Trojan: An Epic LitRPG Adventure (Afterlife Online Book 3) Read online

  Kyle: Crab's down. Piece of cake.

  Errol: Cannon's back online.

  Izzy: Hull sealed.

  I gazed at the distant ship. Despite having been hobbled, the Cutter had managed a great distance in a short time. The Blue had circled into position, expecting Errol to stick close to cover, waiting for another lap to attack. Now the ships were no longer engaged. Newly repaired, the Cutter once again enjoyed its full burst of speed.

  Talon: Great! Come back and get me.

  Errol: Aye, aye, ye mad bastard!

  Both mermaids attacked at once. I coolly spun my spear and bashed them away. A deadshot stunned one. I narrowly avoided getting sliced up, though. I reminded myself how awful their poison hurt and that I couldn't use another healing potion today.

  I backed away and safely crossblocked the next attack. I feinted, killed the first, and returned my guard to the other. So far, so good.

  Prince Navoo had a moment of indecision as he watched his support ship go up in flames, but the Deep Blue corrected course and made a bee line for the Cutter. That was the smart play. I was just dead weight.

  Except the prince had eagerly initiated chase believing Errol to be retreating. The Cutter reversed sails and headed back to us. Now both ships sailed straight at each other, full speed ahead in a game of chicken on the open seas.

  I was about to judge Prince Navoo a rash sea captain until he revealed another of the Deep Blue's special weapons. The spiral shell at the fore of the ship wasn't just a gaudy decoration. It began spinning like a power drill. Prince Navoo was intent on taking down the Cutter one way or another.

  Talon: He wants to ram you.

  Errol: The hell he will. I told ya, he's fast, but he can't turn like we can.

  I crossblocked a mermaid and reversed the attack for an easy combo. Two more slashes and she was down. I looted the bodies as the fire spread. By now some of the undine were abandoning ship. Others had definitely noticed my presence. Saving the vessel was a lost cause; killing me wasn't. A large group of crew members converged.

  Stranded and surrounded on all sides, I had no choice but to leap into the fray. I kept their claws away with a well-timed spinshield and pushed ahead. Two seconds later, my only idea was the fire they were so afraid of. I sprinted ahead and vaulted over it and onto the new makeshift mast.

  The pole listed to the side as I connected with it. This was ground zero of the fire bomb. Flames raged around me and licked my boots. I suddenly felt like the subject of a witch trial. I swapped back to the climbing claws and pressed higher. The undine dared not close on me, but the scorched mast was failing fast.

  The two flagships met on the high seas. As Errol had intended, the Cutter jerked to the side at the last second. The vessels sped past each other in close proximity.

  BOOM. BOOM.

  CHOOM, CHOOM, CHOOM.

  They were both going so fast only half their hits connected.

  Heartcutter: 115

  Deep Blue: 515

  A blaze of fiery oil spilled over the wake of the Deep Blue. Kyle had tried to set them alight but missed. Flames washed over the water.

  I leaned on the mast and waved at the Cutter. The ship, damaged as she was, was in prime sailing form. She passed between the wreckage of the support vessels just as my mast gave way. It listed sideways toward the ocean.

  Agility check...

  Pass!

  I planted my boots and ran up the pole's length as it fell. Just as the Cutter passed, I leapt off the edge.

  Fire damage!

  [Undine Support Vessel] is wrecked

  1 wreck awarded

  2000 XP awarded

  I rolled cleanly onto the deck of the Cutter as the pirate crew looted the remains.

  "Got it!" said Errol.

  Our ship glowed faintly. A sheen of blue scales washed over the outer hull.

  Ship Upgrade: Scale Armor

  Armor Level: 30

  "Woo-hoo!" exclaimed the crew, spitting and high-fiving.

  More napkin math. If the 30 armor reduced their cannons to 25 damage a shot, we'd be dead in five shots, or two passes. Meanwhile, we needed 15 shots and—even worse—seven and a half passes to be victorious.

  "It doesn't matter," I said, dejected. "It doesn't matter. We can't beat them with cannons."

  The crew sobered up as the Deep Blue bore straight toward us again. Several pirates were dead. The Cutter was badly damaged. With Prince Navoo dead set on taking this as far as he could, we had very few options.

  "Man the sails," ordered Errol. "If we're goin' down, it'll be with one helluva fight."

  We looped around the burning ship and faced the Blue. Navoo didn't show any signs of slowing. Despite missing with some of his previous shots, he was overeager to end this. I had to play off that.

  I scanned the deck. The heavy harpoon sat abandoned at the ass end of the ship. The hook and chain sure looked menacing, but Errol was right: it wasn't a weapon. Though I wondered...

  "Turn left after the wreckage," I suggested.

  "Which way?"

  "Port! Turn to port. Jeez, do sailors suddenly forget normal directions when they get on a boat?"

  Errol twitched his head. "We ain't runnin', Talon."

  "I know. We're not running."

  The pirate watched me for a long second before nodding. "Aye, then. We'll do it yer way." Errol lifted his telescope to his eye and sneered. "Remember this, Prince Navoo. Ol' Captain Oates an' the Black Hats don't go down easy."

