Chapter 147: Boy Cat and Scientist

Chapter 147: Boy Cat and Scientist

/The oceans are deep, dark and treacherous. Lady Gahna and Lord Leyvo may protect those who sail across it, if their mood is right, but rarely will they extend their protections beyond the depths. Down there, it is lawless.

Most surface dwelling species rarely venture deep into the oceans and their eternal war. The only humanoid species able to live there are the sipisc. They have evolved to fit the unique circumstances, and more details will be given about their society in later chapters of this publication.

For now, however, I wish to talk about what makes the oceans so dangerous. There are a few factors to it. Namely, their size, but also the low amount of sapient creatures in it, as well as the unique conditions in many places.

Most parts of the ocean which are close to the surface or coastal areas are tame. Calm. The horrors of the deep rarely, if ever, approach. Coral reefs with beautiful colours flourish, and the fish are small enough to be caught by fishers, as long as the populations are kept under control. It is still a brutal game of survival, but it is beautiful.

However, further out from the coast, things are different. Never trust a bed of water whose bottom you cannot see. The oceans are hostile to land-dwellers. Cruel and unkind. Bereft of the air we need to live, and full of creatures with strange abilities we are not used to.

That is why most ships will come equipped with a few very high levelled individuals with powerful Skills and specialised equipment. Fighting off an elymbreer without such personnel on board is impossible.

The truth about the ocean is that even our words begin to fail to describe it. We call so many of its creatures simply as leviathans. It means nothing, except telling us the creature is large. But they may have any shape, strange ones, alien ones.

Which is why you should never trust a bed of water whose bottom you cannot see. Because the depths are horrifying and indescribable.

Now, I will attempt to give a simple summary of why those depths are horrible. On the surface, the land-dwelling species seek out arches to clear them. Stop their anchoring, or keep it under control before it may turn into a mar. Underneath the water surface, no such treatment is given.

Arches do not stop for fear of water. They will anchor to reefs, to underwater mountains, to bays of sand, and sometimes, to the backs of leviathans. They will corrupt, transform, and eat away at all life, spewing out endless contingents of monsters to devour each other and grow, and grow, and grow.

Because the oceans are so vast, we cannot close all arches. Nor do people try. The sipisc wage an eternal war to keep what little territory they have claimed, some helped by leviathans they have pacts with. But deep down, no one knows what lurks, or when it may emerge to the surface.

Which is why you should never trust a bed of water whose bottom you cannot see.

Always beware of what lurks in the deep. Its eternal war breeds power, both of the invaders, and the defenders. The creatures down there are incredible. Dense muscles, chitin plating, cores with power beyond measure, and venom so strong a drop could kill a city.

Fear the deep waters. And never, ever trust a bed of water whose bottom you cannot see./

An excerpt from "The Depths" by Leomond Illicio.

- - - - - -

Nicolai Tesla was a hard worker. He had always been such. And thus, he was hard at work when the doors to his lab burst open. Which immediately caused his fingers to slip from the loud noise, making him knock over a beaker, which caused a very mild amount of lightning to slam him straight in the face.

He frowned slightly as he turned around, soot covering his features. "Yes, Chione?"

The young researcher looked at Tesla, a smile creeping onto his face, as he revealed a pair of canine fangs. "You should see the look on your face, mate. No, important info, we picked up a huge astral wave, something big probably collapsed." He spoke with this world's equivalent of an aussie accent.

Immediately, the mild annoyance was wiped off Tesla's face. "What do you mean a big astral wave?"

"Sensors went wild, it completely overloaded them. We got very little idea what caused it, but it soon ebbed off. Then there were a couple smaller waves. Best guess we got is from a couple people destroying something and then getting thrown all over the continent," Chione commented, leaning against the wall, safely out of distance from the chemicals.

"Show me!" Tesla asked, his wide, toothy smile the only patch of white in his face.

With a nod, the beastkin researcher headed off, strutting through the hallways while explaining further. "The smaller waves, people, we assume, all landed in different places. Also all made different size ripples. One of 'em is far bigger than the others. It popped up in Treyno, small city in Nevarzahri. Might be worth checking it out?"

Tesla nodded along as they rapidly made their way through the hallways, listening in to some extra details until they reached the astral observatory. He quickly made his way to the screens and looked over all the data. His grin grew some more.

