Chương 68: No Flesh, Just Bones (3)

As soon as they heard the order from Theo, Maya and Daniel charged into the cabin of the ship, being extra cautious about potential enemies reading their actions and attacking them from out of the blue. Luckily, there were no attacks on their way to the cabin. Theo and Ben had successfully done their job of ensuring that the skeletons that had already reached the deck stayed on the deck. That meant Maya and Daniel could focus solely on eliminating all of the adversaries inside the cabin.

However-"What a pleasant surprise," Maya said as she knelt down to catch her breath.

"I don't see any beasts anywhere." Daniel's face hardened as he scanned the room for beasts. Indeed, there were none. Just an empty cabin with not even any furniture. In short, Maya and Daniel had just entered a colossal wooden box.

"This is good news," Maya said, her voice hoarse. She had just been sick on her own boat, and being thrown into a perilous situation straight after all of the contents inside her stomach had been emptied was not ideal for her.

"Let me catch my breath for a bit." Daniel did just that; he let Maya lean on the wall for a while, pacing back and forth inside this wooden box. There were windows that provided a view of the tranquil, serene sight outside but did not provide any light to the cabin at all. That was being provided by torches on the side of the ship. As his curiosity gradually won over his brain, Daniel's attention was diverted to a door at the side of the cabin.

With his footsteps creating a disconcerting noise that lingered and reverberated around the cabin, he trudged towards the door, flinging it open. Bang!

"Eek!"

"Holy shit," Daniel whispered to himself as a swarm of skeleton pirates greeted his eyes. He reacted reflexively, giving the one nearest to him a superhuman punch right in the ribs, where its heart should have been. Punch! Clang! What ensued was the sound of bones falling freely on the ground, scattering in different directions. Maya shrieked as skeletons with holes for eyes and teeth akin to chalk lumbered towards her with a sword in their dominant hand and a glare that was impossible to turn away from.

However, Daniel was quick on his feet to save his sister. Clang! Clang! Clang!

"It's OK," he said in a calm, composed voice, trying to reassure Maya.

"I've got it from here." Clang! Clang! Clang! Daniel's main skill was something called the Human Shield, which was a skill that prohibited any attacks from hitting him or even making contact with any part of his body. It was simply an invisible barrier that stopped anything, apart from air, from reaching his body. That meant the skeletons could not land a single blow on his body. With the skill active, it was impossible to injure Daniel.

And since the skill was at the advanced level, it was practically impossible for the skeletons to break through the shield and injure him, meaning Daniel could just stand squarely in the middle of the swarm of adversaries and endure the torrent of sword strikes unleashed by the enemy.

"It's futile," he said, although he knew the skeletons couldn't talk; after all, since they were just a collection of bones put together like building blocks forming a tall building, they had no vocal cords. They couldn't even move their jaws, which were fixed in an awkward position, and after pairing that with their teeth, this gave them something akin to a gruesome permanent scowl.

"Just give up. You're not getting through my shield. You'll all meet your end today." With the skill still active, Daniel charged into the massive horde of enemies like a battering ram, throwing punches in all directions. Some of the skeletons were unfortunate enough to crash into the walls, which caused their bones to crack and shatter like broken glass. It left white powder which fell onto the ground like snow.

Other skeletons, which had only suffered minimal damage from Daniel's monster punches, got back up on their feet, seeming poised to attack Daniel again. However, since Daniel had a working brain, his fun didn't stop there, and the ones that had only been weakened were beaten to a pulp. Punch! Punch! Punch! Daniel was having too much fun. This was all in a day's work for a Hopper. Hoppers kill beasts for fun and earn truckloads of money from mana crystals.

They basically earn money from sending wild beasts to the afterlife. And that was exactly what Daniel was doing. This was certainly an auspicious start. Punch! Punch! Punch! Clang! Clang! Clang! It was a massacre, yet not a massacre. It was, in a sense, because there were a myriad of dead bodies sprawled on the floor, motionless, but it wasn't because there was no blood shed; all of the dead bodies were just bones scattered around the cabin.

