Chương 26: 25. Leaving the Pack

Everything around me remained still and silent. The stench of chlorine remained just as strong, but that remained a minor discomfort. Slowly, I sat up. There was no telling what time it was. The artificial lights remained as bright as ever. The people on the boats had used various methods to try and block them while sleeping. Looking at them almost made me feel nostalgic. A few more trials and they'd be able to sleep in any circumstances. There was no sign of the barrier blocking the way out.

I took my set of blades from my inventory and pointed them at the door. I could feel the force of the pull leading me onward. The rest had brought with it a new monster worthy of my attention. Sadly, it also came at a cost. If I didn't kill anything by the end of the day, the gems on my blades would devour one of my cards. A faint swishing sound came from behind. My body reacted on instinct, leaping to the side. An arrow flew past, continuing into the corridor.

The moment it struck the wall, a circle of frost expanded, freezing everything up to the floor.

"Sorry about that," Sebastian said in a smug voice.

"When you drew your swords, I thought we were being attacked." Yeah, I bet you did.

"No worries," I replied.

"We're fine." A short distance away, Cathy was on one knee, holding her bow at the ready. It would have been so easy to kill Sebastian right now. If I said the word, there was every chance that she would do it.

"It's fine, Cathy," I repeated.

"Accidents happen." And this wasn't one of them. Anyone could tell that he was aiming for me, and yet none of them were reacting, even Marcus. Cathy looked at me, then lowered her bow.

"The rule change has us all a bit tense," Sebastian continued.

"There's no telling when we might get swarmed."

"All part of the game."

"We don't have to follow their rules." The bow remained in the man's hands a bit longer than I would have liked before finally disappearing.

"There's a way for us to turn the tables." Sebastian widened his grin. The only things worse than his lies were his teeth.

"We can work together collecting cards. Then, when the time comes, we distribute them equally." That was just the plan I expected he'd make. Whatever hold he had over the rest ensured that he wouldn't lift a finger and still get his share. But even if everyone was doing their job, I had no intention of accepting. Unlike them, I had an upkeep to think of.

"Best if we don't put our eggs in one basket." I headed for the exit.

"Are you turning your back on everyone else?" The smile quickly vanished.

"Move against us and you're done! We'll—""Just make sure not to eat the food," I said, breaking his train of thought.

"Now we're even." I turned to Cathy.

"Coming?" Both of us went into the corridor.

"Why didn't you stay?" After a while, Cathy broke her silence. In the ten minutes since we had left the pool, we hadn't come across any monsters. That was highly suspicious. I didn't know what type of trial Harlequin had set up, though I couldn't take anything for granted.

"I didn't like him," I replied.

"He's too arrogant."

"He's made a pact with a deity," the woman admitted to my surprise, likely testing me.

"But you probably knew that."

"I suspected. Just as I suspect that you made one, too. That bow's far too good."

"What about you?" That was the question Cathy really wanted to ask. It was almost certain that her patron deity had told her as much about me as she could share. The bigger question was whether she was scoping me out or was this an attempt to recruit me?

"No," I said directly.

"You don't need a deity to get ahead." We reached an elevator hub. I pressed all the buttons and waited. Whether by luck or design, all the elevators were at the furthest possible points.

"Did you dream last night?" I asked.

"No." Cathy looked at me surprised.

"Why?" I could play it off as small talk, but Cathy wasn't the sort of person who would accept such an excuse.

"I think someone has a way to attack people in their dreams," I replied.

"Sebastian?"

"I don't think so. He's too arrogant to be the one in charge. Rather, I think someone is using him. Either that, or he's made a deal with Harlequin." There always were a few of those—snakes offering to backstab others in exchange for minor protection.

"I didn't sleep," the woman admitted.

"Marcus didn't either."

"Oh?" That was smart.

"I was watching him. He just sat there on the boat… Do you think he's behind this?"

"He wouldn't have to be. It's someone who's too weak to survive a direct confrontation."

"Carl?" Shock filled the single syllable.

"Might be him, or someone else." A ping announced that one of the elevators had arrived. I took my swords out of my inventory. As the doors slid to the side, a bony hand shot out from the growing crack. One quick slash and the hand was severed straight off. Flames covered my blades as I performed a thrust attack, piercing through the undead's skull. To my surprise, no further enemies emerged. A second too late, Cathy called up her bow, aiming an arrow into the cabin.