Ideas were already sprouting in his head. What could it be? He hadn't heard any special news from Treyno, so it couldn't have been a very showy event. Perhaps something had appeared unbeknownst to the public?

If the waves it cast in the astral were this large, they could find it. If they could find it, perhaps Tesla finally had an avenue to get his pigeon back. They had been entirely unable to field an astral exploration team, and whatever the object was, whether a person or an item, it was sure to advance their research.

"Perfect," he muttered under his breath, then out much louder. "Perfect! We must go there right this instant! Begin charging the long-range teleporters, I want to be as close to Treyno as soon as possible!!" He knocked on the table thrice to ensure good luck.

That wasn't a joke, it was his luck threshold bonus ability. Knocking on a hard surface thrice let him gain better luck for whatever had struck his inspiration that moment. He shook his head, banishing the thoughts about his system and centered his mind.

Now, what would he need to bring to find whatever was making those waves?

- - - - - -

Imagine Mercury's surprise when, after a few days of relaxing, he opened his door to a dozen people in lab coats and some guy who looked exactly like sexy fantasy Tesla. He shut it again a moment later with a serenely calm expression on his face. Then, he resolutely opened the window, and jumped out.

As he'd feared, he was soon being chased by a dozen people in lab coats and sexy fantasy Tesla, which was an extremely awkward position to be in. The absolutely radiant smile that seemed to threaten to split poor fantasy Tesla's face in half didn't help either.

Only a few corners later, he yelled back at them. "I'm not buying anything! Nor joining your cult!"

"We're not a cult!" one of them yelled back. "This is for science!!"

Mercury paled. They were gonna commit unspeakable acts upon him.

"I swear we just wanna talk!" sexy fantasy Tesla said, but the manic grin on his face said otherwise.

Wherever he had glands, meaning mainly his paw pads, Mercury was sweating buckets now. He would seemingly be forever trapped in a chase scene with these people. But they kept yelling at him, trying to make conversation.

"We noticed you caused a wave in the astral! Did anything weird happen to you recently?!" one of the lab coat wearers yelled after him.

"Nope, nothing! I am perfectly innocent and have nothing to do with anything like that!" he yelled.

"Really now? All our sensors are going absolutely wild at your existence! Please, just spare us 5 minutes of your time!" Tesla pleaded.

Fuck, he didn't wanna be like Thomas Edison either and frick over a good man. Reluctantly, he crouched and leapt up the side of a building in only a few hops. "Stop!" he yelled down, and somehow, albeit with a few scientists toppling over each other, the horde did stop.

"We may converse," Mercury said in his most grave tone, "however it must be on my terms!"

"Yes, of course, whatever you need!" Tesla agreed without hesitation. He was still smiling, but from slightly closer, Mercury felt like he could see a desperate fire burn in his eyes.

"Good. Then I shall require a great offering of salami."

"Please, get us some salami so the cat may feast!" Tesla ordered, mimicking the seriousness of Mercury.

The mopaaw in question however now had his eyes veeeeeery firmly on Tesla. He'd said cat. For sure, he'd said cat. Which was something no one from this world ever said. So he might be a reincarnator…

"Are you, by any chance, Nikola Tesla?"

The scientist in question now had his eyes even more firmly on Mercury. The cat had called him Nikola. For sure, he'd said Nikola. Which was something no one from this world ever said. So he might be a reincarnator!

"I am, however, I am also not. My name is Nicolai. Nicolai Tesla. Inventor, engineer, and very passionate pigeon searcher," he gave a deep bow.

Mercury looked down upon the man for a short moment, then asked again, tentatively laying down on the roof. "So why are you all chasing after me?"

"Ah, yes, that. We have recently detected a wave in the astral. My primary goal, and my main quest as of this moment, is to resurrect my dearest Anna, my pigeon. She means so very much to me, but her mind is lost in the astral, and we have yet to find ways to navigate it. Something in Treyno caused waves in the astral, and we came here to look for it, and found you, giving off powerful astral signatures, so we must speak to you. I must speak to you."

"Well, congrats on step one, we are indeed talking," Mercury said, huffing in slight amusement as he thought over what sexy Tesla had said. He was creating ripples in the astral. What exactly was the astral?

Given that his <Astral Body> was a representation of himself in his dreams, he was fairly sure those and "the astral" were the same. Which meant that the wave they measured would be him very suddenly being shunted from wherever the heck the ashen plains were and reappearing in Treyno.

