The Final Desperation

[The fourth wave has been resolved.]

7156 and River Stream suddenly got this notification as they made their last preparations on the island. 

"Resolved? How? We didn't even see them."

River Stream was very confused about this. He could understand the first 2 ways being resolved since that was due to 7156's careful planning and risk-taking, but the third wave was annoying as hell. For a week and a half, they faced countless pirates that sought instant wealth. It wasn't until 7156 sunk a few ships that people got the message and gave up on it.

And from the difficulty of everything, one can imagine the fourth wave being more difficult, yet it's resolved like that?

"What's wrong, River?"

Ed came over while munching on an apple.

"Our pursuers have been dealt with?"

"Isn't that a good thing? Why are you worried about it."

"I'm confused about how it happened. We don't even know who they are."

"Maybe they ran into bad weather and their boat sunk."

Ed shrugged and finished his fruit.

"I guess."

River Streams stopped thinking about it and prepared to finish the mission. It's time to finally leave this stupid world.

"Captain! We have a boat."

The pirate on the crow's nest hollered down.

"What flag?"

"None. It seems like a rowboat."

"Ignore it then."

The group continued to unfurl the sails and pull up the anchors for sailing. A few minutes later, they were picking up speed and started sailing. It was a nice day to make some distance so the crew plans on getting near the mainland. It's still a few days of travel, but they should be there soon. After that, Ed will drop them off and be on his way.

"That's a good day. Now let's rest for the night," Ed gave the command once the sun started to set.

"Aye!"

 

---

 

The next morning, the crew was preparing to continue sailing when the watchman shouted something again.

"Captain. A boat."

"Another pirate ship?"

"No sir. I believe it's the same rowboat as yesterday."

"Same? Are we being tracked?"

"Might be. Just don't know how."

"We'll wait."

A few minutes later, Genji jumped onto the boat and looked for the pearl. 

"Who are you?"

The crew drew their weapons, but Genji ignored them.

"Hey, we're talking to you!"

"7156? I guess you found the pearl?"

Genji greeted this fellow teammate while continuing to ignore the people around him. Compared to what he has dealt with, these are not worth his attention.

"Stand down," Ed came into view and ordered.

"But captain-"

"Don't worry. He's a friend."

At Ed's guarantee, the crewmates lowered their weapons. 

"Eh," 7156 responded to Genji.

"That's good."

"Captain, it's good to see you again," Ed came over after dispersing the crowd.

"You still acknowledge me as a captain? I would think you stopped caring after we separated."

"How could that be? I was looking for you to lead us again."

"Whatever. I won't stay for long. Just following 7156 for now."

"Understood."

Genji walked to an empty spot and sat down to rest. A whole night of rowing is not a problem for his physique, but he would prefer to maintain his top condition.

A few minutes later, River Stream came out with a tray of breakfast for 7156. Genji raised his brow at this sight. Since when did those two get so close? Genji shook his head and closed his eyes. Not his business.

[Due to certain events, you have triggered the pursuit of the daughter of the sea.]

[The daughter of the sea is the strongest curse user in this world.]

[Warning: Engaging this unit is ill-advised. There is a 100% chance of death, no matter what.]

[The daughter of the sea will catch up in 7 days. Please leave this world before then.]

River Stream's face paled when he saw these notifications. They finally could relax and now they have this problem? Why? Haven't they gone through enough difficulties?

Genji pulled out the map and did some calculations. 

"It's going to be close, but we should be able to make it if we travel by sea. Then we will make the final trip by land. If everything works out, we should be out of this world before she catches up."

Genji made this assumption based on the queen being in the capital of the country. To confirm, Genji took out his fox badge and made a tracking. The mini-map didn't show up this time, but an arrow did. It pointed in a direction that was straight at the capital. At least Genji assumed so. It's hard to tell with the distance.

"Enigma, since when did you get on?"

The naive teenager heard him speak and turned around.

"A while ago. Glad to see you're still alive."

"I have 7156 to thank for that."

"You two can enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to talk to Ed."

Genji got up and asked around for Ed.

"Hey, Ed? Change of plans. I need you to drop us off at a different spot."

Genji pulled out a map and pointed at the new destination. Then at their current one. Ed took a look and agreed.

"Sure. No problem. That aside, I've been meaning to ask you this. Are you the Green Swordsman?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That's so cool. Can you teach me how you got so strong?"

"Why not. You can join me in training for the next few days."

"YES!"

