The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1090: A Mishap

The status of a Noble Being came with unparalleled influence and preferential treatment in the Myriad Sea God Palace. Unless the disciples were already affiliated with one, most disciples would seek to establish connections to one.

Even those who maintained a neutral stance would keep their eyes and ears open for news related to Noble Beings.

As such, it was practically impossible for Vaan to remain low-key in the Myriad Sea God Palace. Attention followed him wherever he went. Whatever he did would also spark countless discussions.

In particular, his trip to the Mermen Domain had sparked a new wave of heated discussions online. The rage over Vaan’s restricted Pomposity channel had yet to die down when new flames were started.

"Hahahaha! You fish-men are such fools. Don’t you know how rare Noble Beings are? You idiots had such a rare genius, yet you actually shooed him away? Since the fish-men don’t know how to treasure Lord Vaan, we, mermen, will gladly welcome him. Haha!"

"Ptui! Who are you calling fools? Have you forgotten which of us is the more dominant race? You Harpyfish should be grateful that we, fish-men, pitied mermen and were willing to send a Noble Being your way! Such ingrates."

"Ha! Do you think everyone is an idiot like you? Who doesn’t know that you fish-men have f*cked up? Don’t give us such bullsh*t excuses. We don’t need your fake generosity!"

"Right? How dare these uncultured swines call us Harpyfish? I’m afraid they won’t even know what good music is, even if it were presented to them! Hmph, hmph! How dare they compare our heaven-gifted voices to harpies’ screeches? I have never felt so insulted!"

"Why even bother wasting your efforts in trying to educate these buffoons online? They won’t understand the beauty of our songs at all. They simply have no class. That’s why even someone handsome like Lord Vaan was chased away by them."

The competition and rivalry between fish-men and mermen had existed since ancient times.

Despite both sides using derogatory terms and insults to attack each other online, it did not escalate the tension between their races beyond that of simple bickering. After all, these disciples all had little influence or status.

In the eyes of those with high status, they were simply verbal fights between children.

As such, none of the higher-ups would join or intervene in their verbal confrontation online. However, that also suggested that the voices of these low-level disciples didn’t necessarily align with the interests of the higher-ups.

...

Back in Dreamy Pearl Venture, Mirelia happily wiggled off to write up the contract while Vaan continued to enjoy the tea pearls as he waited. At the same time, he took the chance to study the store further.

In the entire store, there was only one other being present, another golden-haired mermaid, who was working her craft in the back workshop. In fact, she seemed to be wholeheartedly focused on her work that she didn’t pay attention to or notice anything else.

She had no idea that a guest was present.

That said, it was surprising that there were only two mermaids to manage such a large store. Even more surprisingly, it was very empty compared to other stores along the bustling street.

Every other store seemed to have a constant stream of visitors, while Dreamy Pearl Venture didn’t even have a single person. Occasionally, some disciples expressed their intention to visit the store, but their seniors pulled them away with shaking heads, dissuading them from doing so. Ŕ𝒶ＮοВÈs

Evidently, there was a problem with Dreamy Pearl Venture.

Newcomers like Vaan had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that the regulars around here knew something.

The discovery made Vaan raise an eyebrow.

He didn’t think there were any problems with the goods offered for sale. After all, he had already inspected them, and even with his limited knowledge, he could tell that they were of high quality with no evident flaws.

Recalling Mirelia’s words, Vaan couldn’t help but suspect that while Dreamy Pearl Venture’s owner had a high status, she was possibly infamous for some reason. As for what those reasons were, he had no idea.

However, he quickly recalled some details and paid attention to the second golden-haired mermaid in the back workshop.

Unlike Mirelia, who appeared neat and clean, the other golden-haired mermaid was the complete opposite. Her hair was messy and filled with grime, while her silken clothes were torn with various subtle burn marks.

"Uh oh," the mermaid suddenly uttered, causing Vaan to raise an eyebrow in alarm.

"It’s done, Young Master! I finished writing up the contract—!" Mirelia happily announced at this moment, raising the silken contract with both hands in celebration, oblivious to the impending disaster behind her.

Boom!

The incomplete Blaze Pearl in the back workshop exploded, and a concentrated amount of heat surged out. Superheated water quickly turned into vapor, creating fast-expanding bubbles that further burst violently with the accompanying shockwave, sweeping across the entire store.

