Chapter 39: Extra Special — Mermaid Flesh

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The side quest “Secret Oath of the Immortal Lake” was an exceptionally worthwhile quest in the early game. It was not especially difficult, yet the rewards were quite generous. Upon completing it, one could choose two prizes from Snow Night Yaksha Princess’s treasury.

The Lake Mistress’s treasury contained all manner of treasures. After completing the quest, new players would usually select either the B+-rank treasured blade “Brahma Maru” or the A-rank cursed implement “Divine Convenience and Demon-Poisoning Sake.”

The former was a treasured blade imbued with the spiritual attributes of wind, fire, water, and earth, and it came with four powerful skills, each corresponding to one of those elements.

The latter, “Divine Convenience and Demon-Poisoning Sake,” was an exceptionally powerful support item. When used on oneself, it granted immunity to poison damage, and against enemies of the demon attribute, it could greatly weaken them and amplify the damage they received.

Those were generally the rewards chosen by beginners. But for an old player like Baijie, neither of them was worth taking.

The problem with Brahma Maru was that it consumed far too much spiritual power. Only an exorcist with tremendous reserves of spiritual energy could truly bring out its strength.

As for Divine Convenience and Demon-Poisoning Sake, merely equipping it would reduce one’s health and lower one’s stamina as well.

At this stage, Baijie needed to choose the reward that would benefit him most.

“Whether I pass the trial or not, the two rewards I’ll choose are definitely the ‘Everlasting Fruit’ and the ‘Earth-Shrinking Talisman.’”

The Everlasting Fruit was a wondrous fruit said in the legends of the island nation to grant long life.

In the game, however, the Everlasting Fruit was one of the exceedingly rare enhancement items capable of raising the upper limit of a character with a low base-stat ceiling.

Put simply, in The Light of the Hazy Moon, certain battles allowed the player to select different companions. Yet every companion had a different star rating and stat panel.

Some characters were simply weak by nature and were not worth investing resources into.

The Everlasting Fruit existed to change precisely that.

As for the Earth-Shrinking Talisman, it could be called a life-saving divine artifact during the early game.

“With these two rewards in hand, I’ll have gained at least something from the side quest ‘Secret Oath of the Immortal Lake.’”

Thinking this, he walked outside the tea room.

“As long as you defeat one of my vassals, you will pass this trial.”

Snow Night Yaksha Princess smiled faintly. With a gentle sweep of her long sleeve, a fierce wind blew across the grounds, scattering countless heaps of snow.

Bang! Splash!

A great deal of water burst from the ground outside the tea room.

It was as though a hot spring had been unearthed and transformed into a scalding geyser. Steam roiled as vast quantities of hot water shot into the air, then, unaffected by gravity, condensed into water spheres of various sizes, like bunches of grapes.

One sphere after another joined together, fusing into a transparent aquatic beast shaped like a guardian lion.

“So it’s a Water Tiger.”

Baijie muttered under his breath. His right hand gripped the Seven-Section Spear, and the equipment on his body had also been reproduced by this world formed from mirage energy.

The Water Tiger was originally a monster much like a river imp, dwelling along rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, and all other bodies of water.

In The Light of the Hazy Moon, however, the Water Tiger was similar to a water elemental or water spirit from a Western fantasy world. It was a supernatural creature whose form was constructed from water, and one of the monsters the protagonist’s party encountered in the early stages of their adventures.

A Water Tiger’s strength was close to that of a demon that had achieved true monsterhood. Ordinary junior ninjas often found it difficult to contend with one even when several joined forces. One careless mistake, and a companion could be seized by the Water Tiger and drowned.

‘Put simply, this kind of monster is closer to an amorphous slime. It is merely made of water. No matter how narrow the gap, it can find a way through and continue moving—and it can even turn invisible…’

They also ate humans, with a particular fondness for flesh drained of its blood. Their method was simple: seize a living person, drown them inside their watery body, and then devour them.

“For an exorcist, a Water Tiger is indeed very weak.”

Snow Night Yaksha gave a soft laugh.

