Chapter 625: Fire on the Sails |
They ran through the forest without stopping. For hours they climbed steep embankments, crossed ground tangled with roots that made every step awkward, scrambled back down slopes, and splashed through streams. It was a race to the beach, and whichever group managed to seize a ship and sail it to the finish would win the Beacon.
Final Challenge: Escape to the Horizon
Objective: Cross the island and reach the beach. Two ships are anchored there, but they are guarded by algae-cursed pirates and their drowned armies. The first group to reach the horizon aboard their ship wins the Beacon.
Rules:
- You may not sabotage the other group’s ship while it is anchored on the beach.
- The groups may not attack one another.
“Looks like this is where we part ways,” the pirate captain said. “It’s been a pleasure beating you.”
They reached the beach. Two ships were anchored there, one on each side of the shore.
“Later, idiots,” one of the pirates said, turning around and dropping his pants.
The pirates ran off laughing.
“Do not shoot them. Do you want to lose by disqualification?” Luke said, grabbing Layla’s arm before she could fire.
Even the little bat Lulie seemed offended. The group ran on. The beach was anything but calm. It was packed with creatures that looked like zombies, only bloated, tangled in seaweed, and dressed in torn shirts. The Drowned. Sea-zombies.
“W-we’re still going to win this, right?” Jack asked.
“The faster we kill these things, the faster we reach the ship,” Eleanor said, already firing arrows.
Luke drew a knife, poured mana into it, and hurled it high.
[Knife Storm activated]
[Shadow Mana Explosion activated]
Small explosions burst across the beach, killing several of the creatures, but most of them were clustered around the ship. Some were already on board, and the vessel itself was chained to the dock.
“They’re pirates. They know what they’re doing. They’ll get that ship moving way faster than we will,” Evangeline said.
“I... can... help,” Anne said.
She knew how to sail a ship. They did not. But Evangeline was still right. Charlie looked at Luke.
“Can you help Anne?” he asked.
Charlie nodded. Flames flared around one of her legs, and she sprinted forward, scooping Anne into her arms before leaping high into the air. At the same time, more Drowned began crawling out of the sea, swimming in packs, some of them bound together by chains. Then something bigger emerged. This one wore a full pirate outfit. Its eyes glowed green. Seaweed spilled from its body. Others like it rose behind him. They rushed Charlie and Anne at terrifying speed.
“Those are the special ones,” Luke said.
The group threw themselves against the army of Drowned.
Charlie and Anne were being surrounded. The pirate variants were different, faster, stronger. They charged with swords in hand and spat as they ran. Seaweed spilled from their bodies like whipping tendrils and lashed out as they attacked.
Charlie triggered [Wave of Ash] the moment she pulled away from Anne, burning the pirates around her. Then she started punching. Every blow set another one ablaze. Out of everyone there, she was the best suited to fighting a crowd. With her berserker ability active, she drove into them, fists flying, hammering them back.
Luke stopped and looked toward the other ship. The pirate crew on the opposite side was struggling too. Then he looked at Charlie. This was not just about reaching the ship. Every member of their group had to make it there. Charlie was too strong to be wasted on a straight rush. She needed to help the others.
“Charlie,” Luke called, moving toward her while fighting through the pirates.
Eleanor was firing arrows into them while Evangeline cut into the drowned ones closing in with her daggers. Behind them, Layla and Jack were providing support.
“We’re switching roles,” Luke said. “Handle the algae pirates and drag them away. I’ve got a plan.”
“And... me... Lord Luke?” Anne asked, cutting into one of them with her sword.
“You’re coming with me. We’re taking the ship.”
They struck at the pirates charging through the crowd. One spun a chain and hurled it at Charlie. She twisted, caught the motion, yanked him off balance, and smashed her fist into his face. More drowned creatures kept emerging. Charlie drove herself straight into the pirates.
“I’ll clear the way!” Eleanor shouted, loosing an arrow with careful precision. It landed farther ahead, and a sphere of wind burst outward, shoving the drowned back.
Luke and Anne ran side by side until they reached the port.
“Chains... Lord Luke,” Anne said.
“I know.”
Luke threw his blades, cutting through the chains mooring the ship. Then he swept Anne into his arms.
“What... are... you doing?”
“Jumping.”
With [Feline Agility], he vaulted over the drowned, bounding across the wooden posts of the pier and staying clear of the monsters clawing up from below. He caught one of the hanging chains, ran up it, and landed aboard the ship.
“Fun... Lord Luke...” Anne said.
“Our new friends want to play too,” Luke replied.
The algae pirates hauled themselves up onto the deck and let out guttural snarls.
“Anne, do whatever you need to do to make this ship move. I’ll handle the pirates.”
“Yes...” the doll maid said, and ran.
