When I logged back into the game, everything was eerily quiet, so much so that I felt a chill allover my body. In would have said that someone was wrong if not for the fact that i was still on my ship, and Sky was sleeping peacefully at the foot of my bed. I got off and went out, going through the ship until I got to the lounge area, and that was where I found everyone….well not everyone, but rather the Nereids we've rescued.
They were huddle in one corner, watching the rest of the crew warily and with their guards up. Dinah was the only person who knows were actually relating to. The entire atmosphere was so tense that nobody noticed me standing there watching them, until Sky who had just woken up came from behind me and announced her presence with a loud trumpet. It startled me, but also everyone else here on the ship.
"Captain! You're back!" Jack said to me as he walked over.
I gave him a simple nod, and an over enthusiastic smile as I walked towards the Nereids who were huddled around their elder. I didn't know what to say to calm them down at the moment, but at the very least I had to say something.
"I know you guys have been through a lot, but you can relax here. No one on this ship would hurt you, not unless you have any hostile intentions. But apart from that please feel at home. We have one more mission to run in the hollows, and after that we would have to return to Patmos to submit our task. After that is done, I promise that I would take you all to go find the other temples where you're people might still be living. You're safe now, so please be at ease"
The Nereids elder walked towards me and stretched forth his hand, grasping mine within his with a grateful smile that stretched his wrinkled blue skin a little too wide. Walking was a little difficult for him, so he was helped by two of the younger Nereids, when he held my hands I used my own strength to support him as I tried to ignore the wet slimy feeling I was getting with my hands in contact with him. It was almost as if his body was made of solidified water.
"Captain Seven, thank you so much for the help that you have given me and my family. And the fact that you're still choosing to help us is something we will never forget, somehow we will find a way to pay you back for all the help you've given us, may the old and new gods smile favorably on you and all your ventures."
{You have been blessed by an Elder Nereids with the Water Shaman class. +10 to hidden stat luck, +20 favorability with all gods.}
That didn't seem so bad, and the favorability with all gods was not a bad thing to have, at least for now considering that I was practically the herald of their most hated enemies; the elemental dragons. But what they didn't know won't hurt them, besides this was a dangerous game I was playing, it would not be fun if the stakes and rewards weren't high.
I turned away from them as Dinah led towards the sleeping quarters, at the edge of my vision there was an ! symbol flashing bright yellow. These were probably the system notifications that I've missed since I was unconscious. But either way they could still wait a bit longer, it looks like Qitar had a few reports for me. Seeing she had all my attention she started speaking.
"We were able to loose your pursuer, and so far thanks to the ship's camouflage skill, we've been able to avoid being detected by the pirates from Runt. We're at a stretch of open waters between Runt and the island Silomere. It's where the sea elves are stationed, and they're quite welcoming to outsiders. So we're heading there for some quick repairs on the ship before we head back to Patmos. We chose that route because you told us you had a mission to carry out on the island.
We figured it would be best for us to repair the ship while you completed your mission. So far we've all been through a lot with this task that was given to you, however we've all come out stronger for it, so thanks are in order. But as your first mate I believe it's my duty to tell you that you have to be careful with the decisions you make. You're a captain now, which means its not just your survival that rides on your decisions, but that of your entire crew. I hope you consider that the next time you decide to throw us into a dungeon with beings we can't beat without the help of legendary weapons. Gains are important, but so are our lives."
She was right, and I felt ashamed on quite a few levels. I know that somehow I have to make it up to them, I didn't want to be the kind of leader that my subordinates would hate, my team in the army taught me that a unit has to be fully cohesive and on the same page to truly flow and carry out missions with the highest efficiency. The only other results of a teak where there is no trust is nothing but death, and I didn't want that for anyone of them.
"I'm sorry, I know the choice of going into that dungeon was really selfish of me, especially when there was an easier and more safer route to take. I won't say this. Regret taking that route, not when it helped me save the lives of the Nereids we're currently harboring on our ship. But I'm sorry I put you all in danger for it, saving them was one of the few good things that came out of this, but even I know my intentions weren't the purest when I said we should take the long way by following the compass. I promise I'll make it all up to you guys, and this won't happen again."
They all nodded in agreement and exchanged a few words with me, before everyone went back to the various duties. I hope they forgave me, I really do. But for now anyway I just had to be carful with the things I did, not if I wanted this teak up fall apart before the fully expose and display their potential. But with that out of the way, I could now turn my attention to the system notifications.
{YOU HAVE COMPLETED DUNGEON: THE BURIED SEA LABYRINTH OF NJORD. YOU AND YOUR PARTY HAVE BEEN AWARDED 10 MILLION EXP, THE CLASS CHANGE TOKEN FOR WATER ACOLYTE, 10 SKILL COMBINING GEMS, 10 MILLION GOLDEN DOLLARS, THE SCALING EQUIPMENT SET: CHILD OF THE SEA, ONE TERRITORY ORDER TOKEN, ONE GUILD CREATION TOKEN, ONE GUILD AND TERRITORY LEVEL UP TOKEN, AND ONE TREASURE MAP.}
As soon as I finished reading the notifications, a beam of light covered everyone on the ship, as they all Leveled up, except for me of course. I won't be able to level up until I submitted the task. This dungeon was generous, like way too generous. If I didn't know better I would say the recently received +10 luck was already in effect. But of course it was now time to allocate the loot. The first thing that came to my mind was the class change token, and I knew just the person to give.
"Mack, I know you and your brothers are equipped with a basic guard class, sure your levels are high but there's nothing special about it. I've noticed the way you fight, you favor magic and your prefer to keep your distance, which is why I think this class change token for water Acolyte is meant for you. Will you accept it?" I asked him, and he nodded looking even more eager than I expected.
{RARE CLASS: WATER ACOLYTE: This class draws power from the spiritual aspect of water to give the wielder defensive and controlling abilities, along with a few healing skills. It evolves to WATER SHAMAN, WATER MEISTER and then WATER SAGE. At higher levels it becomes capable of summoning the true spirits of water and commanding the seas itself.}
{CHILD OF THE SEA SCALING EQUIPMENT SET: All info locked, available only to players with the WATER ACOLYTE class.}
Well I guess the equipment also went to Mark, it didn't look anything great to be honest. It was just a blue leather jacket with a black skin tight top, and a black trouser with blue wave like designs on it.
There was a blue glove, and a blue bandana, a pair of dark blue boots and finally a dark midnight blue staff with designs of fishes, kraken, and mermaids on it. Changing into a new class means Mark would probably loose all of his levels, though his physical and magical stats won't change, and any skill that does not deal with his current class would remain while the old class skills along with the class would be deleted.
This would get us stronger in the long run, and it was a good thing. The only thing left to share was the money. The guild and territory orders were things I had no use for at the moment, heck I might even sell them should the need arises. As for the skill combining gems, they were my targets right from the beginning, so they can be considered the captain's loot. The treasure map can only be focused on later, we still had things to do. But for now, it's full sails ahead, after all I had an elf that needs to be assassinated.