I am eternally grateful to be part of Ariel’s elite group, don’t get me wrong. The status that I now hold is incredible and, for once in my almost thirty years of life, my father is not disappointed in me. Or, at least, that’s the assumption I’m under. But… I am clearly out of my depth.

The soldiers gathered here are as I described before; lean, mean, and able to crack a coral reef in half with a flick of their fins. The way they moved was all determination and power, and, well, judging by their last names—judging by mine—they were all bred for this. All soldiers from parents of well-respected knights, all soldiers who enjoy the thrill of the battle, the exhilaration of not knowing whether you’ll survive this unscathed, or take a sword to the heart. True warriors of the deep, forged by the sea’s endless, uncaring currents. And me? I’m some recovering slacker who barely survived a hunt with a glorified seahorse. A creature I learned over dinner was something these soldiers fought for fun. For marksmanship practice. Marksmanship. On a beast that had one weak spot—the fins.

Okay.

Show offs.

Ariel called for attention with a quick raise of his hand, looking down the line of his recruits. The chattering ceased, and all eyes—including my bleary gaze—were on him. I had no idea how everyone could be so sharp and cutting at 4AM. But… perhaps one day I will understand. I guess. They stood like statues, their backs straight, their tails perfectly still. I mimicked their positioning, but I couldn’t stop the nervous fwips of my tail. It twitched like it had a mind of its own.

“Alright, Ridire,” Ariel’s voice cut through the practiced quiet, and I snapped to attention. Was he about to reprimand me for my tail? And how would I even excuse it? “It’s time to prove you’re more than just a corpse cuddler.”

A smattering of snickers echoed around me, and I immediately grimaced at the nickname. That was not something I wanted to be called by, not at all. I think my heart would eventually cease beating if I was forced to relive what was currently the most traumatic moment of my life every day. Every hour.

My new leader made his way to me, his eyes assessing, cool. “Today’s your first real training. I don’t know how long you were with Shea, and I don’t really care. But what I do know is that man liked his skirmishes. Liked his games. Liked the sort of things we do not tolerate.” He poked a finger to my heart, shaking his head. “This will be your first real training. A test of endurance, strength, and pain tolerance. I will be pairing each of you up.”

Paired up…

That wasn’t great. Every single soldier here outranked me, looked like they could snap me in half without breaking a sweat. Even Rory, unfortunately for my ego. The guy next to me—Oisin, I think—was practically flexing boulders beneath his taut skin. What was I even doing here? Why did I fight so hard to get into the military, again?

Before I could second-guess myself, Ariel barked an order. “Platoon, form up! The Gauntlet begins now. Even if your Skill Tree branch has already been chosen, you must participate.”

The Gauntlet?

[New Side Quest: Train with the Platoon, Overseen by Ariel MacNamara.] 

[Objective: Harness your abilities and choose your Skill Tree Path.]

[Reward: XP.]

Suddenly, I was herded by the line of moving soldiers, shoved into the center of a wide, open clearing surrounded by jagged rocks and drifting clouds of silt. From the way my fellow warriors lined up on either side without further instruction, I could tell this was a well-rehearsed routine. A brutal one.

Ariel raised his hand, and with a twitch of his fingers, he began swirling his trident in a circle, creating a sort of whirlpool, before launching it out and around the area. But I saw something unusual—something that lasted a millisecond at best. It was a faint, blue glow, snaking out of his hand and up his weapon. A glow that was reminiscent of… mana. But Ariel wasn’t a Caster. He couldn’t wield that, could he? 

“You’re looking at me with a strange glint in your eyes, Ridire. Are you confused about something?” Ariel asked, a small smirk on his face.

“Well… perhaps a little. Your ability, I saw—”

“This ability is simply a… branch off of the Maelstrom Spin Skill. Something I found through a mixture of upgrades and unlocks of Special Skills.”

There was a long pause of silence, the two of us staring at one another. I suppose… that could explain things. And I didn’t find myself wanting to get wrapped up in whatever conspiracy Ariel was part of—um, if there even was one, of course. “I see.”

“I should hope so, soldier.” He said, and some of my fellow soldiers started to laugh at my expense once more. “Anyways, onto the first test. Survival of the fittest. You’ll fight until you drop.”

Fight until you drop?! Of course I had to make things weird right before this—before I’m paired with my knock-out partner.

“Ridire, you’re with Oisin.” Ariel declared. “And you’re going first.”

Right. There it was. My big mouth just had to go ahead and ask questions. Speak my mind. And now I was about to get my tail handed to me by some guy with biceps the size of my head.

We made our way to the center of the arena, the audience comprised of my fellow mermen and my platoon leader. Ariel stood for a moment, a smug look on his face, as always. Then, he gave the signal. Oisin shot toward me like a torpedo, his moves a blur. I barely had time to think before I was dodging wildly, trying to avoid getting pulverized by the onslaught of fists. My large tail, and my… slightly bigger size were slowing me down, my brain still groggy with the desire to head back to bed. I tried to punch back, but Oisin swiftly parried and attempted to land a particularly vicious swing on my face. His fist skimmed over my head, and I used the rush of water that came with the force to dart backward, trying to keep some distance, to no avail.

This man was relentless, his attacks strong and methodical. It was a miracle I was still mostly unscathed. Every time I dodged a blow, another followed right behind it. It was like sparring a terrible rock slide.

“Come on, Ridire!” Oisin huffed. “This is easy! Give me a challenge!”

Easy? Rude. I was pretty sure if I didn’t dodge the next one, my face would be abruptly introduced to the ground.

I swung my fist to satiate his plea, but Oisin caught it, much to my chagrin. For a moment, I thought he was about to snap it—forever ending my, once again, short lived military career. But instead he drove my own elbow into my face, and then his knee into my ribs, sending me spewing upward in the water.

[HP -20]

[Current HP: 80/100]

“Nnngh!” I gasped as I tumbled into a bed of jagged corals, pain shooting up my side as I attempted to get back onto my tail.

Oisin charged again, but this time, I needed to fight back. Needed to be ready. I threw my body to the side, wincing as I brushed my belly against the corals once more, hardly avoiding his fist as it crashed into the rocky outcrop behind me. The environment shattered on impact, sending sharp pieces of stone spiraling through the water.

As Oisin hissed in pain, I could only think about how those shattered rocks could’ve very well been my skull fragments had I not dodged.

Frightening.

Head-on confrontation did not seem like the smartest route to take. Especially not after that sight.

I quietly swam away, ducking behind a low ridge of coral, rifling through my inventory. I still had a handful of herbs from the hunt, enough to whip up something small yet mighty. My fingers flew as I ground them together, creating a makeshift salve.

Ding!

[Crafting Skill XP gained.]

[Herbalism Skill XP gained.]

[New Item added to Crafting Index: Aqua Mende.]

This has a name? My mother just called it a… pain killer.

I slathered it on my aching ribs, feeling the soothing effects almost immediately.

But I didn’t have long to enjoy the reprieve. Oisin was on me again, this time even angrier. I could see the cuts on his fists, see the gigantic bruises beginning to form. It was obvious he blamed me, but I wasn’t the one with the genius idea to punch a rock.

“You gonna hide all day, Ridire?” he growled. “I don’t feel like fighting you anymore. I want a different opponent. One with actual talent. So let’s get this thing over with already.”

I peeked over the coral, just in time to see his fist sailing toward my face. I ducked, then did the only thing I could think of: Rip a piece of sharp coral from the low ridge, and jam it right into his side.