Chapter 14
Chaos Aboard A Ship

~*~

The sky darkens as the wind picks up pace. Sea waves slam into the hull, causing the ship to tilt back and forth. People grab onto the railings to stay afoot, while others rush to safety below deck.

Oblivious to the chaos happening on deck, the tour guide is still babbling away to his equally clueless group. "...To our left is the Kamaraka Tombs, the burial place for kings of yesteryear. Rumor has it one King Bracony had his entire family and seventy-five dogs buried with him upon his death. If you're hoping for treasures, don't bother. These kings were broke. Well, now here's something to gawk at. Turn your eyes to the right, folks. It's the Tower of Destiny! An architectural masterpiece. It took twenty years and countless lives to build. Take it all in. There's no better view than this, folks. That's where the brave citizens of our country go to become Knights, Monks, Priests, Wizards, and yes, even Thieves. And now, we're entering Asharia's Mouth...!"

I vomit purple chunks of I don't know what.

"Everyone, below deck, now!" the seamen shout. "Go to your cabins! Go to your cabins! Now! Now! Now!"

The world spins out of control.

* BATTLE START

---

When I come to my senses, I realize I'm in a battle.

Three Sea Sludges crawl forward and wrap themselves around my body. I feel my energy drain for a good five seconds. The numbers 46, 35, and 67 flash red above me, while the same ones flash green above the monsters. In one turn, I'm already down about a quarter of my total health points.

Where's the monk when you need him?

With no other choice, I flee from battle.

---

* BATTLE END *

By now, everyone's screaming their heads off, some, literally. Webbed-foot shark-looking creatures feast on helpless passengers. As I make my way for the staircase, one of them dash towards me at surprisingly speed. I heal myself to prepare for an attack.

But just before I enter battle, two seamen leap to my rescue. Through the dozens of panels hovering in the air, I see them say to me. "Tell everyone to stay calm and go to their cabins!"

I thank them in my mind and hurry downstairs.

The passengers in the common area seem to be unaware of the chaos outside. In a few minutes, they'll be at the bottom of the sea wondering what happened, but for now, they're engrossed in drinks and games. I do my best to warn them, but to no avail.

"Hey! Just because you're good looking doesn't mean you can touch me."

"I thought it was all you can eat and drink on the ship! Now I owe the company 10000 Gold. My wife's going to kill me."

"Who are you? Who am I? Where are we?"

"Want to play a game of dice?"

Not now, buddy.

I push him aside and continue around the ship. As inopportune a time as it is, I spend a moment to rummage through the chests hidden in odd corners.

Finally, I enter my assigned cabin to see Oren meditating. I wave my hands in front of his face. Nothing. I grab his shoulders and shake him. Still no reaction. I look around the room and see a chair. Before I do the unthinkable, the monk finally opens his eyes.

"You look tense. Something's happened. Tell me what it is. Stay calm and use the sign language I taught you."

I drop the chair. My hands move like I didn't know they could, signing at the speed of light.

Oren nods. "Uh-huh, uh-huh...so, black hole outside, is that it? What a strange thing to say. You know what, just show me."

We rush out of the room to see panicked passengers running around with sweat flying left and right. I swat the liquid blocks aside, watching them disappear into the cabin floor.

"Let's go!" Oren says.

But before we can move anywhere, I feel my head spin.

* BATTLE START *

---

A Giant Eel and a Sea Sludge appear. The eel shakes, drawing in electricity from god knows where

"What should I do?" the monk asks.

I use my hands to tell him to attack the eel with REPEL.

"Great idea! Get rid of the threat first."

He moves stealthily and pounds into the monster with his fists.

It recoils, but continues charging its body.

I guess Oren's skill doesn't always cancel the enemy's attack.

The sludge shoots a glob of green gunk at him.

The damage was minimal, but it looks like the attack left a negative status effect.

"I feel like a snail," he says.

Realizing what just happened, I cast Jolt on him to boost his speed.

Oren bursts into motion with another Repel on the eel.

It lets out a painful shrill, twisting and turning in midair, before finally exploding into oblivion.

The sludge slides toward me and wraps itself around my body. I can see the energy flowing out of me and seeping into the monster's skin.

Feeling a bit violated, I retaliate by giving the green funk a good whack with my staff.

Oren unleashes Repel again, but it's not enough to kill the sludge. He's also down to 3 SP and won't be able to use his skills anymore.

The sludge spits a glob of gunk at me, which sizzles on my skin for a moment before evaporating into the air.

I consider using a Power Stone on the monk to bring his skill points back to maximum, but that feels like a waste. Instead, I give the sludge another whack.

When it's Oren's turn, he sits down and switches to a meditative pose. "I need to Contemplate." Green numbers flash above his head right away.

I take some more damage from the monster, my health just about half drained. My staff finds its target once more, taking the sludge to the brink of death.

