Chapter 1800 – Apex Raiding 2 – The Graveyard of Ships

Behind them was that empty encampment and even larger camp of refugees that had been abandoned. Before them was the shrine to the Hellboar. The NPC still sat where they had defeated it. Romulus beheld it with a questioning gaze. “A creature alive yet not,” the Apex stated.

It did not take an expert at video games to realize that the Hellboar was not properly alive. For one, it had not reacted to their arrival at all. For two, it was locked in an idle animation. Every 12 seconds, on the dot, it bobbed its head just to show that it could move, then resumed being still. The rune arc on its back occasionally flared with infernal energy.

“You get used to them.” John gestured offhandedly towards the path forwards: a bridge made from various shipwrecks towards a graveyard of larger vessels beneath the steep cliffs. “Now, before we get to the actual fighting, I need you to do something for me.”

“More conditions?” Romulus asked.

“Just testing,” the Gamer assured. “Could you strike that stone for me? With some kind of large area magic, optimally.”

John pointed towards the gargantuan sealing stone that they had fought the second boss on top off. The tusked monument had a rough resemblance to the boar behind them.

Without further questions, Romulus obliged. Drawing his fist back, he gathered an awe-inspiring amount of literal fire power, then launched it as a cone.

John did a quick Magus Step into the outskirts of that area. Flames flickered over his suit. He had expected Romulus to stop instantly upon realizing the Gamer had entered the area of attack. An underestimation of the intelligence of the Apex, he had to admit to himself. Romulus must have understood that he was taking damage deliberately. Or, rather, not taking damage deliberately.

The attack ebbed away naturally, leaving John unharmed. “Alright, sorry for not stating my intentions clearly. It could have muddled the experiment.” John walked back to the rest of the party as he talked. “It seems Gaia has seen fit to extend the Friendly Fire clause to you for this Raid. In other words, you won’t hit the rest of us with strays when you attack.”

“That eases my mind,” Romulus admitted.

Sol mockingly blew air out of her nose. “Means we won’t blow you up while your defenses are still offline.”

The comment made John stop. Luna pinched the bridge of her nose. “…Sometimes I wonder, Sol, if your brain has been fried to completion by your Faith.”

“What do you want to say, Luna?”

“I just said it, but I can be clearer about it. You’re a moron.”

“And you’re a coward.”

“I’m the reason we are still alive after ten millennia of your idiocy!”

The two celestial goddesses walked up towards each other, glaring at each other. Armoured in gold and covered in silver dress, the curvy and skinny women were opposites in so many ways. They were unified in melting when Romulus’ large hands landed on their shoulders. “Peace, my loves. We intended to tell him anyhow.”

“I suppose you learned from the Grim Reaper?” John theorized.

“No, that one does not share secrets unnecessarily,” Romulus denied. “It was the Rat.”

That was… confusing. Not that the Horned Rat knew, that was really easy to track from Norahnon to him. Rather, what interest would the Horned Rat have in telling Romulus about a weakness in the person he was raising to be the foil to Romulus? “Why?” he asked out loud, looking to Luna for help.

“We had hoped you would have answers to that. If you do not, then this is another mystery of Muris’ behaviour.”

John was trying to puzzle it out. He arrived at an answer, but it did not make sense. It should have been obvious to the Horned Rat that Romulus would not act on that knowledge. It should have also been obvious to the Horned Rat that Romulus would share this with John eventually. The honest nature of the Apex was well known. It was one of the reasons why so much of his realm had held together despite his long inactivity. Everyone wanted to be governed by a trustworthy king.

Sharing things in secret with Romulus would not have ingratiated the Rat. Plus, their relationship was already strained. In that case, the logical conclusion was that the Horned Rat wanted to send a signal that ‘your secrets are not safe with me’. Why would he do that? John had learned that lesson before. Giving another schemer secrets was like giving the unstable neighbour a loaded gun. Unlike the unstable neighbour, Richard must have had a bigger plan in mind.

But what was it?

‘Is he just trying to get me to dislike him?’ John joked to himself, then shook his head. “Yeah, I can’t work this out either.”

“Then we won’t dwell on it further.” Romulus turned his attention to something else next: the floor. Squatting down, he took a fistful of the black sand that marked the arena of the Hellboar. A second fire spell enveloped his fist in blue hot flames. When he opened it again, the same sand fell to the ground. “Indestructible, as you said.”

