Water Crystals

In the middle of the night, Li Wei crouched on the lakeshores and dipped the Tear of Fairies in the water. Ripples appeared and soon, he heard the familiar voice of the Lake Fairy.

"Bad human. What do you want this time?"

Li Wei twitched. After interacting with the Lake Fairies, he noticed that they all had different personalities. He did not know their names but he recognized the Lake Fairy as she was the only one who called him 'Bad Human'. She always adopted a defensive stance whenever she spoke to him.

"I talked to my friends earlier. They will be making their way to the Gassian Lake soon but they are quite far from here. It will take them about two days to arrive," said Li Wei.

"Hmmp. I hope your friends are stronger than you or else, it will be pointless. Did you come here just to tell me that?"

Li Wei could see the outline of a tiny head poking out of the water. Under the cover of the night, the Lake Fairies blended almost perfectly with the lake; if it was not for their dark blue eyes, he would have never noticed her.

"I would like to ask whether it will be possible for one of you to guide me to the bandit group. I want to observe the situation from afar first before my friends arrive."

"You seem to have other intentions... What else?" suspiciously asked the Lake Fairy.

Li Wei embarrassedly continued, "Will it be possible for you to give me some fish like last time?"

"I knew you had sinister intentions! Why do you want our fishes? Although they are inferior lifeforms, I won't give them away for no reason."

Li Wei touched his nose. He knew he was stretching the boundaries. He recalled how much exp he got the last time the Lake Fairies help him. A single salmon coming from the depth of the lake gave him 400 exp. Furthermore, the large salmons were easily sold at shops for a high price. He knew the Lake Fairies did not put in much effort in bringing the salmons to him and therefore, he wanted to give it a try and see if he could obtain some benefits while he was here.

"It is a way for me to become stronger. The more salmons I fish, the stronger I'll become. After a while, I will level up. It will be best if I am at a decent level when fighting the bandits, don't you think so?" explained Li Wei. He averted his gaze as he felt like someone coaxing a child.

The Lake Fairy did not immediately answer. She fell into deep thoughts as her sisters spoke directly into her mind. "Give him a few fishes. It won't harm the lake and if it really helps him, then there will be a higher chance of him defeating the dungeon."

After a brief moment of silence, Li Wei finally heard the Lake Fairy's answer. "Throw your line. I'll bring a few salmons."

Li Wei did not hesitate and quickly obeyed. His lips curled up as he tossed the line. He had already prepared for this moment by borrowing some fishing equipment from Andy. However, the situation changed as he pulled up the first Salmon.

It was a level 9 Salmon but to Li Wei's surprise, he did not receive any system prompts like last time.

Nevertheless, he released the Salmon in the bucket of water next to him and threw the line again. This time, he carefully checked the amount of exp he had. When he pulled the next Salmon; no change occurred. His experience bar remained still.

'Looks like they've patched it. Of course, they would not let such a blatant exploit like that. My plan to cheese a few levels has failed,' thought Li Wei.

Under the surface of the lake, the Lake Fairy impatiently looked at Li Wei while holding a Salmon in her hands. 'What is he doing? Can't he take it out already?' She slowly went up to the surface and asked, "What are you doing? I don't have all night."

Li Wei dejectedly turned his attention to the Lake Fairy. "There is no need to continue. I am not getting any experience from this. The system won't allow me to cheat again."

He released the two Salmons back into the Lake under the Lake Fairy's confused eyes. "Are you just playing with me? Bad Human, I am leaving. Talk to my sisters if you have anything else to say."

Li Wei was left alone on the lakeshore, staring at the water. He did not immediately return and enjoyed the peaceful night for a while. He tried to bypass the system but failed miserably. Fortunately, there were no consequences to his failure.

He came here to help the Lake Fairies but he naturally would not let go of opportunities along the way. Recalling his conversation with the Messenger, he asked: "I was wondering. Are you part of those hidden factions? I heard that the water elementals fought for the Abyss."

He was not sure if the Lake Fairies were still here but he still waited for an answer. He held some interest toward the hidden factions. They represented an important part of the lore and were also linked to his Ring of Chaos. To him, they were a shortcut to improving his strength. At the same time, he also knew that mentioning different things to different NPCs had a chance to trigger special quests or events.

"How do you know about this?" A timid and shaky voice rang in Li Wei's head; it was a different Lake Fairy.

"I encountered another faction earlier and they told me about it. They recognized my ring. I suppose you also did, am I right?"

Ripples appeared at the surface of the lake as a small head emerged from the water. "Correct. It is also the reason why we trusted you. Historically speaking, the Abyss has always been allied with Chaos. Even if you reneged your agreement, your faction would pay us back somehow."

Li Wei smiled faintly. Since the Lake Fairy was not denying it, he could directly move to the topic he was interested in. "Then, since you have some knowledge about the factions, do you know how to upgrade my ring?"

"We don't. You should go back and ask other humans how to do so. Alternatively, go North West and you will meet the members of your faction."

