The last part of the tour was the part he had not expected at all.
He had assumed Cornvelia would keep its luxury above deck and its machinery below it, with maybe a few private sections for important passengers and crew. Instead, Eunecia led him into an entire section of the ship that looked like it had been built around the sea itself. The walls were made of wide transparent panels that curved like the sides of a giant aquarium. Above them the ceiling was lined with water-lit glass that shimmered with moving reflections. Light drifted through the space in blue-green patterns that made the whole corridor feel like an underwater palace that had somehow been lifted onto a ship.
And inside it were merfolk. There were a great many of them.
Mermaids and mermen swam through the section. Their upper halves were human-like and their lower halves were long elegant fish tails. The women wore coral coverings or strips of cloth over their breasts while the men stayed half-naked. Some were leaning against the glass walls, some were swimming in wide containment sections built into the ship and others were just swimming around.
Veneri slowed down almost immediately. Eunecia noticed the change in his expression and smiled with a little more pride.
"This is the merfolk section."
He looked at the glass walls, then at the merfolk drifting by.
"They live here?"
"Partly. They're the navigators of Cornvelia."
That made him turn his head towards her.
"Navigators?"
Eunecia clearly appreciated his curiosity.
"Merfolk of the Cornvelia Ocean used to live under the sea full-time. But sea monsters have become more common over time and the pressure in the depths has made long-term underwater life much harder for them. So, they've adapted. They now coexist with the land races and serve aboard ships like this. They help navigate, scout, warn against threats and keep sailors safe from sea monsters or unusual currents. For a ship this size, there are hundreds of them."
That made the section feel even more impressive. He followed Eunecia deeper into the corridor. That was when the merfolk started noticing him.
A mermaid near the glass turned her head, stared and then nudged the one beside her. Another paused mid-conversation. A merman farther down the corridor slowed down and looked over with immediate interest. More of them began drifting closer to the glass walls, following him with their eyes as he moved. Their expressions changed from idle curiosity to open fascination in seconds.
Veneri stopped. The merfolk stopped too.
That made him frown. Now it was obvious that they were reacting to him specifically and not just to the arrival of a visitor. He studied them for a second, then felt something subtle in the back of his awareness. It was a Hydroborn connection. He was still a Hydroborn, after all, even with many of his capabilities sealed or altered by the long trial. The feeling wasn't strong enough to count as a full bond, but it was enough to make the contact noticeable. The oceanic part of him recognized the oceanic part of them.
The mermaids definitely noticed something too. They started fawning almost immediately. He could tell by the way their glances shifted between him and each other. A few of them seemed to be talking telepathically in quick bursts while staring at him with wide eyes. He couldn't hear the words but he didn't need to. Their expressions was obvious enough.
He scoffed lightly and lifted one hand in a casual wave. Several of the mermaids waved back.
That made a few of the nearby tourists slow down as well because now they were noticing the reaction too. One woman in the tour group gave Veneri a look of mild confusion, then looked towards the merfolk, then back at him as if trying to decide what exactly about him was causing the attention.
Biolumine was not doing much better.
A group of merfolk children had gathered nearby. All of them glared at her with the open excitement only children could manage. As a manta ray, even in her cat form, she radiated the faint sense of an oceanic being and the merfolk children clearly recognized it. A few of them followed her in little clusters as she moved. Biolumine looked back at them and moved with pride.
Eunecia noticed all of this at once. She turned to Veneri with a look of genuine surprise.
"Do you have a connection to the merfolk?"
He blinked once, then gave her a very calm, very unfazed look.
"No. Maybe I'm just too good-looking."
Eunecia's cheeks flushed immediately. She had to look away for half a second before answering.
"That… might actually be part of it."
Veneri's mouth twitched. She regained her professional composure quickly, but not quickly enough to hide the faint disbelief in her voice.
"The merfolk don't usually show interest in land races like this. They regard this arrangement as a symbiotic relationship with the sailors with safety in exchange for service. That's how they usually treat it. This is the first time I've seen them react like this to someone beyond that."
Veneri glanced at the merfolk again. Several of them were still watching him with clear, open fascination. One mermaid had even leaned halfway out of the water channel just to get a better look before her companion tugged her back.
The other tourists had noticed too. That was the problem with being him. Once a few people looked, the rest of them started looking because now they wanted to know what the fuss was. A few women in the tour group stared at him a little longer than before. A couple of the men did too, though one of them tried to hide it behind a very poor imitation of boredom.