"It's fine," I said.

"It's just a single surprise." I stepped inside.

"Keep an eye on the ceiling and we should be fine." Without a word, the woman aimed at the large LED light. I didn't have the heart to tell her this was a joke. It was too early for swarm attacks. I pressed the top button.

"Where are we going?" Cathy asked, her bow ready to release the arrow.

"Promenade," I said.

"Always good to start the day with breakfast." There were two ways to hide things in a trial this large. The usual way was to place the prizes in the most difficult areas to reach. The goblin challenge had been mostly like that, only rewarding the strong, brave, and curious. One might say that this was similar, though I didn't think so. Player conflict was the key, which meant that the hints would be more prominent.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The elevator didn't take us to the very top. Even so, the moment the doors opened, I could feel the smell of fresh sea air. The sun had emerged from under the horizon, bathing the side of the ship in its light. I had to admit that the promenade was breathtaking. If it hadn't been for the slight tug of the blades, I could almost imagine myself being on an expensive cruise.

The temptation to enjoy a few hours of calm reared its little head, whispering that I'd never get a chance to swim in a pool like this ever again. That was probably the worst part of all this: no matter how bad things were, they always got worse further on. I made my way to one of the bar areas and checked if there was any food left. Ready cocktail bites, drinks, and raw products filled the supply fridge.

"It's fine," I told Cathy.

"It's not poisonous." The woman gave me an assessing look, then shook her head.

"Don't starve yourself," I tossed her a soft drink.

"There's nothing to gain." She caught the can and reluctantly opened it. A few seconds later, she dared a sip.

"What's the plan now?" she asked.

"The plan is to lose," I replied.

"And keep our rewards in the process."

"Lose? Didn't Harlequin say that—""The whole point of the trial is to lose without dying. Sebastian, or whoever's behind that, had probably figured it out as well. The winner gets to cash in the winnings, but loses the chance to gain more. The whole sharing strategy is based around that, removing the winner altogether."

"No advantage, no winner." Cathy nodded.

"And the trial continues on." I put another handful of bites in my mouth. They were surprisingly tasty.

"Of course, Harlequin's aware of that, so tonight the rules will change again."

"You're sure?"

"Might not be tonight, but it will happen in the next few days." There was no way Harlequin would give us such a huge advantage.

"We must gather lots of cards by then." I allowed myself a few full minutes of indulgence beneath the sapphire sky. Cathy tried to join me. Her tenseness was apparent. From her perspective, things had drastically gone from good to nightmarish. For me, this was one of the few gems of bliss I had experienced in years, so I wanted to cherish it for as long as possible. Soon, the moment was over. Gripping the hilts of the swords, I made a full circle.

From what I could tell, there were three distinct opponents worthy of the blades. There was a good chance that Sebastian would focus on the easy prizes, though there always was a possibility that he might use Marcus to deal with the monsters.

"We start from the top and go down from there." I turned to Cathy. Now that Carl wasn't with us anymore, moving about the ship was a lot faster. It also helped that the undead were isolated to specific rooms. Every now and again there would be a small group wandering throughout the corridors, yet those were more of an annoyance than anything else. One other thing that became obvious was the variety of new symbols on the cabin doors and walls. This was also something new.

In the past, I had seen tattoos and emblems of similar design, but no one had told me their significance. Reaching the door the blades dragged me at, I gave Cathy a sign to get ready. The boredom was over; it was time for an intense fight.

"In there?" she whispered.

"I nodded." I blanked my mind. According to the hints depicted on the posters, we could face anything from an undead abomination to a sea creature.

"Same as last time," I said.

"Distract the boss and I'll deal with the rest. We share the cards." That was a polite way of saying that she'd have to make do with whatever I left behind.

"Here goes." I reached for the cabin door. Before I could, Harlequin's voice boomed throughout the ship.

"A participant has awoken the Blade Serpent," he said.

"The creature guards this highest grade of card—the Grand Arcana."

"Stupid idiot." I cursed beneath my breath. Sebastian had really sent out his lemmings to search for treasure all over the ship. In his stupidity, he had stirred something that should have been left alone until later.

