Phoenix Phire Chapter 13
Advertisement
"An amazing place Nix." Pon was sitting next to the campfire that he had started, the sounds of a dozen people swimming nearly drowned out his words.
The Lake Cavern hadn't changed much in the four days since he had brought Ronnie and Sharl here. A long table sat on the beach, along with a bunch of chairs. The lamps that were suspended in the air, now put out much more light thanks to Pon the Fire Mage. The twenty-person team worked on their swimming every day, went over the possible scenarios of the raid and would spend the remainder of the day grinding levels in Espana.
There were two things that none of the Daybreakers could figure out. Why Nix was a faster swimmer than everyone else and why the turtles flocked to him like he was the pied piper.
"Hmm... once this raid is done, you Daybreaker interlopers are gonna get kicked out!" Nix waded into the shallows, Soup followed him in, staying close when he dived towards the bottom.
The turtles had been growing at a phenomenal rate, Nix wasn't sure what the mature time was for Virtual Turtles, but he guessed it was much faster than real life. Soup was nearly three feet in diameter.
Nix latched on to Soups shell and he shot past the other swimmers.
"I want to ride one too!" Ronnie had tried many times to get one to accommodate her, but they fled whenever she came close.
He let go of Soup and dived toward the bottom where Sharl was harvesting. Almost immediately after her first swim, the Daybreakers Guild Leader found the Water Spry. It looked like regular grain, but when dried and harvested, it tasted exactly like rice. The entire bottom of the lake was covered in it. "Helping yourself to my crop? I should get Maye in here to quote you a price."
Sharl looked up, grimacing at the mention of the old woman's name. "Why are you still working with that old shark?"
Nix laughed at the comment. Maye had hired some workers to do some much-needed repairs in the shop, it actually looked like a boutique again. "I'm sweet on Lela. Didn't you know?"
"Liar." Sharl glanced up at Nix, "you've been laying low right?"
Seemingly overnight, posters with Nix's image on them were plastered in every major city. The Salamander Guild was looking hard for him, even though he had been careful, it was already known that the trail led to Jenzi and Cyphix.
Advertisement
"They should stop bothering my friends." Nix frowned when he thought of Salamander, they had stopped by the Kindled Spirit Inn and asked a lot of questions, Hyai had quickly shown them the door. Jun Li herself sent him dozens of friend requests until Ronnie had shown him how to block her.
"Once we get to the fourth floor, they will stop bothering you." Sharl had tried on multiple occasions to bring him into the guild, each time he politely declined.
Nix spotted Soup swimming close by, he beckoned her by clucking his tongue. He pulled himself up on her shell and relaxed while she swam in circles around Sharl. "Hope so."
"You know that's an Elite Black Sea Turtle you are riding around."
"Yep, one of us is going to eat the other one day." He reached a hand and rubbed the turtles smooth head, "there's a reason I named her Soup."
An hour later all twenty of the Lake Cavern occupants were sitting at the table. It was the maximum amount that Nix could port, a number that had astounded everyone.
Sharl had her hud up and was going over the plan again. "Our best guess is that the location where Nix spotted Salamander is the first part of the fourth floor. Two other teams are required to operate levers simultaneously to open the gate that Jun Li's group was behind. That group must then proceed down the corridor, after that, we are flying blind. We must finish this stage to lock Daybreakers into the fourth floor."
"Which is cheating... right?" Nix said it with a smirk, it would also be a huge slap in the face to Salamander.
Sharl looked at her old Fire Mage, "how's he look, Pon?"
Pon glanced at Nix, "he's level 40, well equipped and his weapon skills are decent. We've improved his Fire Strands to the point where he can hold three at once." Pon didn't have to pretend to be impressed, the Fire Strands worked as a dot (damage over time) on anything it held. It absolutely tore through water creatures. Nix wouldn't say where he got the strands from, but Pon guessed it must be a Lord Class Fire Creature of some sort. "Still a noob, so he'll have to stick with CC."
