Ben, Katagi and I, plus our parties all went back to Einsbrey. Things went pretty well on my end, but given their solemn moods something bad had happened on their ends. I tried getting us to exchange some drops to raise the mood, but it didn't appear to help much.
Umbral Light Gauntlets, Unlock Bonus: +3 ATK, +8 MAG, +10 MDEF, Umbral Blast
Equip Bonus: +10% MDEF, Dark Resist (Lar), Light Resist (Low)
"Barrier Breaker. Gives me a bonus against defensive skills." Ben read out.
"Devouring Slash. A ranged attack good at negating spells." Katagi read out.
Those both sounded like good skills, but the two didn't seem very excited. I really want to hear about what happened, but we agreed to not talk about it until we were with the king.
"Are you sure we can't talk about this now?-"
"Oh I've got something to talk about." Elzabell responded.
"What is it?"
"Your actions in battle. Starting as far back as our team fight against the other heroes, you've just been doing your own thing."
"Like when I was holding off Ben while you fought Katagi?"
"Yes! We saw the Sword hero use a skill that allows him to warp past a melee combatant and attack their support. In what world did you think leaving Maria and I there was a good idea?!"
"I had faith you could win..-"
"Oh don't give me that. You need to consider matchups, not just strength. You were a better matchup against the Sword hero, and we would be a better matchup against the Axe hero, with his lower speed Maria and I could avoid his attacks easier. Or did you not have faith we could hold him off?"
This… wasn't coming out of nowhere. I noticed Elzabell had seemed a bit irritable, but I hadn't known what I had done wrong. Although I was focusing too much on strength. When I lost to Ben I just thought that I needed to get stronger, not that I needed to consider I could just be a bad match for him.
"And in the wave battle, you just ran ahead the moment you got a new skill. What were you thinking there?"
"I got a wide range skill, so I knew I could handle the waves of ghouls."
Maria and Elias now look up as if I said something wrong. Elzabell has a moment of quiet fury, before taking a deep breath. Even if she's calmed down a little, the rage in her voice sends shivers down my spine.
"You knew you could handle it? Then what was 'Everyone jump down after me'?"
Oh shit.
"That wasn't what I meant! I meant that I knew we could handle it. All of us together could handle everything. I just jumped the gun is all." I really did mean that, but at the moment I probably sounded really pathetic.
"Right after Maria had told you to not be reckless?"
Maria looks down as Elzabell says that. Then Elzabell continues.
"I thought it may be entertaining to go along with you while I took a break from alchemy because you seemed smart, and like you believed in others, but I don't see any of that right now. When we get back to the capital, I'm leaving your party."
What? I… I guess I was taking her for granted. She is an incredibly powerful spellcaster, even able to put out attacks greater than my own amplified skills.
Gauntlets of ***** Unlock conditions not met. 18%
"I'm sorry Elzabell."
"I'm not the only one you need to apologize to, and either way, you showed me just how much louder actions speak than words."
Once we got through the gates of Einsbrey, Elzabell went her own direction, while the rest of us went to the castle.
"Elias… Maria… I'm sorry. I'm not sure how else to apologize…"
Maria puts her hand on my shoulder.
"The best way to apologize, and the way I think Elzabell wanted you to apologize, is to put more focus on others."
I sighed.
"You're right. I'll be better." Maria smiled at that.
"Glad to hear it. Shall we head to the castle?" I smiled back.
"Yes."
Ben and Katagi were able to relax a bit, now not having to watch Elzabell chewing me out. Ben's party, Maria, and Elias waited outside while we saw the king. I explained what happened on my side during the wave. Other people wielding Legendary weapons appeared, apparently from other worlds. I told him about Arthur and Robin, and how we agreed to fight the waves together. The king appeared deep in thought, but overall I think he was relieved at how well things turned out.
"Now, Katagi, Ben, what happened in the sky?"
Katagi and Ben explained what had happened in the sky, how Lionhead had set up a game, and how everybody fought the Umbral Titan. When they said that the Gun hero had attacked Lionhead, both the king and I were shocked.
"What? Someone tried that?" I asked.
"What exactly happened?" The King asked.
"Well the attack stopped before it would hit him, then he trapped William and Eve in some kind of pyramid." Ben replied.
"Eve managed to delay their fight by making a bold challenge to him… but I don't think they'll win." Katagi solemnly says.
