Chapter 45 - Weirdo Class

The world serpent was perhaps the threat Daniel feared the most. 

It was a force of nature, a being from prehistoric times so large it could circle most countries. A creature he'd sketched into his worldbuilding document in a few casual paragraphs, never intending for it to actually matter to the story. It wasn't meant to wake up, only exist as an interesting part of the world he created—background lore to make things feel deeper, more ancient.

Now it was real. And awake. And fighting a mermaid queen.

But why had no one noticed it, outside of the mermaids?

Daniel stared out at the ocean, watching waves roll gently against the pylons. Somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, a creature too large to comprehend was moving through the seas. And the surface world had no idea.

The oceans of this world were far deeper than those on Earth, which could explain part of it. But he expected massive levels of destruction everywhere, or at the very least, some massive waves reaching the continents.

The only positive in this was that the two disasters were fighting each other instead of wreaking havoc on humanity.

Daniel ran a hand through his damp hair, tugging slightly in frustration.

Of course Velkor's prophecy had to be real! But what am I supposed to do? I’m strong, but I can’t imagine being at that level.

Artorias will return one day, when the world needs him most. To quell the forces of evil.

The prophecy was clear. Perfectly set up for a hero's journey. But could these beings even be considered evil?

They were potential disasters, but that didn’t make them evil. The world serpent just followed its instincts, and the mermaid queen only protected her people, defending them against an invasion they hadn't asked for.

"Danil…"

Merry's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Merry need formeeshon."

"Give me a second, Merry…" He held up a hand, still staring at the horizon. "I need to think."

Of the two, he'd rather see the queen win. That much was obvious. She could be reasoned with—she was intelligent, capable of strategy, capable of learning. And she had no real reason to attack humans, not unless they gave her one.

And if he could help her defeat the serpent, prevent it from eventually turning its attention to the surface world when it ran out of underwater prey, all the better.

Daniel took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the salt air. Decision made.

"...Merry, I'm willing to teach you as much as you want about formations." He turned to look at her properly, meeting those bright green eyes. "I think we need to work together to defeat that big big eel. If your queen needs formations to have a better chance, she will have the greatest formations in the world."

"Yes!" Merry bounced on her tail. "Merry agrees! Will you teach?"

"I will, I promise, but let me ask a few questions first." He needed to understand what he was committing to, what resources he'd need, how much time they had.

Merry's enthusiasm dimmed slightly as suspicion crept into her expression. "...This is not trick to ask more kveestions?"

"No, I just need to clarify a few things." He spread his hands, showing he meant no harm. "To understand the situation."

"Then fine," she said slowly, tail swishing once. "I will accept your kveestions."

"How long has the big eel been active?"

"Mmh," Merry's fingers tapped against her tail as she counted, "about ten and four years. Is long fight."

"Oh, wow.” 

Fourteen years was much longer than he expected. With the prophecy, it made more sense for it to be a recent development. But from the perspective of a thousand years, it was.

“And the queen has fought it all this time?"

"Not all this time, but much, yes." Merry's expression grew more serious. "Mermaids have hid in secret places, so mostly safe. But is scary, and many have died."

She made a swimming motion with her hands, showing something approaching, then scattered her fingers outward. "When eel comes close, queen and warriors fight while others flee."

"That sounds terrible…" Entire communities forced to abandon their homes, fleeing into the deep whenever the serpent was close. "Why does she need formations? I assume that's why you're asking for them, to give them to her?"

"Formeeshon can make attack better, we see human mages use." Merry nodded eagerly, leaning forward. "Queen still young, does not use mana well, but has so much. Formeeshon make mana sharper, can maybe kill eel."

Right. The queen was young, hatched only fourteen years ago, and probably still learning her own power. It was an unfair fight.

"That makes sense." Daniel stood up, brushing water from his pants. "Can I maybe speak to the queen instead, to teach her directly?"