  The Deep Blue sailed at us on a headwind. The drilling shell spun with a menacing whir as we readied our cannons. I ran to the stern of the ship and waited. And waited. And...

  "Now!"

  Errol spun the Cutter's wheel as hard as he could. Kyle and some others lost their footing, but the captain held on and pushed hard to the side.

  Navoo had surely been expecting another last-second maneuver. This one squared our guns to the fore of his ship. Instead of turning and readying his cannons to match ours, he continued rushing forward.

  "Fire!"

  BOOM. BOOM.

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  Heartcutter: 115

  Deep Blue: 445

  Navoo was happy to absorb the damage as he bore closer. Errol attempted to exit the Blue's ramming range. I ignored the danger and manned the harpoon. It launched—not at the threat, but at the wreckage of the salvaged support vessel. The strong chain unwound as the harpoon sailed and clunked into the now armorless hull. I flipped the clamp and the chain locked. The Cutter jerked as we took on dead weight.

  "Catch the headwind!" boomed Errol. "Slacken that sail, ya mangy barnacles!"

  The Deep Blue veered to meet us, maneuver or not. This time, because we had burning wreckage in tow, it was a close one. The Cutter narrowly avoided the drilling shell, which instead caught the harpoon chain in its spinning action. After slipping a couple of times, it finally caught for good.

  Both ships shuddered at the indirect collision. Grug tumbled over the rail, but I dove forward and caught his hand. The pirate was heavier than he looked, and my shoulder was almost dislocated. His crewmates helped me lug him back on deck. The others were still pushing to get the Cutter back up to speed.

  The Blue's drill spun, eating up the chain and pulling both attached vessels toward it. With both ship's sails in the wind, we were a jumbled train barreling toward the first sunken ship's wreckage. Errol twirled the wheel to avoid another collision.

  "Around him," I urged. "Around him."

  The Cutter banked hard to starboard, coming up right beside Prince Navoo's flagship, hull to hull. My heart skipped a beat.

  CHOOM, CHOOM, CHOOM.

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 25 damage to [Heartcutter]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 25 damage to [Heartcutter]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 25 damage to [Heartcutter]

  Heartcutter: 40

  Deep Blue: 445

&nbs
p; We let out a collective sigh as the new armor did what I was hoping. But damn if it wasn't close. Our cannons were still reloading.

  I sped back to the harpoon and unflipped the holding clamp. The winch flew loose and the Cutter jerked forward.

  BOOM. BOOM.

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  Heartcutter: 40

  Deep Blue: 375

  The undine worked double time to reload their starboard cannons as the passing hulls scraped each other. Kyle released crossbow bolts. Small fires exploded on their deck. Izzy took the hint and lobbed our last fire bomb. A merman leapt up, caught it in a net, and tossed it overboard. It exploded uselessly on the waves. Their crew expertly rushed to quench the limited flames.

  I met Prince Navoo's eyes and smiled as the flagships passed. By all accounts, he had us beat. Twice the crew, an army under the waves, and a supervessel with remarkable firepower. The undine prince glared hard as my laughter bellowed, and even a Black Hat pirate or two thought I had finally gone mad.

  Then panic erupted on the Deep Blue as their fore drill pulled their own wrecked support vessel toward them. I hadn't bothered with the smaller fires because the bigger one was my weapon. Navoo's eyes widened in fear.

  "Stop the drill!" he ordered.

  The Cutter passed behind the undine flagship and Errol joined me with boisterous laughter. "Too late fer that, ye overripe shark bait!" He spun his ship in a loop around the Deep Blue, harpoon chain slackening around the enemy. Navoo fired his port cannons on the other side, but we used his support vessel as a shield. The Cutter looped around both hapless vessels as its chain wrapped the burning ship up with the Blue. There was no quenching that fire.

  "No!" cried the prince.

  Raging flames spat embers across the Blue's deck. The azure sail crackled with fire. Many undine, overpowered by their most primal fear, abandoned ship. Slithering back into the cold ocean was second nature for them.

  "No!" commanded Prince Navoo. "Back to your stations!"

  But it was done. I unhitched the harpoon chain completely. The Cutter, no longer under drag, launched away from the scene of destruction. The undine prince screamed from the top of his crow's nest as the fire threatened to consume him.

  Fire Damage!

  Deep Blue: 255

  Without sails and tied to a shipwreck, the Deep Blue couldn't get out of the trap. The fire was too large to stop. All we had to do was wait around until it went down.

  Unfortunately, the undine lord wasn't a complete idiot. The Deep Blue did indeed sink, but under its own power. Prince Navoo started to submerge the flagship back into the ocean where it came from.

  Fire Damage!

  Deep Blue: 125

  As flames scorched the glittering deck of the magnificent undine vessel, it lowered into the sea. Fire sizzled into smoke. Between the puffs filling the air, I caught sight of an angered but alive prince submerging.

  "Damn it!" I yelled. "That was our kill!"

  Errol slapped my back. "Don't take it too hard there, Talon. Ain't never heard o' anyone defeatin' the Blue before. It ain't gonna be as easy as that."

