Seeds of Discordia

The next day was just as hectic as the night was, minus the assassination attempt. Instead they came across Sea Parade after Sea Parade. Each group having more monsters than the last. The strength with each new Sea Parade was slowly growing as well as they kept moving towards their destination. However, after the fifth Sea Parade things were starting to look troublesome. While they had figured things were going to start getting difficult, they hadn't expected two Sea Parades to appear so close together.

Fatigue and exhaustion had slowly grew within everyone as they tried to defend and attack. Mana Pools, Health Pools, and even Stamina Bars fluctuated up and down as everyone drank points and healing spells were casted. The ones who had it the worst were Liam and his group. While they were able to handle some of the monsters individually at the beginning, as each wave progressed to where they were now they had switch from individual tactics to group due to how strong the monsters were starting to get.

Artem's Barrier Magic and Healing grew exponentially thanks to all the usage they were getting, but at the same time it took him away from tanking. Ariyana's tamed Beasts, Barty and Tabby got to see a lot of action and thanks to the prolonged battles and level ups in the Field of the Tamer, she was able to have both out at the same time. Her other Fields saw some increases as well which helped her out as she stuck to a supportive role throughout the fights.

Mercer and Val both worked as Supportive and ranged damage dealers as they spread buffs out through their Elemental Instruments allowing them to use their extra effects as they played their music. Val, while singing song after song, threw any throwing weapons Liam had provided her while Mercer shot arrow after arrow. The only breaks they were able to take was when they needed to replenish their Pools and Bar.

Avery and Roman stuck close by Blair, attacking where they could while Blaire either set up openings, taunted, or placed Gravity Wells in places she believed were strategically well placed. They each took breaks one at a time to replenish their stamina and mana, trying not to overlap with each other so they didn't leave any openings. Omira blasted any creature that tried to get close to them with her Water Magic, which came in clutch at certain parts of the fight.

Liam's role was totally random. During the short lulls, even though Key had some complaints, Liam repaired any weapons and armor he could handle with Uncle Naro while also cooking any Potions he could to help those who had run out during the fights. He had to making more Potions every now and then during the fights where, periodically, he would have to step away and fill in for Roman or Avery when they needed to replenish their pools or needed a moment to catch their breath.

Throughout each wave they encountered they were able to handle these tasks with somewhat ease, however, now with this pincer attack of two Sea Parades they felt like they were barely keeping up. They had believed themselves able to handle this beforehand due to their dives into Wave Type Dungeons, but this…this was worse than a Wave Type Dungeon.

Things looked even worse when a powerful crab type monster approached them, and they could barely damage it. Blair's and even Liam's Gravity Magic was easily shrugged off as it pushed towards them. Blair went to dodge an attack made at her but was struck when her legs buckled suddenly under her. Thankfully, the attack only took out a quarter of her health, something Artem quickly replenished with the last of his mana.

However, during that type the Crab was already within striking distance of Avery and Roman. Liam went to move and to deflect the attack with his hammer tool weapon only to see it shatter as the claw collided against it and continue its trajectory towards Avery's back as she tried to move away. Liam tried to move and push her out of the way but stopped as Uncle Naro and Key appeared both defending Avery and killing the crab monster.

"These are becoming too much for you guys to handle," Key firmly stated as she glared at the other monsters. "We are now ordering you all to get below deck."

"But…," Roman tried to protest, but was interrupted as he started coughing from a dry throat.

"No butts," Uncle Naro rejected. "You have done well to handle yourselves this long. However, I fear if we keep allowing you too…"

A sudden chorus of shouts cut Uncle Naro's words off as two massive monsters suddenly appeared on both sides of the ship. Liam wasn't able to get a good look at them, but he was able to get a good look at the expressions on Uncle Naro's and Key's faces.

"What are the boss monsters already doing out?!" Key shouted as she looked at Uncle Naro.

With a grim expression on his face he replied, "I don't know, but this doesn't bode well. If he don't handle them now a lot of people will die here right now. However, we can't leave the rest of the monsters unchecked."

"Leave them to my crew," Key stated with conviction in her voice. "They can handle themselves."

"Not all of them are strong enough to hold out against all these monsters," Uncle Naro argued.

"Doesn't matter. They knew what could happen out in the sea, especially during this time of the year," Key stated. Even though her voice was full of resolve, Liam was able to see a hint of remorse in her eyes. "We need to handle these boss monsters before they destroy the ship and kill everyone."

Uncle Naro was about to say something again but stopped as loud shrieks filled the sky. Liam and the others looked around and saw a flood of people had jumped out of the water, landed on the ship, and started attacking each monster that was in their path. Liam then noticed a column of water starting to form up behind the massive boss monster on the left side of the ship before wrapping around the creature's neck and started strangling it.