"No!" Merry's response was forceful, but then she suddenly calmed. "Queen not like humans much. Is busy. I teach."

Daniel felt his stomach sink. "...Okay."

That was not good news. If the queen was a danger to humans, maybe the best choice was to stay out of the fight instead?

I could travel to find the magic of the spirit king. That should give me a fighting chance against these powers, together with Zoltran and Elania. The Council might be able to help as well.

“Danil?”

Merry's voice was uncertain now. She'd probably seen the doubt cross his face.

"Sorry, Merry, but when you say the queen doesn't like humans, I'm afraid of what might happen after we help you win." He met her eyes, needing to see her reaction. "Does she turn against us, using the formations we gave her?"

"Ah." Merry looked away, curling her tail to look smaller. "...Merry lied."

"...About what?"

"Merry know queen like humans, but…" She fidgeted with her hair, wringing water from the strands nervously. "Is other reason you can't see her. Secret reason. Merry lie to hide secret. Queen would never attack humans without very good reason."

A secret reason?

Daniel's mind immediately started spinning through possibilities. What could prevent a mermaid queen from meeting humans? Did she grow weak on land? Could she only live underwater? Was she hideously ugly, sensitive about her appearance?

Whatever the case, the fact that Merry had lied to him so easily was unpleasant. It might have seemed like a small lie from her position, but it could have massive consequences for humanity.

He’d done the same not much earlier, but that was just a simple way of explaining his impossible knowledge of the world. Protective rather than deceptive.

I can't even trust that the previous part was the lie…

Maybe she was still lying now. Maybe the queen did hate humans.

But he watched Merry's face, saw the genuine worry there, the way her fingers twisted together anxiously. 

She does seem genuine.

Daniel realized he found himself at a crossroads that could decide the future of the mermaid race, and maybe the entire world.

If the queen one day lost her fight, perhaps everything that was stopping the serpent from attacking the land would be gone. The creature would have nothing left to occupy it, nothing to prevent it from surfacing and seeing what else was available to consume.

And if she won after being denied help by the humans, after being forced to sacrifice countless lives because the surface world refused to share knowledge? That could be equally catastrophic.

"...I'm going to trust you, Merry." The words came out firmer than he felt. "Don't make me regret it."

She brightened immediately, bouncing on her tail. "Thank you, Danil! Merry will not disappoint!"

"I'm glad to hear it." Daniel allowed himself a small smile. "So, on to formations."

"Yes!" She pumped her fist again, back to full enthusiasm.

"Does your queen know any formations?"

"Nope!" The answer came cheerfully, without hesitation.

Daniel felt his eye twitch slightly. "...Do you know any?"

"Nope!" Just as cheerful.

He sighed, long and deep, rubbing his temples. "Then this is going to take a while… How much time do you have?"

"Merry can stay here maaaany suns." She spread her arms wide, trying to show the vastness of 'many'. "Tens of tens."

"Many suns, huh?"

He had an idea, though it seemed almost impossible at first glance. But with a closer think, why not?

"Perhaps you'd like to learn formations in the best academy in the world, then?"

Merry tilted her head, confused. "Academy?"

"Yes, you can barely see it over there." He pointed toward the hill where the academy's towers rose against the sky. "The stone buildings on the hill. It's a place where humans learn magic and stuff from older humans."

Merry followed his gesture, squinting at the distant structures. Her expression shifted from confusion to curiosity, then to uncertainty.

"...But… Merry is mermaid?"

"Don't worry, they won't mind much." Probably. Hopefully. Quill might have a heart attack, but he'd manage.

"No, but," Merry gestured at her lower half, "tail?"

"Does it need water?"

She blinked at him, then looked down at her own tail as if seeing it for the first time. "...Merry is not sure."

"Then we can put you in a wheelchair and figure it out from there." The logistics were already forming in his mind—a specially designed chair, maybe with a water tank, regular trips to the ocean. "And I think I know the perfect class to put you in."