"So… Robin will die…" I'm in shock. We had only just met, and swore to fight together… but now he's going to die?
The King was hunched over with his hands on his head, thinking hard. As time goes on it looks like he's having a harder time hiding how stressed he was. After a minute he finally spoke up.
"It appears our best option is to play along with Lionhead's games. Of course killing heroes of another world will be both dangerous, and could cause unnecessary deaths, but I imagine there may be some times where you must kill to save yourself."
"Yeah… that was only the first wave and he already tried putting us in a deathmatch against the other heroes." Ben replied.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense." I said. "If he wanted to make the waves some kind of entertainment series, what good would eliminating two worlds on the first episode do?"
"I'm not sure." Katagi responded. "Although… Perhaps he believed one of our groups to be problematic, and was hoping that group would get killed? That or he would have ended it when a legendary hero died to start drama?"
"Wait, which means which again?" I ask.
"He used the word Holy to refer to my weapon, and Legendary to refer to Ben's." Katagi replies.
"So a Holy hero dying means the death of the world… Assuming my Gauntlets are also a Legendary weapon, are the Legendary weapons meant to protect the Holy weapon? Why would the legendary weapons be weaker then?"
King Hersch begins speaking again.
"There's still too many unknowns for us at this stage, and besides, not much has changed other than us knowing that the disaster will repeat itself. Our plan stays the same, which is getting you three as powerful as possible to defend the world."
"Understood your majesty. What shall we do?" Ben asks.
"First, tell me how long we have until the next wave."
All of us check the timer.
"We have three weeks."
"That should be enough time. Ash, your assignment is to go to Gauntland and link to the Dragon Hourglass there. Ben, you go to Saintraxe and do the same."
"There are more Dragon Hourglasses?!" I incredulously shouted.
"There are, and I'm worried there may be waves associated with those Hourglasses as well. All of you linking to this Hourglass confirmed that the first wave is attached to this one, but the others could have Waves as well, and if at least one of you isn't there to fight them, I have no idea what will happen."
"Sir, what will I be doing?" Katagi asks.
"You may go with Ash or Ben to Herald's Bay if you'd like, but I'd like you to stay on the mainland. If all the waves are happening at the same time for whatever reason, or if Ash and Ben can't get back here, I'll need someone at this Hourglass."
Katagi looks down, dejected.
"I understand." He mumbled.
"Does anybody else have any questions?" King Hersch asks?
"No your Majesty." Ben says. I don't say anything.
"Understood. Heroes, do whatever you need to, and Ash, wait at your carriage for a bit."
"Oh, uh sure." I thought he'd want me to leave immediately. After that all of the heroes leave the castle.
"Your Majesty, why keep Katagi here? Wouldn't it be better for him to see the world?" The King's attendant asks.
"He doesn't have good friends to fall back on. If I sent him to another country… until he makes friends, sending him to another country is the same as sending him into a dragon's nest."
"And what of the alchemist?"
"The shadows told me everything I needed to know. In Gauntland, either Ash will convince her to stay, or he loses a valuable ally. It all depends on if he understands why she went with him in the first place."
"Ah I see! Wise as ever my lord."
"Wise as I may be, this isn't a guarantee. It's just a chance… which these days seems to be the best anybody could do. At least until we understand what Lionhead is, we're at his mercy."
I waited at my carriage like King Hersch told me to, and about fifteen minutes later a very stiff looking Elzabell came towards me. Her expression went beyond conveying anger, and was filled with barely restrained fury.
"H-hello?.. Elzabell."
"Hi Ash. APPARENTLY-" Elzabell shouts, turning around before turning back towards me. "-I have to go with you on your next adventure."
"Well… glad to have you on board?"
"Whatever. At least I don't have to stick with you after this. Where are we going?"
"Gauntland."
"GOD D-"
So our journey is looking like about four days west to get to Herald's Bay, then another three days by boat to get to Gauntland. Gauntland is a country sized island almost directly west from Herald's Bay, so that's why the boat there doesn't take much time. For Ben, Saintraxe was east-northeast from Einsbrey, so it was more efficient to go to a village closer to the water on the east side of the continent. Otherwise it would be about two weeks by boat to get there. Getting to Herald's Bay was easy. There weren't any monsters on the road that could challenge us, and we arrived at Herald's Bay right on schedule.
