Chapter 29 The Teaching Incident

Thud!
The deck shattered, and tentacles surged into the sky.
Just as the battle showed signs of turning around, another Abyssal Aberration complicated the situation in an entirely unexpected way. Jesse Pinkman, who was just about to rise to his feet, had his legs suddenly coiled by tentacles. Despite his formidable strength, the owner of those tentacles gave him no chance to exert his power, yanking him violently so that Jesse’s feet left the air and his body crashed onto the deck.
Sensing that the tentacles on his legs were tightening again, Jesse hooked his fingers into the ground to resist their pulling force. However, the already slippery deck was now smeared with mucus and blood from the aberration, leaving him with zero traction. Instantly, he was tossed into the air by the whipping tentacles, hurtling toward the edge of the ship and looking as though he would be flung straight into the sea.
Just in time, Ember used his active soft-bodied symbiotic arm to beat back the leader and boss-tier aberrations, then swung through the air to lash around Jesse’s right arm. With a powerful pull, he altered the police chief’s trajectory, allowing him to grab onto the railing by a narrow margin and narrowly escape the doom of falling into the ocean.
"Watch out!"
A shaken Jesse Pinkman had no time to feel relief, for the Abyssal Aberration he had just knocked down was already standing once again, its two tentacles launching a whipping attack straight at Ember’s back. The rhythm of the combat was breathtakingly suffocating.
Fortunately, Jesse’s warning came just in time. Ember instantly snapped to attention at the impending crisis and activated his set skill without hesitation. Before the tentacle whip could land, he morphed into the state of an Inferior Biomorphic Fiend. The two tentacles impaled right through his body, yet failed to deal a single shred of damage. In this form, Ember was virtually intangible; no matter how wide the sole eye on the Abyssal Aberration's forehead stared, it could only watch helplessly as he dissolved into a puddle of dark bluish-green sludge, turning the tables to trap all three aberrations within it.
"Wuu-ah... Wuu-ah..."
Perhaps because the Inferior Biomorphic Fiend and the aberrations both belonged to dark entities, the Abyssal Aberration could quickly perceive the danger creeping from beneath its feet. However, this did not mean it had the ability to escape the danger zone. As the unknown radiation deepened further, words like "agile" and "spry" grew increasingly distant from it. Even though its legs had yet to undergo drastic physical changes, it had already lost the capacity for flexible movement.
As for its two underlings, while they still retained some basic running capability, their sensitivity to kindred threats was far inferior. Without even realizing the potential danger, they were suddenly enveloped by a cluster of soft balloons materialized beneath their feet, which Ember controlled to bounce them toward the doorway of the pilothouse.
Pop!
The balloons burst, and all three landed. Without a word, Ember rolled into the pilothouse to one side and slammed the cabin door shut. He did not capitalize on the stiffened state to pursue the three aberrations, because Qiu Yinong had recovered her stamina by this point. After days of coordination, while they could not claim to share a telepathic link, they had established a basic tacit understanding. A mere glance from the corner of Ember's eye was enough for him to realize that Qiu Yinong, raising her crossbow, intended to make the maximum possible contribution before withdrawing from the battlefield.
Swish!
Boom!
An explosive crossbow bolt streaked through the air and struck dead center. The instantly expanding, massive fireball swallowed the three clustered aberrations whole. The next moment, another arrow plunged into the fire. Even with the target largely obscured, Qiu Yinong managed to strike the Abyssal Aberration once more as it shifted slightly from the shockwave of the explosion. Not only did this reignite the blaze with redoubled fury, but it also serendipitously pierced straight through the single eye on the aberration's forehead.
Wuu-ah!!!
A painful screech echoed from within the fire. Thick, rolling white fog, guided by the shriek, surged toward the location of the Abyssal Aberration, swiftly extinguishing the raging flames. Yet Qiu Yinong, suddenly receiving an unexpected prompt, saw her eyes light up. She quickly swapped the explosive crossbow bolt for a regular arrow. Just as the billowing fog quenched the flames and revealed the Abyssal Aberration's legs once more, she made a split-second prediction of its forehead's position and pulled the trigger, immediately receiving an exhilarating damage notification.
[Prompt: You used "Archery: Critical Strike" on the Lord-tier Boss "Abyssal Aberration", dealing one hundred and twenty-nine points of direct damage.] (15+2) * (1+0.5+1+1) * (1+0.5+1) * 1.2 - 50
[Prompt: Because your attack struck the vital spot of the Lord-tier Boss "Abyssal Aberration", it has a certain chance to inflict additional damage. Since your attack intensity has reached twenty-three damage tiers, a natural number no higher than "twenty-three" will be randomly drawn to determine whether you can inflict additional damage.]
