Chapter 107   - Treasure Hunt

Kai took back his twenty-seven pearls. “So, how many did you get?” he kept his voice even to not sound too eager.

Still looking bewildered, Ele offered him a small pouch from her satchel. Opening the laces revealed a cascade of shining beads that quickly dampened his enthusiasm.

“They are thirty-three,” his sister said with just a hint of cheekiness.

“Oh,” Kai struggled not to sound disappointed. “How did you manage that?”

I really thought I got this one.

Ele chuckled, playfully poking his sides to tickle him. “What’s with the funeral expression? I’ve got years of experience. If you beat me on your first try, I should find another job. It’s already ridiculous you caught this many.

“You know, when you told me about your skills and training, I had a hard time believing you. Now, I think I finally get it. I truly have a genius brother.”

And I got the best sister in the world. I think I’m winning this one.

“Any wise words of advice to improve, sis?”

Ele wrung her wet braid. “There is nothing I could improve on your method.”

“Then, how did you beat me?”

She smiled mysteriously. “That’s not something you can replicate.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s my profession skill. It gives me a feel of where I should look and what’s valuable. But that’s not something you can learn unless you choose my same path.”

And being a child strikes again.

Kai knew profession skills worked differently. General skills were based on what he could realistically accomplish. When he learned Mana Sense, he first had to perceive mana by himself. Then, the Guide helped him improve by leaps and bounds. But the base ability was his.

With a profession it was different. You could gain abilities beyond his comprehension. Someone without mana skills could throw a fireball. To counterbalance, you got far fewer of them. Kai heard most people only got a single skill from their red profession.

“The spirits protect us from when you become fourteen. I’m sure you’ll get something ridiculous.” Ele tried to console him.

Less than three years away…

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Come on, I’ll teach you how to appraise a pearl. You don’t want to get scammed by a merchant after you put in all the work.”

Back on the boat, they poured his pearls into two bowls.

“These clear water pearls aren’t very valuable, but they’re the easiest to find. They make for a reliable source of income if you don’t want to take any risks. No other species form such large reefs.”

Going through their loot, Kai noticed all his sister's pearls were similar and generally bigger, while he had beads of all shapes and sizes.

“Size and color are the most important factors for clear water pearls, the bigger the better. They need to be at least as big as the nail on your pinky to sell.” Ele showed him several examples.

“Merchants also like it if you have many of the same size. Then you must look at sheen and shape.”

Ele gave him a brief crash course on how to estimate the value of a pearl. All the beads in her bowl respected the minimum standard, while five of his were too tiny to be worth anything.

The Shallow Sea around the Baquaire Archipelago created one of the best environments for shelled mollusks to grow. And the advantages of skills and profession meant there was a large supply. When possible, it was always better to sell to foreign merchants.

Common pearls sold for chips, but the price steeply increased for the rarer varieties. Naturally, mana-infused pearls sat at the top of the price list.

His hands couldn’t help but fiddle with the bracelet at his wrist. The gift he received for his seventh birthday. The green mana pearl had lost none of its luster.

“Where do we go next?” Kai asked, eager to continue.

Seeing his sister hesitant, he pleaded his case. “I won’t do anything reckless,” Kai solemnly promised, making puppy eyes with Acting for good measure. Ele always fell for them.

“Okay, but you have to do exactly as I say.”

“Yes, Captain,” he imitated a military salute.

“I’m being serious, Kai. You know Mum is going to freak out over every scratch you take.”

After reassuring her that he would follow her instructions to the letter, Ele led him to a much bigger pond half a mile away.

It was larger than an Olympic swimming pool and far deeper. Crimson and indigo corals grew all around the outer ring, while tiny schools of colorful fish swam through. An idyllic place where calm and quiet reigned supreme.

The placid surface slightly rippled as gusts of wind blew by. Kai wished he had brought a canvas to paint the scene. He wasn’t much of an artist, but after drawing countless runes, replicating a scenery on paper was child’s play.

I should put a sketchbook in the spatial ring. You never know when inspiration strikes.

“Don’t get fooled by appearances,” Ele said, breaking his dreamy stare. “They always look peaceful before Kahali’s fury breaks free.”

“What do you mean?” Kai looked closer. Even with Inspect, he couldn’t see the shadow of a conflict. Fish, big and small swam beside each other in harmony.

