Rachel shivered with anticipation as the wind increased, and Cahira’s ship began making changes as ropes rose and fell, changing the slight directions of the vessel’s airfoil-like sails to combat the rushing gusts they were sailing into.
With Elena’s help, Ohan and Anthony vanished, scrubbing the inky blood off the deck, and Maria told Elena to keep near the hull entrance, much to the Honey Badger’s dislike, but she wasn’t great at keeping stable on the moving ship without support.
The wall of rain was swiftly approaching with the rough gales, and with a loud laugh, Cahira sent a rope to Maria to strap Elena down, the Unicorn asking for her own after a sharp gust threw her to the side.
“I expect the rest o’ya to handle without the lifeline, eh?” Cahira snickered.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Anthony said, moving to stand beside Rachel with Ohan. “What are we dealing with, Rachel?”
Her ears were stiff, broad field of vision scanning the wall of rain for anything within, but it was still impenetrable. “I hear hundreds of wings flapping, big ones … it sounds like high-pitched birds squawking to one another. Scarlet, do you see anything under the waves?”
“Mmh … Selvaria is flipping around. She’s coming back … oh, she just transformed to her human form.”
“How does that look?” Ohan questioned with a lifted eyebrow, focused on the roaring storm.
“Eh, like something big turning small,” Scarlet shrugged. “I mean, a shadowy substance surrounds her, and her insides change so much I couldn’t even explain it.”
Rachel followed the much smaller figure’s path under the waves, jumping up to hold herself up on the solid railing; her figure was much more monstrous than her previous human form with more scales and spikes sticking out of her slick blue and black hair.
“Something’s ahead,” she said with a deep frown. “Something really huge like … fifty miles into the storm. I can hear it.”
“A sea monster?” Maria called out several meters away, staying beside Elena.
Selvaria shook her head. “I don’t know; I just heard something big the way we’re going.”
“Birds above, monsters below,” Cahira mused. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, huh?”
“Birds?” Selvaria asked, glancing toward the storm as the waves began increasing in size, rocking the boat.
“Don’t worry about that,” Rachel said, stomach tightening with the coming combat. “You handle whatever’s in the water, and we’ll handle anything above. If it looks bad where you are, then come up and let us know.”
“I can keep an eye on her, too!” Scarlet added with a thumbs up at the Leviathan, not even trying to manage her hair since she could see through it.
“I can handle that!” Selvaria grinned, giving Rachel a salute before dropping back into the ocean.
“Yo, we need some epic beats for this crap!” Maria laughed. “Got anythin’, Cahira?”
“Not mi foray, Lass, but a song would set the mood, for sure!”
The pounding of people’s hearts, the beat of the waves, and the roar of the wind were more than enough for Rachel’s spine, tingling for combat as the world’s motion slowed with her accelerating mind.
How can we handle aerial combat?
“Fiona would be nice right about now,” she commented with a small smile.
Ohan nodded. “Vasishtha, as well. I can keep the space around the ship protected, but that is all I can do.”
Anthony’s radiant spear appeared in his hands again. “I can handle those further away, but I’ve got a minute cooldown on most of my long-distance skills, six hours on my big one.”
Scarlet snickered. “I can teleport all over the sky, no problem; I’ll just go crazy!”
Maria’s voice rose with the wind. “If anyone gets hurt, then just stop by, and I’ll fix ya up!”
“We got a plan comin’ along!” Cahira shouted, bright red hair blowing back with everyone else’s with the incoming storm. “I can’t be shootin’ things up high with the cannons; clip their wings, and I’ll handle ‘em in da blue!”
Rachel felt a little frustrated as everyone made plans; Lunar Step required the moon.
If I have any extra points, that’s where I need to use them; I can’t help if I can’t battle in the air.
Making the request, she was a little shocked at the number of Skill Points she’d gathered with how little she’d used them. A smile lit her lips as her quickened mind cycled through them, clarifying their uses.
Rachel’s Abilities: The current list of abilities and her understanding of the Skills.
Base Mythickin (Type) Abilities: Skills gained through being a Mythickin, which means every person of the same Type can gain these Type-specific abilities.
True Sight I (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Reactive Skill, Penetration-Type, Level Two, Novice, Rank Four. The ability to see past the lowest tier of illusions.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - True Sight II - Rookie Grade, Rank Max. Increases the ability to bypass low-tier illusions.
Base Hare (Race) Abilities:
Base Hearing: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 7.5 Miles) Passive Cluster Set, Physical-Type, Level Nine, Rookie Grade, Rank Max.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Enhanced Hearing - Versed Grade, Rank Max. Adds minor increases to each cluster field.
