Andrew

Now that Leyn was back with us, we had our close-enough-to-unlimited-that-it-doesn't-matter supply of poison again!

With that, he and Juohen started planning what kinds they'd need and what amounts.

While they were doing that, I found myself with time to think.

I was wracking my brain for an answer to the question of fighting so many starfish and not being overrun immediately.

Maybe it would be a good idea to just let them kill all of the other champions?

It was at that moment that I got a message.

[Nemesis Promoted Nearby]

The starfish in the bag immediately started spitting flames out of its mouths in every direction.

Out of instinct, I lined up the shot and blasted it to kingdom come.

The minimum amount of kingdom come necessary of course because of the close proximity to everyone else here, but nevertheless, it ceased to be.

"There goes that plan." I muttered aloud.

"What the hell just happened?" Rahyu asked, jogging a little to clear the small distance.

I looked over at him, snapping out of my headspace. "Oh, the starfish is now Second Stage... you know, nothing major." I replied sarcastically.

Rahyu looked at me in surprise. "How are we going to fight that? That's above my Stage."

"I had a few plans to fight these things, but I'm not sure what to do now." I steepled my hands. "Most of those strategies can't be executed without [Skills] that I don't have... or at least items I no longer have time or tools to make."

Rahyu pondered that, and then after a moment, a precision hammer appeared in his hands. "Do you think this would help?"

"How did you do that?!"

"I dunno, I've been able to do it since I started making those crossbows all that time ago. I kept thinking over and over: 'man I wish I had something more precise for shaping all this metal'."

"And you didn't tell me about it?!" I asked, trying not to go into a tirade.

He turned the small hammer over in his hands. "Why? It can't really be used for combat or anyth-"

"Because you got a [Skill] the normal way you numpty! I've been trying to figure out how to do that since I learned they existed!"

"Why didn't you ask that one guy whose name I can't pronounce? You know, the guy with the letters out of nowhere?"

"Lviyr... I did try, but he was being cagey with me." I paused. "He might change his tune now though, the gamemasters definitely consider this a crisis..."

I suppose I have a new plan.

----------------------------------------

Yuluulth

"Miss Hyunfjjksaikdhh, my champion has offered a proposition and I think you may like to hear it." Lviyr announced.

Our [Worldbinder] looked over at him. "Oh? What kind of proposition?"

So, Hyunjfa- Hyunfuj-... screw it... that name is the name of our [Worldbinder]; I just have trouble getting it straight in my head, so I just call her 'our [Worldbinder]' instead.

"Andrew wants to discuss the acquisition of a new [Skill] to help him kill the test1s."

Our [Worldbinder] considered it. "What does he want?"

"He wants the ability to transfer Nemesis Stages to other creatures temporarily."

Our [Worldbinder] paced back and forth for a moment. "It's not like I couldn't make it happen... how many Nemeses does he have in his retinue at this moment again?"

"Six if you include the one that Seliel made."

"I see... well, in that case, how much harm could it cause?"

----------------------------------------

Andrew

[Gained the Skill "Stage Transfer", it can be used to freely manipulate the number of Nemesis Stages and transfer them from one inhabitant to another. This effect lasts for one minute minus the number Stage shifted in seconds, and cannot be used again for ten minutes.]

Even though I knew there was a good chance it would happen, it still hadn't sunk in that it was possible.

"Wow... it actually worked."

"No kidding?" Rahyu chuckled.

"It would seem." I laughed. "I have a few things to test now."

"Well, that's about as broken as it gets." I declared upon the completion of my testing.

The others didn't see why, but it didn't matter.

I'd show them later.

All of the bolt prep had been completed while I was testing, so there was really only one thing left to do.

"Alright everyone! It's time to go to the surface!"

Just as before, we sent out Polyu first to scout the area... this time however, we followed her out as soon as we had word it was clear.

There was evidence of combat just about everywhere it was possible to look.

Trees were toppled, shattered, and in various states of decay, the ground was scorched, frozen over, covered in... basically every type of harmful substance one could imagine.

It was a bloodbath, except that all of the blood had already disintegrated.

'Polyu says she found a small group of starfish ahead.'