“The tide forces a large number of sea creatures together with nowhere to go,” Ele explained, peering inside the pond. “They know any fight would leave them vulnerable to the fish swimming beside them, so most of the time they wait it out. It’s a thin balance, if something breaks it, things can just as easily escalate and turn into a frenzy.”

His sister didn’t look like she was joking. Kai couldn’t imagine how those tiny fishes could be anything but adorable. “And with something do you mean us?”

“It can if you start poking where you shouldn’t. Other times it’s just bad luck,” Ele said with a fatalistic tone. “I’ll admit they are a rare occurrence, but if you start stirring things up the chances can drastically increase. So, if you see some funny-looking fish, don’t try to catch it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He was sure she was overblowing the danger. All the ponds they had passed had been equally calm. Kai suspected it was more an urban legend they told diving apprentices to make them behave. “Anything else to look out for?”

“There might be poisonous fish and aquatic snakes. Many predators like to hide in the crevices. They tend to be peaceful when the tide is low, but if you stick your hand near, they could feel threatened and strike. It can cost your life or a limb.”

Maybe you should have started with that…

The peaceful pond began to look less inviting. With all those corals, anemones and rocks, there were plenty of hiding spots where Mana Sense told him something was hiding. It was impossible to tell whether they were scared little fishes or venomous predators.

“Finally, there is one more danger that you need to absolutely avoid.”

And Mom thought hunting in the jungle was dangerous. Guess it’s no coincidence Ele never mentioned these things at home.

“You can never know what type of animals end up in the ponds when the tide lowers. Sometimes bigger predators end up trapped inside either by accident or to get a free meal while their prey has nowhere to run.”

“Do you mean awakened beasts?” Kai asked, taking a step back from the pond.

“Yes,” Ele said with a satisfied smile. “In the sea, the mana density is always fluctuating, and there are few clear boundaries. Before diving, you always need to make sure there is no hidden beast lying in wait. They usually prefer bigger ponds, but I’ve seen a few in pools of this size.”

As his sister finished her piece, Kai was already scouring the waters with his Mana Sense. Ele didn’t ask questions, likely guessing what he was doing.

"It’s safe.” He announced after walking around the entire edge to not miss anything. There were several denser mana patches he was eager to examine, but nothing comparable to an awakened beast.

“Are you sure?”

“Completely sure.”

Ele walked to the edge of the water staring deeply inside. She told him she also had something like Danger Sense. “Yeah, I think so too.”

“Can we go then?”

“Protection first,” Ele stopped him, rummaging through her satchel. She took out two pairs of leather shoes. “You don’t want to cut yourself on the corals. I brought my old pair for you, they are not the best but should fit.”

“Thanks.”

The leather was rough and worn, full of tiny cuts. They were not very pretty. Luckily there was no one around to judge his fashion choices. Kai was grateful his sister had thought to bring a pair for him.

After another crash course on what he should specifically look out for and avoid, Ele gave him the go-ahead.

“Follow me and don’t touch anything unless I give permission.”

Kai nodded like a good boy and dove after her. A school of tiny silver fishes with a pink stripe swam around them with no fear. They tickled him with tiny pecks as they brushed against his body.

Mollusks of different species were glued to the rocks in clusters. Ele headed to a reef of bronze mussels midway through the pool. With his Mana Sense keeping track of his surroundings, Kai began his search.

The mussels glowed with above-average essence and were much harder to pry open. When he succeeded, he was rewarded with a dark blue pearl with a metallic glint. It possessed a few more specks of mana than its clear water counterparts, though nowhere close to a true mana treasure like the one that hung from his wrist.

They moved from cluster to cluster, slowly going toward the deeper areas of the pond. Danger Sense only pinged him once close to a deep crevice.

Kai understood why Ele had emphasized the dangers, but there was no hidden monster lying in wait, just animals minding their own business till the tides reversed. Even the venomous ones had no interest in wasting their bite on him.

After proving he wouldn’t do anything reckless, Ele allowed him to explore the upper layer by himself. Kai collected a red algae that was a pseudo-mana herb. There were other interesting plants deeper, but he had sworn to follow his sister’s rules.

