Excellent" said Nereus as he eyed his very first subordinate.
He had a somewhat tall and lean figure with a only a miniscule aura from his cultivation which made him look quite weak in Nereus's eyes.
With the addition of his dashingly handsome face complete with huge expressive eyes, thick eyebrows, and pouty pink lips he thought Triton looked more like a playboy socialite rather than a menacing robber.
Feeling his probing gaze on his form, Triton shifted uncomfortably in place but dared not move.
In his heart he was quite nervous and still quite confused at the last moments' developments.
He couldn't understand why this budding star of the sect would spare him and even more so confused at why he decided to take him on as a subordinate.
But Triton was no fool.
He knew that neither his cultivation nor his battle prowess were especially impressive and even his background, though noteworthy, was basically no help to him.
Nonetheless for whatever purpose Nereus had spared him for he felt he was lucky enough to have stayed alive this far.
"You may rise" Nereus's voice sounded after a long silence, "We will formalize our agreement at another time, but for now I have use of you. Are you ready to complete your first task as my subordinate?"
Hearing Nereus's words caused Triton's heart to skip a beat as a bit of of trepidation began to appear in his heart.
But swallowing back his hesitation and clearing his throat he then spoke clearly and took Nereus by surprise in saying,
"Y-yes sir, what is my task?"
Suppressing his surprise at Triton's willingness to serve, Nereus then nodded with a look of satisfaction on his face before pointing to the nearby corpse under the kelpwood tree and stating, "Very well, your first task is to gather all valuables and dispose of this mess here and back down the path for me"
"Done" said Triton with no hesitation.
"...wait really?" Nereus was dumb founded.
He had expected this to be a gut wrenching choice for the young Mer who had seemingly been partners with the deceased. In this way he thought this would make a good test of loyalty to Nereus and of Triton's resolve but he hadn't expected this result.
Wasn't he a bit too willing?
"If you want to take some time to grieve beforehand I totally understa-"
"No need and I'm almost all done with this one here" said Triton who had already gotten to work completing the task. Wasting no time he handed Nereus a few silver coins he had found on his late partner's form before heading back over to dispose of his bones.
To him this task was nothing, especially when considering one of his former partners in crime was planning on taking all the spoils for himself and the other had readily left him for dead.
As such for Triton completing this task was a no brainer.
A dumbfounded expression spread across Nereus's face as the coins jingled in his outstretched webbed hand. 'Did I just come across a madman?' he wondered with an almost comical twitching eye before regaining his composure and clearing his throat.
"V-very well then uh good job. I must take my leave now but when it is time to formalize our agreement I will find you, in the meantime do not commit anymore robberies" Nereus said before handing him half the coins he was just handed, "you may keep whatever you find on the other one as well."
Having spent too much time here already Nereus then quickly made his exit, leaving a dumfounded expression on Triton's face and a complicated feeling in his heart.
Nereus continued on his way back to the small hut he called home and not long after he soon arrived but the sight that greeted him was far from a warm welcome home.
Shards.
Scraps.
Splinters.
All that was left of the small wooden hut that Argent had called for the past five years was bits of rubble. Nereus approached the makeshift hut once nestled amidst a bed of vibrant coral.
Although it was a humble abode, constructed from salvaged driftwood and woven seaweed, it had served as his sanctuary during his reincarnation in this less than warm sect.
As he stared at the floating shards, a sinking feeling gnawed at his heart.
The once sturdy walls lay shattered, scattered fragments of wood strewn across the ocean floor like fallen leaves. Nereus's gaze narrowed in disbelief, his chest constricting with a surge of anger a. How could this have happened? Who dared to defile his sanctuary?
'Could it have been Triton?... No, he wouldn't have had the time nor would he have stayed nearby afterwards'
With a flick of his powerful tail, Nereus darted through the wreckage, searching for any sign of his assailants.
It didn't take long for his keen senses to detect the faint traces of the sea essence of his mertwin siblings—Ruth and Rave. Their laughter seemed to echo in his mind, mocking and taunting him along with with the ghosts of ages ago.
"Nereus, the king with no kingdom," Ruth's voice seemed to whisper on the currents along with his former general who betrayed him. "Too busy with his frivolous training to notice his kingdom crumbling around him."
Rave's scornful chuckle seemed to reverberate through the water along with the voice of his father. "A true leader would have protected what was his , not hidden away like a coward."
Anger burned within Nereus's veins like molten lava, fueling his silent vow to confront Argent's treacherous siblings.
"But not right now" he said with a heavy huff before rising up.
At that moment Nereus's eyes seemed to flash as he analyzed his current predicament.
With his shed now destroyed he knew that he was effectively without shelter for the foreseeable future and without food for now. These were two things that were unacceptable to him.
Without a sufficient place to rest and cultivate in privacy Nereus knew that this would eventually result in a hindrance to his cultivation and ultimately to his ability to protect his Inner Core token; Being hungry for a day was also a grating annoyance to him but at least it was one he could deal with.
"Finding a new place to live on such short notice would be a tall and expensive task for sure... but with the issue of cultivation resources solved by me hunting now, it would be the only obstacle truly barring my speedy cultivation... there's no way around it, but how..."
CLINK CLINK
At that moment the gentle clinking of the coins he had been given earlier by Triton pulled him from his thoughts.
Suddenly his eyes widened in excitement as he had an idea.
"I've got it!" he exclaimed
With a shrewd smile now stretching across his face, he felt calm and confident of his plan.
Shortly after and a few powerful strokes of his tail later, Nereus entered the Vorteesi sect's biggest trading market.
Known as the Blue Coral market, the huge marketplace was like a big melting pot, it was one of the few places where the fiercely segregated social classes would mingle.
Uppity nobles could be seen paying exorbitant prices for finery, the sect sea knights stood guard in their shining runic armor and spears, even civilians and travelers would visit to buy rare plants and various other mystical goods.
The marketplace was near the center of the sect and easily discernible on its 40x40 meter circular seabrick pavement. Rules dictated that only buyers and sellers were allowed on the brick pavement. As such this place was usually devoid of homes and buildings but instead was arranged in long rows with stalls on either side.
With elegant and confident strokes of his tail, Nereus swam down the aisles of the busy Blue Coral market.
The market was a cacophony of sights and sounds—a symphony of merchants haggling, exotic wares on display, and the aroma of herbs and spices wafting through the water. Nereus navigated through the crowd with the poise befitting his royal lineage, his gaze alighting upon the coveted space rings displayed in a merchant's stall.
A space ring—a sea relic capable of storing vast quantities of items within its ethereal confines—was essential for his plans. Earlier he remembered that he had stumbled upon that trove of silver starfish in the depths of a kelp forest during his exploration.
He knew by the miraculous effects they had on cultivation that they must be definitely a highly coveted commodity and as such would fetch a handsome price somewhere like here.
He planned to find and hunt more before transporting them to the market to sell but such a plan, would first require a space ring. But alas, Nereus found himself facing a dilemma—he lacked the necessary funds to procure one.
'Ha only 8 silver coins...maybe I shouldn't have let Triton keep the rest after all...' he thought to himself after counting the coins in his webbed hand one more time.
Undeterred by adversity, Nereus employed the charm and eloquence honed by years of royal upbringing. With a regal air, he approached the merchant, his voice dripping with an aristocratic allure as he prepared to negotiate for a space ring.