Athelei was astonished by the unexpected turn of events. Just when he thought that they would lose their ship, Apple stepped up his game.
"Rank 2 Evolver..." One of the Adventurers gulped, "Captain Apple is a Strengthened!"
If Dictators had Tangible Wills that could affect their surroundings like liquid, Evolvers at Rank 2 were beyond what any normal human could do with just their bodies.
Of the three classes, only Evolvers had their own titles with each Rank.
=o=o=o=o=
Rank 0: Infancy
Rank 1: the Standard
Rank 2: the Strengthened
=o=o=o=o=
Don't let the word, standard, fool you. The 'Standard' for Evolvers is the peak of human capabilities.
On our little Earth, they're Olympic athletes or World Record holders.
The temperature on Apple's ship had risen to about 313 kelvin. It was hot on the bloodied floorboards despite the cold northern night. And it was all coming from the body of one Rank 2 Evolver.
"You... will NOT BREAK MY BOAT!" Apple let out an earth-shaking battle cry.
The silver starwhale had already risen out of the waters. It was at least thrice the size of a blue whale and it loomed over the fishing boat.
Now, its non-mutated counterparts were just about the size of a cachalot. This silver starwhale was even larger than Apple had expected. It was like a king of its kind.
And that gigantic sea beast was now going to slam itself onto his own ship.
"RRRAAHHHH!"
Apple let out a bloodthirsty fist. The wooden boards beneath his feet snapped as he sprung onto the silver starwhale.
A shockwave flung Athelei off his feet and into the sea. The other Adventurers had to hang on for dear life, not fancying their chances in the sea with other starwhales nearby. Especially the ones with broken bones.
Jo, the brown-haired Adventurer whose gut feeling had been warning him of danger felt relief.
It was relief born from knowing what felt so wrong to him.
He yelled, "Artists! Gust!" as he took to the helm. He was desperate to leave for more reasons than one.
Athelei climbed back on board with difficulty. The sea was rough due to the fight between Apple and the silver starwhale. The boat kept rocking dangerously back and forth. The harpoons that the Adventurers had been using kept sliding precariously across the bloody deck.
When Athelei finally managed to return to his front-row seat, he was in awe.
'I totally thought Apple was only Rank 1... Good Libra, so this is a fisherman. Apple seems to be the opposite of Irene.' Athelei chuckled as he documented this experience in his mind.
This was a prime example of a short article he had stumbled upon on the Information Network. That article spoke of talented people remaining concealed.
Apple's fists were similar to that powerful city-destroying Nightwalker who fought in Aren City. It just lacked the flames and the blazing Tangible Will.
The bald man hammered ceaselessly onto the silver starwhale. His bleeding fists were stained in his blood and the beast's blubber as well. The silver starwhale had thus missed its initial target and was now thrashing in the sea. And then harpoons had found themselves deep in its flesh.
The bearer of the ropes that pulled on those harpoons was Apple himself.
Shockwave after shockwave caused the surrounding waters to spray onto the boat the Adventurers were in. Unfortunately, Apple's punches were minuscule when compared to the sheer gargantuan size of the silver starwhale. Three times the size of a blue whale was absolutely ginormous.
But then the suppressed silver starwhale suddenly made a deep, bone-rattling sound. Athelei felt his fog-body nearly liquefy with the auditory dissonance caused by it.
PSSSH!
Another pillar of silvery water pierced the night sky.
Apple froze, and so did the Adventurers on his ship.
There was another silver starwhale. Another mutant beast. And it was just a good few dozen metres away from them.
Apple, who had been utilizing his strength to kick off of the surface of the water, suddenly sank in his stunned state.
More silvery water pillars sprouted vibrantly in the dark night. They populated the distance and seemed to have mixed themselves with the other starwhales in the sea.
Athelei choked. 'It's a whole herd of mutants... That small mental suggestion should indeed be the cause of all this...'
But when all hope seemed to be lost with the appearing mutant sea beasts, there came an army of lights. The Adventurers and fishermen came to hunt and now they had finally arrived.
Seeing this imbued the Adventurers on Apple's ship with newfound energy. The idea that they were not alone in the dark sea of stars did wonders for their morale.
"Hunt! Hunt! Hunt!" They chanted despite their injuries, and a volley of harpoons came shooting towards the silver starwhale that had threatened them just moments before.
