While reading about Icer, Max had been taking notes. At first his handwriting was a little better than a child’s, but it got better once he got more accustomed to the quill. Max had just finished the book and he made a small summary of his notes.

Icer was THE Queen Naga, ruling 6,000 years ago. Her reign brought an end to the wars that plagued the Naga homeland of K’Gilzil. The way the Naga were depicted, showed them as little more than slaves. They were the farmers and fishermen for the Kepu. The Kepu would kill any Naga who had magical abilities, thus weakening the Naga bloodline. The details on who Icer was before she gained renown is speculative, most accounts say she was born of a common family and background. Icer had a gift, she could control water like no other.

She used her magic to fight back against the Kepu, eventually pushing them out of K’Gilzil. Her gift allowed her to specialize in creating large floods that completely decimated her target. She would then freeze all the water, killing everyone caught within. With the Kepu gone, the Naga eventually prospered, growing into the kingdom the world knows today. No one knows what happened to the remaining Kepu. Only that they are considered a lost race.

The Kepu interested Max, because one of his racials was from them. Max reread his racial making note of the Now their legacy lives on with you, part. Max didn’t want their legacy. A race that has no problems enslaving and systematically killing anyone who would oppose them? It reminded Max of too many things from Earth.

Max was about to put the book away, when water started pouring from the cover. Max panicked, picking up his other book and notes. He moved them to his inventory, hoping no one saw. The Naga book was now gushing water. Max did the only thing he could think of, he gathered the water using mana. The ball of water quickly went from softball sized to basketball, but it didn’t stop.

Max could keep control of the water, but how does he get the water to stop? He examined the cover trying to find the source. A small circular rune took up the whole of the inner cover. Max had seen a few ruins, but he had never seen one as detailed as this. Max sat back down, still controlling the water. He took his quill and began to draw the rune. Max couldn’t draw it good enough, he kept having to restart.

“Stupid quills! Why couldn’t Lester invent a pen!” Max yelled, attracting the attention of a Librarian. A startled Human male stared at Max and the water pouring from the book for a few seconds before he ran off.

Max started to manipulate the ink in his ink well. A thin stream of black liquid flowed out, far thinner than Max had ever done before. He began to draw with it, his mental imaging providing a medium for this mana. Before long a perfect rune had been drawn, Max quickly summoned his dagger, slicing the active rune.

A burst of water erupted from the rune, soaking everything in a few meter radius. Max started to gather the water, pulling it from the books, floor, and ceiling. By the time all of the water had gathered, the Librarian had returned, and behind him was another. Max didn’t look at them too long, opting to take care of the water. He moved to an open window, the refrigerator sized ball of water following. Max poured the water through the window and returned to his table. The new Librarian was looking at the Naga book.

The man had small backwards curving horns, and large bifocals hanging from a necklace. He wore green and brown robes. Max finally noticed his legs; they were a goat’s. Ah! He’s a satyr. Max concluded

“Ah! Water trap rune. And a rather complicated one at that!” He said snapping the book closed, “Sorry that happened, we check for things like this. I guess it slipped through the cracks.”

“No problem, good thing I am a [Water Mage] or I think you would have a lot of ruined books.” Max said.

“Yes… Good thing. If you don’t mind me asking, who are you? This is supposed to be a restricted floor.

Max tried not to stare at his horns. “I don’t mind at all,” Max removed his plate necklace, handing it over to Satyr. “I’m a relatively new black plate. This is also my first time in the library.”

The librarian looked over the plate, flipping it over a few times. He returned it, stating “Ah, that explains it. I am Sulivan Xer, one of the head librarians here.”

“Max Fowler.” Max replied.

“What does a young [Water Mage] want with Queen Icer? Looking to follow in her footsteps?” Sullivan asked, his voice playful.

“Far from it. I am researching powerful [Water Mages], trying to find a connection.”

“A connection? Interesting idea. Perhaps you should seek out Veline. She’s a resident of Lesterwood and by far the best [Water Mage] for hundreds of kilometers. Might be a little hard to get a meeting with her though.”

“Oh, Vel is my teacher. She's actually the one who told me to start my research here. Queen Icer is just the first book I stumbled on.”

“Oh, Vel has taken on another student? It's been a few years. Good for her, she needed a distraction.” Sullivan said with a sly grin.

“I’m also looking into familiars; I haven’t started any research though.”

“Ah, well if it's familiars you want, look for a book called Grimm’s Glossary for the Ideal Family. While he doesn’t provide information on how to contract or create familiars, he provides a lot of information about rare and lesser-known creatures.”

“Create a familiar?” Max asked, confused.

“It seems a Basic’s book will also be useful!” He said with a chuckle.