Sharl nodded, she understood the last part was for Nix's benefit. "We will go in the morning, so everyone gets some rest."
Advertisement
A few minutes later they all stood in a circle holding hands. Nix had slipped on a cloak with a Daybreakers insignia for the port back to Jenzi. He brought everyone to the Portal platform and then immediately chose to return to the Lake Cavern. He would pick them up at 0800 the next morning.
Nix returned to the beach hut, with the Daybreakers gone, the turtles were much more friendly. As an experiment he had once left the ring off when he approached the turtles, it no longer made any difference in their interaction with him. It did however substantially improve his swimming speed, so he kept it on. With all the swimming they had been doing the past few days, his strength and stamina had steadily increased. The other surprise came when he started working with Pon, his Fire Strand skill had started to improve.
Nix
Level 40
Strength 54
Endurance 59
Intelligence 25
Dexterity 25
Perception 25
Cold Resistance 90
Fire Resistance 100 [Burning Aura]
Weapon Skills:
Rifle 90
Whip 77
Support Skill:
Flame Strands 0 [13]
Swimming 2 [100]
Skills:
Hunter 100
Leather Making 100
Tailor 100
He entered the hut and undressed before laying down on the bed. There was the smallest hint of perfume on his pillows, he had caught Ronnie napping on the bed a few times.
"Thanks, Glory." He smiled at the ceiling and hoped that the guard who had helped him was doing well. A bumping noise at his door made his smile widen. "Really?"
He walked to the door and let Soup in, she waddled slowly to the foot of the bed where a small carpet had been placed. "You're such a baby."
*********
"Report." Jun Li sat behind her desk at Salamander HQ, the nightly scout report was late once again. She couldn't know that the reason they were late was that they dreaded giving her the same news every day.
"Scout Forsha Reporting!" The dark-haired scout saluted crisply.
Jun Li scowled at her, she knew it was protocol, but everything seemed to make her mad nowadays. She returned the salute and gestured for the scout to continue.
"There's been no sign of the Fire Wielder," that's what Salamander had started calling him since no one knew his name.
Junli slammed a hand down on her desk. "Is he a damn ghost?" She picked up a cup and threw it at the scout, it missed her head by only a few inches. "What about the tailor who made the Under Armor?"
"All we know is that the Tailor's name is Nix." Forsha gave a quick glance at the desktop for anything else the guild leader might throw, she gulped when she was the knife-shaped letter opener.
"Nix? How the f*ck did we miss out when the Under Armor was displayed all day on a damn mannequin?" She had heard the rumors regarding the tailor-made gear, but by the time they had investigated, a mid-tier guild had purchased all the stock. "This tailor works in Jenzi, how is it you know nothing else?"
"Nix specializes in women's lingerie and underwear and is most likely a Day Shop owner that sells the product to Shana's Boutique. We also believe that Nix is female."
"A female... did someone see her? What makes you say that?"
The scout hesitated, "well, Nix specializes in women's underwear, so..."
Jun Li picked up the letter opener and flung it at her scout, fortunately, it missed. "Get out!"
The guild leader leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath to try and calm down. Even though she was the guild leader, she was still required to report to the Board. Soon they would find out that the Salamander Guild had actually lost their Salamander. She picked up the poster of the Fire Wielder that sat on her desk. It didn't do him justice. She had stood a few feet away from him, short black hair with a serious but handsome face. His eyes had captured her attention, they looked like twin suns.
She propped the poster up on her desk and stared at it. "How did you get behind that gate? Salamander is leading the other guilds in Mermaid City." Mermaid City was her personal mission. She had locked her level at 50 so she could continue to oversee Salamander's advancement. "Sooner or later I'll see you again."
A knock on the door got her attention. It was Semmi Dow, her childhood friend, and the only person who she wouldn't show her temper too. "Time to call it a night Junie, we're trying Mermaid again in the morning."
Jun Li smiled at her friend. The petite blond would start yelling at her if she dared get mad. "Okay, thanks Sem."
Advertisement
- In Serial157 Chapters
Skyrates?!
