I charged right through the door, easily forcing it open thanks to my hardened skin and all the speed I'd picked up from running.
"Are you insane?! You said you'd deal with it!" the old man from before yelled as he and the other civilians scrambled to the far side of the room.
Quickly, I turned to face the door I'd just come through. "This is the best way to deal with it! Just let me fight it—hide back there!"
Their angry yelling continued behind me, but I ignored it, pretending I suddenly suffered convenient deafness.
"Gruaahhh!"
The monster chasing me howled as it smashed through the wall. Smoke and dust burst out, concrete blocks scattering across the room.
Body Hardening Technique: Sharp Claws.
I shattered as many flying blocks as I could, making sure none hit the innocent people.
This room…
There was absolutely nothing here I could use. But that didn't mean I was out of options.
"Do any of you know magic!? No—forget it. If you did, you wouldn't be hiding here."
The monster didn't give me a single second to think. It leapt at me, arm raised for a killing blow.
Body Strengthening Technique: Leg Muscles—Burst.
In an instant, every muscle in my legs cramped and tightened, then exploded with power. I dodged the monster's smash with speed that cracked the air. As I passed under its arm, I struck with my hardened hands—
—but my blade-like fingers slid right through its gelatinous skin without cutting anything.
"Shit!"
My hand… it was numb.
I looked down. My entire arm was coated in the monster's slimy secretion.
A toxin? But there was no wound it could've entered through. Was it one that affected me through breathing it ? But why did it affect only my arm if it was caused by breathing it?
Whatever it was, I was at a disadvantage now.
"RuAAAGH!!" The monster shook its head violently, flinging slime everywhere.
"Don't let the liquid touch you! Don't smell it either, just in case!"
Body Strengthening Technique: Leg Muscles—Burst.
I launched myself forward again, aiming while it was distracted slinging its own slime. With my good hand, I grabbed my numb arm — still hardened from the technique — and stabbed it forward toward one of the monster's purple bulbs.
My arm sank into the bulb elbow-deep with almost no resistance. The monster shrieked — not in pain, but in panic — thrashing wildly.
Before it could throw me across the room, I ripped my hand out with a kick for extra force.
And then…
A lifeless infant monster spilled out of the ruptured bulb.
So these bulbs… they carry its young? That explained why that particular liquid felt different.
The monster snapped into a maddened frenzy, thrashing in every direction — even crushing its own dead offspring beneath its blows.
I jumped out of its rampage, heading for the door.
Once outside, I saw a swarm of monsters rushing toward us.
"Even more?"
The big monster followed me out.
"Run somewhere safer! Now!" I shouted at the workers. This was their best chance to escape.
The swarm closed in behind me. The giant monster thrashed closer from the front.
This was also my best chance to escape.
3
Both sides got closer. If I was lucky, the small monsters and the big one would clash, especially with the giant still crazed.
2
Body Strengthening Technique: Leg Muscles—Burst.
1
I dashed forward at the last possible second, slipping just past the raging titan.
0
The giant monster slammed into the swarm, crushing dozens instantly.
When I landed and turned, the smaller monsters were already piling onto the huge one.
"Monsters aren't smart. They're simple animals. Different species don't usually team up, and these two groups will attack each other instantly if provoked," I said as the unarmed civilians emerged from the room.
"You asshole! Why did you do that?! We had the best place to hide!" one screamed at me.
"The monster would've smashed your hiding spot anyway. If I turned left and kept going, you'd have been alone to face that thing," I snapped back.
"We wouldn't've had to worry if you hadn't brought it here!"
"Let it go. What's done is done…" another man — a Miw, with cat features — muttered, resting a hand on the angry one's shoulder.
"Find somewhere safe now. They won't fight each other for long," I warned, watching the swarm slowly thin out under the giant's rampage.
"Tch!" someone clicked his tongue.
"I've got places to be. Hope you make it out alive," I said before sprinting toward the left path—upward, toward the control room.
Still… I heard one of the men quietly tell me to be careful. And to not die.
I used three Burst type leg techniques. two with my left leg, one with my right one. My limit of Bursts are three on each leg before my muscles give up.
That means I can only do a single more Body Strengthening technique: Leg Muscles—Burst. After that, I'll be left with only two more uses that'll end up rendering my legs useless after using them.
Stairs. Going up. Stairs. Going up.
The only change in scenery came from glancing out the windows: more monsters, bigger ones, smaller ones tearing into larger ones. Corpses of humans — guardians, coworkers I knew — littered the decks alongside the carcasses of the same species as the monster that had chased me.
Fire. Wind. Weapons flying. Those must've been the few guardians who could use magic. I never interacted with them, but at least they weren't as elitist as the high-class mages. Maybe mercenary life beats the arrogance out of you.
"!!!"
I shielded myself when a body suddenly flew my way, crashing straight through the thick protective glass and splattering against the wall.
"Sonova… A Scylla's nest? Now of all times?" an old, raspy voice groaned.
That voice—
"Trudeia!" I called out, relieved to see someone familiar in this chaos.
"Grey! Thank God you're okay," the Equinara sighed.
Trudeia was drenched in blood — his and monsters' — but he still held his axe like it weighed nothing.
"I was told to get to the command room. Help any navigator still alive steer us out of this mess."
"I doubt any navigator on this ship can steer us out of a Scylla's nest," he grunted.
"I heard you mention that before. What even is a Scylla's nest? What makes it worse than other monster nests?"
"Right… let's see. A Scylla is a serpent-type sea monster. A big one. Once it bonds with a sailor's nightmare stone, it forms a… symbiotic? Something like that. Grey, you're smart — what's the word?" he asked, snapping his fingers.
"I don't know. I only finished primary school. Never went to middle or high."
"Damn. Anyway — a sailor's nightmare stone is a rock formation on the ocean floor. If it absorbs enough energy, it creates whirlpools strong enough to sink even the biggest military ships. The Scylla lives on that stone and feeds it energy to form whirlpools when needed, sinking ships. The Scylla eats whatever it wants from the wreck. Other monsters join in for the leftovers."
"I see… and all this because of a stupid crown…" I sighed.
"What was that?" Trudeia asked.
"The intruder told me they were sabotaging the supplies meant for Lichtrey. Especially something called the Crown of the Copper King."
Trudeia immediately crouched and grabbed my shoulders.
"Listen carefully, Grey. Forget the command room. Go to the lower storage — that item is probably there!"
"Roger. I'm guessing I need to find the crown?" I asked. He released me.
"Yes. Find it. And listen—nothing matters more than that crown."
"What do I do with it?"
"Protect it. At any cost. And make sure it reaches its destination."
"You can trust me, Trudeia." I turned to go, confused by how shaken he looked — the old man never acted like this.
"Grey!"
I stopped. He stood there, preparing to leap back into the chaos below. All I could see was his back.
I waited.
For a moment that lasted longer than a second should.
"Nothin', forget it…" he muttered. His horse ears twitched as he tightened his grip on his axe. "Just make sure you don't die. Survive so I can get you into a school. A fourteen-year-old like you shouldn't be here."
With that, he jumped off the floor. The metal bent under the force of his leap.
"Don't you die also, old horse" I muttered while beginning my race toward the lower storage.
My arm... my hand.
I'm not advanced enough on the Body Strengthening techniques to know how to deal with poison inside my body. I only know what a person learns after years of training, which does make me more advanced and stronger than many other people. But that also means I am at a stage where both the only way for me to improve is by training under a master, and I'm weaker than those who are actually strong—making me a big fish in a small pond.