LIGHTNOVELONLINE V3.17 Easy Frenzy
Shadara continued to glare at the horned toad. “Let’s go to the other ship. That captain has got to be better than this one.”
Captain Webster let out a deep chuckle. “Leave to where?”
We turned to look for the other ship that was there before. But we found that we were the only ship around. I guess we’re stuck with him.
I lowered my arms. “Is there a place we can go to while you get the crew here so we can start? The sooner we start, the sooner we’re out of your hair.”
“There be cabins below deck fer ye to rest,” Captain Webster said. “And who said this pirate needs a crew?”
A low rumble grew from his throat, and all the sails fluttered outward as if a gust of wind filled them. We felt the ship lurch forward underneath us. Then I could feel us moving and sailing by nothing more than his magic.
Captain Webster gave us a toothy grin. “This pirate be enough crew fer any ship. Now to yer quarters. This trip won’t be easy if ye get in me way.”
Shadara growled as she stormed to the cabin entrance. I eyed the panther woman as I followed her. Killa casually strode behind us. We eventually found ourselves below deck with a hallway of several rooms.
Shadara threw open the closest door before going in and letting out a primal scream that sounded a lot like a roar from a panther. “Five days!”
“What’s gotten into you, Shadara?” I asked. “Normally, you’re the voice of reason. You’ve been uncharacteristically irritable today.”
The panther woman stood in the center of the simple room. “Something about the captain and that sphinx just grated on me.”
Killa put a hand on Shadara’s shoulder. “Are you sure the trial on the last floor isn’t bothering you?”
Shadara slumped her shoulders. “Possibly.”
I hugged her with all four arms. I just wanted to comfort her. She sighed as she melted into my arms. Killa wrapped around Shadara and me.
“You don’t have to do anything with him,” I said. “We’ll be spending most of our time away from the ship. We’ve got fourteen days, but it will take five to get there. That gives us nine days to do other things.”
Killa smiled. “Rina’s right. Since we’re on a ship, our extra stops will be on islands. So we’ll have plenty of time to stay away from him.”
Shadara purred. “Thank you two. I’ll stay away from him. But just the sight of him makes me want to hate him more than anything.”
Killa released us. “Well, he obviously isn’t a normal toad; he even said he wasn’t a toad. Given your history, do you think he may be a devil?”
Shadara shuddered. “I hope not, but you may be right. All the more reason to stay away from him.”
I ran a hand through Shadara’s hair. “Just take a minute to rest and get something to eat. We’ve got plenty of meal potions for you. I’m going to go see about our first stop.”
Shadara gave me another hug. I returned it with my stinger arms before I left. Killa stayed with Shadara as I ascended the stairs.
Captain Webster sat at the wheel. “So, lass, what ye want?”
I tapped my stinger arms together behind my back. I really need to practice with these more. “How far are we from any islands we can visit? And are there dungeons on them that we can try? Also, where can we get food for Shadara? She prefers actual food rather than using meal potions. I don’t mind either way. We brought a lot of meal potions with us, just in case.”
Captain Webster laughed. “Ye be asking a lot. But I suppose I can tell ye what I know. But a favor be owed, lass. One day this pirate will collect it. Fer yer food, ye could always take up the honest tradition of fishin’. As fer yer request for an island, I am required to stop whenever ye request.”
He motioned with his head. “Aye, there be yer island ye be requestin’. This pirate is required to stay until yer return.”
I looked where he directed. An island came into view, not too far away. It looked small from here, but it would work. Seagulls soared above, their cries piercing through the gentle breeze. The island itself was lush and vibrant, with dense foliage just past its sandy shores. I zoomed in with my vision. The island was teeming with life, as vibrant flowers bloomed in various hues, and colorful birds flitted from tree to tree.
Captain Webster chuckled as I walked away. “Ye be rememberin’ our deal, lass.”
I owe you nothing, pal. You didn’t tell me anything truly secretive. But he’ll be free to try later. When we’re stronger,
I hurried below deck to grab Shadara and Killa. Shadara already looked a little better as she sat on the edge of the bed. Killa gave her a pat on the back as I entered.
I motioned with my hand. “The island is close. Webster told me that we could land whenever we wanted. Are you ready?”
Shadara shot to her feet and grabbed her bow. “I’m always ready for a hunt.”
Killa stretched and smiled. “I’m ready too. Let’s go.”
We hurried back up to the top. This island was closer, and hanging off the side of the boat was another small rowboat.
The captain stayed seated next to the wheel of the ship. “This is as close as me Puddle Jumper can get. Ye can get yerselves there just fine.”
