Chapter 74   - Opportunities

His body was tired, but not as much as his mind. To squeeze Steady Runner for all it was worth had been more challenging than he thought. He had to split his focus on both how the skill affected his body and trying to avoid slamming his head into a tree.

Still, he had been looking forward to Blessed Swimmer the most. And that gave him the strength to jump straight into the sea.

With his head peeking out of the water, Kai turned toward Elijah. “Any brilliant suggestions to test this skill?”

He might as well get them out of the way before he exhausted himself trying his own.

“Start swimming and tell me what you notice.”

“That’s all, oh wise teacher?”

“Swimming skills aren’t as common. I’ve never heard of Blessed Swimmer before.”

If not even the butler knows about this skill, it must be something rare.

“Wait, did you already know how Steady Runner worked?”

“Naturally.”

“Then, why didn’t you just tell me what it could do, instead of wasting my time…?”

And let me make a fool of myself. Damn, I already got my answer.

“Do you expect me to nanny you forever? What will you do when you don’t have anyone to ask? Start blubbering about your new skill to the first stranger you meet?”

Not finding a proper answer, Kai dove amidst the waves and started swimming.

Spirits, it’s so annoying when he’s right…

Leisurely gliding between the waves, Kai focused on Blessed Swimmer. The passive aspects of a skill were hard to grasp, like an invisible hand gently nudging his movements in the optimal direction. Meditation helped him become aware of the smallest changes, but it didn’t make it easy. From what he had been told, it took years to master the technique.

If there was a difference after evolving Swimming, it wasn’t big enough for him to perceive. His form was perfect, his body angled to incur the smallest drag possible. Increasing his speed, Kai's senses were keen on anything out of the ordinary.

I’ve always been a good swimmer, but it never felt this… effortless.

It was a feeling. A murmur at the edge of his consciousness. Like he had found his place in the world, everything was as it was meant to be. He could continue swimming forever and never get tired.

Blue motes of mana flowed towards him on their own, swirling happily as if they were greeting an old friend. They didn’t join his mana, but with them so close and willing, Kai knew it would be easy.

Swimming, basking in that sensation, losing his sense of time.

He would have continued for longer, but his peaceful strokes were abruptly interrupted. His instincts screamed at him, his body lurched to the side, as a stone skipped on the surface of the water.

His head jerked out the sea, glaring at the culprit on shore. Right then, a smaller pebble ended its long arc in the sky and landed on his head. Kai massaged the offended spot.

Asshole.

“What was that for?”

“Just trying out a theory.” Elijah said without any shred of guilt. “Can you tell me what it is, or do we need more testing?”

Kai snorted. “I felt the first stone coming before it hit me.”

“But not the second,” The butler pointed out with a smirk.

“It’s the first time I've used this skill.”

Elijah remained silent for a moment, giving him an expectant look.

Kai looked back.

What does he want me to say? I was distracted, okay!?

The man shook his head with false disappointment, juggling with more stones. “Seems like we need more testing.”

“Wait! The first stone was skipping on the water, while the second didn’t touch it.”

“Seems like two years of training weren’t completely wasted. That’s my working theory. Now keep swimming, we need more data to be sure. It might only be a coincidence.”

There was no way of winning, was there?

Kai sighed. “Nothing bigger than a pebble, the first stone was too large.”

“I was confident my disciple would dodge it. Are you not confident in your abilities?”

I’m not seven, that doesn’t work anymore.

“You know, Dora always asks me how my day was. If you use any rock bigger than my thumbnail, I might take her up on her offer.”

“What a disgrace, my disciple is a wimp…”

I’m not seven and a half either.

“Whatever you say, master. Not bigger than my thumbnail, I’ll check!”

It became clear Blessed Swimmer gave him a danger sense for any threat coming from, or at least touching, the sea. But it did nothing to protect him from the sky.

It was a faint feeling, easily ignorable it if he didn’t go looking for it. That odd sensation of being part of the sea remained muted unless he meditated and focused his attention.

Hopefully, it will get easier as I level the skill.

He already knew he wasn’t going to abandon Blessed Swimmer.

Blessed Swimmer (lv1) — Trust in the sea and you shall never fear storm nor beast. You’re at home amidst the waves.