"Woowww~" Both Maria and I said at almost the same time. Herald's Bay was a beautiful looking city. Its houses were mostly made out of wood, in a style that perfectly accentuated it being a city on a coastline. The sidewalks were paved with cement, with smooth round stones kept in it for good aesthetic, with just normal cement for the main road, and throughout the whole city a boardwalk encompassed the entire beach. On top of all of that, there was the great salty scent of the sea! And fish. That smell was less awesome.
"I've always wanted to visit Herald's Bay!" Maria was talking like she was in a dreamlike state.
"It's good we went somewhere you like for once!" I said jokingly.
"I've only read about Herald's Bay before, but I have no idea what to expect for Gauntland!"
"Considering you're the Gauntlet Hero, expect either a warm welcome, or pitchforks and poison." Elias flatly said.
"I heard it was a country that worships the Gauntlet Hero like a god. In my opinion, Elias' summary is correct." Elzabell added.
"Either way, we have to get a boat first."
We looked around for a little while until Elzabell pointed out the sign for travel registrations. We entered the building. It was a pretty nice building, neatly made out of high quality wood, with a deep green carpet that accentuated the floorboards nicely. There was also some party seemingly having an argument. It might seem a little weird, but the party was one guy, and three other women, although I guess my party would look like that too if I picked someone other than Elias. Anyways, the only negative thing I could say about the business itself was we had to wait in line for a while. Once we finally got to the front we talked to the man at the counter. He looked jolly, and had a customer service smile on.
"Hello adventurers! Welcome! What may I do for you?"
"We need a boat to Gauntland as soon as possible." Elzabell takes over negotiations.
"Of course. We've got a transportation galleon setting off in just three days!"
"What's the price?"
"Thirty silver per person!"
We all checked how much money we had. I spent most of my money to unlock as many weapons as I could before the wave, and Elzabell didn't have very much savings. Elias and Maria should have a lot though right? I didn't think they spent very much.
"Nope. I spend my extra money on exotic food when I get the chance." Elias says.
"I spent my money on some medicine and new equipment before the wave. These yoyo's are Magic Steel, with super reinforced threads!"
So we're flat broke. All together we have thirty two silver, enough for one of us, and maybe a meal on arrival. Me going is the best option, but… Elzabell is staring daggers at me, so I should think of something else.
Suddenly the party that was arguing off to the side shouts over to the man behind the counter.
"Alright fine we'll take the fishing boat."
"Understood, I'll book your party a spot!"
"Fishing boat?" I ask.
"Ah yes. It's leaving early in the morning tomorrow, and heading towards Gauntland-"
"Why didn't you tell us about it?!" I ask very calmly.
"W-well, it's a fishing boat, so you won't have rooms, and your only meals will be whatever the fishermen catch for the day. The captain of that boat just wanted a little more cash intake. It's five silver per person, and there's four spots left."
I turn towards my party. "Well I guess we're having fish for breakfast tomorrow."
With twelve silver, we have just enough for dinner, and two rooms for the night. Elias and I are in one room, Maria and Elzabell in the other. It's good me and Elias are alone now, there's a conversation I've been wanting to have with him since Elzabell scolded me several days ago.
"Hey, Elias…"
"Yes?"
"Why did you agree to fight with me at the coliseum?"
Elias averts his gaze a little.
"It's a bit complicated. I'll start with this: you refused to allow the people begging you to join your party. You seeked me out because I wasn't trying to get in a hero's good graces. In other words, you showed me you have good taste in people."
I couldn't help but smile a bit at the compliment.
"But… Why did you decide to travel with me as well?"
Elias' gaze looks further off now.
"There's somebody I want to beat, and I believed I'd be able to surpass him if I stuck with you."
"How is… surpassing him going?"
"I may be able to beat him now, but I don't want to discount his personal growth. Only time will tell."
"I wish you luck."
Elias lets out a chuckle at that. "Thank you. We should get to sleep though, we have to be up early tomorrow morning."
