Liszt watched as Seven-Colored Whale Rose swam to the Mermaid statue's chest, his gaze fixed on the teardrop-shaped jewel about the size of a fist.
To him, the jewel was far from small. On the contrary, a fist-sized gem was absolutely enormous.
Yet on the Mermaid statue, it was like a speck of diamond worn on her chest, somewhat out of proportion with the statue. Liszt did not reach out and directly remove the pendant hanging from the statue's chest. Instead, he focused and summoned the smoke mission.
"Mission complete. Reward: Mermaid's Tear."
A new mission followed.
"Mission: No one knows who carved the Mermaid statue in the Fish-Ugly Temple. Much history has been swallowed by the river of time. Seize the present—that is what matters most. Perhaps giving this Mermaid's Tear to the sea demon A Ke will have an unexpected effect on her. Reward: Undead Ugly Fish Guard."
"Mermaid's Tear?"
Liszt dismissed the smoke mission, then gently removed the pendant. The cord strung through the Mermaid's Tear rapidly decayed, leaving only the fist-sized, teardrop-shaped jewel.
Now that he looked at it, it truly was shaped like a teardrop.
He had originally planned to keep it and study it slowly. After all, it was a treasure left behind by an ancient race, and perhaps it possessed some immensely powerful effect. But since the smoke mission had offered a hint, the Mermaid's Tear was clearly better suited for A Ke. After briefly turning it over in his hand, he gave the jewel to her.
"A Ke, I can sense rich water-element magic power within this jewel. Looking at its shape, let's call it the Mermaid's Tear. I'll give it to you—perhaps you can study it."
"For A Ke?" A Ke was a little surprised, then smiled happily. "Thank you, Brother.