Chương 698: Sharks in the Storm

Luke tore across the storm-lashed ocean on the back of his sea beast, the Flying Fish, slicing through the water under pounding rain. The creature burst out of the waves, spread its translucent wings, and glided a long distance through the storm before diving back beneath the surface. He had been traveling across the ocean for five days.

"Shark!" Artemis shouted. Luke glanced back. A whole pack of sharks was tearing through the water behind him, chasing him through the storm.

"Come and get me!" he taunted, grinning. The megalodons kept coming, relentless. The Flying Fish plunged downward, diving deep, and the beasts followed without hesitation. Luke let go of the creature, leaving only the thread between them to tow him through the water. Kukris in hand, he started attacking the megalodons as they closed in. He cut fins, tore into gills, and opened deep wounds across the smaller ones, using the speed of their own pursuit against them.

[You have slain a Megalodon - Lvl 111] 1, 883, 075 EP earned [You have slain a Megalodon - Lvl 112] 2, 149, 662 EP earned [You have slain a Megalodon - Lvl 111] 1, 912, 741 EP earned Luke hauled himself back onto the beast and sent it surging upward at full speed. The Flying Fish broke the surface in a powerful leap, but just below them, a massive shark opened its jaws, trying to swallow them in midair. Luke hurled a kukri with [Burst Throw].

[You have slain a Megalodon - Lvl 115] 3, 123, 321 EP earned Your class [Shadow Phantom Reaper] has reached Level 103! (+30 Lethality, +24 Agility, +23 Perception, +22 Intelligence, +18 Wisdom, +13 Willpower, +10 Dexterity, +20 Free Points) Once they dove again, Luke hunted down the remaining three. A short while later, he resurfaced laughing, soaked in rain and blood diluted by the sea.

"Now that was a catch." He collected two cores. [You absorbed a Rank D core] [Rank D Cores: 120/1000] [You absorbed a Rank D core] [Rank D Cores: 121/1000] The waves kept raging around him, rising like dark walls on every side.

"We still headed the right way, Cadmus?"

"A few degrees to the right, and you will be," the robot replied. The beast picked up speed again. Every time it leaped out of the water, Luke could see the massive waves below crashing into each other.

"Swimming against surface waves is inefficient," Cadmus said.

"Last time we went deeper, we got the sharks' attention," Artemis reminded him. Near dawn, Luke found the remains of what had once been a massive city. It was an island, or it had been. Now most of it lay beneath the ocean, with only the tips of the tallest buildings jutting out above the water. He moved through it by swimming on his own. His Spectral Beast had timed out.

"There are halos here," Luke said, studying the ruins around him.

"You sure none of them can take me close to the Beacon area?"

"No, Luke Moon. Those halos will only slow you down. If you keep this pace, you should reach your destination in one or two days." For another hour, Luke swam between drowned buildings, until he heard a deep, distant sound.

"What was that?" Artemis asked.

"That didn't sound... friendly." Luke kept swimming, but sank a little lower and looked down. All he could see was the drowned city and the dark seafloor below.

"No clue. Probably the wind."

"The wind? Come on, man. Wind doesn't roar like that."

"Then let's pretend it does." He moved on more cautiously until he reached an area where fish carcasses and skeletons floated trapped in a dead-end street. The reek was strong enough to cut through the rain.

"And what's your excuse now?" Artemis asked. Luke did not answer. He started climbing a nearby building, and once he reached a higher spot, he conjured a knife. Then he threw it into the water. [Shadow Mana Explosion activated] A few minutes later, something huge surfaced. A monstrous mass rose from the water, grabbed one of the carcasses, and dragged it down into the depths.

"That's one of those damn krakens, isn't it?" Artemis asked.

"I think so."

"Don't tell me you're doing this, Luke..."

"I don't exactly have time to waste fighting a kraken."

"Thank the gods. The boy finally developed common sense."

"And I don't have infinite mana to bail myself out." Luke activated the [Cloak of the Arcane Witch], made a huge leap, and landed on top of a distant building. From there, he began crossing the city by jumping between the structures still standing above the water.