"Thanks, both of you."

'Don't mention it good buddy.'

I made some hand signals, indicating our advance to the other Fifskae.

After a few moments, we found the starfish that Polyu was talking about.

I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Hund, are you ready to be really cool for a minute?"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see." I turned to the others. "Everybody, get as close together as possible for a second."

Everyone did so, cramming in like sardines.

"[Ascend, Redouble, Echo]."

As it turns out, single-target abilities are considered as having a small spherical radius at about center of mass... its total diameter is just a bit smaller than the torso of the target, that way it never hits more than one.

However, they didn't consider the interaction between that and Redouble.

Redouble increases the radius of a [Skill] by about two and a half times, allowing for something like eight or so hits with the same casting if you're not trying super hard.

If, say, you had a very specific pattern that you had practiced already that put a large number of individuals in a circle around another one, and then also had more touch their hands to about center of mass of the one in the center... there's a possibility that you can stretch that number to be... a bit higher shall we say.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

That combined with the second activation given by Echo meant that I was able to get everybody in the radii.

"[Stage Transfer]."

I transferred all of the extra Nemesis Stages to Hund.

Nothing happened at first... and then I realized that nothing was happening.

All of the trees stopped swaying, all the sounds around me just... stopped.

Wait a minute... is this... lag?

Sure enough, over the next few minutes, I saw the 'Nemesis Promoted' pop up twenty-nine times, and each time time unfroze for an instant.

After it was all done, time slowly started going back to normal until everything was working again.

I looked over at Hund, curious to see if his title changed.

I was not disappointed.

[Hund The Archtoxin, Nemesis Thirtieth Stage]

"Hund, see what you can do about those starfish would you?"

"Surely." He raised his hands, causing a cloud of poison needles to float out.

The Fifskae moved out of the way, but it turned out not to be necessary as the needles simply swerved around them.

Thousands of cries echoed as the starfish were instantly killed by a needle each.

I also watched as each kill created more needles.

The wave of death was astounding.

As soon as I couldn't see the needles anymore, I turned on the waypoint and watched from there.

And then it had been thirty seconds, and Hund was demoted back down.

[You have gained the curse "You're worse than Vindicost!". The Skill "Stage Transfer" becomes unusable until its duration of nine trillion seconds has expired.]

What the hell does that mean?

"That was the coolest thing ever! There's no way we'll lose to anyone now!" Juohen exclaimed.

"Sorry friends, it was just revoked." I apologized.

"What?!"

"I mean... it makes sense if you think about it..."

"That's not fair!" Polyu protested.

"I mean, the [Skill] itself wasn't exactly fair either."

"Still..." Polyu pouted.

"Welp, I may not be able to do that again, but we definitely just gained an advantage, let's press it until it runs out!"

The crowd in front of me roared in a unified battlecry.

I've always wanted to say this next part.

"Onward until all our enemies are destroyed!"

The next few hours was filled with hit-and-run ambushes, followed by rests in holes that I would create using Shreddy, Hole Puncher, and Leonidas.

After that time had passed, I had another message appear.

[Nemesis Promoted Nearby]

"Damn it! Now is not the time for the other champions to be losing!"

"What's wrong Andrew?" Sydui asked.

"The starfish just got promoted again... the gamemasters' decisions are really starting to piss me off."

"What do you mean?"

"The gamemasters took away our easiest method of mass-clearing starfish, but they're leaving the starfish there anyway... it doesn't make any sense to me."

Sydui mused. "Maybe they can't get rid of it for some reason?"

I rubbed my temples. "Whatever the reason, we need to step it up or else this whole fiasco will never end." I stopped. "I have an idea! Aesos, I need you for a second!"

----------------------------------------

Aesos

"Andrew this is a very stupid plan." I said, chuckling.

"Well yeah... I suppose I could just try it myse-"

I interrupted him. "No, don't misunderstand, I'm going to do it." I grinned widely. "I just wanted to let you know that your plan was ridiculous just in case you hadn't noticed."

He gave me a sour expression. "Thanks Aesos, that was very helpful."

"No problem Andrew." I said, ignoring his sarcasm.

I stepped out of our most recent of the impromptu headquarters and looked around.