Filter I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 7.5 Miles) Reactive, Physical-Type, Level Six, Rookie Grade, Rank Nine. Allows Rachel to filter between sounds.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Filter II - Versed Grade, Rank Nine. Increases the amount of noise she can filter through within her range.
Volume I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 7.5 Miles) Reactive, Physical-Type, Level Six, Rookie Grade, Rank Max. Allows Rachel to alter the levels of conversations in her surroundings.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Volume II - Versed Grade, Rank Max. Increases the volume to sounds further away, trying to keep up with her range.
Ear To The Ground I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 100 Meters) Reactive Proficiency Skill, Physical-Type, Level Five, Rookie Grade, Rank Eight; allows Rachel to hear minute sounds in her environment like muscle movements, but the sharpness of this skill is gradient, reaching its weakest point at 100 meters.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Ear To The Ground II - Versed Grade, Rank Eight. Slightly increases the sharpness of range and the distance by 25 meters.
Range I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 7.5 Miles) Reactive, Physical-Type, Level Seven, Rookie Grade, Rank Max. Increases the distance Rachel can monitor sound.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Range II - Versed Grade, Rank Max. Increases the range of Rachel’s hearing to 12 Miles.
Base Vision: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 210°) Passive Cluster Set, Physical-Type, Level Two, Novice Grade, Rank Eight. This includes a standard level of Night-Vision that helps her navigate in the dark.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Enhanced Vision - Rookie Grade - Rank Eight. Allows Rachel’s vision to penetrate low-tier darkness invoking abilities.
Focus Sight I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: 210°) Passive, Physical-Type, Level Four, Novice Grade, Rank Max. Makes Rachel’s entire field of vision come into focus, allowing her to run fast while seeing potential threats.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Focus Sight II - Rookie Grade, Rank Max. Doubles Rachel’s ability to identify objects by 1.5x her current visual distance in clear focus (like wide-vision binoculars).
Predict Motion I: (Cooldown: 10 Minutes; Cost: N/A; Duration: 3 Seconds; Range: 210°) Active, Physical-Type, Level Two, Novice Grade, Rank Eight. Helps her predict to a small degree where the kinetic motion of objects will move. Absorbed into Rapid Mental Acceleration II for an upgraded version.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - N/A - Absorbed into Rapid Mental Acceleration to heighten effects.
Base Smell: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive, Physical-Type, Level One, Novice Grade, Rank Eight. Rachel hasn’t actively tried to increase this Passive, but she can still smell better than when she was a human.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Enhanced Smell - Rookie Grade, Rank Eight. Allows Rachel to identify scents far outside the scope of humans.
Base Lunar (Kind) Abilities:
Lunar Pool I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: 4.9% Weekly Cost of Life; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive, Lunar-Type, Level Ten, Rookie Grade, Rank Max. The energy source that gives Rachel strength and, to a large degree, sustains her. She can go without Lunar Energy inside her pool, but her Health Status would begin to decrease, and given enough time, she could die. Works off percentages instead of raw numbers. Solar Energy and Lunar Energy counter each other, meaning if hit by an infinite source, like the sun or moon, they’ll keep being drained.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Pool II - Versed Grade, Rank Max. Weekly cost reduced to 4%. Increases Solar Resistance by a Grade to drain slower.
Lunar Surge I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive Link Skill, Lunar-Type, Level Three, Novice Grade, Rank Eight. Grants a .5% Power and Toughness Stat boost, equivalent to Lunar Pool levels.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Surge II - Rookie Grade, Rank Eight. Grants a 1% Power and Toughness Stat boost, equivalent to Lunar Pool levels.
Overpowered I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: Conditional; Range: N/A) Reactive Link Skill, Lunar-Type, Level Five, Rookie Grade, Rank One. If Lunar Pool is full and Rachel is under direct moonlight, this increases her Power and Toughness Stats by 26%. If she uses any ability that drops her pool to 99.999%, then this skill deactivates. As a counter, if at 0% Lunar Energy and in direct sunlight, a negative 24.8% is subtracted from total Stats.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Overpowered II - Versed Grade, Rank One. Increases Power and Toughness Stats by 30%, and if Lunar Pool is 0% will decrease it by 24.3%.
Lunar Reserve I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive Link Skill, Lunar-Type, Level One, Novice Grade, Rank Zero; grants a 1% to Lunar Pool, making her maximum pool 101% to help keep Overpowered active for a longer time. This extra pool does not count in the 100% total of abilities.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Reserve II - Rookie Grade, Rank Zero. Increases maximum pool to 105% with a 5% reserve.
Lunar Hair I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive Link Skill, Lunar-Type, Level One, Novice Grade, Rank Four. Rachel’s hair is infused with Lunar Energy, increasing its Toughness to 200% of her current durability. It appears difficult to passively advance as her hair must receive damage to increase its Rank.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Hare II - Rookie Grade, Rank Four. Increases to 250% of her current durability (includes shielding).
