Undersea Reincarnation - [Octopus Monster Evolution LitRPG]

With the juicing jar unavailable to him, Maurice summoned to large claws and chucked the Ambercrisp apple in-between them before he slowly crushed it. Some of the juice sprayed out, but he'd caught most of it using a thin, film-like application of Telekinesis where the extracted nectar pooled before he poured it in his cup. He'd already shredded the ice to make it all refreshing and with this done, the cocktail was nearly ready. Next, he added a squeeze of lemon skin for the bitterness and to finish, he summoned one kraken roe which he squeezed in the cup before he mixed it all one final time, creating a cloudy, smooth looking cocktail he barely resisted tasting himself.

Stealing a glance at Ash, past the slow and precise arms of Rocky, he found her staring at his cup, nose scrunched. In front of her, her own cocktail was ready.

Dang it. I forgot the fruit on the rim. And what's that?

It looked as if Ash had made her sugar stick to the rim of the cup. It was a nice trick, he had to admit. But it wouldn't win her the competition.

Probably.

"Only Rocky is left, though it seems he's putting the final touches as well."

Carefully, Rocky placed the piece of pineapple on the pink rim. The kraken had not been content to use the wooden cups. Through his skill, Rocky had grown some sort of pineapple-shaped cup out of a transparent, pink-colored crystal that Fabian had called quartz, and it seemed like he'd been content to copy the bartender's recipe instead of experimenting like Ash and Maurice had. Then again, it had taken him nearly half the allocated time to get the cup right, so Maurice couldn't blame him there.

Fabian and Stormsong eyed the drinks curiously. "Alright!" the young man said, arms behind his back as he glanced around. "Who should we get to sample this?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a large, hairy hand fell on his shoulder, and Maurice looked past Fabian to see a large man wearing a straw hat and a shirt with bright flowers drawn upon it. Savros, the chef of Velistraine's crew, seemed to have noticed what they'd been up to.

"I'll judge your little competition. And I'm not the only one who's interested, I see?"

"I had to come check, considering these rascals had been filching my bar for the last 15 minutes."

Ash stammered, refusing to meet the bartender's gaze. "I just borrowed a little salt…"

"And it better be worth it, or you two are cleaning cups for the next hour," Xeri said, a wide smile on her lips.

Ash and Maurice blinked, then they turned to Rocky. Why had she singled them out?

As if she had caught their meaning, the bartender spoke. "He asked permission first. Unlike you two."

Chastised, Ash and Maurice went silent, only for a familiar voice to show up next. "Oh? A little contest and no one told me?"

Maurice looked up and paused, staring at the young woman in blindingly bright robes of black and gold as he tried to recollect how he knew her voice. Then it clicked and he tapped his feet excitedly against the wooden bench. "The announcer! You're the voice in the last tournament," he exclaimed, finally remembering.

"The one and only," she said, in a half-bow. "You humble Verixia. Now, what are we drinking?"

The judges, having already been sipping on their own drinks, sat at the edge of the table and went through the prepared drinks one by one.

The first one sampled was Rocky's, with the pink cup having attracted the most attention. All the judges nodded appreciatively at the drink's presentation, and the bartender, Xeri, paused once she'd tried it. She took another sip, eyes wide, then gave Rocky an impressed look. "This is identical to what I make myself, which shouldn't be easy, considering I've made this drink so many times I don't need to measure anything. Getting right on the first try is pretty damn impressive."

Next, it was Maurice's turn, and the reactions were mixed, to say the least. The first sip had weirded out both Savros and Xeri, at first, while Verixia immediately loved the cocktail. But after a second sip, Savros came around. "I like this. The creaminess mixes well with the briny taste of the kraken roe and the sweetness behind. It grows on you, but to be honest, it feels more like a desert than a drink with how sweet it is."

Xeri nodded, a hand on her hip. "I can see how some people would enjoy this. It's still pretty well balanced, though a bit too out there for me."

And finally, Ash's drink was judged. "I like the salt you used on the rim. It really cuts through the sweetness of the drink," said Xeri.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Savros nodded. "A Sea's Kiss. Very popular in the Emerald Isles. And pretty well made."

With all three drinks tasted and rated, the judges took a step back while Fabian quickly calculated each competitor's average.

"Thank you all for taking the time to test the contestant's drinks! After tallying the votes, here are the results."

Ash and Maurice shared a mock glare, while Rocky wiggled his arms happily between them.

"In the first place, Rocky! With 8.75 out of 10. In second and third—but more accurately, tied—are Ash and Maurice, with 8 points each. Congrats."