Ed finally achieved his goal of approaching Genji. A way to get stronger without accepting the curse of the sea.

 

---

 

"Swing. One more time."

Genji was demonstrating the basics of a sword to Ed despite his complaints about knowing the basics.

"To get good, you need to focus on the basics. After that, you develop strong techniques. Hone the fundamentals until you want to puke from it and then push on. That repulsive feeling is only the beginning. Only when you overcome it will you make fast improvements."

Genji repeated his robotic swings over and over again with utmost precision.

"Fine. But can't you at least teach me some techniques?"

"No. Most of the techniques you learn from others are crap. You're never going to use them and they limit your thinking. All it comes down to is the fundamentals. Once you honed that, you can get a sense of what techniques work and which ones doesn't."

"Fundamentals. Fundamentals. Fundamentals. Can you say anything else?"

"You have to understand, Ed. Training isn't the result of a single day or month of effort. It's an accumulation. The more you do it, the better off you are. The best way to improve is to put yourself on the edge of death. But I know you can't always do that so we have to settle for the next best thing."

"Which is?"

"Fundamentals."

*Groan*

"Remember hone yourself to perfection in one weapon and your other areas will improve. It's these fundamentals that stay with you and become your power. Your choice of weapon is how these strengths are expressed."

"Then why are you practicing with a sword? Isn't your weapon a saber?"

"To me, the choice of weapon doesn't matter. As long as it gets the job done, it works. The essence of combat is killing. You seek to survive so you kill. As for how that's done, that's up to you."

Genji put the sword down and walked over to 7156 who was watching the entire encounter.

"That applies to you as well."

"What?"

"In the last world, I noticed your techniques are subpar at best."

7156 didn't know how to react to this. His dagger mastery is master! Even in this world, he can put up a good fight against mini-bosses.

"Don't over-rely on masteries given by EverRealm. It might give you instant results, but you need to know how to develop them as well. EverRealm gives you the foundations, but no advanced applications. That's the advantage we have over the natives in each world. Use it. Better to excel in one area than become a jack of all trades. Champions are supposed to be those that stand above others in combat. Live up to it."

Genji left 7156 a lot of things to think about before returning to his training with Ed.

 

---

 

Black clouds appeared overhead as the ship approached its destination. Another storm.

"Just land," Genji said to Ed.

"Are you sure? We only need to wait for the storm to pass before we can get to the destination."

"No thanks. We're short on time right now so just drop us off on land."

"But..."

"Unless you are willing to go through the storm to get us to our destination, just drop us off. I'm pretty sure you're crewmates don't want that and remember the last time we went into a storm?"

Ed shivered when he recalled that memory. Good lord, he almost drowned.

"We're pulling on land to pass the storm!"

Ed gave his commands and allowed the group to be on their way.

"Will this have an impact on the time?"

River was very worried about meeting the daughter of the sea. It's been 4 days and the timer hasn't gone up despite them traveling at a decent speed. It can be seen that EverRealm was very accurate about the arrival time.

"A few hours, but better than waiting out the storm. Come. Let's get going."

They started running before the rain could make the ground slippery and harder to traverse. Although River Stream was weaker than others, his physical stats are decent after some worlds. The only thing is these decent stats are only in comparison to normal humans instead of the 5th-world difficulties he faces.

After a few hours of running, they left the cloudy area and stopped to set up camp. Genji set up a fire while 7156 hunted a deer. While they can sustain themselves on food pills, they need to stop to allow River Stream to rest. Since they are resting either way, they might as well enjoy something instead of those bland pills.

 

---

 

The next day, they came across a problem that threw a wrench into their plans. The way forward has been blocked off by collapsed canyon. The path that was between the two rock walls had disappeared because a large part of the rocks above had fallen down. There's nothing they can do about it. They have to go around.

A day later, they reached the other side of the canyon, but Genji stopped.

"What's wrong?"

7156 was sensitive to danger but he can't understand why Genji stopped running.

"We don't have enough time."

"What do you mean?"

River Stream was starting to panic.

"That detour took too long. We don't have enough time to make it to the capital before the daughter catches up."

"Please tell me you're joking."

7156 took the map and did some calculations.

"He's right."

"No way. That can't be. Are we going to die? After everything?"

Genji fell into thought for a few moments and gritted his teeth.

"You two go on ahead."

"What are you going to do?"

River Stream was scared to find out.

"I'll think of a way to delay the daughter."

"No way! You'll die."

