Another secret encounter

{Jay Press has joined your crew}

{Jay Press}

{Lvl 2}

Sky was surprised to see Jericho and Jay talk, somehow they managed to hit it off. Jay learned a lot from Jericho of the Land of the Free, especially about the portals her dad had told her about.

Of course the knowledge regarding said portals was not a lot.

Jericho did keep her most important secret a secret, her magnetism ability. 

"So, Jay, a question: you just decided on a whim to join a crew you have never met before?" Sky asked.

"Yeah. It's been my dream since I was a kid to venture into the sea, to explore the world and see what it has to offer with people. Actually I was thinking of going by myself instead of you guys, but then I thought "if this man is a liar then I can beat him up" ya know?" Jay smiled at him.

Jay might be a kind man, but he was no stranger to fights.

Sky blankly stared at the man in front of him.

If this conversation happened before he got a system Jay could have indeed beat him up. But now?

"Sure, buddy, you could." Sky nodded his head repeatedly.

"Hey, Captain, what's your dream?"

"My dream?"

"Yeah, what have you always wanted to do? Was it to explore the sea? Is that why you're here?"

Jericho listened attentively.

"My dream… I guess my dream was to open up my own shop. Before it got destroyed I used to work at my parents' shop and I loved working there. My dream was to go to a big island, I would sell items that people from all over the world would want. It might not seem much but I really like it."

That was the truth. Before his island blew up Sky loved his life. It might not be for everybody but Sky wanted nothing more than a slow, decent life. The idea of exploring the sea, becoming an exterminator or Caribbean did wander his mind for a bit, but those dreams never catched on.

He does not see anything wrong with dreaming something small instead of something grand.

Even now he still wants to open his own shop someday.

But killing others and becoming stronger under the system's influence was like a drug that no one could shake.

"Your parents' shop got destroyed?" 

"Well not just the shop but the entire island got blown off into existence."

Even Jericho turned around. She has never heard of this.

"Wait, what? Captain what happened?"

"Well it started about two months ago…" Sky began telling them everything that happened in the first chapter.

"And even till now I have no idea how my aunt and her family knew what would happen, or how I ended up on that small island. And that's all I know."

"Wow… so Captain you've been traveling to the sea all this time to go back home to your parents? It's taken you nearly two months to get back home?"

"Well, no. I figured out shortly after that Peeves was about a month away. Really I should have been home by now… but." Sky looked at Jericho and he smiled. "I made a choice that set me back a month, but I don't regret it."

"So you're going home now?"

"Yes. Sorry but you're gonna have to wait for a bit, we're just going to travel and do nothing else."

"Are you kidding? Captain, you should quickly go to your family who are worried sick! Besides I've never been this far from home so it's already going great for me."

"Yeah… Jericho, can I talk to you on the other side of the ship?"

"Yes, Sky."

Both Jericho and Sky walked to the back of the ship. Jay was just happy to be out at sea.

"Jericho, I'm worried. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who enjoys watching people get murdered!"

"Sky, only three kinds of people enjoy that: killers, psychopaths, and you. I'm grateful you did not invite a killer/psychopath. But why did you invite him?"

"He has a talent that's why I chose him. But I'm worried if he sees how we usually act he's going to leave. You're stuck with me because I'm your way home to your family, but he can always leave the crew."

"Yes, your bloody and cruel methods are very questionable, but you can always choose not to kill."

"No, the benefits far outweigh the cons." 

Sky cannot give up on killing others. It was good money and exp.

If he had the chance to pick between his morals or his life he would always pick his life.

"Wait, you said he has talent? Do I have one as well?"

"No."

"Oh…"

"Relax, he's the first person I've seen with a talent after all this time. Talented people are very rare to find. That's why I really wanted him here."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know, I didn't plan this far ahead. Maybe I might be wrong and he doesn't want to leave the crew but what if he does? But, you know what I'll think about it after I get back to my parents. After that we'll find a way to get you back home."

{Received: 206 exp, 300 shells}

'Wait, what?' 

{The sub-crew has just entered a portal}

'Wow, they work fast.'

It might not seem much but it's something he earned by doing nothing.

Sky sat down behind the wheel and extended both his hands to the flag.

