End Online: Volume 5 (10 page)

I have a conversation with Henry, my boss, about the situation.
I hope he will interfere and separate the rest of my party from me so I can get
closer to Lost and his companion, but am met with stubborn refusal. According
to Henry, I simply have put up with it as outside interference could create
needless suspicion from my targets. As such, I am once again trapped within the
clutches of the guild.

I do quite enjoy the battle with the sea monsters, relishing it
even more when one of my party members perishes. Looking in from outside the
game versus actually being in it create two completely different sets of
experiences.

I don’t need to worry about the attacks of the sea monster,
since my real life expertise in martial arts is more than enough for me to
survive anything short of the ship sinking. The ship sinking would create a
considerable dilemma, given Lost’s party would also be sent back to their spawn
point. I look at the kingdom insignia on the backs of their right hands, and
frown at the thought of chasing them down again.

For the purpose of countering every possible outcome, I have
some employees stationed near the spawn locations in both Grenton and Iceridge.
If they do end up dying and respawning, my spies can quickly respond and
continue tracking them until I catch up.

I notice Lost approach stealthily as I am talking with Henry.
His eavesdropping may go unnoticed by a standard player, but I recognize his
intentions immediately.

‘Does he suspect me?’ I inwardly worry as I move away from
him and continue talking to Henry who is beside my real body.

The biggest shock comes during a storm that hits the boat late
one evening. Four players are blown off the ship by the aftermath of a single
lightning bolt. When they climb back onto the ship, they are all afflicted with
a terrible cold from the icy waters of the ocean, even the companion Fen.

As the sickness overcomes and weakens the companion, a blinding
light issues from her body. What is revealed from the light is not a girl
anymore, but the body of a massive, snow-white wolf. Fragments of the red dress
she once wore float about in the air, before the stormy winds catch them and
carry them off into the sky.

Seeing the wolf, I immediately recall the day when Henry
informed me about the ‘children’ that the master AI entity ‘Xilbril’ gave birth
to. They have strange abilities, capable of affecting the game around them.
Some are in the form of NPCs, while others play at being various monsters. What
is to stop them from changing in between the two?

While thinking of how this child AI has attached itself to Lost
in the game, my mind becomes blank and my heart turns cold.

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Lost-

Fen’s massive wolf body causes the ship to list sideways as one
side drops dangerously low, threatening to sink into the ocean. She is lightly
panting and her eyes remain closed.

Her wolf form is slightly different than when I first met her
though. Back then she was only about three meters tall and five meters long.
Although she is currently lying down on her side, if she were to stand up she
would be four meters tall and seven meters long; truly a queen among beasts.

Apart from Sir Laurence, everyone is staring at the wolf with
their mouths open. The only sounds that can be heard are the whistling of the
wind and crack of thunder in the sky.

“L-lost!?” Mason shouts out in disbelief, “Since when w-was
she!?”

“S-She isn’t a player?” CaptainGordon stares stupidly and even
forgets to speak in a pirate accent.

Seeing Verde’s dumbfounded look, I am now one hundred percent
certain about her having amnesia. Sir Laurence spares a glance toward her as
well, coming to the same conclusion. Suddenly, I have a small hope that seeing
Fen in this form may actually help bring some memories back to Verde.

“W-w-what is s-she?!” Moonkite points her finger at the
motionless wolf, stammering half from shock and half from the bone-chilling
cold she must be feeling as much as I am.

A lot of eyes fall on me for answers, and I find myself unable
to think of a response.

Taking a deep breath, I repeat the same explanation I once gave
Mason, “She is a ‘companion’. I have a quest to find her missing father, or at
least find out what happened to him. There are no specific clues as of yet, so
we travel a lot in search of answers.”

Everyone stares incredulously, but still manages to accept my
explanation.

“Lost, this may be able to help spark some memories in Verde.
Can you make her small again?”
 Sir
Laurence’s voice sounds in my mind as he sends a private message.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any more ‘Scrolls of Shrinking’.
She took human form after I had run out of them so I never thought to buy
more.”

Not being able to hear our exchange of words, the others can
only see the prince frown while I sigh.

“This not be good!” CaptainGordon calls out in shock while
examining the ship. “We be takin’ on water! All of ye need to go beneath deck
and bucket it out else we all be sinkin’ shortly!”

I ignore the captain, leaning over toward Fen and placing one
hand on her jaw below her canine ear. I can feel her breath, weak and
restrained. My heart aches as if I can feel her pain transmitting through my
hand.

“Fen, just hold on. We will get through this shortly and you
will get better. I have the same status so I know it will only last three
days.”

I offer a few more consoling words while sitting down next to
her to remain by her side. I don’t even realize the others leaving to bail out
the water still entering the ship.

CaptainGordon remains at the helm to steer the ship and doesn’t
bother me further. He glances toward me a few times with curiosity, but doesn’t
say anything. Or if he does, I don’t notice it.