"You could've done that from the start."

"Then I wouldn't have enough mana to deal with whatever shows up once the Spectral Beast recovers." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. For a few more hours, Luke crossed the submerged city until he reached open water again. From there, he kept swimming alone until close to nightfall. Artemis spent the next few hours tense, watching his every move like she expected something to drag him into the depths at any second. In the middle of the night, Luke spotted a ship.

The problem was, the ship spotted him too. The vessel began pursuing him, sliding over the dark ocean with a literal skeleton crew on deck.

"If they want me that bad, fine." Luke climbed the wet hull and boarded the ship. The skeletons looked like pirates, armed with rusted blades and scraps of ancient metal. He fought them on the deck, laying into them with his kukris, breaking bones, severing arms, and dropping them one by one.

"Skeletons remind me of Charlie," Artemis said.

"I miss her." Luke crouched and picked up a gold coin from the deck.

"Treasure?" Before he could celebrate, an explosion echoed from inside the ship. He pushed into the cabin area. There were more skeletons there, but Luke killed them without wasting time. Your second class [Arcane Witch] has reached Level 99! (+12 Intelligence, +10 Wisdom, +7 Perception, +6 Willpower, +5 Agility, +3 Vitality, +2 Endurance, +10 Free Points.) Using the Witch skill [Cursed Weapon] on his kukris only gave him a few experience points per kill, but on a ship packed with undead, that added up fast.

When he descended to the lowest level, Luke stopped halfway down the stairs and sighed.

"Bastards." There was a hole blown open in the hull, and water was pouring in fast. One of the skeletons had blown itself up along with part of the treasure. Coins were spilling out through the breach, sinking into the ocean. Luke started grabbing every coin he could still reach while the compartment flooded. As he climbed back up the stairs, he heard a noise from the water.

"Stalker." One of them was watching him through the hole in the hull, half-hidden in the dark water. Luke reached for his kukri, but the monster dove before he could attack, disappearing through the breach.

"Those damn things are everywhere." At least his Spectral Beast had recovered. Over the next few minutes, he searched every room on the ship for more treasure, but found nothing except rotten wood, broken bones, and water pouring in. While organizing his pocket dimension, his fingers brushed against two syringes. They were his own invention, created from the epinephrine fluid of the Sea Guardian.

[Overload Berserker Serum (Epic)]: When injected, increases the user's physical capabilities by 30% for a short period, enhancing strength, reflexes, endurance, and combat instinct. Created from the refined essence of the Sea Guardian, the serum forces the body to operate beyond its natural limits in a state of controlled rage. The power comes at a cost: after the effect ends, the user may suffer tremors, extreme fatigue, and muscle pain.

Repeated use causes progressive physical degradation and carries a serious risk of dependency. A powerful weapon, but far too dangerous for regular use. Should be reserved only as a last resort. My goal was to make something that could improve my healing potion, make it fast enough to save someone on the edge of death from a fatal wound. Instead, I somehow made a damn super-soldier serum. Luke had no intention of using it again. He had only used it once, as a test.

Still, never hurts to keep a few cards up your sleeve. In a Rank E body, using it was dangerous, almost fatal. In a Rank D body, though, it probably wouldn't be nearly as risky. Luke jumped off the ship. With the Spectral Beast back in the form of the Flying Fish, he continued his journey across the ocean. He absorbed a few more cores along the way, and each one made the beast a little stronger. Back when it absorbed the first few cores, I couldn't feel any difference in its power.

But now, after more than a hundred cores, I can feel it clearly. The thing's gotten a lot stronger. At dusk, Luke saw something rising from the sea: a small stone island, and on it, an imposing structure. A giant spear, also made of stone, stood like a statue pointed at the sky.

"This one, I can read." Luke dismounted and approached, examining the place. There was an ancient inscription carved into the stone.

"Press on against the waves, voyager, and behold Kataleya, dwelling of the King," he read.