Oren's gets another 13 SP back from his meditation. The skill doesn't seem to require a recast and lasts indefinitely. His eyes suddenly open. Coming out of contemplation, he moves in move a regular attack.

The sludge recoils and shrinks in size, until it's no longer visible.

A happy tune plays, signaling the end of battle.

"We make a great team!" Oren says, crossing his arms and nodding to himself.

Before I can do my victory pose, the scenery has already changed, and we're back among the chaos in the cabin.

---

* BATTLE END *

"I'll need a change of clothes after all this."

I heal myself and Oren full with Deep Heal, then give the monk the two Skill Rings I've been wearing to temporary increase his SP by 40. My SP drops to 65, yet remains maxed.

"Smart."

Afterwards, we continue down the hallway towards the deck. By the stairs that lead outside, frantic passengers push past us, two Giant Eels hot on their trail. Oren and I attack.

* BATTLE START *

---

The fight goes pretty straightforward. Oren begins by casting Contemplate. Based on my calculations, the skill regenerates approximately 20% of his SP every turn. Just as his skill points reach 103, both eels unleash their Electric Shock attack. Chains of lightning erupt from their slimy skins and strike us each three times.

I cringe at the burning tingle rippling through my body. Having endured similar attacks, I've gotten used to the pain. And it seems that my high intelligence gives me extra protection against magic. I take a total of 136 damage, while Oren's health is reduced by 243.

"That hurt!" Oren says.

The eels charge their bodies for another attack, but he manages to cancel both of them one after the other. I just defend and let him finish them off in the next few turns.

---

* BATTLE END *

Conserving my SP, I communicate to Oren to use his Potions on us. He agrees and brings us back to full health.

On the deck, dozens of people lie unconscious, while those still standing fight for their lives against the sea creatures that have taken over the ship.

My eyes are drawn to the monstrosity of a black hole now covering half the sky. Fear would not be the most accurate word to describe how I'm feeling at the moment. It's as if I were a magnet, and whatever's inside the black hole is a giant sphere of metal, tugging at my very soul.

"This doesn't make any sense," Oren says. "Such a phenomenon has never happened in the history of Zephyria."

We waste no more time and go to help the others. After four battles with more eels and sludges, I finally reach Level 13. By now, our Potions have depleted, but the monsters just keep coming. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep going.

"My goddess, what is this thing!?" a man in a seaman uniform says. "H-help! Help me, somebody! Help! Oh my goddess..."

It's the captain of the ship, and crawling towards him is a webbed-foot shark with red gunk dripping from its jaws.

Just as we run over to help, two eels appear beside the shark.

The world spins out of control.

* BATTLE START *

---

A symphony of instruments erupts as the boss battle begins.

Immediately, both eels go into charge mode. We have a couple turns before they unleash their electric attack.

Oren prepares himself for a Repel attack. "Though I have a death wish, I'd prefer a dry grave."

It seems the shark is slow, but I assume it'll be the hardest to kill out of the three.

It's my turn. With no more Potions, I have to think this through carefully. Oren has the two Skill Rings on, giving him a total of 103 SP, while I only have 64 with no accessories. He can kill each eel in two strikes, but the problem is he'll need time to recharge his SP. The Shark looks powerful and probably has special attacks that can do serious damage. With that in mind, I decide not to hold back.

I start off right away with a Shock Attack, one of the items we acquired in battle earlier. The item works as expected. Chains of lightning appear out of nowhere and strike the monsters.

The Shark takes a good deal of damage, reducing it's health bar by about ten percent. I didn't expect it to have so much HP. As for the eels, the spell had absolutely no effect.

"Good thinking! How many more of those do we have?"

Only two more. I'll have to use them at the right time.

The shark claws one step closer, but still doesn't attack.

Oren lunges at one of the eels, striking it with his palms.

It wriggles, but maintains its stance. The two eels come together and unleash their special attack. Oren and I brace for impact. One by one, numbers flash above our heads.

The extra HP I got from leveling up gives me some leeway. I'm down to 658, while the monk still has a good 1177.

With no hesitation, I cast Jolt on Oren. This will ensure he gets in a couple more hits before the next onslaught of attacks from the enemies.

Oren sets up for another strike.

The eels charge.

The shark crawls over to Oren and slams him with its two webbed-feet

I suddenly feel really lucky not having been the target. If the monk takes that much damage with his huge defense, I won't survive a single hit. I cast Jolt on myself. My SP is down to 39, but it'll be worth it if I can go a few extra turns throughout the battle.

Oren attacks the injured eel, killing it before it can cast it's spell.

The other eel shocks us with its electricity, but without its partner, the damage is less intense.

I use another Shock Attack, taking the shark down another ten percent.

