New Technique (2)
[That is what you mean by using your shield?]
"Yeah. I'm talking about filling my shield with water and using that."
Aqua tilted her head, clearly not getting it.
I pointed at the Water Shield.
"Aqua. Pull the water inside this shield."
[Understood!]
Aqua manipulated the water within the Water Shield as I instructed. I reached out and tugged the shield in the opposite direction.
[Huh? What are you doing?]
"Keep pulling it just like that."
Aqua ramped up the force. Even with my rank bumped up to D-grade, there was no way I could overpower a supreme spirit like her. According to her spirit status window, Aqua was A+-grade.
I even set my umbrella aside and yanked the Water Shield with both hands as hard as I could.
"Hey, hey. You'll catch a cold."
Jang Gilsan held his umbrella over my head. I was too focused on pulling to even thank him.
[You're holding up pretty well!]
Thinking we were playing around, Aqua got excited and pulled even harder. The moment the tug-of-war broke and I hit my limit, I punched a fist-sized hole in the Water Shield in the direction she was pulling.
Boom!
Water exploded out of the hole like a burst dam.
[Ooh!]
Aqua stared wide-eyed at the gushing torrent. The Water Shield hovered well above her head, so she was safe. Instead, the water ravaged the flower bed's grass, churning it into mud.
[Oooh!]
Aqua's eyes went round as saucers. I was just as shocked.
She peered at the upturned flower bed with wonder, then asked me excitedly.
[What is this?]
I grinned.
"Our combined technique."
[Oooh...]
Aqua's eyes sparkled brighter than stars.
* * *
I ditched my umbrella and brainstormed the new technique with Aqua in the downpour. Mandu played with the frogs but sneaked peeks at us now and then.
Jang Gilsan had nearly gotten soaked once, so he gave up on sharing his umbrella and lounged against a rock a short distance away.
I shaped the Water Shield into a sphere and floated it into the sky. Aqua yanked the water inside toward one side.
"Faster!"
[Got it!]
Aqua surged the pull in one go. I nearly lost control but managed to poke a hole—barely wide enough for a needle.
Piiiing!
A vicious whistle pierced the air as water shot out like a laser. The jet flew meters before gouging a shallow crater into a rock in the flower bed.
It was the combo of Aqua's innate spirit power and the Destructive Power from our quest clear.
Aqua spotted the hole and giggled.
[Success again!]
She threw her hands up in glee. I felt a twinge of fatigue but high-fived her.
[Can we use this in real combat now?]
"With some tweaks and practice, yeah. Since we're on the topic, wanna refine it right now?"
[Yes!]
I shrank the Water Shield to fist-size and floated it beside her.
"All at once this time. Remember the force I could handle earlier?"
[More or less!]
"Pull with that force in one shot when I give the signal. Got it?"
[Yes!]
Aqua was buzzing. A new technique—and one synced perfectly with me—had her thrilled.
"Ready? One, two, three!"
We yanked the Water Shield in opposite directions simultaneously. I punched the hole at the same instant.
Piiiing!
The high-pressure jet was a bit weaker but still sliced fiercely through the air.
[Done!]
"Nice!"
Our rapid progress had me pumped. The base technique was solid. With practice, we could infuse Aqua's full Destructive Power and make it combat-ready.
While we were at it, I tested the second idea that had popped up.
"Aqua. Fill this with Healing Water this time."
I formed a thumbnail-sized spherical Water Shield. Once she filled it, I rolled the "portable potion" around on my palm.
This one was for healing, not fighting.
'If I prep a bunch like this before battle, I can recover mid-fight.'
I popped the makeshift potion into my mouth and crunched it with my molars.
Pop! The Water Shield burst, and Healing Water flooded straight down my throat.
'Could even fill it with regular potions for combat use.'
Uncorking potions mid-battle was a hassle. This way, it was effortless.
Aqua's Healing Water, infused with her Healing Power, outdid standard potions despite slower onset.
'One technique leveraging Destructive Power, another Healing Power. Both enhanced by my Water Shield.'
I grinned down at Aqua. She beamed back identically.