“Most of the time. Occasionally, there’s some exploiting you can do.” He gestured forwards. “In any case, we can begin now if you wish to.”

Romulus lost no further time. Sol and Luna by his side, he made his way to the bridge of ship corpses. A proper bridge, it could not be called. In typical game design convenience, the various mashed together pieces created a continuous corridor. Wood and metal walls were interlocked, scarcely any gap between them. Building styles ranged from Chinese exploration vessels all the way to modern military ships.

‘I wonder what the narrative storytelling here is.’ A pondering that was interrupted when they turned a corner and faced a short staircase. It led up to a ship deck. “Doubtlessly our first mob encounter.”

“I request you let me fight alone.” Romulus reached into a private spatial pocket. “I wish to experience the promised difficulty. Don’t intervene unless Luna tells you to.”

“Why does Luna get that privilege?” Sol pouted.

“You always get offended when I take so much as a stray hit.”

“And what woman would blame me?”

Romulus’ hand returned with a spear in his hand. A glaive, to be more specific, with a shaft fashioned from a light, reddish brown wood. The tip was a curved sword forged from a purple crystal, decorated with a light blue trim. A low hum when it moved hinted at gravitation magic.

The Apex stepped out into the deck alone. Immediately, he was beset by three Skinwalkers. The enemies tore out of their invisibility, revealing their bipedal, inhuman forms. Coral-esque rib cages covered the surface of their chests. All of a human skeleton was copied in one way or another, but for an undead that mimicry was too thick. Arms and legs were muscular, the neck a broad weave of fibres holding up a misshapen skull. Tendrils spread out from the backs of the monsters like animated spiderwebs.

The Skinwalkers in the previous segment of the Raid had been level 650. These new variants before him were at level 750. A boost that certainly exceeded the 25 level jump usually experienced between Raid segments.

Skinwalkers were tall, but even they stood shorter than the Apex’s frame. While they charged and leapt, Romulus pulled his shoulders back. A pulse of supernatural might went through his muscles, bulking their size for a split second before they settled again. Just the flexing of his power caused the air to move like a tornado was rolling through.

Then, he began to move.

Wielding the glaive with one hand, he whirled around. The weapon bent, the heavy head testing the tensile strength of the shaft. It made impact with one of the Skinwalkers, cutting halfway through the torso. A short moment of surprise on Romulus’ face turned into a pleased smile. His lips parted in a mighty roar, like a mountain declaring its presence. The edge of the glaive cut through the spinal column of the monster, bisecting it completely.

The other two Skinwalkers were almost upon Romulus now. His offhand grabbed one by the skull. The creature let out a gargle of shock and horror, before a cataclysmic lance of lightning ripped through its head and into the body of the adjacent enemy. Both spasmed, their tendrils failing to deliver punishment.

Magical lightning continued to scream, a sound natural electricity would have never made. Romulus confirmed the death of the first enemy with a sideway glance. Elegantly, his weapon glided down between his fingers, until he tightened his grip beneath the blade again.

The stab was like a cannonball. Concentrated gravitational might added so much mass to it that the puncture became a blast. Raw kinetic energy turned the intestines of the Skinwalker into a fine mist. The roiling seas past the edge of the ship deck parted from the excess force. The monster turned into crumbling ash and dust.

Without losing a single moment, Romulus twisted his whole body around. The still spasming Skinwalker was whirled around with overwhelming force, then met the immovable ship deck. ‘Like a ripe melon getting dropped from the rooftop,’ John thought, as the skull exploded on impact.

From beginning to end, Romulus had taken seven seconds to eliminate three enemies in John’s level range. A controlled exhale was the sole sign of exhaustion he showed. Magic ebbed out from around him.

‘Right now, without Particle Skin, he could eliminate me in two or three strikes,’ it dawned on John. ‘Yet, I am calm… It’s like standing next to a roaring stream. Death is a certainty if it changes by just a bit and yet… what use is there to worry about it? I get how the watchers in the arena feel now.’

“Their aggression makes them easy targets.” The pommel of Romulus’ weapon met the wooden ship deck with a hollow ‘thud’. “I could not kill you with such ease.”

John did not comment on his thoughts having been guessed. “Well, these kinds of mobs mostly exist to pad out the content between bosses.”

“I greatly anticipate a boss, then,” Romulus declared. “Let us continue!”

With infectious enthusiasm, the Apex took the lead.