"Fuuuuck!" Emelia screamed into the air outside, her voice partially muffled by the walls of the ship's hold.

While she let her frustrations be known to the outside world, Adam was going through the loot on the dead Player's bodies. As he was inspecting the necklace Maalia had worn, Emelia suddenly burst back into the bowels of the derelict unicorn.

"Change of plans!" she exclaimed. "We're getting that fucking ship today."

Adam turned to face her. She had a manic look in her eyes.

"What ship?" he asked, worried she might've snapped.

"The Golden Slug," she told him. "If we get that today, then there'll be no issues doing all the other objectives and killing the Secret Bosses with just the two of us!"

Adam frowned.

I can't tell if this is a good idea or if she's just desperate to not lose her grip on this Stage…

"Don't we need a much stronger ship to take it on?"

"Not with your barriers to fly us around."

"I'm not very confident we'd survive a direct hit from a ballista," he replied.

Emelia had a contemplative look on her face for a moment as she considered the best way for them to get at the Golden Slug.

"Can you use your barriers to push an airship?" she asked.

Adam realised what she was planning.

"It might work," he replied. "I mean, it'll be crazy, but it might work."

"We really need that airship," she said. "You've got the key to its special door, and I've got the quest to return the egg. Plus, I want to see Captain Drew's face when we pull up to Windtop with it."

"Is it a good idea?" he asked. "You said yourself soloing these Stages might be impossible."

And I don't want to die…

I really feel like if I can overcome the challenge awaiting in Stage Eight, then I could make it all the way to the end with Emelia. Gladwyn and Beck also seem like they'd be able to keep up all the way towards the end, no matter what comes.

"Not when both of us are here," she replied. "I didn't want to say this, but…"

"The others were only going to slow us down?" he replied, understanding what she couldn't get herself to say.

Emelia sighed. "Fucking idiots!" she then exclaimed. "When I find out which of the Absolutes is behind everything going so wrong, I'll destroy them."

"Killing a God?" he asked. "You sure are setting your ambitions high."

"But…" she then said remorsefully. "I also bear the blame for everything going this wrong. I just assumed they would listen to me like last time. I forgot that Riccardo was the one who persuaded everyone to believe me. I should have realised how different it would be with him dead. I mean, no matter what I do in Stage Nine, only two people ever trust me enough to call the shots, and the other two always end up fighting over the Legendary Relic that appears…"

Emelia sighed deeply.

"I really fucked up," she said.

"I bear the blame too," Adam replied.

"I told you I could handle this," Emelia said. "It's not your fault for trusting me."

"We both have a lot to learn," Adam said with a wistful smile.

Emelia nodded. "There's still so much I don't know."

"Speaking of," he started, lifting Maalia's necklace up towards her. "Check this out."

< < Unique Relic > >

< Pendant of the Leading Eye (Common) — Once invoked, all non-adherents will avert their eyes from the bearer, so long as they worship Messimer. 2-hour cooldown >

"Strange," Emelia remarked. "The one I always get from Messimer makes it so people hallucinate when they look at me."

"I guess this one is made for ranged Players," he commented.

Adam looted their Relics and equipped the Choice Ring that Ruimin had carried. Since Leon's body was literally just gone, they wouldn't be getting the stuff he'd had, but at least he hadn't been the one holding the map.

< < Quest Updated > >

< Stolen Map >

< Bring Captain Drew's map back to Windtop Cove >

"Should we do the quest first?" Adam asked.

"No," Emelia told him. "We need to use it to find out where exactly the Golden Slug is. Besides, he said he wanted it back by tonight."

"How much time do we have before nightfall?" Adam asked his cube.

[8 hours and 13 minutes.]

"The Floating Sea doesn't have nights per say," Emelia added. "The light just becomes sort of blueish instead of gold for 6 or 8 hours, but it's still fairly bright out."

"Regardless, do we have enough time for this?"

"More than enough," she replied.