Daniel's t-shirt was free from any indelible blood stains, and the cabin was free from any indelible blood marks.

"This is the best type of massacre I can imagine," Daniel said once the remnants of the whole swarm was just a massive pile of bones.

"No blood, no tears, just bones." He chuckled to himself.

"Anyone sensitive to blood can surely take this. That should be a given." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out an advanced-level mana crystal. With an unwavering stance, he swallowed the crystal, disengaged his human shield and activated his recovery skill. And after shutting the door at the far end of the cabin, Daniel walked towards Maya, his footsteps creating an unsettling echo in the room.

"Are you done?" Maya asked, sitting down on the wooden floor and staring intently at the spectacle in front of her.

"Is that all? Shall we go and help Theo and Ben now?" However, Daniel simply laughed heartily.

"Do you really think that's all of them?" he retorted.

"At most, that horde consisted of around fifteen to twenty beasts. We have to defeat 125 of them. Don't get too cocky yet. The real fight is yet to begin." He then turned and walked towards the cabin door, catching a glimpse of Theo and Ben's fight in the still night sky. They were mere silhouettes in the distance, but every move was visible, efficient and refined. Skulls flew into the air sporadically, whilst ribcages were severed and smaller bones were pulverised.

"They're doing well," Daniel said to himself.

"They should be able to hold on for now."

"What did you say?" Instinctively, Daniel turned his head to face Maya.

"Nothing. Are you ready to fight yet?"

"Give me ten more minutes. I want to truly make sure I won't get sick again before I start fighting. You know, it can affect my moves and my footwork…" Maya's words trailed off, and Daniel's head fell into his hands.

"OK. Don't get too complacent, though. Think of it as your mental enemy, something that your brain has to defeat, like The Leak. If you get too complacent, you'll lose your will to fight. The only reason I'm giving you a break like this is because you have seasickness, but I can't give you a break that is too long. I'm opening the door now, which will release more beasts." Maya, her face devoid of its usual colour, nodded weakly and gave Daniel a trembling thumbs-up.

She knew deep down that her staunch brother was supportive and always there for her, although she didn't appreciate him repeating what she had said on the desert island to Ben about complacency being an enemy like The Leak. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. It made her feel like a hypocrite, delivering all of those inspirational words yet sitting there in silence, getting too complacent and unwilling to fight.

Naturally, Daniel was someone she revered deeply, just like how Robert revered Cayman. And realising that Daniel was covering for her while she recovered from her injury just made Maya respect Daniel even more. And sometimes, Daniel would make funny retorts out of the blue that would lightly mock her, brightening Maya's mood whenever she was down. This was a true relationship between siblings. Crack!

In an instant, at least another twenty mana skeletons escaped from the area behind the door with swords in hand and teeth bared. Nevertheless, Daniel didn't falter; he quickly activated his human shield and charged towards his adversaries at full speed just like he did with the previous mob. Punch! Punch! Punch! In an instant, several skeletons fell victim to the mini-massacre inside the cabin, and bones went flying everywhere.

Daniel's punch was so strong that one of the skulls went flying through the roof, creating a roughly circular hole in the ceiling and landing outside the ship. Still, he didn't pay attention to it. There were so many swords just lying casually on the ground, unclaimed. Daniel grabbed the sword that was nearest to him and held it tightly in his right hand.

"I can also fight with a sword," Daniel said, his voice laced with conceit. He began swinging his sword, trying to flaunt his ineptitude at wielding it. Some of the skeletons were unfazed and continued running, bursting out of the door and running onto the deck. By then, those skeletons would be Theo and Ben's business, not Daniel's. Slash! Slash! Slash!

The skeletons that remained in the cabin had to suffer from the wrath of Daniel's basic sword moves which he had acquired from watching Cayman defeat beasts during training. HIs footwork was poor, his stance was poor and his forearm ached after a while, but at least his moves had gotten the job done. Once the rest of the skeletons were down, Daniel picked up another sword from the floor and threw the two swords in the air. He caught them swiftly once they were near his arm.

