Chapter 110: Faster [Bonus]

[Bonus Chapter thanks to castle from BobThe Engineer <3]

Jaxir watched the crew close in around him and let out a slow breath through his nose. He should’ve known the diplomatic approach wasn’t going to work, but Divinity had been realistic enough about everything else that he’d figured there was at least a chance the captain would listen when his ship was actively being torn apart.

"Fuck. I really should’ve known better."

Nick glanced toward him. "That’s a surprisingly healthy amount of self-awareness."

"Go downstairs and see if you can get the egg out."

Nick’s expression changed immediately. "Excuse me?"

Jaxir kept his attention on Hale as the Level-17 crewman started toward them, the harpoon-like weapon in his hands already shifting into position. Jaxir hadn’t touched the egg earlier because the Mana pulsing around its restraints had looked complicated enough that asking the captain nicely seemed faster, but if Nick was half the thief he pretended not to be, he might have something that could deal with them.

"Whatever is locking that crate is covered in Mana restrictions. I didn’t want to waste time figuring them out when I could just ask the captain to give it up. But apparently that was too optimistic."

"I am not a thief, I’m a gentleman."

"Yes, yes. Whatever you say."

Hale broke into a run, forcing Jaxir to keep most of his attention forward. Nick scoffed beside him, clearly offended that he was being assigned work when the quest hadn’t even bothered acknowledging his existence.

"You’re making me do all the work for a quest I didn’t even get."

Jaxir waved one hand. "Don’t think I forgot how much of my money you kept. Those Common and Uncommon items cost a fraction of what I gave you."

Nick cleared his throat just as Hale raised the harpoon gun.

"Good luck, dear friend."

Then he turned and scurried toward the stairs.

"STOP HIM!" Captain Verren roared.

Hale seemed to decide Jaxir was already the more immediate problem and fired. The harpoon snapped from the weapon with a metallic crack, the chain behind it stretching tight as the projectile shot straight toward Jaxir’s chest.

Something inside Jaxir’s perception shifted before he even moved.

He felt the weight of the harpoon, the speed it carried and the relationship between its momentum and his own position almost all at once. Sparkle Mana slipped into that relationship without the usual strain, and Jaxir took one short step aside while giving the projectile the smallest push off course.

The harpoon missed him by several inches.

Jaxir’s eyes narrowed as it buried itself in the deck behind him. Yesterday, manipulating something moving that quickly would’ve required deliberate focus and a much rougher use of Mana, but this had happened almost as naturally as moving his own arm.

"Well.. well... well..." he muttered.

Hale yanked the weapon backward, and the chain ripped the harpoon free before snapping it into place. He covered the remaining distance at the same time, jumped from the deck and drove the reinforced weapon toward Jaxir’s head like a spear.

Jaxir pulled out his staff and formed a Cast.

At least, that was what he’d intended to do.

Mana rushed into the spell so quickly that the bullet swelled before Jaxir consciously fed it much of anything. For a moment, it felt like he’d started using Channel by mistake, except there had been no slow accumulation and none of the familiar effort of holding the attack together.

He fired before it could grow any larger.

BANG.

The mana bullet smashed into Hale’s chest and knocked him out of the air.

[-34]

Hale hit the deck and slid several meters before catching himself with one hand, while Jaxir stared at the fading traces of Mana around his staff. That had been a casual Cast, but the amount of Mana packed inside felt closer to something he would’ve needed almost 5 seconds of Channel to produce before.

Even more ridiculous was the damage.

Hale was almost 10 Levels above him and across an entire major Tier, yet the attack had still punched through for more than 30 damage. Jaxir felt a grin start to form as one obvious question pushed everything else aside.

If his normal Cast had changed this much, what the hell would happen when he actually charged one?

Hale didn’t give him time to find out.

The crewman surged forward and swept the harpoon low before reversing it toward Jaxir’s ribs. Jaxir stepped over the first strike and twisted around the second, but the ease of his own movement threw off his timing enough that the edge still clipped his robes.

He clicked his tongue while backing away.

His body was reacting faster than the habits he’d built around it, and Mana was gathering at a pace that made his old casting rhythm feel slow. If he’d understood his new limits before this fight started, Jaxir doubted Hale would’ve lasted more than a few exchanges.

The harpoon gun cracked again.

This time, Jaxir felt the projectile almost the instant it left the barrel. He shifted its path with Sparkle Mana while leaning the opposite way, and the harpoon missed his shoulder before slamming deep into one of the thick support pillars behind him.

Hale grinned and the chain tightened.

Jaxir understood the plan just before Hale triggered the reel and launched himself forward, using the anchored chain to drag his body across the deck at a speed that lifted both feet from the wood. He held the weapon straight ahead while closing the distance, turning the entire motion into a spear charge aimed at Jaxir’s chest.

"Nice try."

Jaxir raised his staff and let 3 Casts form in rapid succession.

The first struck Hale across the hands.

[-18]

His grip broke just as the second Cast hit beneath his ribs, and the force caught his airborne body before he could recover.

[-27]

Hale lifted higher and sailed over Jaxir’s head.

Jaxir turned with him while the third Cast gathered at the tip of his staff, still faster and denser than it had any right to be. He barely gave it time to stabilize before firing directly into Hale’s back.

"One more for good measure."

BANG.

[-39]

The final Cast sent Hale over the railing and into the river with a heavy splash.

Jaxir kept his attention on the water until Hale resurfaced a few moments later, sputtering while the current carried him alongside the ship. The quest hadn’t complained, which meant throwing an irritating pirate into the river apparently didn’t count as harming any of the creatures he was supposed to protect, thankfully.

Around him, the rest of the crew had stopped moving, and the Hale screamed as the wild beasts around him found themselves an easy target.

"HALE!"

Captain Verren’s roar cut across the deck.

Jaxir turned toward him while lowering his staff, and the man’s face had gone red with fury.

"I don’t think he’s going to last very long in there, so I’d focus on your bigger problems if I were you." Jaxir grinned. "That being me."

He raised his staff at the remainder of the crew. Suddenly, he was looking forward to the outcome. He was really starting to love this game no matter how bullshit it was.