Phoenix Phire

Nix retched, the sour taste of bile was exactly the same as he remembered. An unbelievably bad stench made him regret his keen sense of smell. He propped himself up against a wet, sloppy wall. The darkness confused him for a moment before realization set it.

"That f*cking squid ate me!" Nix focused for a moment.

[Combustion]

A green light glowed around him as his wounds were healed. In the few moments of light, Nix could see foot-long cilia lining the creatures gullet. He gripped one with each hand. "Choke on me dumbass!"

[Aura Ignition]

************

Captain Delphi had moved a good distance from the Kraken, she watched the giant creature, her entire countenance was gloomy. Her crew had pulled the injured Aquarion leader from the water. The other Aquarions were holding her down to keep her from going back in.

/Guildchat: Wind: Shit. The Kraken just ate Nix.

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Damn...

/Guildchat: Pon: I respawned at the temple platform, Nix is not here.

The Kraken gave another deafening screech, rearing almost completely out of the water, in its panic it wandered into the nearby mines. Dozens of mines exploded together setting off a chain reaction as the creature flailed in the water. It went on for nearly a minute, bright explosions followed by the maddeningly loud screeching.

Delphi watched from a two hundred meters away, the waves from the struggle would have capsized them had they not been facing the Kraken. She watched the creature rear up one last time, nearly every mine in the area had been detonated, finally, it collapsed with a long wail.

*************

Nix was thrown face down in the regurgitation once again, he spat in distaste and calmly extracted his tentacles from where he had anchored himself. His aura burned out finally, exhausted he staggered back to his feet. "Apparently, you're only tough on the outside."

[You have slain a legendary creature]

[A new Title has been awarded: Beast Slayer]

[You have received a promotion in the Knights of Colonial]

[The inferno Guild has received 200 thousand Sea Farer faction points]

Nix stumbled out of the beast's mouth and plopped down.

[Do you wish to skin the Kraken?]

Nix grinned and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yes!"

[1 Titanic Kraken skin has been added to your inventory]

[Do you wish to process the Kraken meat?]

"Yes."

[All of your available cans have been filled, 1668 cans of Kraken meat]

Nix noticed the loot icon, so he activated it.

You have received a City Upgrade Token.

You have received an Air Wisp companion.

421 thousand credits have been deposited in your inventory.

You have received the Kraken Armor. [Water Mage Only]

Soup Surfaced nearby and Nix climbed on his back. "What a good girl you are Soup." He rubbed its head fondly as they closed on the Phoenix.

When Nix finally stepped back on deck, he was immediately accosted by Mina. The Aquarion leader hugged him tightly for several moments before letting go. "Thank you, Nix!"

Nix placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm glad you are okay Min."

/Guildchat: Wind: Nix is out and the Kraken is dead...

/Guildchat: Ronnie: Of course, who'd eat that sourpuss!

/Guildchat: Nix; Let's continue scouting.

Captain Delphi went to quarter sails and moved ahead slowly, four Aquarions swam in front of the stern.

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Found some abandoned buildings, with some documents, most of the progress bar on this instance has been filled.

Nix brought up the quest, they were a hair from completing it. Progress bars started out red, then advanced to blue when the minimum standards were met, finally they would turn green when full marks were received.

/Guildchat: Nix: Let's keep at it, Hyai will be cooking us some Kraken for lunch.

/Guildchat: Sharl: I want to try it.

/Guildchat: Pon: Count me in, I'm going to eat the hell out of that bitch.

After another hour, the Scimitar and the Crane came into view. Jun Li had returned to her ship and just when the ships came together, the progress bar on the Onion Quest turned green.

[Onion Quest Completed: Inferno Guild is awarded five thousand Sea-Farer Faction points.]

[Inferno Guild has attained Sea-Farer Faction Tier 3 and is promoted to a Level Three Guild.]

[Video Hud Guild Chat is now enabled]

Onion Quest: The Second Layer

Description: You have discovered

proof that marooned inhabitant of

the island was from Safarza, continue

your search.

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Looks like we have to ask around Safarza for a bit to get the next part.

/Guildchat: Semmi: How did we get to Tier Three Faction already?