This wasn't how River imagined how the mission will go. He's scared for his life, but he wasn't ready to sacrifice some for it. 

"Remember what I said about doing whatever's necessary to survive?"

"No! Please don't."

Genji looked over to 7156.

"I'll leave him to you. Make as much distance as possible."

7156 nodded and put his hand on River's shoulder.

"Let's go."

"No. I can't. How can you just leave a friend behind like that?"

"You can't, but we can."

Genji answered for 7156. In times like this, it would be best for him to play the bad guy. 7156 still needs to take care of River Stream after all. Don't want to make it too awkward for him.

"How can you say that?! You're heading to your death! Aren't you even the tiniest bit scared? Don't you fear what's coming?"

“Fear? What is that? Can I eat it? If not, why should I care for it?”

Genji's answer choked River. How can someone be like this?

"Plus I might not die. I'll be stalling, not fighting to the death. Just make sure to complete the mission while I buy you the time. And make sure to pay me lots for my trouble once we return."

Genji gave a light-hearted smile.

"Do you promise to live?"

"I can't promise anything, but I will try my best. Dying is no fun after all."

A determined expression appeared on River's face.

"Let's go."

River turned his back to Genji and started running, completely missing the trembling clenched hands of 7156.

"Thank you," 7156 left those words before running after River Stream.

 

---

 

*Huff huff*

River Stream leaned against a tree and caught his breath.

"Rest?"

"No! I can continue."

After a few minutes, River pushed himself to run despite his lungs screaming at him to rest and his legs becoming numb. 7156 sighed before running after him.

 

---

 

River Stream collapsed on the side of the road and breathed heavily. This is it. No matter how much he wants to get up, his body refuses to move. 7156 handed him a canteen of water and sat down to rest.

"I-I can keep g-going."

"You can't. Rest."

7156's voice was authoritative as if it wasn't up for discussion. An hour later, River still wasn't able to get up. Realizing he was wasting precious time, he steeled his resolve and made his request.

"Leave me. You should be able to go much faster. If it was you, you should be able to meet the queen before Enigma dies."

River Stream decided it was better to give up his source of safety to ensure his teammate doesn't die, but 7156 shook his head.

"I can't."

"Why not? You were clearly being held back by me."

"I signed a contract."

River Stream fell silent. To think his own contract would be the reason for someone's death. He hates this! It's not fair! Why does it have to be this way?!

Empathically understanding the self-blame River was feeling, 7156 picked him up and started running with him over his shoulders.

"7156?"

"Let me."

 

---

 

Legend has it that the ocean wasn't like this initially. Instead, it was pure and brought blessings to life on the planet. It was the mother of all in this world. Yet all this changed when blood and resentment stained this mother. It distorted her and made her a monster. A monster that seeks to erase all life and propel suffering into the world. It was fair to say this gentle mother had become a deranged killer.

But not all hope was lost. The story goes that every fifty years, the gentle mother will awaken and leave behind a pearl of the sea. By using this pearl, the royal family can conduct a sacred ritual to purify the sea and return their mother to its gentle nature. But things didn't work the way fate intended. For 300 years, the royal family has never obtained this mysterious pearl.

Whether it was the desire of collectors or the pirates' greed, this pearl had caused countless problems. People would wage wars to get their hands on this beauty, but every instance ended in tragedy. Countless lives were lost, the pearl, destroyed, and people got greedier for sudden wealth.

The pirates' dream became a trend and the resentment worsened. To combat this, the sea would condense a bigger, more beautiful pearl, feeding this vicious cycle.

For six generations, the royal family sought this pearl. For six generations, they've failed. With each failure, the importance of this task decreased. By the time it reached Anne's generation, this pearl was more of a legend than fact. Although she was forced to learn the ritual of the sea before her mother's passing, she has no expectations for this dance.

To her, this was more of a tradition passed down in the family than an important task. She would practice this dance, but think nothing of it. She planned to teach her children this and continue the tradition, in hopes that it doesn't end with their generation like many long-lost traditions.

That's what she thought until 10 days ago, someone came to her and claimed to provide the pearl.

"My friends have obtained this pearl and are heading this way. We have agreed to meet up here and have you conduct the ritual."

At first, she was in disbelief. The legends in the family are real? Then she remembered the words of her late father.

"If you ever get the chance, conduct the ocean ritual."

"You're not lying to me?"

"I swear on my life."

"Fine. If this is true, I will reward your group handsomely. Name your prize."

