One of the free amenities offered to members of the Outer Core of the Vorteesi sect, was foundational level Sealocke training sessions for possible future talent.
These training sessions usually took place early morning and were quite rigorous, however a free warm meal was provided after every session for all participants who completed it. As such, more often than not hunger would drive Argent here for something to eat.
In fact it was during one of these training sessions that Argent had unlocked his affinity to earth...
"Too bad evil eyes had been watching..." Nereus muttered as he gazed at the upcoming massive Romanesque Forum filled with other Mer students and two Mertwins in particular sitting in one of the front rows.
Within the massive forum there was a palpable aura of calmness that was visible to the naked eye even from afar.
All over the ivory pillars that supported the roof and the algae lined path leading to the structure were pristine and eye-catching blue coral and gently swaying seaweed. And decorating the seats closest to the center were seemingly encrusted starfish, barnacles , and sea urchins of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Located directly in this center was an ash blue tailed merman who looked to be about 50 years old.
Although he had a gentle smile on his face as he looked at the two mertwins that were his star pupils, his gently swaying halo of gray hair and serious demeanor gave off an invisible pressure that radiated throughout the Forum while he taught.
Seated upright and attentive in the very front row were the 'future talents' that were being cultivated from the outer core of the sect.
Any one of the Mer youths seated here had either a considerable backing of some sort or had potential to be a future Sealocke in some capacity.
They all possessed the cold and standoffish nature of a future expert and some even the calculating machinations of one too, along with the ethereal beauty characteristic of the Mer race.
"Huh? What'd you say?" Jonny questioned from where he swam next to Nereus, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Initially upon being dragged by his gills from Nereus's back mountain hut to the Vorteesi Teaching Forum, Fatty Jonny was scared witless and was quite unwilling to participate.
But after hearing Nereus's plan , Jonny's fears disappeared and he now now couldn't help but want to see how things would play out.
"Oh uh nothing, isn't it time for the show to begin?"
"Yeah, yeah I suppose. Just don't provoke them by sitting in the front row please. No matter how good your plan is they'd never forgive that!"
"Haha just watch me, it's time." Nereus then confidently swam straight towards the ongoing class session and took a seat directly in the front row, much to Jonny and everyone else's surprise.
After taking one of the open seats in the very front row, it seemed every eye in the place was on him. Especially those of his two stepsiblings who looked like they saw a ghost at this moment.
From his fellow adolescent Mer peers to the old and ash blue tailed Mer instructor, everyone had their mouths agape as they watched the young Mer who'd supposedly deserted the sect last night commit what was tantamount to a cardinal social sin.
At this moment, the cold and intimidating Mer professor directed a hateful glare towards Nereus who was seated before him. Surely if looks could kill Nereus would be cold dead at this moment from how sharp the gaze directed at him was.
The other onlooking students could feel the heavy tension in the air, and in schadenfreude secretly rejoiced at the misfortune they felt was soon going to befall Argent.
Clearing his throat, the instructor finally broke the silence.
"Ruth! Rave!" he yelled causing slight ripples to shoot outwards from his form throughout the surrounding water
"Yes, professor Hanvic!" the two mertwins answered in a rush as they hurriedly swam from their seats and prostrated before him leaving bubbles in their wake.
"You reported that your stepbrother deserted the sect during the middle of last night's storm." the old Mer professor Hanvic cast his sharp gaze past the pair of mertwins.
His previous countenance as their doting instructor was nowhere to be found and he now seemed more like a wrathful authoritarian. "If that is the case why do I see his feeble form before me at this moment, you didn't lie to me did you?"
Nereus secretly smiled.
So far everything was going according to his plan and for once Argent wasn't the one being humiliated. Usually if any incident regarding him came up he would almost automatically be blamed and punished .
However this time around, the facts were too irrefutable for anyone to say otherwise.
Ruth spoke up first, "O-Of course not, last night my brother and I truly did see Argent leave the clan waters under the cover of the storm. He was headed for the m-mountains and must have gotten scared and returned!"
"Yes, this is the truth instructor me and my sister swear upon the 10 seas it is!" Rave added in support
In truth this matter truly wasn't that big of a deal, although the sect frowned on deserters and usually would not allow them back in, that was it.
There was no harsh penalty involved and the clan heads or officials weren't even alerted when small matters like these happened.
The only reason the Mer instructor was blowing it so out of proportion was because he secretly hoped to somehow skew the events in a way that would allow him to punish Argent...
After some time had passed, soon a a small gleeful chuckle could be heard coming from the front row.
It was from Argent.
"Hahaha" he soon guffawed loudly without a care as bubbles floated rapidly from his maw and gills, "Wh- If what you say is true...then why didn't you report it to stepfather or some other authority at that time? Couldn't it be said that by you sitting on this damning information until morning you aided and abetted my "desertion"? And if so, by clan bylaws wouldn't you both be equal to deserters yourselves?"
At that moment a visible shudder traveled throughout the crowd of onlooking students. Argent's insinuation had stunned them all and planted several seeds of suspicion in their hearts.
Almost immediately after he finished speaking both Ruth and Rave seemed to lose all the color in their face and scales. The fins on their tails flapped nervously as they felt the rage at the stepbrother, they'd thought they killed crescendo ever higher.
"Enough!" the older instructor yelled immediately gaining everyone's attention, "Very well, the matter of your desertion can be forgotten but don't dare think you are free from punishment. You still dared to sit where you don't belong, it's common knowledge the front row seats are for the Outer Core geniuses and possible future talents of our clan, but now you've gone and effectively sullied that seat with your lameness, this truly cannot be forgiven and can onl-"
"Wait!" Nereus then interrupted with a shout and an inquisitive eyebrow glance, "did you just say the first row seats only belong to geniuses and possible future talents?"
