VRMMO: Am I The Strongest Yet?

"So~? You two are going to the underwater kingdom~?"

Ethereal, that was her name. And no, her parents didn't name her that.

She officially changed her name from Samantha to that when she became an adult and since she had been using that particular name since even before she was as young as Misha, everyone in the industry, including her neighborhood and her friend circle knew her as Eth or Ethereal.

It was a peculiar name, but she loved it for some reason.

There was more to this unique name than just simple emotions that she adored more than most things out there in this world.

For her, the word ethereal meant something that was simply beyond the boundaries of description.

One could not explain what an 'ethereal' thing was. They also could not understand it, and she simply loved it.

"Yeah, we are going to the Underwater kingdom. Can you stop hugging me now?" She was rubbing her cheeks against Alex and though it was funny for both Olive and Elio, she did not like it.

She did not like being treated like a baby, especially from this particular person.

But then again, she could not help how this person was treating her.

She was cool. And annoyingly clingy.

"Tell me more about this kingdom, please~."

The four of them were in a big car, moving to the airport.

Olive's father and big brother were already there looking after a few things, and since the two of them had finished their packing, they were moving back to their house, and though there wasn't any particular excitement, they were certainly looking forward to see the house and the people that they hadn't seen in a while.

"Well…"

They were going to be stuck in the car for a little longer even though they were moving in a special lane at high speed, but with the increased traffic of the city these past few days was going to hinder them anyway.

They will need a little longer before they reached the airport, so since they didn't have much to do, Eth wanted to know more about what they were up to in that 'game' nowadays.

She already knew how Olive had found something she wanted to do in that world as well as how she was enjoying everything over there, so she now wanted to know more about a kingdom that existed underwater.

The mysterious place that she could imagine as a fantastical world of fishes, mermaid people, and unique water creatures that resemble humans.

She loved these kinds of fun things, so she wanted to know more about it.

"There aren't many such kingdoms or places actually. This one is probably the only prominent kingdom that is acknowledged by the oceans."

Alex didn't like being hugged the way she was right now, But after all these years, she had gotten used to this person.

She would break an arm or leg of anyone else that even remotely touched her, but this unbearable person was not someone she could hurt.

Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to even hit someone that had reflexes far surpassing her own.

"The ocean has many creatures that live in it, especially in that world, water is considered to be one of the Origins of all creations.

Beings of water are said to be the closest to the origin that gave birth to all life. And, among the Merfolks, the Goldtail clan is one of the oldest species in the entire world— one of the Primordial species that is said to be the original ancestors of all of the Merfolks."

The beings that she was talking about were also said to be the rulers of all oceans, the masters of Water, and sitting at the throne of Scales, the one who ruled above them all, was the Crowned Emperor that held powers surpassing even some Divinities.

"Velstad, or Vel as I call him, is not someone I like that much since he's a crazy bastard, but his daughter is a fun one to have around.

She once ran away from her house to find some kind of hidden treasure of their kind, and when she was almost getting done in by a ferocious creature, one of my servants accidentally saved her when they were gathering materials for one of our quests."

Though the emperor had alway challenged her in a battle of knowledge to see who knew about the waters, the sea and the elements of this world outside waters, his simple daughter was the one that liked more for various reasons.

The way she met the sole princess of the Goldtail tribe was a folklore among the merpeople. They talked about how a Being, a master of a demon, a dragon, and a Vampire saved the Princess of the Goldtail clan, and then brought her to the location of the treasure that she was searching for.

The story of how Alex helped the Goldtail recover one of their forgotten Relics was quite famous among not only the Merpeople but also many human coastal cities.

She was known by many names in these locations, and one of those locations was apparently near the city that they were going to go to next.

"If it weren't for the pirates that operate in that city, as well as Hyun, that bastard, I wouldn't really have found the way to go to their kingdom."

Alex told her about how she met one of the most notorious pirates of the Southern seas, defeated their captain in a direct duel, and made them take them to the location that they had to find on their own since even the princess had no idea where she was when Alex found her.

She only had a map, and despite having that detailed map, one of the reasons the princess was not able to reach the destination was because of her innate lack of directions.

She did not know where they were or where she was going since she only followed the waves as she had always done.

The waves showed her the way, they followed her command, and they guided her… perhaps the waves were one of the reasons she was able to stay on the path leading to the treasure that she was searching for.

And perhaps those waves were also the reason she met Alex.

"Anyway, it's a fun place. They make an amazing seafood barbecue." Enjoy more content from empire

"Hmm? They eat barbecue?"

"Yes? What else do they have underwater aside from seafood? Grass? They surely eat grass but none of those Merpeople are vegetarians.

They cannot be even if they wanted to. Some of them are cannibals. Some even have customs where they eat a part of their partners… anyway, they aren't all that special."

She had spent a good amount of time with those people. They knew a lot about water even if they were oblivious to a lot of common things regarding the land, so they were at least not boring for her.

Plus, since they knew a lot about one thing, it meant they knew a good lot about a certain truth, so they had also helped her understand the Truth in their own way.

"I only have to collect one of the swords that they have no real use for so it will be a short trip, but going there will be a challenge like it always is."

They had reached their destination.

They were going to take a private jet to their destination, and since the jet also had chariots, they were going to have a little time before they reached home.

The two of them had already planned to go back into the game and teleport to the city where they will be meeting the people that will take them to this underwater kingdom.

They will have little time so they will have to be quick with whatever they were going to do there, but they will still have a few hours so, they planned to at least get the person in charge of the ship, and beat him up a little.

Alex was even planning to rob the person and see if he had any temporary keys. The permanent keys weren't going to be that useful without her original powers, so before she gets her powers back through them, she needed as many temporary keys as she could.

And, though she had collected a total of 6 including the one she already had when Elio was still with her, they weren't going to be nearly enough.

"You all have sooo much fun in that game~."

"Well, Eth… it's not a game anymore."

Eth was a developer. As well as a master when it came to software.

She had indirectly helped in the creation of <NO>, something she had not known about until the game itself was launched.

She had to sign a contract that blocked her from playing the game itself, and even if she wanted to, she could not create an account in the game.

It was unfair but it was what it was… a long time had passed since then anyway so, she did not really care about all that.

As long as the people around her were able to enjoy that world which she had indirectly contributed towards, she was happy.

"Let's go, Mom."

Their happiness was much more precious to her than the experience of a unique otherworld.

She could live with just the cool stories that they tell… it was much better than risking her and all their lives anyway.