Chapter 611: Reunion in the Storm |
The female archer lowered her hood and half-mask.
“Luke?”
“Yay, we found my gym crush,” Artemis said.
A massive tornado was closing in.
“Eleanor, we don’t have time,” Luke said, tossing the artifact to her.
“I’ve got a route,” she replied, already breaking into a run.
They moved through the houses fast, diving through windows, cutting across interiors, and leaping into neighboring buildings. The tornadoes were coming from every direction now, roaring loud enough to shake the air itself. When they reached a rooftop and jumped, the wind caught them midair and started dragging them backward.
Luke summoned the Spectral Beast. The enormous shark appeared in the air and swallowed Eleanor whole. When it hit the ground, Luke dismissed the beast at once.
Eleanor stared at him. “What the hell was that?”
“I was about to fire an arrow with a pull-line.”
“Like Batman?” Artemis asked.
“Yeah. Like Batman,” Eleanor answered.
“It’s just that Luke was really committed to making a sharknado happen,” Artemis said.
“Sharknado? What is that?”
“Ignore her,” Luke said.
Once they made it off the island, they swam toward the cliffside and began climbing. Eleanor fired an arrow with a rope attached and hauled herself upward. She started to fire another for Luke, but he was already scaling the rock with [Demonic Predator Hands].
They sat at the top, breathing hard, both of them relieved.
“Luke,” she said, “where the hell have you been?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
A faint smile touched her face. “I think we’ve got a long conversation ahead of us. Want a drink, or are you too busy?”
“Your call.”
“We have rum,” Artemis said.
“Rum?”
***
Luke followed her through the forest of the island until they reached a wooden cabin.
“This is where I’ve been staying these last few days,” Eleanor said as she opened the door.
The place was hidden deep among the trees.
“So your three months in Stage 1 were pretty peaceful,” Luke said, picking up the earlier thread of conversation.
When Eleanor first arrived in Sunken Realms, she had been teleported to one of the islands in that archipelago. Their mission during Stage 1 had been simple: survive and build ten ships.
“I even learned a little about how to operate one,” she said.
Eleanor sat down at the table and pulled a few wooden mugs from her storage item. Luke set down the rum, and she poured. This cabin was not on the island where Eleanor had spent those first months. It was more recent, built on what they called the Main Island of that archipelago, the largest island in the region.
“And did you actually build one?”
“I helped. The system kept dropping chests from the sky, and a lot of them had instructions inside. Some people even got profession mutations. Over those months, I pushed my profession past level one hundred.”
Luke let out a quiet breath.
“Damn.”
Compared to that, his own progress in those same three months had been exactly zero.
“When Stage 2 started and the dome around my island vanished, I spent most of those days going from island to island around here. I thought maybe I’d run into one of you.”
That explained why she had not cleared a Beacon even though Stage 1 had been so close to ending.
Eleanor went on explaining that most of the ships had already left to search for people, but a few always came back and brought news about the Beacons. She knew about the Person Locator.
“My Stage 1 was boring. What about yours?” she asked.
“Mine...?”
He had no idea how to explain it. Too much had happened.
“Luke’s was very exciting. He met this girl named Zoe. They became verrry close. Super close,” Artemis said.
“Hm?” Eleanor frowned, confused.
“The theme of my island challenge was a little... problematic.”
The day slipped by with the two of them talking. Outside, they built a campfire. Eleanor was genuinely shocked by what Luke told her. She had assumed everyone had been sent to an island just like hers.
Later, while they ate stew together, both of them fell quiet for a while.
“My mom was on a plane when Event 51 started...” she said.
The planet’s electricity had been shut down shortly before the event. The worry was obvious. Her mother’s plane could have crashed.
“She was probably teleported. The system wouldn’t do something like that,” he said with more certainty than he felt. In truth, it was only a guess.
“Or maybe it would. What about people in hospitals?” she said. “I thought about that. People in comas. People in nursing homes who do not even know who they are. Women. Children. I don’t know how those people are supposed to deal with any of this.”
“Complicated times...” was all he said.
“But you’ve already had your own share of insanity. You found out your mother was alive, then got thrown into a Battle Royale, and somehow ended up fighting an octopus. You need a vacation, Luke.”
“That’s what I keep telling him!” Artemis said.