Adam glanced back at the bodies of the dead Players and the emaciated captain they'd slain to get the Golden Prince sword.

"I was thinking about trying my Necromancy skill," he said.

"Do not use it on them," Emelia told him sternly.

"I meant the NPC, obviously," he added, but it was a bit too late since she was already giving him a disapproving glare.

When he didn't move to try it out immediately, she gestured at the dead captain. "Go on."

"You're sure?" he asked.

"So long as you don't use it on Players, I don't care. And I'm curious about how it works too."

Phew. Would be difficult if she didn't want me to use it at all.

Adam switched to the wand and aimed it at the skeletal corpse. Just like with the spell-tome, the skill activation didn't require any kind of invocation or complex spell construction, it just simply worked once activated. It was a shame though, since it meant he wouldn't be able to 'learn' to cast the skill like a spell, barring all attempts to use it without the proper evolution.

A red-gold light flashed from the tip of the wand and struck the corpse after snaking through the air in rapid jerky motions like a living thing. He felt the same sudden hollow feeling from when he'd activated Mana Infusion. Using 100 Mana all at once was something he'd have to get used to. Fortunately, he'd spent the last few minutes recovering, so his tank was still half-full.

The red-gold energy suffused the Mad Captain's corpse and he spasmed once, before quickly getting to his feet and letting out a horrifying scream.

"What the fuck!?" Adam exclaimed.

Then he lunged for them, but Emelia was suddenly there, her right fist glowing with the effect of the Duellist's Glove she wore, smashing the reanimated boss so hard that his upper body disappeared in a blast of red mist and dust.

The rest of his body then turned red, and Adam realised that the Last Stand's Fervour had been activated.

Oh fuck!

The Mad Captain tried to kick at Emelia, but she punched the remaining bit of his body with enough force to slam it back against the inside of the hull. Then she sprang forward and pummelled him through the wooden wall, sending the headless and armless body out onto the sand.

"Why is he attacking us!?" Adam shouted as he tried to bring Alepheria's Mandate to bear on the captain to force him into submission.

"It must be because of the Gold-cursed affliction," she told him, standing in front of the hole she'd made and punching the captain as the remnants of his body tried to get back in.

Once the 10-second duration of the Fervour effect expired, the headless body collapsed in a heap.

"That was a waste of Mana," Adam said with a frown.

"You'll have more chances to try it," Emelia told him. "Just don't use it on enemies afflicted with madness, I guess."

"We're lucky the summon count didn't affect him," Adam remarked. "Although I guess the one-hit effect from the Wandering Eye necklace should, as well as my various boosts, since the True Flame's Icon effects worked on him."

"Do you think the spell boosts from the wand upgrades affect it?" Emelia asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'd assume so, given that they work on my barriers. Not to mention, it would be weird if they didn't work on the skill since I got it through the wand's evolutions."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she said. "It's already quite powerful on its own, so it might be excluded from being boosted further."

"Suppose I'll just have to keep testing it," he replied.

They returned to the Creaking Madam and inspected the damage to its hull, but Emelia was confident it wouldn't be an issue. Actually getting his three barriers around the ship took some precise shaping and finicking though, but once they were in place Adam could simply link them through Alepheria's Mandate to how he steered the ship, and it effectively doubled their speed.

Emelia wanted him to fuse the barriers for more power, but he was reluctant, since they might easily damage the hull if they pushed too hard. Or they might cause the ship to flip or any other number of uncontrollable events that would surely destroy the vessel.

With Captain Drew's map, they had a good idea of where everything was around them, although Emelia had already been quite adept at guiding them before, since she'd remembered most of the points of interest. Still, it helped that Adam could see it all himself as he steered the ship.

Emelia wanted them to fly to a large fortress island call Iffenguard. It had been one of the big outposts of Fallow's Fallen before they'd all gone insane, and now an ancient Slug Dragon ruled over it. Like the snail Slugwhale they'd sought out at Lucas' Grave, it could help them locate the airship they were hunting.