"Sorry if this is fast but I need to speed it up."

"Speed what up?"

A strong wind picked up and it sped up the ship significantly. Both Jericho and Jay nearly tripped.

"Oh, no wonder… I thought the ship was going fast these past few days but it was you after all." Jericho added.

"Woah, Captain, are you manipulating the wind?"

"Yeah."

"But that's a red-grade skill you can only get from red scrolls."

"I know."

As a kid Jay once saw a man that came to his island long ago. He too was able to control the winds. Apparently he came from the Land of the Dead and red scrolls were very common in that area. But the level of wind the man controlled was nowhere near as strong as Sky's.

It could be said that moment was the reason he got inspired to venture out to the sea.

To see it again made him feel happy like a kid.

"Hey, Jericho, can I talk to you?" Jay sat beside Jericho.

"Uhh… sure."

"What kind of person is Captain?"

"What kind?"

Jericho looked at Sky and all sorts of thoughts emerged: a killer, greedy, kind, merciless, weird, mysterious, strong, confident. 

"Well… he's a good pers…. He's a bit weird."

Jericho knew Sky wasn't a good person, even Sky himself admitted it. 

"Weird how?"

"Well notice how no one's driving the ship? That's the kind of weird I'm talking about plus more. You'll know what I'm saying if you're here long enough."

"Ah. But is he like a good Captain, strong, smart, or…?"

"He is strong. He can clear green portals by himself."

"No way. Seriously?"

Jay has never gone inside a portal but he has heard how only strong people can solo bosses.

"But he's also merciless. I just hope you have a strong stomach if you're going to be with us."

"Oh. So will he be mad if one day I decide to leave the crew?"

"I don't think he's unreasonable if you want to leave."

"So why are you with him?"

"Well my father sold me to slavery to pay back a debt he cannot pay back. I escaped by killing someone and hid myself with a bunch of other slave children, but I was being quickly tracked down by the same men who wanted to enslave me. Sky happened to be there and he saved me. He killed five or six men of a powerful and influential person to save me. Until recently Sky killed this powerful person to save me and himself."

Jericho will not explain the reason why she was being targeted for slavery.

As far as anyone knows only her, Sky, her family, and the Warlord and a few of his men knew of her secret. If those fishmen were as strong as she thinks they are then they would have killed mostly everyone who knew her ability.

"Oh wow. So our Captain is that kind of person." Jay was fascinated by Sky who saved Jericho from being enslaved.

Like many in this world Jay doesn't see anything wrong with slaves, it was a type of punishment meant for criminals. But it was different if the ones who are enslaved are innocent.

"Yes he is. And more. I'm gonna make some food."

"I'll help as well. I'm great at cooking."

Three days went by in a flash…

{Int: 218}

{Mana: 3,770/3770}

{Time until destination: 3 days}

{Wind manipulation: has evolved to wind runner}

{Wind runner: lvl 1: Able to masterfully manipulate winds to your will. Able to produce weak winds. Your speed is increased by 10%}

Sky smiled. This was a great surprise for him. 

Before he could only manipulate winds, now he could also produce it, as well as increase his speed by 10% and hopefully as he levels this skill more he'll get faster.

If Sky wanted to, he could create tornadoes, he could also extract the oxygen from the air and in a field and choke someone, as long as he had the mana required to do so.

Sky saw how Jericho and Jay were becoming good friends. Jay even learned a new skill.

{Cooking: lvl 1}

The system allows others to learn skills out of the blue like Sky could. This was of no surprise to him, he already knew that.

The other sub-crew were still clearing portals making him money and exp. The amount they earned was 25-30k shells per day which was very good.

Sky thought Jay might get bored or regretted his decision soon which is why he did not want to give Jay any levels.

But now he wanted to do something for Jay to see what he was dealing with. And to see if he's still willing to stick around.

"Guys, what do you say we clear a dungeon really quick?"

"Really?" Jericho and Jay's eyes widened out of joy. Jericho was getting bored in the ship doing nothing, and Jay has been looking forward to his first portal experience.

Jay had seen many portals pass by them and hoped that Sky would want to clear one, especially when Jericho told him Sky and she could solo one.

'Now that I think about it a red portal should appear any day now.'

