasoning for this quest for vengeance is valid, but I have to say, this sounds to me like the problem is going to solve itself pretty soon." 

"I..." Neve lowered her head. "It's not enough that they die. I want to be the one to kill them," she stated. "Even if it's just one. As long as I get to be the one to take their lives, that's all that matters. So, I want to make it through these places we're visiting as fast as possible before any of these monsters get their hands on them." 

[Right,] Neve said. Some of the anger she'd felt that night, watching Thomas walk away with the low-level players, ran through her veins once again, burning almost as hot as it had back then. [Their lives are mine to take.] 

Neve waited to hear Erin's response, but the woman didn't say anything. Finally, after lifting her head and looking back at her, she found Erin just looking at her with some surprise. 

"What?" Neve asked. 

"Heh, nothing," Erin replied, slithering ahead and moving past her. "That might have been the most bloodthirsty thing I've heard you say since we met. It surprised me, is all. I didn't expect such a statement to come from you." 

"Why? Cause I'm a healer? Would the words fit me more if I was carrying a huge axe or something?" 

"No," Erin replied. "I just thought you were more... practical than that. That's all." 

[What's that supposed to mean?] 

Erin did not elaborate. 

Upon continuing to make their way through the Third Floor, they ended up in an open space where the walls, previously having been some form of stone, turned to glass. 

They could, suddenly, see the ocean hugging this city. No signs of life could be seen outside, though Neve wondered how much of that was due to the Forces That Be not bothering to include them in this replica they'd made. 

[... Unless I actually am in another world, and it's not actually a replica. I never did get an answer to that.] 

And, judging by Tamira's silence, it seemed like she wouldn't get an answer yet anyway. 

Standing by a half-closed door were two enemies. One of those slug mages that Neve had seen in the time trial, and a fish warrior. 

Level 51

MP: 500/500

Level 51

MP: 50/50

"Can you distract the sorcerer for me?" Erin asked Neve as she lowered her posture, getting into that fighting stance she'd showed off before. 

"I'll try." 

The two of them went to opposite sides of this space. Erin on the left, pulling the attention of the creature holding the trident, and Neve on the right, casting {Fireball} three times at the slug. 

A magical barrier appeared in front of the slug, protecting it from the projectiles, but Neve's spells did their job, taking its focus off the lamia. 

At that moment, Erin went began trading blows with her opponent, using those new, draconic hands of hers to block some strikes before going on the offensive. 

After pushing away the enemy's trident, her right hand was suddenly covered in flames. She swiped forward, slashing through the opponent's throat with her claws. 

The fish warrior's head fell off, the wound that had severed it from its body cauterized allowing for no blood to follow it. It hit the ground, and Erin looked down at her hand, satisfied. 

On the other side of the room, as Neve dodged a few spells from the slug, she called out to Erin, telling her: 

"Those enemies are weak to fire, you should try that Technique on this thing!"  2

"Ah, you're right." 

The lamia closed the gap in a flash. The slug pulled back as she arrived in front of it, trying to create some distance, but Erin reached forward and wrapped her hand around its slimy body, holding it in place.

Once the cooldown on her Divine Dragon Techniques had passed and she could use them again, she proceeded to attack the slug with the same move. 

This time, her claws didn't fully decapitate her opponent, but still, she dealt enough damage to leave the creature so hurt that it could do nothing but fall to the ground and writhe as it waited for Erin to finish it off. 

The lamia then granted its request, punching straight through it. 

EXP Gained: 100

EXP: 310/510

WST Gained: 200

WST: 81986

Neve, of course, made sure to look through their bodies for any loot that she could either use or give to Ahlakan. 

She grabbed the trident off the fish's body, which she sold bringing her WST to 82036, and then searched the slug, finding this: 

Lampex Magical Core

{Uncommon}

{Alchemy Material} 

{Val: 50 WST}

[Magical Core... I wonder what that could do.] 

"These things are satisfactory," Erin commented as Neve finished up. "But, with each of these creatures having their own elemental strengths and weaknesses, I do wonder if the added Fire effects may end up working against it. In that sense, sometimes it's better to just have a regular weapon with no elemental affinities. Do you understand?" Erin asked. 

And, she promptly disappeared before Neve could give an answer. 

The healer resummoned her, though. 

"Yeah, I get it." 

She walked over to the half-closed door the two creatures had been guarding, then. Upon opening it completely, Neve saw something that made her blood run cold. 

[Agh... Shit.] 

"Oh, that looks pleasant. I did want to go for a swim, but... Admittedly, I now find myself rather conflicted about the idea," Erin said as her eyes fell on the same thing that Neve's did. 

The door led to a pool of some sort. There was nothing else here. No other way to proceed, no other path to take. 

Which meant... 

[It's an underwater segment.] 

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