"OK, I think I can fight now," he heard Maya saying in the distance, causing him to avert his gaze from the massacre to Maya. Although she still had a pale face, everything else about her manifested an aura of confidence and unwavering determination.

"Pick up two swords," Daniel said, pointing to the myriad of swords on the floor.

"It's time to fight." As soon as Maya picked up the two swords that were closest to her, another mob of skeletons charged out from the door, bursting into the cabin. Once they reached the cabin, the huge mob split, with one group rushing out onto the deck and the other half remaining inside the cabin. The skeletons sneered at Daniel at Maya, both of whom remained steadfast and obstinate.

"Charge!!!" Daniel bellowed, prompting Maya to rush into the mob. Slash! Slash! Slash! Once Maya was in the thick of all the action, the skeleton nearest to her was brutally cleaved in two, with the top half lifelessly falling on the floor and collapsing into a pile of bones like a tumbling house of cards. The bottom half, seemingly astounded and unaware of what had just happened, was rooted to the spot, amazed. Daniel discreetly displayed a wry smile on his face upon seeing Maya recklessly charge into the horde.

"Well, I guess I have to play my part as well." He teleported to the middle of all the action and unleashed a barrage of sword strikes at the skeletons, tearing apart bones and slashing skulls like slicing scallops on the chopping board. Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!!! Daniel wanted to let out maniacal laughter at that point, but he knew that it would only present him as the villain in this scenario with a wicked desire to tear apart every human in the vicinity.

The last time he had heard maniacal laughter was back when he was at The Leak's facility, where some kid wearing a strange mask was laughing wickedly after forcing him to become a skill user. He'd had some thoughts about who the kid could be, and he didn't want to think about it… Slash! Slash! Slash! The slashes of the two swords brought Daniel back to reality. Without realising it, the skeletons he had been facing were all cleaved, looking nothing like human skeletons.

Skulls had holes in them, ribcages were unrecognisable and some large bones were scratched and partially torn.

"I did that…" Once his mind had fully processed the situation and brought him back to reality, Daniel looked up, catching a brief glimpse of Maya effortlessly slashing mana beasts with renewed vigour. She really was a queen; her golden crown shimmered in the torch-lit cabin, and her long dark hair, which shone and seemed to emanate its own light, fluttered and danced just as effortlessly behind her whenever she moved. Daniel couldn't help but smile.

But he couldn't smile for long, however, because there were more skeletons on the loose, charging straight towards him.

"Oh come on!" he shouted, his mood suddenly turning sour.

"This is seriously overkill. You can have fun defeating these things, but defeating too many is a strenuous ordeal. This has to be more than 125!" Nevertheless, he continued slashing, thrusting his sword into his opponents' bones. Although he was having fun, once you add one more beast, the satisfaction obtained from defeating the beast decreases, and the boredom and monotony of defeating too many beasts increases. And now, Daniel believed that this was overkill. Slash! Slash! Slash!

"Give me a break!" he bellowed as he recklessly charged into the group of skeletons.

"I've had enough already!" Slash! Slash! Slash! Maya, on the other hand, was holding up well. She had just entered the fight, feeling rejuvenated; that break had instilled vitality into her system, providing her with enough energy to fight and defeat some beasts. Slash! Slash! Slash!

Despite starting off with the worst main skill, Maya didn't care, since the skills that she had acquired over the weeks made up for it; with the new speed skill she had gained from learning skill creation, she was able to unleash thousands of strikes in mere seconds without feeling tired, chopping up the bones like they were vegetables ready to be placed on the pan. This was too easy. How could it not be?

Those skeletons were at the advanced level, Maya was at the advanced level and all of her skills were at the advanced level. Therefore, this was nothing special for her. With this renewed confidence and strength, Maya was certain that she had just defeated at least ten beasts. She didn't sweat nor did she falter; she stayed strong and courageous when she fought.

"Give me a break! I've had enough already!" Maya could hear Daniel shouting incessantly in the distance as he charged into a group of skeletons with his invisible human shield active. He was already fed up, it seemed. After all, he had to cover for her when she was recovering from her sickness bug. Some of the skeletons that Daniel had lazily left out scampered away, running wildly towards the deck.

