One after the other, countless aquatic creatures were breaking the water surface. Octopus, frogmen, fishmen, and even a mermaid in the back?!
< Cool Mermaid Vanguard Lv 43 :droplet:>
The dazzling creature attracted all the players' eyes, her scales glowing a myriad of colors under the sun. Then again, most looked at the full chest area.
"So beautiful!"
"She looks as delicate as a sparrow!"
"I'm allergic to fish, but I'd eat her if you know what I mean!"
A single glance had been enough to enchant them fully! But just as she was opening her alluring lips, Jack's shout brought them out of the trance.
"Cover your ears!" He roared at them.
He knew how eerily scary such a creature could be!
"?? How dare you disturb the peace, humans? ??" She accused in a voice that was to die for (literally!). In fact, she had already made victims as they were heading to the lake.
They happily ran to her, not turning back even as their lungs filled with water. A few bubbles appeared, and then despawning flashes.
— Fatality! —
After killing a few dozen players, she didn't even react, her face one of cold beauty. The survivors couldn't help but tremble. How OP!
Jack had miscalculated on this one. Mermaids usually never came to shore and remained in the dept of the lake.
Suddenly his initial plan had to be thrown into the water. Bullying a couple of seafood creatures was easy, but she was different.
Still, he wasn't out of options.
As he slowly and majestically approached the lake, the Demonic Legion cheered. Their leader would show this fish lady their greatness!
They saw him decisively take out a pickaxe and…..
"Please forgive us. This was a great mistake on our part. Please accept this token of apology. It is a mythical tool that allows one to gather Iron!" He diligently begged.
Shame? Could it be eaten?!
"?? Apology? If I am not satisfied today, none of you shall leave this place alive. ??" She threatened.
The mermaid came closer so gracefully that she seemed to be floating on the water. She picked up the offering, carefully examining it, her eyes flashing light blue.
— Mermaid Acquired Inferior Quality Rusty Pickaxe! —
"?? Humph— Do you take me for a fool, human? ??" She spat out, her brows furrowed. Even then, she looked incredibly exquisite.
Her simple displeasure carried so much killing intent. There was a reason one had to stay as far as possible from her specie: their arrogance!
"Of course not! I wouldn't dare!" He exclaimed in shock, showed an incredibly unwilling expression, and took another offering out.
"?? Good! ??" She grabbed it as if it would vanish any second.
— Mermaid Acquired Low-Quality Rusty Pickaxe! —
"M-miss mermaid. Could you help us get our friend back? He's been taken by fishmen and—"
"?? Ignorant human. Noble mermaids won't bother with such trifles. ??" She instantly and firmly rejected him.
"What if I get more treasures for you and—"
"?? Oh? That's a great idea! Do that, human. I'll be waiting. ??"
"B-but what about my friend?" He asked shyly.
She frowned, looking at the hands covering his ears. She slapped them away before ordering. "?? Just bring more treasures! ??"
Now that he had heard her voice, he would comply. Mermaids had no qualms about charming people, men, and women alike, to get their way.
"I would, miss Mermaid, but I'm quite poor—"
"?? Hehe, I understand. You did good, human. Bring me back as many as this can buy! ??" She threw a large shiny pearl his way, happily leaving with her "treasures".
Two old pickaxes —> 1 Gold at best
Shiny Lake Pearl —> 15 Gold conservatively
It's only then that the players came back to their senses. It had taken all their self-control not to commit suicide. After all, no sound didn't stop her breast from bouncing.
"Sir, that was one sexy…scary monster. Anyway, what now?" CPR dude inquired.
Thanks to the mermaid, the enemies were retreating for now, but they weren't any step closer to getting the Old elemental back.
He had also lost his only bargaining chip, aka cause trouble until they give in. He really wouldn't dare anymore.
It even seemed that there was an incredibly deadly pickaxe-carrying Last Boss swimming there.
As for changing her mind, he could barely resist her charm.
"What now? We profit as much as we can, but first…EVERYONE OUT!" He screamed as if a parent discovering their teenager had hosted a party in their absence.
A few had been awake enough to see the earlier scene, and only a few of those knew how to read lips. This left many confused as to why the urgency.
Jack quickly organized everything he needed.
Over a few hours, he came back to the lake many times with offerings.
"Oh, beautiful mermaid of the lake, what is your wisdom!" He would chant on the lakeside.
