012 Fishing in Troubled Waters!

The dwarven paladin led Morning Breeze and Stan to a stretch of shore far from the blood-red octopus boss, about a thousand meters away, where the whirlpools were fewer and the water was relatively safe even now.

“Dwarf, what are you up to?” Morning Breeze had shifted into a seal form, while the dwarven paladin had taken on the shape of a shark—a transformation granted by one of his equipment effects. The demon warlock Stan, unable to shapeshift, could only rely on underwater breathing potions to descend.

“The abyssal fishmen are going after that super boss, so there’ll hardly be any guards left in the main city. Let’s sneak in and see if we can loot something.” Autrys had already taken the lead. He’d been down there before but found the abyssal fishmen too high-level to venture further. Now, with such a golden opportunity, he couldn’t resist trying his luck.

At Autrys’ words, Morning Breeze and Stan exchanged wide-eyed glances—neither had thought of such a plan, and they were surprised Autrys had. It was worth a try, but Morning Breeze was wary that Autrys might try to double-cross them. Though they were currently a team, if Autrys saw an opening, he wouldn’t hesitate to take someone out.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Morning Breeze’s mind. He sent a private message to Autrys: “Dwarf, why don’t we take Stan out? What do you think?”

Perhaps because he’d crossed swords with Autrys so many times, Morning Breeze’s instincts were razor-sharp. Now he found himself plotting mischief against another. To Morning Breeze, their alliance was purely temporary—if he didn’t act against them, they might well act against him. The demon warlock, unable to shift forms, had no advantage underwater. If Autrys were to lure some monsters over, Stan could easily end up dead.

“Raven, do you think I’m that kind of person?” Autrys retorted.

“Yes!” Morning Breeze replied without hesitation.

The dwarven paladin was silent for a moment, as if weighing the suggestion. “Raven, never underestimate a demon warlock. Stan is both a data collector and an analyst. If he’s brave enough to follow us down here, he must have an escape plan.”

After a pause, Autrys asked, “Raven, Stan has his escape tricks, and I have my invincible hearthstone. What about you—do you have a way out?”

It was a blunt probe, and Morning Breeze hadn’t expected the paladin to be so direct. “I escaped from the blood-red octopus, didn’t I? What do you think my chances are against you?”

“I knew you were tough—that’s why I never planned to cross you!” the dwarven paladin replied candidly. He enjoyed working with Morning Breeze because the man was as cautious as himself, always putting safety first in everything.

The grand map was perilous, but players were even more so! Autrys understood this better than most—nothing mattered more than his own survival. If he died and logged out, everything was lost; he’d have to spit out all his possessions and gain nothing.

A Ringbearer cannot die. Not even once! If he did, he’d only be paving the way for someone else’s rise.

Shark-shaped, the dwarven paladin scouted ahead, leading them to the outskirts of the abyssal fishmen’s capital, which was now almost devoid of guards. They shifted back to their human forms, quaffed invisibility potions, then resumed their seal and shark disguises to slip into the city. All the guards were focused solely on the blood-red octopus, never suspecting intruders.

There was little to be found in the city’s humble homes, so Morning Breeze, Autrys, and Stan made for the palace perimeter, preparing to infiltrate this fortress still heavily guarded by abyssal soldiers. Now, all they needed was the right moment—the blood-red octopus approaching.

“Raven, can you sneak inside and scout?” The dwarven paladin wasn’t sure if the octopus would come; he wanted Morning Breeze to reconnoiter and see what loot could be taken. In a palace, the treasury would surely hold a mountain of treasures.

“Stealth forms become visible underwater. With so many guards, how could I possibly get in?” Morning Breeze flatly refused—sending him in on such a suicidal errand was out of the question.

“Forget it, then. Looks like we’ll have to wait for the boss to arrive,” the paladin conceded, knowing full well Morning Breeze wouldn’t risk it.

Stan, the demon warlock, had only just joined and hadn’t yet gotten drawn into the trio’s internal machinations, so he spoke little. Until he understood the team’s dynamics, staying silent was safest—at least he wouldn’t make any blunders or draw enmity. Stan was a careful professional, knowing that joining Autrys’ party was a mix of risk and reward, so caution was everything.

After about twenty minutes, the blood-red octopus finally plunged from the sea surface. Its original target had been Morning Breeze, but after bursting onto the surface in search of him and failing to find him, it had instead been battered by wave after wave of abyssal fishman attacks. Now, with Morning Breeze nowhere to be found and a swathe of abyssal fishmen cleared away, it dove back to the ocean floor to assault the capital.

“This is it—stick close to me. Stan, watch yourself.” The dwarven paladin saw the giant red octopus rampaging through the abyssal capital, smashing everything in its path. The trident-bearing fishmen were helpless—their weapons couldn’t even pierce the boss’s hide.

The palace guards—along with some high-ranking fishmen—rushed out. The capital itself could be razed, but the palace must not fall to the blood-red octopus. Yet the beast was unstoppable, already at the palace gates.