For how cryptic, the description spoke of storms and beasts. He was only scratching on the surface of what it was capable of. Testing it against sea monsters was going to be more complicated. Kai was careful to avoid the topic. He didn’t want to give Elijah any ideas. He could already imagine getting thrown miles deeper in the Shallow Sea ‘to test out a theory’.

The active part of the skill was much more straightforward. The amount of mana he could channel had increased, strengthening his muscles further. Kai was pleased to find out Blessed Swimmer accepted his Water mana too. It created a weaker version of the spell he used during the storm. It was also several times more efficient than when he did it manually. His body effortlessly moved through the waves faster than an Olympic swimmer.

By the time they were both satisfied with the testing, it was late into the morning. To Kai’s surprise, Elijah agreed to skip the Swordsmanship lesson.

“We’ll make up for it tonight.” A moment later the butler was gone.

Left alone, he dashed to shower and gulped down his breakfast. Getting presentable in record time, he hurried towards Dora’s house.

“Did Elly keep you late? I told him to take it easy.” As he crossed the doorstep, Dora was waiting for him with a yellow mustard potion in her hands.

Should I throw him under the bus?

“We tested my new skills. So, it took longer than usual.”

He was in a good mood after the testing, and he would bet the alchemist already knew what happened. If he complained it would lose value. Better to keep it for a rainy day.

Drinking the sour potion in one breath, they got ready to work. His main affinities were extremely helpful in the garden. He was also allowed to tend the first section of the greenhouse which was filled with red-tier herbs.

“It appears your Water affinity has improved, child.” Virya's voice resounded behind him.

Kai jumped, involuntarily releasing the Nature spell he was preparing. The green blob of energy fell on the dragonthorn bush he was working on, making the plant undergo a sudden growth spurt.

“Lady Virya.” Dora greeted, moving her eyes between them. “I’ll go prepare some tea.”

Standing up straight and dusting off his clothes, Kai greeted the mistress of the estate. Usually, she called for him, but it wasn’t the first time she visited him on a whim.

Those piercing eyes unnerved him, so he tried to fill the silence. “I think the blessing helped. Is there a way to test how much my affinity has improved without performing a ritual?”

“By now you should know better than to ask such silly questions, Kai.”

It would be easier to think if you didn’t pop up all of a sudden and started staring at me.

“Is there a way you know of, that I can get access to with reasonable effort?”

Virya smiled. “If you only need to measure a single affinity, it is simpler. I’ll see what I can do. At a glance, I’d say it must be around 10 points, maybe more. You are lucky. Few gods are this generous. The spirits of the archipelago must be stronger than I thought.”

“Can I increase my other affinities by accumulating more blessings?”

Virya burst out laughing. “Oh my… If only the priests of the Seven Moons could hear you.”

Cleaning a tear from her eye, she started walking among the rows of plants. Without another choice, Kai followed her outside the greenhouse.

“I guess it’s understandable. Getting blessed twice with little effort, even if by minor divinities, gave you a warped idea. Unfortunately, blessings are not like pretty old tomes to be collected. Most gods do not like to share, even if they are part of the same pantheon.

“Yatei and Kahali must get along well, but you can forget about gaining a blessing from another god. Not without rejecting the ones you already have or paying a heavy price. The higher your affinities, the harder they are to increase.”

Wait a second… did the great spirits just call dibs on me?

For a second, Kai felt annoyed he had been excluded from other opportunities without his knowledge, but he soon realized how stupid that was. It wasn’t like gods were lining up to offer him a blessing. He was exceptional enough in the archipelago, but the odds a foreign deity would take an interest in him were slim.

“What do the great spirits expect in return?” He asked. No one did anything for no reason. He doubted gods were different.

They had reached the edge of the garden. Virya didn’t answer immediately, instead, she stared intensely at a patch of empty ground. Before his eyes could notice anything, Kai felt it, a ripple of mana through the air. His Mana Sense was blinded, on instinct, he closed his real eyes too.

When he looked again, a tea table made of vines and leaves had grown in front of them, decorated with small red flowers on the outer edge. Vines wiggling and weaving together to shape two chairs.

While he stared wide-eyed at the flashy display of magic, Virya sat down on the still-growing chair.

