Lifting a crate of dried rations, Sebas Aren wandered throughout the third floor of the ship, his original position after being attacked was once the cargo hold, mostly emptied by the pirates who planned to disembark some fifteen-odd minutes ago.
Re-discovering the chamber where a few hundred children each laid or struggled in their short restraints, some were chatting to their peers, but most chatting ceased once a loud thud of a crate dropped near the doorway of the repurposed cabin hold. A feathered bipedal monster with a singular large blood-red arm sat in the doorway, stains were made by the red hand that leaned against the doorframe, and chatter began to fill the room again as those in the back couldn’t see what was happening. A child screamed, filling panic throughout the room, loud sounds of restraints being rattled and pulled sounded. Sebas flicked the child in the leg and told him to shut up before he sat down at the base of the three-layer bunk and began to saw through the iron chain with a claw. Sebas looked at the kid, a small infernal human with a pair of black horns, one of them broken, and a crew-cut hairstyle, and spoke at him.
“I’ll get a few of you out, there should be some tools in the cargo room, I think I saw a hacksaw in there. There's food in the crate, and you’re in charge.”
The child stared at Sebas, wide-eyed during the half-baked explanation. The chain made a small clink noise as the third link of the chain from the manacle popped open after Sebas pulled opposite ends of the chain, one side with his teeth since he was lacking in the multiple arms area.
Sebas looked at the kid, who sat on the uncomfortable bunk, shellshocked and confused.
“GO GET A PIECE OF JERKY AND GO FIND A HACKSAW STUPID.”
The kid leaped up, running past him. Sebas sighed and stretched, beginning to scratch his nail against the iron links of the second kid of the three-level bunk.
“Are you a monster?” The kid asked him.
“Yep,” Sebas said, annoyed and struggling with the chain, “What’s it to you?”
“Did Echo send you?”
Sebas stopped for a moment, looking at the small dirty girl, she had a dark complexion and bright verdant eyes. She seemed to hope that he was some sort of good sign sent by Echo from what he could tell.
“Yep, that’s me, Echo calls me “number one minion,” forcing me to do whatever she wants, be it stealing or scaring the kids that bully her.”
“Sounds like she kept you busy…” The girl held her chin up while listening, her feet began to move back and forth, clearly engaged with the subject.
“Can I get you to do something?” Sebas asked the girl.
“What is it?”
“Echo is probably going to starve to death, could I put you in charge of finding her, taking a bundle of food, and feeding her slowly?” Sebas asked, emphasizing that Echo needed to be fed very slowly, seeing as she hadn’t eaten for a few weeks.
“Sure! My name’s Dee! Where is she at?”
Sebas was confused for a moment before responding. “Sebas. If you head out that way, you will eventually reach the end of the ship-”
“The stern?” She corrected.
“Yeah, whatever. She’s at the stern, in a giant metal cage that I broke, probably still lying there. Can I get you to do it?”
“Aye Aye Sebas the Scary!”
The chain bent as Sebas pulled with his arm and his teeth, breaking the link he scratched a large cut into. The young girl jumped off the bunk and saluted the monster before grabbing a few long strips of fruit leather, putting one piece into her mouth, turning around mid-stride to get a few more pieces, and placing them in her mouth before running full speed again.
Sebas started breaking the third chain, standing at his full height again, his arm moving back and forth while his shoulder held down the chain.
The kid in front of him looked at him with curious red eyes.
“What? Never seen a redhead before?” Sebas asked.
“That’s one way to say it…”
“You’ve got me for the moment kid, each of you has so many stupid questions, so go for it.”
“Do you need any help?”
“Uhhhh,” Sebas contemplated, “If you could get everyone in order-”
Sebas looked over as the small infernal kid ran in with a ton of hacksaws in his hands, stifling a chuckle as he watched the child run awkwardly and distribute tools to children.
“-uhh… Get everyone assembled, and prepare to go on the topside.”
“We’re leaving?” the child asked.
“Aren’t you sick of pirates?” Sebas asked.
“Yeah,” The boy said with a smile, “I think I am.”
“Good. Now get these runts in order.”
“Sir yes Sir!”
Sebas pulled the chain once again, and a loud snap was heard, followed by a clatter of a chain link hitting the floor. Sebas sighed at the child who ran off, pondering about the upbringing that these kids have to make them so strict.
He looked around, seeing that several children began methodically escaping, helping each other, some began to search the cargo crate pile that was lit up by the hole in the ceiling. Sebas looked around, watching each child uniformly working despite his minimalistic orders. He looked up at the splintered wood crater in the ceiling before picking up a single lowest-rank magic stone, and placed it on his tongue, swallowing the object.