"I thought you said to avoid Slug Dragons," Adam remarked as he looked on the map and adjusted their heading. He trusted her plan implicitly, but it was hard for him not to point out the contradiction.

"Do what I say, not what I do," she replied. Adam was sure his own mother had used a phrase like that during his childhood whenever he'd caught on to one of her contradictory parental rules. "Iffen, the Slug Dragon, evolved from one of the snail-like Slugwhales, so his disposition is much better than most of the other dragons in the Floating Sea. But if it wasn't for the fact that we're pursuing the Golden Slug, then it'd be unlikely he would aid us. The Whale Eaters have the means to kill Slug Dragons, and are even a threat to him, so he should help us."

"Should?" Adam replied sceptically.

"Nothing is certain," she said. "We should bring him an offering just in case."

Adam frowned. "What kind of offering?"

"If we can find Whale Eaters, bringing them to him would be preferrable, but if we can't, any pirate's corpse will probably do."

"Human sacrifice, great…"

"Says the necromancer," she replied with a grin.

"Not much of a necromancer if what I resurrect tries to kill me," he replied.

"It's good to know it has limitations," she remarked.

She's not wrong. If I'd tried that in the middle of a fight, then it could've been much worse.

"Is there anywhere near Iffenguard where we can pick off some pirates?" he asked.

"There should be a few roaming between here and there," Emelia said. "But if not, then there's a small outpost for the Cloud Skimmers north of Iffenguard. Their outposts are usually worth hitting regardless, since they're all about modifying airships, especially when it comes to speed. Although it's not like we really need those, since we have your barriers."

Adam looked down at the map again, spotting the outpost she was talking about. It was marked with a cogwheel symbol. There was an island all the way in the top left corner of the map that was marked with a saw-toothed smiley, which was apparently the symbol of the Whale Eaters. It was clear that the map only represented the area around Windtop Cove, since most of the big strongholds of the various factions weren't on it, except for the Golden Fortress, whose rook symbol was in the bottom of the map almost directly below Windtop in the centre, meaning it was actually not too far south of where they'd arrived in the Stage.

Besides the outposts, there was also the two settlements for the White Flags that he'd seen before. Their symbols were of course just a flag. Lenny's Landing was to the southwest and near the edge of what the map showed, and Morgan's Rest was to the east. Iffenguard was northeast of their current position, putting it almost directly north of Windtop.

That seems like a clue. Maybe if we continue in a cardinal direction from any of the big islands or strongholds or settlements, then we'll find another big point of interest.

He mentioned his theory to Emelia.

"That's just a coincidence," she said. "As far as I know, only the settlements are like that. If you go in a cardinal direction or something like straight northwest, then you might hit one. But it's not certain, and the layout of islands is designed to force you to explore and gather clues about what's around you."

"Damn," he muttered. "I thought I'd figured it out for a second."

"Also, some places, like Iffenguard, are placed above or below the normal floating point for airships, so they're technically inaccessible without certain upgrades. So even when you do find a place that's worth checking out, you might be unable to because your airship is lacking something, like a Lift Balloon or an Anchor Shot."

"But my barriers can help with that?" he asked.

"Hopefully. Although you might not be able to lift or lower the ship, in which case we'll have to use the barriers to fly to one of those places. Iffenguard is always lower than the floating point. The Slug Dragon is quite heavy after all."

Adam's imagination wasn't doing him any favours with that bit of information.

"The island is weighed down by the dragon??"

Emelia grinned. "It'll blow your mind when you see him."

Since they were taking an almost straight line towards Iffenguard, Adam let the fins and barriers just keep them going without his help. They didn't particularly need the sails thanks to the barriers pushing them, but Emelia still kept adjusting the control lines to catch the wind, since she wanted them to go as fast as possible.