The first step of the plan was simple: I had to buy Andrew some time.

I began running, slowly collecting a following of the five-pointed Nemeses.

The result of the previous encounters had definitely taken their toll on their numbers, the tide of starfish wasn't occurring... at least not yet.

Let's see if I can get that many again!

----------------------------------------

Yuluulth

"It's primitive, but effective." Lviyr muttered.

"What's primitive?" I asked him.

"Oh Yuluulth, I didn't notice I had said that aloud. Andrew is making various types of lifting and digging equipment."

"What is he going to do? Put all of the starfish in a hole?" I mocked. "What if he manages to do it? What's he going to do then, fill it back up?"

Lviyr looked at me and licked his lips in contemplation.

"You're kidding me..."

"It could be the plan, I'm not sure."

"Well, whatever, it's not the strangest thing he's done."

Lviyr shifted slightly. "Let's not forget that most of his plans work as intended."

Suddenly my head pulsated with pain. "Quizblech, I wish he'd warn me before he did stuff like that."

I took the icepack out of my minifrige and placed it on my head.

"I bet that's getting tiresome at this point."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, the headaches are really starting to get on my nerves I have to say."

"Well, after this is all solved, you're likely to have a bit of respite." Lviyr consoled.

I shook my head. "No, knowing him, he's just going to pick up the pace to capitalize on the fact that all of his enemies are tired."

Lviyr was quiet for a moment. "My condolences."

----------------------------------------

Andrew

It felt like cheating doing all of this with [Skills].

I mean, even ignoring my items' contribution, Polyu's [Gravity Shift] and Juohen's [Hysterical Strength] made all the lifting trivial.

That's also not including Rahyu's ability to turn out winches like it was going out of style.

It took almost no time at all to make the hole every boy wants to dig one day... which is to say, an effing massive one.

"Alright Shreddy, give Aesos the signal."

'Gotcha.' He paused. 'He says he'll be here in about ten minutes.'

"Roger that." I turned to all of the Fifskae in various states of rest. "Okay everybody, let's find somewhere a bit away from here to hide for now!"

Ten minutes later, the waypoints were almost upon us.

I turned to the Fifskae behind me. "Get ready everyone."

I peeked over our cover to watch as Aesos lured a massive number of starfish toward the hole.

Aesos jumped and I used Leonidas to give him a platform in midair.

Following that, a wave of starfish fell into the hole, each barely missing The Stalker's position.

A few of them attempted to burn Aesos as they fell... to mixed success; even then he didn't budge, knowing there wasn't exactly much floor to go around where he was.

Once he had filled the hole, I stood up. "Let's get 'em!"

Everyone picked up their crossbows and bolts, then all of us charged to the edges of the hole.

The next part was a bit anticlimactic, as we just stood there and shot them with poisoned bolts until they all disintegrated.

After that was all done, I checked the number of waypoints and figured we were fine to move on to the next step... or more like go back to the previous step.

"Up next is more ambushes again!"

"Oh come on Andrew we've been going nonstop for so long! Can't we rest first?!" Polyu complained.

"We'll make a stop at the last 'safe room' we stayed at, anyone who's tired can stay behind and get some rest. I will need as many as I can get my hands on to finish this though, we can't afford to let the starfish replenish their numbers."

"But-! Wait, did you just accept?" Polyu called back.

"Your honesty helps me stay grounded, this is one of the situations that I like having you around for."

"Oh... uh, thank... you."

As it turned out, a lot of the Fifskae had run themselves ragged to keep up with the demand, so there ended up being a lot of people staying behind.

My party consisted of Hund, Rahyu, Aesos, Sydui, and I.

Or at least it did until Ayula saw us about to leave.

"I want to join you as well!"

I looked at her, she was definitely tired, but determined.

"On one condition: you ride Aesos until you're not tired anymore."

She tried to be defiant, but I could tell she was also relieved to some extent. "If I have to I suppose."

The next few hours were starting to make everybody drowsy, including me, but it was no time to get sloppy.

There was only a few starfish groups left and I was determined to put them all down.

I rubbed my eyes as we reached the last set... it was a slightly bigger congregation, probably because they were trying to maximize their chances of survival.

