"I don't know too many people who have a summoning spell that is on the awakened level, but taming beasts for the role is really common. There are two categories, fights between the True Born and Transfers, and those between trained or summoned beings. The summoners are viewed as the Elite among that class since they don't have to wait for their partner to be trained, or worry about it breaking free of their control.
The real fun is the True Born Class though. The fights are unarmed and unarmored, just a straight test of skill and raw power. Plus most of the men fight topless. The eye candy is totally worth the admission price." The Youkai, Aoi winks at Vala with that last bit, suggesting to Cain that Mythic level demons are common competitors or at least men that the Youkai thinks Vala would be interested in.
"So they're like a bare-knuckle boxing match?" Vala asks, personally enjoying such forms of entertainment when she isn't reading.
"Not really, most Mythic beings can use very powerful magic and combat skills, making the battles so much more than a simple boxing match. The lower-ranked unawakened amateur fights are often a boxing match with skills though since the magical classes get knocked out so easily with a punch while they are casting." The tall youkai explains, sand falling from her dark blonde hair as she nods her head happily. She doesn't look dirty, so it must be a result of an Earth elemental aspect to her nature.
"Once the deal is finished here, you should show us around. We would be very interested in seeing such a spectacle, and if we have time we might even compete ourselves." Cain smiles and she gives a fist pump at the joy of finding like-minded individuals.
In addition to [Crushing Tentacles] Cain also has [Crippling Blow] which can be used with a kick or punch, and Cain knows a lot of ways to land those from the Dark Elven Offensive Techniques book he made back in Muzz. A few more martial arts might be a good start, but with a couple of mythical attack and control skills in addition to his stats, he might do pretty decently in an unarmed battle.
Vala is clearly thinking the same thing. She is Mythic Quality and has both attack skills and [Pestilence] at Mythic quality, which could damage her opponents.
The rest of the negotiations about the ore are fairly straightforward. They take all the gear and books they can get, and offer the last half a cart of ore as a good faith discount to buy them some goodwill the next time they come to visit. The plan is to send Nila back to the Central Continent with the Queen Rose to return the trade goods. Really, she only needs to get close enough to activate the Guild Bank, but if she returns all the way she can reload the ship for another merchant trip. Mythryll has been looking forward to a nice long journey alone with the Wave Rider for a while, so a trade trip between the Central Continent and the western shores of the Eastern Continent with the gear the Guild makes would be a nice vacation for them.
That puts their destination all the way across the Continent from Port Nefheim, so it won't mess with their usual shipping lanes and flow of goods, but it will help spread the name of the Darklight Host even further than it already is. They also likely have a few pieces that would qualify for the Tortuga auction as well, and Port Nefheim is still in negotiations to get an intercontinental travel point added to the Free Port.
Nila doesn't have a problem with that plan, so Cain orders that the trade goods, other than the set of armor and the weapon that he wanted for himself be loaded into the hold. Since they will be entering an awakened area after this to go explore and try to trigger an advancement, Cain is planning on sending Nemu and Evangeline back with the ship as well. They can provide extra security on the dangerous leg of the journey and not have to feel like a total deadweight in the meantime.
According to Cain's interface though, Nila only needs a half dozen more fae forms to advance and join the ranks of the Mythic, and he is hours away from level 300 when he will be able to get the final skill of his secondary tree and see if anything comes after that.
His proposal meets with more resistance than expected though, neither companion wishes to leave his side, citing abandonment issues and boredom with the stuffy Wave Rider. By any reasonable measure, Nila is not stuffy, but to a pair of nudist practical jokers, she probably does seem a bit boring.
[Fine, Nila is headed home with the loot. We will stay here. After you make it home and reload, you can take Mythryll on vacation and go visit Tortuga to drop off items for the auction and then sell the rest to the East.] Cain gives his final instructions just as the locals get the official paperwork ready.
For such a large transaction, there is a lot to go over, and that takes them well past the point when Cain reaches level 300. Unfortunately, there is no automatic quest or anything to indicate what he should be doing right now, but he is hoping that just being among other Awakened transfers might trigger something.
Likewise, his Secondary Skill Tree simply completes, with no indication of an available upgraded rank, until Cain double-checks his Interface and sees a new line.
[Tertiary Skill Tree] Empty
So now, not only does he need to find himself a new class, he has to find another skill tree type book or quest reward that can open up another set of skills for him.
The Echoes don't stop to celebrate at level 300 though. They have found a hidden underground section inside the Fae Dungeon, and they are determined to get the last handful of forms to push Nila over the brink and on to natural Legendary status, which will Immediately become Mythic thanks to Cain's skills.