The weirdo class was about to get its weirdest student to date.

As long as Quill cooperates, of course.

Though given how the head teacher reacted to his presence, Daniel doubted there'd be much resistance.

-----------------------------

Felicia sat by a desk at the very front of the room, watching the teacher explain the basics of magical beast theory through her mana vision. It was one of the few things she already knew some parts of from her own education, since it affected everyone to some degree. But from the angle of a magical school, it was far more interesting.

“—and this is why the smilo-bird is such a good hunter, it’s virtually undetectable until the moment of attack, and can strike at any place. Luckily for us, they’ve learned not to attack humans.”

The teacher, named Morin, drew a few illustrations on the blackboard behind him. Birds, bears, dragons, whales, ents, moles—everything he had mentioned so far. His drawing skill was impressive, as was his enthusiasm for teaching.

The way the beasts had evolved over time to use their mana instinctively was so intriguing. Efficiency above all, because everything else dies. There was much to learn from it.

Is that how mana sight was discovered as well?

She didn’t ask, because the teacher didn’t know. He didn’t even know what mana sight was until she told him about it. It was a skill lost to time, despite its usefulness to blind people.

The class was not large, consisting of only six students now, including Felicia. She had introduced herself earlier and spoken briefly about what she already knew. The responses were mixed, especially after they heard her family name.

She was the only noble in class.

But it wasn’t all bad. One of the other students, Clarc, let her borrow his books until she got her own. He was the oldest among them, and had been recruited after showing a great talent in telekinesis. But without any earlier education, he was put in this class.

Another two students, Amille and her brother Allisair, had been recruited after an illegal experimentation facility had been raided. They were both covered in tattoos depicting various formations, apparently rescued and brought here to receive a proper education. They didn’t talk much, and when they did, it was quiet.

Then there was Kiara, an obvious troublemaker. She’d looked at Felicia with something between suspicion and resentment when she heard 'Harrowbloom,' and hadn't spoken to her since. So that was all Felicia knew about her.

And lastly, Zoltran. White hair, deep blue eyes, and behaving like a normal child his age. The only recognition he’d given Felicia was a short wink. Other than that, he acted like they were strangers.

Felicia had initially feared she'd be the odd one out. But as she listened to Clarc quietly explain a diagram to the twins, and watched Kiara get scolded for the third time, she realized: they were all odd ones out. She was just another student in this class.

“Felicia,” Morin said, turning his attention to her. “Are there any magical beasts you’d like to know more about?”

“Uhm… Would mermaids count?”

She’d been curious about them since Daniel spoke of them in the elevator. Could they be a potential threat, even to him?

“Oh, that’s more of a myth, really. They would probably count if they do exist, or maybe they would be more akin to elves. But nothing is known about them.” He turned back to the blackboard, writing a vertical line and marking different depths, all the way down to ten thousand meters.

“It’s a good question about sea beasts, though! There is so much we still don’t know about the deep sea. Plenty of confident mages have tried traveling down there, only to find their barriers too weak to withstand the immense pressure. But we believe—”

A knock at the door interrupted Professor Morin mid-sentence. He frowned, checking his pocket watch. “We're not expecting—”

The door swung open, and to Felicia’s great surprise, Daniel appeared, walking backwards through the door.

Before any other thought, she sensed a warm blanket settle over her shoulders. Not a real blanket, of course, just a metaphorical one, letting her breathe properly for the first time in hours.

They had barely been separated at all since the kidnapping, something she only realized after he was gone. But it had filled her thoughts ever since.

“Apologies, mister teacher,” Daniel said casually. “I brought in another new student for you.”

What rolled through the doorway made Felicia's mana sight flare in confusion. The shape was human, seated in a wheeled chair constructed from gold light. But below the waist, where legs should be...

“Merry greetings!”

Danny, what are you doing?

Ch.44 --I-- Ch.46