Supreme Magus - Chapter 3961
Chapter 3961: Changes and Challenges (Part 2)
The large mana geyser kept a vast area around the oasis fertile despite the harsh climate of the Desert and provided the village with a freshwater pond formed by an underground river.
Salaark had chosen that location for the merfolk settlement because it was one of the few places in the Desert teeming with life. The merfolk craved for the colors and vegetation they had missed since their defeat in the War of the Races.
It was the only thing that kept them on the surface after discovering the challenges of living out of the water. Their customs, habits, and even the way they communicated with each other needed drastic changes.
It was too much to ask from anyone, and without the flowers, fruits, and green of the oasis, the merfolk would have already given up and returned to the ocean.
After the tour of the village came the welcome banquet that the merfolk had prepared for their guests. Much to everyone’s surprise, there was no seafood. Most of the dishes were typical of the Blood Desert, and the rest were vegetables.
“We had enough fish for a lifetime.” Rem explained when Aran asked her about the absence of traditional merfolk dishes. “Besides, it has been millennia since my people had any cooking skills.
“When you live underwater, you eat everything raw with no spices or condiments aside from a few algae wraps.”
“Eww!” Aran gagged at the idea. “I’m so sorry for you. Here, try this. It’s my mom’s world-famous meat pie.”
He took a large oven-fresh serving out of his dimensional amulet.
“I always keep some aside for when I’m sad or hungry, but you need it more than I do.”
“Thank you, young man.” Rem chuckled, accepting the steaming plate with both hands.
Aran’s honesty would have been rude if not tempered by his kindness. Moreover, he belonged to a different race. Rem found several human customs weird at best and disturbing at worst, so she took no offense.
Especially after tasting Elina’s dish.
“By the sea gods, this is delicious!” Rem was so enraptured by the rich flavor that she dropped the fork and started eating with her hands.
“I told you it’s world-famous.” Aran puffed his chest out with pride. “Mom even wrote a book about her recipes.”
“What’s a book?” The merfolk asked.
“A bunch of pieces of written paper glued together.” Aran handed her a physical copy of Elina’s cookbook. “Don’t worry about your hands. My big brother enchanted it so that it can’t get dirty.”
“Oh, gods! How could I forget my manners?” Only then did Rem realize her blunder.
Merfolk had a tough skin that made the heat of the meat pie irrelevant, but it could do nothing against the oily layer of spices that now covered her fingers. She hastily dabbed it on her pristine desert robe, making things much worse.
“It’s fine.” Aran cleansed both her hands and dress with a short pulse of darkness magic. “My mom’s cooking has that effect on me as well.”
“Kind and charming. You’re just like your brother.” Rem took the cookbook and flipped through the pages.
There were realistic depictions of the single ingredients and the various dishes that Rem tried to grab. When it failed, she sniffed at them.
“They are not real.” Aran said. “Have you never seen a drawing before?”
“No, young man.” Rem shook her head. “Cooking and magic are just two of the many skills that my people lost after our banishment from the surface. We also had to forsake all forms of art that require perishable materials.
“Besides, it’s really dark down there. We don’t read with our eyes but with our fingers, like this.”
She took a small stone tablet covered in characters embossed with earth magic out of her dimensional amulet and brushed her fingers over its surface.
“Your people are really smart.” Aran caressed the surface of the stone tablet but failed to recognize a single letter. “Too bad I can’t read your language.”
“And I yours.” Rem tapped on the book. “I can only read and write the ancient merfolk language of the tablet.”
“Then how do you speak the universal language so well?” He asked.
“Practice and the need to communicate with our Emperor Beast friends.” Rem sighed. “We merfolk lived in isolation for a long time. There was no point in mastering a language we couldn’t practice.”
“Couldn’t you use communication amulets?” Aran asked. “You can use them to talk with anyone you know and even to write.”
“Sadly, no, Aran. During our millennia of exile in the depths of the ocean, we couldn’t practice most elements and complex disciplines, such as Forgemastery.
“Even if we traded our goods for communication and dimensional amulets, we wouldn’t have been capable of using them unless we came to the surface. Words would come out as bubbles, and our storage items would get filled with water.”
“I see why you came to the Desert.” Aran nodded.
“Here you are.” Lith approached them, closely followed by Leria. “I was just looking for the two of you.”
“Is there a problem?” Rem asked in confusion.
“None at all.” Lith replied. “It’s just that since we are here, I have a favor to ask you.”
“Anything. Just name it.” Rem gave him a small bow.
“I upheld my promise and never taught Aran and Leria to swim like merfolk.” Lith said. “I know it’s an important tradition of your people, and I was wondering if you would be willing to share it with them like you did with me.”
“It would be my honor.” Rem replied. “May I ask you a favor in return?”
“Sure.” Lith’s tone expressed the words “within reason” without the need to say them out loud.
“It’s nothing much.” Rem rushed to add. “I know you are a powerful Forgemaster, and I was hoping you could help us solve the problem with our Sea Heart. Despite it being a perfect replica of the one in our nearby underwater village, the Sea Shell produces an abominable noise, and no matter what we do, we can’t get it to work.”
‘This is weird.’ Lith thought. ‘I can fix this in a snap if I use the Ears of Menadion. Which also means that Grandma could have done it too, yet she chose not to.’
“I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises.” He actually said.
“It’s all I ask.” Rem bowed again and resumed her conversation with Aran, who bombarded her with questions about life in the ocean and the creatures that populated its depths.
“Do you have a minute?” Lith asked after approaching the Overlord.
“For you, I have all the time on Mogar, Featherling.” She said, dismissing the envoys from the various Desert tribes who had come to seek her advice. “What’s the matter?”
Lith reported his conversation with Rem, and the moment he mentioned the Sea Heart, Salaark shrouded them with a Scrambler spell. Anyone eavesdropping on their conversation would hear them making small talk that matched their lips’ movement, protecting their privacy.
“You are right, Featherling.” Salaark said. “I could have easily fixed the merfolk’s issue with the Sea Heart. I could have fixed all their problems, but I didn’t, and if you care about them, neither will you.”
“I’m sorry, Grandma, but you lost me.” Lith said in confusion.