“Hey, where’s the loot?” Andy cried as we flew slowly along the huge room.

  “This entire room is loot,” Ruby breathed.

  “It’s nice, but I have to agree with Andy,” Tomas said. “There has to be more.”

  I got an idea and tried my new ability Perception Pulse for the first time. My senses erupted outward in every direction like my head exploded. There was no pain, but it was weird as my senses rippled out to fill the huge space and flooded my mind with so much information, for a moment I forgot all about my own body as I became the entire room.

  I saw everything, down to the tiniest particle on the back sides of each column. I heard the faint swishing of water currents and felt the fabric on the couches. I knew the texture and even the taste of every surface. I’d never felt anything like it.

  “Lucas, are you okay?” Ruby asked, flying up next to me.

  Her movement through the water drew my senses like a lodestone, and I saw her more completely than ever before. The perfection of her face, the soft expanse of her thick, red hair floating behind her, the depths of her eyes. She mesmerized me.

  “Lucas?” she asked again, frowning.

  I blinked as the pulse faded, then blew out a breath. “Whoa! What a rush.”

  “She has that effect sometimes, eh?” Steve asked with a grin.

  I ignored the jibe. “I just tried a new ability for the first time. Let’s me pulse my Perception across the area to get a clearer sense of everything around me.”

  “That sounds cool,” Jane said. “I can do something similar with my mental projection.”

  Huh. I had no idea. I wanted to ask her more about that, but as my mind filtered through everything that had just flooded through it, one fact jumped to the fore.

  “It worked too. Check out what’s behind that tapestry behind the throne.” I pointed to the colorful tapestry that depicted King Corvath lording over a fancy banquet.

  “A treasure room?” Andy guessed and shot toward the far wall.

  “I should have guessed it’d be behind the throne,” Tomas chuckled as we all gave chase.

  Sure enough, when Andy pulled the tapestry aside, he found a door in the stone wall. It was unlocked, and he pushed it open and rushed inside. Thankfully, no traps or defensive spells triggered. Inside was a large square room, sheathed in gleaming mother-of-pearl that sparkled with inner light.

  Heavy tables made out of pink coral lined 3 of the 4 blank walls, and on each table stood golden chests. Andy was already eagerly flipping them all open. Several were filled to overflowing with tier-5 mana crystals. Two more contained thousands of pearls. Ruby, Jane, and Lana rushed over and plunged their hands into the piles of pearls, laughing and oohing at the treasure.

  The other loot was far more interesting. One chest contained only a single item, a beautiful, gleaming white shell.

  “The Eternal Tideshell. Epic. This indestructible nautilus shell is a prized treasure of Corvath’s family, containing the memory of every song sung by the best merfolk choirs for the past thousand years.”

  As soon as I shared the description, Ruby tore herself away from the chest full of pearls, reached in with reverent hands, and picked up the large shell. She held it to her ear and gasped. “It’s beautiful!”

  Jane and Lana pressed in to hear, so I shifted over to study the final wall where racks of merfolk weapons hung. Over 20 gleaming steel tridents took up most of the space, along with a long harpoon. The tridents were rare grade, with bonus piercing when wet, and Tomas started taking them all to use in his constructs. Steve picked up the harpoon and whistled softly.

  “Abyss Fang. Epic. The personal weapon of Queen Nyssara, the Stormtamer, the famous battle queen and 5th-generation grandmother of Corvath. This weapon is featured in many of the folk’s greatest tales of heroism. Forged from the fang of an ancient sea leviathan and tempered in the depths of the Abyssal Trench, Abyss Fang's shaft is crafted from enchanted black coral, unbreakable yet flexible, allowing it to return to the wielder’s hand like a serpent slithering through the currents.

  Bonus piercing damage against non-sea folk. Once every 10 minutes, unleash Leviathan's bite or Stormpiercer Surge.

  Leviathan's Bite. On impact, the harpoon releases a spectral maw that clamps down on its target, dealing massive piercing damage and reducing mobility.

  Stormpiercer Surge. Charge with elemental power to triple throwing speed, pierce multiple targets, and unleash a shockwave of elemental power on impact.”

  “That’s quite a weapon,” I said after finishing reading the description. It was like the scary older brother of my old Ahab’s Harpoon.

