Becoming the Dark Lord

The ship shuddered. Something huge rose from the water.

The kraken?

With that much debris crashing into the sea, it would have made sense for the creature to be drawn in.

“It’s a giant crab,” Jack said.

One of the giant crabs was hauling itself onto the deck. Luke looked at it, then at the others still hurling stones from the buildings.

“Handle that one.”

He could not afford to throw an explosive knife at the creature. Every knife he conjured, he passed into his other hand, charged with [Burst Throw], and immediately sent into one of the stones flying toward the ship.

“Dad, are you drinking in the middle of a battle?” Jack shouted.

“That’s exactly why I’m drinking. Leave this one to me,” Stephen said.

He tipped the bottle back, drained it in one pull, then spat a stream of liquor at the monster. His finger lit with fire, and the moment it touched the spray, the alcohol erupted into flame. The giant crab went up all at once. A stone golem charged in right after and drove a punch into the creature, hurling it back into the sea.

Stephen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “And people still say alcohol doesn’t save lives.”

Then he turned and saw three more giant crabs.

“I can’t do that trick again. You’re going to have to help me.”

One of them nearly hit Stephen, but Evangeline saved him. A shadowy arm rose from the deck itself and yanked him out of the creature’s path. Anne had to let go of the helm and turn to fight the crabs herself. The ship was getting too heavy.

“They’re slowing us down.”

The smaller crabs were swarming in such huge numbers that their weight alone was becoming a problem. They were turning the ship into an easy target. Luke drew both kukris and started moving through the smaller crabs in a blur, cutting them down one after another. He had to stop defending the ship from the falling stones. Charlie punched one of the giant crabs and engaged it head-on.

Stephen uncorked another bottle, blew into it, shook it hard, then sealed it with a finger. The bottle glowed for an instant before he hurled it at the crab.

“I transmuted the liquid,” he shouted.

The creature was drenched in something that looked like it had multiplied the moment it hit. Charlie drove a flaming punch into it. The monster was knocked backward. But Jack was in the way. Just as the burning crab was about to hit him, Anne jumped in front of him and threw up a mana barrier. The barrier shattered on impact, and Anne was struck by the flaming giant crab.

Charlie saw what happened and ran to her at once. The crab fell off the ship.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked. “It was my fault. I should’ve moved.”

Anne was crouched on the floor.

“My clothes...” the doll maid said, staring at her burned uniform.

Then she realized the top half of it had been destroyed.

“You’re still on fire. Can’t you feel that?” Jack said, slapping at the fabric to put it out.

Anne’s eyes widened.

“You... saw?” she asked Jack.

“Ah... maybe.”

Charlie appeared and threw a blanket over Anne.

Luke was at the helm now.

“We’re out of the crab zone,” he said.

Layla appeared beside him.

“I activated the speed pennants. It was that or sink under all those crabs.”

“That was the right call,” Luke said.

Once they had pulled even farther away from the area, they deactivated the pennants.

“I’m sorry, Anne.”

“It’s... fine... Charlie,” the doll woman said, now wearing a simple shirt instead.

***

Two days passed. They fought off hordes of drowned things crawling out of the buildings, though nothing had been as intense as the crab section. For a while, they got lost. Following the waves against their direction was a good tactic, but it did not change the fact that they were still trapped in a kind of labyrinth. Even so, they had finally started finding longer routes again instead of dead ends.

“You’re sewing your own clothes?” Evangeline asked when she saw Anne sitting in the recreation room. During her free time, Anne was repairing the maid uniform that had been ruined.

“I... like... it,” Anne said.

“If you need help, you can count on me,” Evangeline said, then left.

“If you want my help too, just say so, Anne. I don’t know anything about sewing, but I can...”

“No,” Anne said, getting to her feet and leaving the room.

Luke kept eating, watching Jack.

“I think she doesn’t like me, Luke,” Jack said.

“Why?”

“She treats me badly.”

“Relax. She was like that with me at first, and now she treats me well.”

“Really?”

“Of course not. She’s always treated me well. By the way, she’s right behind you.”

Jack whipped around. “I believed you.”

“It was just a joke,” Luke said.

“But I’m serious. She’s never treated me well, but... now it’s worse. Did I do something wrong?”

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“That’s what you get for spying on a girl’s bra,” Artemis said.