[Energy Flow Circuit begins to absorb excess energy]
[Excess Energy Amount: 184%]
[Notice: Delayed Absorption of
[Notice: Increase in state: {75.9%} -> {76.0%}]
[Excess Energy Amount: 184% -> 183%]
Sebas counted in his head, collecting several mana stones, placing them in his hand, and began to chew up the rocks, a few children turned to look at him as he began to do what most parents told children to never do. Eating rocks off the floor was beyond normal behavior, but they had comrades to save.
[Notice: Consumption of 57x
[Elite Monster Core cannot fill with Magic]
[Elite Monster Core State: Rank 0, Lowest Rank {76.0%}, Inert Affinities]
[Energy Flow Circuit begins to absorb excess energy]
[Excess Energy Amount: 240%]
[Time until Energy Absorption: 5 minutes, 53 seconds]
[You have lost function of your body due to “Mana Overdose,” failure to regulate your mana will result in death, causing a small explosion.]
[You will lose health over time due to “Mana Death,” you have failed to regulate your mana, and failing to contain it, your body will begin to shut down, and the death rate is reduced by
[Time until Death: Approximately 10 minutes]
[The God of Humanity says you’re an idiot.]
[The Goddess of the Hunt asks if it’s time?]
Sebas nods.
[The Goddess of Mercy prays for you]
[The God of Afterlife and Goddess of the Hunt split a bucket of popcorn]
Sebas, with his eyes and ears bleeding, began to trudge around the ship, looking for a staircase while he struggled to walk. Limping his body forward around the lower deck. Sebas looked down and removed the destroyed shirt from his body.
----------------------------------------
[Perspective Shift; ??? (LV 50), Eastern Continent, ???]
----------------------------------------
An elf has been pursuing something. Unbeknownst to that elf, “something” was five steps ahead of the elf, half of the town the elf walked through was under the effect of a skill. The skill’s name was [Suggestion]. The way the skill worked was simple; a sweet word or a small thought was whispered to the recipient, if you told someone they felt hungry, they might be inclined to eat. A humanoid reptilian, an Erponian, sat in the back of an inn. Margus Infellux sat in a thronelike recliner. A human bartender with a beautiful hazelnut handlebar mustache and braided beard poured a shot of golden-brown liquid into a round glass before leaving the room, letting the red-scaled Erponian man drink his liquor. Several scantily clad women sat at his feet, some were intoxicated by an unknown substance, while others lay unconscious on the floor. A single woman sat on the arm of his throne, tracing a finger around the scales near his chin, kissing the side of his face. The reptilian man’s eyes widened, the small vertical pupils enlarged as she passed a finger over the underside of his neck, a fist slammed into the woman, sending her body into the wall, and blood splattered as her back broke against the wall. The corpse on the floor slumped, and the back of its head began to leak blood and Greymatter.
The whored of women that remained alive continued splaying over his legs while the scaled man rubbed the underside of his chin. A large man with nearly grey skin and runic body lines took away the woman’s body and whispered something into the Erponian’s ear.
A holographic window shined, showing an elf, that began walking around the city. Recorded footage that sped through the activities of the elven man. A strange man with dirty blonde hair and crystal blue eyes contrasted his pale mostly unblemished skin, an additional hologram showed a chest-up still image of the man. A bronze ID held the contents:
[“Cyran Erhorn” LV 37]
[Elven Hunter]
----------------------------------------
[Perspective Shift; Nilo the Swift (LV 20)]
----------------------------------------
Nilo was awakened by a loud announcement. “FIVE MINUTES TO DEPARTURE, ASSEMBLE ON DECK, ALL LEFTOVER ADVENTURERS WILL BE BROUGHT ON BOARD THE CREW AS DECKHANDS.”
She growled, her flat pink nose almost slamming into the floor below her hammock, Ari’s swift actions prevented her from being face down on the floor, her small book that she was reading, near Nilo’s head.
“Torn Between Fangs and Feelings?” Nilo read in a confused voice.
Ari inadvertently dropped the orc girl and immediately apologized.
Nilo began reading out loud.
“Clara Everhart had always felt different. While other girls her age were busy planning weekend sleepovers, she found solace in the depths of the woods, where the air hummed with magic and danger. It was here, under the watchful gaze of ancient oaks, that she stumbled upon the unthinkable.