Hanvic looked highly annoyed but figuring his words were finally getting through to the dumb Argent, he repeated and confirmed Nereus's understanding.
"Well in that case I'm right where I belong then haha" said Nereus cheekily as he scooted further back on his tail into the seat.
"How dare you disrespect teacher!" shouted Rave
"You've truly gone too far Argent, I must teach you a lesson myself!"
Suddenly and to everyone's surprise, the mertwins suddenly sprang into action and like two torpedoes rocketed towards Nereus's seated form.
Just as it seemed they would crash directly into him the mertwins arced upwards in perfect synchronicity as a muddy earthen glow began to appear around them
"Take this, Stone Crush!" they cried in unison as multiple small jagged rocks broke from the rocky seafloor below them and flew with shocking velocity towards Nereus's seated form.
The rocks jetted through the water between Nereus and the mertwins in the blink of an eye, and just as the other classmates thought he and those unfortunate enough to be seated nearby were done for, a shocking occurence took place.
'How boastful' Nereus thought as he stared the incoming attack down, 'Bow for me!'
With just a raise of his left webbed hand the shards of rock bolting through the water towards him stopped dead in their tracks!
"..."
This matter had happened quite quickly but nonetheless it had clearly taken place before everyone's eyes, yet be it the onlooking other student, Fatty Jonny, or even the old Mer instructor none of them could believe what they were seeing.
They were all so shocked into a stupor that instead of thinking to intervene or panic, they could only try to barely comprehend the fundamental truth before them... And that was, if Argent could stop the attack of two of the most powerful Mer youth in the Outer Core of the sect at once, not only was he definitely a Sealocke he must also be an extremely powerful one!
"But he's supposed to be a trash...this must be some trick!" a friend of the twins sitting in the front row could only mutter to himself.
'He has the Earth a-affinity but how?!' they all thought.
Wasting no time, Nereus then stretched his webbed hand wide causing not only more rocks to rise up from seafloor around him but also to fly towards his stepsiblings with much more force than they were able to muster.
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
One after another the earthen projectiles jetted after the mertwins who were now trying to swim away with all their might. They arced up, down, left, and right with all their might just to barely dodge most of the rocks rocketing after them.
'What's up with this kid?! ' Rave thought gravely ducking his head just as a rock almost brushed past his nose, 'How'd he become so powerful?!'
'Ugh I'm afraid we underestimated him...but even still he shouldn't even be alive! How is any of this possible?!' Ruth dismayed
Just when it seemed they might finally be able to escape the Forum and Nereus's onslaught, another sudden development took place.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Nereus asked as he raised his right hand as well. Drawing upon the very last dredges of sea essence he could muster, Nereus began rapidly circulating the potent energy throughout his meridians in a unique pattern taught only within the Leviathanic Art.
Suddenly the expanse of water between Nereus and his escaping prey began to writhe and whirl before transforming into a small whirlpool that stretched and pulled towards Ruth and Rave.
Almost immediately after forming, the small writhing whirlpool had stopped the mertwins in their tracks and was slowly pulling them towards the awaiting Nereus.
From any of the onlookers' eyes however, the scene looked as if Argent was holding a massive snake composed of rapidly twisting water that had a gaping vacuuming maw.
But that wasn't what had shocked them further, it was again what this meant...
"T-The Vorteesi's sect signature affinity... I-I can't believe it the boy actually has a water affinity as well?! By Neptune's beard he's a dual affinity Sealocke!" the old Mer instructor and the other onlookers eyes bulged and breathing became ragged as the epiphany sunk in.
In seeing that the mertwins were not his match and in fact were a few seconds from possibly getting injured, instructor Hanvic finally swam into action and moved the mertwins away from the incoming whirlpool.
Hanvic gritted his teeth at having to get involved himself.
He had hoped to use his two star pupils as a borrowed knife to finish off the Mer he thought was a weak shrimp and have it written off as an unfortunate accident, but he'd never imagined the shrimp was actually a shark in disguise!
With the way things had developed he could no longer cause trouble or let alone raise a hand against Argent. His demonstrated talents made him far too valuable for that now, but he also couldn't just very well let him kill two other possible talents!
"Enough! You've proven your point, let us let this matter go." he instructed while cradling the two panting and exhausted mertwins in his bosom.
"Hmph"
Nereus gave an ugly sneer but ceased his attack. Although he wasn't done getting revenge on Argent's stepsiblings, he knew not to go too far for now.
'Hmm that old instructor is much more seasoned than he seems and I definitely can't contend with him for now... plus I'm all out of sea essence, I'd better stand down. But not before ...'
At that moment Nereus turned to face the stunned students who'd witnessed everything and said,
"Attention! Let this be a lesson to you all, in fact I want you to tell this to everyone you see today. Tell them that from today onwards any disrespect towards me or Jonny will be met with lethal force. This is the last time I will ever show mercy, so also know that however many of you that come is how many of you that will never swim again. The Argent you think you knew before is long gone!"
After saying his peace, Nereus signaled to the nearby nervous and shaky Fatty Jonny and they hurriedly made their exit.
And while he may have left in a rush, his fierce statement and actions moments ago still shocked and reverberated within the minds and ears of the all the Mer who witnessed them.
As of now, not only had he inspired shock and fear within them but also the beginnings of begrudging respect.