"Nailed it?"
[Perfect success!]
We hugged. Soaked and chilly from the rain, yet somehow warm.
[Heehee! We did it!]
"Awesome new technique!"
We lingered in the embrace before broaching the next step.
"Time to name these bad boys?"
[Of course! Naming is the best part of technique development!]
"It's pressurized water shot... Ultra-High-Pressure Cannon?"
[Ultra-high...? Too complicated! How about Stream of Destruction?]
"Destruction... Yeah. Orb of Destruction?"
[Ooh?]
"Orb of Destruction and Orb of Healing?"
[Orb? Orb of Destruction... Perfect! Let's go with that!]
Aqua grinned ear to ear.
Right on cue, the quest alert popped up.
New Technique Acquisition Quest completed.
Reward: Prophecy.
Receive reward?
* * *
We headed back to the room. Aqua dried us off, so no shower needed. After changing out of our muddy clothes, I found her perched by the window, gazing at the clearing rain clouds. Mandu lounged on her lap, purring under her strokes, eyes half-closed in bliss.
I sat beside them, watching the clouds drift away.
[Is it not wondrous?]
Aqua's voice held a dreamy lilt.
[Water comes from the sky yet belongs to the earth. So does water originate from earth or sky?]
I was stumped for a second. It was the classic chicken-or-egg dilemma.
"Didn't know spirits pondered philosophy."
[Philosophy? What is that? Something to eat?]
"Haha. Nothing."
We watched the sky clear completely.
"Shall we check the prophecy now?"
[Yes!]
Excitement bubbling, we opened the Spirit Shop.
'Wonder what the Spirit Shop wants to show us with this prophecy reward.'
A bit tense, but mostly thrilled, I tapped Prophecy in the Item Storage.
Reward issued.
Prophecy commencing.
Whoosh!
Darkness swallowed us in an instant. I grabbed Aqua's hand in shock. She jolted too.
[Eek?]
Pitch black enveloped everything. Only a full moon hung in the sky, casting faint light.
A voice called out as we scanned our surroundings in alarm.
[Aqua.]
A stranger's voice. But the moment I heard it, I felt Aqua's body stiffen through our clasped hands.
[Come home.]
A figure descended from the shadows. Translucent blue form, a seven-year-old child's build, a stern face with a beard. The face from academy textbooks no spirit user could forget.
I blurted it out.
"Water Spirit King... Niagara…!"
Ignoring me, the Water Spirit King gazed only at Aqua.
[Come home, Aqua. This is no place for you.]
[...Niagara.]
Aqua murmured his name softly, voice thick with tension.
The darkness lifted. We were back in the room.
I checked on Aqua first. She looked resigned yet somber, as if expecting this.
The Spirit Shop confirmed the quest reward delivered; Item Storage was empty.
[Chit?]
Mandu, uncontracted and blind to the shop and prophecy, lifted his head to peer at Aqua's face.
Aqua smiled faintly and stroked him. He closed his eyes, savoring it.
"Aqua."
I called her seriously.
"What was that prophecy?"
She turned, face grave. I straightened instinctively.
[Yes. It is time I told you.]
Dim sky, pouring rain. Aqua's solemn voice cut through.
I swallowed hard.
[The truth is... I am...]
She paused, then blurted it out.
[The successor to the Water Spirit King!]
"I knew that."
[Eh?]
Aqua shattered the tension with a squeak.
She blinked.
[You knew?]
"...Wished you didn't?"
I'd suspected for a while that Aqua was Niagara's successor, the next Water Spirit King.
The inkling hit on day three after meeting her, at the beach after a city trip.
'A water spirit unlike the undines, with a unique name and look? Only a Spirit King fits.'
Confirmation came at the spirit assembly. An undine nearly called her "Princess."
I'd waited for her to bring it up.
Aqua nodded slowly.
[Humans are sharp, as expected. This speeds things up.]
She spoke breezily, unburdened.
[I ran away from the Spirit Realm!]
"Ran away?"
I was genuinely surprised this time.
Aqua was a runaway spirit princess.