If not for Elzabell all of us would have overslept. According to my Watch gauntlets, it's 5:30 AM, just at the crack of sunrise. Thanks to Katagi I was aware some people were awake at this time, but I never thought I'd be one of the people up at this ungodly hour. The fishing boat was more than happy to take our fare, but still not willing to wait more than fifteen minutes past sunrise for us, but we managed to get to the boat with five minutes to spare. Thank goodness a higher speed stat also means we can run faster. When we got to the boat, the crew and the party we saw the day before were already on the boat. The captain of the crew started speaking.
"Alright adventurers, 'ere are the ground rules of this trip. One! Don't interfere with the crew. Two! Regarding any monsters that attack the ship, if you kill them, they're all yers. Three! No whining about the living conditions my crew lives with every day. Got that?"
There were general mumbles along the lines of 'yes'. It seems the other party was also exhausted as well. The only one who was doing fine in my party was Elzabell. I guess she's used to not getting much sleep?
"Ye' may help yourself to some of our daily catches, but ONLY for eating! Taking a catch off te' ship is prohibited. Also, ye' mae use the kitchen in the steerage if ye' want to cook something fancier than a roasted fish."
The captain didn't have anything else to say, and the seven of us that were still sleepy took the next few hours to rest. There were eight additional rope hammocks, on top of the ones meant for the crew, so we at least had somewhere to sleep at night.
After we had rested up, we went back to the deck, but there wasn't much to do. We watched the crew haul up nets of fish, and Elias decided to join them. To stay busy I joined them too. It was pretty uneventful until around noon, when I heard a crash from the side of the ship. I ran over to check, and saw a fish chewing on the side? It had the scales of a fish, but it was chewing like a shark.
"Ah, we get some o' those every day." The captain tells me, and he loads a mounted harpoon gun.
"Wait, let me handle it." I tell him. The captain hesitantly steps back from the harpoon gun.
I vault over the side of the ship, falling towards the fish-shark.
"Vicious Tiger Piercing Foot IV! Air Strike Rush IV!" I cut through the fish-shark with an axe kick, grabbed it, and used Air Strike Rush to launch myself back onto the ship. Air Strike Rush launches me in a straight line, but the benefit of it is I don't need to kick off of anything to launch myself, so I can use it in cases like this as a double jump. I think this skill could also allow me to do air combos.
+235 exp
What? That's a really high amount of exp for a monster I could kill so easily. Anyway, I landed back on the deck, holding onto most of the fish shark. The head was still stuck in the hull… Overall it was about the size of a shark, but thanks to my strength stat I could still carry it pretty easily.
"Hold on there…" The captain starts. "I didn't feel any magic from that."
"Wait…" The guy in the other party finally talks to me. "Are you one of the heroes?"
"Yes, I'm the Gauntlet Hero."
"Oh! I'm Minato. Pleased to make your acquaintance." A Japanese name? I haven't heard of anyone else in the world with a Japanese name besides Katagi, but I suppose if the weapons summon heroes from Japan, some aspects of their culture would naturally get passed down.
"Right, pleased to make yours too."
Unfortunately he took that as an invitation to talk to me, and the next few hours reeeeaaaaally dragged on.
"What level are you? How do skills work? What's the strongest monster you've beaten? What are your party members like?"
Honestly it was less like a conversation and more like an interrogation. When I tried to shift the conversation away from me, he shifted it right back. Eventually the captain told him to shut up and stop distracting the crew. When he finally left me alone I looked over what I got from the fish-shark.
Razor Grey-Fin Teeth Gauntlets unlocked
Razor Grey-Fin Fin Gauntlets unlocked
Razor Grey-Fin Scale Gauntlets unlocked
Razor Grey-Fin Meat Gauntlets unlocked
Razor Grey-Fin Teeth Gauntlets; Unlock Bonus: +5 ATK
Equip Bonus: +10 ATK, Piercing Damage
Razor Grey-Fin Fin Gauntlets; Unlock Bonus: +2 ATK, +3 SPE
Equip Bonus: Swim Speed Up+, Water Resist (Low), Slashing Damage
Razor Grey-Fin Scale Gauntlets; Unlock Bonus: +4 DEF, +5 MDEF
Equip Bonus: Water Resist (Lar), Wade Speed Up
Razor Grey-Fin meat Gauntlets; Unlock Bonus: Seafood Cooking Bonus
Equip Bonus: Water Resist (Med), Hp Restore (Low)
Now a cooking bonus I'm pretty interested in. I've noticed the unlock time for new gauntlets keeps going down. It's around five hours now, so I was able to unlock the gauntlets before dinnertime. I decided to try just frying some fish, and see how they turned out. The rest of my party were frying fish too. Maria seemed to be trying to copy me, Elzabell was going very heavy on spices, and Elias was… cooking I guess. I put some oil on the pan, and prepared the fish while it heated. Back in my world, I did cook a bit. Nowhere near the levels of a professional chef, just good enough to make myself something edible at home. I only realized about halfway through preparing the fish, but I had only watched a single video on preparing a fish once. Despite that, I was still doing very well. It was like my Gauntlets were guiding my knife hand, helping me cleanly cut the fillet and debone it. Once it was prepped, I added some salt to one side, and placed that side on the pan, salted the other side, then after four minutes flipped it again. Four minutes later, and I had two fried fillets. When everyone was done, we all tried each other's fillets.
