Chương 690: The Final Phase

[Discovery Quest: Tomb of the King] Well, look at that. An item with a secret quest attached. Luke read the message carefully, still glaring at the exit cube.

"We should go," Eleanor said. He touched the cube. The surface hummed under his fingers, and the teleportation option appeared in front of them.

"So. Outside or sky?" Luke asked. Evangeline grimaced.

"If we go outside, we'll have to cross that city again. I forgot how much of a pain getting to the beacon was."

"There's also the risk of an ambush out there," Eleanor said, her tone more serious.

"We need to be ready for that. Jonathan could show up with friends." Luke thought about it for a second, then shrugged.

"Then we'll take the sky option. Angie already knows what to do."

"Wait, with the sky option, I don't—" Eleanor never got to finish. The world vanished.

Layla was on the ship, eating dinner and trying to pretend this was a normal night. A few days had passed since the pirates had been defeated, and through some absurd chain of events, they were all here now.

"And then, holding the Infinity Gauntlet, Tony Stark said, 'I am Iron Man'… and snapped his fingers, sacrificing himself," Stephen said grimly.

"No!" Jack the pirate shouted.

"What happened to him, Sir Stephen?" another pirate asked, already teary-eyed. Stephen lowered his head with grave solemnity.

"He was gone."

"Damn it… cursed Thanos!" Captain Thomas growled, slamming his cup onto the table.

"Why did he have to be so evil?" one of the pirates wailed, crying without the slightest shame.

"Right when Tony finally had a family…"

"And Spider-Man had just come back from the dead! Why is the universe so cruel?"

"No. No way it ended like that. Tell us he made it."

"Unfortunately, no," Stephen replied. Layla stared at all of them for several seconds, incredulous.

"You're drunk." The idiot pirates had been captured by Lady Erza and sentenced to cleaning the ship as punishment. Somehow, however, they had ended up becoming friends with Jack's father. The reason was simple: they all liked rum and talking loudly.

"These pirates are idiots," Layla said later in the ship's kitchen, watching Joanna wash dishes.

"Why didn't you get rid of them?" Joanna kept scrubbing a plate, calm as always.

"Lady Erza has plans for those pirates in Phase 6. You saw the challenge, didn't you?"

"But did it have to be these pirates?"

"They may look like idiots," Joanna said, "but Thomas Schartz is a famous pirate on the New World continent. He knows how to navigate dangerous sea routes, and more importantly, he knows how to avoid attracting the attention of monstrosities. He's an excellent smuggler, whether it's merchandise or people who want to disappear and escape somewhere else." Those idiots are famous? Layla couldn't imagine that bunch being useful for anything besides emptying rum barrels and tripping over their own pride.

She'd thought Erza was just punishing them, making them scrub the ship until the Scumbag came back and they could settle things. But no. Erza had hired them, offering a good amount of money and even a deal involving her kingdom. Several days had already passed since they vanished. The group still hadn't returned. That meant they were still trapped inside the Phase 5 Beacon… or they were dead. Layla hated the weight of that thought. She hoped they were alive.

As she walked through the cabin area, memories came without permission. I'm actually going to miss you idiots. With Phase 6 arriving, she knew their time as a group was ending. Everyone would go their separate ways. There was no point pretending otherwise. Layla stepped into the bathroom. It had been nice having friends for a while. Even… that stupid Scumbag.

"Hello, Layla," a voice said from the darkness. She jumped and nearly stumbled backward.

"S-Scumbag?" Luke stood in the corner of the bathroom like appearing there was the most normal thing in the world.

"Hope I didn't interrupt your dump."

"D-don't say it like that!"

"You weren't taking a dump?"

"What I was about to do in the damn bathroom is none of your business!" Layla took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control.

"And wait… when did you get back?"

"I want to know why there are strangers on my ship, Layla. Where are Extras One through Four, Maids One through Six… and were those the Idiot Pirates?"

"L-look, a lot happened, okay? But everything got handled." Luke watched her for a moment. His tone changed only slightly, but enough for her to notice.

"So you're okay?" Layla looked away.

"I am. Thanks for asking, moron."

"And Katarina?"

"She's fine too." Luke seemed to relax.

"Good. Then I'm glad you're both okay." He turned to leave the bathroom, but Layla called after him.

"Wait…" Luke stopped.

"What about the others?" she asked.

"They're fine."