As the sun rose higher, the rays of sunlight began to peer through the water's edge. Kai had filled his reserves with Water Mana, but spells were unnecessary. Within the calm waters of the pond, it was almost effortless to float in place.

Apart from his usual combo of skills, Kai found Blessed Swimmer was also useful in locating valuable objects. It wasn’t as precise as Mana Sense, only pointing in a vague direction. When he followed the faint whispers of the skill toward a particular reef of clams, he never left empty-handed.

Toward midday, they went back to the boat to have lunch, rest and compare the loot. A variety of pearls of different colors and sizes were thrown into the bowls. Once again, his sister had him beat: forty-six to thirty-nine. The numbers weren’t much higher than the clear water pearls, the value was.

“Have you really never gone pearling before?” Ele asked, perusing his finds with a critical eye to judge their value. “You move like you’ve been doing this job for years.”

Kai beamed, vainly trying to contain the pride surging inside of him. “I’ve got a skill.”

Ele sighed. “Of course, you have a skill. What’s this time, some kind of treasure sensing? Having the spirits dump riches in your lap twice a day?”

“It’s called Blessed Swimmer.”

His sister burst out laughing, with a tear in her eye.

Kai crossed his arms hoping to hide that his ears were burning. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just so you,” Ele said, struggling to breathe. “If anyone else told me this, I’d think they had a poor sense of humor and an overblown ego. But you aren’t joking, are you?”

“I’m not.”

“And what does Blessed Swimmer do?”

“Well, it's hard to explain…” Kai struggled to put the sensations into words.

“Does it make you Kahali's favorite son or something?”

He glanced at his sister. “How do you think I got the skill?”

As she continued to stare at him, the amusement drained from her face. “You can’t be serious. Those things only happen in myths.”

Her hand unconsciously rose to her hanging mouth as she found no mirth on his face. “You really are blessed.” The words were barely a whisper, then became faster. “Does someone else know? Have you told Mom? We should probably tell somebody.”

Slow down.

He didn’t like the gaze of reverence his sister was giving him. “No, we don’t. Especially not mum.”

Their mother had always been the most religious in the family, he didn't dare to think how she would treat him if she found out. “I’m not that special. I’d bet there are many other people blessed by the spirits in the archipelago. They just don’t go around telling people.”

The great spirits saw he was far beyond his peers and blessed him as an investment. At least, that was how Kai liked to think of it adopting Virya’s view. The more he grew in power, the longer he would survive, and the spirits would benefit. Especially if his actions were in line with their will and he spread their name.

Treating it like a transactional relationship might be cynical and sacrilegious, but Kai preferred to avoid delving into the whole religious aspect. The last thing he wanted was to have a group of fanatics treat him like some kind of messiah.

“You need to promise me you won’t tell anybody.”

Ele still looked shocked by the revelation. “I—I promise.”

The walk back to the pool was silent. His sister didn’t argue when he asked her to explore by himself.

Hoping to distract himself, Kai borrowed the lighting crystal and dove to the bottom. Dark fish with emerald fins swam around him. They were half his size but showed no hostile intention in his Danger Sense.

Indulging in the sense of peace Blessed Swimmer gave him, Kai went searching. He gathered three more pseudo-mana herbs he had noticed earlier and then moved to look for pearls.

Even though the clusters of mollusks on the seabed were smaller, they shone brighter to his senses. He read somewhere the mana density tended to grow higher the deeper you went. He hadn’t expected that to be true even in this pool.

With Blessed Swimmer for navigation and Inspect to scan his findings, he quickly located a large clam the size of his head. The mollusk camouflaged itself at the bottom of a large crevice.

Checking there were no other dangers nearby, Kai slipped between the rocks to his prize. His initial efforts took him nowhere, Mr. Clam refused to open, no matter how hard he pried with his knife. He considered dislodging it and carrying it to the surface before realizing there was a far easier solution.

A blade of water slipped through the shut lid and pushed the side open from the inside, revealing a gleaming yellow bead.

I hope you don’t mind Mr. Clam.

Well, he did. The pressure on his spell increased as Mr. Clam refused to peacefully get robbed. The edge of the shells brushed his fingers as the shell shut closed.

Kai was about to swim to the surface with his prize when Mana Sense noticed traces beneath the rocks going deeper. Focusing his skill, there was no doubt.

He had found a cave.