Fortunately, Kroya had already brought along the crystal beaker containing forty-six drops of waterlight essence in case he encountered the merfolk by the sea.
He took it straight out and said with a smile:
"This is what I refined. Please take a look, Master."
The supremely pure blue essence sparkled in the moonlight, instantly capturing the mermaid's full attention.
The mermaid approached Kroya, practically trembling, her eyes full of rapture as she gazed at the little crystal beaker.
"So beautiful. Three hundred years..."
"Waterlight essence this pure... Goddess above!!!"
She reached out and gently touched the beaker. The poor vessel instantly shattered into invisible dust, while the drops of waterlight essence floated under the influence of her magic.
They were like jewels in an azure sea.
An utterly unnatural flush appeared on the mermaid's face, and wisps of steam even rose from her head. She looked as though she might faint from excitement.
Still, she was an Archmage-level being. She soon calmed down and nodded warmly to Kroya:
"I will honor everything I promised you. In every area your magical beasts and subjects can reach beyond Reef Island, they will have the protection of us merfolk.
There will be no capsizing, no shipwrecks.
You may freely use the sea's naturally occurring resources, so long as you can get your hands on them!"
Having said that, she eagerly plunged into the water with the waterlight essence. With a gentle flick of her tail, she vanished beneath the rippling blue waves.
She left as quickly as she had come.
She had not even said when she would next seek Kroya out to refine more waterlight essence.
Kroya could only shake his head. Fortunately, he had anticipated this and kept some for himself. Judging by her reaction, the mermaid seemed thrilled that he had refined forty-six drops.
She had shown no intention of calling him to account.
That meant he could continue cooperating with the merfolk. What an unexpected windfall!
Besides, satisfying the mermaid's request was a good thing in itself.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Making enemies of these beings on the coast would be troublesome, even with the Mage Association backing him.
After letting his thoughts wander for a while, he beckoned to the dolphins in the distance. "Come here. Let me see what you stole."
Only then did the two dolphins swim over.
Their bodies were trembling slightly. Clearly, the mermaid's sudden appearance had badly frightened them-merfolk were born rulers of the ocean. Frankly, sea spirit dolphins were little different from pet goldfish to them.
What was more, in a sense, the ocean was their territory. Goldfish stealing things on their owners' home turf...
The dolphins lowered their heads and let out a feeble chirp.
They seemed to be apologizing for causing Kroya trouble.
Kroya's expression darkened as he scolded them. "You really should have been more careful. Fruit growing in the sea with such obvious magic is bound to have a guardian.
Otherwise, why wouldn't someone have picked it already?
She probably only refrained from attacking because she sensed traces of my magic on you. You won't be so lucky next time you run into someone else."
The dolphins had meant well, certainly, but he had seen far too many cautionary tales about good intentions leading to disaster.
The mermaid had only spared them because she had an agreement with Kroya. She had also explicitly said that only naturally occurring resources could be taken freely.
Wasn't that a hint?
A hint that certain things they had specially cultivated were off-limits.
He had to give these two dolphins a proper scolding. Otherwise, if they really got into trouble someday, they would undoubtedly die.
He had spent so many magic crystals buying these magical beasts. He could not let them die over something like this. That would be a tremendous loss.
Of course, he was also worried about them bringing disaster down on him.
He was not particularly powerful yet and could not weather too much trouble. Growing stronger cautiously was the right approach. If these two really provoked someone Kroya could not handle...
Honestly, Kroya would abandon them in a heartbeat.
He had only just bought them, after all. What attachment could there possibly be?
"Chirp, chirp~"
The two dolphins listened attentively to Kroya, nodding repeatedly. Only after he finished speaking did they lift the fruit they had picked in a column of water and present it to him.
The fruit was crescent-shaped and translucent, seemingly rippling with soft silver moonlight. Dreamlike and illusory, it emanated a strange magic.
That moonlight even affected the surrounding space.
It was as though strange phantoms flickered within it.
"..."
"This power feels so familiar. I think I saw it just a moment ago."
He narrowed his eyes and rubbed the fruit with his fingers. It felt like smooth, warm jade, nothing like an edible fruit.
"Where have I seen it before..."
He carefully searched his memory, then suddenly widened his eyes.
It struck him at once-yes, he had seen it in the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array just now.
It was "Illusion," one of the three higher aspects of Space-Time Illusion.
Its magical fluctuations closely resembled those of the moon illusion sand he had used to replace illusion luminary crystal. In fact, it could be considered a superior substitute for the sand.
Illusion had precisely this pale silver glow, somewhat like moonlight. Simply looking at it gave the impression that illusions were emerging.
"You really stole something extraordinary this time..."
He gave a wry laugh. Honestly, if he had not finished refining the waterlight essence, that mermaid probably would have killed them without mercy.
But could there be a vein of illusion luminary stone over there?
Could he send the sea spirit dolphins to steal some more...
The moment that thought arose, he firmly suppressed it-he absolutely could not indulge such greed, or it would be his own undoing.
Once he calmed down, he stared at the crescent-shaped fruit in his hand, no larger than his palm. Eating it was out of the question. He had no desire to play Shennong and sample unknown plants.
Who knew what would happen if he ate the fruit of this unknown magic plant? Better to set it aside and discreetly ask the mermaid about it the next time they met.
There was no harm in taking a look, though.
He immediately activated the Astral Body Inscription Technique. This time, what appeared before his eyes was a waning crescent wrapped in pale silver threads.
It rested quietly there, radiating light that made Kroya's consciousness reel. His mental energy burned away like oil meeting fire.
In just a few seconds, all the mental energy of Kroya, a second-tier mage who practiced the Song of Red meditation method, was exhausted.
His face instantly turned deathly pale. He swayed, then helplessly began to collapse.
"Chirp!?"
Sensing Kroya's distress, the dolphins hurriedly leaped up and supported him, keeping him from falling.
"Thank you."
Kroya steadied himself briefly, grabbed the thirsty sea glow algae, and drew energy from them furiously. Only when they were on the verge of fleeing did he fully recover.
He took several deep breaths and looked at the fruit in his hand. Rather than apprehension, his face showed undisguised eagerness.
Because... he felt that his mental energy had grown just a fraction. It was only a tiny increase, but his maximum capacity had undeniably risen.
His mental energy was already far stronger than an ordinary mage's, thanks to his transmigration, the merging of souls, the Song of Red meditation method, and other factors. Meanwhile, meditation methods and techniques for strengthening mental energy were almost all closely guarded secrets.
And yet?
Just one look at this fruit's astral spirit body had actually increased it!
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