"Each Grand Arcana card holds more power than anything you have seen so far," Harlequin continued.

"More power than you could—at this point—imagine. Obtaining it would provide a considerable advantage over everyone else. Furthermore, obtaining the card will instantly allow you to end the trial and return to the preparation hall."

"What's a Blade Serpent?" Cathy asked.

"Trouble," I replied. The reason Harlequin was focusing on the reward was to trick everyone into thinking that we'd be facing just another monster. That wasn't remotely true. Any monster that held a Grand Arcana card was leagues above anything we could handle, even if we worked together. In the past, participants had spent years gathering cards and weapons before they could think of facing one.

Even with the serpent's abilities diminished, I would have preferred to have a few more Major Arcana cards before setting off to hunt it.

"We must deal with this fast," I opened the door and rushed inside. The room was a private dining hall of some sort. Large tables were covered with expensive tablecloths and shiny silverware. All plates and glasses had golden rims, marking them as reserved for first-class passengers. Unlike the previous fight, the room was well lit, showing who our opponent was.

"Cover your ears!" I shouted. Barely had I done so when a blast of sound shot out from the monster's mouth. The magic sight granted to me by the Magician card let me see the sounds like threads of magic, extending in all directions like an aether net. Bracing myself, I slashed through the threads with both swords. The high-pitched shriek still remained, though it had lost its lethal qualities. If I had delayed even a second longer, we would be caught in the siren's web.

Sea's Minstrel Level: 7 Cards: The Bard, Five of Chains Special: Venom Claws, Sharp Reflexes Weapon: None Gritting my teeth, I leaped onto the table, charging towards the creature. It had the upper half of a naked woman, partially covered with white scales. The lower part of her torso was closer to that of a snake than a fish. Despite that, it allowed for almost supernatural speed and mobility. One thought and flames emerged from my blades. Then I struck. The siren parried with a single hand.

The claws extending from her fingers were as long as daggers and just as hard. Not in the least impressed with the fire, she pushed me back, immediately slashing with her free hand. An arrow flew past my head, only to be evaded by the monster. I also leaped back, though I wasn't as lucky. Her claws had slicked through the flesh of my forearm, stopping at the bone. A biting pain spread through my wound, stronger than anything I had experienced so far. Another shriek filled the air.

This time the aether strands a deep crimson. I wasn't sure what effect they would have, but slashed through them, nonetheless.

"You're special," the siren smiled, her green eyes locking onto me.

"So I'm told." I performed a dual arc slash. Claws blocked blades again, only this time I had forced the siren to use both hands. Using every ounce of strength that I had built up, I pressed forward. It was pointless. Compared to her, I was like a kitten trying to open a door.

"Sing," a deep voice ordered. My hair stood on end. It was too low-pitched to belong to Harlequin, and it definitely hadn't come from the siren herself. In other circumstances, I would have suspected a second invisible boss monster in the room, though if there were, I would have seen it with my magic sight. The siren pushed me back, throwing me all the way to the center of the room. I felt a table break behind me as I hit it. Then, the creature started singing.

It was very different from the destructive shouts from before. These aether strands didn't compose a net, but separate green threads. Siren song, I thought. So, that was what it looked like. I had watched dozens of monsters and people get ensnared and lose all autonomy. One survivor had described it as being in a bubble of bliss: he knew he was controlled and didn't care. I slashed two threads that had come dangerously close, then leaped forward again. I didn't have the time or abilities to deal with all of them.

My hope was that the divine pact that Cathy had would protect her, at least to the point that she wouldn't start shooting at me.

"Shoot the tail!" I shouted, slicing another table in two. Moving both arms back, I prepared to perform another slash attack, then followed up with a power thrust. The deceit succeeded. The siren had preemptively reached out to block the suspected path of the blades, only to have the tip of a sword thrust towards her chest. Reacting at the very last moment, she managed to cross her claws in front of herself, stopping my attack. However, she had made a miscalculation.

Focusing on a single point, the force of the strike had shattered one of her claws. The ten-inch mother-of-pearl nail landed on the floor with a barely audible rattle.

"Seems I'm more special than I thought," I taunted. This was the turning point. From here on, either the mistake would mark her downfall, or I was going to end the trial without a single reward.