“We need to speak with the captain again,” Adam decided. “There are enemies hiding somewhere close by.”

  “What?! Really?” Aris asked.

  “Is that what that strange screen was telling you?” asked Titania.

  “Yes.”

  “Big Brother, what is that screen? Is it like Kureha’s status screen?” asked Kureha.

  “Something like that.”

  Adam ruffled Kureha’s hair before making his way toward Captain Raiker, who was busy issuing orders to his men. He noticed when Adam and his group approached, but he ignored them in favor of continuing to issue orders. Adam waited for several minutes before growing tired of this man’s treatment of them.

  “Captain, I believe we should head back to the ship.”

  “What’s that?” Captain Raiker whirled on them.

  “There are enemies nearby. We should head back to the ship and travel to the next island quickly.”

  “Ha! Listen, you, I’m the one in charge here. You clearly don’t understand logistics so let me lay it down for you in simple terms. We’ve already set up camp and my men aren’t sailors. They don’t do well at sea and the ship doesn’t have enough room to let them all sleep comfortably. We need to rest to be at full strength for the enemy. Ergo, we’re not leaving until tomorrow morning.”

  Adam had known plenty of people, so he’d met others who were this belligerent, but it was quite rare. Captain Raiker had a huge chip on his shoulder, or so it seemed. He would have gladly left this man and his troops to their own devices in most cases. Yes, in most cases. This sadly wasn’t a case where he could just up and leave since Kureha and Titania were with them. That made this situation all the more frustrating.

  “You are such an ass!” Aris snapped. “Are you stupid?! You must be! Only an idiot would not listen to others because he’s jealous!”

  “What did you just say to me?!”

  “You heard me! Jerk! Prick! Cock sucking butt muncher! Blegh!”

  Adam almost smacked himself in the face as Aris pulled down her eyelid and blew a raspberry at the captain. It was a childish thing to do. It was also effective at riling up Captain Raiker. The man’s face turned red like a bonfire as several veins popped on his forehead, throbbing.

  “You stupid little bitch. Don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re a woman.”

  “You’re welcome to try, but you're so slow you won’t even be able to hit my afterimage.”

  Aris and Captain Raiker were staring each other down now, ready to come to blows. It was something he had forgotten, but now he remembered how hot-headed Aris could be when riled up. She really would pick a fight with this man if he did nothing. With a sigh, Adam stepped between them, breaking the pair up.

  “Let’s go, Aris.”

  “Adam?”

  “Don’t waste your time on this man. We have better things we could be doing.”

  While Adam’s words riled Captain Raiker up even further, he did nothing as Adam grabbed Aris by the hand and pulled her away. Kureha and Titania followed them as they wove their way between the soldiers, which had formed to watch a potential fight. Everyone seemed disappointed when the confrontation didn’t come to blows.

  “Kureha doesn’t like that man,” Kureha said at last.

  “Neither do I,” added Titania. “That man is quite insufferable. Aris was right about one thing. Only a fool does not heed the advice of others.”

  “Whether he’s a fool or not, we have no choice but to accept things as they are.” Adam paused to think about their situation. “We can’t leave you two alone right now, but we need to eat to maintain our bodies in the real world. Aris and I are going to take leave in shifts. Aris, I want you to log off now to get some food and go to the restroom. Rest if you need to as well. I’ll log off after you.”

  Aris frowned at Adam, who suddenly felt like he’d said something stupid.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Adam, did you forget? We can’t log off when there are enemies nearby.”

  To emphasize her point, Aris tried to log off, only for a message to appear saying she couldn’t log off when there were enemies nearby. Adam ran a hand through his hair. He wouldn't say he forgot, but the thought had simply not crossed his mind.

  “Guess we’re stuck here until we can deal with the enemy then,” Adam muttered with a sigh.

  Because there was nothing they could do, the group created a campfire, found some logs, and sat around it. The heat warmed them up as the sun began going down. Adam had some food in his inventory, so he brought it out for them to eat. It was just a simple meal of meat skewers and bread. He kept them on his person because Kureha and Titania liked them.

  He wondered how Fayte and the others were doing right now. Were they also on a quest like this? Was it dangerous? He hoped their quest was at least going more smoothly than theirs. While they hadn’t run into any danger yet, Captain Raiker had already made their quest unbearable.

  “Hey, Adam. Can I ask you something?”

  Adam glanced at Aris. She sat beside him, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs as she stared at him. Her skirt had fallen away, revealing a long expanse of glorious thigh and butt. Adam glanced around to make sure the other men weren’t looking their way.

  “What is it?”

  “I want to ask… why have you been ignoring Fayte’s feelings? I’m sure you know that she likes you.”

  Adam couldn’t say anything at first, but he soon swallowed the lump in his throat, sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. “I should have expected you would ask this question eventually. Of course I’m aware of Fayte’s feelings for me. I’ve been aware of them for a while now. But it’s not like I can do anything about them. I’m with you.”