Lunar Shield I: (Cooldown: 10 Minutes; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Reactive, Lunar-Type, Level Five, Rookie Grade, Rank Three. Rachel’s light glow gives her a Lunar Energy shield that absorbs incoming damage up to 10% of her Lunar Pool outside of moonlight and 20% while under the moon’s rays. Mainly used to allow initial cushion to deadly attacks and recovery for incoming impacts. It deactivates Overpowered if she’s even slightly damaged by an opponent.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Shield II - Versed Grade, Rank Three. Increases the amount absorbed to 12% outside moonlight and 22% within its rays.
Lunar Deadening: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: Under Moonlight; Range: N/A) Reactive Proficiency Skill, Lunar-Type, Level Three, Novice Grade, Rank Five. Masks physical pain under moonlight.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Recovery I - Rookie Grade, Rank Five. With the addition of masking pain, moonlight that exceeds 100% of her Lunar and Reserve Pools will recover Rachel’s overall health by a very slow degree (max of 5% health per hour in moonlight).
Lunar Burst I: (Cooldown: 25 Seconds; Cost: 3% Initial and .1% Per Second If Held After; Duration: N/A; Range: Max 2 Feet) Active Charging, Lunar-Type, Level One, Novice Grade, Rank Two. A Lunar elemental attack that can strike beyond Rachel’s reach. It is an element attack, which means it can be resisted. Lunar elemental damage is multiplied by the energy % used.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Burst II - Rookie Grade - Rank Two. Increases the power by x2 and range to four feet and the cost to 0.09% of Lunar Pool per second.
Cerridwen Branch (Lunar Based): A moon deity that seems to embody or represent this section.
Mental Acceleration I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Reactive, Lunar-Type, Level Eight, Rookie Grade, Rank Nine. Accelerates Rachel’s thinking process to give her the time to react while running and in conflicts. Linked to her Constitution Pool.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Mental Acceleration II - Versed Grade - Rank Nine. Increases the speed by which perception of time slows.
Rapid Mental Acceleration I: (Cooldown: 3 Minutes; Cost: N/A; Duration: 3 Seconds; Range: N/A) Active Link Skill, Lunar-Type, Level Five, Rookie Grade, Rank Two. Accelerates Rachel’s thinking process to an even higher degree. This is likely the advanced form of Mental Acceleration, allowing her to temporarily boost to a higher skill stage for a limited time. Linked to her Constitution Pool.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Rapid Mental Acceleration II - Versed Grade - Rank Two. Allows a short instance of predicted events with the heightened perception of time.
Strategic Mind I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive, Lunar-Type, Level One, Versed Grade, Rank Zero. The upgraded version of Risk Assessment. It aids Rachel in seeing and remembering things that will help her achieve the goal in front of her.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Strategic Mind II - Intermediate Grade - Rank Zero. Rachel can spot patterns and possible weaknesses within her visual environment.
Emotional Detachment I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Active Proficiency Skill, Lunar-Type, Level Three, Novice Grade, Rank Nine; helps separate Rachel from her emotions. It isn’t perfect, and all of those boxed emotions can break free or will be experienced in whole upon release.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Emotional Detachment II - Rookie Grade - Rank Nine. Increases the suppression capacity while granting a minor mitigation effect to help counter the explosive release of the boxed emotions.
Lunar Pride I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive, Lunar-Type, Level Five, Rookie Grade, Rank Max. Affects Rachel on every level, enhancing her already competitive nature.
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* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Pride II - Versed Grade - Rank Max. Grants Rachel enhanced fear resistance and a stronger focus of will.
Wenet’s Branch:
Wenet’s Minor Protection: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: 3% Per Minute; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Active, Lunar-Type, Level Four, Novice Grade, Rank Seven; a bright coat made of moonlight that overshadows Lunar Shield, providing a 30% damage reduction that applies before striking Lunar Shield, and requires a set amount of Lunar Energy per minute in use. Can be activated in burst amounts, providing a 30% damage reduction for 1 minute for 3% of Lunar Pool.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Wenet’s Lesser Protection - Rookie Grade - Rank Seven. Increases the damage reduction to 35%.
Wenet’s Light I: (Cooldown: 1 Day; Cost: 20% Lunar Pool; Duration: 30 Minutes; Range: 2 Miles) Active, Lunar-Type, Level Six, Novice Grade, Rank Zero; a globe of stored Lunar Energy that can be used as a temporary replacement for the moon. It recovers no Lunar Energy but will grant Rachel the ability to use her skills and abilities that require moonlight. The globe is moveable by Rachel’s direct physical action once set.
