Mature Content Warning: Not Much here except for a little foul language, maybe.

Authors Note: I am a moron. I forgot to add in Scott’s human racial experience bonus when fighting monsters higher level than he was. In reality, that one Shar-Shar in chapter 2 netted him 594 EXP since it was 9 levels higher than he is, and it had a good base EXP rate. (Not excellent, but good.) I have updated that tidbit in the last chapter by changing ‘over one hundred EXP’ to ‘nearly six hundred’.

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Chapter 4: Fi'Shoo Pantsu

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The sun shined down gently on the bright blue sea. The sun had born witness to many strange things in its existence, but few were stranger than the sight that existed just below the surface of the water. Two air breathing surface dwellers glided along at a slow, but steady pace. They swam through the water without once rising to the surface.

Scott, one of the two slow but steady swimmers, was on the verge of exhaustion. He was not built for long distance swimming.

Rhea had fared better so far, but despite her higher agility and strong warrior’s heart, she was not built for swimming either.

“Wow, like, you guys are so slow.” said Neira with a hint of annoyance in her voice. She was happy to receive help, but if they had to stop and rest every half hour or so, they would not get there in time to do anything.

Scott tried to respond to the mermaid, but he could not talk well through water. He had the blessing of the sea, but that only meant that he would not drown. He did not acquire any epic swimming skills or the ability to talk underwater.

Rhea touched her right temple with two fingers. “Scott, try using the party chat function. It should work underwater.”

Shocked by the clarity of her voice, he turned to look at her. How had she done that?

She picked up on his non-verbal request and sent him another message. “Place two fingers to your right temple and think strongly. You will be able to mentally send messages that way.”

Scott did as she instructed and thought strongly about something. Rhea smirked at him when she received the message, “Smiley Face.”

“We can’t do emoticons or whatever. It is all verbal.” said the elf girl.

He tried again, this time he sent her a message about how pretty she looked when she was wet. The goofy sorcery grinned when Rhea flailed her arms at him. He had the good sense to look embarrassed, however, when Neira glanced at him then blushed. She had heard the message that he had sent.

“So, everyone hears the party chat and not just the person you think about?” asked Scott.

“Yeah, it’s a party chat, Scott...” said Rhea.

“Good to know.” he said.

Ero easily moved over to him then hovered in place. It was as though she treated the water the same as she treated the air. “Do I look pretty when I’m wet, Scott?” asked Ero. She smiled sweetly at him, but there was a hint of mischief in her eyes.

“Sure, why not.” he said. It was the most neutral response that he could come up with.

Ero pouted at him cutely then folded her tiny arms. “That’s not much of a response, you know.”

Scott attempted to laugh, but realized that he could not do so properly. Instead he placed his fingers to his temple and said, “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Neira actually laughed, somehow, after hearing that. Scott looked to her and smiled, but inwardly he was annoyed that he could not move around so freely in the water.

“If you guys need a rest, we can go to the surface.” suggested Neira. Of course, due to her combination valley speak and surfer girl tone it sounded more like she was asking a question. The upward inflection at the end of her sentences was subtle, barely noticeable, most of the time. However, it tended to become more pronounced when she was uncertain of what to do next.

“I’d rather try to figure out a way that we could swim better or move easier like you and Ero.” said Scott.

Neira blinked at him once then her eyes widened. She clapped her hands together and held them in place. “Oh! Right, I do have something that you could use.”

Rhea swam closer to Neira then said, “You do? That would be great.”

The mermaid gestured at the air for a moment then two strange garments appeared in her hands. “We, like, make these in my village. They are super popular in Eizen. I had totally forgotten that I still had a few pairs of them.”

Rhea reached the mermaid before Scott did, and the elf girl wasted no time in responding. “These garments...!”

Scott stared at the unholy thing dangling in the mermaid’s hand. “Seriously?”

“Shyeah, totally serious. You’ll be able to, like, swim without getting tired and other things, too.” said Neira.

The sorcerer accepted the tiny garment then checked its stats.

Fi’Shoo Pantsu

A garment for gentlemen of leisure who live the life aquatic. They are one-size fits all and meant only for men. These manly bikini briefs are popular in many parts of the world.

Defense: + 4

Agility: + 1

Elemental Water Resistance: + 25%

Special:

Under Water Movement: Basic

Swimming Speed Up+

Scott stared at the bikini briefs then slowly shook his head. “Seriously?”

