Novels2Search
Journey of Vessels
Day 26 : The Importance of Secrecy

Day 26 : The Importance of Secrecy

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Update initiated!

!ERROR! REPAIR NEEDED. LV2 DEVICE REQUIRED.

Skill List:

Kanji (lv1): Aspect of Energy: Electricity, Thermal, Sound, Elastic.

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Full destructive power limit: Several Villages]

Skills: [1. Infuse/Absorb] [2. Energy travel] [3. Energy trail] [4. Energy bolt] [5. Energy wave] [6. Energy blade] [7. Energy shield] [8. Energy dual conduit] [9. Energy healing] [10. Umbral Cape]

[Vortex battery (Storage)]

Inventory: Geographic sphere, Mechanical soap, Spyware device, Tungsten-infused nanotech silver chain, Tech tablet (Portal) (Hide, Input, Output, Convert, Compress), Night-vision goggles, Blue headphones, Notepad and pencil.

Claire (lv1): Aspect of Creation

Skills: [1. Create (Slots: 10)] [2. Absorb (Only created and non-broken items)]

[Vortex battery: The Ninth Prince’s Order]

Inventory: Black cloak, Crossbow, Crossbow bolt (modified with rotatenium), Ammo pouch, Fanfics, Mechanical soap, A spyglass, Night-vision goggles, Medicine belt (sling bag and pockets for syringes), UV flashlight, A safari hat, A dumbbell, 10 Flesh syringes, 10 Healing Bandages, Giant fan.

David (lv1): Aspect of Form

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Range limit: Room]

[Vortex battery (Control)]

Skills: [1. Expand (x2)] [2. Spikefacation] [3. Delay (1-10s)] [4. Shieldfacation] [5. Trigger] [6. Transform pattern Wave] [7. Net Transform] [8. Whip transform] [9. Blend around] [10. Uno]

Inventory: Tungsten bat, AK-47, Mechanical soap, Night-vision goggles.

Amelia (lv1): Aspect of Reality

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Attack type: Strong illusion] [Attack range: x3 field of view]

Skills: [1. Third-person vision] [2. Blurring Mirage] [3. Double] [4. Connect] [5. Vision Swap] [6. Disguise] [7. Flash Mirage] [8. False movement] [9. False Touch] [Mentaltomisis]

[Vortex Battery (Charge)]

Inventory: Frying Pan, knife, mechanical soap.

Sarah (lv1): Aspect of Fiction

[Skill access: 1 skill for each item] [Conjured item 1]

[Vortex Battery (Weapon Recall) (Followers Benefits)]

Low Tier > High Tier > Eldritch God > Elder God

Sciophobalos: Short Teleport 5min (Active/Group) & Teleport Exchange (Passive/Group).

Awakening (Sciophobalos): Greater strength and speed. Changing form depending on darkness.

Arachnochidna: Water Breathing (Passive/Group), Paralysis/Necrosis Spikes (Active).

Awakening (Arachnochidna): Require Climbing and Web Shooting.

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Nezha’s leopard bag (Nezha’s ring, Nezha’s Fire-Tipped Spear), Shovel, Grimoire.

Noah (lv1): Aspect of Emotion

Skills: [Emotion infusion] (Emotional requirement: Medium)

[Vortex Battery (Fall Resistant)]

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Sharpening stone, Anger stone, Tungsten ax.

Diana (lv1): Aspect of Law

[Vortex Battery (Three Talisman: Regen, Resistance, Speed)]

{Laws unlocked: Law of Friction, Newton’s Third Law} {Limit: Only manipulate small values}

Inventory: Mechanical soap, A pickaxe, Night-vision goggles.

Adrian (lv1): Aspect of Knowledge.

[Vortex Battery (Wings Parry)]

{Connected Minds} {Info Extraction} [Limit:Full Basic Info}]

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Rope, Handbook (recorded events), Reinforced glass shield (Red Cross symbol).

Azan (lv1): Aspect of Change.

[Vortex Battery: (Greater Flight)]

{Limitation: 1. Follow under the concept “change” only. 2. Changes under other aspects require hand-holding.}

Change slot: 2

Inventory: Metal suitcase, Mechanical soap, Miniature fan, Blue boxing gloves.

Mina (lv1): Aspect of Time

[Vortex Battery: (Mark Speed)]

{Limitations: 8 skills (Currently)}

Skills (!ERROR!) (Auto Input Activated): |1. Aging| |2. Time Exchange| |3. Time Wrench|

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Yellow boxing gloves, Peepo's remains, Piza's remains, Sandra's remains, The Heart Striker.

