Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 8 damage.
You are Bleeding.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 5 damage.
You are Bleeding.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 4 damage.
You are Bleeding.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 0 damage.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 7 damage.
You are Bleeding.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU but you Parry.
Your Parry skill has increased by 1.
Jace pushed down the pain and used his Vanish again. Rolling behind the creature once more, he thrust out twice with the Kraken’s Claw at the ninjen’s back.
YOU Bleed for 9 damage.
You Backstab Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 49 damage plus 54 acid damage.
You Backstab Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 33 damage plus 54 acid damage.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader goes into a Blood Frenzy.
As the creature spun at him, he produced a healing potion from his inventory in his free hand and drank it down.
You use Mild Crimson Potion.
Mild Crimson Potion restores 15 health.
He thought the creature might be down to 25% because of the Blood Frenzy message but he wasn’t sure. Not that it mattered, since the creature was still using its special attack.
Diana Knightly heals YOU for 10 health.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 0 damage.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 7 damage.
You are Bleeding.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 6 damage.
You are Bleeding.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 0 damage.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU for 0 damage.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader bites at YOU but you Dodge.
The bites hurt but Jace stayed focused and used his Vanish/Backstab combination. The potion and healing had helped his health, but he needed to hurry and finish this boss off.
YOU Bleed for 9 damage.
You Backstab Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 37 damage plus 54 acid damage.
You Backstab Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 41 damage plus 54 acid damage.
The Frenzy Leader suddenly began frothing at the mouth and Jace wasn’t sure what he should do, so he used his Evade. The ability had upgraded to Evade II once he hit rank 20 in Dodge. It would now protect him against directed magical or special attacks, but if the thing exploded, it wouldn’t help.
Without warning, the thing launched itself at him with inhuman speed with its mouth wide open, aiming for his head. Jace blurred to his left a moment before the jaws snapped shut on where his head and neck had just been.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader uses Decapitating Bite but you Evade.
Both angry and relieved that he had almost been decapitated, he used his Vanish to slip behind the creature and stab his blades into the ninjen’s back. He wasn’t sure if the special attack would have decapitated him, but it would most likely have done a ton of damage. Probably enough to kill him.
YOU Bleed for 9 damage.
You Backstab Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 39 damage plus 54 acid damage.
You Backstab Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 44 damage plus 54 acid damage.
The thing staggered and turned around towards him, so Jace used his new Lunge ability.
You Lunge at Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader for 97 damage plus 72 acid damage.
Trench Dweller Frenzy Leader dies.
You gain 1200 experience.
Kraken’s Claw had pierced through the armor and into the center of the thing's chest. The ninjen leader looked down at its chest and then its eyes rolled back into its head revealing white. The thing collapsed to his knees and as Jace slid his blade from it, fell face forward onto the deck.
A mighty cheer went up from the pirates who came over and hoisted him onto their shoulders and began carrying him around the deck. He wasn’t sure what else to do, so he let them take him around several times before they ended up in front of Colette.
“Well done, captain.” She smiled. But then the ship lurched, and she slid her cutlass into its sheath. “They’ve let the boat go! To your stations! To your stations!”
She was right. Jace could feel the ship drifting now and he hurried over to the railing. Looking down, there was no sign of the ninjen. With the death of the leader, they’d retreated into the depths. For now, at least.
The eye was moving west with the storm, so they headed east and back into the storm. Jace ran around and looted all the corpses, getting a handful of small pearls from the regular ninjen. He guessed they were worth a few hundred gold and every little bit helped.
The leader yielded a large black pearl that was probably worth several thousand gold. He found the trident he’d disarmed from the boss and was about to give up when he remembered that sharks, and perhaps ninjen, ate almost anything. Taking Kraken’s Claw, he split open the creature’s belly and hoped he wasn’t dirtying the deck for nothing.
Trident of the Trench
Type: Spear
Level: 30
Damage: 42 + 9 (Sharp)
Wt: 6 lb
Special: When held, granted the holder the ability to breathe underwater. When used underwater, this trident can summon a school of fish to confuse your opponent.
Description: Created in the depths of the ocean through dark ninjen rituals, these tridents are given to the Frenzy Leaders of the Leader Cast.
Sabatons of the Dire Boar
Type: Foot Armor
Level: 30
Armor: 12 + 9 (Masterwork) + 9 (Sturdy)
Wt: 6 lb
Special: Grants the ability Charge Attack for 4 mana. If the wearer already has the Charge Attack ability, these boots reduce the cost by 2 mana.
Description: Worn by Lord Fardsquon, a necromancer who loved the hunt, on his last hunting expedition, these boots were created accidentally when Fardsquon was gored just as he cast a spell. The spell pulled the soul of the dire boar into the boots but the tusks still gored the necromancer through the neck.