Rhea glanced down at the outfit in her hand. It was hot pink and looked like someone had cooked thin pasta then turned it into a swimsuit. It was basically a single wrap around strap! “S-seriously?”

“Shyeah, totally serious.” said Neira once more.

Scott winced at the man-panties. “It is great that you have something that will help us, but... Do your people make anything a bit more... Well, more?”

“Yeah...” said Rhea. She stared at the hot pink strap in her hand and shook her head. It had decent stats for a clothing item, but it barely counted as clothing!

“I can, like, check again?” asked Neira.

“Please do.” said Rhea. She was no exactly squeamish about showing off her body, but this thing was ridiculous.

Neira called up her inventory screen, not that the others could see it, and perused her inventory. There were several clothing items available. She noted the shorts, and finely cut swimsuits. She considered the one-piece swimsuit and a set of tasteful swimming trunks for a moment. They all had exactly the same stats and effects that the items she had given to Scott and Rhea had. Neira sighed loudly. “No, I don’t have anything else.”

“Oh...” said Rhea. The elf girl sighed in the water, sending a mass of air bubbles to the surface.

“Screw it.” said Scott. If it helped them, it helped them. He did not like the idea of strutting around in form fitting man-panties, but they needed all the help that they could get. The mermaids needed their help more than he needed his dignity at the moment.

The man had nowhere to hide while he changed outfits, so he simply equipped the Fi’Shoo Pantsu on the spot. A brief moment of glorious masculine nudity occurred and then his entire appearance changed. Gone were the shoes, jeans, and T-shirt. In their place was a set of rock hard masculine architecture and an absurdly small mankini that barely covered that one special place.

Neira gasped loudly at him, a large air bubble floated to the surface. She had seen something truly interesting.

Rhea stared at Scott for a moment then a slow pink tinge rose upon her cheeks. How bold of him...

Scott stretched then turned in place. “Whoa, this is so much better that it’s almost scary...”

He could move almost like normal and even spoke aloud under water without using the party chat. A thought occurred to him. “Does this mean that I can use my magic now?”

“I would be careful with your type of magic. Elemental energies can have dangerous effects when you are underwater.” said Rhea.

Scott nodded to her. “I should probably test them out before we get into a fight.”

“Good idea.” said Rhea.

The sorcerer decided to try his fire spell first. He did not expect much to happen and that was exactly what he received, nothing much. “Burn!” exclaimed the man. A tiny dart of flame shot from his hand, but it did not detonate. It made it less than an arm’s length away before dissipating.

“Well, fire magic is right out.” said the man.

“Yeah, you would need a very high-tier fire spell for it to work underwater.” said Rhea.

“Any idea what the other spells would do? I suspect my flash spell would be dangerous to use.” asked the man.

“Yeah, do not use a short range electrical spell underwater, Scott!” said Ero. The fairy fluttered around him a little and fussed about.

“Long range electrical attacks would be fine?” he asked.

“It depends on the power and range! You could injure yourself. Though, firing off those sorts of spells into the water when you aren’t in it will greatly increase the effect.” explained the tiny girl.

“Thanks, Ero.” said Scott.

The little fairy smiled brightly at him then shook her head. “I just don’t want my BFF to be hurt.”

Scott shared a smile with his tiny little best friend. The fairy girl giggled, sending air bubbles to the surface.

Rhea looked at the touching scene then smiled briefly for a moment as well before her expression changed to a slight frown. Why were things so easy between those two? Recently things had been strange between her and Scott.

The issue with those idiots from the Corpse Rat guild had been a source of tension. Why couldn’t they just go back to being close and sweet like before? Honestly, it had made her frustrated and annoyed with the man.

The elf girl looked to the laughing duo then sighed softly. She looked at the hot pink bikini strap thing then nodded. Right, worry about the current task first.

Rhea equipped her Pink Typhoon, the name of the garment. A brief modest of glorious elven nudity occurred then the strap appeared. It wrapped between her thighs, up across her breasts, and then back over her shoulders. It formed a V-shape in the front and hooked together at the back.

Scott stopped chatting with Ero for a moment after he caught sight of Rhea. In fact, he stopped everything for a moment. His brain had seized up and refused to work.

The elf girl started to blush after noticing his intense gaze, but her expression shifted to the icy mask that she had worn of late. She refused to let a little thing like being nearly naked, hold her back.

However, she did have to ask one question. “So, what do you think, Scott?”