"In that case… I'm glad everyone's okay too." She hesitated, then added, "Even you, a little, Scumbag."

Luke stood on the ship's deck, staring at the group of pirates he had unfortunately crossed paths with a few times before. Unfortunately, they were still alive. Worse, they were on his ship.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't throw you overboard," he said.

"Sparrow!" Captain Thomas exclaimed, spreading his arms like he had just run into an old friend.

"I came here for a duel," Thomas explained.

"A duel?"

"A pirate duel." Luke blinked slowly.

"A pirate duel…?"

"You know how it is. One cowardly, cheating pirate against another." Thomas scratched the back of his neck.

"But then… well… I met your boss."

"You've got a dangerous boss, Sparrow," another pirate said, sounding terrified and impressed. Boss? What the hell are these idiots talking about?

"Hey, Assassin," Erza Grimhart said.

"We need to talk about the next Beacon." Luke looked at her.

"Agreed. We have a lot to talk about." The final phase would be a farewell. The group was going to split up. Phase 6 Challenge This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. In this Phase, each participant who completed the Five Phases will receive a single Beacon.

Your objective is to discover, using the clues provided, the location of your Beacon, which may be anywhere in your region of the Sunken Realms: on the ocean's surface, on an island, or at the bottom of the sea. Be aware: finding and reaching the Beacon is part of the challenge. Once it is found, you must complete it alone. Participants who complete the Phase 6 Beacon will automatically be sent to Stage 3, while the other participants will be teleported to New Earth.

Be aware of the risks and rewards of remaining in the world of the Sunken Realms during Stage 3. Good luck. (Notice: Because you possess a Guide, you need only ask him to locate your Beacon.) Morning came with the ship consumed by arguments about the new Phase. The group gathered to compare clues, maps, and possible routes. Once they had a plan, Luke went to speak privately with Erza Grimhart. Her room was far too organized for someone involved in so many dangerous things.

Erza sat in a chair while a maid served her a cup of tea with precise movements.

"This is how we'll divide the teams," Erza said.

"Two will stay on the pirates' ship, and the other two will stay on your ship." The Phase 6 participants were Luke, Charlie, Angie, and Anne.

"We have three weeks to find four locations scattered across this entire map," Luke said.

"Splitting into two groups and using different ships really does make things easier." Cadmus could help Luke know the exact location of his Beacon. It was a bonus for those who possessed a Guide. The rest of the group, however, had received riddles and phrases that helped them deduce their destinations. The challenge used landmarks from the locations visited in the previous Phases as its foundation.

"Anne is a good navigator. It would be useful for her to stay on my ship… but…"

"No," Erza cut in.

"I'd rather stay on the pirates' ship with her. You can choose who will accompany us in this search for the Beacons: Angie or Charlie." I'll have to see which of their locations is closest to Anne's. That'll make picking them up afterward easier.

"When the Phase ends, you and the pirates will disappear and be sent back to Earth," Luke said.

"And whoever remains on your ship will be in trouble if they're alone and can't regroup with the others in time."

"That's why it has to be Anne," Erza replied.

"She can guide the ship. As for you, if you stay on the other ship with your partner, you can manage at sea using your powers." Keeping Anne and me on different ships is a good move. That way we can rescue our partners after the Beacon. Over the next few days, the four participants in the next stage spent hours trying to deduce the areas where their respective Beacons were hidden. Erza's Cadmus was authorized to use the Beacon Locator on Anne, since the two were soul twins. According to the rules, that was allowed.

Luke's and Anne's Beacon locations were discovered quickly. When they finished deducing Charlie's and Angie's, the problem became clear.

"Looks like Anne's partner will be Angie," Erza said. If the map were a clock, the city on its edge would be at 6. Angie's and Anne's Beacons were around 3 and 4, respectively. Charlie's was at 8. Luke's was at 12.

"I'm nowhere near anyone," he said. Traveling there by ship across the entire map was impossible. There wouldn't be enough time. And even if there were, the ship that took Luke would never be able to take another participant to their Beacon, wait for the challenge to be completed, and still pick everyone up before the deadline. The result was simple: everyone would end up separated.

"I can guide you between the halos and find a route that might help," Cadmus said.

"But forget traveling by ship. You'd have to continue alone."

"And where exactly is Luke's Beacon?" Eleanor asked.

"It's in the same type of location as where we are now, but at the extreme opposite end," Cadmus explained.