Sky looked at his map and didn't see any red portals. It wasn't weird as the Land of the Free is a very large place. Even if he used the map it wasn't guaranteed to find the red portal. The first time he was lucky that it spawned so close to him.

The last time they cleared a red portal was a month ago. Red portals appear occasionally in the Land of the Free once every month or two.

"Yes. With any luck we'll find something good."

'I also really want to test out the new evolved skill.'

Sky picked the closest portal to them.

{Time until destination: 13 minutes}

It was a green+ dungeon. 

Now Sky was worried about Jay. Sky carried no long-range weapons and had no abilities that could go with his long-range talent.

Long-range weapons do drop on occasion in dungeons, but Sky hadn't seen one.

'Now that I think about it… I think I saw a long-range weapon in Larry's secret stash.' Sky groaned, he wasn't able to take the stuff with him because of Jericho's dad.

'Even to the end he managed to screw us.'

There are two abilities Sky can think of that could suit Jay, fireball and ice trident, but such abilities can only be found in red-scrolls. Sky got his ice trident ability in the Merchant's special store in the form of a book.

Not to mention he would have to increase his mana as well as his dex and strength stats. Perhaps there exists skills that suit Jay that Sky doesn't know. Or perhaps a long-range weapon will drop for Jay.

After some time they made it to the portal. 

"Nervous?" Sky asked Jay.

"Kind of. I think I'm both excited and scared. I mean I don't exactly have anything to protect myself."

"Here, I bought this some time ago." Sky handed him a sword and shield that was sitting in his inventory.

"Thanks, Captain!"

"Jay, quick question, how do you feel about guns?"

"Nothing, why?"

"No reason. Wear this and don't lose it."

Sky handed him the ring of 100 levels.

{HP: 7,150/7,150}

And as a result his max HP dropped down.

"Thanks?" Jay was confused but complied. It was the best crafted ring he had ever seen and it looked expensive.

They entered a dungeon and it was dark.

{Sea-terror dungeon}

"Woah! It's like a different world!" 

Jay was very excited like a puppy. His adventurous spirit was showing. 

{Share exp meter: Jay 100%}

Sky set the share exp so that just for today Jay would get levels. 

Holding the sword of mid-intelligence Sky led the other two deeper.

{Sword of mid-intelligence}

{Scaled with Int C-grade, Dex D-grade}

{300+ mana when held. Increases mana regen rate by 50% when held. Increases magic damage by 10% when held}

{Mana: 4,070/4,070}

Sky wanted to use this sword to increase his mastery of it. And using the naginata in such a tight space wasn't practical unless they're fighting a boss in a boss room with an abundance of space.

Sky noticed Jay was shaking not from fear but from excitement, as if the possibility of the unknown was exciting him. 

"Excited?" Jericho asked.

"Very much. Aren't you scared?"

"Nah. We've cleared this a bunch of times already." Jericho, with a smug look on her face, folded her and puffed her chest. She liked to show off a bit.

Green portals are really lacking in numbers, there are only: sea terror dungeons, island dungeons with baboons, and another identical island dungeon with lots of food in it. 

So far there are only three types of dungeons in green portals. But red portals were vastly different.

"Jay, want to take on a sea-terror on by yourself?" Sky asked.

"Can I?" Jay was happy to hear that.

Jay saw monster corpses being sold occasionally to the shop owners of his island so he knew what a sea-terror was. Some monsters can be sold for a variety of purposes, food, clothes, jewelry, potions, and more.

"Yeah, like that one." Sky pulled out a sea-terror using his telekinesis and forced it out of its wet hiding hole.

Jericho remained unfazed by the monster, but Jay remained still.

Sea-terrors were somewhat stronger than Jay, on average their stats were between 6-20 while the stronger ones were much higher than that.

The sea-terror was so confused that an invisible hand pulled him out of his hiding place. But it saw Sky, Jericho, and Jay, and when it confirmed Jay was the weakest in the bunch he jumped towards him to bite off his throat.

Sky was about to help him but Jay did something: Jay grabbed his sword and threw it right at the sea-terror's head right between his eyes, killing him instantly.

{Jay has leveled up}

{Jay has leveled up}

{Jay has leveled up}

{Jay has leveled up}

{Jay Press}

{Level 6}

"Nice shot!" Jericho complimented him.