"Why do you wander here alone?" a voice drawled from the shadows, smooth and velvety like the night itself. Clara’s heart raced as she turned to face the source—a tall figure with piercing amber eyes and an air of mystery that sent shivers down her spine.
“Who are you?” she managed her voice barely a whisper.
“Someone who knows the truth about what lurks beneath the surface,” he replied, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
“And I think you’re curious enough to find out.”
The wind picked up, carrying the scent of pine and something else—something intoxicating. Clara felt a magnetic pull toward him, a blend of fear and intrigue.
Little did she know, this encounter would shatter everything she thought she knew about herself and the world beyond her front door-”
Arietta screamed, punching and slapping the orc girl who couldn’t stop laughing, getting the book removed from her possession by a very defensive Arietta.
The door was opened by Adam, who looked down at Ari, who was about to slam the paperback book over Nilo’s head, and looked over at Adam and Karri who had yet to enter the doorway.
Adam read the back of the book out loud.
“In the enchanting town of Eldergrove, where whispers of magic and mystery fill the air, seventeen-year-old Clara Everhart is torn between the ordinary life she craves and the extraordinary secrets hidden in the shadows.
When she encounters Kael, a brooding figure with a dark past and a dangerous allure, everything changes.
Kael is no ordinary boy—he’s a vampire caught between the ancient traditions of his kind and the yearning for a life filled with love and freedom. As their worlds collide, Clara discovers a hidden realm of supernatural beings, where alliances are fragile and trust is hard to come by.
But danger lurks around every corner, and Clara must confront her own feelings as well as the truth about who she really is.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Can she embrace the thrilling chaos of her heart and the world of fangs and magic, or will she be forced to choose between love and her own humanity?
Join Clara and Kael on a breathtaking journey of passion, sacrifice, and -”
Ari had been rumbling while hiding her embarrassed face, and screamed while chasing after Adam, swinging the book at the boy, the pair fled into the hallway, while Karri looked at Nilo, who was giggling on the floor.
“Are you really making fun of our guest party member Nilo?”
“Big time.”
“How could you?”
“Easily, this time!”
“You should know better, she’s obviously going through something!”
Nilo looked at Karri and looked away, guiltily, as Karri scolded her.
“I mean really, could you blame her? Her boyfriend turned into a monster, that’s hard to go through!” Karri said while stifling laughter, she pursed her lips while she continued talking, “Maybe she needed to research the subject?”
“You’re awful,” Nilo said with an impish smirk.
----------------------------------------
The group re-convened in the room, carrying the minimal items they would need immediately, the rest of their luggage collected inside Adam’s Item Storage. Leaving through the cabin’s doorway, the group walked through the congested hallway, and hundreds of adventurers joined the group. Shuffling through the halls, Nilo finally looked outside, seeing the very near inland, and the rising sun that crept over the horizon of the land.
----------------------------------------
[Perspective Shift; Sebas Aren (LV 20)]
----------------------------------------
Opening a door, Sebas saw the Goliath man, Taugh, who lay face down. The strangest part about the man wasn’t that the man was stabbed in the neck, but that he was made entirely out of a white stone. He also saw the Pirate Captain, Redhair Bitch, and Evil Maid standing next to the body.
“Damn. What the fuck did you do to him?” Sebas asked while closing the door behind him.
[Energy Flow Circuit begins to absorb excess energy]
[Excess Energy Amount: 155%]
[Notice: Delayed Absorption of
[Notice: Increase in state: {84.5%} -> {84.6%}]
[Excess Energy Amount: 155% -> 154%]
“He did it to himself,” Redhair Bitch said.
Sebas stretched his arm, his nub following, wiggling as his body got a full range of motion. He began rolling his shoulders to get the stiffness of Mana Death out of his system.
“How did he do that?”
“Something about his ancestors, he never did tell me.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That he’s going to propose to his wife.”
“Good for him.”
“Yeah.” The woman said, pulling the dagger out of the statue’s neck.
“So how do you wanna do this?” Sebas asked nonchalantly.
“Meridith?” Redhead asked the Evil Maid.
“No-holds-barred?”
Redhead looked over to Sebas, asking a question with her glance.
“I could go with that, yeah. Do you have any gods that can act as moderators?”
“I’m sure that most of the gods hate both of us equally, beast, neither of which can bend to our whims.”
“Itha, is there something like that?” Sebas asked.
A floating, blue panel floated in front of the woman, she side-eyed Sebas, and tapped something on the window, making it sent to Sebas.