First I tried my own. It was pretty good, at about the level of a skilled home cook, which while I may have been a home cook, I was not skilled.
Next I tried Maria's. It should taste about the same as mine, since she followed all the same steps I did, but it didn't quite taste as good. I don't really understand why, since it looked almost exactly the same. Maybe the cooking bonus wasn't just guiding my hand? It could also be directly enhancing the flavor.
Next I tried Elzabell's fillet. It was super good! She added a lot of spices to it, but it complimented the fish perfectly. Even by my standards this was incredibly good. She added enough spices that it didn't taste thin to me, like most of the things in this world do. Though still few enough spices that Maria and Elias could still enjoy it.
Finally, I tried Elias' fillet... except it wasn't a fillet. He never prepared the fish, it looks like he just slapped it on a pan. In order to cook the meat through with the whole fish in there, the scale would be burnt, and it will be really difficult to cook through. I guess the scales aren't meant to be eaten anyway? Either way… it wasn't very good. It was completely unseasoned, and not cooked all the way through.
"What? This is how I normally eat fish." Elias said in his defence. Although he did end up admitting that everyone else's cooking was better. The captain ended up coming to the kitchen area while we were taste testing.
"Smells pretty good. If ye' can, save the bones. I can 'ave the crew cook up a stew for tomorrow night, if ye' want to be involved in the process."
"Sounds good." Elias said.
"Not you. Te' alchemist and te' Gauntlet hero. She's good with spices, and 'e's got a knack for cooking."
"Hell yeah I am." Elzabell proudly responded.
"I don't have a knack for cooking, my Gauntlets are just helping me cook, and enhancing the flavor."
"'At still works. Ye' can leave the cooking to everyone else and bolster the end result. Or ye' could be more involved if yeh like."
"I'll try to watch. If I feel confident I'll join in."
"Sounds good."
The captain went back up above deck, and after we finished eating we all went to sleep in the hammocks for the night.
The next morning, the crew cooked a fish stew for everyone, with me and Elzabell helping. They seemed very happy with the result, and even shared some bread with us. The bread was stale, but it was still good if you held it in the stew to soften. On the ship I was spending a lot of time either cooking, or helping with the fishing, using being busy as an excuse to not have to talk to Minato. There were also a few sea creatures attacking the boat. I killed a few of them, and the captain killed the rest. If it was a smaller creature, he used the harpoon gun, and when a sea serpent attacked he surprised me by taking out a fishing rod, and casting the line around its neck. When he pulled, the hook tore its head off. The serpent had rich green glossy scales, and piercing yellow eyes. Cutting through them clearly took him a lot of effort, but I was shocked he was able to do that at all, especially with just a fishing rod.
"Wha-" I was in shock, and for the first time Minato had finally shut up.
"What are you so surprised for?" The captain asked. "You've noticed the higher exp rates, and I've been doing this for a while."
"Are you… level 100?" I asked. The captain smiled at that question.
"Aye. And with a high enough attack stat, anything can be a weapon."
"Amazing…" Minato quietly said. I hope with this he'll stop bothering me.
All of our thoughts were interrupted, with the empty place where the sea serpent's head was supposed to be started bubbling, before the head regrew.
"My god…" The captain muttered.
"What- what's happening?" I asked.
"Well let's just say I'm glad to 'ave a hero on board for this…"
The water behind the sea serpent's neck erupted, and on it looked like a ship that had sunk under the water a long time ago.
