Aki had long figured out that whatever pleasure could be derived from choking really wasn't for him. One green exception asside, he dislike having his air ways blocked just as he dislike the vacun, and since there was no convinient drowning resistance, he just had to work hard and get the monster skill for recycling oxygen since there was no such thing as a convinient oister that released bubles of air, nor did he have the mental capacity to fight off his fears and the water pressure while navigating in relative darkness.
There were, actually, plenty of glowing and bioluminescent things all around, but it all just made him feel like he was looking at his computer screen again and that red capped ell with too many spike and teeth would sneak attack him at any moment.
Luckily such things could be remedied with the annihilation of all marine life thanks to his magical prowess being only minimally supressed by the surroundings. The fact he spent an hour jumping around at the botton of a corral reef because he was having mild panic attacks everytime he started to 'swin' with his magic was relatively inconsequential, his 3D manuver skill seemingly useless at the moment.
When he did finally got the hang of it, several level ups on his fear related skills thanks to the one time he almost drowned himself as a kid, in a pool, his swimming skill shot through the roof, evolving just like his flight one, because aparently there was a skill for each tipe of movement. There were skills for running and marching, but the later was already redundant with 3D movement there, while the former...
'I should probably do something about the fact I normally jump or teleport around.' Aki grimaced while reviewing his skills.
Thanks to his highly organized 'horde' possessing several races and plenty of individuals, he'd have capped his job in about a week because of a the regular drills and hunts his standing army did, but when his wife liberated a settlement from a powerfull beast by herself...
[You are now a Level 1 Survivalist.
Body manipulation is now level 4
Oxygen repository is now level 5
Temperature regulation is now level 8
Metabolic control is now level 5
Gravital adaptation is now level 5]
He had all the time in the world to grind those unending warrior and mage jobs, but some were special enough he couldn't ignore them too much.
It was also something he'd just unlocked by going so deep in the ocean, though the conditions said his time in the great forest and civilized capital also counted for acquiring it. Thriving in three different extreme environments.
With that kind of requirement, how could he not expect great skills from it?
He could now go around like he was a Xeno-alien! What earthling didn't want those abilities? Granted he didn't have a mesosqueleton or acidic blood, but that was just a matter of time.
*****
When captain Grant heard there was a monster horde approaching a nearby village, she called for a squadron to take care of it, but she wasn't really worried. At these depts, there wasn't anything that could really go against their trained military if it needed big numbers.
It was when she received the third courier that she realissed that the horde was moving quickly and there was something wrong about all this, but by the time she received the second courier of the first village explaining the situation, they were alraedy about to leave with more than a hundred trained man.
{Hello, hello? The tongue of the deep isn't exactly my best language, so i'm sorry if i may sound weird, but i'm not really here to fight people.} Said the communication molusc while flailing it's arm stalks and staring unblinkly at her face. It was rare in the surface, but in the depts it was something incredibly common. Not so much around the 'shores' though, so the person on the other side was quite lucky she had her personal mushy with her.
{This is captain Grant, of the border town of waystone, and i can understand you well enough. There have been multiple reports on a horde reaching for the trading villages, i imagine they are your tamed monsters.} She proded, not reconising any specific accent on the other person's voice and deducing they were self thaught.
{You could say so. It's my first time under the waves, so i thought of getting some sea suplies and of taming some species for pecuary, but when i tamed the bigger ones a ton came under my control. I didn't exactly think things through, did i?} The young man asked, her blue mushy blushing a bit with a wry smile.
{From what i hear, that would probably be the case.} She sighed. {I will give you directions to the town, if you would direct yourself here so we can talk face to face it'd be easier.} She offered, the other side quickly complying.
After she was done with directions, he started explaining his intentions, mentioning the demise of the water dragon that'd lived nearby since forever as far as she knew, and his intentions on building a trade outpost.
When the horde of crustaceans, insects and fish in all form, came into view some half an hour later, she noticed she could hear a song. Coming from the black specter at the front of the stampede of minor monster.
"Swin until you love me! Swin~, swin~, swin~..." As the melodic and sad voice stopped, the black light surrounding the front figure receded, revealing a young human. {Oh, we're here.} He commented on a similar volume as to before, quickly waving and approaching the bubbled wall.
Grant was quick to leave and intercept him despite the danger it left her in. She had enough confidence as to her survival.
{Hello, I am Aki, ruler of a small community on the forest near your ocean border. I'd like to create a joint outpost by the coast for more trading and exchange between both side.} He smiled, saying a shortened version of what he said over the phone.