Gwen (lv1): Aspect of Destruction

[Vortex Battery (Apply Speed)]

{Limitation: Gas and Liquid only}

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Izzybot, P.T.A, Codex Seraphinianus, Spherical terrarium (containing a black widow), Notepad and pencil, 2 Flesh Syringes, Ice Whale Eye, Bolt Eel.

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With exhaustion etched on her face, a young woman awakens, drenched in briny seawater. The pungent aroma of salt inundates her senses, yet she stubbornly resists, hoisting her hand onto the jagged edges of a pool.

Her hand draws the attention of the other wielders, who sprint to lift her out.

Claire "Gwen, are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Talk to me, bestie!"

Gwen "Cease your worry, Claire. I'm doing just fine. Just a bit exhausted in this circumstance."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Kanji "You should at least rest on a more comfortable surface..."

With steady hands, Kanji moves her weary body towards the couch.

A flush blossoms on Gwen's face, an act she quickly tries to conceal. Alas, her subtle blush didn't escape Claire's eyes.

Claire "Wow, you are so lucky! But I won't lose that easily." "Hey, Kaney we should sit on this other couch. You know to give Gwen some space to rest."

Kanji "Sure, that sounds reasonable." "Seriously, not even two minutes in and these two are already doing their rivalry. Then again... it was my fault to carry her to the couch. So I should be fair."

Their comrades join them, assembling to listen to the recount of her harrowing quest. She paints a tale of traversing the sea, seeking notes protected by ferocious creatures and braving the ominous depths of the ocean, each layer teeming with escalating perils.

Diana "Damn. I would never have passed that shit. Like it is impossible to figure out that you have to bring the other stuff down there."

Sarah "Hold on! I thought Earthas was punished! So why did all the corpses turn into red shit?"

Gwen "Honestly, I think it was probably a last-second deal-type scenario. For example, he would be willing to take his punishment with no resistance unless they grant him a single wish."

Mina "Yeah, that is so unfair! But hey! You made it out despite that! I can't wait to see the look on that bastard's face once he's out!"

Noah "Going off this topic. That last creature you encountered is very similar to a mythical beast described in Pumaru's Legend. I read it on some Reddit posts once before."

Adrian "I can vouch for that. That legend is very real. In fact, I have a copy of it on my floor. I got it really cheap from some strange dude with a suitcase."

Mina "Yo, that's cool and all. But I just remembered that tribe! Those guys live just south of the Bermuda Triangle. They were very friendly by the way. The creature is called an "Octogron" if I recall correctly. They described it to be the size of a great white shark, not a megalodon though."

Dave "Yo, for real? Dawg. We caught the trial maker red-handed, dudes. Let's copyright them and shit. Make them give us the dough."

Azan "You're suggesting that we should do a legal battle against a group of what we already know as all-powerful and omniscient beings. I say our chances are 0.011 percent unless we have a fourth-dimensional lawyer."

Amelia "Azan's right. Honey, are you still drunk? Also, what should we do now? Everyone has awakened their powers. I reckon it's time to find a way to bloody space."

Kanji stares at Gwen...

Kanji "Time to initiate that "plan". Do you have them ready?"

Gwen "Of course, I finished them ever since Sarah stepped out of her trial."

Dave "Oh yeah, you two bros and Cla'bro got into the portal to do some shit. Preparing stuff right? New tech and stuff."

Gwen "Correct! We didn't want to discuss things in the open since we should all respect the importance of secrecy. Besides, didn't we also ask everyone to join us?"

Dave "True, but that time Sas bro wasn't here. Can't leave a homie behind you know."

Kanji "I swear Dave with each passing day your slang grows more powerful. We should leave this discussion at that and go in now."

The group ventures through an oval gateway.

Emerging within, they are met with a breathtaking expanse of grassy plains, a colossal oak tree proudly standing guard at their side. In the distance, a string of other oaks punctuates the horizon. Their eyes wander upwards, drawn to the clouds meandering in the azure sky and a sun tracing a vibrant path. Gwen raises her finger.

Gwen "Is this... artificial wind? Amazing! You told me and Claire that this place would get an upgrade but I didn't think to this extent."

Azan "May I ask why you needed to expand this place?"

Kanji "You see... ever since our last encounter... no... more like our last multiple encounters with the cultists. Our info was... obviously being leaked perhaps through some kind of surveillance technology, picking up both visual and audio queues."