Maurice and Ash turned toward Rocky, who in turn looked down at the little pile of items he'd earned, then, gingerly, he took one of the scales, then picked up the Ash's book, turned it in his hands a few time, then handed it back.

Ash blinked, then shook her head. "You… You won it. It's yours."

Rocky shook his head. "[No. But I would like to borrow it in a few days.]"

Ash smiled, then gently pushed the book away. "Okay. Then borrow it now, and when you're done with it, you can give it back," she said, before turning to Maurice who was already climbing up the table to test the remaining drinks. Ash crossed her arms and grinned down at Maurice. "We tied. You didn't win."

Maurice clicked his pincer at her, though he wasn't really annoyed. This has been fun. Tilting Ash's drink first—because he had to test what had tied with his marvelous mixture—Maurice carefully guided the liquid through a deft manipulation of Control Water, then nibbled at the salt that coated the rim.

It was a little sweet, not as much as his own, but it tasted sharp. Lemony. And the salt kinda complemented that. "It's good," he said after a moment, looking up to find Ash who was trying his own. She scrunched her face, blinking at his drink, then took another sip before nodding. "Same. I like this too. I bet it'd do great in the nice taverns of Isles. Though they'd have to figure out a way to substitute the roe. I don't think kraken roe is that easy to find."

Maurice gave her a begrudging handshake. He'd heard of these taverns from both Henry and Ash. A place where you can just walk in and ask for food and it'd be brought to your table. Kinda like the food-stands and a couple of spots in Thalis, but nothing one would find in the ocean. Maurice was curious to see one in real life, but he knew it was likely not that safe for him.

Maurice tried Rocky's drink next and spoke up using his illusory magic. "How do you think people would react if I stepped into a tavern?"

Ash stood quietly for a second, then she pulled a chair and sat down, and a moment later, everyone else found themselves a spot around the table. Stormsong continued chatting with Rocky, giving him tips about his newly acquired Control Water skill, though the conversation was quieting down, as it seemed both non-humans were interested in the question.

"I don't think it would go well," said Fabian, looking down at his drink. Maurice considered that to be the polite answer. But he knew Ash would give him the answer he really wanted. What he really needed to know.

No, not to know, he thought. It was what he needed to confirm. Thalis was probably the exception, considering the existence of Zerathstra. Other places would certainly be different.

Ash rubbed the back of her neck, then leaded back against her chair as she stared into his eyes. "Honestly, Maurice? It would be incredibly unsafe if you don't have the strength to defend yourself. That's usually good advice for going anywhere, sure, but as a… as an intelligent being that doesn't look human, people will try something. Out of fear. Out of greed. Or any other cause they might think of. And while before I would have thought that as B-rank, you'd be able to do whatever you damn well wanted, now I know that there are other B-ranks and A-ranks out there. Velistraine's nice, but who knows about the others? Henry's powerful, but all it would take is a pissed off or an especially cruel A-rank. So when you guys will go there to get those… things," she said, taking a furtive look around, "then either do it with Velistraine around, or just, like, hide. You know. If you look human, no one's going to bat an eye. But of course, the best option would be to get yourselves to A-rank," she said, and hearing herself, she chuckled, shaking her head.

Maurice watched as she looked down at her cup before she downed it all in one gulp.

The crab tapped his legs in place. "What? Why are you laughing?"

Ash palmed her face for a moment, still smiling. "Sorry. It just…. I just realized that I said you can just 'advance to A-rank' to be safe," she said, snorting. "I didn't even know A-ranks were a thing barely months ago. And now I'm looking at two of them, and a third on the way."

"Henry?"

Fabian raised a brow, and both Maurice and Stormsong shared a look, but Ash paid them no mind and continued speaking. "A-ranks are monsters, Maurice. I grew up reading about the Privateers. The Explorers and the Wardens. I didn't know they were A-ranks back then. I just thought they were just… some crazy powerful humans. Maybe C-ranks or B-ranks. Now I know better, of course, but one thing I've always noticed about their stories is that they all have a little bit of madness in them. They were all monsters, in one way or another. And if there's one here who fits that profile without having the rank, it's Henry. And you too. I guess. A little," she said, wrinkling her nose at him.

Maurice swiped at her, and she dodged the un-serious claw by tilting her chair back. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ash grinned. "If you actually hit A-rank, then it'll have to be after me."

Maurice narrowed his eyes at her, then chuckled, and as Zerathstra climbed up a branch and turned to face the crowd, Stormsong and Fabian shared a look at the two cackling rivals.

As for Rocky, he had already started paging through the book he'd borrowed.