“But this Water Tiger under my command is far more powerful than an ordinary wild one. The water within its body is mixed with a paralyzing toxin. If you accidentally come into contact with even a little of it, or if the Water Tiger catches you and traps you inside its body, the battle will end in an instant.”

That was what the Lake Mistress said aloud, but inwardly she was grumbling.

‘What a nuisance~~ The weakest vassal under my command is this Water Tiger. This young man is far too weak. Even if I wanted to go easy on him, I couldn’t find a more suitable opponent for the trial…’

The Lake Mistress of Snow Night Yaksha Lake had never lacked powerful aquatic vassals. Weak ones, however, were exceedingly rare. Considering the young man’s meager spiritual power, he ought to have roughly a sixty percent chance of defeating this Water Tiger.

But she was a bona fide benevolent deity. A trial given to a mortal ought to possess at least some degree of difficulty. It would not do to show such obvious favoritism.

Snow Night Yaksha Princess yawned lazily, like a cat.

Then again, considering the “special” nature of the young man’s identity, providing him with some assistance was also her responsibility.

“Forget it. It’s only a trial. Even if he fails, it won’t matter. I can always think of something later and give him a little help.”

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At the same time, Baijie felt relieved when he saw the Water Tiger appear.

‘Excellent… The trial’s enemy is a Water Tiger. The difficulty has dropped dramatically.’

He reviewed the “cards” in his possession. Against an ordinary monster at the level of a Mountain Man, he would have struggled bitterly, with little chance of victory.

But now, although Baijie did not dare claim absolute certainty, he already had a firm grasp of the situation.

“As long as I’m fighting a Water Tiger, my current strength is sufficient.”

As he thought this, the Water Tiger moved. It immediately launched several water blades at him.

The attack resembled a high-pressure water jet. Anyone struck by one would suffer grievous injuries, if not lose a hand or a foot outright.

Baijie reacted instantly, rolling sideways across the ground. The water blades missed him and sliced through several plum trees behind him.

At that moment, the Water Tiger’s body grew increasingly transparent before vanishing completely, as though it had turned invisible.

Water Tigers possessed a supernatural ability to become unseen. Unlike the invisibility arts, which interfered with perception, this monster concealed itself through optical camouflage.

“I knew you’d use that trick.”

Baijie drew a flash bomb from his belt and hurled it into the air. With a bang, it exploded, releasing an intense burst of light and sound.

This was a “flash bomb” developed by Second Young Miss Gehua through spellcraft. Its radiance was produced by stimulating multiple talismans with minerals filled with yang-aligned energy.

The powerful light released by the explosion also carried the yang force of “revealing truth and dispelling evil.” The instant the Water Tiger became transparent and concealed itself, the light exposed its true form.

Baijie strengthened his arm with spiritual energy and hurled the spear in his hand.

The long spear pierced through the Water Tiger’s body like a bolt of lightning. It was useless, however. The spearhead had merely lodged itself inside the slime-like monster. Since its true body was water, it naturally suffered no injury.

“This is enough. At least I’ve sealed away your invisibility.”

Baijie pulled out the short blade of a middle-ranked ninja and charged forward with all his strength.

The Water Tiger fired several more water blades. He dodged them, while several others were deflected by the talismans attached to his ninja blade.

Baijie sprinted at full speed. Spiritual energy burst from the soles of his feet, accelerating him until he reached the Water Tiger in a flash.

He did not swing his blade. Instead, he extended his left hand and struck the Water Tiger with all his strength.

No—to be precise, it was the Demon-Breaking Bracer.

In the next instant, the Water Tiger burst apart like a bubble. Countless splashes and droplets scattered in every direction.

“A monster like the Water Tiger possesses no substantial life force. In essence, it is merely a mass of water condensed from supernatural power.”

Baijie understood this perfectly. The Water Tiger was closer to an artificial familiar, a living entity driven by sorcery or some supernatural force akin to a spell formation. In other words, it was itself a form of magic.

“With the Demon-Breaking Bracer and the Spell-Reversal Barrier, destroying this thing is effortless.”