[Prompt: The draw result is "nineteen", which is higher than the "eleven" defense tiers of the Lord-tier Boss "Abyssal Aberration". Successfully inflicted additional damage equal to the direct damage, and for the next sixty seconds, the target's vital spot cannot regenerate.]
A single critical crossbow bolt successfully shaved off two hundred and fifty health points from the Abyssal Aberration, officially dropping this Lord-tier boss below the fifty-percent health threshold. More importantly, the vital strike destroyed the single eye on its forehead, robbing the Abyssal Aberration of its ability to unleash its most terrifying soul-gaze. This allowed Qiu Yinong, whose stamina was once again depleted, to finally set her mind at ease and evacuate the battlefield.
"Hang in there!"
Before leaving, Qiu Yinong glanced at Ember as he stepped back out of the pilothouse, clenching her pink fist in a cheering gesture. After locking eyes with Ember's steady gaze, she retreated. Ember pulled back his gaze, refocusing entirely on the battlefield. His active soft-bodied symbiotic arm lifted and struck down, landing squarely on the forehead of the ordinary aberration and instantly putting an end to it.
Following rounds of damage baptism, both the ordinary aberration and the enhanced aberration had fallen into Ember's execution range. As for the Abyssal Aberration, severely hampered by the arrow lodged in its eye, its combat capability was drastically reduced. Ignoring Ember entirely, it was consumed solely by the desire to eliminate the source of its agony. Thus, when Ember's second head-smashing blow crashed down, it finished off the boss-tier enhanced aberration, leaving only a single enemy standing on the deck.
"Watch out, that freak underneath is pulling back down!"
Jesse Pinkman, having finally wrenched himself free from the tentacles, warned Ember. The moment his words fell, Ember heard the cracking explosion of the deck fracturing behind him. Remembering Jesse's earlier mishap, Ember dared not linger for a second. With a strong push from his legs, he vaulted sideways, barely dodging the tentacle strike. Missing Ember, the two tentacles retained their momentum and instead coiled tightly around the legs of the Abyssal Aberration.
This time, the Abyssal Aberration beneath the deck pulled a completely different stunt—it actually attempted to drag its own companion down into the cabin beneath the deck to save it from certain death. However, Ember, reacting swiftly, had no intention of letting his hard-earned prey escape. He lunged forward and grabbed hold of the heavily wounded Abyssal Aberration.
"I'll help you!"
With a loud roar, Jesse Pinkman rushed forward as well. Grabbing the other tentacle of the Abyssal Aberration alongside Ember, they prevented it from being dragged beneath the deck. Because their combined strength far outmatched the opponent, the Abyssal Aberration underneath the deck was actually being hoisted back up, forcing it to abandon the rescue attempt and focus entirely on stealthy sneak attacks to buy time.
"Why isn't it coming up?" Jesse Pinkman hoisted the sightless Abyssal Aberration and smoothly executed a well-practiced combo attack, managing to converse with Ember even in the heat of battle.
"Good question! I have no idea!"
Ember's gaze continuously swept the ground, guessing that the aberrations' bizarre behavior might be related to the Shadow Queen's mission objective. Just as he used his symbiotic arm to beat back a sudden ambush from beneath the floorboards, a weak response drifted out from the cabin: "I heard those monsters say they are going to hold a sacrificial ritual..."
"What?"
Ember turned his head and immediately spotted a figure slumped in the corner of the pilothouse, pressing both hands against his abdomen in a futile attempt to stem the flow of blood. It was none other than the victim press-ganged by the aberrations to pilot the ship. Ember had assumed he was dead when he remained silent earlier, but it turned out he had merely passed out. Figuring there must be plenty of secrets held by this man, Ember tossed over a healing spray and issued a stern warning.
"Don't speak for now, lest you alert the things below. If you can hold onto your life, we'll get you out of here alive!"
At these words, a glimmer of hope flashed in the pilot's eyes. Following Ember's instructions, he clamped his mouth shut to conserve his strength and struggled to apply the healing spray to his abdominal wound, halting the bleeding. However, the heavy drowsiness caused by blood loss quickly dragged him back into unconsciousness.
Noticing that the man's life was not in immediate danger, Ember returned his undivided attention to playing a high-stakes game of Whack-a-Mole. Although the informant hadn't revealed the full details, it was enough for Ember to confirm that the aberrations beneath the deck would not be able to storm up in the short term. What he needed to do now was provide support for the harder-hitting Jesse Pinkman, ensuring that the battle on deck was swiftly concluded.
Clang!
Ember executed another precise strike, swatting away the tentacle attack from below and ensuring that Jesse Pinkman's latest string of skill combos remained uninterrupted. To his utter surprise, these repeated assists pushed his favorability level with Jesse Pinkman up to a certain milestone, triggering a related event.
