Chapter 91

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Chapter 091: Underwater Legend

The smoked eel slices of Naga didn’t have a strong fish scale taste, just a subtle indescribable fishy smell. If you didn’t pay close attention, it might seem like a bit of a salty sea smell.

Naga weren’t originally monsters from the sea. Their ancestors, like the elves of Quel’Thalas, were noble Highborne of the ancient Kaldorei Empire, even holding a higher status than the ancestors of the Sunstrider royal family of Silvermoon City.

They were the most loyal followers of the Empress Azshara of the ancient Kaldorei Empire. In the midst of doomsday, these guards and close attendants surrounded Azshara until the very end of the collapse of the capital city Zin-Azshari, sinking with most of the city into the depths of the sea.

In order to seek revenge, to rebuild the empire, the Empress made a pact with the ancient evil god N’Zoth, transforming into a dark servant of the Old God. Her followers, just like her, were granted rebirth, and thus, the Naga race was born.

However, most of the Naga nowadays were not the same ancient Highborne who followed Azshara thousands of years ago but rather newly hatched from the Naga’s underwater empire.

These later-born Naga held a much lower status than the nobles who first went underwater with the Empress. They were not valued in life or death, bearing little difference from a group of enslaved water creatures.

Yet, their blood undoubtedly stemmed from those original Highborne, possessing their magical talents and intelligence, hence displaying many elven characteristics. Jesse opened the bag and once again smelled the unique scent on the Naga scales.

For some reason, he found himself slightly addicted to this fishy smell, even though it wasn’t a pleasant fragrance…

In all coastal and island areas, there are legends of mermaids. Sea dwellers, fishermen, or sailors may encounter solitary mermaids by the sea or even in the water. Drawn in by their beauty, love or relationships may develop between them. Many who have encountered mermaids have disappeared, and even when they return to shore, they cannot forget the charming women they met.

These legends are all about men meeting mermaids. There has never been a story of women meeting handsome merman. Why is that?

That’s because there are actually no mermaids at all. Those people encountered were all Naga, and the male Naga have heads that look frightful like crocodiles or lizards. They probably have no appeal to women on land as well.

After all, male Naga were created from the beginning as war machines for the Queen or other high-ranking sea witches.

The reason sailors are attracted to mermaids might be because they are deceived by their unique scent.

Even though Jesse clearly knew what he encountered, and even killed the female Naga, there was still an inexplicable primal urge when he smelled her scent again.

The real Azeroth is truly a world full of desire and violence. Jesse took a deep breath and tied the bag tightly. Speaking of it, could that old soldier at the post station be his so-called wife, this Naga?

A poor soldier was attracted to the mermaid by the sea, mistaking it for true love, and regarded her as the one to accompany him for life?

Should we ask him when we return?

Jesse was really upset after almost losing his life when he was lured away.

But going into the military camp to pick a fight with a soldier? That’s something to think about carefully.

Now that the only bottle of Shadow Protection Potion he brought has been used up, Jesse doesn’t plan on causing trouble with the Murlocs again. Imagine facing a Murloc warlock who can use Shadow Magic – that would be a tough situation to escape from.

And besides, among the Murlocs, there are all kinds of mages, elementalists, Darkweavers, water mages, and more, though not very powerful, they are quite tricky to deal with.

Honestly, after getting shocked by that Orc Shaman last time, Jesse has a bit of a fear now. Without proper preparation, he is not willing to take risks, surviving from the Naga was already quite a feat.

If Ursula asks about it, Jesse can only say he didn’t find anything and narrowly avoided being killed by the Murlocs. Or he could offer a Naga scale as proof and ask Ursula if it’s valuable, the Alchemists might be interested in such scales.

As for this string of beads… Jesse picked it up, feeling it was just a normal pearl necklace, nothing valuable enough to sell on the coast.

"Hey, Saenor."

"Master!"

"Can you tell if there are any special enchantments in this bead, like enhancing a person’s magical power or increasing spell attacks?"

"I really can’t tell, master."

Jesse put the string of pearls on his wrist, it felt cool and comfortable.

If he couldn’t sell it for a good price, he didn’t plan to sell it, it was a proof that he had defeated a Naga Siren all by himself.