"On the other side of the region, in a city like this one, on the rim of a volcanic crater bordering the Abyssal Zone." Evangeline crossed her arms, wearing a smile with no sympathy in it.

"Looks like you got the worst location, Cinderella."

"I can help Charlie guide the ship with the others," Eleanor said.

"We've gotten good after all these months. But I don't know if we'd be able to get you there in time." Luke stayed silent for a few seconds, weighing the options.

"I don't think there's any way around it," he said.

"I'll have to go alone using the teleportation halos. But if you agree to take Charlie to her Beacon, that would already be a huge help."

Luke was in the ship's bathtub when night fully settled in. Warm water surrounded him, but it did little to ease the weight in his skull. He checked his system interface. He had already distributed the free points he had.

Name: Luke Level: 99 Race: Half-Demon Rank: E Core: [Spectral Beast (Rank E)] Class: [Demonic Predator (Lvl 99)] 2nd Class: [Arcane Witch (Lvl 95)] Profession: [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya (Lvl 87)] Titles: [Dark Lord], [Myth Slayer] Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon] Health Points (HP): 13030/13030 Mana Points (MP): 17160/17160 Stamina: 9251/9260 Soul Fragments: 902/1000 Stats: Strength: 914 Lethality: 1613 Agility: 1543 Dexterity: 604 Endurance: 926 Vitality: 1303 Toughness: 608 Perception: 1615 Wisdom: 1716 Intelligence: 1786 Willpower: 1249 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: [Advanced Blade Handling (Uncommon)], [Advanced Knife Throwing (Rare)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Crimson Fang (Ultra-Rare)], [Predator's Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Advanced Stealth (Rare)], [Assassin's Tracking (Rare)], [Mana Infusion (Rare)], [Basic Archery (Common)], [Demonic Predator Hands (Epic)], [Demonic Predator Throwing Knife (Epic)], [Burst Throw (Epic)], [Stealth Critical Strike (Rare)], [Shadow Dive (Rare)], [Knife Storm (Epic)], [Feline Agility (Epic)], [Horns of the Demon of Darkness (Legendary)] Second Class Skills: [Advanced Magic Conjuration (Uncommon)], [Teleportation Pentagram II (Legendary)], [Curse (Common)], [Cursed Weapon (Uncommon)], [Shadow Ball (Common)], [Enhanced Telekinesis (Rare)], [Witch's Gaze (Uncommon)], [Cursed Weapon Throw (Rare)], [Telekinetic Impulse (Rare)], [Telekinetic Pull (Rare)], [Witch's Thread (Rare)], [Despair Aura I (Rare)], [Clear Mind (Ancient)], [Shadow Mana Explosion (Ultra-Rare)], [Spell Grimoire (Epic)], [Tactile Telekinesis (Rare)], [Telekinetic Stasis (Rare)], [Transmutation (Common)], [Basic Appearance Shift (Ultra-Rare)] Profession Skills: [Herbology of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Precise Extraction (Common)], [Advanced Potion Crafting (Uncommon)], [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)], [Plant Sensor (Uncommon)], [Botanical Bond of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Seed Conversion (Rare)], [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)], [Thorn Mutation (Uncommon)], [Soil Analysis (Uncommon)], [Botanical Purification (Uncommon)], [Acid Blood Arrow (Epic)], [Soil Guardian I (Ancient)], [Vegetal Respiration (Common)], [Stomach of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Bones of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Soil Guardian II (Ancient)] Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Advanced Meditation (Uncommon)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)] Rank Skill: [Soul Infiltration (Rank F)] Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)] Servants: [Charlotte Vespertilio (Vampire) - Lvl 93], [Angie (Angel) - Lvl 97] Familiar: [Unavailable] One more race level and I hit Rank D.

It's a little strange thinking about how much lifespan I'll receive the moment I evolve. I'm not just some ordinary human anymore. Someone at Rank D might not be a god, but they're above every human who existed before the system. To a normal person, someone like that might as well be Superman. Now I understand how the World Kings ended wars in the past. I'm pretty sure I could take on an army by myself under the old rules of war. Machine guns, pistols, bazookas. None of it would even make me flinch. It was strange.

Exciting, in a messed-up way. Then his thoughts drifted back to the fact that this would be their last night together. The next day, each of them would leave on their own journey. His job afterward would be to reunite with Charlie, Angie, and Anne. But this would also be a farewell to Eleanor, Erza, Eddie, Layla, Stephen, Jack, and Evangeline. They would return to Earth. They wouldn't move on to Stage 3. Should I go back with them? Should I really bet everything on winning Stage 3?

