Pioneer of the Abyss - Book 3 - Chapter 13 (Patreon)

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Table of Contents

Click the following link for the 1354 word chapter 13:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lmGZJ7yFO4aJrgmZBcwWNp8lXJfHQEohq5W623KxLRg/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

Within the General of the Military’s Office

“Why couldn’t he be more like Kaelthas? He’s a much better grandfather.”

Seravos hears his granddaughter’s voice echoing through his office. And while he usually would find it comforting, this time he feels like it’s stabbing him directly through the chest with every word.

The moment he heard a report that Aqua got a berserk skill and was going to test it out in the Special Dungeon, he couldn’t help but have a bad feeling. Like something terrible was going to happen.

His first thought about that instinct was that she might lose control and recklessly get herself hurt attacking the monsters before she’s ready. Or maybe that she would run out of mana and continue pushing on towards the boss without any mana to fight it with.

He was not expecting her to go on a rant. Much less a rant about him.

Over time, ever since he first saw her as a Pioneer, and especially after his daughter was finally freed from the Abyss, Seravos has come to regret his past actions more and more. And by now, he deeply regrets what he did.

But he also knows that there’s nothing he can do at this point to solve the issue.

Nothing at all.

His daughter has already abandoned his family name, and his granddaughter long ago abandoned it.

And he can already imagine the Krakens laughing at this situation.

Seravos would laugh as well if Kaelthas was scolded publicly by Aqua. So he would find it more shocking if the Kraken’s didn’t laugh.

To make matters worse, everyone in the entire Alliance knows about his regrets now. And he’s already received messages from business partners ending their business partnerships with him one after another for this. Meanwhile the stocks in his family’s businesses are crashing one after another.

His position as General of the Military cannot be changed. But his family’s future is being ruined.

Which completely ruins the entire reason Seravos did what he did in the first place. For the betterment of the family.

Seravos leans over his desk while holding his head as everything falls apart.

Within a Mansion overlooking the oceans of the Riptide Ocean World

Kaelthas’ laughter echoes throughout his mansion as he sees everything that is currently happening to Seravos. Because, while he at first was sad hearing his granddaughter vent during her berserk state, seeing the aftermath of the rant brightened his mood significantly.

I didn’t expect that all it took was a single rant by Aqua to ruin everything Seravos has been trying to build all this time.

Kaelthas has been wondering just how he should get back at Seravos for what he did for a while now. Since the only real punishment the Orcaynes have received for their actions was being disowned by Kaelthas’ daughter-in-law.

And, while that caused emotional damage to Seravos himself and harmed their family’s reputation, it did not cause them any real damage. Especially since it was handled internally and not publicly, without clearly stating the full reason.

But this time it was on Aqua’s livestream, which is significantly more popular now than it was back when her mother first made it out of the Abyss. And it was Aqua herself who was ranting about the whole situation and even described Seravos’ initial words to her.

Kaelthas smiles a broad smile as he looks to the side at the screen next to him, where he sees the stocks of all the many companies under the Orcayne name crashing.

His inner celebration is interrupted when he receives a call from his son. Of which he answers immediately.

“We have a problem,” Orvyn states the moment the call connects. “People are currently swarming towards both Oceana and Kana. Too many people to handle at once.”

Kaelthas’ smile fades as he says, “The reason?”

“The people rushing to Oceana are moving there to live and develop the area, while those going towards Kana are tourists wishing to see Aqua,” Orvyn answers with a frown. “Many of them are doing this out of a sense of sympathy. They want to go see her and bring her gifts in person, since her agency often rejects gifts from fans.”

The patriarch of the Kraken Bloodliner family lets out a sigh while looking out at the water.

One positive for one negative…

Kaelthas shakes his head before focusing on the call as he says, “Do what you can to screen everyone and reduce the numbers. I’ll help in any way I can.”

“I was already handling it,” Orvyn says while shaking his head. “The issue here are the vanguards. There are far too many high rank vanguard trying to enter the planets. Far more than would be required for a planet of that level.”

“I’ll speak with the Vanguard Association Head about this matter,” Kaelthas states, understanding what his son wants immediately.

“Thank you,” Orvyn says with a faint smile. Then he adds, “This problem aside, Seravina has been over the moon about the situation her father is in.”

Kaelthas’ smile returns at that as he says, “So am I!”

His son chuckles before they begin talking about the situation for a while until the call eventually ends.

After the call ends, Kaelthas looks out the window for a while longer. Then he returns to his desk and checks the stocks of his own companies, which he finds climbing at a gradual speed.

It looks like the Orcayne family businesses’ stocks aren’t the only ones being affected.

Kaelthas smiles at the sight before getting back to his work.

Aqua

I blankly stare at the chat after waking up from my nap. Because it’s rather… wild.

[The Orcayne Conglomerate is crashing and burninnnnng!!!]

[As it should!]

[They’re ruined now. Completely and totally ruined.]

[All of the higher ups of my company are withdrawing half of our contracts. They aren’t even hesitating.]

[Aqua’s awake!!!]

[Wakey wakey!]

[I still want to see what she’s like drunk.]

I can still mostly remember everything that happened when I went berserk, but I was not expecting this sort of reaction. Since it feels a little over the top.

Then again, I guess it wasn’t necessarily public knowledge how Seravos treated me. At most, the people knew that we weren’t on good terms.

That’s all.

Other than speculation, that is.

There was a lot of speculation online about my life before becoming a Pioneer. And a lot of people knew from research that I was on a poor planet as an orphan, and that I struggled a lot. Which led to a lot of speculation about why I wasn’t raised by the Orcayne or Azuranth families.

So my words now officially confirmed it all.

Also, the fact that I abandoned the Orcayne name to take on the Azuranth name led them all to believe that I was on good terms with the Azuranths. Which is true.

Well, that and the fact that they’ve seen me interact with Kaelthas on friendly terms.

Thanks to this, the Azuranth Conglomerate’s companies are all on the rise while the Orcayne Conglomerate’s companies are crashing.

It’s not just their families that are being affected, though. Oceana and Kana are being affected as well.

There was already a lot of people heading here to move to Oceana or for tourism to see me. And now there are a lot of people rushing to give me gifts as well.

The idea of being pitied is rather irritating. Not as annoying as it would have been back when I first became a Pioneer, but still annoying, nonetheless.

I eventually shake my head before deciding to ignore it all. Because it doesn’t really affect me right now.

It’ll be a nuisance when I get out of this dungeon, but not while I’m in the dungeon.

So whatever.

After making sure my mana is fully recovered, I go ahead and leave the crevasse. Then I head out away from the temple in search of more monsters to use as leveling fodder.

Because I do need to level more before taking on the boss.