It's still a long way to go, but the rest of the battle should be pretty straightforward.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the shark attacks Oren

It looks like I was wrong in assuming the Shark needed a couple turns to launch an attack. We're in serious danger; Oren is at the brink of death with only 3 HP remaining, while the enemies are nowhere near dead.

"This looks grim," he says. "No matter how I play through this in my mind, I can't see us surviving the battle. My death wish will finally come true. I'm just sorry to drag you along."

There's no way I'm losing this fight! I signal for him to change strategies.

He scratches his head in confusion. "Are you sure?"

If I'm wrong, we're dead. If we don't try something, we're dead.

Oren nods and sits down to begin his meditation.

It's already my turn again. Instead of Deep Heal, I cast Heal on him, bringing him back up to 290 HP. I won't have another chance, but with some luck, he'll survive.

The remaining eel does what it does best. No surprise there.

Then, to my relief, Oren's meditation pays off and restores his health by 280 points.

And as expected, the Shark targets him again, taking it back down to 46.

I Heal him again. His meditation effects kick in. The eel shocks us. Then again, his meditation brings his health back to a safe level. The shark slams into him.

At this rate, I'll be out of SP very soon, and we won't survive this vicious cycle.

I cast Heal on Oren, then signal for him to try something else. He agrees, stands up, and preps for a Repel attack.

The eel goes into charge mode. With the Shark at our throats, there's no way we can get to the slippery little beast. We can't afford to waste any turns.

Oren suffers yet another attack from the shark, his health becoming critical.

I heal him, bringing his HP back up to 300.

Our survival hinges on this next move.

The monk pounds his fists into the shark, sending the monster back several steps. It's health didn't drop by much, but the wonderful thing is that it's back in its original position, far away from the two of us.

The eel strikes us with its electricity as expected.

It's now my turn. I have 482 HP and 19 SP left, while Oren has 182 HP and 43 SP. After some thinking, I decide not to use Heal just yet. Instead, I use a Shiny Stone on myself, giving me 20 SP. The little boost will allow me to cast Heal a few more times.

The Shark takes a step forward, this time eyeing me with its dilated green eyes.

"What should I do?" Oren asks, just as aware of the situation as I am.

I signal for him to use Repel on the Shark. He nods and gets into position for the attack.

The eel charges its body.

Thanks to the slowness of the shark, it's my turn. I take this chance to Heal myself, just in case I suffer a hit.

But to my relief, Oren manages to unleash his attack on the Shark before it can attack me, doing another 144 damage to the monster.

We take a hit from the eel's electric attack.

I decide that now is a good time to use the last Shock Attack. It erases 214 points from Shark's health, but still leaves it with a little more than half its total. The eel takes no damage.

Oren goes into a meditative state as I knew he would. He should be able to recover enough health to survive the next couple attacks.

The shark makes its move again, targeting Oren instead of me. The eel charges.

I use the last bit of SP to cast Heal on Oren.

The effects of his meditation kicks in, and his HP jumps to 644.

The eel shocks us.

Oren regenerates 275 more HP.

The shark crawls over and slams him for 500 damage, taking him down to 302.

There's nothing more I can do to help except attack. With all my might I give the eel a good smack, and to my surprise, dealing it 25 damage. The monster has about 450 HP according to my calculations. This might just work out after all.

The eel gets ready for yet another electric shock.

Oren regenerates.

The shark attacks him.

I give the eel another whack.

Oren regenerates.

The eel attacks.

This goes on for several rounds. My health starts to become critical after taking some hits from the eel, while Oren, still in meditation, manages to recover to about two-thirds his health in spite of the barrage of attacks. All this doesn't matter; the shark remains fixated on him.

Finally, Oren gets an opportunity and uses Repel on the eel to finish it off.

I target the Shark, giving it a good beating with my staff for a whopping 10 damage.

The monster slams the monk, but not enough to kill him.

Oren goes into meditation once more, and the rest is in my hands.

After what feels like an eternity, I deal the fatal blow to the Shark.

"I escaped death...again!" Oren says, dusting off his shirt with his hands.

---

* BATTLE END *

We survived the battle, but there's no time to celebrate.

"Thank you so much!" the captain says.

The three of us set our eyes on the danger that still threatens to swallow the entire ship.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Oren says the obvious.

With a loud groan, the captain rallies the remaining crew members. The seamen work the ropes and masts, while their boss takes the wheel. They plan to steer the ship away from disaster.

I fall to my knees, my body suddenly remembering the soul-severing force that is the black hole. But for some reason, the others aren't affected.

"What's wrong?" Oren asks me.

A deafening roar erupts from my mouth, surprising everyone including myself. My vision grows blurry.

Oren grabs and carries me off somewhere, but does it even matter?

I feel the ship begin to rise.

"...not going to make it," I see the captain say.

And then, the sounds of the sea fall to a deafening silence, and the world turns pitch black.

~*~