Sky pirates have stolen Sir Broderick's beloved donkey! He'll do anything to save his noble steed from these dastardly foes. Including teaming up with the wizard whose home he accidentally incinerated and go on a quest around the land of Caldonia, where everyone worships giant chickens and colorful language takes on a new meaning. New posting schedule is twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:06 am EDT.
8 143 - In Serial114 Chapters
One Star Boss: A Mecha/Virtual Reality LitRPG
The Overdrive Corporation has a problem. The esports company's proprietary AI is full of idiotic glitches. Professional mappers are making the virtual reality Mech fighting game's painstakingly designed bosses look like complete and utter fools. The company's bombastic CEO, The Mechanical King, has come up with a truly unique solution. Instead of fixing the AI, he'll just hire human players to act as bosses behind the scenes. When Jason was a kid fresh out of high school, playing as an Overdrive boss - even a weak early game boss - sounded like a dream come true. He dreamed of becoming a pro gamer and was addicted to competition. He loved the idea of battling skilled opponents all day and honing his mech piloting skills. Two years later, an ill-fated clash against one of the game's most prominent whales sends his life into a tailspin. Follow his adventures as he and his partner, the cyborg dragon Red Minerva, fight to leave his humble beginnings to stand among the best fighters on the server.
8 250 - In Serial21 Chapters
Path of the Ancients
When humans with the ability to control the fundamental particles of the universe with their minds were first discovered, the age of space travel began in earnest. Relativistic travel faster than the speed of light became possible and humanity moved out into the stars. When it was discovered that these Mages could be turned into effective weapons, humanity turned back to its oldest pastime of war. Hundreds of years later as humanity was on the brink of self-destruction, with its taste for war finally beginning to wane, a new organization was created. The Conclave was formed to regulate all Mage’s within the human colonies. While the colonies maintained their independence, the Conclave’s control over access to interstellar travel made them the de facto power amongst humanity. As the old saying goes, ‘Power Corrupts’, and many people were unhappy with the way the Conclave had been leveraging its authority, not the least of which were the Mages they controlled. One unregistered illegal Mage by the name of Tyrial had made it his life's mission to dismantle the Conclave at any cost. After spending decades working towards his goals alone, he realized he would need the aid of willing allies in his crusade. Tyrial would need all the help he could get learning to work with others, dealing with his own dark past, and handling unfamiliar feelings of romantic interest. Content Warning Note: They are there to cover my behind. I honestly hesitated to put them there at all but I figured better safe than sorry. Gore in particular barely applies and the sexual content amounts to light Cinemax style at best. But, at least now you can’t say I didn’t warn you. POSTED: Currently, this story is being posted to RoyalRoad and ScribbleHub. If you see this story posted anywhere else, please report it to the user "Tyrial" on either of the aforementioned sites. Thanks!
8 116 - In Serial12 Chapters
The Burden Egg
The last great human empire fell to the fey races centuries ago. Their descendants live ground-down lives in the ruins of their ancestor's cities, surrounded by defunct and forbidden machines. Their one ancient hope, the dragons, have been extinct for milennia. But I've just found an egg...
8 160 - In Serial7 Chapters
Veracity: A Tale of Seven Sins
Larceny is a crime, but that never really stopped anybody in Soccordia. When Rhys' endevors begin to draw attention from the wrong kind of people, he is eventually coerced into pulling off a heist on nothing less than the King's own treasury - simply as a test to gauge his qualifications. When the gears begin to turn and Rhys' real target takes him across Continents, to other Kingdoms the size of the world amazes him. For a boy who has never ventured outside of his own city, Rhys is thrust into the throes of magic, the might of knights and a story that is not his own - a story of Rulers. P.S: The cover actually gives some really different vibes as compared to what the actual story is going be about. Please do not be put off by it :p
8 199 - In Serial25 Chapters
Rivalry I Live for
Follow Tony as he seek revenge against his mother. A player that is one of the top 10 players in the game called the Second World.
8 182