With his hands free, Adam finally checked the Navigator's Telescope with the Golden Map slotted in front of the lens. He panned around, looking for the golden thread he'd seen. After a bit of searching, he was able to spot it, but only barely, and it was pointed to somewhere off the right side of the ship.

He pulled out Captain Drew's map to try and figure out what direction it was leading. It turned out to be aiming for somewhere in the bottom right, though there was no telling whether it was inside or outside the confines of the map.

Based on the way the direction isn't really changing as we move, I've got the feeling the source is pretty far away.

One thing he noticed as well was that one of the flecks on the canvas map slotted onto the telescope was glowing slightly. He saw right through the rest of the canvas, but the flecks were still there, and he realised belatedly that they were islands.

Wait a minute…

He consulted the map again, looking for something in the south-east quadrant of it that matched the shape that was lit up on the map he was looking through.

Sure enough, there was an island exactly like that, and it wasn't nearly as far south as he'd feared, though it was still quite far to go.

After showing Emelia, they made a note to visit that island, but she had a theory that would lead them on a bit of a journey if true. Her guess was that, since there were several golden flecks on the map, it was possible they'd have to visit each one in turn, in order to find where the ultimate destination was.

It'll probably take us quite a while if we do that then…

As such, they decided to wait until tomorrow to investigate further.

They reached a region of the Floating Sea with dark clouds here-and-there, which was an ominous sight within the otherwise tranquil and beautiful fluffy golden cloudscape. Emelia told him to steer around them, because they'd damage their ship due to the thunderstorms and frigid winds inside. Normally, passing through the golden clouds was just like moving through a warm fog. The evasive manoeuvring required Adam to take an active role at the helm again, as the dark clouds were placed rather sporadically across the path they were taking.

As they swerved around one of the dark fluffy shapes, a shadow broke off from it, shooting right towards them.

"Enemy ship!" Emelia called from the crow's nest.

Adam immediately recalled his barriers to his side while Emelia went down into their hold to fire their ballistae. She'd had the foresight to load them when they left Shipwreck Isle, so all she needed to do was aim and fire.

"It looks like they'll try and ram us!" Adam yelled down to her.

"It's the Cloud Skimmers then!" she shouted back up the stairwell into the ship's hold.

Adam set the airship on a curving trajectory to hopefully avoid the hit, but the enemy vessel was coming in way too hot. It was a small dark twin-mast thing shaped like a spearhead and with only two fins on either side, but it clearly had some kind of improved propeller setup on the back, given how it cut through the air.

He contemplated fusing his barriers and using them to give their ship a powerful burst of speed, but instead he decided to try and destabilise them. Adam double-fused a barrier and shot it at the enemy's foremast in the shape of a spinning sawblade. Then he triggered his Blood Fist Ring and fused his remaining barrier with it, firing it at the ship as well, but not before giving it the unique command to spread out and take on needle shapes the moment it left his range. Since the spell literally became liquid, it was possible to achieve a type of pseudo splitting effect, due to the fact that spreading a liquid spell too thin made it break into smaller globs that could be individually shaped thanks to his high Manipulation Effect.

The double-fused barrier struck first, since it was a lot faster than the blood-fused one, and though it wasn't the strongest he could make it, it was more than fast enough when combined with the enemy's forward momentum to shear straight through the foremast. What he hadn't anticipated however, was that the impact with the mast triggered Fervour, making the sawblade even deadlier, and it continued into and through the main mast as well, before tearing through the captain's quarters and out through the back of the hull.

As the masts toppled over the side of the Cloud Skimmers' sleek vessel, the blood-fused barrier, which had already split into dozens of needle shapes, rained down over the crew on the deck. But aside from blinding one or two of them and confusing the rest, there was no actual damage inflicted since it was really just shaped globs of blood flying at speed.

If I could find a way to harden liquids with my shaping powers, that trick could be super useful.

A loud snap tore through the air from the direction of the incoming ship and Adam flung out his resummoned barriers to try and intercept whatever was coming. But his barrier placement wasn't good enough and their combined area was too small, so the enemy projectile passed right by them, lancing into the back of the hull.