Veneri ignored all of it. He was more interested in the explanation.
"So they actually choose to do this?"
"Yes. Merfolk are prideful beings. They value beauty highly. They protect sailors and ships because it keeps everyone safe, and because it preserves their own race. In return, they're respected, protected and given a place where they can move freely. It works well enough for both sides."
Veneri looked back down the glass corridor. The whole thing made more sense now. They were part of the ship's living intelligence. If Cornvelia was crossing dangerous sea routes, they would be a major part of why it survived.
"The ocean's that dangerous?"
Eunecia's expression shifted into something more serious.
"Very. There are sea monsters, unstable currents, hidden pressure zones and more hazards than most travelers realize. It's not safe to swim for long unless you're built for it or protected. That's why the merfolk are so important. They're half fish, yes, but that doesn't mean they're at the top of the food chain. They're far from it, actually."
That made Veneri think of Spheraphase.
There, swimming in the ocean was practically a death sentence. The mystical pressure was too high, the sea monsters too violent and the sea itself too hostile to tolerate. Hearing that this world was still dangerous in its own way made the ocean feel more familiar, not less.
"So they're basically the only reason this ship can move safely?"
"Not the only reason, but a major one."
He glanced at the glass again, then at the merfolk who were still watching him.
"I see."
One mermaid smiled and whispered something to the others. They all turned to look at him again. One of them pressed a hand to the glass as if greeting him from the other side. He looked back at her, gave a faint amused sigh and waved again. The merfolk children nearby waved too.
Eunecia noticed the whole exchange and actually laughed quietly.
"They really do like you."
"Apparently so."
The rest of the tour continued through the merfolk section but the moment had already made its impression. By the time they left the aquarium section, he was still thinking about them. He turned to Eunecia as they reached the corridor exit.
"When we leave, can I see how they help with navigation?"
Her expression brightened at once.
"Yes. On departure day, I can show you their work directly."
"That'd be good."
"I'll make sure you get a proper look."
He still had several days before departure and now he had something else to look forward to. The merfolk section had been a very good surprise.
-------
A few days later, Veneri found himself seated in an auction hall specifically for rich people with dangerous hobbies.
The place was huge. Rows of fancy chairs rose in a wide arc around a central stage. The whole room was lit by pale crystalline lamps that gave everything a clean, sharp glow. The walls were lined with decorative panels, enchanted banners and sealed cases containing sample scrolls from earlier lots. Some people had come in with masks. Some had come with attendants. Some looked like merchants pretending not to be merchants. A few clearly belonged to noble families. Others carried the tired, hungry look of people who had scraped together all their savings for the chance to buy one thing that might change their lives.
Veneri sat in the open with face uncovered because he didn't see the point in hiding. That alone made people look at him. He was getting tired of that part but the auction itself interested him enough to keep him patient.
The Timeless Realm had taught him a few important things by now. One, Pinnacle Tethers and Base Tethers were still real and still meaningful here for immortals of the Immortal Anchor. Two, they still needed Archivist Stones if they wanted to avoid Decay and death before their time. Three, Divinities did not work the same way here. In Spheraphase, a Divinity was usually tied closely to someone's Pinnacle Tether, almost like the natural expression of it. It acted as a buffer to ones Pinnacle Tether, not a separate power. Here, that didn't seem to be the system at all. Divinities appeared to belong to the Divine Anchor, not the Immortal Anchor, which meant the people here relied on something else.
Techniques.
He'd been hearing about them for days. The guard at the gate had used one. The receptionist at Wavefront Hotels had used one to count money called the Money Counting Technique. Those had been minor Techniques, probably Low Class. They were the sort of thing normal people learned and used without ever thinking too hard about it.
But Techniques also had ranks. There were the Low Class, Middle Class, High Class and Supreme Class. That part had gotten his attention immediately.
His own first Technique, the Pentarch Technique, was a Supreme Class Technique. It allowed him to split into five versions of himself based on his Divinity. Of course, that particular one was sealed away now and he didn't need it at the moment anyway since his Divinities were also sealed. Still, the fact that Technique classing worked this way here told him everything he needed to know. The stronger the Technique, the less effort wasted and the better the outcome.
So when he heard there would be a Technique Auction, he came. He had the money. He had no reason to hide his face and he had a very specific interest in anything Supreme Class.