"Ember, didn't you want to learn grappling techniques? If we both make it back to the shore alive, I'll teach you my signature unique skill—[Heart-Breaking Elbow]! While this finisher might not be the most sophisticated technique, it's a move I only mastered after years of grueling combat. At least in Maple Leaf and the surrounding towns, I have no rivals." Jesse Pinkman spoke as he drove an iron elbow into the nearly collapsing Abyssal Aberration, words that suddenly made Ember's eyes light up.
[Prompt: Due to achieving a special condition, the former Lord-tier Boss and Maple Leaf Police Chief "Jesse Pinkman" has completely transitioned into a friendly NPC. He no longer harbors hostility toward you and has triggered an active teaching event.]
[Prompt: If you manage to ensure the survival of "Jesse Pinkman" while rescuing the target character "Walter White", you will obtain a skill book for the Tier 2 Advanced combat finisher skill [Heart-Breaking Elbow], personally written by "Jesse Pinkman".]
"Deal!"
Ember raised an eyebrow and accepted without hesitation. Making a notorious figure like Jesse Pinkman drop his murderous intent and willingly impart his signature move was an absolute once-in-a-lifetime, low-probability event. If he could acquire the Heart-Breaking Elbow finisher, all Ember would need to do afterward was secure [Grappling] to give his suite of combat skills a foundational shape, while saving a massive amount of resources to purchase numerical stat-boosting skills in advance.
This dungeon run made him increasingly realize that his damage output needed a substantial spike to keep pace with the escalation of the bosses. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so willingly surrendered the primary damage dealer role against the Abyssal Aberration to instead support Jesse Pinkman. With the teaching event unlocked, Ember grew even more rigorous in guarding against tentacle attacks, ensuring the Lord boss beneath the deck could do nothing to delay its companion's demise, no matter how it attacked.
When Qiu Yinong—having exited combat and successfully recovered her sanity—reappeared, the battle on the deck finally settled into its conclusion. Realizing the futility of further intervention, the remaining Abyssal Aberration dared not strike blindly, allowing Ember to let out a complete sigh of relief.
"That was too close! We almost capsized in the gutter."
"Ain't that the truth!" Qiu Yinong, still lingering with fear after experiencing a near-death state, said, "The Abyssal Aberration's sanity-drain attack is terrifying. Had I known it would be this dangerous, I should have reallocated my attributes beforehand. Even though changing attributes post-advancement costs eight hundred credits, you shouldn't skimp on expenses at critical moments!"
"Consider it an expensive lesson learned."
Ember raised a hand to pick up an eye-shaped crystal dropped by the Abyssal Aberration. He discovered that this item was a special material capable of upgrading detection skills; by spending a certain number of credits at the skill hall, it could raise the perception level of a detection skill by one tier, while also granting an additional effect akin to [Soul Gaze]. However, the material's upgrade requirements were rather stringent—detection skills imbued with holy attributes could not utilize it—so it naturally found its way into Ember's pocket.
"Then I'll gladly accept this!"
Once rested, Ember managed to awaken the unconscious fishing boat pilot. The moment the man saw three normal humans standing before him, tears nearly streamed down his face. He opened his mouth to cry out about his harrowing ordeal, only for Ember to cut him off mid-sentence: "I know you have a lot to say, but the crucial point is that we don't have that kind of time. I urgently need to know what this sacrificial ritual you mentioned is all about."
"The specifics... I don't know clearly either," the pilot said with a pale, distressed expression. "I only know that when they were talking, they vaguely let slip that they couldn't blindly return to the ocean. It seemed that moving too far away from land would accelerate their physical transformation. But a day later, the attitude of those leading monsters shifted—some wanted to leave Maple Island, while others refused. After that, I heard crashing noises coming from the hold beneath the ship, and shortly afterward, a few of the leading monsters disappeared, leaving behind orders for me to prepare to set sail at a moment's notice."
"As expected, infighting broke out on this ship!" Ember clapped his hands in quiet satisfaction. "Tell me everything you know about the sacrificial ritual."
"Those monsters were acting very strange. Yesterday they could articulate words clearly, but today they couldn't. So when they ordered me to start the ship immediately, I could only overhear phrases like 'Divine Messenger's Command' and 'Follow the Guidance'. As for the rest, I'm sorry, I simply had no way of knowing."
"Divine Messenger's Command... Follow the Guidance?"
Ember's expression turned grave. Combined with the mention of a sacrificial ritual, he had a premonition that some dark religious ceremony was currently being staged deep within the hold of the Breaking Wave, and time, undoubtedly, had once again become the critical factor.