[Party Leader: Scarlet Silktouched (LV 31) has requested a Duel]
[Rule: No Restrictions, Environmental Damage On, Death.]
[Accept?]
[Yes] [No]
Sebas tapped “Yes”, and a ten-second countdown began in their heads.
[The Goddess of the Hunt Bets 10 “Points” on Sebastian Aren the Beast, goading The God of Humanity to ante up “Old Man”]
[The God of Afterlife sighs while thinking about the work you put him through]
[The God of Mercy prays for you]
“No hard feelings, right?”
“You killed my crew.”
“You starved a child.”
[3]
[2]
[1]
[300 Seconds left, the side with fewer “Health Points” will lose in the case of a lack of death on each side.]
Sebas and the Maid shot forward, exchanging blows with each other, a bright smile flashed on Sebas’ face as large cracks formed on the wooden planks that each fighter used as a springboard. Sebas had much less room for defense, however he was simple in his attack pattern. The maid was able to launch five strikes against his chest before Sebas grabbed the woman by the head, and slammed her through the deck, making the pair fall below deck.
Sebas’ hand glowed purple as he began to repeatedly strike the woman’s head, swiftly turning the once pretty woman’s face into a bruised and disfigured face. He wailed at the woman while his feet grabbed onto her body, stabbing into her figure with the talons on his feet.
His hand would hit the woman with his scaly grey knuckles on his fist, only to come back, striking the woman with the side of his hand, like the pommel of a sword.
[You have used your experience of a weapon-bound skill to re-create the Skill: [Multi-Hit Level 1]]
Echos followed as the skill: [Multi-Hit] slammed into the woman’s face, unable to defend herself with whatever kick-bound martial attacks she was proficient with, it seemed to be a strong attack that would kill humans easily. He got over his humanity and was giggling as the woman was slapped silly.
Sebas was pulled off of the woman by his neck, an invisible thread had him by the throat, and the maid was pulled along by his talons as the monster was launched upward, slamming him into the top deck of the ship. Back and forth, he was slammed with some form of invisible string, his hostage held no care in the mind of the woman who was manipulating invisible silk with her fingertips. Sebas snarled as he flew overhead, looking down at her, and tensed his body.
He groaned as he slammed, back first into the wooden deck. Fortunately, the small single thread wasn’t able to remove his throat from his torso. He twisted his legs, pushing the unconscious woman in his talons to his arm, placing his red bicep around her neck, and squeezed. Once again he was flung upwards, as he reached the peak of the arch, he crushed the maid’s windpipe, destroying her collarbone and neck.
[Notice: You have killed “Lire” Level 24 “Advanced Battlemaid”]
[(Risk-Taker) has been activated]
[Experience has been gained.]
[Skill experience has been gained.]
[You have killed a Human.]
[The God of Humanity Shuns You.]
[You have killed a Red Named Human.]
[The God of Humanity Scorns You.]
[The Goddess of Mercy prays for you]
[The Goddess of the Hunt tells the “old man” to pay up.]
[The God of Humanity told The Goddess of The Hunt that it is not over and that he is not old.]
[Congratulations!]
[Nightmare Level 20 -> 21]
[Access. 5 Stat Points are available for Distribution.]
[Strength has been increased 70 -> 75]
Sebas was slammed again, and a large scowl appeared on the pirate captain’s face as she surely received an unwelcome message. He was slammed once more, still holding onto the woman’s body, and as he reached the peak once more, he threw the body with all his ability.
A large splatter of gore slammed the pirate captain onto her rear. Sebas turned his body midair by kicking to his left with [Multi-hit] and his affinity to the [Parkour] Skill. Sebas grabbed at the silk rope around his neck, and rolled the palm of his hand around the material, yanking the material forward, he was able to slice the silk with his thumb while he pulled the woman to him. She shot forward while Sebas slung his fist backward.
[Notice: Delayed Absorption of
[Notice: Increase in state: {99.9%} -> {100%}]
[Excess Energy Amount: 1% -> 0%]
[Elite Monster Core has begun to fill with Magic]
[Elite Monster Core State: Rank 0, Lowest Rank {100%}, Inert Affinities]
[Elite Monster Core State: Rank 1, Low Rank {0.0%}, Inert Affinities]
[Your Monsterous body has accumulated enough mana to exceed your current strength.]