“Seeing you practice all day reignited my passion for Nature magic. I’ve never been particularly talented in this element, but I thought you would appreciate a practical demonstration. What do you think?”

Kai picked his jaw from the floor and hesitantly sat down. The chair was surprisingly comfortable, easily supporting his weight. “Which elements are you best at, then?”

Virya showed her white teeth. “Blood magic.”

His eyes shot up to hers as she covered her mouth laughing. “Truly nothing like speaking with you to raise my mood after a hard day. ”

Kai crossed his arms; he could feel his ears burning in embarrassment. “So, what is the right answer?”

"Blood magic,” Virya repeated, turning dead serious.

Not going to get me twice with the same ploy.

The silence stretched. “Are you really a blood mage?”

“Among other things. It always came easy to me.” Virya confirmed, breaking her stone facade.

Dora appeared carrying a silver platter with a teapot and two pretty cups. She placed them down on the plant table without batting an eyelid.

“What do you think, Dora? It has been a while since I practiced Nature magic. I never had your knack for it.”

The alchemist gave the living construction a brief scan. “Aptly executed, my Lady. However, I fear these plants will not last more than a week.” She indicated some spots. “The rapid growth puts stress on them, and their roots do not go deep enough.”

Virya looked where Dora had pointed. “You’re right. It seems I am more rusty than I thought.”

Kai had no idea what they were looking at, but he sagely nodded along.

I can see that too. It’s so obvious.

The alchemist left soon after leaving a steaming cup of jasmine tea in front of him.

Virya took a sip, savoring it despite the scalding temperature. “Going back to your initial question.”

Which was…

“Most gods don’t bestow their favor without expecting something in return. This is why it’s commonplace that people swear an oath to make the terms of the exchange clear. Your case is rarer, but not unique. One spirit bound you with a loose oath the other not even that.

“It might be just the creed of these particular spirits. Every divinity has its own peculiarities, you can’t judge them through a mortal lens. But I’m not well versed enough in the religion of the archipelago to be certain.

“Maybe they’ll expect something in return. Maybe they wanted to make a good impression hoping you’d offer to serve them willingly. Or maybe your actions are already in line with what they need. One of the ways gods grow in power is through the faith and the actions of their believers. By giving you a blessing, they bound themselves to you. The stronger you become the more they’ll earn in return.”

Today Virya was in a chatty mood and continued teaching him about divine politics. The conclusion? To stay as far away from them as possible, trying to understand their thought process literally led to madness.

“What about feats?” Kai asked after she finished a lengthy explanation of the relationship between the merfolk’s Pantheon and the Seven Moons. “How do I get more?”

“Remember child, being told can be considered a form of helping by the Guide. It could reduce your rewards if were you to obtain a feat.”

“I know…”

You always use that excuse to avoid the topic.

“But ‘can be’ means it’s not necessarily so. If a feat doesn’t become any easier by learning of its existence, then it shouldn’t matter to the Guide.”

“Touché. It looks like you’re learning something from my lessons. The only feats you should worry about are the ones obtained by improving your status. Focus on upgrading your race and raising your skills. Orange is the standard grade for humans. Each step beyond is rewarded by the Guide.”

“Is there not anything else more… within my reach?”

Yellow grade felt a hundred miles away.

“For now, that is your best option. Naturally, while Orange is the average for humans, if you were to advance very quickly, it would still be noteworthy.”

A race against time, yay! I suppose that means before fourteen.

That night, the clang of blades resounded in front of the estate.

Elijah wasn’t pulling any blow to make up for this morning. His metal blade flashed under the moonlight. Kai was on the back foot. Empower had already flooded his body. He could barely follow his opponent's sword.

When the butler added Shadow magic, his blade became impossible to track, blending in the night.

Heavily pressed, Kai lost his balance and fell on the beach. “I give up.”

He heaved on the sand, glad Elijah had stopped hitting him now they both used metal blades.

“You could do that too if you applied more to Shadow magic.”

“I’ll try harder,” Kai said to appease him and avoid another round. “Could I ask you a question?”

After his conversation with Virya, he realized there was a particular feat that didn’t have to do with growing his status.

I’m going to regret asking Elijah to help me with this. I already know it.

Kai went ahead anyway.