Chapter 52
Chapter 52 - Aegis of Protection
After the brief dialogue with Dumas the two returned to silently staring out the display as the sun finally slipped beneath the horizon, seemingly swallowed whole by the ocean. The sky faded from orange to deep purple before the world was engulfed in darkness. Thick clouds hid both the moon and the stars.Normally, there would have been nothing left to see. Instead, countless red, green, and blue lights flickered beneath the waves.
"RGB?" Mei muttered.
One of the glowing lights leapt from the water, revealing the source of the dazzling display.
It was a glowing fish. It was small, at least when compared to Titan's Grave.
Each fish was roughly the size of a great white shark, their bodies covered in bioluminescent scales. An entire school swam alongside the colossal ship.
"So pretty."
"Mhm."
The spectacle remained mesmerizing for a while, but eventually even the glowing fish lost their novelty.
Mei yawned and stretched back in her chair.
Adam's eyes drifted downward despite himself. As she arched her back, the fabric of her shirt stretched to its limit, threatening to lose its battle against her chest.
She caught him staring.
A teasing smile spread across her face.
"Wanna touch 'em?"
"Of course." He laughed awkwardly. "But I figured you'd be too tired. Besides... it still feels a little strange after talking to Dumas."
"Didn't he say he wouldn't look?"
"He can say whatever he wants. Whether he actually keeps that promise is another thing."
Automated Message: Sender - System AI
The system is currently set to Privacy Mode. No personnel may view your internal stream. The system AI is the only entity capable of accessing records while Privacy Mode is active. It will not actively monitor, record, or share any information unless it detects a system-altering error or event.
"So we've got a lifeless AI watching us all the time?"
Mei shrugged.
"Doesn't bother me. It's basically the same as recording on a camera."
"I guess..."
He scratched the back of his head.
"We've never actually set up a camera before."
"You want to?"
"Where would we even get a camera?"
She shrugged again.
"I don't know. The Game gave me guns. A camera doesn't seem that far-fetched."
He couldn't argue with that.
"Oh! I have an idea."
"For getting a camera?"
"No." She grinned. "Just wait."
She summoned her Legendary Magic Closet into the corner of the room.
The door swung open, and a tiny oni dressed in a maid uniform stepped out.
"Mistress?" Naomi asked. "How may I assist you tonight?"
Lately, the two of them had started role-playing as maid and mistress. Adam still had no idea why.
After whispering something to Naomi that Adam couldn't quite make out, Mei produced an enormous black T-shirt that looked large enough for both of them to wear at once.
She tossed it to him.
"Put that on and lie on the bed."
Adam looked down at the shirt.
Oversized Black T-Shirt (Super Rare)
Can fit two people.
Effect: It's a Secret - Blocks perception.
He wanted to ask what she was planning, but she'd already disappeared into the walk-in closet.
With little choice, he slipped on the oversized shirt, removed the rest of his outer clothing, and climbed onto the bed to wait.
A moment later, Mei returned wearing an extremely short silk nightgown that hinted at far more than it concealed.
As she walked toward him, the magical garment gradually shrank until it dissolved away, leaving her in a frilly white bra and matching panties that contrasted beautifully with her dark tan skin.
She climbed onto the bed, slipped beneath the oversized shirt beside him, and nestled comfortably against his chest.
Her face appeared inches from his.
Without saying a word, she kissed him.
The warmth of her body pressed against his, and the softness of her skin sent a pleasant shiver through him. His body reacted immediately, earning a mischievous smile from Mei as she shifted closer.
"Pretty good idea, right?" she whispered.
"It..." He swallowed hard, trying not to let out an embarrassing sound. "It was a great idea."
Their bedroom activities lasted well into the night before exhaustion finally claimed them. As they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, schools of bioluminescent fish continued splashing across the moonlit sea outside their window.
— — —
The following morning marked their first official day aboard Titan's Grave.
While Mei set off with Darius on another tour of the ship, Adam remained behind. Her destination was the ship's various weapon emplacements, which she would soon be responsible for commanding.
With the combined benefits of her hidden talents and Gunslinger class, Darius estimated she would increase Titan's Grave's offensive capabilities by more than fifty percent.
Enough, they claimed, to stand against the Mythic-grade Sea Titan lurking somewhere on the ocean floor.
Rather than accompany them, Adam claimed an empty stretch of the massive upper deck to continue practicing the spell chants he had been developing before they left the orc city.
He had been attempting to use the stories his mother used to read him as inspiration. For instance, Greek mythology used to be one of his favorite things to have his mother read to him about.
And it wasn't the Greek mythology found in children's books, like Percy Jackson.
No, it was real, true mythology.
He took a slow breath before raising his hand.
"Indestructible shield, Aegis, I call you forth to protect that which should never be harmed!"
His voice echoed across the deck.
Golden mana gathered before him, swirling together into the shape of a magnificent bronze shield decorated with intricate gold filigree. At its center rested the face of a beautiful woman whose hair had become a nest of twisting serpents. The shield measured roughly three feet from top to bottom, perfectly round and large enough to cover his entire upper body.