Maya, whose attention wasn't focused on those skeletons, just let them do their thing, leaving Theo and Ben to deal with them. Soon, however, Maya could understand why Daniel had been pleading for a brief moment's respite. In the distance, where the door was, another horde of skeletons emerged, holding the same swords and showing the same sneer and bared teeth as the other skeletons. This was becoming a monotonous job, something tantamount to continuously driving several hours down the same highway.

The skeletons had no unique features; every skeleton was the same. And they were all emerging from the same door. Daniel had mentioned that they had to defeat 125 skeletons, and that was also what the system message said. So why on earth were there still beasts emerging from the door? This had to be more than 125 now, considering the fact that Theo, Ben and Robert were also playing their part.

"This is getting tiring," Maya wailed.

"I'm slashing and slashing but they keep coming out of that door! I feel like I'm in the middle of a time loop!" Was there a way to break this 'time loop'? Were all of her movements and actions all perpetual?

"Someone help me," Maya said as her crown slowly began to fall off her head.

"Save me from this madness." Suddenly, the door burst open. In Maya's mind, she believed that another horde of skeletons had just exited the cabin and were running to torment Theo and Ben. However, it was actually Theo and Ben who were running into the cabin, looking for more skeletons to torment.

"Oh my gosh," Maya whispered.

"They're here."

"Go! Go and get the skeletons!" Theo boomed.

"Don't stop until they're all down!"

"That's easier said than done!" Ben shouted back.

"There are so many bones on the floor, I feel like I'm gonna trip over!"

"Don't say it aloud, you idiot! If you think you're gonna trip over, you really are gonna trip over! Just think about the mission! Think about defeating the mana beasts in front of you!" Clop, clop, clop, clop, clop. Slash! Slash! Slash! With a few more helping hands, the situation became more bearable. Maya wasn't confined to just defeating skeletons in the cabin, and nor was Daniel. Their suffering was partially relieved.

Theo unleashed a deluge of punches effortlessly in just seconds, causing the skeletons to disintegrate and spew out bones in all different directions. Ben's sword moves were refined despite his ineptitude, slashing through bones and leaving skeletons cleaved on the ground, motionless. The pile of bones continued to grow, accumulating like snow on the ground. Daniel, who had been complaining, rejoined the fight, charging into enemy lines and wiping out any opponent in his tracks.

That signalled for Maya to also rejoin the fight and contribute to help her friends; that way, the mission could be completed quicker.

"I will end all of you right here, right now!!!" Ben bellowed, making the whole cabin know of his presence.

"Whatever he said!" Daniel shouted with his newfound vigour and vitality.

"I'll chop you all into bits!" Slash! Slash! Slash! Finally, after what felt like years of being trapped in this never-ending 'time loop', all the skeletons were on the ground, contributing to an overly massive pile of bones that consisted of skulls, ribcages and bones found on arms, legs, fingers and toes. There were no more active skeletons in the cabin. Maya believed that more skeletons would come rushing out into the cabin because that was what experience had taught her.

However, after a while, no skeletons escaped into the cabin.

"They're all gone," Ben said, panting but still clutching onto a sword in his right hand. His left hand had a cut which was spilling out blood like a mini fountain; his left fingers were littered with blood trails, making it look like a Halloween decoration.

"It seems so," Daniel added.

"I think we've defeated them all."

"Wait, where's Robert?" Theo was the one who answered Maya's question.

"He's still on the deck defeating skeletons. He'll be fine, though, since he basically has the same main skill as Danny boy here." Daniel's face hardened when Theo mentioned 'Danny boy'.

"I'm curious though," Theo continued.

"I like discovering new things. I want to know what the hell is down there and why so many skeletons emerged from here. My brain keeps telling me that we've defeated more than 125 skeletons." Everyone nodded; they all affirmed that they had defeated more than 125 beasts.

"Shall we go down there then?" Theo asked the group.

"Yes." Once Theo got the response he desired, he turned around and started walking towards the door. Ben, Maya and Daniel followed suit, following him into the deep dark abyss beyond the enemy ship's cabin.