  "You call that easy?!?"

  Kyle aimed his bow in our wake. "Won't he come after us?"

  "Not without his sails, he won't." The captain chuckled. "No worries, boys. We bested the best today. Made the sea's own ship turn tail an' run, we did. We'll get repairs in port an' be ready fer him next time." Errol nodded to each of us. "Ye three did me proud. Fer a bunch o' landlubbers."

  "But we missed out on the XP," I complained.

  Errol crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. "Wait fer it."

  As the seas went quiet, a notification popped up.

  [Deep Blue] has retreated

  3,750 XP awarded

  I blinked wordlessly. The retreat had robbed us of any loot, but as victors we were still awarded ten times the XP of the damage inflicted on the Blue. A familiar-yet-forgotten teal flame surged from my boots to my cowl for the first time in over a month.

  BWOOOOOM!

  You have reached Level 10!

  "Crap," said Izzy. "You beat me."

  I examined her. She was still a level-9 frost mage. By the look on her face, she was just a few hundred XP away from leveling. She moved to the handrail.

  "Any more mermaids out here? What about dolphins?"

  I chuckled as I considered my new attribute point. I'd been sinking so much into agility, I figured I could stand to hit a bit harder. I hadn't enjoyed being manhandled by Navoo. I spent the point on strength and admired my new stats.

  Talon

  Level

  10

  Class

  Explorer

  XP

  76043

  Kit

  Scout

  Next

  113400

  Strength

  18

  Strike

  390

  Agility

  24

  Dodge

  450

  Craft

  6

  Health

  300 / 300

  Essence

  10

  Spirit

  255 / 255

  I had just noticed something missing when a notification popped up.

  Congratulations on hitting level 10!

  As of patch 0.9.26, you are no longer awarded additional skill points past level 9. Future skills now rely on the implemented evolution and overload systems.

  Oh, yeah. That. At first I bemoaned not managing to level up before the last patch, but then I got another notification.

  Congratulations on hitting level 10!

  This milestone awards one cost-free legendary ability, usable once per day, based on your contextual character history and loadout.

  Two options were presented to me.

  Ghost

  Become ethereal to players, NPCs, and mobs for 6 seconds.

  Pathfinder

  Visualize the optimal path through dungeons and hostile environments.

  Whoa, these abilities weren't playing around. They were a sort of superclass representation. Ten levels of hard-fought grinding distilled into a title.

  Ghost was the ultimate traversal move. No matter where I was or how much trouble I was in, I could become incorporeal. Dodge attacks, avoid dangers, and escape threats. It was ridiculously OP save for its limits: a once-per-day use, and only for 6 seconds.

  Pathfinder was the easy button, no doubt due to my scouting ability and previous dungeon-crawling optimizations. I was, after all, an explorer class.

  Still, I frowned. Choosing a custom ability at level 10 was an exciting prospect, but I couldn't help feeling my options were a little... boring. It wasn't that their theming didn't fit. These abilities were no doubt geared toward my class type and play style. The choices just seemed to be lacking something.

  I twiddled my thumbs as I perused my menu, trying to get a cohesive feel for everything I'd built. With the high seas adventure over and nothing but miles of ocean, I had the time. Eventually, I stumbled on the scroll of knife handling Hex had given me. On a lark, I read it, and just like that I had my second weapon skill.

  Knife

  Level 1

  You are versed in the basics of knife combat. This root skill allows you to use knife weapons without being a hindrance, but improvement and specific tactics require further skill point expenditure. Weapon specialization skills may not be higher level than their root.

  None of it mattered a whole lot since I wasn't planning on sinking skill points into the knife tree. I quickly skimmed the upgrade skills without much interest. As I flipped back to the main screen, I was surprised to see a new option populate beneath ghost and pathfinder.

  Assassin

  Auto kill a susceptible opponent.

  An assassin option. Outfitted with deadshot, stealth skills, and a new proficiency with knives, it wasn't a stretch. And what kind of rogue didn't
fantasize about being the ultimate killer, taking out any enemy no matter how elusive?

  It was a tempting thought.

  But was that what all my time in Haven had amounted to? I was a rebel, titanslayer, Protector of Stronghold, and leader of the only player-led faction in the sim. Was I also just a killer?

  It was no doubt a badass title. I had second thoughts about the reality of it. All I could think about was Poe, sitting in our guildhall, drinking our beer, and turning on me for a pile of silver.

  I was more than that, wasn't I?

  Izzy arched a curious eyebrow. "What is it, Talon? Analysis paralysis about your new attribute point?"

  "Something like that." I closed my menu. I could explain the predicament, but she was a few hundred XP from finding out for herself. Why spoil the surprise?

  1290 Dark Wizard

  We stuck out the rest of the voyage in glorious boredom. Most of us cycled below deck to rest and mend our wounds. Five crew members were now dead, leaving us with nine total on the boat.

  The sun was late in the sky as the coastal mists of the north took over. Visibility wasn't reduced too much, but it made for a bleak sight. An otherworldly atmosphere. It was cool, at least, if humid.