Helpful Haversack of Holding
Type: Miscellaneous
Level: 1
Wt: 5 lbs
Special: The haversack doubles your carrying capacity and retains all items inside itself, rather than in your actual inventory.
Description: Created by the gnomish wizard Helybeck Berrypitch for her many travels, it was lost at sea when a dragon mistook her airship for a mate. Hellybeck and the Haversack were never seen again.
Note: Cannot be used to hold living creatures.
Helpful Haversack of Holding is a Soulbound item.
Do you wish to permanently bind this item to your character? (Yes or No)
Warning: This action cannot be undone.
Jace grinned like an idiot as he picked up the Haversack. It was a magical bag, capable of holding his inventory inside itself! Because it was soulbound, it would reappear with him. They no longer had to worry about losing their money. They could just put it in the haversack and if he died, it would appear with him.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do anything for the items the girls normally carried with them, like their armor and weapons, but at least their money would be safe. Not to mention his own inventory. If he carried as much as possible, they wouldn’t have to worry about losing things as much.
The ship was only a few minutes from re-entering the storm, so he quickly answered in the affirmative and the haversack was his.
Helpful Haversack of Holding has been bound.
You received Helpful Haversack of Holding.
There didn’t appear to be anything else in the creature’s stomach and he turned his attention to the sabatons and the trident. Both were interesting items. Unfortunately, both items were also level 30. None of them could use them for some time.
He placed them bot
h into the Haversack, along with the other items he’d collected. He looked back at the body and saw that Luna had the leader’s body by the arm and was trying to drag it down below deck.
“What are you doing?” he asked the cat.
Luna glanced up at him but didn’t release her hold on the ninjen. Her voice came through in his mind. “Fish!”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to eat that thing?”
“Big fish!” Her excited voice answered.
He looked towards the front of the ship and saw that they were about to re-enter the storm and he wasn’t tied down. He started towards Colette and Mika up at the wheel and just shook his head at Luna as she resumed pulling the dead body of the leader down below deck.
“Go ahead,” he sent to her. “You earned it.”
He ran up the stairs and grabbed a rope that Mika tossed to him. She smiled at him. “Find good stuff?”
He was about to answer when the ship was suddenly tossed around as the storm closed around them. The fury of the returning storm drowned out his reply.
Chapter 20
It took them nearly two hours for the ship to leave the storm. The girls had retreated down to the captain’s quarters, leaving Jace up top to ride out the storm’s fury. Tied to the mast, it was actually sort of fun. Like a long amusement park ride.
When they finally had calmer seas, Colette checked some charts and told him they were almost a half day off-course. She also informed him that with over a third of the crew dead, it was going to take even longer.
“But that’s not the worst of it, captain,” she said. He noticed that since the fight, all the crew responded to him as captain. Apparently, he’d earned their respect. “The storm’s done us some damage, as well as those blasted ninjen.”
That got his attention. Jace suddenly had visions of the ship sinking and he and the crew floating in the ocean until one by one they were pulled under by ninjen. He shuddered. “How bad is it?”
“The main mast is damaged and I won’t risk full sails until we have it properly looked at,” she said. “That’ll make us even slower and we won’t be able to outrun anything if we catch its fancy. The ship was sluggish in the storm and we could have some damage to the keel. But that would take a dry docks to check. There might be some hull damage too from those ninjen. I don’t think they were just pushing. I think some of them might have been chopping. I can’t be sure and no one is willing to jump into the water and take a look underneath after those ninjen.”
“Will we make it to Nynymmost?” Jace asked, trying to hide his concern.
The first mate looked around at the ship and then leveled her gaze back at Jace. “Maybe. Probably. But it will be slow going. Very slow.”
Jace frowned. He felt like she was working up to something and he was getting impatient. “Do you have a recommendation number one?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Colette smiled broadly. “We could make port at Haddare Reef. It’s a day or a day and a half’s journey with our current speed.”
“Haddare Reef?” Jace raised an eyebrow. He guessed it was an island, but other than that, he’d never heard of the place.
The first mate pointed north west. “It’s the largest of a small chain of islands to the northwest. It’s a pirate city. We can dock there and make repairs, resupply and possibly recruit some new crew members.”
“A pirate city?” he asked. He wasn’t sure about the logic of going into a town of cutthroats when he was a wanted man. Assuming Damian had put out another contract on him, he’d be cut down as soon as he set foot off the ship.
“Yes,” she said. “Old Blackmane runs it. Calls it neutral ground. Pirates who make port operate under a white flag.”
“A white flag? So, what does that mean?” Jace asked.
“It means no piracy or other illicit activities on the island,” she replied. “It’s a safe haven for pirates.” She smirked at him. “And privateers.”
