Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Chapter 53: Aquamancer


Seth was seated cross-legged by the extinguished campfire as the rising sun crested the horizon, a skewer of roasted fish in his hand and Nightmare lounging on the ground beside him. Minutes earlier he had put out the fire, reducing it to smoldering embers to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Over the past ten days, they had learned that smoke was a beacon to curious Fishlords—especially during daylight, when the protective cover of mist was absent. The first time they'd been ambushed for that reason, their Well had been barely half full, forcing them to flee. Back then, he had to use Professor Reat's Vanishing Pocket Watch on top of the Nimble Ring.

Something that unsettled him a bit was that over all those days, he hadn't seen a single human. Not even one. But that probably meant the Seralp House—and Lucius—had no idea he was here.

'How're your channels?' Seth asked, tossing a chunk of fish to Nightmare, who caught it in his maw. Each Iron beaststone the direwolf had eaten so far had strained his channels for twenty to thirty hours—which was great money-wise since he could consume less of the stones.

'They should be fine in another hour or two,' Nightmare answered.

Seth glanced at the mound of stones they'd acquired beside him in his bag: fifteen were from Irons and seventy-something from Coppers. 'Want us to wait so you can eat one before we start today's hunt?'

Nightmare shook his head. 'No, I'll hold off in case we happen to get a stronger one today,' he replied before looking at a column of smoke in the distance. 'So… when are we raiding one of those villages?'

Seth grimaced. 'Facing an Iron and a few Coppers at once is still our limit. Giving that a try right now would be a terrible idea.'

'Listen to that thing in your chest. It's begging you to do it.'

Rolling his golden eyes, Seth kept eating. Sure, his core and a large part of him wanted him to fight stronger opponents, crush them, and thrive through challenges, but he still had a brain to bring him back to reality. There was a difference between being courageous and being reckless.

'Don't you want to break through?' Nightmare pressed, his red eyes meeting Seth's. 'I bet there will be resources in their vault that could help you. Like that strange water the Fishlord drank yesterday.'

Seth hesitated, his brow furrowing as envy bubbled within him. The image of the humanoid creature breaking through instantly after gulping down the glowing blue liquid replayed in his mind. He himself had reached the Copper Tier's cap five days ago, yet his Well showed no hint of nearing a breakthrough despite all the fighting.

Sure, Elena had taken a month and Brandon two, but he'd thought—and hoped—that nearly killing an Iron Fishlord alone would've been enough. An achievement worthy of pushing his Well to ignite again in less than half a year. But it hadn't.

Nightmare's tail wagged, seemingly sensing Seth's desire to raid the village. 'And there's also the lost girl? Remember?'

'Those adventurers were probably right,' Seth answered with a sigh. 'She's likely dead. This place isn't forgiving.'

'Wow, where did the optimistic Seth that first walked in here go?'

'He died with our last Iron Fishlord.'

Seth closed his large leather bag and picked it up before throwing it over his head and strapping it to his torso. Fighting with the extra weight had become a challenge, but it wasn't something he could avoid—dropping it before their fight was usually impossible. Hopefully, I'll soon become Iron and be able to use my Endless Pouch.

"Alright, let's go."

By mid-afternoon, Seth and Nightmare were trudging through the large swamp, quite satisfied with that day's fights so far. They had managed to slay two more Iron Fishlords and a dozen Copper ones. The loot was good, but it further weighed Seth down. Nightmare was already invisible and far away, looking for their next targets as Seth harvested the beaststone of the last Copper Fishlord they'd killed.

'Seth!' Nightmare exclaimed, his body tensing in the distance. 'There's a human along with a Fishlord.'

Seth frowned and extended his senses into Link to see through the direwolf's eyes. What he saw froze him in place: the man was a wretched sight. His hair and beard were nothing more than a tangled mess, snarled with leaves and dirt, and his clothing, that Seth assumed had once been a leather armor and probably a linen shirt, had been reduced to ragged shreds. The rusty shackles on the man's ankles and wrists clanged as he moved, the chain connecting them held in the hand of the two-finned Fishlord escorting him. It wasn't the appearance of someone who had been captured a few days ago—or even a few weeks.

But why would they enslave humans? Seth wondered, hurrying over to join Nightmare, clutching his dagger's handle. 'Are there any other Fishlords around?'

'No, but Danger Sense is tingling,' the direwolf answered, eyes fixed onto the two-finned Fishlord. 'I think this one's stronger than all the others we've fought.'

'We have to give it a try.'

As Seth snuck closer to the man and the humanoid beast, he hid behind a rock and dropped his leather bag before unsheathing his dagger. The more he fought as one with his core, the less he was drawn to using his bow. It didn't allow him to be himself. To thrive. It was too safe to fight from a distance. Sure, it was still useful from time to time, but with the decreasing number of arrows, he had to keep them for special opportunities. And this was not one of them. 'I'll charge alone first. You should find a good ambush to stop it from casting Ocean Armor.'