Uncle Naro and Key, seeing an opportunity through this chaos, spun around and made their way towards the boss monster closer to them. After they killed the monster they swiftly made their way towards the monster being strangled and suppressed. Due to the assist of the water noose, they were able to kill the monster without any resistance. When they finished killing the monster they looked back at the ship to see all the monsters had fallen.

After landing on the ship they stood in front of the group of people who had boarded and helped kill the monsters. Liam got a good look at the people and was surprised to see what they were. They all had blue skin with four webbed spike fins on their forearms. They were Merfolk. He had met someone who was of the same race before back in the Tutorial Area, someone who had looked after him even though all he had was distrust in her. Someone he felt that he needed to apologize too for the way he had acted towards her. Something he was going to be able to do soon as a familiar person was in front of the group of Merfolk.

"Adva?" Uncle Naro questioned as he gave her a wide grin.

Adva looked surprised as she took in the tall bear of a man. that surprise was replaced with a smile as she said, "My, my, is that you Little Nar?"

"Little?" Roman quietly muttered as he looked both shocked and ready to laugh at the nickname.

"I'm not so little anymore ma'am," Uncle Naro chuckled as he slapped his stomach.

Adva shook her head as she replied, "Maybe in the eyes of others, but I remember how much of a brat you were when you were young, and that version of Little Nar will always be the one I see." She then turned and saw Key standing next to Uncle Naro and added, "Ah I see. You must be helping Key here with making sure the young princess arrives safely."

Uncle Naro rubbed the back of his neck as he replied, "To be honest, that wasn't the plan at first. However, after already securing a ride on the ship it kind of turned out that way."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Adva gave him a confused look as she questioned, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I had planned on giving my apprentice and his group an adventure and for them to see what this world has to offer while checking out some of the islands around here, but after Key had told me she was given a request from Omiran, I felt this would have better results than what I had originally planned on having them do."

"Apprentice and his group…," Adva started to mutter until her eyes landed on Liam and the others. They widened as realization had struck her. She then asked as she looked at each other them in turn, "Is that you Liam, Avery, Mercer, Blair, Roman, Ariyana, and Artem?"

Liam and the others awkwardly gave her a nod or a wave while looking a bit sheepish.

She gave them all a warm smile as she said, "I am glad you all decided to continue being a group together. It warms me to see you all doing so well." She then noticed the others by their side and added, "I see some new faces have joined up with you as well." She saw Gimmel and said, "Gimmel, I am actually surprised to see you with this group. Did your uncle tell you to join them?"

Gimmel shook his head as he said, "No, I haven't seen him in quite a bit actually. I ran into Liam and joined up with him by accident to be honest."

Adva gave him a smile as she said, "I don't think it was an accident, but I am glad you did. I think you would do well with this lot."

"Miss Adva, as much as I am happy to know you know my apprentice and his group, may I ask how you know them?" Uncle Naro questioned.

Adva turned to look at him as she responded, "Liam is your apprentice?" She let out a chuckle as she muttered, "Why does that not surprise me. I mean look at his other Crafting mentors." She then responded with a smile as she looked at Uncle Naro straight in the eyes, "I as well as Phorge and Nalia, were the Overseers of the Tutorial Dungeon they were in."

"Really?" Uncle Naro muttered.

"Yes, quite the rebellious group as well. Causing trouble here and there," Adva teased as she gave Liam a wink. "Even pissed off Nalia enough to have a group of her Deities soldiers chase after them before they left the Tutorial Area."

Uncle Naro grew a wry smile as he stated, "Doesn't take much to get that one riled up."

Adva let out a laugh before her eyes landed on Omira. She gave her a small bow as she said, "Princess, I am glad to see you are well and safe. Have these guys been protecting you the whole trip?"

"Protect her? More like place her life in danger," Sebastean suddenly stated as he appeared. A sneer all over his face as he looked at Liam and his group.

Adva raised a brow as her smile slowly faded. "Sebastean. I didn't know you were here."

"I've been here the whole time you old fish hag," Sebastean cursed.

With a coy smile Adva said as she placed a hand on her cheek, "You Elves always have such a foul mouth to other races. Especially to those who are Champions to Deities you don't follow."

Liam and the others felt a strange pressure suddenly form around them. At first it was soft and felt cold, then all of a sudden it came crashing all around them for a split second before releasing each of them out of its grip. Everyone except Sebastean that is. When the pressure came he fell straight to his knees and hunched over. Both of his hands were out as he tried to keep his arms as straight as possible.

"You damn fish hag, release me from your aura or I will tell the king about this!" Sebastean growled as he gritted his teeth and pushed back as hard as he could against the pressure coming down on him.

Liam stared wide eyed at what was going on. He shifted his gaze towards Adva. He didn't know that she had this kind of power nor this kind of side to her. When he first met her he thought she was akin to an elderly grandmother figure. Now…he had a lot more respect towards the woman. Not because she scared him…no not at all.

"Go ahead," Adva said as she stared at the man. "While you're at it why don't you tell him how I caught you hiding on the other side of the ship not using your powers to protect Omira and allowing her to be opened to the dangers of the Sea Parade monsters."