"Thanks!" Jay pulled out the sword from the corpse and wiped it off.

"Wooh. Right between the eyes. You have good aim, this is why I want a long-range gun for you." 

Sky transformed the corpse into a card. The Merchant told him that selling monster carcasses was allowed, and Sky knows how important money is.

If he had billions he could have bought the legendary black scroll from the shop some time ago.

"Oh, you had that card ability?" 

"Yeah, it's very convenient."

"It really is."

They continued to explore the dungeon. Then they came across three sea-terrors.

Jay was ready to take them on all at once but Sky stepped in.

"I'll kill them. I need to see how this ability of mine does in combat." 

The three sea terrors ran to Sky. A strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and pinned all three sea-terrors to the ground. 

Jericho and Jay felt the intense wind. It was already so strong from where they're standing, but how much stronger was it if it was directly aimed at them?

Sky squinted his eyes. "This is me producing a weak wind when the skill level is at one? If I level this skill up could I just create tornadoes, hurricanes, natural disasters?" 

Sky stopped pinning down the sea-terrors with his wind. Sensing they might die if they fought Sky they retreated for help.

"Hmm… I prefer pinning them down with telekinesis. But this one might work." Sky slashed his hand like using a sword. A slice of wind was produced from his hand and it sliced all three fishmen like it was nothing.

{Jay level up}

{Jay level up}

{Jay level up}

{Jay…}

{Jay Press: lvl 9}

{HP: 160/160}

{Mana: 50/50}

{Str: 11 Dex: 15 Spd: 13 Int: 10 Mind: 13 Vig: 6}

{New skill learned}

{Wind slice: lvl 1: create a weak slice of sharp wind that can cut down anything in its path}

{Damage: 40} 

{Mana cost: 10}

"Hm, not bad. It's like an arc slash but it doesn't rely on a weapon."

Sky collected the bodies by turning them into cards.

Jay stared at Sky in amazement. But at the same time he could feel he was getting stronger, especially his mana was increasing. Thinking he was just feeling excitement from seeing Sky take action he ignored it.

For the most part Sky would kill the majority of the sea terrors while Jay had 1v1 fights with sea terrors. Everytime he fought one he killed one.

Unlike Sky it seemed he enjoyed the thrill of the fight rather than killing..

"Captain, I feel stronger for some reason." Jay thought,

At first he thought he was imagining it, but now he was certain he was growing stronger.

{Jay Press: lvl 14}

"It's normal to feel that way. The feeling will disappear in due time." Sky smirked inside. He likes to troll his crew members, heck he did the same thing to Jericho everytime she asked the same question.

"Jericho, do you feel stronger as well?" Jay wanted some clarification. 

"Haa…" Jericho let out a sigh. Without saying anything she patted his shoulder and left him to think for himself.

'Am I actually getting stronger or am I crazy?'

Halfway into the dungeon Sky stopped in his tracks. He sensed some wind coming from the wall beside him.

"Wind slice!"

{You have discovered secret path}

A new path was revealed. Seeing it made Sky remember the time he saw that secret boss. Sky entered without hesitating.

"Wait, I never heard of portals having secret passages like this!" Jay was beyond excited. Something new was happening that he didn't know.

Jericho let out a small laugh and rested her arm on his shoulder because she had said the same thing. Instead of being excited like he is, she was more confused at first.

"It's okay, this often happens. When I was your age I didn't know any better either." Jericho nodded her head.

"When you were my age? Aren't you younger than me?"

Jericho entered the passage with Jay following them from behind.

Once Jericho and Jay caught up to Sky they saw him staring at a boss door. The boss door was bigger than usual, and it had engravings in it.

The engravings were that of a huge, black spider with a skull on its body standing on a web. Surrounding it were even more tiny-spiders. 

"Sky, what is this?" Jericho had never seen a secret boss room until now.

"This is a secret boss. A bit stronger than the usual bosses we face but nothing compared to a red dungeon boss."

"I take it we're going in?" 

"Of course we are, Jay!"

"Yes!" Jay clenched his fist out of excitement.

"Jericho, just in case protect Jay and stay with him at all times."