'Understood.'

Seth activated his Protecting Belt, and thousands of shimmering particles spun around him before condensing into a thin layer of blue aether. Core throbbing in his chest, he left his hideout and charged toward the two-finned Fishlord, channeling Identify as Nightmare stayed invisible and dashed to the side.

Fishlord Aquamancer

 

Potential: Iron Tier

Rank: 30 (Low-Iron)

Affinity: Water

 

Strength: 54

Arcane Power: 101

Toughness: 41

Well Capacity: 71

Agility: 52

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Regeneration: 72

'It's an Aquamancer!' Seth exclaimed, pouring aether in Haste's grooves. 'And its Arcane Power is through the roof—watch out for Torrent Wave!'

The moment it saw him, the Fishlord shoved the prisoner aside and raised its webbed hand. Aether swirled for half a second around his limb, then a spear of water shot out from his palm. Seth jumped to the side, so the spell struck the tree behind him, blasting its trunk into an explosion of splinters.

Freaking hell! Seth barely had the time to cross a few yards when the Fishlord flicked its wrist again and sent another Water Spear his way, forcing him to dodge again. 'Whenever you want!'

'On it!'

Nightmare phased out of Illusionary Emptiness and sprang at the Fishlord's unguarded back. His teeth sank into the green skin, which allowed Shadow Bite's black smoke to tear through the Fishlord's flesh. The creature let out a guttural shriek, its bulging eyes widening in pain. Seth also lunged in, his dagger ready to strike. Yet before the blade could connect, a surge of water erupted from the Aquamancer, catapulting Seth and Nightmare through the air like ragdolls. They crashed and tumbled across the ground, rocks stabbing into Seth's back and sides, and Nightmare yelping as he slammed into a half-submerged tree.

Anger contorting its face, the Fishlord lifted his arm skyward and bellowed. Within seconds, the air grew heavy, moisture condensing into a soup-thick fog. Visibility plummeted—Seth strained his eyes but could barely see more than a few feet away.

'Nightmare, go back in Illusionary Emptiness!'

As the direwolf complied and vanished, Seth's core ignited and turned into a small storm, releasing waves of its mysterious energy and forcing aether into Haste's grooves. His instinct instantly took over, and he pivoted before diving to the side, barely dodging a Water Spear that smashed the boulder behind him into pebbles.

Rolling to his feet, Seth began to sprint, his boots kicking the oozy ground as lightning arcs flickered to life on his dagger. No section on Aquamancer Fishlords in the encyclopedia had ever mentioned a spell creating fog, but it wasn't the case for the other spell which had catapulted him away; Torrent Wave, a spell with a cooldown, like Nightmare's Shadow Step.

There was no time to waste.

Seth kept running through the fog, his sense on high alert, ears straining for the splash of the Fishlord's footsteps. A low hum echoed ahead, and he instinctively dashed to the side as another Water Spear hissed past him. The Fishlord's veiled silhouette gradually appeared ahead, turning to flee, but Seth lunged forward, his dagger slicing its back, sending black lightning coursing through its green flesh. The Fishlord roared in pain and swung its razor-sharp claw.

Unable to dodge in time, Seth took the blow. He felt the impact—the pain—but instead of tearing through his flesh and bones, the keratin bounced off the aether barrier from his belt. Without missing a beat, he retaliated with a rapid flurry of slashes, each cutting through the Fishlord's torso.

Howling in rage, the humanoid creature began mustering aether around his arm when Nightmare suddenly burst out from Illusionary Emptiness, jaws snapping shut around the creature's limb. Thick black smoke engulfed it, and flesh melted to the bones in a heartbeat.

Pouring aether into his arm, Seth buried his dagger into the Fishlord's belly and unleashed another surge of dense, black lightning arcs. A visceral cry left the hideous creature's throat as its body jerked, writhing under the combined assault of the electrical current and Shadow Bite's corrosive smoke.

Blood spurting from its maw, the humanoid creature raised its uninjured arm to aim its palm at Seth, but Nightmare immediately vanished and sprung from its shadow on the other side, biting into its thin bicep. With a grunt, Seth wretched out his dagger and threw it in the air to reverse his grip, then plunged it hilt-deep into the Fishlord's chest, right where its heart should be. Letting out a strangled gurgle, the creature collapsed to the ground.

For a moment, Seth and Nightmare stood still in the dissipating fog, both panting. That was the highest-Rank beast they had slain so far, but thanks to it being a caster with low Agility and Toughness, they'd made it without any serious injury.

Seth quickly knelt to slice the Fishlord's chest open and yanked out the blue crystal inside. Then, glancing at the chained man still on the ground in the distance, he pocketed the beaststone and walked over to him.

"Th-thank you," the man muttered with a rasping voice, tears welling in his eyes as Seth approached.