He murmured to himself.

On the other side, Snow Night Yaksha Princess was slightly surprised by what she had witnessed.

“He defeated the Water Tiger that easily?”

It seemed she had still underestimated him.

A trace of amusement hid at the corner of the Lake Mistress’s lips.

…

“Well done.”

Snow Night Yaksha Princess sent him into the treasury.

“Choose three items for yourself from the treasury~~ Hehe, your performance was even more impressive than I expected.”

“Lake Mistress, what was the additional reward you mentioned?”

“We’ll discuss that after you return.”

The Lake Mistress revealed a sly smile.

“Young man, you may look forward to it.”

…

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“She really is mysterious. An additional reward, is it?”

Baijie passed through an ancient, moss-covered doorway and entered a treasury piled high with all kinds of treasures.

These were the treasures gathered by the Dragon God, Snow Night Yaksha Princess. Gold and silver, pearls and agates, luminous pearls, curved jewels, jade artifacts, jeweled ornaments… One heap after another rose like little mountains.

There were also famous blades, treasured swords, armor, and other weapons collected by Snow Night Yaksha, as well as legendary cursed implements, spiritual treasures, scrolls sealing powerful forbidden arts, and countless other objects.

“But none of these things are particularly meaningful to me.”

Drawing on his experience from the game, Baijie located the two items he needed: the Everlasting Fruit and the Earth-Shrinking Talisman.

“Since I can choose one additional reward…”

He pondered for a moment, then took a multicolored stone egg from the treasury.

The stone egg contained an intense vital essence. It was an unhatched egg, heavy in his hand, with a sacred rope wrapped around it. Among the countless treasures, it appeared thoroughly inconspicuous.

But Baijie knew exactly what it was.

“The Dream-Eating Tapir’s Egg.”

Sealed inside the egg was a monster known as the Dream-Eating Tapir. Once hatched, it would become its owner’s familiar.

“This is a wonderful item. In the game, the protagonist used this egg to enter a dreamlike ruin known as the Phantom Yamatai Kingdom, where he obtained a great many treasures.”

After taking the three treasures, Baijie returned through the ancient moss-covered doorway and arrived back in the tea room.

“Oh~~”

The Lake Mistress noticed the stone egg in Baijie’s hands, and her eyes widened slightly.

“Hehe… You certainly know how to choose your treasures. I never expected you to select that one of your own accord—”

“Yes.”

Baijie bowed respectfully.

“Lake Mistress, these three items are all I need.”

“Granted.”

Snow Night Yaksha Princess smiled.

“And I did promise you an additional reward… Here. It’s inside this box.”

She took out a small box and handed it to him.

A talisman seal had been pasted across the lid, covered in incantations that were utterly incomprehensible.

Out of caution, Baijie quickly asked:

“May I know what is inside the box?”

“Of course.”

Covering her mouth with her sleeve, the Lake Mistress laughed.

“Inside is one of my treasured possessions—the flesh of a mermaid.”

Baijie froze. More precisely, he failed to react for a moment.

“…The flesh of a mermaid? Could it be the kind that grants eternal youth and immortality?”

“You are quite right.”

Snow Night Yaksha Princess sighed.

“However, this is the flesh of a mermaid that is about to lose its potency. Eating it will not grant eternal life. In particular, with your body, even if it were genuine mermaid flesh, you would never be able to absorb all the immortal power within it. After swallowing it, you would simply transform into an ugly monster.”

She paused, then looked at him with a solemn expression.

“In truth, mermaid flesh is a kind of curse. To obtain an ageless and undying body, one must pay an enormous price. I deliberately removed the curse and retained only part of its power. That power will allow your body to recover at high speed from any injury it suffers.”

The Lake Mistress, Snow Night Yaksha Princess, added one final clarification: because this was incomplete mermaid flesh, its regenerative power also had limits. If Baijie’s head were blown apart or his heart pierced in a single strike, he would still die.

But so long as the attack was not instantly fatal, his body would slowly mend and heal itself.