One of the monster pirates lunged for her, but Luke stepped in and met him head-on. The pirate swung a sword. Luke answered with both kukris. Then more of them joined in.
“Zombie pirates?” Luke muttered as he ducked aside. “Did you pay Disney licensing fees?”
The pirate roared.
“I’m guessing they didn’t, Luke,” Artemis said.
Luke spun and sliced across the bellies of three of them. Their stomachs split open, and fish spilled out, flopping wetly onto the deck.
“Oh, that is disgusting,” Artemis said.
Luke kicked one of them overboard. Another rushed Anne. Luke threw a knife, activated [Witch’s Thread], and got yanked across the deck, slamming both feet into the pirate and launching it into the sea.
“Thank you...” Anne said.
“Thank you, beautiful maid,” Artemis shouted.
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The drowned kept trying to board. Luke cut them down while more algae pirates climbed up the hull. He kicked one into a cabin, followed with witch magic, then killed it by hurling a kukri and snapping it back into his hand with magnetism.
[You have slain an Algae-Risen Pirate - Lvl 96] *454.668 EP earned*
He stepped back out and kept fighting.
“We’re almost...” Anne said.
Then, just as Luke moved in to finish off a fallen monster pirate, a boot came down on the creature’s head. A pistol leveled straight at him.
“We appreciate you preparing the ship for us,” Captain Thomas said with a grin, biting into an apple.
The other pirates from their group climbed aboard laughing.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Luke snapped.
“Why would we waste time risking our necks fighting through the other ship full of monsters when we can just steal this one?” Thomas said.
“Thanks for doing the hard part for us, idiots,” one of the others added.
“That’s what pirates do,” the captain said, laughing.
Anne raised her sword.
Thomas lowered the pistol slightly. “You can wound me, maid doll. I’m ready to sacrifice myself for my crew.”
“You’re amazing, Captain!” one pirate shouted.
“Shut up, Jack. I’m trying to trick them so we can win,” Thomas snapped.
One injury. That was all it would take for Luke’s group to lose.
“By the way,” Thomas added, “we lured all our monsters over to your group.”
Luke clicked his tongue and raised a kukri.
“So,” Thomas said, “are you going to waste time here, or run back and help them while gambling everything on the other ship?”
“Wait...” Anne said quietly.
Luke looked out toward the water. More algae pirates and drowned were crawling up from the sea.
“Damn it,” he muttered, lowering the blade. “Come on, Anne. We have to move fast.”
And Luke and the doll maid jumped.
***
Captain Thomas Schwartz watched the two of them leap off the ship.
“That was smart as hell, Captain,” said his first mate, Jack.
“Of course it was, Jack. All right, men, move. Get this beauty sailing and let’s win this Beacon,” Thomas said.
The crew roared and rushed to their positions. The ship began to pull away. Thomas hung up the two pennants they had taken from the island challenge, squeezing even more speed out of the ship. He looked back toward the beach and saw the other group being swallowed by the drowned and those monstrous pirate-things. Thomas was no fool. He was not about to waste time fighting an army of monsters when he could lure them straight into his enemies instead.
“We stole it clean, boys,” he said. “When we win this Beacon, we celebrate with enough rum to drown in.”
The crew shouted in triumph. Thomas gripped the helm. They were sailing straight for the horizon.
“They’ve launched the ship,” said his first mate.
“They already lost the race,” Thomas replied.
“And what do I do, Captain?” someone asked.
“You, just go to—” Thomas stopped cold when he saw who had spoken. “Wait. What are you doing here?”
It was the enemy captain, the one who fought with a pair of kukris.
“I came for your two speed pennants,” he said, holding them up.
Then he hurled black spheres into the sails. A second later, the canvas went up in black fire. At the same time, a knife struck high on the ship and detonated in a flash of dark light.
“Did you really think I’d give up on the ship that easily?” he asked, now standing in the doorway of a cabin. “Thanks for clearing the enemies off the other one for me.”
“Get the bastard!”
He bolted into the room. By the time Thomas and his men burst inside, he was gone. A glowing pentagram burned across the floorboards of the cabin.
“Teleportation magic!” Thomas snarled as he stormed back out. “Keep the ship moving. Use wind magic, use anything you’ve got!”
“Captain!” one of the men shouted. “The helm’s broken, sir!”
“He wrecked the helm!” another yelled.
“What?” Thomas barked.
Then the other ship slid past them. The captain with the kukris stood on deck with his crew.
“Gentlemen, remember this day well. The day you almost defeated Captain Jack Spar—”
“Don’t say the name! We can’t afford the copyright!” a woman’s voice shouted from somewhere on the ship.
And then the ship surged ahead of them.
“Damn it,” Thomas said, finally understanding.
“The little bat is mooning us, Captain!”
“And she stuck her tongue out too!” First Mate Jack added.