Eleanor took Luke’s empty bowl from his hand. “I’ll wash it.”
“And what about your plans? What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I already have a raft. I’m going to keep looking for artifacts. But I know I already lost this phase. Even if I manage to get ten in time, I’d still have to find a Beacon somewhere in the ocean. So I guess I’ll just stay here with you until Phase 1 ends. We’ve got what, four and a half days left?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“How many artifacts do you have?” he asked.
“I have four.”
Luke touched his storage item and pulled some out. “I have eight.”
“Eight?”
“So how about we clear a Beacon?”
“Nooooo,” Artemis complained.
***
Luke and Eleanor were at the port. She lit up the moment he mentioned the Beacon. She did not even want to rest. She had practically tried to shove him straight into the ocean already. Eleanor wanted to find her father.
“Eleanor!” someone called.
A man stepped down from one of the ships docked at the port.
“Hello, Anton,” she said.
“So, are you finally going to accept joining my crew... or don’t tell me you’re signing on with Margaret’s ship?”
“No, I’m sorry. I already chose a side.” She pointed at Luke. “I’m sailing with this captain.”
“Ah, a pleasure...” the older man said, extending a hand to Luke.
“Pleasure.”
“Which island are you from?”
“One very far from here.”
“I see. So you’ve got a lot of experience at sea. Makes sense that she picked you. Which one is your ship?”
“I don’t have a ship,” he said.
Eleanor set the boat down in the water.
“No ship...?” The man looked confused.
“I need to help this guy get himself a ship,” she said. “See you around. Maybe I’ll come back here after I finish the Beacon.”
“See you around, Eleanor!” he shouted after her.
They pushed away, rowing out.
“Anton and Margareth?”
“I got to know some of the island leaders. I made a lot of arrows and sold them to them. Not for money, but for food, information, even gold.” She held up a necklace. “Want a necklace, Luke? Now I’m the one making the offer.”
“I’ve got plenty of gold already, smartass...”
She smiled.
“It’s been an eventful few days.”
“When we get back, if you decide you want to join one of their crews, that’s fine. I’ll keep going on my own.”
There was still the chance Eleanor’s father was not even in the same region of Sunken Realms as they were.
“You know,” Luke said, “it’d be easier to look for your dad on a ship than in a rowboat.”
“No, I’m fine with this. My father knows how to take care of himself. I’d rather travel with a friend.”
Luke summoned the Spectral Beast. The shark appeared in the water. Luke tossed it an anchor. The creature bit down and started pulling. The boat lurched forward, suddenly racing across the sea behind a shark.
“We’re officially faster than a ship now,” Luke said.
“So all I have to do is sit here and relax?” Eleanor asked.
“That’s it.”
“That actually sounds pretty easy. How long does the battery on your creature last?”
“If we don’t get into a fight, a little over half a day. That’s about how long I can keep it active.”
She looked at him, amused. “You’ve got some pretty incredible tricks. And at least this captain of mine doesn’t have ulterior motives.”
Luke glanced at her. “Ulterior motives?”
“Both Anton and Margareth asked me to spend the night with them,” she said.
Wow, Luke. Just like Zoe with you, Artemis whispered in his mind.
Shut up.
Luke tossed a mask to Eleanor. “Here. Keep that with you.”
It was the mask he had won.
***
After three days of searching, they finally found a Beacon. But of course, it was in the storm zone. The water was violent there.
“So in this movie, there are tornadoes and sharks?” Eleanor asked.
“In movie six, there’s time travel,” Artemis said.
“What? But wasn’t it supposed to be about tornadoes?” Eleanor asked.
The moment they reached the tiny island, they climbed out of the boat. The cube floated ahead of them. Eleanor picked up the boat and stored it in her pocket dimension. Luke dismissed the Spectral Beast.
“You should deposit the artifacts,” he said, handing them over to Eleanor.
She placed her hand against the cube.
“A message popped up asking if I want to enter the dungeon. And another one saying there’s someone nearby who might want to join.”
Luke placed his hand on the cube too.
“You were recognized. I’m accepting,” Eleanor said.
And together, the two of them entered the Beacon dungeon.
***
Eleanor stood atop Luke’s shark, firing arrows while it chased a spitting octopus. The creature kept launching itself out of the water and firing compressed water shots. Luke hurled knives to break the projectiles apart in midair while Eleanor kept shooting. This was the Beacon’s final challenge.