The two said a few more things to each other, ending with Sulivan excusing himself back to his work. Max looked outside; it was getting dark. Max decided to pack it up for the day. He found the spot where the Naga book was located, slipping it back on the shelf. Now that the rune was broken, it was no longer trapped, making it shelf safe. Max also went down two floors and subtly took the familiar book out of his inventory and returned it to the shelf.

He left the library, heading back to the private island. On his way he picked up some food from a vendor. It was a grilled flatten dough ball with cheese in the center.

Max walked into the underground training room; he could see the three girls. Reep and Clammy were sparring. The match was even. Reep, using her bow, couldn't land any meaningful hits on the fully armored Clammy. While Clammy couldn’t get close. It looked as though Reep figured out using her electrified muscle technique, she was moving faster than Max had ever seen her do before. Clammy struggled to keep up, even though she was lowering her gravity.

Clammy was losing at this rate, Max saw two options for her. Either stall out Reep’s mana, allowing her to get close. Or, Clammy could change Reep’s gravity. Make her weigh more or make herself attracted to her. Max knew she could change other people’s gravity, he wondered if she had figured out changing attractions.

This concept is simple, make Reep the “ground” to clammy. This would cause Clammy to “fall” towards Reep. If Clammy could maintain her lowered gravity, she could speed up or slow down at will. The only problem was if she lost focus the spell would drop, allowing Reep to score a free hit.

As the spar went on, Reep slowed down. Electricity still arced from her legs signifying she still had mana. Max watched as Reep looked to be moving in waist high water. Slow and sluggish. Clammy quickly took the match.

“That looked great!” Max said, walking over, “You two have improved so much since last night!” Both girls looked at him and smiled. Clammy’s face turned red.

“Enough of that. Boy, find anything useful?” Vel asked, ending the moment.

“I learned about a Naga Queen named Icer. She came seemingly out of nowhere, crazy powerful. I also learned that books can be trapped. Sullivan was pretty nice about all of the water though.”

Vel grumbled at the mention of Sulivan. “Icer was a great and powerful domain mage. Her later teachings revolutionized water-based war domains. But enough of that. Clammy, you and Max are going to duel. All magic is allowed. Don’t kill each other.”

Clammy and Max set up, starting about 40 paces away from each other. Max started pulling water from the air, forming it into a sword with a moving blade. Vel started the match, causing Clammy to instantly shoot forward. Max had anticipated this. A curtain of water quickly formed halfway between the two. Stretching most of the playing field, the water blocked Clammy’s vision. While Clammy decided if she wanted to charge though the water wall, Max moved. He moved to a spot where the curtain was intentionally thinner.

Clammy spotted a figure moving behind the water. She charged, breaking past the water soaking herself. She saw Max’s smile too late; she could only watch in horror as the rest of the water curtain broke. Max quickly launched his sword, using the same principle as Water Bolt. The sword flew true, hitting Clammy square in the chest, denting her armor and knocking her off her feet. The surrounding water quickly formed around her, pinning her to the floor. Max jogged over, he summoned his real sword and pointed it at her throat.

“I-I surrender!” Clammy stammered.

Vel started clapping. “Well, it looks like your failure in the ally, caused a stir in you! Well, done Max. We will discuss where you could have done better, but for your first real magical battle, that was good!” She turned her attention to the girl lying on the floor. “Clammy. You are tunnel visioning too much. You know Max is a [Water Mage], yet you allowed yourself to get wet. You also are only trying to fight at melee, but that’s just not going to cut it. I get that you are choosing the path of a hybrid warrior, but that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to only using your hammer.”

She took a breath, “Your last spar with Reep was a good example of what you could be doing. Make Max’s hands weigh too much to lift. Cause the water to flow away from where Max is expecting. Or even throw your hammer. You can control where it flies right?” Clammy nodded, “Weave it around the wall, causing Max to have to choose to dodge or defend. Clammy, you have an almost unique class, start getting more creative with how you fight. Now then, Max Reep you are up.”

The fight between Max and Reep ended quickly. Max had forgotten that water will carry current. He shocked himself when he blocked an arrow with his water shield. A few hours of training later, Max and the others headed to bed. Max pulled up his notifications for the last few days.

Congratulations you have learned the spell technique Manipulate Water (common):

The basics of any [Water Mage].

Congratulations, Manipulate Water has become level 3!

Congratulations you have learned the spell Water Bolt (common):

7-13 Damage

7 Mana

Fire a bolt of water in the desired direction.

Congratulations, Water Bolt has become level 2!

Congratulations you have learned the spell Water Shield (uncommon):

12 Mana

Create a shield of water to protect against attacks.

Congratulations, Water Shield has become level 3!

Congratulations you have learned the spell Water Sword(uncommon):

12-18 Damage

10 Mana + 1 Mana per minute

Congratulations, Water Sword has become level 4!