"It's nothing," Seth answered before pointing at the man's shackles. "Any idea where that Fishlord kept the key—"

'Seth!' Nightmare bellowed through their bond. 'We gotta go! There's half a dozen two-finned coming our way!'

"Damnit!" Seth cursed, glancing to his left then back at the ravaged man. "I'll come back for you! I swear I won't let them kill you!"

"No, please!" the man begged as Seth turned and dashed toward where he had hidden his leather back. "Don't go! Don't let them take me… kill me instead! Please, just kill me!"

Seth's throat tightened and his stomach knotted, but Nightmare's urgent cries kept him from stopping. Reaching his leather bag, he slung it over his shoulders and pushed what little aether he'd regenerated so far into his legs, simultaneously activating his Nimble Ring and Professor Reat's Vanishing Pocket Watch. In a burst of speed that blurred the landscape around him, he bolted away, following Nightmare ahead.

Each thunderous step pounded the ground beneath him, his breaths coming quick and shallow as he tore across the swamp's dry patch. The Fishlords' howls behind gradually turned to distant whispers, and just as the five-minute effect of the ring was about to come to an end, Nightmare spotted a cluster of rocks jutting out like crooked teeth from the ground next to a gnarled willow.

'Let's hide there for now,' the direwolf said.

'Alright,' Seth answered. He trailed after his partner and slipped into the small space between the rocks and the tree. Almost immediately, he dropped to the ground, his heart pounding against his ribcage.

Throwing his bag aside, Seth felt rage flaring his chest. His hands rolled into tight fists, nails digging into his palms until blood seeped out. He could still hear the man's voice imploring to kill him. What had he gone through to be so desperate? Probably hell. And I left him there.

'Stop blaming yourself,' Nightmare said, lying beside him. 'It wasn't your fault he was captured.'

Seth grimaced, leaning against the rock behind him. 'Yeah, but… he was right there. The key was probably on that Fishlord's body. I could have got—'

The direwolf nudged him with his muzzle. 'You're not responsible for every human's well-being. And you can't save anyone if you're dead. The group of two-finned Fishlords was closing on us.'

'I know.' Seth sighed, pushing all the aether he regenerated into the Nimble Ring to fill it back. 'But this is… different.'

'We'll rescue him later. Let's refill our Wells first.'

Seth didn't answer and instead stared at the sunbeam hitting the rock in front of him. He hadn't been able to save the man because he wasn't strong enough. It always seemed to come back to that. Power.

As he finished replenishing his ring, pocket watch, and belt, a thought surged in Seth's mind. Elena's orb!

Without wasting a second, Seth reached into his pouch and pulled out the communication orb the noblewoman had given him a little over a week ago. He then infused aether into it, watching the smooth surface intently.

But nothing happened.

He frowned. Am I doing something wrong… or it simply doesn't work inside Rifts?

Either way, there was no light, no vibration, no signal coming from the orb.

Not that it would've changed much, he thought bitterly. Elena's father wouldn't send troops into a Rift for a mere adventurer captured by some humanoid beasts.

With a sigh, he slipped the orb back into his pouch and closed his eyes, letting his Well slowly fill up. The hard ground and jagged rock underneath felt surprisingly comfortable. For a moment, he allowed his muscles to relax and his mind to drift. Nightmare would warn him if there was any danger.

Just as he teetered on the edge of sleep, something stirred into his chest. A strange warmth suddenly bloomed inside, as if he was growing a second heart made of pure aether. The feeling swelled outward until it enveloped him completely, radiating through his torso and branching into his limbs. Within his core, a storm seemed to awaken, unleashing torrents of its mysterious energy into his veins, merging with the waves of aether and flooding every fiber of his body.

Seth's eyes shot open, and a feeling of profound clarity washed over him. He could feel everything surprisingly well: his surroundings, the faintest vibrations of aether, and even the intricate network of grooves coursing through his body. His Well, once hazy and distant, now pulsed vividly in his chest, as if a veil had been lifted and had granted him a new level of awareness.

"Did I just...?" he muttered, though the answer was already clear.

Seth quickly looked down at his hand and cast Identify.

Seth

 

Class: Primalist

Rank: 21 (Low-Iron)

Subclass: Beastmaster

 

Core: Feral Instinct

 

Strength: 65 (58+7)

Arcane Power: 59 (52+7)

Toughness: 48 (44+4)

Well Capacity: 43 (39+4)

Agility: 73 (65+8)

Regeneration: 48 (44+4)

Spells:

- Link [???〜??? (???)]

- Share [???〜??? (???)]

- Dark Shocking Strike [Copper〜Rare (Standard)]

- Haste [Copper〜Uncommon (Refined)]

- Identify [Copper〜Common (Refined)]

Seth's eyes went wide. Somehow, he'd obtained a subclass—Beastmaster—which he'd never even heard of, and along with it a new spell through a Revelation.

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*See author note for the total attributes gained*

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