"That creature links itself to the soul of another, preventing either creature from dying, like a candle relighting another candle that goes out. We need to kill that thing, and whatever it attached itself to at the same time." The captain explained.
"Well that shouldn't be too hard, unless whatever it attached itself to is far away."
"It's just that-" The captain started saying, before light erupted from the monster.
" … it buffed its defence." The captain finished. "I can't just 'ake off it's head like before."
"But what about what it's life is attached to?" Minato asked.
"That ones easy. Take a look at the ship."
We both looked. It was piloted by some kind of zombie crew. The only exception being the one at the wheel of the ship. The one at the wheel, presumably the captain, didn't look like a zombie, save the gray skin. His body was completely intact, and if not for the gray skin he would look alive.
"Its life is attached to the one that looks the 'ealthiest. We don't have to worry about the rest of them, they won't get back up if they're killed."
"How do you know so much about this creature?" Minato asks suspiciously.
"I've encountered it before. I'll handle the captain, everyone else, figure out a way to take off its head."
The monster roared at us, and opened its mouth. Inside, it looked like a glowing ball of water getting bigger.
"GO!" The captain shouted. He cast his line and hooked its jaw. He jumped off the ship, and used the monster's mouth to swing onto the boat. Before he landed, he jerked the head right before it would fire the ball of water at us, causing the monster to miss its attack.
"Zweite Lightning Bolt!" Elzabell shot a bolt of lightning at it. The bolt struck the creature, and it writhed under the electricity.
"Ha! It never buffed its magic defence. Let's hit it with all the spells we can!" Elzabell shouted.
"Alright, I'll get onto the ship and fight the crew. I've also got a skill that may be able to take off its head. We'll pincer it?"
"That works." Elzabell shortly responded.
"I can channel some extra magic to you and Elias" Maria said.
"I'll distract the head. My party can lend you some extra Mp" Minato said.
"Alright, once I'm done with the crew, I'll help distract the head until everyone's ready."
"Perfect." Minato said.
Everybody nodded, and in response to that, I jumped off the ship.
"Air Strike Rush!" I called out this skill to make up the distance, and made it onto the sea monster's back. Well, onto the ship on its back. The moment I landed two of the undead immediately rushed at me, swinging their old rusty weapons. They weren't too strong, I was able to deflect their swings and land solid strikes on them, but they were stronger than I expected normal undead to be. Maybe their strength is based on who was killed? I dealt with the two with little difficulty, and made my way up the ship. I saw our captain fighting the captain of the other ship.
"Ye' haven't gotten rusty at all Snapper!"
I looked over to our ship. It looked like our party was about halfway through charging their attack. Several swords and Javelins kept hitting the monster in its eyes, interrupting its attempts to charge more big attacks. Currently the biggest threat our ship faced was the waves this thing was creating, but the crew on our ship was able to handle that. It looked like Minato was conjuring weapons in the air, and launching them at it. The weapons didn't seem to do much damage, but they were still interfering with its focus.
"Zweite Wind Cutter!" I began launching my own attacks at the head, to take more of its focus off our ship. My attacks were going about the same as Minato's, which made me think more of Minato, since its physical defence was buffed.
"Ash! We're almost ready!" Elzabell shouted over to me.
"Captain, can you end the fight soon?" I yell over to him.
"Aye! I've been waiting on you folks!"
"Alright! Let's do this!" I shouted back. Well time to use my daily point reset, though I don't know if this attack has a charging time or not.
"Umbral Blast VIII!"
I put my hands, left over my right, and charged a ball of energy. This was just a Galick Gun…
"Ready?" I shout to everyone.
"Aye!" "Ready!"
"Fire!" I shout.
"Drifa Sunbolt Beam!" Elzabell and Elias shout, firing a yellow beam of light, with electricity coursing around it. At the same time, I fired my Umbral Blast, and we hit opposite sides of its neck.
"The leader's down!" The captain shouted back. Alright, now it's just down to us, hoping we can take it down. Both of our beams pierced all the way through its neck, and collided in the middle causing an explosion. In the aftermath, its head fell off, but stopped before it hit the water. It was still on by a shred? After that Umbral Blast I was low on Sp. Did that skill drain over eighty percent of my Sp?!
"I got it." Minato shouts. He conjured four swords, and spun them into a frisbee of death, throwing it at the last shred of flesh keeping the head on. He cut right through it, ensuring the creature was dead.