The sorcerer’s mouth opened then closed and then opened once more. “...I would tell you what I’m thinking, but you would either kill me or marry me.”

Rhea’s frozen expression cracked slightly as another blush attempted to creep onto her features. She controlled the impulse with great effort. “Good. Shall we go to battle then? Follow me...”

The girl did not wait for his response. Instead, she turned and began to swim away in a powerful and graceful manner.

Scott blinked slowly then his eyes widened like a startled owl. He had not known that curves could be so curvy!

The sorcerer swam after her at all possible speed. Soon they left Neira behind and had to turn around to claim her. The mermaid had not moved once since Rhea had changed outfits.

“Neira?” asked the man.

“So pretty...” said the mermaid. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was slack and open.

Scott took her by the wrist then started to swim away with her. It took several seconds before the girl began to swim properly on her own.

The party took off at a decent speed, similar to a moderate jog. The day wore on and soon twilight was upon them. Neira seemed to have no trouble seeing in the underwater gloom, but Scott was having severe trouble. Whatever magic allowed him to breathe, move, and not wrinkle like a prune did not allow him to see in the dark underwater. That would be a problem when it came time to fight the Shar-Shar. At the moment Ero kept random monsters away, but that would not work for the fish men in their own village.

“I can barely see.” said Scott.

“What?” asked Neira. The mermaid stopped swimming and looked around in confusion. She could see just fine.

Rhea swam toward Scott. “Take my hand, OK? I can still see fine for now.”

The sorcerer gently clasped her hand and the girl smiled in response. Scott and Rhea swam slowly toward Neira. The speed of movement had dropped due to having to hold hands.

“You really can’t see? Did you get octopus ink in your eyes?” asked Neira curiously.

“I don’t see very well underwater to begin with, but it’s getting dark too.” said Scott.

“Right? Oh. I guess we need to, like, do something about that.” Neira considered the situation carefully for a moment.

“We, like, need to reach my village and see where the Shar-Shar went. I, so, don’t think we can afford to lose the whole night.” said the mermaid.

“Scott can’t see in the sea, though.” said Ero. She fluttered around her BFF and Rhea in a figure eight pattern.

“Like, hold on. Give me a minute, K?” Neira looked around the area for a moment then nodded. A smile lit her features.

“I think there is something here than can totally help.”

“Something here?” asked Rhea. She looked around and saw nothing but water.

“Shyeah, totally.” Neira pointed off toward the left. “There’s an island over there. Sometimes the monsters there items that can let people do things better in the water.”

“Are they strong?” asked Scott. He was all for chasing after a better solution to their situation.

“Well, no. It’s just a hangout for Shar-Shar.” said Neira.

Rhea squeezed Scott’s hand. The Shar-Shar were higher in level than either of them at the moment, but if they could fight on land, monsters like that were within their range due to their enhanced stats. “We should give it a try.”

“Totally.” said Scott with a smirk. They could use the practice fighting the Shar-Shar anyway.

Neira smiled at him and then at Rhea. “That, so, works for me. The better you two can fight in the water, the better chances my people have. Right?”

“Right.” said Ero. She wanted to remind everyone that she was there too, after all.

In agreement, the group began swimming toward the island. On the way, Scott asked about the local Shar-Shar that hung out at the island.

“Oh, don’t worry. They aren’t with the Shar-Shar who attacked my village. They’re a different group.” said Neira.

Scott had been concerned that they might warn the main group of Shar-Shar. “Speaking of the ones who attacked your people... Won’t they be more alert since I killed one of them?”

Neira laughed musically, a shower of bubbles erupted and rose toward the surface of the ocean. “They’re a bunch of pirates and thugs. They would, totally, be mad that I escaped since they want mermaids to have their babies, but they would not chase me down. They are, so, not into confrontation if they can lose.”

“Does everything in the ocean want to have children with mermaids?” asked the man. Her people must be quite exhausted by now.

Neira giggled sweetly. “Well, it’s either a mermaid or a scylla for guys like the Shar-Shar. There are, like, a bunch of all-male species that have to capture girls.”

“And mermaids aren’t into Shar-Shar?” asked the man.

“Like, as if! That’s just gross. Would you want to have babies with a fish?” asked Neira.

Scott glanced at her tail as it gracefully thrust her forward through the water. He had to admit, if he was not currently interested in a certain someone, he might very well be inclined toward having babies with a fish.

