Chapter 187: Healer Mermaid
After a while, the tide shifted. Once the fire bats realized the fight was no longer theirs to win, they screeched and scattered into the night.
"Whew~ another victory for us!" Orman shouted, finally letting out the cheer he’d been holding back.
"Hi! I’m Andine, a mermaid," the girl who looks like a fishfolk introduced herself with a cheerful—if slightly forced—smile.
The trio, who’d been a team for the past few hours, turned to the newcomer in unison.
"Hello, Andine. I’m Yuvika, human. That’s Orman, also human. And him—Fian, as you can see, an elf," Yuvika replied, introducing them smoothly.
Andine waved at the two men before speaking again. "I didn’t mean to just stand by earlier. I can fight, but only at close range. You three wiped the bats out before they even got near.
And... well, mermaids aren’t exactly comfortable with fire. That whole mess was just terrible luck. But I do have a Talent worth relying on. My specialty is..."
The mermaid girl looked the three strangers up and down. Her gaze settled on the cut along Orman’s cheek, likely from his own collapsing earth block.
She stepped closer, and her eyes slowly turned red...
"Wait, I didn’t do anything to you! I don’t think of you as a burden," Orman blurted, startled to see the mermaid tearing up.
Andine shook her head. Tears slid down her cheeks, and when they fell into her hand, they crystallized into tiny, pearl-like beads.
She picked one up, crushed it into fine powder, and gently rubbed it onto Orman’s wound.
Before their eyes, the cut vanished.
"A mermaid healer? Are you from the Karina family?" Yuvika asked, stunned.
Andine nodded with a bright smile.
"You have to join us!" Yuvika burst out.
But then she remembered the others. She turned to Orman, who in turn glanced at Fian. Yuvika followed his gaze.
"What do you think, Fian?" she asked carefully.
From the difference in their strength, it was obvious Fian was the de facto leader, even if no official team had been formed.
The elf gave a simple nod, looking rather indifferent about adding another member.
"Yes! I promise I won’t be a burden to your team," Andine said, brimming with excitement.
They rested for a bit. Andine healed her own wounds while Yuvika and Orman brushed dirt and grime off themselves.
Since Gara had only given him one bottle, Fian didn’t share his Niskara tea again.
But Yuvika still had some left. It wasn’t nearly as miraculous as the one Fian drank, but it still helped her feel better, especially since this fight hadn’t been as draining as the rabbit nest earlier.
"Here, drink this, Andine." Yuvika offered her tea.
Andine accepted gladly.
As the Karina girl took a sip, Yuvika watched her with sparkling eyes.
"Glup... eh? My body... I feel refreshed," Andine murmured in surprise.
The sensation reminded her of a rare powder from the Talent of one of the mermaids back in her lake, something so precious it was only used in real wars.
"That tea is sold by my merchant house, the Yugo House. Technically, in Swargaloka Province it’s handled by the Alrova Merchant House, and in Nozama Province it’s us, Yugo.
If you’re interested, maybe the Karina Family could partner with Yugo House to market it in Matara Lake?" Yuvika slipped smoothly into her sales mode.
"You said... sold? But only to select people, right? Surely it isn’t available openly," Andine stammered.
"Of course it’s available to anyone. But only through Yugo House and Alrova House," Yuvika emphasized.
"That’s amazing. Not just Matara Lake, every province would want this," Andine said, unable to stop staring in awe.
"It really is amazing," Yuvika agreed, thinking to herself that Andine would be even more shocked once she discovered the stronger version.
After their little business talk—really just a promise to meet again once the test was over—they moved on to hunt their next prey.
They stumbled upon a massive bear.
Orman created a cage of earth blocks, while Yuvika blasted it forward with her Wind Jet, forcing the beast inside.
Fian drove his massive ice spike straight into the bear’s belly.
As the beast staggered, Andine struck with the scales on her hand, which suddenly extended into dagger-like blades.
The bear collapsed instantly.
"I didn’t expect your scales to be that strong, Andine," Yuvika praised.
Andine smiled shyly. "It’s nothing."
"Sorry for calling you a burden earlier," Orman said, scratching the back of his head.
"You never actually said that," Andine quickly waved him off.
The mood within their team was surprisingly harmonious.
Every time they ran into more wild beasts, they brought them down with ease. But of course, the real reason for their smooth victories was how devastatingly effective Fian’s attacks were.
Without realizing it, Andine’s gaze kept drifting to the elf’s handsome face. His silence only added to his mysterious aura, making him all the more captivating in her eyes.
"So... are you from the capital, Fian?" Andine asked, guessing. As far as she knew, no nomadic elf had ever enrolled in the academy.
Fian glanced at her briefly but gave no reply. Andine didn’t feel slighted. Instead, she found herself even more intrigued.
Just as she was about to try again, Fian spoke. It was the first word he’d said since Andine joined, and the first time she heard his voice.
"...Gara."
Orman and Yuvika both turned.
"Gara? He’s not here. Didn’t he get a free pass on the test?" Orman muttered.
But Fian didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly sprinted off in one direction.
"What’s going on?" Andine asked. Orman and Yuvika only shrugged, just as confused.
They hurried after Fian, though he was so fast they nearly lost track of him. The only thing that kept them on his trail was the sound of shouting up ahead.
When they reached the source, they found Fian standing in front of a boy with bark covering his forehead.
But Fian wasn’t facing him—his attention was locked on a group of beastkin.
"Damn elf! You want to fight all of us?!" one of the beastkin snarled, his furry ears bleeding from what looked like an ice wound, likely one of Fian’s attacks.
"Leave that damn druid, or we’ll crush you too!" another beastkin roared.
Yuvika, Andine, and Orman instantly understood. This was a clash between races, and it looked like the beastkin had the upper hand.
Fighting between participants was allowed during the test, which was why forming teams mattered. The danger wasn’t just wild beasts, but also rivals.
Andine stepped forward confidently. She tossed one of her pearls toward the beastkin who had first shouted at Fian.
"That’s healing powder. As you can see, I’m a mermaid... and a healer of the Karina family," Andine declared.
The moment the name Karina left her lips, the beastkin stiffened. Recognition—and fear—flashed across their faces. They backed away in unison, not daring to press further.
"Leave," Andine ordered. The beastkin obeyed at once, dispersing.
"What in the world just happened?" Orman blinked, bewildered.
He still didn’t really understand why Yuvika had been so thrilled to learn Andine’s identity earlier.
"The influence of the Karina family," Yuvika said simply.
Orman wanted to ask more, but Fian was already walking off, heading in the opposite direction from where the beastkin had retreated.
"Fian, what about him?" Orman called after him, looking at the druid that Fian defended.
But the elf’s figure had already vanished.
Andine handed one of her pearls to the stunned druid, then hurried after Fian.
Yuvika and Orman, though still confused, followed as well.
Meanwhile, the druid remained rooted in place, staring blankly. The whole incident had happened so fast, he hadn’t even processed what had just occurred.
...