Enhancement - Flush Moon: If the stored Lunar Energy is from a Flushed Moon, then the effect enhancement will be granted, increasing Skill Grade and Level by a Stage.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Wenet’s Lesser Protection - Rookie Grade - Rank Zero. Increases the time to 45 minutes and reduces the cost to 18%.
Lunar Curse - Misfortune I: (Cooldown: 1 Day; Cost: .5% Lunar Pool Per Minute; Duration: Until Deactivated; Range: 2 Meters) Active Aura, Control-Type, Level Two, Novice Grade, Rank Two. If anyone, including friends, comes into range, their Luck Stat is reduced by a constant rate until it falls to 10% of its base state.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Curse - Misfortune II - Rookie Grade - Rank Two. Increases the rate at which the Luck Stat is dropped.
Chang’e Branch:
Lunar Dash I: (Cooldown: 90 Seconds; Cost: Moonlight; Duration: Five Seconds Between Steps; Range: N/A) Active, Lunar-Type, Level Five, Rookie Grade, Rank Zero; the upgraded version of Lunar Step. Its cost is negated with the requirement of being used within sight of the moon, allowing Rachel to create six lunar disks to use as a platform. Cooldown begins after the first step is used.
* Active Enhancement - Flush Moon: Increases Skill Grade and Level by a Stage. Current Status - Lunar Dash II - Versed Grade - Rank Zero. Increases the number of disks from six to twelve and the time between each step to six seconds, making the max cooldown eighteen seconds if used every six seconds.
Rachel’s mind exploded with information, a smile brightening her lips as her combat potential skyrocketed.
Wenet’s Light mixed with the energy I gained … I can create my own artificial Flush Moon for forty-five minutes. Every lunar effect could be stored and used for later if I save the energy in my Lunar Pool, and if I can increase the reserve, then I could store multiple types of Lunar Energy … could I combine them?
The possibilities unfolded in her accelerated mind within several seconds. “Scarlet.”
“Mmh?” She asked, frowning up at the sky and then down at her gray v-neck t-shirt with a pony on it and yellow polka dot shorts. “I just can’t believe we’re gonna fight with these clothes,” she mumbled. “We’re gonna get soaked.”
Cahira giggled. “I think ya look fabulous, Lass, but the storm’s here; let’s go!”
“Thanks … but uh, what’s up, Rachel?” She asked, eyeing the rain starting to fall around them.
“I was just gonna say, I’ll meet you in the sky,” Rachel replied with a wink, stretching out while tightening her shorts and adjusting her sports bra.
“... Oh? Woah … I see them! They’re crazy looking … like scary harpies.”
Rachel closed her left fist, activating Wenet’s Light; the Flush Moon energy she’d recently absorbed gathered in her palm, causing a pinkish light to shine through the gaps in her fingers as the radiating power took effect, enhancing the skill itself.
Everyone noticed the brilliant light as she laughed, pulling back her arm to throw the energy into the storm. “Let’s see how they like the light?”
“That’s new…” Scarlet mumbled but covered her eyes as she launched the forming globe into the dense rainfall that struck the ship; they’d entered frenzy.
The light stopped two miles into the sky, exploding to create a ball of intense blush rays that cast a purple tint to the dark scene and illuminating the army before them.
Hundreds of black feathered humanoid-birds hovered on the strong winds, showing their hardened bone-like skulls and sunken black eyes. Their sharp beaks and lean frames were highlighted by the sharp talons and tight, muscular legs, and thin, osseous tail the length of their bodies.
Rows of obsidian barbs running across their massive metallic feathered arms that could be used to saw their targets in half. Three claws at the end of their wings could be used to hold things. Leather-like strips flowed in the wind, seemingly a part of their anatomy.
The creatures were at least seven feet tall, some even eight from what Rachel could see, and those that saw their ship were quickly spreading the word.
“Ugly things, aren’t they? So, we be callin’ the beasts harpies, and what’s with the pink light?” Cahira chuckled as lightning flashed across the sky, wind and rain howling around them.
“Nothing big,” Rachel smiled, adjusting her position as a large wave crashed against the side of the vessel, causing Maria and Elena to cling to things to keep balanced. “It’s just an artificial moon for me.”
Scarlet whistled, blood exiting her body to form into a nasty-looking scythe while eyeing two that dove toward Maria and Elena. “Unlocks your Lunar Step Skill?”
“Lunar Dash,” Rachel corrected, kicking off her shoes to put into a nearby compartment for safekeeping.
Anthony’s spear glowed yellow when the creatures came within striking distance, and he sent the javelin rocketing at one of the harpies; to everyone’s surprise, with a quick aerial motion, it circled around the swift weapon, causing the Legend to release a low grunt.