The auction had been dragging on for a while by the time Veneri started to feel the first stir of real interest. Lot after lot passed in front of the crowd. Low Class Technique Scrolls. Middle Class ones. A few High Class pieces that got some scattered bidding. People raised their boards. The auctioneer made his practiced little announcements. Some scrolls vanished fast, others went for surprisingly modest prices and some got swallowed by the usual auction theater where people bid just to stop others from winning.
Veneri waited. The room around him had the usual tension of an auction where everyone believes they're one bid away from greatness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to a rare set of Supreme Class Techniques."
That got the room's attention immediately. A murmur rolled through the hall. Veneri sat up a little straighter.
"These arrived from an anonymous source in the Divine Anchor."
Now that made them curious. Even the ones who had been pretending not to care suddenly looked more alert. Anything coming from the Divine Anchor was going to be worth watching and everyone in the room knew it. The auctioneer waited just long enough to let that sink in, then smiled again.
"They are called the Four Mystical Techniques."
He revealed a pedestal behind him, where four sealed scroll cases were being brought out by attendants. Then he spoke each name clearly, one at a time.
"Diamond Strength."
"Sonic Speed."
"Glide Flight."
"Endless Stamina."
The audience made noise all at once. The auctioneer kept going.
"They can be used separately, or together."
It was synergistic set that could turn an ordinary immortal into a very powerful one. The cases were opened. The four Technique Scrolls rested in view for the first time. The room reacted exactly the way the auctioneer had wanted. Veneri watched them closely and released the words in his mind.
Diamond Strength. Sonic Speed. Glide Flight. Endless Stamina.
Those were not subtle names. If the rumors were true, they were Supreme Class Techniques and that meant they would cost a fortune. Still, he had a fortune. He had hundreds of millions and unlike a lot of people in the room, he wasn't here to look. He was here to buy what he wanted.
The auctioneer lifted his hand.
"The starting price for each Technique is ten million Isuone."
A wave of shock passed through the hall. A few people immediately went stiff in their seats. Ten million just to start was enough to gut a smaller noble family and make merchant houses think twice. The room was still digesting that number when one person lifted a bidding board almost immediately.
"Fifty million for Glide Flight."
The whole hall turned as one.
The bidder was a man sitting near the front, dressed well enough to be expensive and young enough to be obnoxious. He smiled like he had done something impressive. People around him murmured in disbelief.
"Fifty million?"
"For one Technique?"
"Glide Flight only?"
The auctioneer looked delighted. This was exactly the kind of escalation he'd been hoping for. He gave the usual rhythm with complete composure.
"Fifty million. Do I hear sixty?"
No one answered.
"Going once. Going twice—"
Veneri raised his own board.
The room turned toward him again instantly but this time it was different.
"A hundred million for all of them."
The auctioneer blinked, then recovered so fast it was almost funny. He grinned.
"Accepted."
The young man who had opened at fifty million looked annoyed that someone had surpassed him so easily. Several other bidders who had been preparing to jump in simply stopped, clearly distracted by the fact that Veneri was sitting there openly and calmly spending money like it was rainwater. A few women in the hall kept glancing at his face and then glancing away. A few men looked at him with the sort of frustration only very attractive rich strangers could inspire.
Veneri ignored all of that. He was thinking about the Technique itself.
Glide Flight.
That was the one he wanted. He bought the others for show but he did have plans for the other three. He could craft a Mystic Circle of Flight if he wanted but a Supreme Class Technique would be better in the long run. Higher class Techniques used less energy for more result and that was exactly the kind of efficiency he valued. The lower the drain, the more room he had for everything else. If he could get flight in a form that barely cost him anything, then why would he not take it?
The auctioneer pounded the gavel in a swift blur of ceremony.
"Sold."
The crowd made another noise, this one more irritated than shocked. A hundred million Isuone for four Supreme Technique was absurd, but not in a way anyone could dispute. The man had paid it and the room had watched him do it without even blinking. That made the whole thing worse for the rest of them.
Veneri leaned back, satisfied.
The servant who came to escort him out of the auction room wore the expression of someone who had just been assigned to guide a very expensive man through the building without embarrassing anyone. Veneri stood, adjusted his posture and followed without fuss. As he left, he could still feel their glares.
He didn't care. He was smiling by the time he reached the corridor. For a man like him, that was a very good day. He would finally be able to fly.