Chapter 115 - 89: River Clam Girl? An All-Around Talent

Chapter 115: Chapter 89: River Clam Girl? An All-Around Talent

The lower half of her body was completely retracted inside the shell.

Her fair, tender upper body was joined to the gleaming black shell, creating a stark contrast.

Shen Xing stared at the strange creature before him, a sudden realization dawning on him. "You’re that clam I picked up from the Black Water River?"

The woman kept her head lowered, not daring to look at him, and simply gave a soft "mhm."

After receiving her confirmation, Shen Xing’s thoughts grew more complex. He never expected something so absurd to happen.

’What the hell... Is this one of those Spirit Monsters from a fairy tale?’

’Then again, this was a bizarre world to begin with, where all sorts of ghosts, Undead, and Demons appeared endlessly.’

’So it’s not that strange for a few Spirit Monsters to appear now.’

"Why are you hiding here? And why are you helping us clean the territory every day?" Shen Xing voiced his most pressing question.

’This clam... I’ll just call her the Clam Maiden for now.’

The Clam Maiden spoke softly, "I... like it here... I don’t want... to be driven away..."

Her voice was unique, with a strange, hazy quality, as if someone were speaking to you from behind a curtain of water.

Shen Xing understood what she meant.

’She didn’t want to be driven away, so she hoped to contribute to the territory by working.’

"Then why do you like it here?" Shen Xing asked again.

"The well water... for bathing... is comfy..." The Clam Maiden lifted her head, her aqua-blue eyes filled with longing.

"’The well water...’ Shen Xing mused. ’You mean the Moon Well?’"

The Clam Maiden nodded eagerly, looking at him with a hopeful expression.

Shen Xing’s expression suddenly turned strange.

’Hellish Roar had mentioned before that he would hear the sound of splashing water from the Moon Well late at night.’

’At first, he’d thought it was a Special Ability inherent to the mysterious structure.’

’Now he realized it was her, bathing in it.’

’Doesn’t that mean the Moon Spring Water we’ve been drinking these past few days was actually her bathwater?’

’Holy crap!’

Shen Xing suddenly felt a little sick.

’But then again, this Clam Maiden was very clean. Her entire body was so pristine it seemed to glow, without a single speck of dust on her.’

’Her bathwater should be fine, right?’

"H-Human... can you please not make me leave?" the Clam Maiden asked in a low voice. "I’ll work hard... I’ll clean the village until it’s spotless..."

"I... I can also cook... and mend clothes..."

"You can cook?" Shen Xing asked, surprised.

"Mhm..." The Clam Maiden nodded eagerly. "The food I make smells wonderful... and it’s delicious... I can do lots of things..."

Shen Xing mulled it over for a moment, then checked her Attributes.

[Black Pearl: Nimue]

[Level: 5]

[Potential: Elite ★]

[Attributes: Power 21, Spirit 26, Agility 18, Constitution 22]

[Combat Skills: Pearl Shield, Clam Shell Stance, Water Prison Imprisonment]

[Life Skills: High Level Housekeeping Mastery (Increases the efficiency of cleaning, tidying, mending, etc. by 50%), High Level Culinary Mastery (Proficient in various cuisines and cooking techniques. Has a 30% chance to enhance the original beneficial Effect of Food when cooking.)]

[Talent: Pure Water Body (A flawless body with an affinity for the Water Element. Places she passes through become spotless as filth recedes. Abnormal Resistance +80%), Shell of the Mother of Treasures (Periodically produces one ’Purifying Pearl (Blue)’. Its Quality will improve as her power increases. Consumption increases Constitution and Water Attribute resistance.)]

(Note: A River Clam Spirit Monster with mild social anxiety. Hides in her shell when frightened.)

...

’High Level Housekeeping Mastery, and High Level Culinary Mastery?’

’Damn, a truly versatile talent!’

Shen Xing leaned back in his wheelchair, his fingers trembling slightly.

’The night before last, while looking through guides on the forums, he had read about Life Element talents.’

’Unlike combat-oriented Soldier Types, these talents were generally responsible for a territory’s logistics, finances, administration, and other miscellaneous affairs.’

’After all, as a territory developed, its scale, industries, and population would inevitably grow.’

’A Lord definitely couldn’t handle everything on their own.’

’That’s when you needed Life Element talents to help manage things and share the workload.’

’But this kind of talent is extremely rare.’

’Usually, the only way to get them was to try your luck at a Hero Tavern or travel to one of the Mist Giant Cities to purchase attendants specially trained by nobles—in other words, High Level slaves.’