Within Rachel’s slow-moving world, she watched Ohan jump onto the nearby railing to leap forward, intercepting them, and she half wondered if she should act to save the Honey Badger and Unicorn while dropping her two articles into the rain protected space.
The Samurai jumped straight up several meters, sword glowing with a black aura before delivering a thin wave of dark energy. The harpies both extended their scaled, powerful claws, intercepting the attack.
“So crazy,” Elena mumbled with wide eyes, staring up at the Samurai and bird creatures, and glowing green drops fell as the black wave caused several light cuts on their feet.
They released a low screech before changing directions; at first, Rachel thought they were retreating because of the shock, but upon further inspection, she noticed a change in the flight pattern of the creatures circling them in the sky.
“They’re communicating … wait, do you see those ones … high above?” She pointed, and everyone followed her gaze. Ohan looked just as annoyed as Anthony while touching down on the slick deck, sliding to the side to regain his balance against the side; his attack probably didn’t do the damage he’d hoped.
“Electricity?” Scarlet asked, scythe held across the back of her shoulders and underneath her hair, liquid easily sliding between the strands. “Is it jumping off their bodies?”
“Their feet are pretty tough,” Ohan said, following the two he’d wounded. “That wasn’t a weak attack.”
Anthony’s spear appeared in his hand again. “Fast and tough … not a good combination.”
Rachel’s gaze was still on the pack high above, mostly hidden behind the veil of rain, but every so often, she’d catch sight of the creatures; she had a bad feeling about hovering threats.
“Like I said,” Cahira repeated, “get ‘em in the water, and I’ll light ‘em up!”
“Sounds good. Ohan, Anthony, you work with Cahira to bring them into the ocean for her cannons. Scarlet and I will keep the ones higher up busy; we need to distract them, so they don’t swarm us.”
Scarlet’s fangs showed as she flipped her scythe around, jumping onto the nearby railing to show her cat-like balance with her smile; the butt of the weapon stopping on the wood, and she gave them a peace sign. “Well, they got some green blood that looks interesting to try out; let’s get this anime going!”
Shadows surrounded her, and Rachel quickly spotted her appear behind one to their far right; the leather-like straps instantly reacted, flying back to attack her, but the Vespertine Reaper just laughed, blade-edge cutting through them like butter and cleaving the creature in two, causing a cacophony of sounds to radiate from the surrounding throng.
Rachel winced, adjusting to the sound while watching the green blood explode from the Harpy’s body; much of the liquid was gathered into a ball from Scarlet’s outstretched hand, scythe floating next to her while waving her right hand to release a few Bloody Edge of the Crescent Blades to attack those that tried to close in on her.
Right … Scarlet’s just OP.
Bending down, she launched twenty meters into the air, activating Lunar Dash to take her first step, using the disk to propel her at the nearest Harpy. Her rapid motions didn’t go unnoticed, straps reaching for her as she neared, but they were too slow for her acceleration, and she used it as a stepping stone, jumping Harpy to Harpy, climbing into the heavens to identify the larger types above the throng.
Wind and pelting rain struck her as she maneuvered to Wenet’s Light, using her eighth step to stop in front of it, kicking the globe as hard as she could while following its rapid rise. The higher she went, the more the thunder rolled through her body from the arcing bolts above.
The ship and Scarlet’s bloodbath were soon left behind, but she could still hear the group below. Cahira was talking about the Harpy’s turning into treasure when they died, commandeering Nam’s energy creatures to help bring the floating objects on board with a new net harpoon station she’d been able to build with Scarlet’s slaughter, sending experience to everyone involved with the battle.
Rachel’s forehead furrowed upon reaching her eleventh step; with one left, she shot down to one of the few Harpies at this elevation, landing on its back. Its muscular movements weren’t hard to track with her hearing and wide field of vision, and she was undoubtedly faster.
The birds had twelve leather-like straps acting as hands, and Rachel countered them all, activating Lunar Curse -Misfortune II; she smiled as its grip slipped on her left wrist, ripping them apart as they tried to throw her off.
It released pained cries as small globs of green blood oozed out of the flat appendages, smearing across Rachel’s hands and arms. Her lips fell a little, legs tightened around its core as it flipped in the air, trying to shake her off.
Smacking its skull to daze it, she was a little surprised her blow didn’t phase it, her force blocked by its thick bone skull. Doubling the strength, she repeated the action.
The bird’s body quivered, going limp for a moment before swiftly trying to right itself in the air, possibly passing out a second. She’d lost at least half a mile from the dive, reaching the edges of Wenet’s Light, but Lunar Dash II was off cooldown.
Gripping its neck for balance, she repositioned herself and shot off its back, not gaining nearly as much momentum as she’d like, her kick sending it more to the ocean below than her higher into the sky, but activating her skill again, she swiftly recovered the distance.