Azan "So, you're saying that they won't know anything that happens in here? Also, I don't think that they were even spying on us. At least it didn't feel like it."

AN "I can answer that. You see their spyware is extremely advanced and almost on par with their tracking method. The empire could make almost anything into a movable camera. Small animals, insects, objects you name it. There are even rumors that they are using bacteria."

Mina "Ummm... Wow. That sounds very scary. Maybe we should clean-

Kanji "No need to worry, Mina. Nothing foreign gets into this place not even bacteria. I changed the security system so that only familiar objects can enter and leave this place. The entire code is based on my memory. So if before you guys come here with something I don't know, please show it to me. Then again you can bypass this by putting things into your inventory and then bringing them out again. But I also installed a scanning system for every time you do. It is being run off an entirely more complicated code. Everyone got that?"

All "Got it!'

Kanji "Oh! And one more change. Eight hours inside here is now only one hour in the real world. Also, there is no limit to the time you spend here."

Diana "Wow, really! Aw shit. Screw training out there then. Plus this place is way larger and cooler anyway."

Sarah "Errr... how much did it cost to upgrade it?"

Kanji "Well, it wasn't money that I was given but resources from governments all over the world. The rough estimate would be around 5,675,489,034 US dollars."

Sarah "Holy shit!"

Noah "Damn, that's a lot of money!"

Claire "Kaney, I don't see my crossbolt factory anywhere."

Kanji "Not to worry, Claire. All the types of machinery are moved underground. Oh, I also expand our inventory space by a huge magid so you don't have to worry about that issue for a while."

Gwen "Wait a minute speaking about the inventory. There are times when the chips on our hands are severed or damaged but we could still access the inventory. Why is that? Also how deep does this soil go?"

Kanji "Ah yes, the chips were a facade. In fact, their job is to transfer the system directly to your brain so the only way you won't be able to use the inventory is for your heads to come off. And this soil is half as deep as the Earth's crust. Okay, if they are any other questions, please state them."

The group falls into a hush and Kanji takes a deep breath...

Kanji "Okay, this may shock some of you but as you are aware that those cultists aren't attacking us of late. My theory is they are planning a full-on assault with each of us fighting one vs one. Similar to a previous encounter."

A tremor runs through Sarah... Noah's hand rests on her shoulder.

Noah "Hey, it's going to be fine. I'm sure you can beat her this time."

Sarah "Yeah... maybe. I just need some time to prepare and train. I'll train really hard!"

Diana "Fuck yeah! That's the spirit, girl!"

Kanji "Good news. We'll have plenty of time for that. For now, I have a theory of what that general is planning. Since he is taking his sweet time to prepare for an attack, I assume that he is gathering a lot of those majors. Worst case scenario... we each fight more than one opponent. Best case scenario, we only have to fight one each."

Azan "Hold on a minute. They manage to arrange the matches last time because they caught us asleep. This shouldn't even be an issue."

Kanji "I considered that at first but according to the bastard's behavior. He learns from his mistakes since he never confronted us after we sliced off his left arm. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is if we are to be separated, I have a backup plan in case things go wrong. Gwen, if you please."

Gwen "Sure."

Reaching into the right pocket of her coat, she retrieves something, launching it skywards.

A flurry of 11 miniature black dots splays out across the canvas of the sky, finally settling on the shoulders of each wielder.

Dave "Yo, wait for the fuck on. These are those fucking flies, bro! From that time you were fucking spying on us!"

Gwen "Precisely... they will be recording you in the third person and transmitting the footage to these contact lenses. Here, it's for you."

Azan "Huh? Me? Why..... Oh, I get it now. So my power is key to our plan right?"

Kanji "Yes but we need to be alert in our decisions. There are three possible uses for your change slots. The first would be to escape but doing so too earlier would be a mistake."

Amelia "Why so? That sounds like a bloody good idea, mate."

Kanji "Remember Azan only have two change slots. Even if we escape, we might get caught up in another trap and be sent back to fight them. This of course can be avoided if we know what they are using to trap us. AN, any input?"

AN "Well, I did hear a certain rumor..."

Sarah "Oh, lay it on us."

AN "Words have been going around that there's a major that can create infinite warp positions. The best way to describe them would be the orange and blue portal from that one Earth game. However, they say that the teleportation would be one-way before both of them disappears. There is this even scarier rumor that this major can place these warps anywhere on the planet from any position as he or she pleases."