"Indeed we are! May I inquire as to your name?" Tesla asked, still shouting up from the floor to the rooftop.

One of Mercury's ears flicked lightly at the loud sound. "You can speak more quietly, I can hear you just fine," he said. For a moment he considered whether stats influenced perception, but maybe they simply influenced Skill effectiveness. "But yes, I'm Mercury. Mercury Rainfall Starlight," he said.

"I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Mercury!" Tesla said, bowing again. "Do you truly have no idea why you would be causing such reactions from our sensor?"

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to be tentatively honest. "I believe I have an inkling. But I won't tell you the slightest bit about it until you promise me there will be nothing done to abduct me or force me to talk about things I would rather not talk about."

"Abduct? Goodness, no! We're scientists, not barbarians. No, no, nothing you wouldn't agree to. I'm looking for your help, first with a few questions, and perhaps with a mission if our suspicions prove correct. But that's all business, and obviously you have the option to not partake," Tesla explained.

Yep, that was definitely 21st century scientist behaviour. If Mercury had been unsure before, this more than settled it. "Alright," he then agreed. "I'd be willing to hear you out."

It took a little while for the other scientists to come back, but they had booked a restaurant for Mercury and Tesla to have a private chat. They also suggested installing sound mufflers, but Mercury more than heavily declined, still trusting them only tentatively.

Instead, he asked to have the chat in the local gloryhall, where his safety would be guaranteed by all present seekers, to which Tesla agreed. His posse would have to stay outside, though. Which put Mercury even more at ease. Now, the board was highly weighted in his favour if this was a trap.

Was he being paranoid? Yes, absolutely. But he'd been put in positions with little agency before, and he was not exactly eager to repeat the experience this time. He'd just gotten back his freedom, and had to visit many of his friends again. No chance he compromised the chances of that by taking silly risks.

So, once they were both seated in the gloryhall, one on a chair, the other on top a log on a chair, which Tesla noted had definite spatial magic going on around it, they started talking.

It took a while for Tesla to explain it all, but he eventually got it across. Okay, the story really wasn't super complicated. After coming to this world, he had soon found a new pet pigeon. The system even called it that, and he knew it was the perfect bird for him.

They had been best friends for years, the pigeon gaining levels alongside him. Then, a servant fell onto her and she died.

"So," Mercury repeated, "what you need me to do is essentially tell you as much about the 'astral' as I know about it, and then, maybe, if you find no one else, go explore it for the mind of your dead pigeon so you can revive it?"

"Her, but yes, essentially," Tesla nodded, leaning forward with his hands wrapped around each other. "So, what do you say?"

"Do I get paid for this?" he asked.

"Ah, yes, of course. We'd never ask for free work. We can provide magical tools, coin, ask us and we shall see about building it," the scientist said with a smile. He seemed confident. Almost cocky.

"Can you make me a device to have me teleport anywhere on the continent?" Mercury asked in return.

Tesla scoffed lightly. "Sure, if you have enough mana to power it. Otherwise you'll need cores, or an amount of time longer than just walking there yourself. By the time you have enough mana to teleport using technology without extra mana batteries, you won't need it anymore."

"Hmmmm, then I dunno what I need," Mercury said.

Tesla's face fell. "Sorry?" he asked

"I said I'm unsure. I don't have anything super special I need," he said. "I'm honestly fine just exploring this world. I mean, sure some gadgets would be cool, but nothing that I would really compromise my own exploration for. I've got people to see, Nicolai."

For a moment, Tesla remained quiet, leaning his head on his forearm. "Yes," he said. "I understand. That's alright. I just… I suppose back to work as usual. Still have to perfect the synthetic body technology, anyways."

"Synthetic what now?" Mercury perked up.

"Ah, the synthetic body technology. The… remains of my dear Anna would not exactly be suitable to house her noble mind once again. Therefore, we have been hard at work to attempt the construction of biologically functional yet entirely mindless bodies to house her once she returns," Tesla explained.

Mercury's ears twitched lightly. "So, what do you need to create a body?"

"Quite a small part of the original organism. A feather would suffice, for example, though live flesh is certainly preferred over dead material," Tesla leaned back.

"I see," Mercury's face sunk a little again. He grimaced. The scientist was… a lot like him, even if he didn't want to admit it. Clinging onto the idea of resurrecting friends. "Say, what exactly constitutes something being a good body to house a mind?"