Abyssal Fishman Lord, wearing a crown and brandishing a golden trident, charged into battle. With the lord in play, the dwarven paladin relaxed—at least they wouldn’t be the boss’s target, and as long as they avoided the guards’ sightlines, they’d be safe. All the guards were on high alert, but their focus was solely on the octopus; nothing else mattered.

Ordinary places were unlikely to yield treasures—if there were any, they wouldn’t be top-tier. Only the capital’s treasury would hold truly powerful items. The dwarven paladin led them to the entrance of a heavily guarded chamber—fifty elite, level-sixty abyssal fishmen stood watch, surely marking the treasury.

“We’ll wait—too many guards here,” the paladin said. Even in a crisis, the treasury guards wouldn’t abandon their posts. He continued to wait, hoping that as the crisis deepened, the guards would leave to reinforce the palace, giving them a shot at the loot. Even a single guard left, and none of the trio could hope to breach the treasury.

Morning Breeze and Stan were excited—it was unbelievable that with the dwarven paladin, they’d really reached the treasury. In the past, Morning Breeze had only managed to infiltrate the Alliance’s military depot and the Fourth Vault because of his memories from a previous life; on his own, he’d have never thought to try. Autrys, on the other hand, had no such memories—he’d gotten here purely through cunning adaptation and tactical brilliance, something Morning Breeze could never have managed.

Autrys owed his position not to gear, skill, or connections, but to sheer intelligence. Both Morning Breeze and Stan couldn’t help but admire his expertise in thievery.

Sure enough, eventually the treasury guards were called away to fight the blood-red octopus. Now was the boss’s final stage—perhaps the abyssal fishmen stood a chance of slaying this legendary beast god.

The three arrived at the treasury gates. The dwarven paladin quickly produced a key and set about picking the lock—a process that took time. Normally, there would never be a chance to pick the lock, but right now, no one cared about the treasury, so they had plenty of time.

It took a full two minutes before the door finally opened. Inside, they found heaps of treasures. Just as they were preparing to clear out the loot, a system message doused their enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water.

System: Each player may choose only three items from the abyssal fishman treasury.

“Damn, only three? What a rip-off!” the dwarven paladin cursed but wasted no time, his short legs carrying him quickly as he searched for the best loot. “Orange gear, orange gear…”

Morning Breeze had expected this—his experience in the Alliance depot had taught him as much. Whether the system had changed or this treasury was just smaller, the allowed haul had shrunk from ten items to three.

A treasury! He loved picking loot from treasure vaults. After his last chance in the military depot, he’d never thought he’d have another shot, yet here it was, in the grand map.

Orange equipment, talent stones, white gold coins, rare scrolls…

Morning Breeze, like the dwarven paladin, scoured every corner for rare items, but this treasury was far inferior to the Alliance’s military depot. Still, they had more time to choose here.

A butterfly hair ornament of icy blue—a piece of orange jewelry! Morning Breeze rummaged through the loot like a scavenger and finally found a small box containing an exquisitely crafted ice-blue butterfly hairpiece, made entirely of ocean blue diamonds. Morning Breeze recalled that a single gram of this diamond matched the value of a white gold coin, and this ornament weighed at least a hundred grams. So, regardless of anything else, just the raw materials alone were worth over a hundred white gold coins. If he broke it down, he’d get at least a hundred grams of ocean blue diamond.

[Heart of the Ice Butterfly]
Legendary, Accessory
Equip Requirement: Female Mage
+20% abnormal status resistance
+30% magic points
+40% magic recovery speed
Special: When you use a skill that consumes magic, 5% chance to recover 2% of your max mana.
Special: When you take damage exceeding 20% of your max health in a single hit, 25% chance to convert that damage into mana. Effect can only trigger once every 30 seconds.
Special: Grants you the Ice Butterfly Shield. When you take damage, the shield will absorb 80% of it by consuming your mana (at a rate of one fourth the damage absorbed). If your mana falls below 20%, the shield is lost.
Description: As long as frost exists, my magic shall never run dry!

A top-tier accessory! With this, any mage would become nearly invincible. The only tragedy is its gender restriction—it can only be worn by female mages. Then again, the image of a male player sporting such a hair ornament would be rather comical.

A mage’s greatest weakness is survival. With this accessory, a mage would never take more than 20% damage from any hit, while the rest would be negated by mana, at only a quarter of the cost. Given that a mage’s mana pool is often ten times a tank’s health, it’s as if the mage had a permanent high-damage-reduction skill activated. If the mage also had a regeneration effect or life-stealing gear, they could tank like any melee class. Such a mage would be truly terrifying—even Morning Breeze was a bit intimidated. This accessory was unquestionably the cream of the crop among orange gear; there probably weren’t many accessories in the entire game that could compare.

“The blood-red octopus is nearly dead—we’ve got about two minutes left. Move!” the dwarven paladin called out, updating the others. With only three items allowed per person, everyone was desperate to find the best possible loot in this junk-filled treasury, which made the search all the more frantic.

Time was running out!