Diana "Aw, what the hell? That's so unfair! So the pussy can just stay in their bedroom somewhere and do this shit to us."

AN "Yep, though remember it is only a rumor."

Kanji "We have faced many horrific enemies. Even rumors we can take into being truths. Though I would believe that there is a cooldown or drawback when placing a lot of those warps. I say that we should escape only if one of us is about to die. We should also consider a safe place to teleport to.

Sarah raises her hand excitedly.

Sarah "Oh! I know a place! My cult headquarter! Very Secretive place I swear! It's gonna be awesome."

Kanji "Sounds promising. How far is it?"

Sarah "If we ride the RV at 6:00 am tomorrow, we would be there around mid-day."

Kanji "Alright. In case they choose to attack before then, we will teleport to Azan's place."

Azan "What?! Are you sure?!"

Kanji "Yes, the city is constantly moving and I don't believe cultists have even touched the place. Plus, there is a lot of security."

Azan " Security my ass!... Sorry about that. I just... don't want to face my dad."

Kanji "Confronting weakness is the greatest way to move forward, my friend. Ignore it and you'll be fated to perish."

Azan "Okay, that was a bit morbid but I understand."

Kanji "Good, now for the other two actions you can take with your change slots. You can switch each of our positions through the contact lens. Or you could teleport all of us to you and we could take down one of them easily."

Diana "That sounds a bit cheesy if you ask me. I feel like fighting one vs one will help everyone grow stronger. Besides some of us have unfinished business."

Her gaze settles on Sarah. A unanimous nod sweeps the group, save for Kanji.

Kanji "Fine. I knew this would be everyone's stance. I guess that leaves swapping everyone up because I believe that he is planning to pit us against opponents that can counter our powers. So, Azan as soon as we are somehow teleported, I want you to swap us immediately-

Sarah "Stop! I object!"

Collectively, their eyes shift to her and she returns the exchange.

Sarah "If I am against THAT major, please don't swap me! I want to redeem myself!"

Kanji "Are you sure you are ready, Sarah?"

Sarah "I'll train like I never train before until my bones break!"

Diana "Yo, that's hardcore! I like it! Me too then!"

Claire "They aren't serious... right?"

Kanji "Hold on before we start training. I need you to remember this. They know a lot about us but we know nothing about them. To win this fight, we need to play it safe and slowly gain enough info to defeat them. Got it! Oh as for you, Adrian. Since you're a pacifist, you just need to last long enough for us to defeat the other majors."

Adrian "I'll try my very best!"

Kanji "Awesome. Let's see since it is 6:00 pm outside that means we have 96 hours before we take off. If you think this is enough time say Huzzah!"

All "Huzzah!"

Thus, the 11 wielders embark on their rigorous training session, honing an arsenal of new techniques and tricks...

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A fleet of spacecraft resides in the ruddy grandeur of Jupiter's Red Spot. Amidst these, an angry general commandeers the most substantial vessel.

His foot hovers, ready to slam into the desk, but then he reconsiders.

KARNAT "Calm down Karnat. Be cool. Be" "WHY DID WE MOVE AGAIN?!"

M114 recedes into a corner.... M124 makes an entrance through a ceiling vent and yanks him out.

M124 "Please cease your pathetic display of cowardice, M114. You in the presence of the mighty third general."

KARNAT "... I appreciate the compliment but you haven't answered MY DAMN QUESTION!"

M124 "There was news of a meteor strike. Well, multiple meteor strikes to be precise. After a discussion, the crew thought it would be a safe bet to move somewhere further.

KARNAT "Oh... I see. Understandable, though I feel like there is more you're supposed to tell me."

M124 "M115 has managed to gather all the majors we could. We got everyone except for M101 and M102. Kind of... M102 is willing to help with the traps. However knowing his personality, the fucker won't leave his room."

KARNAT "That's too bad but his help is tremendous. What about M101?"

M114 " I can answer that, me lord. He is going out to eliminate those pests."

KARNAT "What? But I thoughts you, majors, were having a problem dealing with them."

M124 "Correct, that is except for M101. In fact, he found their main hideout and is traveling there as we speak."

KARNAT "That's fantastic news! Though, unfortunately, he won't be joining us for the grand finale. We'll attack them tomorrow at dusk! Oh, hand these out to our guests. Make sure they memorize each detail about the targets. Tell this... Kill them as fast as possible."

M114 and M112 "Yes, sir!"