Their previous terror had turned into bloodlust and greed. They abandoned their thoughts to flee and rabidly joined Apple in his fight. Many of the nearby starwhales were also getting riled up, but the other fishing boats had them in their crosshairs.
Athelei flung a harpoon of his own and it dug into the silver starwhale's head. He pulled with all his might and Will, tearing off a huge chunk of flesh. The special harpoon always opened up once it was inside the starwhales.
Iron blades bloomed like flowers when fuelled by their wielders, and it was a gruesome sight to behold.
Ssshraak!
Athelei caught the huge chunk of starwhale and dislodged his harpoon. He once again took aim.
Starwhale blood soaked the sea as the silver light of the silver starwhale's marks and skin began to dim. Its skin and star marks lost their lustre with each chunk of flesh that was torn from it.
A flash of silver light caught Athelei's eye and Apple's familiar command came right after.
"Dictators!"
The Adventurers responded in turn.
"Heave!"
"Ho!"
The silver starwhale moaned as its pearl was plundered. And with a low, resonating note, the light of its life was snuffed out. Gallons upon gallons of its blood had already been spilt, and now its torment had ended.
"Success!" The Adventurers all collectively cheered.
Apple returned to his boat with a thud and he caught his breath. On his face though, was a hearty grin.
"Lads! Are you up for more?" He asked despite his tired body.
"More!" The Adventurers yelled in reply. Adrenaline was still flowing through their veins.
The sound of potions being chugged all occurred at the same time. If they had not been sure they could earn their money back, they never would've drunk these special concoctions. But seeing the head-sized silver pearl lying on the deck of their ship, they were sure to profit.
"More!" They yelled again.
Athelei had yelled with them as he wiped the blood off of his face. He was loving the exhilaration that coursed through him with each completed hunt.
The ends of the starwhales were brutal and tragic, but to Athelei... that's what made it beautiful. It tugged on his heartstrings as he mourned for their species. At the same time though, he would sigh in his mind, 'What kind of karma would fall upon us bloodthirsty humans, I wonder? I would love to see it.'
Aside from Athelei's weird outlook on things, perhaps the only Adventurer who had a foul mood was Jo.
"Wasteful." He muttered under his breath. His knuckles were white as he clenched his fists.
"So incredibly wasteful. Merciless bastards."
.
.
.
When the sun had finally begun to rise once more, Athelei, Apple, Jo, and the rest of the Adventurers all made it back to Avina's bustling harbour.
There, they unloaded their haul, just like the few dozens of other fishing boats.
In the end, Apple had exhausted himself after the eighth silver starwhale and the twelfth regular starwhale, not counting the previous ones. At that point, everyone was exhausted, so they called it a night. A few harpoons were damaged from all the flesh they had torn, but it was nothing a little money couldn't fix.
As such, Athelei walked off with a total of 1 large silver and 4 silver coins. It brought his wallet up to 8 Large Silvers, 8 Silvers, 3 Large Coppers and 5 Coppers. He had also taken a starwhale pearl for himself.
'A good haul indeed,' Athelei thought as he squeezed the seawater and blood out of his cloak.
For the first time in a long time, Athelei was utterly exhausted. Not sick, but exhausted. He was going to rest his mind for a day since his fog-body was on the verge of falling apart.
After turning in his quest at the Adventurer's Guild, he hurried towards Small Salt Inn, ducked into an alleyway and hid his gear and riches.
He then dissipated into an invisible fog and entered his room.
But what he saw made him frown heavily.
No, it was not what he could see, but what he could not see.
'My body... is gone.'
Athelei's room was empty. All his belongings could be kept on his person. His Needle of Motionlessness, his White Jade Earings, and his pouch of coins... were all gone.
'I should've left a mark on my body... I need to find it... Where is it..?' Human panic began to well up in Athelei. He worried for what might've happened, but his absolute exhaustion was cutting off all of his mental... or well, conscious faculties.
'I... found... it...' Athelei sluggishly thought, disappearing from the room he had rented to become one with his body once more.
He then used the last bits of his strength to open his eyes. His eyelids only opened slightly though, and he could barely make out the figures of a few adult humans and iron bars.
'...Was I... Kidnapped?'
And then there was darkness.