I suppressed a shiver as I made my way to the boat. Not again. We’re going to have to do this every time we head to an island.
Yes. The Puddle Jumper can’t get too close to shore without the risk of beaching itself. If that happens, you’re going to have to wait until a tide high enough rolls in to carry you back out to sea.
Killa placed her hands on my shoulders. “It’s okay. You’ve done it once, you can do it again.”
“I know, but I still don’t like the sound of drowning or being eaten alive.”
Despite myself, I crawled into the swinging boat with Killa’s help, and the other two climbed in. Before I could ask how we got down to the water, the ropes holding the boat dropped. I screamed all the way down until we hit the water. Thankfully, we didn’t capsize. But we made a huge splash.
In the chaos, something wet and slimy landed in my lap. I looked down and saw a rust-scaled fish. With another shriek, I pushed it off, pulled my gun out, and shot it.
Killa stared at me. “Did you just shoot the bottom of the boat?”
I received five stat points and seven hundred shards. The realization of what I just did hit me. I put my gun away. “Sorry. I panicked. I just hope I didn’t damage the boat.”
As if to mock me, water started flowing up from under the dead fish. Killa waved her hand, and a yellow tentacle plugged the hole. I hid my face behind my hands.
Shadara patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. Accidents happen. Let’s get to shore before the boat sinks.”
Killa rowed us to shore with practiced ease. Once we touched the sand, I leaped out of the boat. Killa stowed the oars before she and Shadara joined me on the sand. They each grabbed an edge and pulled the boat further inland. The sand sucked at it, but they managed to drag it onto land.
Shadara pulled the fish carcass out of the boat. “This is yours; you shot it.”
I grabbed the fish. It looked like a parana, stretched out to the size of a salmon, and covered in rusty-brown scales. Its cold, dead eyes stared at me. How does something like this exist? It doesn’t look that special.
If you consume it, we can give you a more detailed understanding of its biology. Unfortunately, you must consume everything raw. Cooking breaks down the chemistry and ruins the data we can receive.
Nope. I’m not that interested. It’s a little creepy that you can do that. But this fish gives me another idea. “When I shot this thing, it gave me stats and shards like it was a monster.”
Shadara waved her finger at me. “I think I know where you’re going with that. “That sounds like an interesting idea. How much did you get?”
“Five and seven hundred,” I answered. “You’ve got your bow, Killa has magic, and I have my gun. We can kill them safely on land.”
Killa tapped her finger and hummed. “The ocean was full of them. It would make a great first day until we stopped getting stats. But how hasn’t everyone just killed them all until this point? This kind of danger from the Nexus feels half-hearted. It’s too simple to overpower it.”
Shadara shrugged. “Maybe that’s the point. If we can get strong enough, the water won’t be our main concern. But if the fish are our level, what will we find on the islands later? How much more dangerous does the next floor get?”
I pulled out my gun. “I don’t know, but that means that this is all the more necessary.”
They both nodded slowly as they spread out on the beach. Killa started first with a crackling lime-green tentacle that sent several fish floating to the surface. Shadara began shooting a stream of white-hot arrows with each pull of her bowstring. Red clouds of blood started pooling in the ocean with each shot.
I simply pointed, zoomed in my vision, and shot fish of my own. As fast as I pulled the trigger, my revolver acted more like a machine gun, requiring a constant stream of shadow magic to fill the chambers as I emptied them.
The clouds of red grew darker and larger the more fish we killed. The water started frothing after I spent almost half my mana from my mana battery. All of us stopped and stared at the tumultuous water. When the water grew unsettlingly violent, we stopped and stared.
“They’re eating each other,” Killa gasped.
I killed enough to gain five levels, and with all the constant use of my magic, I leveled up my shadow power manifestation. The fish were level thirty-five, and I had been receiving only two points for the last half. As we watched the brutal cannibalism, I distributed my points and checked my status.
Congratulations! Upon reaching fortieth level, you have reached another milestone. Your nanites are capable of self-replication. Your Cellular Regeneration augment has been upgraded to Cellular Reconstruction, and your Nanobot Blood Replacement augment has increased efficiency.
