Chapter 115: Delayed

Nick stared up at the enormous Riverheart Matriarch rising beside the ship, then looked at Jaxir with an expression that bordered on genuine grief. Water poured off the creature’s ridged head in sheets, and even from this close Jaxir still couldn’t tell where the rest of its body ended beneath the river.

"No. Absolutely fucking not. I am not fighting that thing."

Jaxir couldn’t blame him. He focused through the Sparkling Third Eye and waited for the usual information to resolve, only for the status above the Matriarch to return almost completely useless.

―

Name: Riverheart Matriarch

Level: ???

―

Jaxir’s lip twitched as he looked back at Nick. "How strong does something have to be before you get nothing but question marks back?"

"Unless you have a scouting or ocular ability that can pierce the difference, 2 full Tiers above you usually does it." Nick swallowed and looked back toward the Matriarch. "That, or anything beyond Elite can start coming back as question marks depending on how far above you it is."

"So Level 31 or higher."

"Or the equivalent of Mage or better."

Jaxir didn’t answer, because neither option sounded particularly survivable. What he’d done against Verren only worked because he could stay alive long enough to study the captain’s Mana, and even then he had needed to understand every part of the man’s build before dismantling it.

A Level-31 opponent was a different problem entirely, especially with less than 300 MP remaining. The Mana inside something that strong would be much denser and harder to interfere with, while a Mage-equivalent creature could have Root Abilities far beyond the Elite captain’s Level-40 foundation.

If the Matriarch happened to be both...

A Level-31 Mage could have Root Abilities around Level 60.

Jaxir looked up at the enormous head again and decided he had no interest in finding out how large the gap between Level 40 and Level 60 really was. His own Ability growth had already slowed enough that he couldn’t guess when he’d reach that point, and trying to learn the Matriarch’s patterns by letting it attack him would probably end with him dying before the first useful observation.

A strained grunt from behind them pulled his attention toward the stairs. The little Natural girl had finally appeared with both arms wrapped around the Riverheart Egg, bent almost double as she dragged and shoved it upward one step at a time.

The ship rocked before she reached the top, and the egg nearly rolled backward with her underneath it. She caught the shell at the last second, grunted something under her breath, then dragged it onto the deck before scrambling up its curved side with her hands and knees.

Once she reached the top, she stood and shouted toward the Matriarch in a language Jaxir had never heard before. The sounds carried strange pauses and sharp changes in pitch, but the Matriarch clearly understood because its eyes shifted from the girl to the egg and then toward the remains of the ship.

Nick leaned closer. "Do you think she’s selling us out?"

Jaxir gave him a look. "Not everyone’s as much of a backstabber as you." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Hey! I resent that. I’m very loyal."

"To money."

"Money has never betrayed me."

Jaxir chuckled just as the boat rocked hard enough to make both of them widen their stance. The Matriarch lifted one enormous claw from the water and reached toward the deck, and every part of Nick tensed when claws longer than his arms lowered around the egg.

The movement changed at the last moment.

Instead of closing around it, the Matriarch slipped one claw beneath the shell and tipped the egg upright with surprising care. The girl dropped onto her stomach and hugged the top as the creature lifted both of them from the ruined deck, then balanced the egg along the end of its broad snout.

"Okay." Nick watched the entire thing happen. "That’s actually kind of impressive."

The girl pushed herself upright and immediately started speaking again, while the Matriarch answered with a rumble deep enough for Jaxir to feel through the soles of his feet. After another short exchange, the girl pointed directly toward him and Nick.

Nick stiffened. "I knew it! She’s selling us out! After all the blood I bled!"

"You barely did anything."

"I was emotionally involved."

The Matriarch watched them for several seconds before giving a slow nod, and a notification appeared in front of Jaxir at almost the same moment.

―

[Quest Cleared]

Quest: The Balance of the River

[The disturbance has been resolved without the death of any river beasts.]

[Reward qualification confirmed.]

[Reward delivery has been delayed.]

―

Jaxir read the final line twice. "Delayed?"

The Matriarch reached toward them again, but this time its claw stopped beside the ship with its palm turned upward. Jaxir looked at it for a moment before glancing at Nick.

"I think she wants us to step on."

"Absolutely not."

Nick turned before Jaxir could say anything else, but he only made it 2 steps before Jaxir caught the back of his collar. Jaxir stepped onto the enormous claw while dragging him along, and Nick grabbed at his wrist as the little girl started laughing from atop the egg.

"Jaxir."

"You wanted to avoid the pirate route, didn’t you? Now we have a safer route."

"What about this is safe?!"

The Matriarch lifted them past the broken railing and ruined mast, then deposited them on top of its head. The little girl joined them once the egg had been shifted into a safer position near the creature’s snout, and soon afterward the Matriarch turned toward the opposite shore and began carrying them away from what remained of Verren’s ship.

The ride became much quieter once nothing was trying to kill them. Jaxir sat beside one of the ridges above the Matriarch’s eye and watched Marr Town slowly grow larger in the distance, though the creature never headed directly toward the settlement itself.

It eventually stopped far enough from the shoreline that the docks were still difficult to make out. Considering its size and what would probably happen if something this large swam straight into town, Jaxir couldn’t blame it.

The Matriarch lowered its head until they were only several meters above the river, and Jaxir looked toward the distant shore before glancing at Nick and the girl. Nick noticed the look immediately and started backing away from him.

"Alright."

"What does that mean?"

Jaxir grabbed him.

"Wait."

He lifted the girl onto his other shoulder.

"Jaxir."

Then he jumped.

"JAXIR!"

Jaxir hit the river with Mana already spreading beneath his feet, pushing outward through the surface instead of letting his weight concentrate beneath one point. He had been experimenting with the relationships inside water since Sparkle Mana became easier to understand, and now he spread that force across enough of the surface that the river dipped beneath him instead of swallowing him.

He blinked once when it held.

"Oh, that worked."

Nick tightened both arms around his head. "You jumped without knowing?!"

"Shhh."

Jaxir grinned and started walking toward the shore, spreading Mana across the surface before every step while his equipment reduced enough of his effective weight to make the trick manageable. It wasn’t efficient, but the distance wasn’t large enough for that to matter.

A notification appeared before he reached the shallows.

―

[Delayed Quest Reward Delivered]

[You have received the Blessing: Riverheart’s Favor]

[Freshwater Renewal]

While within 1 kilometer of freshwater, gain +50 MP Recovery per minute.

This effect is additive with all existing MP Recovery.

[Riverheart Passage]

Freshwater creatures under the Riverheart Matriarch’s dominion will not initiate hostile actions against you.

[Riverflow]

Mana Flow Speed increased by 50% while within 1 kilometer of freshwater.

―

Jaxir read the reward while continuing across the water, and his grin widened by the time he reached the final line. Between the extra regeneration, faster Mana flow and protection from freshwater creatures in the Matriarch’s territory, the quest had paid out far better than he’d expected.

"Pretty damn good."

He glanced back toward the Matriarch and lifted one hand. "Thanks."

The creature answered with another deep rumble before sinking beneath the river with the egg, leaving a broad wake spreading behind it. Jaxir watched for another moment before stepping into the shallows and finally carrying Nick and the girl onto dry land.

Marr Town stood clearly in the distance now.

Gravity’s ban was still a problem, but Lue had specifically told him to make it here, which meant somebody on the government side had better have an answer for that. Jaxir opened his messages and sent the only thing that mattered.

―

Jaxir Chance: [I’m here.]

―

It was time to see what the government wanted.