The sharp gales were becoming more challenging to navigate through, but with sheer power, she muscled through the shifts in her course, making it to Wenet’s Light again to kick it another mile into the air.
She caught sight of the giant Harpies, more than double the size of the ones below, and electricity was sparking off each of the five creatures, massive wings tripling the strength of the storm’s wind to blow her back.
I only have five steps left…
Activating Rapid Mental Acceleration II, she scanned her environment for a solution. Lunar Dash II would be back before hitting the sea, but that didn’t matter because she’d be outside of Wenet’s Light to use it. It would take three, possibly four steps to reach the huge birds, and that was if they didn’t choose to beat her back with their powerful gusts.
From the sounds of Scarlet and the ship below, she was seven miles in the air, and the enhanced hearing she gained from Flush Moon’s enhancement was somewhat confusing since she wasn’t accustomed to large range increase, throwing off some of her estimations on distance.
The sharp crackling sounds of electricity that sparked off the five Harpies reminded her of Fiona’s electricity skills she’d shared. If they could not only generate electricity but direct the storm’s lightning, then that could spell the end of Cahira’s ship and her family within it. Their size alone could cause a lot of damage to her sails and mast.
With the extreme degree her world was slowed, Rachel saw their deep-set black eyes studying her, and she made the decision to engage.
Her body was soaked with water, droplets sliding across her skin as if she were in a shower as she bent her knees and launched toward her globe of pink light, using her second step to stop beside it, reposition, and fire it right at the birds.
The massive Harpies quickly dispersed, gigantic wings flapping to try and send it away, but she was the only one that could interact with it, giving her the distraction she needed. Jumping towards the nearest one, her chest rose with her lips.
That’s it, keep attacking the pretty light while I…
Her eyes widened as a bolt of electricity arced off its metallic wings, casting a bolt at her; she was far too slow for the strike and didn’t have the steps to waste on an attempt. In that split second, Wenet’s Lesser Protection and Lunar Shield II cloaked her with light.
Her physical output took a hit with the loss of 25% of her total Lunar Energy, mixed with the initial 20% of Wenet’s Light; she had 39.5% remaining. The numbers running through Rachel’s calm mind went blank.
Wind exploded against Rachel’s ears and tail, pressing her gym shorts against her butt as her hair whipped around her face.
Mind slowly recovering from the shock, she spread herself out, muscles giving an involuntary quake, but she managed to get to a position to use Lunar Dash again, applying what power she could muster to jump into the sky.
Luckily, her senses hadn’t been addled enough to make her mistake up for down; she was still in Wenet’s Light but only had one more step before the skill went on cooldown for twenty-four seconds.
The Harpies were still preoccupied with the globe they couldn’t interact with; she only had one option left. Using all the strength she could, her legs felt the strain, already taking a decent amount of impact on the way up, but Lunar Recovery kept the pain at bay.
She lost 60.5% of her Lunar Pool, but with Lunar Surge upgraded, her increased Stats under moonlight went from .5% to 1%, giving her enough raw power to make it.
Using her last step, she jumped for the closest Harpy’s talon, attacking from below rather than from the side this time. Her arms closed around its slick left claw, pulling herself up to hug its leg as her muscles reflexively twitched again, but Flush Moon’s calming waves helped to ease her racing heart and addled mind.
The Harpy’s muscular leg shot left as its much larger whip-like straps shot down to attack her, and she used Mental Acceleration II and Lunar Curse - Misfortune II to help dodge the slaps, moving up its leg while charging Lunar Burst II in her left fist.
Once reaching its inner thigh, Rachel threw the attack at the soft bridge between its thigh and body, blowing its leg clean off with the white explosion that followed. She dug her right hand into its belly to stay in the air.
Another 6% of her Lunar Pool disappeared, causing Rachel to groan softly; she felt no pain from the electric attack, yet things were looking grim after losing such a massive chunk of her energy out of pure defense.
Maybe I should have let Scarlet handle it, but … Lunar Pride … I wanted to fight the strong ones, can’t be complaining now.
She mused, watching the storm rage around her as the bird screamed with pain, green globs of blood gushing below as it rose into the heavens, leaving the four remaining Harpies to question what happened.
Rachel debated dropping down on the others as they entered the higher reaches of the black clouds, thunder and lightning dancing around them, skidding off the Harpy’s wings.
She guessed the creature was trying to attack her with the energy, but the arcs never reached the lower part of the bird. However, the pink rays of Wenet’s Light were weakening as she rose through the darkness and rain.
Power suddenly exploded within her breast as they broke the surface, and the two moons gazed upon her. Her strength was returning by the second as the storm raged below, whipping up cold winds around her. Within the next few minutes, her energy would be recharged under the dual gaze of the watchful spheres in the heavens.
