(We need at least three guides to stay afloat. With that number, they won’t be able to change shifts or, for that matter, get much sleep or rest, but it’s something they can manage,) Tess says.

(Wouldn’t one or two be enough?) Sophie asks.

Tess shakes her head and continues to talk through the link, (I spoke with them and some of the others, and they said it’s impossible to manage over any significant period of time. The protective enchantments seem to be special. They also refuse to let us help control the ship. I think they might have something like your [Geas] on them that won’t allow them to share the knowledge involved. Some of the groups said they heard rumors of guides exploding when they tried.)

(Aren’t they getting a little too cocky? We can just have Nat take over the controls after they die. Vega said he and “uncle” managed to pilot a Skyhold Bastion,) Lily joins in.

(I don’t think it’s that simple,) Sophie disagrees. (The alloy that makes up the metal plates, the defensive field, and the inscriptions all seem to be something the people of the central region want to keep to themselves, even at the cost of all the lives aboard.)

(Like Sophie said,) I confirm.

So far, I haven’t gotten anything from the metal plates I’ve been examining, nor have I deciphered the field. Not even with my Irises and senses. Well, maybe "nothing" isn’t the right word for it. "Nothing useful" would be more accurate.

I can now guess how it all works and see parts of it, but whoever made all this is operating on a higher level than me. So there’s nothing I can do about it.

Tess stands up and gestures to Sophie and the twins, who rise as well, (For now, we’ll set up a secondary web for the others to communicate, for everyone who will be protecting the guides. The guides refuse to join, and there is nothing we can do about that, but at least their bodyguards should. Nat has already placed anchors on some of the bodyguards so we can rush in if anything happens.)

Group 4 looks up to Tess, who seems to have taken control of the situation. I take notice of the way some of them seem to be relieved at the thought of being told what to do and not being responsible for the result.

(Starting now, we try to stay together as much as possible. If we ever split, then we limit ourselves to two groups, one with me and the other with Nat.)

(Can’t Sophie control the guides?) Maya asks.

(I can’t. I tried, but they are protected. I could probably break through, but I don’t know how much damage it would cause. You know... they could go boom,) the mind manipulator shrugs.

(The same goes for my anchors; I can’t place any on the guides. Someone from the central region did some interesting stuff to them,) I note.

(Food!)

I shake my head, (I don’t think so.)

(What did he say?) Maya asks curiously.

(He said someone is killing the guides because they’ve been hoarding all the best food for themselves,) I explain.

(Oh…)

(Food! Food!)

(I told you already, that’s not it.)

(Anyway,) Tess says, jumping back into the conversation, (we have a plan, so let’s stick to it.)

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Another day passes, and everything goes well. There is no trouble, not a single attempt on the life of a guide. There are stronger monsters attacking, and I’m forced to use a bit more mana to create bigger projectiles to take out the flying scarab-like monsters.

I kill one of them and make sure that his corpse falls to the deck so I can examine it, and Sophie joins in as I start cutting it apart while using my eyes.

The Dawnslayer stands nearby, his group having been scheduled alongside us.

“What?” I ask. “I’ve killed plenty, more than the other two groups combined, so you guys can pick up the slack for a moment while I examine it.”

He doesn’t voice any complaints and returns to his group instead.

(What do you think?) I ask Sophie as we drop into a squat over the corpse of the scarab.

She sighs, (I think you’re right. It also explains why they use poison and physical attacks instead of skills and the like.)

(Yes, and all the monsters who attacked us were the same.)

(You’re crazy if you try this.)

(You could join me,) I note.

She stares at me, blinking slowly, (Are you an exhibitionist?)

(Huh, that’s what’s bothering you? What is there to be so shy about?)

(Whatever, I knew you were crazy, but don’t count me in. And focus on the guides.)

(Wanna bet another one of them dies soon?)

(Why do you sound so eerily happy about it?)

(Things have been going way too smoothly, and the system is an asshole. This might even be another setup to weed out attendees. As for being happy, I don’t know. I just know something will go wrong, so instead of being worried, I may as well enjoy the ride.)

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

(Someone could die. You, me, it could be anyone from our group if that happens.)

(No one will. I’m here.)

(You and your hubristic pride. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that pride goeth before the fall?)

(Funny you say that. I have been told that my pride will make me stronger, but once I fail, it will destroy me. Even as far back as the 2nd floor, I was told, and I paraphrase here, that I will either go big or screw up so badly that gods will shit thunder and fart storms.)

Now that I think about it, it was Ruby who told me that only for her master to repeat the sentiment a few weeks ago.

Sophie pokes the scarab again, and I notice her smiling, (That sounds very much like something that would happen to you. Also, gods, any idea why natives on the 2nd floor had anything to say about gods?)

(The 2nd floor was special, and the natives were more “modified” than the ones we met on the other floors, I think. It’s possible they replaced the word “Rulers” with “gods” for some reason. Or maybe most people even think of them as gods outside of the tutorial. Maybe the natives weren’t as restricted as we thought, perhaps the 2nd floor was one of the oldest, maybe the Rulers were called gods back then.)

(You’re always thinking about this, aren’t you?)