All of us held our breath for a few seconds, and finally released it as nothing else happened. The other undead on the ship collapsed, and the undead captain didn't get back up.
The captain took off his hat and bowed to the undead he was fighting.
"Rest in peace Snapper."
I walked over to him.
"You knew him?" I softly asked.
"Ye'. He was my friend."
"He- so this monster…"
"Aye. It attacks crews, and adds the useful ones to its own crew. I was lucky to survive it the first time. I had a couple scares these past few years… doesn't help until you see the rest of its body, it just looks like a normal sea serpent."
That was true. When you could see its whole body, it looked more like the Loch Ness monster, but it you could only see the head, it looks exactly like how I thought a Sea Serpent should look.
"I'm just going to absorb what I can, is that all right?"
"Of course, there's more of this thing than I know what to do with! Ha ha ha!"
I spent a long time absorbing everything I could from this monster. Apparently it was called a Sea Tetherer. I also learned that from giant monsters, or maybe just more powerful monsters, I can get a ton more weapons from them. I get new weapons from even its smaller organs, and even spinal fluid. Kinda gross, I know, but killing this one monster got me over twenty new weapons.
…
Sea Tetherer Heart Gauntlets unlocked
Sea Tetherer Tail Fin Gauntlets unlocked
Sea Tetherer Ship Shell Gauntlets unlocked
Sea Tetherer Series Completed!
All these weapons gave me a ton of water bonuses, to the point I think I could evenly fight some aquatic creatures, while underwater. I got a lot of breath time and swim speed bonuses, as well as a couple buffs I get while being in water. Mainly attack and defence bonuses. I also got a new skill, Location Tether. I have no idea what it does yet, and the captain made a rule about me not being allowed to use skills while on the ship, after seeing what I could do with Umbral Blast. So I'll have to wait to find out.
The next day of sailing was pretty relaxing. Minato had stopped pestering me, so I didn't need to help the crew with fishing to get some peace and quiet. He talked to me once, but it was just to congratulate me on our victory. He gave me more credit than I probably deserved, but I still felt flattered. The morning of the next day, at about nine o'clock, I could see land.
"Land Ho!" The captain shouted.
"Finally." Minato said in a tone indicating impatience, rather than displeasure.
About half an hour later we docked at the city.
"Ye' were the best adventurers we had! Good travels you lot!"
"Thank you!" Maria and I responded, almost in sync. We turned towards each other and giggled. Minato then turned towards me.
"And thank you! We may not have won that fight without you."
"I'm sure you could have won without me. You're pretty strong too."
"Oh your flattery is unneeded sir GAUNTLET HERO!" Minato shouted that last part.
"Ow my ears, why did you shout that-"
"Gauntlet Hero?"
"Did he say that's the Gauntlet Hero?!"
I turned towards the villagers saying that.
"Hey, is it true you're the Gauntlet Hero?" A villager asked me.
"Well yes, but-"
"THE GAUNTLET HERO IS HERE!" The villager immediately turned and shouted that to everyone. A crowd was forming now. They were all cheering, so I don't think they wanted to kill me, but this was now a sticky situation I was in. I turned back towards Minato, but him and his party were gone!
"Ugh seriously. You cause a mess for me then run?" I said quietly to myself.
I turned back to the crowd, and in the time I was turned they had gotten uncomfortably close. People in the crowd had started to grab me.
"Woah hey! Not there! Stop!" I was starting to panic now.
"Have fun!" Elzabell gave me a small wave.
"Wait, we have to help him!" Maria cried out.
"Nah he'll be fine. Don't worry Ash, we'll be right behind you!" Elias called out.
"No! Don't let them take me!" The villagers had now picked me up, and my strength stat didn't matter, as they held me above the ground, carrying me deeper into the town.
"Alert the Nobles! The Gauntlet Hero has finally come back to us!"
A/N: Sorry for the long pause between chapters. Between just completing the first major part of my story, and doing my midterms, my motivation to write died along the way. I think I've got it back now, and I'll be writing longer chapters as well. Another idea I had is between chapters if I get tired of continuing the main story, I can post chapters that include the backstories of minor characters, like our captain here, who while unnamed in this chapter, is named Skipper. Let me know what you think of this idea below!