Chapter 1355 1355 MEANING UNCLEAR: NEGOTIATE

Chapter 1355 Chapter 1355 MEANING UNCLEAR: NEGOTIATE

?--- Lily --- The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

The crab let out a bunch of bubbles from its mouth and Lily got... the distinct feeling that it was trying to say something. Like a radio that wasn't quite tuned to the right station. There was definitely something that wasn't just white noise there, but what sounds were actually being made were beyond Lily's ability to puzzle out. With a mental shrug Lily transformed, trying to make the transformation as slow as possible, which was still nearly instant.

The crab seemed to flinch a bit at the transformation but didn't make any sudden moves. "Um... sorry but I can't quite understand you," said Lily hoping that Kat's translation ability would work on semi-sentient crabs.

Another puff of bubbles came from the crab but this time they carried with them some hints at meaning. Lily got the impression that the crab could understand her. Which was weird that the crab had a better idea of what she was saying then she did it. Lily was really hoping that that fact didn't mean anything for their relative intelligence. Lily wasn't sure she would ever live it down.

"Right... it's hard to understand you but I am getting something. How well can you understand me?" said Lily.

Once again, a puff of bubbles and something closer to ideas then words. From what Lily could parse out, the crab could barely understand her, and that part of the meaning behind her words was getting lost. Most of it came through though, and it seemed to be enough. A second puff of bubbles and Lily got the impression the crab was asking her a question. She had to wait a few moments and considered the meaning going over the not-words a few more times.

*Could I offer it some paper magic? I doubt it's seen anything like that before. Should I give it an example first? Or just go for it and spend all the mana necessary to make the paper permanent? The problem with the second is I don't have all that much many back yet. The damned tree ate half of my reserves and I was burning through them even before that to move my shadow around like that. I've recovered... but only enough to be a bit over half. If I use all of my mana now I'm going to be running on empty for a while.*

Deciding to err on the side of caution Lily summoned up a bit of paper and pushed it towards the crab while saying "Example," and pushing as much meaning into the word as she could. Keeping the paper together was taking a bit of effort but Lily was ok with that for now.

The crab plucked the paper out of the water with one of its small claws and looked it over. Twisting and turning it a few times before spitting out a few bubbles that didn't seem to hold any meaning. It then crab walked over to the shadow tree and tried to stick it inside. To Lily's surprise the tree actually accepted the piece of paper and now, in the sea of black, there was a bit of white. Lily felt her control over the paper being ripped away from her at the same time as the mana drain ceased.

After walking back over in front of Lily it spat out a more bubbles. The meaning was quite clear. What Lily had provided wasn't enough of an offering by itself, but it was a good start. The crab found her paper affinity interesting and was planning to make use of it somehow. It was willing to hand over the ring if she supplied enough paper magic.

"Spread out, or concentrated?" asked Lily. Trying to keep things simple.

The crab thought on Lily's answer for a moment before spitting out more bubbles. Lily thought she must've been getting at reading this guy because she was able to quickly work out that the crab wanted a mixture of the two. Half of her offering in one form, and half in the other. *Not exactly pleased that I know what it wants... but I can try and work it out.*

Lily gathered her mana into two makeshift sigils and pumped slightly less then half of her remaining mana into each. The sigils wobbled a bit as her concentration dipped, but Lily managed to actualise it. On one side was a large piece of paper almost as tall as the crab while in the other was a small square no larger then Lily's palm but brimming with magic.

Once the magic was cast, the crab acted quickly. Lily barely had time to blink before the crab had snatched both and transferred them into the shadow tree. It had managed to do so in less then a second and without tearing the larger piece of paper. Lily couldn't help but be amazed at the crab's prowess. It was fast AND careful. Once that was done, the crab practically teleported in front of Lily and handed over the little ring. Lily gave the crab a slight bow in thank you. *Yeah fighting this thing was a doomed idea to start with. Glad I didn't try*