I take a moment to think about it, and then I grab the scarab and throw it off the deck. Watching as the corpse falls down to the sand I turn back to Sophie, who is still seated on the ground. Around us, the monsters’ attacks have begun to weaken.

(There were times when I couldn’t ask questions when I couldn’t go where I wanted and do what I wanted. I couldn’t be curious back then. Do you think I’m compensating for it now?)

(I don’t know.)

(I see. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore, it’s all in the past.)

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

As expected, a few hours later, another guide dies. We get no message through the secondary web the twins and Sophie set up. My anchors also disappear before the attack happens.

The five people guarding the guide are dead as well. The same terrified expressions, pale skin, and not a single speck of mana on their bodies.

Four guides remain, and we still have three days until we reach our destination.

The panic among the other passengers is readily apparent at this point and this time we allocate 50 guards to each guide. This time our group goes on shift as well, and we ditch the secondary web.

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

Every group is allowed a bit of rest once in a while from guarding the guides to sleep and eat. When we get back to our shift, we get to follow one of the guides as they control the ship. It’s something I’m excited for.

But the mood in our room is different now than it was before, and now everyone sits in a manabloc chair of my creation. I even added a circular manabloc table seated in the middle of the room.

Honestly, I kind of did it on purpose. Maybe this wasteful use of mana will calm the others, showing them my lack of fear and my confidence in our ability to get through this situation.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to work all that well. I don’t know why.

Tess opens the conversation, (We have a few options. The most ruthless and simplest tactic would probably be to kill everyone aboard, given that the killer is almost certainly one of the passengers. It could also force their hand.)

(Simplest…) Maya laughs wryly.

(Yes. Nat, could you do it quickly, without damaging the ship?) Tess asks as multiple eyes turn to me.

(I think so? If I got a bit of help from Sophie to mask my behavior and a bit of healing from Lily, I wouldn’t even have to use much mana.)

(That’s not what I meant!) Maya slams her hand against the chair I made. (There are close to 300 passengers on the ship. You know I would do it too if I had to. But just going and slaughtering so many people, so many of them so much weaker than us, just feels wrong… so wrong.)

As she speaks her voice becomes weaker and weaker.

(I know, Maya,) Tess says, smiling gently and taking a moment to squeeze Maya’s hand. (But before we think of the others, we have to think of our group first. As this situation has shown, we aren’t strong or skilled enough to do it the way we would like to.)

(They are fakes,) Sophie adds.

(I fucking know that,) Maya sighs, leaning back in her chair.

Izzy glances rapidly between Maya, Sophie, and Tess, the stress clear on her face. And Noodle coils his way up to her face and rubs his head against her cheek in response.

I let go of Biscuit, who proceeds to approach Izzy and nudge her shin until she lifts him into her lap.

(What if, while we’re looking for the murderer, it turns out to be one of the guides?) Min-Jae asks, finally joining in the conversation. (Some people here have nice items, so maybe a guide decided to risk it, kill the other guides. Have the ship fail while everyone dies. All you’d have to do is survive somehow and run away with the items. Nat alone has plenty of good ones, they might decide it was worth the risk of punishment by that man from the Last Rest.)

Huh, maybe Min-Jae does have a good head on his shoulders.

He continues, (Or maybe a powerful monster managed to sneak onto the ship. I think either one would be more plausible than one of the passengers doing it. Though that still doesn’t rule out one of the passengers.)

Dennis looks at me, (Nat, you’re the highest level out of all of us. Are there any passengers here stronger than you?)

(Nope.)

(So you can see everyone’s levels?)

(Nope, there are a few who show to me as two question marks.)

Dennis looks at his brother, probably intending to exchange some rude message, but he doesn’t go through with it in the end. He knows I would sense it.

Amused, I answer, (There are a few that are more than 20 levels higher than me, so they show as question marks, but none of them are stronger than me.)

(How do you…) Dennis pauses mid-sentence as Aaron shoves his rib with his elbow.

(There are three. Two thylarin and one vyssari.) I see confusion in their expressions, and continue, (Thylarin are tall, and blue, with four arms. Vyssari are the shorties with elemental skills and scaly legs.)

(Oh…)

(The thylarin are a Manashroud Shaper and a Manabreaker. The vyssari is an Ashenfoot Shaman.)

This information starts another round of conversation, and I watch with interest, as they theorize about what each class should be capable of, and what the potential is for said class to cause any degree of significant damage.

Some shade gets thrown my way for not sharing this information sooner, a criticism for which I have no answer.

The danger might be real, to me and to my group, but I already have my own ideas on how to deal with the current situation. I even have plans in place just in case all the guides die and we find ourselves having to control the ship. I know if I needed to I could do it. I could even power the ship on my own for a while with the amount of mana I have.

It might not look like it, but I take the task of keeping the members of group 4 alive very seriously. I also know group 4 isn’t going to be easy to kill. Split into two groups, there is no way for someone to kill them before I rush to their aid. They even have a good chance of taking out the killer before I can join them. If the enemy was truly all that powerful, there wouldn’t have been any need to be so covert.

So the question remains, do I enjoy the mystery and watch things unfold while trying to solve the problem on my own? Or do I just… who am I kidding, of course I do.

I enjoy this fucked-up situation way more than I should.