When Eleanor’s arrow flared with sudden, intense light, she loosed it. The octopus leapt out of the water to fire another water bullet, and the instant it did, the arrow struck.
Your class [Demonic Predator] has reached Level 88! (+10 Lethality, +7 Perception, +6 Agility, +6 Vitality, +6 Intelligence, +5 Endurance, +8 Free Points)
Your second class [Arcane Witch] has reached Level 75! (+12 Intelligence, +10 Wisdom, +7 Perception, +6 Willpower, +5 Agility, +3 Vitality, +2 Endurance, +10 Free Points.)
[You have unlocked a Class Skill]
[You have reached Level 85! Half-Demon (Rank E)] (+2 bonus points to all attributes, +5 free points)
[Challenge completed!]
[You completed the Phase 1 Beacon Dungeon!]
[The exit is now available!]
[Your reward is available in the chest!]
A small island rose from those waters. When they reached it, they found two chests.
“Double rewards,” Eleanor said.
“And we got lucky. No Sea Guardian.”
According to Cadmus, the Sea Guardians were spread throughout the Beacons. Luke had simply gotten unlucky the last time and ended up in one that had basically been a containment cage for the creature.
“I got pants. Looks like I’ll need to borrow your mask for a while, Luke.”
“That’s fine.”
He still had the half mask he had won in the battle royale, the one that let him breathe underwater. But Eleanor had nothing that helped with that, so letting her keep the second mask was the obvious choice.
“I got a pair of boots,” Luke said.
[Aquatic Explorer Boots (Ultra-Rare)]:
A pair of boots made from a special fabric that dries almost instantly once out of the water. Their material was designed to improve movement in underwater environments. When submerged, the boots adjust and transform into swim fins, granting a 25% increase in swim speed and a 10% bonus to underwater mobility by reducing water resistance against the wearer’s movements. In addition, the swim fins reduce stamina consumption during swimming sprints.
Enchantments: [Aquatic Dash (Uncommon)], [Mana Repair (Rare)], [Temperature Regulation (Rare)]
Information:
Rarity: Ultra-Rare
Rank: E
Type: Equipment
Requirement: Level 60+ in any Class or Race.
He clicked on one of the enchantments to read its description.
[Aquatic Dash (Uncommon)]: By channeling stamina into the boots, the wearer unleashes an explosive burst through the water, performing a high-speed dash over a short distance. This skill can be used to quickly close the gap to a target, evade imminent threats, or escape from enemies in submerged environments. While active, water resistance against the user’s body is temporarily reduced, allowing for faster and more efficient movement.
When they reached the exit cube, Eleanor placed a hand on it.
“So it really does give three options,” she said.
Eleanor activated the locator.
“The list is kind of all over the place.”
“Mine was in a weird order too,” Luke said.
She read through a long list of names.
“My father isn’t in the same region as us in Sunken Realms,” she said, her voice touched by disappointment.
“But that means he’s alive. Try your mother’s name.”
When she did, a smile broke across her face.
“She’s not in the same region either. But she’s alive.”
“Can you try my family?”
Because Eleanor had already met them, their names appeared for her.
“They’re alive.”
Luke felt a wave of relief.
“Now I don’t know who to use my locator on. Serena or Evangeline,” Eleanor said.
She thought for a few seconds.
“Serena can take care of herself. It would only make sense to look for her if she were with my father.”
She clicked Evangeline’s name.
“She’s in the same region,” Eleanor said. “The locator’s active.”
The two of them left the dungeon.
“Knowing her, she’s probably enjoying herself on a beach somewhere with a plan to stay like that until the event ends,” Luke said.
“That honestly does sound like her plan.”
[Beacons Completed: 1/6]
The number of completed Beacons remained unchanged, which meant that only one Beacon from each Phase counted.
[A Phase 1 of Stage 2 of Sunken Realms has ended! All Beacons have been deactivated!]
The notification appeared.
“We finished just in time,” Eleanor said.
[Phase 2 is beginning! New Beacons will now be summoned... at the bottom of the ocean.]
A massive notification appeared, then vanished.
[Phase 2 has been temporarily paused!]
“Paused?”
[The participants of this region have fulfilled a requirement that has unlocked the...]
And then they saw what it was...