Chapter 32: Friend of the Mermen

Early morning.

The moment Kana woke up, he felt a change in his body.

He opened his status window.

【Character: Kana Safro Sat】

【Level: 2】

【Status: Normal】

【HP: 16/16】

【MP: 6/12】

【Constitution: 8】

【Agility: 6】

【Spirit: 6】

【Evaluation: You can now be called a knight.】

His Constitution had increased by another point. Extreme training combined with combat could yield excellent results in a short period.

However, this was also because his original attributes were indeed too poor.

Of course, an ordinary person certainly wouldn't be able to achieve this.

His level had also successfully reached Level 2.

At the time, his intense emotions had triggered the power of the Genesis Knowledge, causing it to undergo digitalization. Unsurprisingly, the template for this digitalization was based on the game he had played previously.

Then, based on reality, the Genesis Stone automatically performed modifications.

The level of "Genesis Stone" was not high; during the 1.0 "Blood Calamity" version, the maximum cap was only Level 5.

Although it seemed strange for the first version of an MMO to have a level cap of only 5, it was, after all, the first fully virtual game.

It was said that this would make the experience feel more realistic and enhance immersion.

The reward for each level up was 5 attribute points.

In reality, compared to his weak period right after transmigrating, he had indeed gained exactly 5 attribute points in total, successfully reaching Level 2.

Withdrawing the status window, Kana jumped straight out of bed.

He packed quickly.

By the time he arrived in the courtyard, the sky was bright, but the sun had not yet risen.

After breakfast, he set off toward the riverbank, bringing Aliris, Bobot, and Black, whom they met along the way.

"Where are Leon and Kecha?" Kana asked.

"They have returned to the front lines. They also delivered your letter to His Highness on the way."

Kana nodded. It seemed the Blood Clan had already begun organizing their army.

They boarded a fishing boat to cross to the other side, heading straight for the Merman Village.

Before even reaching the village entrance, they saw the Merman Prophet already waiting there.

"You have brought good news," the Merman Prophet said in a calm but certain tone.

"You are a Merman Prophet? And you don't seem to be a pure merman," Bobot said, looking at the prophet with curiosity.

The Merman Prophet looked at her: "White mouse, you are different from those black mice."

"Of course, Bobot is a scholar."

The Merman Prophet nodded: "I am a hybrid of a merman and a magic frog."

After speaking, the Merman Prophet turned his dull gaze toward Kana.

Bobot stood there contemplating that sentence.

"A magic frog and a merman? How does one hybridize like that?" she murmured.

The world was truly mysterious.

Kana answered directly: "We have dealt with that group of rats. Consider your commission completed."

"As expected, good news. Thank you, human friend. From now on, you are friends of the Blue Spot Tribe."

With that, he began rummaging through a large cloth bag carried on the back of a tall merman nearby.

"Hmm? Why isn't it here?"

He continued searching, looking puzzled.

"You aren't looking for the mission reward, are you?" Kana couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, that half-tablet."

"Uh, you already gave it to me yesterday."

Had he not paid the reward upfront yesterday, or had the prophet simply forgotten?

"Is... is that so? That was... that was the reward you promised for helping us. Now I am giving you the reward for helping us."

The Merman Prophet seemed unwilling to admit his poor memory, forcing an explanation.

He pulled an object directly from the cloth bag and handed it to Kana.

Kana looked at the item in his hand; it was a bracelet made of seashells, pearls, and fish bones.

The texture was coarse and very unappealing, looking like a child's handicraft.

No, it was even worse than a child's handicraft.

"This represents merman friendship; it is proof of friendship. Yes, exactly, that's it."

The Merman Prophet bestowed meaning upon this ugly bracelet.

Facing the strange looks from the group, the Merman Prophet tapped his coral staff and changed the subject: "Ahem, we have prepared a banquet to welcome our friends. Will you come?"

Kana shook his head quickly: "No, no thanks."

At Kana's refusal, the Merman Prophet showed visible disappointment.

Aliris and Bobot were also visibly disappointed.

Communication with mermen was simple and direct, without any need for circumlocution.

"I want to know the specific underwater entrance to the ruins."

"No problem, human friend. Please follow me." The Merman Prophet turned around slowly.

It was evident that the Merman Prophet was indeed not young.

He walked with a slow, leisurely pace.

The others had no choice but to follow slowly behind.

Taking advantage of the moment, Kana channeled mana into the bracelet in his hand to digitalize it.

【Blue Spot Bracelet】

【Bracelet—Pearl Chain—Common】

【Attributes: Nature, Fragile】

【Special Effects: Friend of the Mermen, Water Wanderer】

【Friend of the Mermen: When the wearer is Kana—Mermen will not attack proactively (Favorability +)】

【Water Wanderer: When the wearer is active in water—Flexibility increases (Agility +)】

【Evaluation: A token of friendship from the Blue Spot Merman Tribe. May our friendship last forever! Would you like some stewed fish, friend?】

As expected, the source of special effects was mostly a matter of "meaning"; this was now essentially confirmed.

Although it was a bit ugly, these two effects were very useful under specific conditions.

"It's right here."

They had arrived at the riverbank not far from the outskirts of the Merman Village.

"Go down from here. After about five mermen's heights, you will see an opening. The tablet was taken from inside."

Looking at the spot the Merman Prophet pointed to, Kana turned to look at the group.

Because of Kana's warning, Aliris was not wearing armor, only carrying a weapon.

Black was clad in full knightly plate armor; clearly, if he were to go into the water, it would be quite an ordeal.

Kana said directly, "Black, you stay on the shore and wait for us. That way, if anything happens, you'll be prepared."

Black nodded, having no objection.

Then Kana looked at Bobot.

Bobot immediately shook her head and waved her hands: "Bobot won't go into the water. It will get Bobot's fur wet, and that's hard to clean."

That worked out perfectly.

"Then you two stay on the shore to keep watch. Aliris, let's dive down."

As he spoke, Kana slid the bracelet onto his wrist.

The two humans and one mouse watched this scene with somewhat strange expressions.

Kana smiled and said, "This is proof of friendship."

"That's right, friendship!" The Merman Prophet beside them was clearly very happy, his tone rising.

Ready, Kana jumped directly into the water.

Aliris followed closely behind.

The moment he entered the water, Kana felt a sensation of being "like a fish in water"; he didn't know when his swimming had become so good.

He swam downward.

The distance of a few meters wasn't very deep. Feeling his way down the muddy bank, he saw it instantly.

However, the entrance was not obvious, obscured by various swaying aquatic plants.

Aliris signaled with a hand gesture and dove in first, with Kana following close behind.

They swam about six or seven meters inside.

"Phew!"

Kana poked his head out of the water.

Before him was pitch darkness and a damp, musty smell; this was clearly a cave.

With the sound of splashing water, Aliris climbed directly onto the shore in the darkness.

"Your Highness, come up quickly."

"It's too dark, I can't see."

"Dark?" Aliris was somewhat confused.

Kana reacted instantly: "You can see, right? You don't feel like it's dark here?"

"Yes, I can see, Your Highness. It's just a bit dim." Aliris also realized it and looked around. She found there was no light source at all, yet she could see.

"I can see? Why?"

"You must have mastered blood magic and gained Darkvision. Don't panic, this is normal."

As he spoke, Kana reached out his hand, letting Aliris pull him out of the water.