403 Guardian (2)
Contrary to the overbearing presence that had pressed Skullius and Ferex before, even going as far as to somehow imprint itself in their bodies for a short time, a friendly and welcoming voice that gave relief to the two gushed out.
This relief was in more than one way however…
[You have been granted free mobility within the Majestic Territory by the Grand Moon Flipper, ‘Fuwin’]
Skullius and Ferex felt the tension on their bodies resulting from the thick waters lessen as traversing through the water became a whole lot easier.
A whole lot, as if they barely existed at all.
Luckily for them and all other aspiring entrants, the agreement between the Grand Moon Flipper and another party dictated such.
Ferex who was able to see the figure of the owner of this space could only gawk in surprise.
It was… a dolphin!
A massive glowing dolphin with an overbearing whitish gold shine around it that made the appearance of its Territory very clear.
Much of it, or rather all around, was what looked like large, swaying green-coloured coral that made up the shell for the inner space that stretched for quite a bit of distance.
At least a mile.
Asides from this, the prominent features of the Territory itself were shiny floating clams and shells along with large rocks in the distance below where algae and sorts of matter festered over to create a rather simplistic design.
‘Woow… this Territory seems large,’ Skullius said while loosening up a bit, the restrictions on his senses having been lifted with the appearance of the light.
He didn’t let his marvels overtake his focus on the master of the Territory though, as despite the friendly tone propounded, this could still go sideways.
‘It is,’ Sila chipped in. ‘This beast is very friendly. He entertains company and likes to chat so indulge him. Hmmm. He should be able t–‘
“KIKIKIKI! Now, show yourself to me~. I can get really mad with you if keep hiding~,” the massive dolphin said, its loud voice cutting off Sila even with its friendly tone that still didn’t make Skullius understand a damn thing it was saying.
(A/N: Please note, the sound Fuwin makes isn’t meant to directly resemble the sound that a dolphin makes).
Yet..
“Oh, it’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten not to talk to myself like this~.”
As the dolphin said this, Skullius felt a powerful connection hook itself into his mind, firmly anchoring onto his consciousness. A friendly voice then echoed in his mind.
“KIKIKIKI! Humans rarely visit this place anymore so I’d almost forgotten how to interact with them. You hate the sea after all, don’t you? KIKIKIKI! You should be able to understand me now, right?! I hate that Known Language nonsense those humans tried to make me learn! A chat should be close up and invasive, riiiiight~”
“Uuuuh…” Skullius didn’t know what to say. The beast surely was acting friendly but the breach in boundaries had totally caught him off guard while hearing what it actually said threw him off.
“Come on! Show yourself. I can vaguely make out both of your appearances! KIKIKIKI! To think a human can actually obscure my senses in my own Territory,” Fuwin said with enthusiasm.
Skullius, while taking note of Sila’s words, decided to acquiesce to the request.
He could vividly understand the dolphin’s intent instead of experiencing it through language, a bit like how he and his Apostles spoke, but without the voice.
Skullius came out of Ferex’s mouth while the beast retracted its Pseudo Spirit Walker’s Hide.
“KIKIKIKI! Good, good! I’m happy you’re not so difficult! So different from this one human who kept trying to kill me~. So rude! I entertained him a few times before I had to put him down. <Sigh>. I thought we could be friends but he just wanted to swing his weapon against me. Tragic!” Fuwin said with a mild sullenness that creeped through Skullius’ mind from the voice.
Skullius figured that this was his cue. He hoped this was a two-way thing though.
“Uh… I didn’t come here to fight… Fuwin,” Skullius said.
“KIKIKIKI! Yes, yes, that’s my name! How did you know?!”
“Uhh….” Skullius froze.
He had just said it after seeing the notification from before and in the tension hurriedly stated it to try and give a false sense of familiarity.
Subconsciously.
However, since he had already made the play, he might as well finish the game.
“Uh… you see, I read about you from this book written by this one man who once came here looking for a certain hidden place. He died sometime ago but he wrote about you being a friendly beast who allowed him to find what he was looking for,” Skullius weaved up a lie on the spot that also did the job of flattering and trying to see how much he could milk from throwing compliments at Fuwin.
Sila would have face palmed if he could.
This was only his second time watching Skullius perform the sacred art of bullshit after all.
“Oh! Yes, yes I am friendly! KIKIKIKI! Now that I think about it, I only shared my name with two humans. It was a very long time ago! Ah… I wish I could see those two again but… if one of them even indirectly directed you to me, that must mean… my friendliness is being appreciated! KIKIKIKI!”
Skullius was afraid to mention how weird this while encounter was as that would be rude. Even entertaining a thought of that was unacceptable as if the creature somehow caught onto it…
“Yes that’s right! I’m already feeling safe and comfortable as we speak,” Skullius said.
Sila shook with irritation.
While this beast had basically not changed at all, it was shocking how simplistic its mentality was. Or at it seemed that way. Perhaps that was the side effect of being trapped by duty for thousands of years with little interaction.
His experience was different though.
“KIKIKI! Of course, I’m friendly after all. Though I guess you didn’t come here just to talk to me. As depressing as that is, I know what you’re here for.”
Skullius gulped.
“We can still talk. I just need to see if I can find what I’m looking for first.”
“Oh~? Really?” Fuwin asked with a happy voice but soon, he turned sullen. “You might die in there, though. Actually, as weak as you are, you’ll die for sure.”
Skullius smiled sheepishly.
“I’ll be fine. I can handle myself.”
The Discount Human barely believed this himself.
“No can do,” Fuwin said, his massive body slowly swimming around Skullius. “My agreement with those twelve humans forbids me from being too friendly to the point of neglecting the rules and evaluations they set up. <Bubble, bubble>. I wish I could give you favours.”
‘Ah….there it is,’ Skullius hiddenly thought. It either seemed that Grinning Jester Fox that guarded the Labyrinth of the Yoke had not been given too many instructions by Fulgardt on evaluation or was just flat out lazy.
This guy on the other hand, seemed rigid on this matter.
He was friendly, but strict.
“Alright. What kind of evaluations are we supposed to do?” Skullius asked.
“KIKIKIKI!” the water trembled as Fuwin quakes with excitement. “You’re interesting! Even though you’re weak, you still want to try!”
“Yes.”
“Good, good! Alright, the first evaluation is a question.”
Skullius tensed as he prepared. What kind of question could this possibly be?
It didn’t take long for him to find out however, as Fuwin promptly asked.
“Are you male or female?”
….