’Not only were such slaves expensive, but they were often unavailable even if you had the money.’

’A talent like the Clam Maiden, with two High Level Life Skills, was even rarer.’

’He’d really struck gold this time!’

However, Grand Lord Shen quickly suppressed his excitement.

As a Lord commanding two hundred elite soldiers, he naturally had to possess the composure to remain unfazed even if a mountain were to collapse before him.

’A mere High Level Life Element talent wasn’t enough to shake his composure.’

"Oh, right..." The Clam Maiden seemed to remember something and said softly, "As long as you let me stay... I can give you one of these every week..."

As she spoke, she reached into the shell on her back, rummaged around for a moment, and carefully took out a sparkling Pearl.

It was about the size of a pigeon’s egg, milky white, and utterly flawless.

She held the Pearl in her palm and, with a gentle puff of air, sent it floating toward Shen Xing.

He reached out and caught it.

[Obtained: Purifying Pearl (Blue)]

[Attributes: Upon consumption, increases Constitution by 10 points and Water Attribute resistance by 10%.]

...

"There’s no need to be so formal."

Shen Xing said with a calm expression, "From now on, this is your home. You can stay for as long as you want."

’Grand Lord Shen was absolutely not being bribed by this Pearl. He was merely taking in the poor, homeless Clam Maiden out of pity.’

"That’s... that’s wonderful..." A heartfelt smile spread across the face of the Clam Maiden named Nimue. "Th-thank you..."

"You’re welcome," Shen Xing said in a gentle tone. "Come, I’ll add you to the territory as an official member. You won’t have to hide anymore."

As he spoke, he sent a recruitment invitation to the Clam Maiden.

[Recruitment successful: Black Pearl Nimue has joined your territory.]

...

A slight smile touched Shen Xing’s lips as he looked at the notification that flashed before him.

"Alright, since you’re one of us now, feel free to move about the territory."

With a light wave of his hand, the granary door opened.

The Clam Maiden glanced outside, then turned her head back to look at Shen Xing. "I... can I continue cleaning the territory?"

"Of course you can, no problem."

"Th-thank you..." The Clam Maiden seemed even happier, and asked tentatively, "Then... I also want to bathe in the well, is that okay?"

Shen Xing hesitated.

The next second, a pigeon-egg-sized pearl floated towards him.

"No problem, you can soak for as long as you like." Shen Xing snatched the Pearl and put it in his backpack.

"That’s wonderful! You’re such a good person!" The Clam Maiden chirped, her limpid eyes sparkling with joy.

Then, using a special method of movement, she dragged the shell on her back and left the granary.

After receiving Shen Xing’s permission, it was as if the Clam Maiden’s true nature had been completely unleashed. She transformed into a flowing mass of black water, zipping back and forth across the territory at an astonishing speed.

Thanks to her [Pure Water Body] Talent, everywhere she passed instantly became spotless, as clean as if it had been washed anew.

The two of them stood to the side, watching in stunned silence.

"Lord... there’s more to this girl than meets the eye," Hellish Roar murmured.

"Tell the other Beastmen not to frighten her," Shen Xing instructed. "From now on, the Moon Well will be her private area. They should avoid going near it."

"Yes, Lord!" Hellish Roar nodded solemnly and then left.

Watching Nimue move back and forth across the territory, Shen Xing couldn’t help but marvel.

’To think that a clam he had casually picked up from the Black Water River would have such amazing abilities.’

’She could not only clean the territory, do laundry, and cook, but she could even produce treasures like [Purifying Pearls] that permanently increased Constitution.’

’She was the ultimate all-in-one package.’

’And... according to the Introduction for her second Talent, [Shell of the Mother of Treasures], she’ll produce higher-Quality [Purifying Pearls] as her power increases.’

’It seems I’ll have to invest some resources in developing her in the future.’

Shen Xing remained where he was, thinking for a moment and observing the Clam Maiden a while longer.

Seeing that she jumped into the Moon Well after finishing cleaning the territory, he didn’t pay much more attention.

He took off his glasses, logged out of the game, and his vision instantly switched back to his rented apartment.

PATTER... PATTER-PATTER...

The sound of the rain outside grew louder, and wisps of mist drifted in through the window.

Shen Xing used his Void Hand to close the window, then fell back asleep.

「The next day...」

Before eight o’clock, his cell phone rang.

He answered, and Qin Lang’s excited voice came through the phone:

"Shen Xing, get up! We’ve got big plans today!"