A deep sigh escaped Elliot's lips as he watched the men of the village train. He had already called Lance about the delay and Lance said it was alright.

It would be bad if Elliot would just leave the village without any sort of precautions. Since he accepted Dan's request of training them, there they are, watching half of the men train while the other half were at the sea.

It was his plan as to not hinder their production while they were on their training, so he separated them into two groups. He was also looking for people in the village who has the capacity of casting at least a basic attack. A basic elemental ball would suffice.

The hair on his body stood like a radar after Dan's son, Dustin, walked past him. He turned to the boy and felt a strong surge of energy inside.

"Hey," Elliot said, walking over to Dustin. "Do you want to learn how to use magic?"

Dustin was hesitant at first. Even when the time Elliot had approached him, he was scared. "W-What? I can do that?"

"Sure you can," Elliot smiled. "How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen," Dustin replied, playing with his fingers. "I'm still too young to become an Adventurer."

Elliot chuckled, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "Of course, you are. But you can also use a very basic attack spell like… err, Christina? Could you show little Dustin here a water ball?"

"Sure thing," Christina nodded and leaned down to Dustin's level. "You see, you don't have to have an Adventurer system to cast basic skill that's innate. You only need a blood worthy of casting the spell. Like so."

She opened her palm and conjured a water ball that hovered over her hand. The ball was perfectly spherical and it was clear as the clearest crystal.

"Woah," Dustin gasped. "Can I also do this?"

Christina chuckled. "You seem to have a strong blood for water affinity. Something a young boy like you possess rarely. So, yes. You can do something like this. And you can use this to shoot an enemy. It might not hurt them a lot, but it's enough to deal quite a bit of damage."

"Woah," Dustin's eyes glimmered with amusement and disbelief.

Christina chuckled after seeing Dustin's reaction. "Kiddo, you have quite the talent. I wouldn't be surprised if you would surpass me in my age. Being able to cast such a beautiful spell without even having an Adventurer system."

"Mommy, mommy! The Adventurers told me I could cast magic spells!" Dustin ran to his mother and showed her the sphere made of water that was floating above his palm.

"Oh, really?" The shock in Emelda's eyes was evident. But the shock in Elliot's after seeing the notification in his console was more.

'Non-human detected.'

[ Aquaria ]

Race: Merfolk

Elliot hid his gulp after seeing the notification. The delayed response of the system baffled him. And to think that Emelda didn't look like a merfolk was even more bothersome.

Merfolks usually have gills, a fish tail, or any fish part in their body. There were several classifications of them and the main three are Merpeople with the upper body of human and lower body of fish, Freshwater just like the one Elliot fought at the Gray Lake, and finally, the Atlanticus with their superior shapeshifting abilities.

It was difficult to identify their true form since they would change from one sea creature to another. Elliot could only look at Emelda and conclude that she was an Atlanticus.

From the books he read, the Atlantici people were savage and vicious kind of Merfolk. They are the ones who dwell deep into the ocean, rarely being seen. They feed on predatory fishes like sharks and whales, and sometimes fishermen when they dive too deep into the sea.

But if Emelda was an Atlanticus, why hasn't she massacred the village people? She could've called her people and maul everyone in here.

This was baffling Elliot to the point that he was spacing out, oblivious of the calls from the people around him.

"Elliot!" Florencia's voice broke through him. Elliot woke up from his deep thoughts and turned to her.

"W-What?" Elliot asked.

"Look at that." Florencia pointed at what's in front of them, surprising Elliot even more.

"That's amazing," Elliot gasped after seeing the sphere made of water hovering over Dustin's hand. "With such short training period too. Emelda, your bloodline is really blessed with water affinity."

The look of Emelda made Elliot conclude that she knew what she was. The look of worry in her face was evident, a look that someone who is hiding something would have on.

"Maybe it's from his father's side?" Emelda chuckled awkwardly. "That man packs huge surprises. Actually, I have tons of things to do. Please take care of my son for a bit. I will be back."

Emelda immediately escaped the group and walked into the other group of women. She said something to them that made the women nod, before she walked to the forest area.

"I think I need to go to the bathroom," Elliot said. "Excuse me. Dustin, you're doing such a wonderful job. Keep that up."

"Yes, Mr. Elliot!" Dustin said excitedly, turning to Christina who was giving him instructions.

Emelda was going into the nearby forest which Elliot did not hesitate in following. It took them a couple of steps before they reached a more secluded place where Emelda stopped walking.

"I know what you are," Elliot said.

"I know," Emelda chuckled. "You don't have to be a detective to see the surprise in your eyes."

"But why?" Elliot asked. "The Atlanticus people are dangerous according to the lore. Or perhaps you're not one?"

"Back in my waters, my people called me Aquaria," Emelda said. "The Queen of the Depth, Ruler of Atlantici, Goddess of the Waters. I had so many titles."

"But… what happened?" Elliot asked, hesitating. "Did an accident in your kingdom happen?"

"A black well appeared," Emelda said with a chuckle full of sarcasm. She was trying to hide her grief, but she was barely containing it. "Everyone was having a normal day, just like any day when a black well appeared in the middle of the city."

"Malice," Elliot breathed out. "She came to your kingdom?"

"She didn't," Emelda said. "At least, she didn't came herself. Instead, she sent one of her Vassals. A demon that's able to fully harness the power of water, even all its correspondence. Ice, water vapor, the water in the body itself. It was… To say that it was horrible was an understatement. It was hopeless."

"Who is this demon?" Elliot gulped. "Do you know her name?"

Emelda nodded, "Her name is Oceana, the Demon of the Vast Black Seas."