Then his new "friend" would appear, eagerly trading shitty tools for shiny pearls. This included axes, shovels, hammers, nails, and even doorknobs. She took it all!
"?? Human, are these strange items so valuable??? " She'd sometimes skeptically ask.
That's when the squad would appear.
"Sir, this belonged to your great grandfather. It has been passed through generations in your family. You can't just—" CPR dude got charmed!
"No, husband, please don't sell this! We need it for our future kids! They'll—" A weirdly blushing Bubblegum got charmed!
"Master, please reconsider. You'll have to pay debts for the remaining of your life if you proceed! You had to borrow just to—" The old cultist got charmed!
The mermaid did not care one bit about their "misfortune". She greedily grabbed the things that were actually worthless.
Well, one point still made her suspicious.
" ?? Why don't you give me that sword too? It looks even prettier than the tools. ??"
"I-I would if I could, my goddess. This is what happens whenever I try to separate myself from it." Jack sorrowfully explained while demonstrating.
His inventory would suck in any weapon right before they left his hand as if he really couldn't control it. The mermaid wisely nodded, showing she understood.
She also wanted the others to do errands for her at first. Jack patiently "explained" that only he could buy them, hence why he was called Sir and Master.
They soon waved her away, ready for another lucrative trip. This one would also take a little while since treasures had to be hard to obtain.
"There's someone following us. They've probably seen the entire transaction." Bubblegum warned.
"Guess we'll have to secure the entire area, blocking the lake so they can't warn her. We can say the fighting noise is from a human celebration." CPR dude proposed.
"I say we put a roadblock in the path leading here too. The first barrage will be for the regular players, and the second will stop the sneaky ones." The cultist joined in.
They were all used to how things worked in MMOs, but Jack shook his head at their suggestions.
"We won't do any of that, profit is good, but we're about to reach the limit. One cannot keep tricking a high-tier creature without repercussions." He sighed.
"You mean she'll figure it out soon and rage?!" CPR dude exclaimed.
"Instead, we'll blow the news up. I want every player in Infinite to know that there is a mermaid in Sprigfield that turns trash into rare pearls. Understood?" He instructed.
As they realized his plan, they couldn't help but chuckle. This truly was evil!
In Town, plenty of NPC and players alike were ecstatic.
"What? A mermaid does that?!"
"I'm gonna be rich!!"
"It's a miracle!!!"
They all acted decisively, buying as many tools as they could in bulk. The repair corp almost had a heart attack.
It was another slow day in their usual lives…until they were suddenly ambushed! There were so many customers!
"Repairman Larry, where's the hoe I asked you to set straight yesterday?!!" A farmer asked worriedly.
"I'm not done with the repairs yet, I—"
"Doesn't matter. I need it now urgently!"
"I told you, it's not done yet!"
"That's even better!!" The farmer screamed, anxiously asking for his tool back. He seemed insane, and yet the others were even worse.
"Sell me everything that's rusty! I'll pay good money!"
"How much to downgrade my knife? The more corroded it gets, the better!!!"
They were shouting so loud that it was hard to hear what they were even saying. The people were akin to a massive tide that slowly but surely reached the lake.
"Oh, shiny mermaid of the lake, what is your wisdom!" They all chanted the particular chant one after the other.
Telling a mermaid that she was shiny was borderline an insult. The first word that would usually come to mind would have been beautiful, right?!
As she appeared in all her splendor, everyone was enchanted. Then she saw all the tools they were carrying. Only then did she realize what had happened.
"?? BASTARDS!!! ??" Even her screech was as melodious as deadly.
Everyone even remotely near the lake died, no exception. Not only was she not thinking straight, but she didn't dare trust humans anymore, not even charmed ones.
Many respawned, regret and sorrow in their eyes.
- They had spent so much on useless trash?
- They had angered their dream girl
- Some had even taken loans…
"What kind of bullshit rumor was this?! I'll hurry and apologize to my love. I'm sure she'll sense how genuine I am and forgive me!" An infatuated player cried out.
She didn't. She kept slaughtering, her fury boundless.
But, no matter what, the one she truly hated did not appear.
That's when a howl filled with so many dark emotions echoed in Sprigfield. With it came a system announcement.
[Mermaid of the Lake Rages!]
[She Vows to Slaughter All Humans!]
[Get ready for War! Failure Is Not an Option!]