[Mana floods your blood]
[Strength Surge, Fangs Tear, and Claws destroy]
[+10 to all Stats]
Sebas launched his hand forward at the incoming woman, red blood-caked claws launched into the woman’s blood-soaked torso from the speed each body moved, a dance between two Scarlet bodies was suddenly stopped as the beast held up his dance partner with a single hand. Blood began to flood out of her mouth and down Sebas’ arm as he smiled up at the woman’s shocked eyes. He lowered his arm with a flick of his wrist, launching the woman’s body at his feet, and stomped down on her head.
[Notice: You have killed “Scarlet Web” Level 31“Acrobatic Silk-Weaver”]
[(Risk-Taker) has been activated]
[Experience has been gained.]
[Skill experience has been gained.]
[You have killed a Human.]
[The God of Humanity Sighs at You.]
[You have killed a Red Named Human.]
[The God of Humanity Frowns at You.]
[The Goddess of Mercy prays for you]
[The Goddess of the Hunt tells the “old man” to pay up again.]
[Congratulations!]
[Nightmare Level 21 -> 22]
[Nightmare Level 22 -> 23]
[Nightmare Level 23 -> 24]
[Access. 20 Stat Points are available for Distribution.]
[You have won a Duel!]
[Reward will be consolidated.]
[Ownership of the “Red Pearl” is Player’s Reward]
Sebas sighed and sat down on a nearby crate. Looking around at the ship, he took the opportunity to gather up each pirate corpse, in a single place, mainly to be looted and thrown overboard. Sebas looked off towards the approaching shore, while he relaxed.
Moving through each body, Sebas looted items to his heart's content.
He made a pile of items, whose contents were:
[,
Sebas looked over the group of a few hundred kids that stared at him, most of them squinted in the daylight. Sebas looked around for the girl he sent to Echo. When he didn’t find her, he picked up a Tricorn hat that was with the “junk” pile of items he didn’t care for. Sebas placed the hat on the child with a crewcut to hide the awful hairstyle and leaped, jumping up twelve feet to the doorway on the third floor, he walked down the staircase, into the darkroom, inside the cage, Echo laid down on the ground arms to each side.
Sebas walked into the cage, slowly, and sat down next to her, Neither party moved. Sebas poked his claw into her hand.
“OW!” She yelled and sat upright. “Why did you do that?”
“Cause it's time to go Pet.”
“You could at least pretend you care that I’m dead.”
“But you’re not, you breathe so loud I wish that you were dead.”
“You’re so mean Mister Monster, that’s so freakin mean.”
Sebas sighed. “I’m glad you’re alive, Echo.”
Echo turned and crossed her arms.
“Echo the mighty.”
“Yeah, not going to happen,” Sebas said, standing up and walking away.
“PLEASEEEEE?” Echo begged, trailing after the monster.
“Nope.”
----------------------------------------
Sebas finally found his belongings in the Captain’s quarters, his magic bag had been out-turned, and his guild tag tossed aside along with the key. What Sebas immediately noticed was the casket, which was unlocked right next to his dissected metal arm, dagger, and boots that had a memo next to it to get them re-colored red and resized. Sebas placed each object in the magic bag and placed the small purple bag around his neck. He also found his coinpurse, which was counted out.
Echo looked around at the items and was about to touch the chest when Sebas swiftly grabbed her hand, almost out of reflex.
“Do NOT touch that.”
“Why?”
“Cause it nearly killed me.”
“Oh…” Echo said in realization, steering clear from the small flat box, and sorting through clothes in a closet.
Sebas very carefully removed the lock from the chest with a reptilian skull and slowly opened the object up.
Inside was a ginormous fang, pearl white and extremely sharp.
[Dragon Fang]
Sebas pursed his lips with widened eyes, placing the object in his magic bag, with silent screams fueling his evil smirk.
Sebas strode out of the captain’s quarters, leaping over the railing and landing on the wooden deck, strolling forward as he stared at the rapidly approaching dock. Kids were panicking as a collision was inbound, and Sebas placed his foot on the stem of the bow.
“MAKE WAY” Sebas yelled at the pier, watching as people started to look over towards his shouting. “CRASH INBOUND, ANCHOR’S BROKEN!”
People began to flee as the ship flew forward, unimpeded its break, headed straight for a head-on collision.
“BRACE FOR IMPACT” Sebas yelled backward, “WATCH OUT FOR FLYING CRATES”
He placed his talons down as the boat collided with the wooden deck, crashing was heard as the cleared dock was destroyed and the boat partially beached itself on the stone pier.
Somewhere to the north, another docking of a ship matched this twin disembarking where hundreds made landfall, however, most would know this day as the day the Red Devil of the Red Pearl arrived.