A notification immediately appeared before him.
[Divine Shield] upgraded to [Aegis of Protection]
[Aegis of Protection] (Legendary Spell)
A magical replica of the famous armor and shield wielded by the god Zeus and goddess Athena of Greek mythology. It commands near-perfect protection and terrifying divine power.
Effects:
Form of Zeus: The shield transforms into a breastplate. Personal defense increases by 90%, and all damage dealt to allies is redirected to the wearer.
Judgement of Zeus: Once the accumulated damage reaches a critical point, the wearer may unleash it upon a chosen target once per battle.
Form of Athena: The shield remains in its original form. Increases the party's defense by 80% and heals all allies for 20% of their maximum health whenever the shield blocks a powerful attack.
Athena's Grace: If an ally receives fatal damage heal them to full health and remove all status effects.
Medusa's Gaze: Activate the gorgon head attached to the shield or breastplate, petrifying everything within its line of sight for three seconds.
Adam simply stared at the shield.
"...That worked out better than I could have imagined. I just wanted a sturdy shield."
After collecting himself, he pulled a worn leather spell book from his inventory. Its aged cover shimmered faintly with mysterious markings that pulsed with magic.
With a thought, the book opened to a blank page.
With another thought, [Aegis of Protection] was drawn into the spell book, disappearing from his hands as glowing strands of mana flowed into the empty page.
The blank parchment filled with an elegant illustration of the Aegis in its shield form. Beneath it, lines of glowing text rapidly wrote themselves, recording every effect and attribute of the newly created spell.
Then, with a third thought, the spell book cast [Aegis of Protection] instantly, requiring no chant whatsoever.
The only drawback was a slight increase in mana consumption. Which was negligible when considering he could freely cast a Legendary spell.
Even after accounting for the additional mana required by the spell book, the total cost was still lower than casting a normal Legendary-grade spell outright. The cost of [Divine Shield], combined with the chant's upgrade effect, allowed him to bypass the immense mana requirements that Legendary magic normally demanded.
He knew that from painful experience.
Shortly after arriving in the tutorial, he had accidentally created a Legendary spell and nearly killed himself trying to cast it. Even with his B-rank Magic stat, truly casting Legendary spells was still well beyond his natural limits.
But upgrading strong, non-legendary spells through chants...
That was apparently an entirely different story.
He glanced down at the spell book with a faint smile.
He still couldn't believe his hastily assembled chant had actually worked.
During the past week of practice, most of his experimental chants had either failed outright or produced such insignificant effects that they weren't worth remembering. Only occasionally would one produce a meaningful enhancement.
Whenever that happened, he immediately recorded the successful spell inside his spell book.
After following Dumas's advice and asking Ymir about the mysterious tome, he had finally learned its true purpose.
The spell book wasn't limited to storing ordinary spells.
It could record any spell.
Chanted spells.
Traditional spells.
Even spells cast by other people.
As long as he witnessed the spell, the book could preserve it forever.
When he'd first discovered the artifact, he'd dismissed it as little more than a fancy notebook.
Now he realized it might be one of the most valuable treasures he owned.
He was about to continue practicing his chants when another notification suddenly appeared only inches from his face.
Startled, Adam instinctively took a step backward before focusing on the translucent blue screen.
Summon Request:
Dumas, Head of Administration Department, has requested that you join him in the special domain (Seaside Chat).
Would you like to accept the request?
Attached Message:
This is the first special broadcast.
Adam's first instinct was to deny the request.
Unfortunately, doing so would violate the contract he and Mei had signed.
He hadn't bothered reading every page before putting his name on it, but he had skimmed enough of the important clauses to know the consequences.
One condition required them to accept every summon request issued by the administration department.
The first refusal would cost them a level.
The second would permanently reduce one of their stat ranks.
The third would result in immediate disqualification from the tutorial.
"...What a ridiculous contract."
There wasn't much of a choice.
Adam was certain Mei had already accepted her summons, so after letting out a resigned sigh, he reluctantly made his decision.
"Yeah... accept."
Acceptance Registered
Please stand in an open area with no other living beings present for the summoning to commence.
Adam glanced around.
The upper deck was practically deserted, with the nearest crew members working several dozen yards away. Apparently that was far enough away for the system to consider him alone.
The summoning began immediately.
A brilliant flash of white light swallowed his vision.
The next instant, the deck beneath his feet vanished.
When the light faded, Adam found himself standing barefoot on soft white sand beneath a cloudless blue sky. Towering palm trees swayed gently in a warm ocean breeze while sparkling teal waves lazily rolled onto the beach. Elegant cabanas lined the shore, giving the place the appearance of an extravagant tropical resort.
Then his gaze shifted farther down the beach.
Two beautiful muscular women lounged beneath the sun, wearing slingshot bikinis so absurdly tiny they seemed to defy the laws of physics.
Adam frowned.
"...Seriously?"
Then he glanced down at himself.
His eyes twitched.