"That is the city where your Beacon is located," Cadmus said. When night fell, Luke was still on the tiny island. The rain came down hard. He had to return to the stone when his Spectral Beast tired and reverted to its core, not because of the strength of the waves, but because of the creatures trying to devour him.

[You have slain an Abyssal Stalker - Lvl 90] 788, 124 EP earned [You have slain an Abyssal Stalker - Lvl 90] 755, 961 EP earned [You have slain an Abyssal Stalker - Lvl 90] 744, 321 EP earned [You have slain an Abyssal Stalker - Lvl 90] 741, 788 EP earned They would not stop coming. They poured out of the water in waves, their humanoid lizard bodies scrambling up the rocks. They had figured out his pattern. They knew there were windows when he swam without his beast. So they picked that exact moment to ambush him.

"Come on, you sons of bitches!" Luke danced with his kukris on that tiny patch of land, surrounded by rain and sea. The Stalkers climbed up in a massive horde, leaving him no room to breathe. They tried to bite him, choke him, grab his legs, and drag him into the water. But Luke stayed on his feet. He cut, hacked, stabbed, and crushed skulls under his boots. The stone was soon covered in dark blood and twisted bodies.

The lizards kept at it through the entire night, rising from the waves as if the ocean itself refused to stop spitting out monsters. When dawn came, Luke took a deep breath and stared at the huge number of Stalkers still watching him from the water. They had stopped climbing onto the little island. They just floated there, motionless, their faces naturally carved into smiles.

"I'm still standing," Luke said, raising his kukris.

"And I can kick your asses all damn day." The Stalkers dove and vanished.

"They're gone..." After a while, Luke sat on the ground, pretending to lower his guard. Still, none of them came back.

"Almost got a finger eaten," he muttered, looking at his bitten, injured pinky.

"Progress is progress." Your class [Shadow Phantom Reaper] has reached Level 104! (+30 Lethality, +24 Agility, +23 Perception, +22 Intelligence, +18 Wisdom, +13 Willpower, +10 Dexterity, +20 Free Points) [You have reached Level 105! Half-Demon (Rank D)] (+8 bonus points to all attributes, +20 free points) Luke raised his kukri and cut off his own finger. Then he pressed the severed part back into place. In the same instant, he felt the bone reconnect.

Mother Freya's Bones only activates if an entire limb is severed. Good to know. Test complete. He took out a healing potion and drank it. It was the last one of that type. Now only the [Vitality Potions] remained, superior versions of healing potions focused on regenerating tissue and bone. Luke had handed out his potions to everyone in the group before the trip and, obviously, kept the healing potions with the libido-boosting side effect for himself.

Summoning the Spectral Beast again in the form of the Flying Fish, he continued the journey. By nightfall, he finally reached the city. [Beacon Challenge 6 has been updated!] Julian Grimhart stood in Wave City, on a ruin split open by time, watching the sea of the Abyssal Zone. The dark water churned below. Salt wind snapped against his coat, but he didn't move. Behind him, footsteps echoed through the broken stone. A man approached slowly, carrying a puppet in his arms.

"I thought I was going to spend the whole day chasing more dolls," the Narrator said, stopping a few yards from Julian. Julian kept his eyes on the sea.

"Stage 2 ends in a few days. Everyone who hasn't completed all six beacons will be sent back to Earth."

"Right." The Narrator tilted his head, the puppet slumping to one side.

"And you're a strange case." Only then did Julian turn to look at him. Without ceremony, he tossed something to the man. The Narrator caught it midair.

"That's everything that matters. The underground networks. The hidden passages." For a moment, the Narrator said nothing. Then his fingers closed around the object, and he tucked it away carefully.

"I'll keep it on me. I promise." They stood side by side, staring out at the dark sea of the Abyssal Zone. The waves filled the silence between them, heavy and constant.

"You're making the right choice, Apocrypha," the Narrator said. Julian smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it.

"I'm doing this for that city." His voice was low and steady.

"I'll find what even P couldn't." His gaze shifted to the horizon, where the sea seemed to swallow the world.

"The city at the end of the yellow brick road."