/Guildchat: Wind: Nix killed the Kraken.

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Nix killed the Kraken?

/Guildchat: Nix: Technically it probably blew itself up. We also got an upgrade Town Upgrade Token.

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Link it, please!

/Guilchat: Nix: Sure.

Town Token

Description: Upgrades

a town by one level.

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Don't use it Nix, that's the really good one. Most tokens say upgrade from level one to two. Save it for when we are already level two.

/Guildchat: Nix: Sound good Juni.

The four ships were going to wait until the Scimitar finished repairs before exiting the instance, but Semmi was sure the damage would disappear when they left.

An hour later all four ships were heading back to Glory. Nix and Mina were leaning against the port rail in companionable silence.

Captain Delphi found them there. "Shall we open it up Nix?"

Nix looked at the three ships trailing them and then nodded. "Show them our wake Captain."

A short while later, they came within sight of the dock, "Looks like the Ferry has brought us some business."

Mina gathered the Aquarions and activated her Deep Blue. "I'll catch up with you in the Sea-World Nix."

Nix nodded and waved, the close call that Mina had still made his stomach upset. He walked down to the Kindled Spirit. The warm atmosphere of the Inn always made him feel better. For once, it was very crowded. He noticed Hyai walking into the kitchen so he followed her. "Got something for you Hyai."

Hyai watched as he placed a few dozen cans of Kraken meat on her table. "Kraken? Hmm... Great Idea Nix." She pulled a big stand from behind the door and wrote Lunch Special: Kraken Stew on it.

"I'll put this out front hun." Nix grabbed the sign and headed back into the dining area.

"Nix! Make sure to take a quick bath, you must have stepped in something."

He laughed all the way to the door and placed the sign in its place. "You aren't wrong Hyai."

**************

A half-hour later Nix had cleaned up and returned to the dining room. He found an empty seat at the bar in between Ronnie and Sharl. The two sisters smiled fondly at him. "You guys here for the Kraken?"

Ronnie nodded, "Everyone is Nix. I wanna get me some Kraken!"

"I picked you up something nice today Ronnie."

Sharl cleared her throat, "just the younger?"

"She is my favorite." Nix gave them his best leer. "Want to compete for it?" He only laughed when they both nodded.

"When and where Nix?" Sharl leaned forward, her large breasts brushing against Nix's arm.

Nix shook his head, "I'm only joking, this will definitely help an archer." He handed Ronnie a small glowing ball.

Wilo'Wisp

Description: An

air spirit, the best companion

for range fighters.

Ronnie stared at the ball in her hand and then back at Nix. A moment later she activated it, the immediate area was covered in a warm white light. A small creature appeared hovering next to her, she was no larger than Ronnie's hand.

Wilo: Air Spirit

Description: An immortal Spirit

Companion. While Wilo is active all

ranged damage is increased by thirty percent.

Critical damage to range attacks has doubled.

Featherfall is in effect.

Sharl whistled at the little creature who hovered in front of her sister's face. "Nix this isn't a low-level air spirit."

"It came off the Kraken, so I didn't figure it was." He tried to pet the creature but it vanished quickly into Ronnie's hair.

"Hungry Nix?" Hyai was holding a tray with several steaming bowls of Kraken stew, when he nodded she sat one down in front of him.

"Thanks, Hyai." Nix dug in without saying anything else, having been eaten by the Kraken, it only seemed fair to return the favor. He chewed with his eyes closed, surprisingly it had a very delicate flavor and tasted more like mammal then sea creature. "I wish I had more cans."

Sharl was still watching the air spirit while she ate. "We should take them hunting Nix, so she can get used to fighting with the wisp."

"Great idea, however first we need to bring her to see Shae." Nix smiled at the alarmed expression on Ronnie's face.

"Why do we need to do that?" Ronnie stroked the wisps tiny head, it was standing on her shoulder next to a dark ear.

"She's an Elemental spirit Ronnie, this is Shae's domain." Nix finished off his bowl and was scraping the sides with his spoon when Hyai sat another one in front of him. "Thanks hun."

Sharl nodded at her sister. "She looks cute, but we did get her from a Kraken."

Ronnie sighed heavily, "fine, we'll go see Shae."