MMO: Pierce Heaven Til’ It Breaks

The Mermaid Queen had not been able to determine Li Yi’s identity. The mermaids had always been known as ‘kind’ and ‘docile’. The Mermaid Queen was naturally one of their best. She determined that Li Yi was simply addled after he made a few inquiries.

“My brethren! Welcome to the Merland. If you have any questions, please direct them to the guide at the Palace Entrance, Sharon, she will tell you what to do.”

Li Yi passed the Mermaid Queen’s ‘trial’ with ease.

Tyrant Sword King the Fifth and Princess Huaiyu stood on the side and sneered. They did not recognize Li Yi. They simply thought that the ugly merman was hilarious.

“Fifth Brother, are there mermen among the mermaids?”

“It appears so.”

Princess Huaiyu giggled. “Hideous, my Fifth Brother is more handsome.”

They commented as they walked out, his arm around her shoulders. After the quest was accepted, the title ‘Protector of Naga’ appeared above their heads, signifying that they bore the same responsibility as the Naga outside the palace; which was to keep the wedding free from interference.

Li Yi followed and caught up with them at the entrance of the palace.

“Humans, kindly bear with me for a minute.”

The duo turned around and looked at Li Yi in surprise.

“Ugly merman, you wish to say something?” Princess Huaiyu fanned her nose in disgust.

“The royal wedding of the Mermaid Princess and the Siren Prince is about to transpire, but beyond the village, there are villains who are prepared to destroy this grand ceremony. Humans, are you willing to go and stop them?”

They were dazed.

Li Yi’s tone was indeed like that of a quest giver. He was, however, unable to make the ringing sound effect when one accepted a quest. The duo, unsurprisingly, were suspicious since they did not receive a notification regarding said quest.

“If you are unwilling to take on this expedition, then I’ll have to find someone else.”

Li Yi put on an apologetic expression, shook his head, turned and was about to leave.

Tyrant Sword King the Fifth shouted, “Merman, we’ll accept the task, but can you let us know their location?”

‘Got ’em!’

Li Yi was overjoyed. He took out a map and handed it to him.

“Right here!”

A small red dot above the map, located between the territories of the Spirit Fishes and Golden Arrowfishes.

Even with the strength of Tyrant Sword King the Fifth and Princess Huaiyu combined, it was impossible to pass through those territories.

The Spirit Fishes and Golden Arrowfishes were both level 300 monsters. They were too powerful for the duo’s level, so powerful that they would find themselves in a sticky situation.

While he was watching them accept the Siren’s quest, Li Yi suspected that the Siren must have created the Teleportation Spell Circle so that the duo to come here.

Their reaction affirmed Li Yi’s hypothesis. They had not passed through the Spirit Fishes and Golden Arrowfishes’ territories, hence, they were unaware of how dangerous they were.

“The exterior of the village is perilous, take extra care!”

Li Yi turned and returned to the palace after they had traveled some distance.

…

“Fifth Brother, I don’t think that ugly merman’s request showed up in the Quest Pane.”

Princess Huaiyu voiced her doubts after they left the village.

“This is probably a rare kind of quest which will only trigger when we get near the point of interest,” Tyrant Sword King the Fifth explained.

“I see.”

“Chaha! Chaha! Chahai!”

“Chacha! Chaku!”

Tyrant Sword King the Fifth and Princess Huaiyu traveled to the Spirit Fishes’ territory atop their seal mount. As it swam, the Naga cheered them on.

Li Yi watched the yellow spot on the minimap as it headed towards the Spirit Fishes’ territory. He uttered a line of Nagaese in satisfaction.

“Igo!”

Li Yi strolled through the palace with his merman disguise. His intentions were unmistakable, he was looking for the Mermaid Princess.

According to the normal process, once the Naga appeared in the Merland, the player could pick two opposing routes to complete the story. Either accept ‘The Protector of Naga’ to earn the Naga’s trust, or accept the quest ‘Stopping the Siren’s Ambition’ and stand against the Naga.

Both options were beneficial. If one chose to protect the Naga, one could enter and exit the Naga faction’s sphere of influence at will and could also purchase many rare items from the Naga’s emporium. One could also learn many recipes which only the Naga knew.

However, should one choose to protect the Naga, one would be locked out of the Sea God’s Palace Dungeon permanently. This was the major drawback for helping the Naga. For ardent dungeon challengers, picking the Naga’s side would not be worth the loss it caused.

Compared to his past life, this world was a bit bizarre. The Sea God’s Palace Dungeon had not been released, yet the marriage plot had already been triggered.

Only after enough players picked a side would the story proceed. If there was no one to make the choice, the Merland storyline would be suspended for the time being, and Fernando the Siren would stay in the Merland. The marriage couldn’t happen first, whether it was in his past life or his present one.

When the marriage storyline took place in his past life, most players chose the evil option. More than 80% of the players picked the Naga’s side to see the forlorn Siren Prince marry the Mermaid Princess.

Although the players were very supportive of the Siren, the Mermaid Princess escaped when the wedding triggered, and her whereabouts were unknown. The wedding that the players were anticipating went up in smoke.

Li Yi knew her hiding place, in fact, he had been the first player to know. After all, the first player to successfully trigger the wedding in his past life was him.

In order to escape his enemies’ pursuit, Li Yi sought shelter in the Sea God’s Palace. He worked hard to complete ‘The Protector of Naga’ to obtain asylum from them. He then stayed in the Palace for a long time, and eventually, the wedding was triggered.

Li Yi swam to the Mermaid Princess’ hiding place. It was a dimly lit cell. There were no guards at the entrance, but the door was sealed from the outside by a gargantuan lock.

Li Yi played as a Thief in his past life, and thus, could directly pick locks. While not a Thief in this life, he always kept the Universal Key with him.

Li Yi took the Key out and attempted to unlock the door.

In response, the door unbolted, and Li Yi pushed it open.

“Who’s there!”

The voice of the Mermaid Princess came from inside the room.