{Sierra Grant, and I know, I'm the one who talked to you over the mushy. That song though...}
{It uses swimming as a metaphor, actually referring to depression and the writer's wish for their loved one by their side as they pass through a emotional storm.} He quickly explained while smiling wrily and looking into her eyes. {I didn't actually expect for someone that knew common to hear it.}
{I wasn't going to complain, it was beautiful. You probably swooned quite a few soldiers on post.} She smirked.
{I'm well married.} He shrugged. "Though I can't say I dislike having my skills appreciated. Does miss captain think I could speed things up with a personal performance? I hear other nations aren't very welcome in the depths." He asked with a completly diferent aura even though he didn't change his expression or posture.
Considering everything that already happened and the monsters in front of her, Grant decided she'd not just dismiss her political responsibilities.
"Our town mayor has a... Special interest, in those of the surface. That's why she works here." She slowly explained, not ussed to the language of the continents, but guiding him through the gate so they could begin the paperwork anyway. Luckily tritons, much like elves and some other merfolk, had more than one set of vocal cords, so language and music came naturally to those that practiced. As someone that dealt with foreigns, she practiced plenty.
"Thank you captain, I will be sure to pay attention for your request." He nodded while smiling a bit more, though it now seemed forced.
"I didn't tell you that for benefits, I simply don't wish for some misunderstanding to happen, so I'd be happy if you didn't think badly of her advances." She shook her head, not really thinking much of it.
"It'd be hard for something to happen, you have nothing to worry about." He giggled.
Later, when she checked on with her friend, she seemed to be completly lost in her own mind, the room overflowing with her juices as she laid melted on her reclining chair, so the guard captain didn't even question her, thinking everything was probably fine and that it'd be too much of a bother to get information out of her.
Two days later, she found herself trying to tear off the head fins of her mayor while screaming in her face because the documents related to trade that reached her were totally squewered towards Aki.
They apparently made a bet, in which the human overwhelmed the local Nymphomaniac.
There wasn't anyone else that would really be angry about such as long as mildly good relations to the surface were maintained, but Sierra could practically feel the problems that would be coming in the future even if she was ignored.
She insisted on trying to renegotiate conditions the first chance they got, but was quickly shot down with the information that she'd lost four bets, the last one ending with her not being able to renegotiate the terms. Nor would someone with her position for the first five years of mandate.
{He was fucking my ass for the tenth time already, I wasn't thinking straight when I signed some things!} She cried out.
{Let me guess, one of those bets involved him becoming your fuck boy and marrying you?} Frowned the triton at the green haired lady with an innocent face, who could only cry a bit while bobbing her head up and down.
They were considered the two unreachable flowers for a reason but Linn was the only one that cared about not finding a mate despite being only in her thirties.
{I mean, at least you can try to court... You bet that away too, didn't you?} The red head grimaced at the amount of tears flowing up her friends face while she kept nodding vigorously.
She then spent a lot of time just hugging as she soothed her friend and rejected her advances.
*****
Taking the time to be with his family, sun bathing and being serviced by buttlers and maids was nice, even if Aki made sure to stay more in the shadow and just watched the others play, it was actually quite comfortable considering that Kora was also sleeping by his side, their father daughter plan not really working and both agreeing to just follow the others.
With no more random sacrifices towards some kind of abomination, their next week was divided between rolling around in bed, playing with Clair, who'd picked up drawing from school, assisting on the production and implementation of train tracks, terraformation with the minimum amount of changes to the forest and training.
Thanks to the first of trades with Waystone, they now had some 'digital' tablets that greatly helped with the paperwork, Mari herself getting one.
When the merfolk found out that not only was he selling food and monster parts, but also ores and gems with a couple tools and musical instruments made of 'sea resistant' wood on the side, they immediately turned extatic, one captain even crying and asking for a breastplate.
When given his price for the work she wanted, the woman was left completly confused.
"Isn't this too cheap? Are you sure this is right? I won't pay any more than that even if you change it at delivery." She pointed out while looking strangely at him.
"I know. If you'd sign here, here and here, we will be forced to do exactly that, so if you'd help me start building my reputation..." Aki pointed to the contract while shrugging.
"How do you even want to get profit out of this?" She questioned after signing the contract she'd just read for the second time.
"By beginning my own merchant chamber and transporting goods by maritime and subaquatic routes around the whole area then the whole continent and eventually the whole planet. Wanna come in and discuss this? I checked your code of laws, you'd not do anything illegal by investing." He said, calling her inside his office and quickly obtaining a new ally.
Turns out that she was much like his daughter, preferring weapons and violence to flowers and romance. After casually introducing the two, Kora quickly came to him, asking him to heal the woman so they could keep sparing.
He smirked for one second before hugging the shit out of her.