Rhea noticed his peculiar form of male gaze and squeezed his hand gently. Scott squeezed it in turn and she smiled once more.

The nearby island turned out to be quite some distance away. Neira’s definition of nearby was a good hour long journey. Admittedly, they would have arrived sooner if they could have swum faster.

As they drew close to the island the music grew quiet. Soon it changed to a tropical beat with steel drums playing.

“Like, we’re here. The Shar-Shar should still be half-asleep but heading onto the beach since they mostly come out when it’s dark.” said Neira in an informative manner.

Scott swam up to the surface and looked out over the water. On the beach up ahead there were dark figures moving around near a small fire. He moved down into the water and returned to his comrades. “Yeah, there is something moving over that way. Strange that I could see them, but they were there.”

“Why would it be strange?” asked Rhea.

“Huh? Well, don’t monsters just spawn randomly?” asked Scott.

“Not always. If it’s a dedicated base for a race, like a village, they would be visible. If you had any survival skills you’d be able to see them anyway.” said the elf girl.

Scott snorted at her. “Good to know. Hopefully I’ll finally learn those skills soon. I didn’t want to spend a decade hunting grass rats just to get started.”

Rhea smiled at him. “Well, you would have gained enough stat increases to move up to something else in a year or so. You wouldn’t have absolutely had to fight rats by then.”

The sorcerer gave her a sour expression. Maybe some people thought that the true measure of a gamer and adventurer was a desire to kill the exact same monster for years on end. He had always defined success by how quickly and efficiently he overcame opponents.

He did not mind grinding, loved it in fact. However, he always preferred fighting bosses with skill and precision instead of grinding till he could one shot them. It ruined the fun of the game when the boss wasn’t a challenge.

He would much rather find its weakness and exploit it than simply go all overpowered badass on it. Victory brought about due to game mechanics that allowed the hero character to essentially cheat their way through did not give him satisfaction.

Growing stronger by killing pathetic scrubs that cannot possibly harm him while the boss was forced to remain the same with no chance of growth was the hallmark of the modern hero. That had always been a part of games, but Scott had preferred to focus on finding the spell or the sword, or the anything, that was the enemy’s weakness.

Grind until you are a threat, and then use your knowledge and skill to wreck their shit. It was much more fun for him that way. It was a gaming style that allowed him to essentially beat any game in a pathetically short amount of time. That was also how he marked his success in a game. His gamer skill-set had always been about playing the game and defeating the boss as efficiently as possible.

He did not need to have the highest level ever, and he could always spend time after finishing the game searching for rare things or one more cool widget. But dammit, there were worlds to save and princesses who needed help but never gave the hero any of that sweet tender goodness that was promised throughout the game. Sometimes he even wondered if that last tidbit was the real meaning of Nintendo Hard. Seriously, did Link or Megaman ever get mega-laid?

Sadly, he had begun to think of himself as a dying breed of gamer due to his gaming tendencies and overall inclination. Most games in the current era simply forced the player to grind forever, and people thought that doing so equaled great game play. There were a few that avoided that, but they were precious gems in a sea of lost time that would never be regained.

Scott shook his head. No, he did not care that he lost out on a handful of stats by not grinding at a low-level for years on end. He was eternal now. What was a few hundred stat points compared to infinite respawn capacity? If he could only die once, he would still be punching rats to this day. That was not the case, however. It was not like he could not just grind at another spot that allows him the exact same level of ability point development, but at an accelerated pace. “I’m learning.”

“Learn faster.” said Rhea, a sweet smile on her lips. She could not know of Scott’s thoughts in the last few seconds, but she could guess.

Scott took her hand and gently pulled her close to him. He slipped one arm around her waist then smiled gently. “Teach me...”

Rhea’s face began to heat up despite the coolness of the water. Why had he become bold so suddenly? “Scott...”

“You wouldn’t do me like Zelda would you?” he asked suddenly. Scott gazed upon Rhea with wide and curious eyes. His expression was one of hope and longing.

The elf girl gaped at him. What the heck was he talking about? “Uhm...?”

Ero suddenly giggled loudly then shook her head. She was not one hundred percent sure, but she suspected that she knew what Scott meant. She could share his memories directly after all.

Neira looked between them, uncertain what to say, if anything. That cuddle-session had come out of nowhere. She fanned her tail a little then pouted. She could use a hug and a few private lessons too. Who those lessons would come from was not really important to her, either.