Born in Blood

Liam used his thick tail to whip the water behind him, using his hands and feet in tandem to bolster his speed.

The disgusting, murky, lumpy waters made him feel like he was swimming through thick mud. However, to his Rank 4 peak body, all it did was succeed in slowing him down. Liam had to be extra careful passing through the sharp outcroppings. The Stonehenge Deep Quadrant's unique but dangerous structure was not restricted to the ground.

The ocean was not a flat plain. The spikes jutted even from above Liam and to his sides as he passed through rings and tunnels that led to deeper parts of the dirty Quadrant.

Despite his utmost caution, Liam's figure still suffered several cuts… which revealed something else.

Liam's regeneration was slower underwater!

Just by a few milliseconds. But it was noticeable. 'Not a welcoming place, the ocean is,' Liam pondered as he continued swimming. Judging by the map, the closest civilization to Liam was the Bulwark Barracudas.

They didn't live too far out from each other. Novel Fire - novelfire.net

In fact, But it was quite strange that Liam hadn't come across any fish species. 'Maybe they're on vacation,' Liam thought. Eventually, a vague light appeared in the midst of all the murky waters.

Liam slowed himself down a bit and took his time approaching. As he got closer, the lights spanned out to hundreds of little sections that spanned across 200 kilometers.

Below each light was a blocky chunk of stone with blunt, uneven sides. It looked as though the sharp ends of it had been bitten off and eaten, then turned hollow. 'They're homes,' Liam realized.

From what Bill told him, the Fishfolk weren't kind to unknown humans and Oceanors. Judging by their bad history, neither side really trusted each other that much. One had to earn their trust. Quite frankly, Liam didn't blame the fishes for that kind of attitude. Bill doesn't do what he does out of the kindness of his heart.

He wants power.

He wants money.

He wants authority.

But then again, human beings were like that.

The Seakind were right to fear for their lands and properties. Thus, Liam didn't want to make the wrong impression to the Seakind. 'If I pretend to be a fish, they'll know something's wrong. If I start off asking questions, they'd get defensive and look out for their fellow fish. If I threaten them, they won't cooperate.'

It was a thin rope to walk on, and Liam had to tread carefully to make sure the mission went well. Not only that, if Liam offended the people of this Quadrant, the neighboring Quadrants would also know.

'Can't go wrong with a bribe,' Liam chuckled. 'Let's see, though.'

Like so, Liam wore a cheerful attitude and made himself look just a little more human. It was better for them to think that he was a human that wanted to be a fish, rather than a human pretending to be one. And slowly, Liam approached.

He waited for several seconds to see whether or not the fish spotted him. Ten seconds passed. Nothing happened. No fishes came out and started screaming at him. However… Liam had a sneaking suspicion that he was being watched.

From somewhere.

Liam looked around. Using Transfiguration, he manipulated his throat to adapt to the waters… giving him the ability to speak underwater.

"I come in peace," Liam said, his voice reverberating across the waves. Silence.

Liam could tell that the species that lived here weren't weak in the least.

They were all Rank 4. At the very least, judging by what his danger alarms told him. But Rank 4 creatures were practically nothing against Liam.

But this was underwater… and he couldn't assess himself like he did on land.

The silence lasted six seconds before something emerged from the cavities.

Six of Liam's eyes narrowed, constricting to get a better view of the Bulwark Barracuda through the murky waters.

The first thing Liam noticed about it was its length. It was roughly 17 meters long!

Its mouth was a horizontal V shape, lined with hundreds of thick, brown, palisade teeth. It had dark, murky eyes, and one of them was slashed. Dirty, black scales covered with barnacles and lumps of filth coated it.

However, those protrusions on its body were all part of its defenses. From the remaining cavities, Liam spotted countless little eyes peering at him from the darkness… watching.

'Ah,' Liam thought. 'This must be their leader, then.' The fish gave Liam a direct stare.

Liam couldn't read its mental waves.

It didn't have a mental sphere, so that was natural.

However, Liam used Spirit Sight and saw the fish's insides.

Like all magical beasts, it had a core!

However… the fish had two cores!

One of them was of water, and the other was of earth!

However, they were shaped like little crystals instead of being spherical.

Not to mention, the water core seemed to contain some sort of special property. It was as if it was connected to the fish's body in a far deeper, intricate way. "You are not welcome here," a deep, guttural noise left the Bulwark Barracuda's mouth. "Leave immediately."

Silence.

"I come in peace," Liam repeated, a little annoyed at the lack of hospitality. "I heard you the first time," the one-eyed fish interrupted. "You are still not welcome."

Silence. It was… a bit weird speaking to a fish. But strangely, the fish reminded Liam of a grumpy old man. "I'm with the NOCL," Liam said. "Heard of it?"

Silence.

A long silence.

"Perhaps," the one-eyed fish said eventually, its tone still the same… but Liam felt like it was just a little less hostile. "What do you want?"

"Pink Rosary Quadrant lost their princess," Liam explained in a monotone voice. "I'm here to get her back. Point me in a direction, you get a reward. Lie to me, you get the opposite."

Silence again.

The fish looked at him directly again, his filthy gaze a little heavier.

"Is that a threat?" the fish growled, its eyes narrowing dangerously. Liam smiled with sharp teeth. "Wanna find out?"