“Big mistake,” Rachel chuckled, activating Lunar Burst II.
The Harpy was continuing to go higher and higher, whips searching for her as it twisted in the air, trying to get a glimpse of her swift movements, playing around its blind spots; it seemed unable to find her exact location with Lunar Curse - Misfortune II in effect and its flailing pain, giving her time to charge her next attack.
Rachel’s joy doubled upon seeing the four remaining birds exit the roaring cloud cover below, rising to aid the injured Harpy, and now with them closer together, she noticed one was even double their size.
That must be the leader!
A minute of charging completed to equal a punch that would drain 8.4% of her total Lunar Pool, Rachel let go, activated Lunar Dash II, and jumped with redoubled strength, fist not even touching the bird as the beam of offensive Lunar Energy extended four feet, detonating against the creature’s belly. Its lower half exploded, sending guts and mashed organs raining upon its friends.
Swiftly changing directions as the glowing green blood surrounded her, she shot toward the remaining four, already charging her next Lunar Burst. The calm satisfaction she felt from the pink and orange moons rather than the heated rush under the white moon was so different, hearing the soft pounding of her heart.
Electricity danced across the sky as the four released bolts of deadly lightning, even drawing from the storm below.
Rachel used Lunar Curse to provide more chances they’d miss her while crawling around the creatures’ legs and stomachs to take cover for her cooldowns to return. Every punch she took, a Harpy fell from the sky, bodies converting to heaps of treasure.
Their attacks skidded from bird to bird, dancing lightning that made Rachel’s hair stand on end and tail twitch with the powerful energy rolling around her. The beams ping-ponged off the Storm Harpies’ feathers, never passing by their feet, stomachs, or tails.
The remaining Harpies weren’t too much trouble after identifying their weak underbelly, and with the moons activating Overpowered II after four minutes, with all the other enhancements she gained at maximum energy and under moonlight, she made quick work of them.
Each Storm Harpy had far more firepower than her individually, but the way their electricity bounced off their wings and were attracted to each other spelled their downfall if someone was able to get underneath them, and Rachel was built for maneuverability and speed.
Finally, she stood one on one versus the largest of the creatures, tail lashing out to slap her out of the sky, but it was far too slow of an attack compared to its lightning, and she’d learned to keep the low-ground.
Its metallic wings sent sharp gusts of wind that had hidden blade-like pressure hidden within, yet after seeing Ohan’s attack, she recognized the danger, giving her ears the experience to identify the pathing.
The creature’s whips managed to knock her off once, but Lunar Dash was off cooldown, and with a two-minute Lunar Burst charge, its foul blood rained around her, body nearly punched through to the other side, and the globs of green liquid soon vanished with the smell as they disappeared, leaving behind a big chest that fell with her into the raging storm below.
“Huh…”
Rachel was over ten miles in the heavens, skydiving with a light smile on her lips while studying the chest that she could fit inside.
Should I try and bring it with me? I mean, I could just guide it close to the ship … oof, yeah, I’m a bit far away from it. Where’s Wenet’s Light, though … probably … around this area.
She used two Lunar Dash steps to kick the chest toward Cahira; Scarlet seemed to have made quick work of most of the smaller creatures.
Finding the pink globe in the same area she left it, Rachel battled around the wind and rain, keeping track of her friends through sound while using her transparent steps to slow her fall every so often. She was forced to land in the water at a somewhat jarring speed since the ship and Harpies had far outstripped their previous position but using Wenet’s Light and two cooldowns of Lunar Dash, she made it back.
Sopping wet, Rachel landed back on the deck, smiling sheepishly as she heard her father grumbling in the belly of the ship. “... All I wanted was to fish…”
“Aww, maybe we’ll get some time, Dear,” her mother soothed.
“I wouldn’t mind a good relaxing fish after these waves,” Reed grumbled.
“No,” Alexa groaned. “I wanna see the fight … adventure!”
“Uh, hehe, I’m not a fan of whatever’s making those sounds out there,” Zoe forced a laugh, ears twitching nervously as Felix tried to comfort her.
“Next time, Honey,” Nam assured his wife with a comforting pat.
Clay seemed to be resting his eyes next to a wall, taking soft breathes as if trying to get some sleep.
Rachel’s lips fell a little while studying the ship; it looked like it didn’t come off completely scot-free with a few scratches to the sides, and there was a small rip in the sails that Anthony was working his way toward to sew up.
Wringing out her hair, Rachel lightly jabbed her energy ball a few dozen meters at a time to keep it nearby with a light laugh as Scarlet teleported around the sea to grab chests or sacks floating in the waves. “How’d the battle go?”
Cahira glanced back with a bright smile. “Couldn’t ‘ave been better, Love! Where’d ya scamper off ta?”