"Well, for starters, you want the overall shape and weight distribution of the body to be very similar. It is also best if the body somewhat matches their stat distribution. Which is what makes it nigh on impossible to revive anyone of a high level," Tesla explained.

Mercury let out a small sigh. "I suppose someone who's been dead for more than six seasons with no biological material to be found would be difficult to bring back?"

"Impossible, at least for me. There is also no guarantee of their mind even still subsisting. Given all we know, the astral can be a very unforgiving place."

"Mhm," Mercury nodded, thinking back to the starving dream he'd killed. "Yes, I can confirm that for you. Some parts are kind, but it can become very unforgiving very quickly." He shook his head for a moment. "How long has your pigeon been dead for?"

The question made Tesla grimace. "Long. Multiple chapters. I do not have high hopes of her mind still existing in the astral, but she was also clever. Perhaps there is some part of her that's left, which I may be able to give another chance at life. It may not be the same… but I wish to do my due diligence," the scientist said, a frown tugging at his lips.

Mercury was silent for a little while. He needed to… process it all a bit. Knowing that Second and Gladiator were gone for good really sucked. Like really, really sucked.

He hadn't really been expecting to revive them for a long while now. The decision to try had come from a place of grief. After going through the whole experience in the ashen plains, he felt like he was somewhat ready to let go. Maybe.

With some conscious effort, he forced himself to take a couple deep breaths. They'd been gone for a while, so getting the news didn't exactly hurt. It was… frustrating? No, not really that. Really, the news just felt sad. Like the loss he'd been putting off would really settle in now.

It wasn't like he'd known the wolves for super long, but as the one to make them leave the forest, he kind of felt responsible for them. Could he have seen the Blood Eclipse coming? No, of course not, that would be silly to expect. But without his intervention, they would've never left the forest.

Taking another deep breath, Mercury let out a long, long sigh. It wasn't his fault. He knew that, he had to accept that. He had to… let go. At least he'd try his best to.

Letting out another sigh, he opened his eyes again, looking at the scientist in front of him. He noticed bags under his eyes, tiredness that clung to him underneath the manic excitement of a possibility. He was just like Mercury had been.

Perhaps, however, there was still a chance to give the nascent mind of Anna another life, as silly as it was.

"Tesla, I will be very honest with you here," Mercury said slowly. "The astral, as you call it, is much bigger than you think. Much, much bigger. In fact, the chances of me ever finding your pigeon, even if I actively search, are astronomically low," he explained, watching the grave look settle on Tesla's face.

Leaning forward a bit, he continued. "I also want to make it very clear that you should be letting go at this point. If there is something left of her mind, it's not gonna be the same bird as before. But." He took a pause. "If, and it's a very big if, I find her, I'll do my best to bring her back to you. I can't specifically search for her, that would be borderline suicidal. But if we stumble upon each other, I will try to bring her back."

The glow in Tesla's eyes was different than before. Mercury didn't know why he could identify it, perhaps he had simply spent long enough talking to a blob of water that reading expressions had become second nature, or it had something to do with his progress in ihn'ar.

Whatever the case, he knew it was no longer the same manic, hope-filled look. It was a warm glow. Having his expectations curbed seemed to have helped.

"I appreciate that, Mercury," the scientist said. "I really do. I, uh… I think I might need some time to think this over. I really appreciate the favour. If there's ever something I can do for you, please let me know and I'll try my best. I know you're not making huge promises, but it means a lot to have an astral expert at hand."

Mercury had to hold back a chuckle at being called an expert, but he stifled it. Instead, he held out a paw, extending it in front of his body. "Pleasure meeting you, Tesla. If you picked up any other waves, those were probably my friends, no need to pursue them, I did all the astral stuff."

The scientist gave a wry smile at the gesture, then grasped the cat's paw and shook it. "Good to meet you as well."

"Indeed. Though I do have a question. Did Edison really steal your ideas?"

Tesla smirked, and lifted an eyebrow. "Thomas? Why, I haven't heard that name in a while." He twirled his moustache. "I would have to tentatively agree."

And after a longer conversation about their old lives back on Earth, Mercury retreated up into his room and meditated while eating some of the salami he was offered.

As he ate he made up his mind. He'd start making sure everyone knew he was alive first thing tomorrow. Well, perhaps second thing, after saying goodbye to Kintra.