Sebastean didn't respond to her comment. Instead he glared at her, seething through his gritted teeth. A Merfolk male suddenly appeared by Adva's side and whispered something in her ear. Adva kept Sebastean's glare locked on her as she listened to the Merfolk's message and then finally nodded her head and released the pressure on him. His body suddenly shot up fast making him lose all sense of balance before coming back down and falling to his side.

Adva turned her head to look at Key and Uncle Naro and informed, "We need to move. One of my men have informed me that three Sea Parade Groups are making their way to this spot. Luckily, we are close to the barrier we have erected, and they won't be able to make it through."

"Another three Sea Parades? What the hell is going on?" Uncle Naro questioned.

"I, too, want to question why the hell there are so many Sea Parades around the area," Key chimed in. "I know this is the Year of the Sea Ritual, but I don't ever remember there ever being this many Sea Parades coming to this island, let alone how powerful they currently are."

"It is quite troubling. I nor my Matron have any answers for what is happening or the cause of their behavior," Adva replied as she waved a hand in the air. "This started three days ago right as we placed the barrier up."

The group of Merfolk that were standing behind Adva swiftly jumped off the ship and disappeared into the water. The ship suddenly picked up some speed as its course was corrected towards the direction of a strange looking island not too far away.

Liam and the others walked away from Adva, Key, and Uncle Naro while making their way over to the helm of the ship. Liam made his way towards it because he wanted to get a better look at the island they were approaching. The more Liam stared at the island the more he felt something was off about it. After some time Liam started to understand why it looked so strange.

The makeup of the island from the rock formations around it, to the strange looking plants he was able to see and even the strange look tall bare trees that clustered together were not from any land based designs. Instead the entire island looked like a coral reef that was lifted from the bottom of the ocean and was trimmed and carefully designed to adapt to above water living.

"Is that…," Roman started to ask as he looked in awe.

"Point Nemo? Yes. It is an island that was risen to above water levels so many years ago," Omira explained. "It's actually quite interesting too. The ecology there allows both land and aquatic creatures and races to live comfortably there. There are streams of water that flow like rivers on the ground and in the air throughout the island, there are areas that feel like you're underwater, but without the constraints of having to hold your breath."

Everyone turned to look at her. They were confused and puzzled by what she was saying because it all sounded crazy and impossible. While they were adapting to the new way this world was compared to their old one, they still kept finding new ways to be left in awe. However, that was if she wasn't pulling their legs on this. However, from the look on her face and the way she sounded serious, they believed she wasn't trying to prank them.

"How?" Roman asked breaking the awkward silence.

Omira shrugged. "I'll be honest. I don't know. I don't think anyone else seems to know either. And if they do it's not common knowledge," Omira said before letting out a long sigh. She then looked each of them in the eyes and stated, "I want to thank you all for giving me a time I will never forget."

This sudden proclamation took each of them aback, causing them to stare at her with confusion. Before Liam could ask the question starting to form in his mind, Ariyana said, "You are talking like we will never see each other again."

Omira gave her a sad smile as she nodded and explained, "We have made it to my final destination of the trip. Once we make landfall I will be going with Miss Adva and the others to start making preparations for the ritual that will be made within the next couple of days. After it is done all Transportation Portals that were shut down on all the islands within the territory will reactivate and I will be stepping through and go back to my kingdom. You will all be going a different direction. So…this will probably be the last time we see each other unless you find yourself in my kingdom."

Ariyana frown and was saddened by her words as well as the others. Omira continued, "Our meeting wasn't the greatest of starts, but I am glad we were able to get as close as did. I am glad to be able to have those who I can call friends. After my work here is done I will be keeping an ear out on any news your group appears in…" Omira's eyes furrowed as she looked like she was trying to remember something. When she figured out she couldn't remember whatever she was trying to, she asked, "I don't think you guys ever told what your party's name was."

"A party name?" Mercer questioned. "We don't have one. We haven't thought that far ahead yet."

Omira nodded. "Well, once you do have one make sure to get it registered with the Adventurer's Association. After that make sure you send word to me so I know it and could make arrangements on using you guys to help out in any situation I need." She gave them a wry smile and wink after saying that last part."

Ariyana swiftly stepped forward and wrapped the girl in a hug as she tried not to cry. "I'll make sure we come running if you ever need us."

Omira nodded as she said back while also trying not to cry, "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

Liam and Mercer locked eyes as the two girls hugged. The two guys looked at the others and saw them nod as well which prompted Mercer to cough before saying, "You know. There is still some time before me make landfall. I think we have enough alcohol and food ingredients for Artem to cook us up a meal so we can have a parting party."

Omira pulled away from Ariyana and looked at them, tears threatening to spill out. She nodded with a smile without saying anything, not trusting her voice. Mercer and the others gave her a warm smile before turning away and rushing to get everything ready.