Scarlet appeared out of the shadows beside them with the big chest Rachel had kicked over to them. “... Oh, Rachel, you beat the boss, right?”
“Boss?” Maria asked from the deck’s side, still using the harpoon net to gather what treasure she could as the waves tossed items around. “Dude! It’s so freakin’ hard to hit these things!”
“Yeah, let me do it,” Elena mumbled, smirking with amusement as Maria missed another.
“Freak! Fine, you’re good at this crap,” Maria grumbled, untying herself from the railing to join them; she stumbled across the deck a few times as the wind picked up and waves rocked the ship.
Ohan was at the bow, scanning for more enemies, but the rest of the Harpies seemed to be retreating.
“Woah!” Scarlet teetered to the left, setting the chest down as a big wave sent the ship rocking the opposite way. “Uh … yeah, I saw you jumpin’ around fighting those electric Harpies; I lost track of you when you blew the leg off that one! They all started to retreat a bit ago, probably after you killed their boss. This is the chest, right? The Boss chest?”
Rachel smiled at Scarlet’s quick words, clearly overjoyed to just let power go wild and rip the Harpies apart. “Yeah, it was pretty fun, to be honest. So, where’s all the other treasure I’ve been hearing about?”
“Have a look,” Cahira replied, pointing at Elena and Nam’s energy creatures as they used the one to the right, untangling the prizes to land on the deck. The moment they touched wood, they flashed and disappeared. “Goes straight to the ship’s Treasury!”
“Uh … yeah,” Scarlet mumbled, knocking on the top of the chest in front of her, “but what about this one? It’s the Boss Chest, right? Maybe you gotta open it.”
“Give ‘er a try,” the Pirate Queen urged with a grin.
“Okay!” Scarlet pulled back her slick hair to stare at the lock, clasping the box shut, and her lips tilted with a growl. “... I can’t even see through the thing? Hmm … can I break the lock off?” She questioned, blood flowing out of her hands to mess with the mechanics. “... Nope, won’t even budge … the pins, either. Is it thief-proof or…”
“Huh … let me see,” Cahira mumbled, leaving the wheel to put her hand on the top of the chest; it suddenly popped open.
Scarlet, Cahira, and Rachel leaned in to see what it held, frowning as a baby Harpie popped out with a low squawk and a rolled piece of parchment with a key inside were left inside.
“... A little bare for a Boss Chest, don’t you think?” Scarlet mumbled, feeling around the bottom for anything hidden as Cahira pocketed the key and picked up the scroll to open it.
“... Wha…” Scarlet’s mouth dropped open as it turned to dust upon opening. “Did it just…”
“Combine with my map,” Cahira replied, summoning the article from flames as the heavy rain continued to fall around them, and a wave sent all of them stumbling to the left. “... Oof, yeah … should probably be at the wheel! Hehe … beyond the storm lies the path to Kokoa, and we’ll find somethin’ to open with this key here,” she said, brandishing the item before pocketing it.
Rachel turned her attention to the small Harpy, perched behind them while studying the ocean waves. “Uh … what about the Harpy?”
Scarlet’s blue eyes returned, sparkling with glee as she jumped over to join her. “Oh, is it a pet, Cahira? Did you get a rare Harpy pet or something?”
“Aye, it seems so!” Cahira replied, glancing back at the creature. “Hehe, seems a bit shy, but it’s listed as a part of the bootie. Called a Sky Reaver; makes sense, right? Sky Reaver’s Way. Her name’s Gisele, according to the ledger; think she’s a little version of the boss ye offed, Rach?”
“Maybe?” Rachel shrugged. “I mean, it was over twenty feet tall … not counting wingspan.”
“Huh, wonder if she’ll grow up nice and big,” Cahira mused, but her lips quickly fell into a serious frown. “Once we get beyond this storm … we’ll see, but I think we’ve got one more fight ahead of us. Selvaria’s beastie still hasn’t shown its face.”
Thinking back on the previous fight they had, Rachel leaned against the thick stern trailing, eyeing the chest as it began to turn into dust, blowing into the wind. “Why didn’t the creatures before turn into treasure?”
Cahira shrugged. “Probably because the quest hadn’t started … or maybe those are real creatures and these aren’t, who can say?”
“Pretty cool, though!” Scarlet piped up.
Rachel hummed thoughtfully, noticing how wet everyone had become; Maria’s bra was making an impression on her dress while the guys had abandoned their shirts, showing their muscular builds while working the ship with Cahira’s ruthless orders.
It may not have been a calm summer cruise, but the monstrous waves Cahira navigated, roaring winds that tried to throw them over the railing, and pelting rain brought a smile to Rachel’s lips. This really was an adventure.