Shelves were knocked over, and countless unfortunate items were damaged in the process—one of them being the newly-written contract in Mirelia’s hands. It was devoured like a school of hungry piranhas had attacked it.

In short, the entire store became a big mess. Only a small area around Vaan was protected.

Furthermore, the impact did not extend beyond the store’s boundary. Although the goods were scattered across the floor, they were mostly undamaged. Everyone caught in the explosion was also unharmed.

The destructive power of the explosion did not exceed Rank 6, given that the Blaze Pearl was still incomplete.

Meanwhile, the bustling street briefly paused as everyone glanced toward Dreamy Pearl Venture. Of course, it only lasted a short instance before they resumed their activities.

With the exception of the newcomers, who were dumbfounded by the mishap, everyone didn’t think much of it as they had grown accustomed to seeing such incidents from Dreamy Pearl Venture.

Without a doubt, it was a recurring situation.

The messy-haired mermaid coughed as she waved her hand to clear the area of the floating debris and powdered remains of some destroyed furniture, materials, and low-level tools.

"Mirelia, are you alright?" the messy-haired mermaid asked.

Mirelia blankly glanced down at the ruined remains of the contract she had just written up, feeling a sense of loss and devastation. Anger shortly filled her heart.

"Kyra! Didn’t you promise me you would stop working on fire-related products in the store’s workshop?! You told me you were going to be working on a new type of Shielding Pearl! What kind of Shielding Pearl explodes with such concentrated fire energy like this?!" Mirelia angrily complained.

"Um..." The messy-haired mermaid called Kyra hesitated to explain before ultimately responding with a wink and peace sign. "My bad... Teehee!"

Mirelia fumed and hurled a handle she found within arm’s reach, hitting Kyra’s head with a bonk.

Ah!

"What do you mean, ’My bad?!’ I’ve told you countless times to stop making them! The store’s environment isn’t suitable for making them! This is why we don’t have any customers, Sister! Why do you have to be so obsessed with fire stuff? Can’t you focus your talent on other areas?!" Mirelia growled with frustration.

"Hehe, I’m sorry, Mirelia. It won’t happen again. This is the last time, I promise," Kyra said apologetically, hoping to placate Mirelia.

However, her words only earn Mirelia’s ire.

"Bullsh*t!" Mirelia cussed for the first time. "You say that every time and still make them! Lady Sevrine only made a joke at that time! You need to stop taking it seriously! Even an idiot knows Blaze Pearls have to be made in a controlled environment! Water and fire don’t mix well!"

As the two mermaid sisters bickered, Vaan watched the scene unfold with rapt attention from the comfort of his seat, occasionally sipping a tea pearl like he was snacking on popcorn.

It didn’t take long before he grasped the situation well.

Dreamy Pearl Venture’s owner was called Lady Sevrine, and she once casually requested Kyra to make a Blaze Pearl in the store’s current environment. Of course, she wasn’t serious about it.

However, Kyra understood Lady Sevrine’s underlying intention in making such a seemingly unreasonable request.

Blaze Pearls weren’t difficult to make, normally, provided they had a suitable environment, such as on land or in the sky. In contrast, the sea was an extremely unstable environment for creating fire-type pearls.

A single lapse in concentration would cause the incomplete Blaze Pearl to explode prematurely.

In other words, creating Blaze Pearls in the sea wasn’t completely impossible, but it required a very high level of skill in the profession.

It could be understood that Lady Sevrine valued Kyra’s talent in pearl-making, and Kyra wanted to take on the challenge to improve her skills. Due to Kyra’s stubbornness, the business suffered.

’So this Kyra isn’t really an explosion-obsessed freak... She’s just challenging herself to improve her skill in pearl-making...’ Vaan mused.

However, he also wondered why Kyra couldn’t just set up a workshop elsewhere to attempt the challenge.

Why did she have to use the store’s workshop specifically, causing all these problems for the business?

As it turns out, Dreamy Pearl Venture’s motto was, "If you can think it, we can make it," and Lady Sevrine, the store’s owner, also happened to be the very first customer. As such, if Kyra couldn’t even succeed with this first request, then she felt like she would have failed to uphold their store’s values.

Vaan couldn’t help but find their relationship amusing, as much as it was complex.

’What an interesting group...’ Vaan smiled.