Name: Rina Lone Augments:
Level: 41 Cellular Reconstruction
Agility: (+57) 409 Synthetic eyes: lvl. 2
Arcane: (+50) 305 HUD
Power:(+30) 160 Mana battery (shadow) integration
Quickness: (+40) 600 Additional Stinger Arm X2
Resilience:(+45) 305 Arm blade (right), Retractable
Toughness:(+45) 315 Synthetic tendons (legs) lvl. 2
Unassigned Points: 0 Synthetic muscle (legs) lvl. 2
Shards: 94,600 Synthetic bones (legs) lvl. 1
Synthetic bones (arms) lvl. 1
Shadow Powers: Synthetic tendons (arms) lvl. 2
Manifestation lvl. 7 Synthetic muscle (arms) lvl. 2
Shaping lvl. 6 Epidermal plating (arms) lvl. 2
Distance lvl. 1 Epidermal plating (legs) lvl. 2
Sub-dermal plating (torso) lvl. 2
Synthetic muscle (torso) lvl. 1
Nanobot Blood Replacement
Cellular Regeneration->Cellular Reconstruction:
The host’s body is filled with tiny nanites. The nanites constantly work to upkeep the host’s peek physical condition and repair any damaged cells at the cost of energy. The more severe the damage, the more energy required. Any amount of damage can be repaired so long as at least 10% of the host’s brain remains intact and the required energy is supplied. The nanites now are more effective at creating non-organic material, reducing the cost of further augment upgrades or replacements, not new purchases.
That’s all pretty cool, but right now I’ve got something a little more pressing.
Shadara turned to Killa. “Should we be doing something? Do we need to be worried?”
Killa shook her head, her mouth held slightly ajar. “I don’t know. I just really don’t know.”
The sight reminded me of horrible car accidents. People would always stop and stare, regardless of whatever they were doing. The worse the accident, the more they stared. Something about it pulled a primal instinct, leaving them unable to look away.
Killa’s eyes held no such fascination. They held recognition. Even still, she didn’t move.
I ran up to her and blocked her vision of the water. “Killa, what’s happening? What’s going to happen?”
Her eyes fluttered for a second as she regarded me. “Oh, sorry. I’ve seen other slime do something like this before. This is just more violent. They’ll keep consuming each other until some get larger than the others, feeding into one massive version.”
Her voice went flat. “A deviant will emerge in the end.”
Shadara’s tail shot up. “A deviant?” She ran to the rowboat. “We’ve got to leave as soon as possible.”
More of the water turned crimson as more fish joined the feeding frenzy. I grabbed Shadara to stop her. I then pointed to the center of the growing tide of blood. “Look. The fish are getting bigger.”
More water mixed with the blood, creating a swirling surf that was more blood than water. More water was red than not between us and the Puddle Jumper.
Shadara’s jaw dropped. “It’s too late. Is there an end to this? What have we done?”
What have I done? This was my idea.
Killa pulled us further ashore. “It’s okay. They’re just fish. They’re stuck in the water. Eventually, things will calm down, and the deviant will get bored and wander away to look for food. That’ll be our chance to slip away.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “You’re right. That makes sense. But what do we do until then? What if this goes on for days? What if it doesn’t stop?”
Killa glanced back at the ocean. “We should be fine. Things are slowing down—somewhat.”
The water grew darker, and the fish grew larger. Their razor-sharp teeth glinted ominously in the crimson tide whenever one of them crested above the water. Shadara and I clung to each other. The swirling surf of blood and water churned violently. If things are slowing down, I can’t see it.
The Puddle Jumper might as well have been miles away.
But time seemed to stretch on endlessly. The relentless feeding frenzy showed no signs of abating. Suddenly, a monstrous shadow emerged from the depths. My mouth went dry. A colossal creature, with scales the size of shields, rose from the water. The fish head eyed us. Its eyes, solid red orbs, watched us with a visible hunger.
The smaller fish just bounced off the larger one. The monstrous fish dove below the water and scooped up a mouthful of fish. Chunks of pieces slipped through its razor-sharp teeth and plopped into the water, where other fish gobbled them up.
It opened its maw and let out a long hiss.
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Shadara asked.
We didn’t have to say anything. The creature swam to shore, kicking up two red waves. It’s long, slithering body stretched out onto the beach as it left the water.
So much for being stuck in water.
It coiled in the sand. The creature had to be thirty feet long and four feet wide. A spined fin tipped its tail. Its scales were now a metallic blue that dripped with the blood water.
Shadara readied her bow. “Run or fight?”
Killa pushed Shadara and me away and apart. “Spread out and stick to ranged attacks. We’ll go from there. It’s looking slower on land.”
I drew my gun again. I circled to its left while Shadara went right. It watched each of us in turn.
Killa clapped her hands. “Hey over here!” The serpent made no notion that it heard her. “It’s deaf. Strike when its back is turned to you.”
I fed more shadow magic into my gun, and its head immediately snapped towards me. It let out a gurgling hiss as it charged me. Any illusion that it was slow was destroyed in an instant.