The Sect Cafeteria of the Whirling Vorteesi Sect was a sprawling hall carved into the face of a massive coral mesa, with an entrance flanked by large, glowing sea anemones that gently swayed in the current as if welcoming hungry visitors.
While the Sect Cafeteria was usually sect members preferred place of eating , the food prepared was not free, except for Inner Core Disciples and officials, however students of the Teaching Forum were allowed one free meal after every class.
As such inside the space was buzzing with activity.
Mermembers of the sect of varying ages and ranks gathered around large tables carved from seastone, while bioluminescent lanterns hanging from the ceiling cast a soft, amber glow over the scene.
The scent and scents of freshly prepared seaweed dishes, seasoned fish, slow roasted whale, and shellfish stews wafted through the water, drawing hungry disciples in from all corners of the sect.
After leaving the Teaching Forum, Nereus and Jonny had swam over to the sect cafeteria to grab their free meals.
And while Jonny was more than content to take his time and stack up a tray of food that stood taller than him, he knew his friend didn't exactly have the same luxury or time.
That didn't stop him from feasting with his eyes though.
'He sure is passionate about food, I see how he gained his nickname...' As Nereus caught sight of Jonny's eager face and the dazed look in his eyes at all the food before them it brought a small, amused smile to Nereus's lips.
For a moment, the heavy thoughts from the library faded, replaced by a sense of normalcy—something he hadn't felt since awakening in this strange new world. He reveled in the feeling for just a moment before him and Jonny quickly grabbed their free meals and headed back to Nereus's shed.
The entire way there , Nereus's body protested his every movement and his hunger pangs from before had turned into veritable aches and audible rumbles.
It was clear even for Fatty Jonny to see and hear that he had overtaxed himself with his previous haughty display at the Teaching Forum.
In truth, said display was a carefully crafted act that may have pushed the envelope but it was a necessary one in Nereus's eyes, nonetheless.
Argent's previous identity was just far too ordinary to ensure his safety plus it was clear to see that those mertwins and that teacher were looking to create trouble for him by any means necessary.
As such, he had to reveal he wasn't so easy to bully and make an example out of them, at least now they and anyone else would think twice about doing so again in the future which would buy him some time to get stronger.
"Whew I can't believe we made it out of there alive! Did you see the look on all of their faces?!" Jonny asked as they entered the small rickety building.
Looking back at his friend who was surprisingly quiet, he soon realized why he was, "Oh you're just digging right in huh? Hehe I know the feeling, there's nothing like a free meal and today's fish kabobs and spicy algae stew looks especially scrumptious if I do say so myself."
"Mhm mmm" Nereus managed out between bites off the fish kabob. Like a wanderer in the desert that had their first taste of water after eons, Nereus breathed in the food before him like it was his first and final meal.
"Ya know now that I think about it you should have my portion. I'm sure you could use it after that show you put on down there, I never knew you had it in you Argent!" Jonny exclaimed as he placed the extra food before him, "I've got to get going before my father sends for me, but I'll swim by again later. Try not to make any more waves while I'm gone!"
As Jonny made his exit, an inquisitive look slowly appeared across Nereus's face. He was a bit taken aback at his friend's generosity. From Argent's memories Nereus was certain there had never been any other instances of this fatty being so generous.
'Hmm... maybe their friendship wasn't a 'best of a bad situation' one after all.' Nereus thought to himself, ' Either that or he's looking to curry favor with me now that he knows I'm a dual affinity Sealocke... nonetheless.'
Now that Nereus was aware that Sealockes with more than one affinity were exceedingly rare in this time, so much so that any who were found in the Outer Core were usually guaranteed and required to join the Inner Core of the Vorteesi Sect and enjoy the multitude of benefits and cultivation resources that came with the spot. He knew it was only a matter of time until Nereus and his stepsiblings were recruited in.
'... Either way, I won't look a gifted seahorse in the mouth'
Wasting no time, Nereus then swallowed down Jonny's leftover portion as well. With the release of a hefty burp that came out as bunch of bubbles, Nereus and his energy stores were finally feeling somewhat replenished or atleast enough for him to continue cultivating today.
In truth as a growing male Mer let alone Sealocke, he needed much more than the miniscule amount of calories he was getting to develop into a strong and healthy merman.