Jericho nodded. She was glad she was getting strong enough to protect others now. Jay did not mind being protected by her, a little girl, like most older men would, he knows he's the weakest of the crew.

Sky pushed the door open. As soon as they stepped inside they noticed they were stepping on something sticky. They were stepping on spider webs. 

The spider webs weren't just on the floor but everywhere, the walls, the roof, the pillars supporting the roof. 

{Spider web floor: Slows down a anyone standing on it by 25%}

'So secret boss rooms do affect the room.'

The first time Sky fought his first secret boss the floor was mostly covered in water. That was so it would give the secret boss an advantage in the fight. Since then not a single boss room had an advantage on the player, nor did it have a second phase.

{Boss room is closed}

The loud sound of the door closing echoed throughout the room. 

Then Sky sensed something large that jumped from above and it was about to land right on top of them.

Sky used his telekinesis and threw the giant entity far away.

{Mana cost: 400}

{Mana: 3,670/4,070} 

The giant entity he threw was none other than the spider boss itself and it landed safely on the wall. It was waiting to get a jump on its unsuspecting prey.

'Identify.'

{Skull armor spider} {Secret boss}

{A type of spider born from millions of years of evolution. They have an incredibly durable butt that works as a piece of armor. Skull spiders tend to grow as tall as 5 meters and tend to eat its own kind especially children}

{HP: 1600/1600}

{Mana: 200/200}

{Str: 20 Dex: 40 Spd: 140 Int: 40 Mind: 40 Vig: 50}

{Spider bite: Bites inflict poison damage}

{Skull armor: The skull area nullifies 50% of all damage. 1000+ HP}

{Hunger: Restore 25% of total health per each prey eaten}

{Spider web shooter: Enemies caught in the spider web are slowed down by 50%}

{Personality: Glutton}

"Ice trident! Absolute shot!" Sky threw his ice trident at it. He wasn't worried about it since its stats are lower than what he's used to.

He just wanted to get rid of it before it activated its annoying second phase.

The trident flew fast, but the spider was faster and the trident hit the part of its armor, causing significant damage instead of killing it in one blow}

{Critical hit! 3000 damage dealt: 50% negated → 1500}

{Skull armor spider has entered second phase}

'Seriously? Just 100 more HP! Just one hit away from death!' 

Now Sky knows how every player feels when they are this close to killing something when it was only one hit away.

The skull in the spider's butt was cracked. It jumped on the roof and it screeched so loud.

Just then hundreds of spiders that were identical to the skull armor spider descended from the roof but much in size. They either descended with their webs or crawled down the walls and pillars.

The spiders themselves were as big as human-sized heads.

{Skull spider(child)}

{Str: 15 Dex: 15 Spd: 15 Int: 15 Mind: 15 Vig: 15}

Their stats are higher than most sea-terrors but they had no special abilities only relying on their numbers.

As Sky was about to throw another ice trident at the ice spider he stopped as an idea crept up on him. 

But then he saw the boss eating its own children to regain its health.

'Well that's annoying.' Sky thought. Bosses should not be able to heal themselves… is what every dark souls player has said once in their lives.

"Woah, this is awesome!" Jay had never heard of a spider boss before.

"Is it?" Jericho was more confused about how Jay could be so calm in this situation, the reason she wasn't freaking out is because she is stronger than the secret boss.

As the spiders got closer Sky crushed them with his telekinesis. He imagined it as crushing bugs with his hands.

{Jay has received 800 exp}

{You have received 660 shells}

Sky smiled. Killing these spiders netted him minuscule amounts of exp and money, but there are hundreds or so spiders, if he killed them all it would eventually add up and Jay would level up several times especially with the ring of a hundred levels.

Not to mention his false warlord shirt gave him an extra 10% shells when killing.

The thought of using wind and pyrokinesis did cross his mind, but using fire would burn down the whole room including themselves because webs are flammable. And using strong winds in such a confined room would also hurt them.

"Just kill them. They're a tiny bit stronger than sea-terrors."

Sky didn't even have to say anything, Jay was stabbing the skull spiders, used the shield to protect himself, while Jericho kept him safe from harm.

'I have really grown stronger since last time.'

If this was the secret boss he had fought instead of that other one back when he was weaker, would he have survived?