"Get it out of the ship!" Emelia exclaimed as she thundered up the steps from below.

Adam didn't even have time to parse the words before a boom rocked their airship and spun it off-course.

Then the injured enemy ship was suddenly just there, the front of their spearhead-shaped vessel striking their hull in the side.

Adam and Emelia were flung overboard by the ship as it pitched sideways.

Shit!!

With every ounce of control he could muster, Adam commanded his barriers to fly down to catch them.

A couple seconds of freefall later, he smacked into a hard pane of magical glass, damaging it enough to trigger Fervour.

[You have taken 5 points of damage from falling. Fall damage is not negated by your Defence rating.]

Fuck!

He called a second barrier to him and quickly switched to it, before steering himself down to chase after Emelia, who he'd been unable to catch.

Adam sent the cracked red-glowing barrier after her since it was faster, managing to shape it into a claw that he grabbed her fur coat with. He flew his own barrier down under Emelia just in time to catch her in his arms as the claw-shaped one expired.

"That was wild," she said with a lot of nervous energy as she stared into his eyes.

"Let's go get us some offerings for the dragon," Adam told her, bringing the other barrier over to where they floated ten or fifteen metres below the Creaking Madam.

Emelia shifted onto the other barrier and then he drove them up towards the two airships. The sounds of jubilation came from above where their attackers had clearly boarded their ship.

"Our airship should've sunk already," Emelia said. "They must've tethered their own to ours to keep it afloat while they loot everything."

Adam grinned as his barriers lifted them up past the hulls of the connected ships. He got to see the surprised looks on the pirates' faces for only a moment before Emelia jumped the nearest one and broke his body with a single punch.

Although Adam wasn't slow to follow, the six who'd boarded them were already dead before he'd landed on the deck and shaped his barriers into lances. But there were still enemies on the other ship, so he hopped across to the bow of their airship and flung his barriers forward, immediately killing two by driving his lances through their necks.

The Cloud Skimmers wore grey and black utilitarian outfits of leather and cloth, looking like boilersuits and aprons with bits of hardened leather strapped to them haphazardly. They all had toolbelts full of things like wrenches, hammers, crowbars, and such, as well as large goggles that reminded Adam of Herrman and the other kids who worked in Windtop Cove's dock.

They weren't geared for defence, and he was able to tear through them quickly, although the last three fired handheld crossbows at him, forcing him to duck behind the remnants of the main mast.

Then Emelia joined him and the three of them were dead in seconds.

"Phew," she said as she wiped the blood off her gauntlets with the suit of one of the dead pirates.

"Remind me to never piss you off," Adam joked, looking down at the remains of the ones she'd killed. They were all bent and twisted and broken from the single punch she'd delivered to each of them. It was such an absurd amount of damage that he felt like his barriers were inefficient by comparison, though she at least couldn't match them in terms of range.

"We'll have to take their ship," she said. "Ours is totalled. Most of the back is destroyed from the explosive bolt they hit us with, with our rudder and propellers just gone. The hull took a lot of damage from them ramming us, which coupled with the large tear it already had means it won't stay afloat. If we hadn't gotten the hull upgrade, they probably would've cut our ship in half though."

"I fucked up the masts on their ship," Adam said.

Emelia nodded. "I saw. I almost fired our ballistae down their throats, but I figured this might happen, so it was a good idea I didn't damage their hull. Since we've got your barriers, we don't really need the masts anyway, and the fins, rudder, and propellers are all good, so we should be fine."

Adam looked across to the deck of the Creaking Madam. Three hooks on metal wires extended out from the bow of the Cloud Skimmers' ship and there was a large ballista between them, the one they'd fired the crazy bolt with.

"I guess we have all the offerings we could want," he remarked dryly.

"Iffen is going to be quite pleased," Emelia replied.

Let's hope so…

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.