  “A perfect addition to my arsenal,” Steve said, and the harpoon disappeared into his inventory.

  The ladies agreed to share ownership of the Eternal Tideshell, and we split the pearls and mana crystals. I let my team inspect the rest of the loot and divide it among themselves, but I turned my attention to the items I’d directly looted from Tydrion and Corvath.

  Between the 2 of them, I got another 25 tier-8 mana crystals. I hadn’t expected so much, since Tydrion’s description suggested he was on the verge of bankruptcy. I guess even struggling counts were loaded. Or maybe more of the money came from King Corvath. He seemed pretty wealthy, and I’d already gotten several hundred tier-5 mana crystals. Either way, it was a nice bonus.

  I pulled the next item from my inventory to inspect. It was a circular medallion made of deep blue metal. In the very center was a symbol like a whirlpool dragging a broken crown into the depths.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The surface surrounding the symbol was etched with wavy, tide-like patterns that seemed to move when viewed from different angles, while the outer edge was covered in cryptic runes unlike anything I’d learned so far. I did sense vast power imbued in them. It flowed around me like an invisible undertow.

  “Deep Tide Seal of Conquest. Legendary. This unique item, an ancient relic of Queen Marisara’s homeworld, Thalrassia, dates back to the endless days of warfare before the foundation of the Moonlit Cascade. Wielded by the Deep Tide Tyrant himself, it helped him subdue all enemies and create a dynasty that eventually established the empire.

  Crafted by the entire ruling body of the Brotherhood of the Abyssal Trench, the Seal grants its wielder the right of conquest to claim the titles, holdings, and possessions of all enemies defeated in sanctioned duels.

  As part of the eventual peace treaty between the monarchs of the 12 woven tides, the Seal was cast into the depths of the Trench and lost to time. A standing imperial decree still imposes death upon any who attempt to activate the Seal again. Still, many consider the Seal the empire’s greatest treasure, and countless brave adventurers have dared the uncharted depths of the Abyssal Trench to hunt for it. Most never return.

  Count Tyrdrion may have failed in many of his ventures, but the great success of his life was defeating Vhoryx, the Drowned Tyrant and prying the Seal from the fossilized heart of the undead drake. He planned to reveal the famous Seal to Queen Marisara once she returned home victorious, with hopes of winning her hand in marriage and rising against all tides to become emperor.”

  That was a crazy-long description, and it hinted at so much history of Queen Marisara’s world. That must have been the prize Tydrion had said he’d throw in as a prize for winning the duel. His arrogance was off the charts to risk such a treasure.

  Still, the powers of the Seal didn’t really drive home until I received another notification.

  “Congratulations, Lucas! For defeating Count Tydrion in a sanctioned duel, you won the Deep Tide Seal of Conquest. Tydrion took the unprecedented step of making the Seal the official Artifact of his house. By so doing, he unwittingly opened the door to reawaken its powers. As a result, you are the first person in over 3000 years to enjoy the benefits of the Seal. You receive all of Count Tydrion’s titles, holdings, possessions, and an emerald Overlord Loot box.”

  “Note: Due to your Trailblazer and Musketeer titles, loot box upgraded to Ruby. Due to your Elaris clan agreement, loot doubled.”

  “Whoa,” I breathed. Ruby loot box for the win!

  It was weird that Eva spelled out all the upgrades I got from my titles to push the loot box up to ruby. Usually I had to guess if I got benefits or not.

  I laughed as I squeezed the Seal in my hand. I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant to win Tydrion’s titles and possessions. I didn’t see tons of new loot in my inventory. Maybe I’d get another vault out of the deal. That would be cool. I didn’t get a message about winning titles from King Corvath. Would I have, if he’d challenged me to a formal duel?

  I resisted the urge to instantly open the loot box until I finished scanning the rest of my loot and reviewed my other achievements. I got one other item from Tydrion that seemed important. It was a beautiful naginata-style polearm.

  “Leviathan’s Grasp. Legendary. Housebound. Tier-3. The signature weapon of Count Tydrion, this weapon is bound to the leader of the house. Unless officially replaced by another weapon, it cannot be lost or permanently destroyed. Like soulbound items, it will return to the wielder’s hand.