The person bowed, but their next words shook her.

"Thank you, queen, but we desire no rewards. Only peace. I'm telling you this so when they do arrive, you won't give them a hard time."

"I understand. I'll allow any meetings in the next week."

"No problem. They should arrive in a few days."

 

---

 

7156 entered the city, exhausted from the non-stop trip. The benefit for everything, though, was that they arrived with 17 hours to spare. Genji will survive because of their efforts. As they asked around about the queen, they received weird looks but gave them the instructions when they heard their reason.

"We've traveled a long way to visit the beloved queen."

Although River wasn't sure if the queen was beloved, the people doesn't seem to be suffering, so it doesn't hurt to flatter her. When they arrived at the palace and mentioned their goal, they were very surprised at how easy everything was. Like the queen agreed to meet them immediately! Didn't she have anything better to do? And what about assassinations? Aren't you making it too easy to get killed?

A few minutes later, they walked into the throne room and came to face the queen. By her side, was a familiar face.

"Are they your companions?"

"Yes. One of them should have the pearl," Logan replied.

Hearing him talk, 7156 and River Stream had a look of understanding. So that's why things were so easy. One of them saw the mission updates and made preparations for them.

7156 reached into his backpack and pulled out the Jewel Of Neried that was encased in a gold frame. He held it with two hands and brought it above his head as if offering it to the queen.

"Good. Follow me."

Queen Anna got up from her throne and walked to the back of the palace. A bunch of armed men surrounded the group and escorted them to a large room with a porcelain white altar in the middle. At the top of this altar was a red cushion with a dip that seems made for the pearl. On the floor was a star-patterned diagram that reminded River Stream of the magic circles of his mother.

"Hilton."

The leader of the guards stepped out, got down on one knee, and cupped his hands at Anne.

"What are your orders, your majesty?"

"Bring the pearl over without the frame."

"Understood."

He got up and walked over to 7156. Then he reached out his hand.

"Please."

7156 handed the pearl over and the guards got some people to dismantle the frame. About 15 minutes later, the pearl was placed on the altar.

"Please step back," Anne asked them to get off the diagram.

After the area was cleared, she started dancing and a long channeling bar appeared above her head. 

"You came in clutch," Logan came over and wrapped his arm around 7156's neck, "I don't know what I would do if you didn't get the pearl."

7156 shook his head and refuted him.

"At a dangerous risk. Enigma stayed behind to buy time against the daughter of the sea."

"At least everything worked out well."

"Yes."

30 minutes later, Anne finished the difficult dance with sweat-soaked clothes. She brought up a handkerchief to wipe her forehead and took a step back. As soon as she left the circle, the pearl started glowing blue.

Then it started melting and dripping down the altar. The blue liquid gathered at the base and started tracing the lines of the diagram. Once the entire diagram was covered, the altar glowed white as a massive amount of energy gathered by it.

The lines started glowing a brighter shade of blue as the energy from the atmosphere rushed through it. The intensity of the glowing continued to grow, causing everyone to turn away from it. Once the brightness reached its peak, a white flash of light covered the room.

When River Stream was able to see again, he noticed the alter has destroyed itself. Completely. The dust of the destroyed altar blew off and found its way into his clothes, giving the feeling of flowing sand and making him uncomfortable.

"Did it fail?"

"No. It succeeded," Anne answered him.

[You have completed the main mission. You will return in 5 minutes.]

"Thank you."

River thanked her from the bottom of his heart. Because of her willingness to cooperate, Genji's life was saved.

"No, thank you."

Anne also thanked them from the bottom of her heart. Because of their actions, she was able to put an end to the suffering of this world.

"Then we shan't bother you any longer, my queen."

Logan bowed and gestured for 7156 and River Stream to leave. The queen nodded and allowed the guards to escort them out of the palace.

The timer counted down and soon they returned to the void. River Stream quickly accepted the report and returned to his room. Then he opened his friend list and called 7156. It rang for a few minutes before he picked up.

"Sorry. Had more during settlement."

"It's okay. I heard that settlement for champions takes a while with all the legacy equipment growth. I'll transfer the money shortly, but let's first call Enigma to celebrate."

7156 nodded and the two of them pulled up their friend list to add him to the call. Yet when they found his name, their faces paled.

[Cannot add this member to the call. Please wait until after he leaves the world.]

This prompt confirmed it. They weren't seeing things. The name was dim. Genji still hasn't left the world.