  Polygamy was still illegal in the American Federation. Of course, this didn’t stop the rich and powerful from having mistresses, but it was an unofficial relationship. A mistress would never be anything more than a woman whom a man slept with on the side. They would never be acknowledged.

  “Is the reason you’re not accepting Fayte’s feelings… because of me?” asked Aris. “Do you think I would be upset and tell you not to?”

  “No.” Adam blew out a deep breath, then smiled. “It’s the opposite actually. I know you’d be perfectly okay with it, but that’s also why I can’t do it. I don’t want to take advantage of your open-mindedness and feelings toward me. Of course, that’s not the only reason. Just one of them.”

  “What’s the other one?”

  “Aris… have you considered Fayte’s feelings?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean have you considered whether or not Fayte would be okay being in a polyamorous relationship?” Aris furrowed her brow like she didn’t understand. Adam looked at Kureha and Titania, who were pretending to eat while listening into their conversation. “I haven’t known Fayte for very long. Certainly, I haven’t known her for nearly as we’ve known each other, but if there’s one thing I have learned about Fayte from our interactions every day, it’s that she dreams of one day falling in love and marrying a man who will dedicate himself only to her. If she joined us, Fayte would become nothing more than a mistress, and that’s not what she wants.”

  Had Fayte been a normal woman, she might have accepted being in a polyamorous relationship. Every woman who belonged to the nobility had to steel themselves for the possibility that their husband would sleep with one or more women on the side.

  While polygamy was illegal, it was also an accepted practice—all off the record of course. World War III and Mortems Disease had ravaged the world to such a degree that less than half the population had survived. For this reason, the government turned a blind eye to it in the hopes that the nobles who engaged in this practice would help rebuild the population.

  This was, of course, heedless of the fact that many babies birthed in recent years had been stillborn and quite a few women had gotten Mortems Disease and died during the birthing process. The power of bribery was strong. Combine that with the American Federation’s desire to rebuild what had been lost, and you had a group of spineless government officials willing to turn a blind eye to the illegal actions of powerful nobles.

  “I guess I didn’t consider that,” Aris admitted after a while.

  “I figured. Anyway, I don’t think Fayte is thinking about romance right now,” Adam said. “She’s currently trying to get out of an arranged marriage with Levon Pleonexia, so courting is probably the last thing on her mind.”

  Courting. Not dating. Nobody dated for fun anymore. If you went to someone with the intention of engaging in intimacy, it was always with the intention of marriage and children now. That was just the kind of world they lived in—at least officially.

  Aris didn’t say anything. Adam hoped she was considering what he said.

  “It seems you otherworlders have quite a few problems of your own to deal with,” Titania said.

  “We do,” Adam agreed.

  Kureha tilted her head and frowned. “Kureha doesn’t get it.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll understand when you’re older,” Adam said, causing Kureha to pout at him.

  A scream echoed from the opposite side of the camp. Adam and Aris leapt to their feet as Titania and Kureha whirled around. He couldn’t see anything at first. Whatever was happening was too far away and there were too many people between him and it, but as the seconds ticked by, the people closer to them panicking as well.

  And that’s when Adam saw them.

  [Zombie pirates].

  He and Aris were furthest from the shore, which meant the [zombie pirates] must have been hiding beneath the waters, waiting until night fell to launch their attack. Firelight cast gloomy shadows against their disgusting faces. Most of them were covered in seaweed, but the ones that weren’t revealed hideously scarred flesh and skin that sloughed off their bones.

  “Titania! Song of Valor!” Adam shouted.

  They normally had Titania sing [Song of Vigor] because it increased their attack power by 300%, but that was for when they were in a situation with only their party to worry about. Right now there were over a hundred soldiers who would drop like flies if they weren’t well defended. [Song of Valor] increased their defense by 300%. It should help keep these soldiers alive for at least a little while.

  “Let’s find Captain Raiker!” Adam recommended. “Kureha, I need you to provide me and Aris with support! Aris, we’re going to cut our way through!”

  “Got it! I’ll be your wingman!” Aris said as she readied her swords.

  “I’m not sure you’re using that term correctly, but sure.”

  Adam and Aris rushed into the crowd of panicking soldiers and [zombie pirates], immediately going to work.

  Adam used [Energy Thrust] to impale one enemy, then lifted them by the spear and tossed them into their fellows. That attack didn’t do more than -1 damage, but it did knock down the [zombie pirates], which gave the soldiers time to attack them. Next to him, Aris danced across the ground as she swung her blades in complex patterns that left streaks of light in their wake. He didn’t know if she was doing it on purpose, or just getting lucky, but each of her attacks would sever a body part. Maybe this was the result of her high luck stat.

  [Firestorm]

  -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288; -14,288!

  There were so many enemies surrounding them that Kureha’s attack swept over dozens of [zombie pirates] and lit them on fire. Now they looked like flaming humans. The [burn] status effect generated constant burn damage, so even after the wave of flames passed over them, their health continued to drop.