Naga Siren…

In fact, thinking about the big battle last night, Jesse still felt a bit scared.

This was probably the first time he had faced such a strong opponent alone, no Greed, no imp, if the house couldn’t be considered a helper.

But without the house, he might have died a brutal death.

Those corridors, narrow passages, and rooms helped him defeat the several meters long female monster.

After collecting Naga’s scales and claws, Jesse walked back to Furlbrow Farm, away from the burning house. Along the way, he was followed by several wild boars for a few hours.

Jesse wasn’t sure if they smelled the scent of Naga’s scales or had some other plans in mind.

Even though it was just a few animals, Jesse only had a stick and a rusty knife. The knife had a nick in it from cutting Naga’s tail or neck.

Jesse believed that Goretusk’s bones should be stronger than that Naga wizard’s. If a wild boar decided to fight him, it would be quite difficult to avoid getting hurt.

Fortunately, no wild boar actually charged at him in the end, and those few hours passed by without any real danger.

Crildor Furlbrow had mentioned to him that there were a few empty farms towards the west on the way to the mine. Jesse planned to check them out and stay at one of the empty farms overnight.

He thought about going back to Furlbrow’s place, but since he was being followed by wild boars, he kept walking further away. He didn’t want to lead the boars to someone else’s home, even though Furlbrow had mentioned having a gun – Jesse was still unsure about his fighting skills.

So, he walked two more hours to the west and saw another deserted farm from a distance, where the wild boars gave up following him and stopped.

Walking into the empty grain silo and making sure there was no danger inside, he placed his bundle on the ground.

"Saenor, I want to sleep. If there’s anything alive, even if it’s something dead, as long as it’s moving… if it approaches the farm, wake me up. Hide beside me, listen carefully, you don’t need to sleep, just protect me, understand?"

"Yes, master, I will obey your command!" imp exclaimed excitedly, then ran around Jesse in a circle, finally stopping at the door and leaning against the wall, peeking outside.

Jesse sat in the corner, watching imp at the door.

He found himself trusting this demon a lot, whether to get things done or to protect himself. Initially, he was always worried that this guy might suddenly stab him in the back, as he always emphasized that he would be free if the master died.

"So, Saenor," he suddenly asked curiously, "if I told you to attack me, would you obey and harm me?"

"Absolutely!" Saenor decisively replied, "Because of the contract, master, imp cannot violate the signed contract!"

Although not entirely sure what the contract specifically meant, like a magic-made paper, or a rune engraved in the mind, Jesse speculated that it must have something to do with the summoning spell.

"So what happens if you break the contract?"

"The contract with the summoner cannot be broken, master! I am a low-ranking demon!" Saenor chuckled twice, saying, "If we must say, it’s like saying the master can’t fly up to the sky! Plus, you treat me well, I don’t want to break it!"

So, does this demon feel a bit thankful to itself?

Jesse thought for a while and remembered what Zardeth said. Imps also have their own personalities and can be good or bad, so it’s best not to swap your summoned creatures randomly, as there might be unexpected consequences.

Jesse could understand that these summoned demons might twist their master’s commands to create chaos. So far, Saenor hasn’t done that. Maybe, just like he said, he is just a low-ranking demon and doesn’t have the conditions or abilities.

However, being kind to this demon? Who knows when this imp might suddenly die?

Some people say, don’t give names to the animals you raise. Once you name them, they are no longer just simple animals but become your companions, family. When the day comes that you must slaughter them, you will surely be hurt.

Jesse agreed with this point. He didn’t want to form any complicated bonds with this imp. What if this imp suddenly gets killed by some unexpected attack one day? Would he have to hold a funeral for him?

Just like the Naga earlier that night, if he hadn’t let him use Phase Shift before the Banish Spell, he might have disappeared on the spot.

Judging by Saenor’s reaction to the Naga’s Banish Spell, the Banish Spell in the real world is definitely not as simple as controlling him for several seconds. It might actually mean true "exile," sending a summoned creature back to where it came from.

The demon is then sent to the Twisting Nether, which for demons in Azeroth is no different from death. They need to follow their commands until the end to protect themselves? Jesse felt himself starting to sympathize with a demon, so he decided to lie down on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.