And given the fact that Nereus could feel some of his Leviathanic blood in this body now meant that he would need much much more calories if he wanted even a chance to return to his previous power level.
Thinking about this fact for a moment he muttered, "One problem at a time..." before sitting crosstailed and closing his eyes.
At that moment Nereus then began to meditate while circulating the energy in his meridians.
In this way, he was able to replenish the Sea Essence used in the skirmish against his stepsiblings while also expanding his still very childish meridians.
Soon enough, his tired body pulled him into a deep sleep but even then, the cyclical Leviathanic flow of the sea essence throughout his meridians continued and in fact even sped up!
This was testament to the many years of meditation and training Nereus had done in his past life, it was so much so that even his subconscious was now trained to continue cultivating even when his body was at rest.
If Old Instructor Hanvic or any other Sealocke were to witness this occurrence right now, their eyes would probably jump from their faces in shock as they labeled Argent a once in a lifetime genius, because such an act was extremely rare and only seen in the Big Three sects nowadays.
As the day steadily passed by and Nereus continued his cultivating within his shed, unbeknownst to him the tale of his daring acts at the Teaching Forum as well as the fact that he and his stepsiblings were dual affinity Sealockes spread all over the Outer Core of the Vorteesi Sect.
And although there was other gossip going around, such as the mysterious news of the destruction of the Abandoned Mine Shaft during the storm, the discovery of three dual wielder Sealockes definitely trumped all of that!
From the group of talented Mer youth who witnessed the incident firsthand to even some adult Mer who held positions of power within the Outer Core, it seemed that almost everyone was talking about it.
Much of these discussions arose from a place of shock, some from envy, but smaller still there were some that arose from a place of extreme anger and hatred...
Inside the dining room of the Nyx family household, Argent's stepfather and the twins' father Brutus had an ugly scowl upon his face as he peered down at his two kneeling teens who were currently crying and pleading.
He was a rather big Merman in both stature and presence.
His dark brown goatee and sideburns were lightly peppered with gray hairs and he possessed a pewter blue tail similar to his two children. If not for his large round stomach and crooked teeth some might have considered him handsome like the other members of the Mer race.
"You have brought shame to this family..." Brutus glared at his offspring with the look one would give an enemy, "everyone has now heard about that bastard Argent's second affinity as well as his triumph over you...pathetic … have you anything to say for yourselves?!"
A heavy silence stretched out as Ruth and Rave shuddered beneath the pressure exerted by their father. As a Sealocke at the peak of the Reef Master rank the heavy aura he exerted on his two kids at the Wave Adept rank was something they could only barely manage to handle.
They could feel his heavy gaze upon them awaiting an answer but try as they might, they couldn't lift their heads. This was the domineering affect only one of a higher cultivation rank could exert on those below him.
Just as the two young Mer were about to collapse, suddenly the great pressure they felt pushing down upon them disappeared all at once. With the relent of his aura from upon them, Ruth and Rave breathed a sigh of relief in a flurry of bubbles just as they heard their father say,
"Judging by the fact that you both do clearly have the Earth affinity now, I guess all of our meticulous planning for all of these years wasn't a complete waste. But that begs the question of if you succeeded in using the conch shell relic on him, how could he still be alive and in possession of the Earth affinity at a greater mastery than both of you?! You must tell me everything that happened before and after you killed him!"
Upon hearing their father's request the twins wasted no time in recounting the events from the night of Argent's death, all the way from tricking him to go into the mine to burying him in there after draining his power.
The twins made sure not to leave out nary a detail, from the desperate look on their father's face they knew this matter was of the utmost importance to him.
After hearing Ruth and Rave's recount of the events, a calm and composed expression appeared on Brutus's face as he took a seat at the circular coral table in the center of the dining room.
After a short while a small smile graced his wide face before he said,
"I see... well it's obvious he was faking his death the whole time then haha. No matter, we'll let him think he's safe and lull him into a false sense of calm. In the meantime, since he'll now surely be mandated to enter the Inner Core and attend classes with you at some point, make sure you make his experience as difficult as possible before then. Haze and sabotage him at every turn if you can, but don't go too far, his status isn't the same as before which is why we must get rid of him soon. Once he's worn down and least expecting of it, that's when we'll finish him off for good."
"Yes, father" said Ruth and Rave respectfully and simultaneously.