“Damn it!” Thomas roared as the enemy ship vanished into the horizon.
[Beacon 2 has been successfully cleared!]
“Damn it!” Thomas shouted again.
“Damn, we lost,” one of his men muttered.
“He’s an excellent pirate,” said another.
“The best. He completely played us,” said First Mate Jack.
“I curse you, Sparrow! I’ll come after you wherever you go!” the captain screamed.
***
[Beacon 2 has been successfully cleared!]
There were no more islands. No other ships. They were alone at sea. The moment the group crossed the horizon, the ship passed through a barrier.
“And now what’s happening?” Jack asked.
[Challenge completed!]
[You completed the Phase 2 Beacon Dungeon!]
[The exit is now available!]
[Your reward is available in the chest!]
Seven chests appeared on the deck, each one marked with a plaque bearing one of their names.
“At least we got revenge on those idiot pirates,” Layla said.
They headed for the chests. Luke glanced back over his shoulder.
“No sign of them. They vanished completely,” he told Charlie.
He had used [Predator’s Mark] on the captain. That was how he had known they were closing in on the ship to steal it.
“Nice work with those jumps, Charlie. We got through the crowd way faster because of you,” he said, praising her.
The ninja woman, now wearing nothing but a bikini, sprang toward her own chest.
“Finally, the best part. The reward,” Evangeline said.
Luke glanced at the notice still floating in his interface.
[Beacons Completed: 2/6]
Almost halfway.
His thoughts drifted to his mother. To the Baumanns. To Angie. The sound of chests opening echoed across the deck.
“What?” Layla said. “I got a damn bikini!”
Jack opened his. “A necklace that creates an air bubble. Great. I’m not drowning.”
One by one, they claimed their rewards.
“Tricking them... was... fun,” Anne told Luke, then walked to her chest.
Charlie received something too, a belt with a small leather pouch attached to it.
“What is that, Charlie?” Luke asked.
“A storage item!” she said proudly. “Master Luke, now I have my own traveling wardrobe.”
“Noooo!” Artemis cried. “Charlie, please. Do not remove your clothes from my dimension. Especially not the dirty ones!”
Luke paused for a second.
“On second thought, Charlie, store my dirty clothes in your storage item too. It’s safer.”
“Your clothes too? Seriously?” Artemis said.
“That’s fine. I’ll be happy to keep your dirty clothes too, Master Luke,” Charlie said, for some reason sounding far too excited.
Jack came over. “Guys, I’m the one who got the dungeon exit notification.”
“You?” Luke asked.
It should’ve been me, shouldn’t it? I was the group leader.
Apparently the selection had been random.
“I can activate the locator!” Jack said.
“Jack, check whether my family’s okay. Please,” Luke said.
“M-my dad too!” Layla added.
Even if Luke’s family was not in the same region of Sunken Realms, Jack had known them. That meant the system could still give a response that indirectly confirmed whether they might be alive.
“I’ll let you track your dad, Layla,” Jack said. “I just need to confirm my parents are alive first.”
He tapped at the air, interacting with a system interface only he could see.
“It says, ‘This individual is located in another Region of Sunken Realms. Please choose another person,’” Jack said. “M-my mom is okay, right?”
“Your mother didn’t have a system, same as my adoptive family,” Luke said. “So yes. That confirms she’s alive.”
“My dad, please,” Layla said. “Track him for me.”
“Okay, I’m just going to check whether my father’s alive,” Jack said.
Then he tapped the air again and went pale. For a moment, even Luke said nothing. Because Jack’s father had been facing the same kind of challenge as Luke’s adoptive family.
“Your father... died?” Eleanor asked carefully, reading Jack’s expression.
“N-no,” Jack said quickly.
“Then why do you look like that?” Charlie asked.
“I-it said, ‘Route found!’” he shouted. “M-my dad is alive, but he’s here. In the same region as us. H-how is that possible? He didn’t have a system.”
“So you used up your locator?” Layla asked.
“I’m sorry, Layla. I did,” Jack said. “B-but I don’t understand.”
“The system doesn’t make mistakes about that,” Eleanor said. “Your father has a system, Jack.”
That only made him look more confused. For the next few minutes, he kept talking out loud, trying to make sense of it.
“M-my dad was an actor. Just like I was when I was a kid. He’s a normal person. He wasn’t supposed to have a system.”
“Hmm...” Anne said. “Lies...?”
Jack sat down on the deck. “This is a lot to process.”
“Fine. Get us out of this dungeon,” Luke said. “Choose the option that teleports us into the sky.”
“The sky?!” Layla said.
“Better than swimming the entire cave system back up to the surface,” Eleanor replied.
Jack stood up again. “There’s a third teleport option.”
“And what is it?” Evangeline asked.
“Teleport to the surface... with the ship.”