"Let's get this over with. Don't do anything stupid, let's just do this by the book." I whispered, looking over everyone's faces. "Did you guys hear me?"

Hund, Ayula, and Sydui nodded, Rahyu yawned, and Aesos looked intently at me.

I exhaled. "I'll take that as much of a 'yes' as I'm going to get." I clapped my cheeks to wake myself up. "Alright, here we go. [Ascend, Echo]!"

As protocol at this point, I promoted Rahyu to Third Stage so that he could wreak havoc and confusion.

We then all followed him in, shooting poisoned bolts and whatnot at everything that was star-shaped.

But this time, we had a surprise.

A few starfish were hiding in the trees and dropped down on us... my tired mind had thought they were with the others on the ground a bit further on.

Suddenly each made a high-pitched whine and I realized something important.

I didn't know what their Third Stage [Skill] was.

"Leonidas!"

'Swiftly my liege!'

Just after the barrier was raised, all of the falling starfish exploded, destroying the shield and sending all of us to our asses.

I stood up as fast as I could and redeployed Leonidas.

A starfish slipped just past the barrier and grabbed onto me.

I anchored myself, and prepared for impact.

I unanchored and fell to my knees, bleeding heavily and fighting for consciousness.

I clasped my gem and used the [Skill] within.

Another starfish leapt at me, this time on a trajectory for my head.

Even with Insight on, that would be it, I would die.

Aesos suddenly leapt through the air and caught the starfish with his teeth.

The starfish exploded, removing Aesos' jaw in the process.

I looked behind me to see the other raising to their feet.

"No heroic sacrifices yet Andrew." Hund joked.

At that moment, [Regeneration] activated and my wounds closed in moments. "Just don't sacrifice yourselves in an attempt to stop me."

I stood and anchored myself. "Hole Puncher, full power. I want to make these things wish they were never born."

'An assessment I can agree with Andrew.'

I poured bolt after bolt into the crowd, doing my best to reduce their numbers as quickly as possible.

After the third, I could feel my leg bones start to creak, but that didn't stop me... I could always heal afterward.

Besides, I was so hopped up on adrenaline I couldn't even feel pain anymore.

A few more starfish tried their luck, trying to blow me up... but this time I was ready for them.

I put the barrier inches in front of me, thwarting their attempts to touch me like last time.

It still took its toll on my legs, and they started to shake.

I kept firing.

At this point, there was only a few left, especially because of the constant suicidal tactics.

I fired, dropping their numbers to single digits, falling over in the process.

I tried to stand back up, but I couldn't.

I looked down and saw my legs had shattered beneath me.

I unanchored my feet and let them rest... mostly so I didn't have to look at them anymore.

Aesos got a little bit overzealous and jumped into the fray, attempting to end it then and there.

Three starfish ganged up on him, blowing off his head.

The remaining three passed straight by him and rushed for the back of the group

Rahyu stopped one, grabbing it and throwing it before it could detonate point-blank.

He was still forced to the ground, however due to the angle of the blast, he hit his head on a rock and was knocked unconscious.

The last two jumped at Hund.

I used Leonidas to block them, but one slipped under.

Hund shot a needle at it, but it did something none of us expected.

It tore off its arm and threw it high toward Hund's face.

The arm [Regenerated] midair and became a new starfish.

Hund wasn't going to have enough time to raise his hand to meet it.

I didn't have enough time to even cry out in protest.

It soared through the air, moments from impact, when we all heard a sickening noise.

Ayula stood in front of Hund, bolt in hand, and starfish impaled on it.

Everyone looked on in shock.

The starfish's eyes became bloodshot as it screeched and squirmed.

Ayula's eyes filled with tears. "Please just die already..."

The starfish stopped squirming and just made labored breaths.

Ayula fell to her knees. "Please... please... forgive me."

The starfish disintegrated, and a message appeared.

[Nemesis created nearby]

[Ayula The Weeping Guardian, Nemesis Third Stage]

Hund walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him. "That was the first time that I've killed something... I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"If you do, none of us will tell anybody." I replied.

We took our time getting back to our base... we needed the rest.