Pioneer of the Abyss: A Deepsea Livestreamed
Book 1: Chapter 69

Aqua

“Welcome, Aqua, to our wonderful salon!” the host of this particular variety show, a show that Rhett recommended to balance my image a little bit to show a few more feminine appearances, which I don’t really understand, declares. The woman has long blonde hair with green eyes and a wide smile on her face. “And welcome back to all of our regular faces as well! I love seeing you with us again!”

I feel slightly awkward on this set, if I’m being honest. The variety show itself is one meant for beautiful female celebrities, and it is supposed to draw in a larger female fanbase for the female celebrities.

At the end of the day though, the only thing I know about why Rhett is having me appear here is that a vast majority of my fanbase is apparently male. So he wants to branch out more into the female fanbase side of things.

Oh, and apparently my grandfathers both gave him a ‘kind warning’ to keep me off any unsavory jobs.

And he’s a little nervous right now. So he may be overshooting a little.

Regardless, now I’m here behind a counter with several other women, including the host.

“Say, Aqua, what do you think is the best part about your initialization into the System?” the host whose name I can’t remember asks as the woman leans over the counter while looking at me. “I always love asking this question since the answers always end up so broad in scope. But I’m just dying to know what your answer is.”

The best part about my initialization into the System?

“Some ladies say it’s because being initialized makes their skin more beautiful and stronger, and others like the effects it has on their hair, making it more lustrous!” the host exclaims while holding her hands together with a smile on her face. Meanwhile the other ladies in the room all chatter in agreement. Then she glances at my chest and asks, “Maybe it’s not needing support anymore? You probably had a lot of shoulder pain before initializing, right?”

I open my mouth before glancing down, then at her.

Wait, that’s what she meant by ‘the best parts about the initialization into the System’?

“Is that even a question, Violet?” one of the regulars on the show says while shaking her head. “Anyone her size would have that problem.”

I feel myself blushing a little at the topic of conversation.

Is this even a conversation people have on TV?! I know this show’s viewer base is almost entirely female, and that shows like this are common thanks to the System both for men and women, but still…

Although… they’re not wrong about the shoulder pain…

I glance down for a moment, only to look up at another regular when they start speaking.

“I personally chose the slowed aging,” another regular says with a smile on her face. “It’s been wonderful.”

“Um,” I start, drawing everyone’s gaze back to me again. “I like the power it gives me…”

Everyone looks surprised at my answer. But instead of saying something about how it’s nothing like what they were talking about, both of the ladies on either side of me rush in to hug me while exclaiming about how cute I am.

I want out of here…

After they calm down a bit, one of them asks, “But what about shaving? How have you been managing out there?”

All of the ladies look at my arms and legs, which are completely bare of any body hair. Clearly wondering how that’s possible.

“After awakening my Bloodline, I stopped growing body hair,” I answer, still feeling a little shy.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Each one of them looks up at me in shock. Then they start bombarding me with questions and exclamations of jealousy.

If I had to guess, I don’t grow body hair anywhere anymore because my Bloodlines are from the Kraken and the Abyssal Orca. Neither of which have hair. Obviously.

Rhett said I will probably not ever age again since I’m part Kraken, and Krakens and Hydras don’t age thanks to their regeneration. And then there are the other benefits of being in the System in general.

Smoother and tougher skin, a stronger body all over without any added weight, naturally healthier hair, and so on.

Apparently, according to surveys, men and women trying to get initialized into the System when they’re in high society already and don’t need extra power do it more for the beauty and ease of life benefits than anything else. Like how women don’t have to worry about support for their figures anymore after it, or how shaving is easier as they don’t have to worry about accidentally cutting themselves when shaving. Since their bodies are too tough.

And for men, they mostly just like the extra strength, energy, and the skills that come with the System that are sometimes really useful. Even in daily life. On top of looking more attractive.

Personally though, I couldn’t care less about any of the appearance changes.

I blink as another thing comes to mind.

“Um,” I stutter, still feeling awkward being surrounded by them like this. And the instant I make sound, they grow quiet again as if saying to speak. “I also like being able to swim all the time…”

As it turns out, I really like swimming.

And just like that, I find myself being hugged again by the ladies who, despite looking like they’re in their twenties, I know for a fact are at least in their fifties or sixties.

Why do I feel like I’m being treated like a child by them?

After that they go on to talk about several other topics, including but not limited to my hair after the Bloodline awakening, my skin, their spa routines and choice of makeup – no doubt plugging sponsorships in the process – and several other things. All before the variety show finally comes to an end, leaving me completely drained afterwards.

So drained that I feel very thankful that there is only one more job today instead of two.

Of course, when I see Rhett at the next job, I make sure to pinch him in the arm while grounding out, “I am not doing a show like that again.”

He ignores my pinch, seeing as its probably barely even noticeable to him, but he nods all the same. Acknowledging my statement.

The next job goes by rather quickly as it’s just a very brief interview with a reporter for a news article. Then I find myself returning to my body again before immediately heading out in the direction of the mountain.

And while I do, I finally get around to checking my new skill. Which, if I’m being honest, I completely forgot about.

All because of that Special Custom Sponsorship.

Anyway, I open my status before checking the skills section.

[REQUESTING SKILLS: USER AQUA ORCAYNE]

[7 SKILLS RETRIEVED]

[MORE THAN THREE SKILLS DETECTED]

[ALL SKILLS CONDENSED]

[Skill 1: Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace]

[Skill 2: Hydrokinetic Wrath]

[Skill 3: Call of the Abyss]

[Skill 4: Abyssal Kraken’s Partial Shift]

[Skill 5: Pressure of the Abyss]

[Skill 6: Abyssal Reversal]

[Skill 7: Maw of the Abyssal Kraken]

[Description: Maw of the Abyssal Kraken allows the user to summon a large Abyssal Kraken maw underneath your target. This maw will pull in any nearby monsters in a powerful vacuum while affecting every individual marked as a target with the dazed, slow, and blind effects.]

[Cost: Maw of the Abyssal Kraken costs 300 mana to use.]

[Cooldown: Maw of the Abyssal Kraken has a cooldown of twelve hours.]

[END SKILLS]

Yes! Finally! A finishing attack!

Now this is what I’ve been looking for!

It’s a skill that can easily be used to finish something off.

Too bad it costs an astronomical amount of mana to use.

And I can’t really test it very well without wasting almost all of my mana for the day. And mana only refills once a day at midnight…

So, maybe I should find something strong to test it on later? Assuming I have the mana to use it by then.

I hunted for longer than I planned yesterday though, so I guess I could hunt less today. Just enough to have the mana left for the skill, then I can test it on something strong before heading back.

Yeah, that should be a good plan.

With that in mind, I arrive at the mountain and continue my hunt from yesterday.