Jace wondered if that included assassinations. Even if it did, would the assassin’s guild abide by it? If not, and an assassin was waiting for him, he might be giving his location away to Damian. And on an island, with a damaged ship, he wouldn’t be fleeing in a hurry.
The alternative wasn’t pleasant either. If the Wyvern’s Tail was as badly damaged as Colette said, then they’re voyage would take longer. That meant they could run into another storm, other pirates or even some sort of sea monster and they’d be in no shape to outrun them or outfight them.
“Fine,” he relented. “Let’s set course for Haddare Reef.”
“Aye-aye, captain,” she said and began barking orders.
Knowing he was no longer needed, Jace stepped back against the railing and finally took a moment to relax. He knew he’d leveled up several times throughout the fight, but he hadn’t had the time to review what that meant. Bringing up his HUD, he looked at his new level.
Swashbuckler: 6
Not bad. But the first few levels were easy, especially when you were killing level 25 monsters and level 30 bosses. Next, he looked through his log to see if he had received any class abilities.
Scrolling through the messages, he finally found what he was looking for. He had gained a new ability at level 5.
Ability gained: Bladed Defense I
Bladed Defense I
Swashbuckler Ability
Description: Swashbucklers are masters of a one handed blade. When using a single weapon, they gain an Armor bonus of their Swashbuckler level.
Jace read over the ability again and smiled. One more way for him to gain Defense. At the moment, at level 6 in Swashbuckler, it was 6 points of armor. That equated to a single point of Defense, but every little bit helped.
He looked at his character sheet. He’d come a long way since starting off in Sinking Springs. Of course, none of his stats had changed and none of the armor he wore now were boosting them.
Brawn: 10
Agility: 10
Hardiness: 10
Intellect: 10
Piety: 10
Personality: 10
He knew that stats were the hardest thing in the game to boost and purposefully so. It gave the racial bonuses more impact over the longer term. He looked at his class list next.
Swashbuckler: 6 (Current)
Fighter: 4
Rogue: 11
Mage: 10
He chuckled to himself as he looked at all of the classes. Jace wasn’t used to seeing so many classes. Because the other races received a 25% experience penalty for each class past the first, few people had more than one premium class and one prestige class. He knew of some people who had an extra prestige class, but it was extremely rare. The sheer amount of experience needed at the higher levels became prohibitive.
Next, he checked his new Swashbuckler skills.
Fencing: 20
Parry: 2
Fencing seemed to increase as long as he was using a single weapon, which he found interesting. And the skill had given him two new abilities, one at rank 10 and another when he’d hit rank 20.
Lunge
Precision Strike
He brought up the description for Precision Strike.
Precision Strike
Fencing: 20
Cost: 8 mana
Duration: 1 minute
Description: You can enter a state of focused concentration where your strikes are so precise, they bypass a creature’s Defense for a short time.
Note: Can only be used when wielding a single weapon.
He wished he would have had time to read the skill description during the fight. Precision Strike would have been great against the frenzy leader. The cost was high for a rank 20 ability, but considering that it bypassed all Defense, it could prove very useful.
Next, Jace reviewed the abilities he’d received from Swashbuckler so far.
Disarm
Panache
Bladed Defense I
The abilities were much better than his normal class abilities, which
was to be expected. But the class really seemed to want him to fight with one weapon. That was the limitation of the prestige class. With great power, came great limitations. Having already seen the other abilities, he examined Disarm.
Disarm
Swashbuckler Ability
Description: A special attack against an opponent’s weapon that causes it to go flying.
Note: This ability cannot function when holding a weapon in your secondary hand and therefore cannot stack with Two-weapon Fighting.
It was like his assassin prestige class. It gave him extra abilities and skills, but he had to only use daggers. At first it had been a hindrance, since normally, a rogue class would be using sabers, since they did the most damage of any one-handed piercing weapon. Gradually, the class abilities allowed him to do more and more damage with daggers to the point where he could out damage most rogues using sabers.
He closed his character sheet and looked at his inventory. He had the haversack now and he needed to take advantage of it. He moved all of his gold and the items he didn’t use all the time to the haversack. When he’d done that, Jace felt a sense of relief that his money and items were safe if something were to happen to him.
With the sailors bustling to get the ship ready to sail, he decided to go below deck to check on the girls. When he arrived, he found Luna sprawled out on the bed and the girls sitting in the two chairs.
“She ate the whole thing!” Mika grinned as he came in.
“The what?” he asked, confused.
“The ninjen,” she replied. “Luna ate it all!”
Jace remembered the ninjen leader the cat had dragged down below deck and looked around. There was no sign of it and luckily no remains of it either. He looked over his familiar, sleeping on the bed and nodded. He was impressed she had been able to eat the entire thing. It made no logical sense how she could do that, but it was a game after all.
Veil Online - Book 3: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 13