  “Ugh… that smells awful,” Aris complained as she ducked under an attack and launched her blade up, impaling a [zombie pirate] through its jaw. Her weapon punched through the mouth and emerged from the top of its skull. She kicked it away, nose wrinkling.

  The scent she referred to was the smell of burning zombie flesh. It was acrid and awful, an invasive scent that made even Adam want to vomit. Times like this made him wish Age of Gods wasn’t so realistic.

  Adam swung the spear around and unleashed [Energy Thrust], following Aris’s example and attacking what he believed was a weak spot. The larynx. It was an area of the throat just below the head. Anyone cut there would generally die within a couple of seconds as their life bled out and they were unable to pull in oxygen. When Adam launched his attack, however, every [zombie pirate] nearby lost their heads.

  -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200; -53,200!

  His attack didn’t reach as many enemies that Kureha’s had, but it did a lot more damage. Slashing attacks must have been more effective than magic attacks on the undead. He wasn’t sure if that was true, and he didn’t have time to ponder it further. Adam continued to move until he, Aris, Kureha, and Titania reached Captain Raiker.

  The man was having trouble.

  He was in combat with several [zombie pirates] and being pushed back. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he swung the sword in his grasp like it was a cudgel. There was no grace to his movements, no methodical maneuvering. He was surrounded on all sides. This was all he could do to keep the enemy at bay.

  “Here I go!” Aris shouted as she put on a burst of speed so intense even Adam couldn’t see her.

  [Blade Dance].

  -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; 1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -700; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -1,400; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -700; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -1,400; -1,400; -1,400; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -1,400; -700; -1,400; -700; -1,400; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700; -700!

  Aris was like the wind as she raced through the crowd of [zombie pirates]. Wielding her blades with grace and skill, she sliced through the enemy like they were wheat before a scythe. Heads flew. Arms fell. Several of the undead had their legs removed. One was even cleaved in half. While the amount of damage she did per attack wasn’t very much, the cumulative amount of damage she dealt was astounding even to Adam.

  She stopped attacking after her MP reached zero, removed a [high-grade magic potion] from her inventory, and downed it. Adam used the opening she created to launch another [Energy Sweep]. A blue wave flew from his spear as he swung it. As the wave sliced through numerous [zombie pirates], Kureha came in and fired another wave of [Firestorm], then created a whip in her left hand and attacked any enemy that was nearby.

  “Captain Raiker!” Adam shouted to get the man’s attention. “We need to get out of here! These zombies won’t die unless we kill the one controlling them!”

  Thanks to Titania’s song, their forces were still holding on, but an increased defense wouldn’t be enough to turn the tides of battle when the enemy was undead. The only thing they could do was find the woman controlling these monsters and defeat her.

  Captain Raiker grimaced. “I believe you are right… but we can’t retreat anymore. The first thing those bastards did was destroy our boats.”

  A glance at the shore revealed what he meant. All the boats they had come on with had been reduced to scrap. The Asura who was controlling these zombies obviously wanted them to remain here, where she could take care of them at her leisure.

  Damn it.

  Adam didn’t want to admit they were in a bad situation, but they were basically sitting ducks now. Even he wouldn’t survive indefinitely against such an overwhelming onslaught. Once more, he realized how stupid the captain had been when he decided to set up camp on this island instead of going back to the ship. At least then they would have had a chance of kicking the zombies overboard and sailing away.

  A [zombie pirate] stumbled up to him. Adam impaled him through the face with [Thrust], kicked him off the spear, then adopted the [Form One] stance and attacked so quickly that numerous spear shadows appeared, making it look like he was wielding over a dozen spears at once. His attack put several holes in the zombie’s body. Sadly, that zombie was just one among many.

  “Aaaah! Dang it! That hurt!”

  Aris grunted as she received a gash on her side. Adam turned around to see her holding her torso, and while there was no blood, he knew the pain she felt was quite real. Despite this, or maybe even because of it, Aris was grinning as she picked up her dropped sword and attacked with renewed ferocity. Her multitude of sword swings pushed back several [zombie pirates] at once.

  Adam’s thoughts raced like lightning as he considered their situation. They couldn’t keep this up. It was surely only a matter of time before they died if they remained like this.

  Think, Adam. What are zombies weak against? Healing magic? Holy magic? In most video games, you can cast spells like heal and cure to damage them, but we don’t have any…

  “Titania! Can your [Song of Refreshing Rain] damage these [zombie pirates]?” asked Adam. Titania did not stop singing at first, but he could tell from her narrowed eyes that she was thinking about it. She nodded after a moment. “Then do it. Sing [Song of Refreshing Rain].”

  Titania hesitated, but then switched songs. The [Song of Refreshing Rain] was a melody that reminded Adam of spring rain washing away the dreariness of winter. It was a beautiful song and even though he didn’t know the lyrics, he could appreciate the harmonious sound of Titania’s beautiful voice.

  -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200; -7,200!