Wouldn't it be better to find a way to search for Elizabeth Moon once I return to Earth? Until now, Luke had been convinced he should keep going in the event. But now the doubt was starting to gnaw at him. His agreement with Erza had already been fulfilled: he was supposed to look after Anne until she reunited with her family, and in exchange, Erza would help him find Elizabeth Moon. Protecting Anne in Stage 3 could still earn him points with her family, which might help in the search for his mother.

But Elizabeth Moon was a civilian, at least as far as he remembered. That meant there was a strong chance she would also return to Earth at the end of Stage 2. And Earth would not be safe. Not after everything. A sound came from the door. Please don't be the ninja woman with the annoying habit of invading bathrooms…

"Master Luke, I'm coming in," Charlie called. Luke turned his face toward the door.

"I think I stayed in here too long. Was it your turn to use the bathroom?" Charlie entered naturally. A moment later, she slipped into the water and settled against him in the wooden tub.

"No," she said.

"I just wanted to join you." Luke raised an eyebrow.

"All this space, and that's where you want to sit?"

"Yes. Are you complaining?"

"No. Opposite problem. If you hadn't, I was going to pull you in myself." He placed his hands on her waist and drew her closer. Charlie relaxed against him, and Luke rested his face against her neck before giving her a light bite.

"You… bit me," she said.

"Don't complain. You've bitten me plenty of times."

"I'm not… complaining." Luke wrapped his arms around her from behind, letting the silence settle for a few seconds. Outside the bathroom, the ship creaked softly with the movement of the sea.

"It's our last night before we split up," Charlie said. Her voice was quieter now.

"Are you really going alone?"

"It's the best way for all of us to reunite as quickly as possible." Luke opened his system inventory, and a compass appeared in his hand.

"It's set to track your Ring of Fire. If this Beacon doesn't give us the Locator power, I'll still be able to find you with this." He pressed the object into her hand.

"But you already know what to do, don't you?"

"Wait for you to find me," Charlie said, teasing.

"There's no way I can get from where I'll be to where you'll be in time on my own." Luke tightened his arms around her a little, serious.

"We don't know how long Stage 3 will last. If you finish the Beacon and everyone on your ship has returned to Earth, you'll have to cross the ocean alone toward the Citadel. You understand that, Charlie?"

"I know, Master Luke. I was joking." She held the compass carefully.

"Angie and I should activate the Locator power the Beacon gives us to find you. Anne will use hers to find Angie, and from there we'll head to the Citadel." That, of course, was assuming Stage 3 gave them enough time for any kind of plan. What happened afterward was still a mystery. There was also the possibility that each of them would need to continue alone.

"That's our meeting point," Luke said.

"But we have plenty of time."

"Don't worry about me or Angie, Master Luke. We'll manage. Just go straight to your Beacon. We have three weeks to find it, complete the challenge, and reach the Citadel. We'll have time." During that window, they would also need to get stronger and level up. Especially Luke. He was the bottleneck preventing the two of them from reaching Rank D. As their master, he had to evolve first before they could.

"When we meet again," he said, "you'll already have chosen your level 95 vampire skill." Charlie went quiet for a moment. To reach Rank D, she needed to spend all her available free points and choose her unlocked skills and class evolutions. She couldn't wait for Luke to discuss it and decide with her. If she did, all her progress would remain locked.

"And it had to be the most important skill…" she murmured.

"You won't be there to help me choose."

"I thought you were smart enough to decide on your own."

"It's just…" Charlie hesitated.

"You know. Ever since I saw the Vampiric Beast, I've been wary of the skills on that path." Luke stayed silent for a few seconds. When he answered, his voice came out firm.

"I don't care which one you choose. I care that you come back to us. If you reject a powerful race skill because you're afraid, then reject it." Suddenly, he felt a light bite on his neck.

"What are you doing…?"

"Biting you too," Charlie said, sitting in his lap. Luke tightened his arms around her, holding her more firmly.

"We were talking, but fine. If that's how you want to play…" He bit her back, and Charlie curled slightly, laughing under her breath.

"You're tickling my stomach… that's not fair." Luke didn't stop. For one night, before the Beacons, before Stage 3, they stayed there. Just the two of them, the sound of the sea, and the certainty that tomorrow, each of them would have to survive alone.