Lightning strikes the mast two more times, but Fen’s body does
not budge and the shock wave only pushes me tighter against her. After that the
winds dull and the rain becomes a light shower. The ocean swells begin to calm
and water stops entering the ship. We are safe from capsizing, but everyone is
still busy removing the residual water.

Even the rain eventually stops and the skies begin to clear.
Hundreds of thousands of stars become visible in the night sky, incomparably
beautiful to behold. I am sitting down next to Fen, resting my back against her
as I gaze up at the lights dancing in the sky. Occasionally, I offer a few
words to Fen, just to let her know I am still here.

The eastern horizon begins to glow red and the stars dim as
morning approaches. By this time, all the water below has been removed and
everyone ascends to the main deck. Despite closing my eyes, I can still feel
their attentive gazes as they emerge.

The sun peeks above the water and CaptainGordon retracts the
spotlight from the front quarter deck as it is no longer required.

“Land ho!!” The pirate shouts out not even an hour later,
rousing me from my lethargy and torpor.

Fen is still semi-conscious as I open my eyes and look at her
with concern. I try asking her how she is feeling, and her ears twitch in response
to my words, but her eyelids slide shut and she doesn’t respond any further.

Taking to my feet, I gaze across the ocean toward where everyone
else is looking. A rocky land of red and brown stone with no vegetation can be
seen several hundred meters away.  It gradually gets closer and it is a
very small piece of land. The towering rocks inland of the island prevent me
seeing deeper inside, but I suspect that the island is no more than a mile from
one side to the other.

I can vaguely make out the shapes of some creatures on top of a
few straggling rocks along the shore.

The shapes turn out to be mermaids. Electric blue, green and
pink tails of crystalline scales extend from their bottom half. Pale skin as
clear as silk is viewable on their upper half without a stitch of clothing.
Their long hair covers their breasts, but the occasional gust reveals glimpses
of their supple nature. Every single male on the ship, including myself, are
currently staring at them wide-eyed in silence.

Their faces are incomparably beautiful. One of them giggles
lightly to the others and a musical voice echoes across the waves, entrancing
each and every one of us.

One of the mermaids notices us approaching when we get closer to
them, points a finger and lets out a shrill cry like nails on a blackboard.
This alerts the other mermaids and they all turn to stare in surprise and
shock.

I can’t help but clap my hands over my ears to shield them from
the noise. The mermaids quickly wrap one hand around their bosoms and spring
into the ocean. The surface calms and the coastline is desolate, almost as if
they were never there.

“What just happened?” Mason questions with wide eyes.

“They be mermaids!” CaptainGordon replies in equal shock. “Some
say seein’ them be good fortune, others say it be poor.”

Seeing those stunning mermaids was definitely good fortune for
every male around. The shrill cry at the end, however, was nothing if not
foreboding. The females of our group staring at us in disgust is just as nerve
chilling.

“Typical,” Moonkite glares at Mikhail more than anyone else
while saying this.

“Despicable,” Verde spits out vehemently, but rather than at Sir
Laurence, speaking directly to me.

The two girls turn around and form their own small group. Sir
Laurence tries to join them, but is violently sent away.

We drop anchor along the shore of the island, and we all
disembark. I make sure to speak with Fen a little more, asking that if she gets
the chance, to log off. She should be safe here on the ship as long as it is
docked according to CaptainGordon, but I am still deeply worried.

The two girls form one group on the island, still refusing to
stand near the rest of us. We also form teams of two. Mason and Matrix in the
first group, Sir Laurence and myself in the second, SomaHealer and Lockon in
the third, CaptainGordon and Mikhail the Stalwart in the final.

“Lost, Verde seemed particularly irritated at you for staring at
those bare mermaids,” Sir Laurence mutters with his usual coldness.

I can only get more depressed at being reminded, “…She did.”

“She has normally been very indifferent to us since she
returned. Could this be a sign of her memory returning? Perhaps seeing Fen in
her wolf form caused some sort of recollection.”

“I am not sure.”

“We need something considerable to spark her memories. Only, I
don’t know what. I’ve tried bringing up conversation of when we first met you,
but still nothing.”

“You have? Ah, well, I wonder what we can do…” My thoughts stray
to when I momentarily forgot myself and kissed her in the goblin cave. My cheeks
flush from the memory, but I quickly turn my head and pretend to look around
the island to conceal my face from the man next to me.

Our conversation slowly dies off, each of us gradually bringing
up fewer and fewer ideas to help jog Verde’s memory. The girls eventually stop
rebuffing us by midday, and rejoin the rest of us.  When they rejoin us,
we form back into our original two groups. Spending so much time on the empty
ocean on a cramped ship leaves us with an urge to explore.

Due to the lack of Fen and one of the players of Mikhail’s party
dying, we only have five people in each group. CaptainGordon spends some time
in the middle not knowing what to do, before finally deciding to join our
party. After he accepts my party invite, his status appears in the party
window.