  This shape-shifting polearm was forged from the remains of an ancient, abyssal horror. Will auto-adjust to the current tier and can take different forms, depending on the will and current shape of the wielder, with up to a 25% shift in total mass. Imbued with Apex Predator’s Mark. Once per enemy, may unleash Predatory Bind.

  Apex Predator’s Mark. Every beast or enemy slain by this weapon imprints it with power from their mightiest stat or attribute, enhancing the weapon’s power.

  Predatory Bind. When piercing an enemy, summon abyssal tendrils to wrap the victim, binding and crushing with twice the wielder’s Strength.”

  I hefted the polearm, which felt far lighter than it should. The 7-foot shaft of mysterious black material was faintly ridged, like with hints of scales, giving excellent purchase. The 2-foot blade looked more like bone than steel, with an insanely sharp edge when I tested it.

  “This is magnificent,” I breathed.

  As much as I loved it, I didn’t see myself wielding the legendary weapon often. Could I somehow make one of my blades or heavy weapons the new housebound weapon of my newly acquired noble house? That might be worth pursuing. Having another soulbound weapon I actually used would be amazing.

  Cyrus boomed, “To the victor go the spoils! And to the winner of official duels between nobility usually goes the signature weapon of the defeated. Now that Tydrion foolishly linked his house with the Seal, so too went his house artifact and with it, everything he possessed.”

  “That can’t be normal.”

  “Of course not. No noble, no matter how confident they are in victory, bet their entire house on the outcome of a duel.”

  “So what exactly does it mean to win his title, possessions, and holdings?”

  “Just what it says. You’ll get more details soon.”

  I tried tempering my excitement with the fact that everything Cyrus was saying I’d just won was stuck on another world. It wouldn’t do me much good if I couldn’t get it. Still, I’d remain cautiously optimistic until I learned more.

  In the meantime, back to the rest of the loot. From King Corvath, I got another weapon: his trident. The singular, matte-black weapon hadn’t been destroyed when my cannonball blew up against it, but had driven right back through Corvath’s armor and his chest, so I had high hopes as I inspected it.

  “Kraken’s Fang. Trident. Legendary. The personal weapon of Corvath, the merfolk king, this tier-3 weapon will auto-adjust to the current environmental tier. Ignore most magical defenses below tier-3. Plus 50% bonus penetration against any armor below tier-3. Once per minute, trigger Widowmaker.”

  “Widowmaker. When driven into an enemy, the 3 pronged tips will each turn 90 degrees in a different direction and explosively expand 18 inches, dealing devastating internal injuries. Can be retracted again to remove the weapon, or the tines can be left inside the target and the head detached, transforming the weapon into an epic-quality spear.”

  Yikes. That was disturbing. No wonder Corvath had lunged in so fast. If he’d skewered me with that spear, not even my crazy-good armor might have stopped it.

  Imagining the weapon exploding through my body made me grimace. That would have really hurt. Even if I’d defeating him after taking such a hit, could I have retracted those branched-out tines, or would I have had to rip them free the hard way?

  I didn’t see myself using a trident often, but no doubt I’d find uses for that weapon. So I got a second signature weapon, even though our fight hadn’t been a sanctioned duel. Sounded lucky, and just those 2 weapons made it a fantastic haul.

  The rest of the loot I got from the whales and fish I’d defeated were mostly basic. I got hundreds of huge fillets and teeth and blubber, although I did also get a few surprisingly good prizes.

  “Voidscript Finbone Quill. A bone pen that can inscribe runes into virtually any surface. The more mana applied during inscription, the more permanent and powerful the resulting runes.”

  That was exactly the tool I needed for runesmithing. I also got 3 rolls of Stormpiercer Wing Membranes. That was new, and the uncommon item made me grin. Apparently it could be crafted into a lightweight glider.

  As soon as I dumped it into my inventory, it instantly upgraded to rare grade. Nice! I hadn’t noticed other loot trigger that new feature of my upgraded Mystic Looter utility spell.

  I sent a message to Jeeves, asking him to sell the loot I didn’t care about and to submit those rolls of wing membranes as a special order with Sythrak. Could I really end up with my own Breath of the Wild glider? The gamer in me wanted to jump with excitement. It would make an excellent addition to my aerial equipment list.

  I also got a bunch of oversized Skyreaver shark teeth, enchanted with a bleed effect that resisted healing. I’d give those to Tomas to use in his constructs.