"The elves? Can you tell me a little more about them?" asked Li Wei.

"You are trying to get information out of my mouth. Why should I tell you?" pouted the Lake Fairy. By now, she had already stepped out of the water and was floating right in front of Li Wei. Her child-like appearance was extremely deceptive.

Li Wei did not know how to answer. 'Can't she just give me the answers I am looking for?'

"We did prepare a gift for you to help our heir but the situation has changed. Just dealing with a dungeon is not worthy of it."

Li Wei's eyes shone as he heard the word 'gift'. "But won't you go extinct if the dungeon tries to take over the Gassian Lake?"

"No. We will simply ask for help from the higher elementals. Although it will be downgrading, we will survive this crisis." The Lake Fairy knew she successfully enticed Li Wei.

The latter hurriedly spoke: "Then, what should I do to get this gift you mentioned? Do you just want a promise to help that person when the time will come?"

The Lake Fairy displayed a conflicted expression. "I don't know. You don't seem very reliable now. You cannot even deal with the dungeon after we gave you the Tear of Fairies. We can talk about it again afterward if you succeed."

"But would it not be better for me to get stronger before attacking the dungeon?" said Li Wei.

"Maybe but we cannot just give you everything. How about this? Bring us forty Middle-Grade Water Crystals and we will talk about it again."

'D*mn... If you wanted some items, you should have just said it,' internally complained Li Wei. "What are those Water Crystals and where can I find them?"

"Faraway in the West, there's the Endless Archipelagos. If you dive deep down into the sea, you will find these minerals. They are typically found near coral reefs."

Li Wei froze. He almost wanted to swear. The Endless Archipelagos was a different empire from the Dominion Empire. Although the territory the players could access increased significantly, there still existed boundaries between the different empires which also separated the players on the different servers.

"Then, let me message a friend first."

Li Wei quickly opened his interface and messaged Cai Wenji. While players could not travel to other empires yet, the empires still exported their resources; there was a chance that the Water Crystals were available for sale at the cities.

"Hey, leader. I need your help. Are you still at Algate City?"

Cai Wenji's reply came quickly, "What is it? We are making final preparations before leaving tomorrow. We had to rally a few players who were on quests outside."

"I need you to purchase a few items for me. See if they are available. I need Middle-Grade Water Crystals."

"Water Crystals? Let me check."

Cai Wenji went silent for a moment. In the meanwhile, the Lake Fairy's eyes did not leave Li Wei. She was internally smiling. The Water Crystals were not rare items but they would have to put a lot of effort to acquire a few from the higher tier elementals. If she could acquire them from Li Wei for free, the Lake Fairies would become considerably stronger.

After a few minutes, Cai Wenji answered back: "What do you need Water Crystals for? The Low-Grade one is sold at 150 gold and the Middle-Grade one costs 340 gold. These are their retail prices. We might be able to lower it a bit but why do you need materials that come from another empire. On top of that, it comes from the newly open areas meant for level 30 players...."

Li Wei turned to look at the Lake Fairy who was innocently floating above the lake. "I might be able to get some but I don't have enough money to buy them..."

"Money? Humans only think of gold. We have a lot of gold at the bottom of the lake. As long as you bring them here, we will give you as much gold as you would like."

"Really? Then there should not be any problem then."

He opened back the messages and answered back: "It's for another quest. Can you bring forty Middle-Grade Water Crystals with you when you come here? I'll pay you back."

"40? That's a lot! More than 10000 gold. Avalanche does not have that much money to spend. At most, I can get you ten Water Crystals. If I take out more than that, I'll be scolded by the elders."

Li Wei frowned. 10000 gold was indeed a substantial amount of money. The guilds at this stage could not afford to spend that much on. For a single individual to be able to take out about 3000 gold was already pushing the boundaries.

"I cannot get you forty. Ten is my limit but I might be able to bring a few more afterward," said Li Wei.

"Ten? That's better than nothing. Bring the Water Crystals first and then we'll talk about it."

"Alright. I'll prove I'm a man of my words."

He quickly messaged Cai Wenji: "Please buy as many as possible. I will give you the money when you arrive. Can't you ask your elders about it? I am bound to your guild anyway; it's not as if I can run away with the items."

"I can't. There are several projects taking place. Taking out 3000 gold will already impact the guild to some extent. Furthermore, there is also the issue of safety. What if the quest fails and we all die? All the gold will go to waste," answered Cai Wenji.

"I get it. Thanks for the efforts though," said li Wei.

Cai Wenji closed his interface as he turned his attention back to the pile of documents in front of him. As his father and the majority of the elders of his family left to spread their influence to the nearby towns, he was the one who ended up with all the paperwork. Normal players could not directly contact him but as Li Wei was officially a member of the core team, he had this privilege.

"3000 gold... Just what does he need that much for? And he claims he can pay me back fully immediately? Since father and sister trust him and want me to build a relationship with him, I will agree this time. I hope he is not trying to trick me..."