Sky crushed every spider with his telekinesis, the glorious ringing sound of exp and shells that he earned were ringing continuously.

Jericho was faster than the spiders, using a knife she would stab their heads or slice them in half. 

Jay was obviously slower and weaker thus he couldn't do much but did try his best.

Sky saw the number of spiders was decreasing as he alone killed more than 500, but just then a new notification popped up in front of him.

{You have continuously killed 500 spiders in a short amount of time}

{New title unlocked}

{Spider-boy! Spider-boy! Does whatever a spider can: Facing a spider-type will see you as one of their kind and won't attack you unless you attack it first. 50% increase in stats and 25% increase damage reduction when facing spider monsters}

"Woah. Why is this much better than the monkey title?"

{You unlocked this title by yourself by killing a large number of spiders in a short amount of time. If you had killed those baboons in a short time instead of taking 3 days you would have gotten a better title}

"Oh I get it. I'm guessing I won't see a mini-boss this time or…?"

There was no response.

This made him question something: if he were to annihilate an entire population of people would he also get a title?

Just then Jericho killed the final spider.

The spider boss fell and it screeched at them. It shot its webs at the crew but Sky used his telekinesis to throw its webs away.

{Skull armor spider} (Secret boss)

{HP: 1,600/1,600}

Putting his sword away he took out the naginata from his inventory.

{Mana: 3,333/3,770}

"Dash. Mana grace. Super strength."

{Speed is increased by 45% for 1 minute}

{Strength is increased by 25% for 10 minutes}

{Maximum mana has increased and recovered by 50% for 10 minutes}

Sky jumped up high.

The spider tried to run but Sky kept it in place with his telekinesis.

With his naginata Sky stabbed the spider boss in its head.

{Dealt a killing blow}

{Secret boss{skull armor spider} has been felled: 100% increase in rewards 1+ secret item}

{Received: 12,000 exp, 8,800 shells, spider glasses(final hit reward)}

{Jay Press has leveled up}

{Jay Press has leveled up}

{Jay Press has…}

{Jay Press}

{Level 24}

This is the reason Sky really wanted to find these secret bosses, the awards they give are really good. He can only imagine how tough and rewarding the secret bosses in red dungeons are.

Sky took the boss's carcass with him. A chest spawned in the middle of the room.

"Hey Jay, since this is your first time in a dungeon, want to see the inside of the chest?"

"Yes, please!" Jay ran through the spider corpses and blood of the spiders and reached the chest. He had once dreamed of this moment as a kid.

Whenever Sky opens a chest he gets the rewards immediately sent to his inventory. He had done this with Jericho before and whenever someone else opens it, even if they're in his crew the items don't appear in his inventory.

Jay opened it and his eyes popped out.

"Captain! Three green scrolls, money, an item, and a red scroll as well! You're rich!"

"Can I see?" 

{Green scroll: Curse of slowness}

{Green scroll: Curse of slowness}

{Green scroll: Increased speed stat by 10 permanently}

{Red scroll: Increases intelligence stat by 35}

'Seriously? Two of the same spell?' Sky didn't really care as he had all the abilities from the green scrolls.

{Gloves of 8-eyes(green rank)

{100+ HP when worn. 5+ Dex when worn}

{Able to climb walls}

{Spider glasses: green+ grade}

{200+ HP when worn}

{Able to see 2-8x further while wearing}

"Hmm… I already have my gauntlets of vitality so the gloves are of no use to me. However…" Sky looked at Jay and Jericho.

During the past few days he thought of something that hadn't crossed his mind, how was he going to pay his crew?

Most people in a crew get paid even those exterminators who are self-employed get paid in either shells, or items. The one who handles the payment is none other than the captain.

He never had to worry about paying Jericho until now because he was too worried about killing the Warlord before the quest timer was up. But without the looming threat of something terrible happening he had to pay his crew to make them stay.

One cannot expect the people under him to continue being his crew if they do not get paid for their efforts. 

Sky placed all the items in his inventory. He faced his crew and said, "I have something important to tell you two after we leave this dungeon. Let's kill the other boss."

"What's a dungeon?" Jay hadn't heard of that word before because dungeons are only known as portals.