Congratulations you have learned the spell Water Write (Rare):

Water with pigment is easier to control in the use of writing.

Congratulations, Water Write has become level 2!

Name:

Max Fowler

Race:

Lost One (Human Earth)

Class:

Tidal Made: level 2 (1/160)

Heath: 30/30

Mana 80/80

Stats:

Strength:

Dexterity:

Stamina:

Intellect:

Wisdom:

10

10

10

15

25

Stat Points:

0

Max could hear waves; he opened his eyes. He was on a beach, in front of him was an infinite ocean. To the left and right, was infinite sand. Max tried to walk away from the water, but always found himself the same distance away.

“Alright, think Max! Last thing I remember was going to bed after training… Ah this is a dream!” Max said to himself. Max slowly walked to the water. He stopped when the small waves crashed into his feet. He stood there feeling the cold water and the sand. He felt in total harmony. All of his previous worries washed away.

After an immeasurable amount of time, the water a few hundred meters above him began to break. Similar to how a submarine would surface, something pushed out of the water. Max could only see a glimpse, an indescribable monster breached. Water cascaded down its large head. Max had to look away, a headache pounded him as he stared.

Max couldn't see, but the monster opened its massive sized eyes. They narrowed onto Max. A low rumbling filled the air, shaking Max to his core. The monster breathed out, launching a spittle of water towards Max.

Even though Max was knocked off his feet, he for some reason knew the monster meant no harm. The rumbling slowly formed into words.

“Do not be afraid of the water. For you cannot drown."

The dream abruptly ended. Max thrashed, falling off his bed. Icarus quickly materialized next to him.

“Max! What happened? What's wrong?” He asked, concerned.

Max tried to speak, but he had to cough up water. After clearing his airwaves, Max looked over himself. Physically he was fine, other than his throat being raw. The issue was he was covered in water.

“Why are you wet? Did you grab it from the air?”

Max thought over the events, he said. “No. It’s salt water.” Max went quiet for a minute. “Can you get Vel? I think I should tell you both what happened.”

Icarus fizzled out, reappearing a few moments later. “Lester can’t be here yet, but I can relay information when I am able.” Icarus said.

Vel slammed into the door, the runes holding strong. Max got up and opened the door, a sleepy eyed Vel stood there. She marched in walking straight to his bed. She sat, ignoring the water on the sheets, and gestured for him to talk.

“I had a dream. Well, I don’t think it was a dream anymore, not after waking up covered in salt water.” Vel took a brief sniff, confirming his words. “In the dream I was on an infinitely long beach, in front of me was an ocean. A... Monster? Came out of the water and sprayed me with water. I for some reason knew that it wasn’t going to hurt me. It told me “Do not be afraid of the water. For you cannot drown.” right after that I woke up.”

Vel and Icarus looked between each other. Vel spoke up first.

“Did you gain anything?”

“Gain? Other than some water, no?”

“Check your notifications.” Icarus said.

Max did, surprised that he actually had one.

You have been Blessed by the Leviathan Tiodepth.

Your journey will lead you into the darkest depths of the ocean. If you can return, you will be rewarded.

You can breathe underwater.

The crushing depths do not affect you.

Max showed them the box. Max was surprised when both of them had no idea who Tiodepth is.

"Obviously it is a Leviathan, but I have never heard the name." Vel noticing Max confusion added, "Leviathans are ancient and nigh immortal beings. In some of the teachings of the gods, they are mentioned to each defend a gate of the eight hells. Before today I was always under the impression that there were eight Leviathans. That blessing had just confirmed the ninth."

"What does this mean for me?" Max asked.

Icarus spoke, "Well first thing is first. Do not let this information get out of this room. We don't need you to become a religious symbol. Past that? Nothing. You have been blessed, while not common it's not exactly rare either."

"He's right. Maybe one day you will swim down to the depths, but that day will not be today." Vel said, "Not sure how practical the pressure immunity will be. Other than that you breathe underwater. I can already see some combat tactics that make use of that."

"In all seriousness, Max. Do not let anyone know about your blessing. If it is somehow found out, do not let them know who blessed you. I can think of three people, throughout all of known history, that have been blessed by leviathans. But for you to be blessed by an unknown one?" Icarus asked, leaving the question for Max to think about.

Max felt afraid. He knew that he was living his own life, but at the same time he felt he was some small piece in some much larger game.

Icarus and Vel eventually left. Vel told Icarus that they had some things to talk about. Max lied in his bed trying to fall asleep, but he couldn't. His mind wondered, this blessing paired with Vel's ambush earlier in the day, worried him. He could be killed so easily in this world. From ancient monsters to random people on the street, death can and will happen. Max needed to be better prepared.

He eventually fell asleep, and he appeared back on the beach. He waited in the low waters, waves crashing softly into his feet. This time, it was just him and the water. In harmony.