“It was an accident.”

“Okay, fair, I get it. But what did Anne’s bra look like?” Artemis asked.

Luke kept eating. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one saying it.”

“Sometimes I think you’re the one controlling that voice, like some kind of ventriloquist,” Jack said.

“You think I’d casually commit every form of harassment known to man?”

“Technically, I have seen you harass people,” Jack said.

“Yes, emotional harassment. But it was Layla, so it doesn’t count,” Luke said. “She’s my official potion tester now.”

When Luke returned to the deck for his watch shift, he went to talk to Stephen.

“You really transmuted that liquid that day?”

“I did. Turned the drink into a kind of fuel. Or rather, a flammable liquid,” Stephen said. “Then I used a few other skills to make it more stable, more potent, and more volatile.”

“Interesting.”

Luke moved to his post. He still had not used his Witch skill to learn a profession’s basic ability. He was still unsure. Jack was some kind of woodcutter. Eleanor and Layla were armorers. Evangeline was a tailor. That left Stephen, whose alchemy stood out the most. Luke did not have many options. He had tested the skill on other people, even on pirates he had killed outside the dungeon, and it had not worked.

His theory was that he could only learn the basic profession skill from someone if that person had some level of friendship with him, or at least was not hostile.

“Alchemy?” he murmured.

He was up in the crow’s nest, watching everything from above.

“I want something that fits me better. This one does.”

The real benefit was that the absorbed profession would deepen the path of his Witch class, unlocking new branches of skills.

“What do I do?” Luke muttered.

“How about starting with not talking to yourself?” Artemis said.

“Thinking out loud helps me reflect,” he replied.

“You could at least think about something interesting instead of boring stuff,” she said.

Luke went back to watching the area.

“This is boring, Luke.”

“Better than fighting giant crabs.”

“Agreed,” Artemis said. “When this Beacon is over, assuming we haven’t been killed, you should spend the next few days actually resting.”

“Resting?”

“You know. Relaxing. Eating. Sleeping. Things normal people do. Maybe lying there with your head in the lap of a beautiful woman. Life is more than battles, Luke.”

“Lying in a woman’s lap?”

“You’ve never done that?”

“That’s not it. I’m just surprised you said something that didn’t involve sex for once.”

“I know how to be a very mentally healthy person... sometimes,” she said. Then she paused. “Now that I think about it, you really haven’t done that, have you?”

“You mean rest my head in a woman’s lap?”

“If you haven’t, you should. That, and a boob pillow.”

“A what? I knew you were going to take it there...”

“I swear, it’s great.”

“And what exactly is a boob pillow?”

“It’s when you use a woman’s breasts as a pillow. Come on, it explains itself.”

“Boob pillows...” he murmured. “Never really thought about it.”

“You should try it someday. And then report back, obviously.”

“I’m not doing something like that just because you said so. You’re a maniac.”

“I’m giving you elite-level advice. Trust me.”

When he finally had a little free time, he returned to his lab.

You successfully prepared a potion

**Your profession [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya] has reached Level 80! (+5 Strength, +3 Agility, +4 Vitality, +4 Intelligence, +12 Free Points)**

[You have unlocked a Profession Skill]

“A full batch of healing potions and underwater breathing potions.”

His next step was to start brewing libido potions again. Strictly for scientific reasons. He needed the base of that potion to recreate his strongest healing draft, the one capable of regenerating flesh, skin, and even bone the way a plant regrows itself.

“The only side effect of that potion is heightened libido, but the healing makes it worth it.”

“Sure,” Artemis said. “Your wounds heal, and as a bonus you go into battle fully loaded. That would’ve been a huge success in the Trojan War.”

“Ha. Keep mocking me. But a potion like that has the potential to regenerate a damaged heart, or even brain tissue. It’s an incredible ace to have on hand. It just... needs a massive amount of stimulating energy to work, so... it comes with those side effects.”

“Right, and I’ll be here as always when your bad luck forces you to give it to some woman in a life-or-death situation to save her life.”

Ignoring Artemis, he clicked the skill notification, and five options appeared.

[Ironthorn Arrow (Epic)]: Grants the Botanical Guardian the ability to create durable arrows. These arrows are formed from the Botanist’s plant magic at a low mana cost per arrow conjured. Their tips are shaped through [Thorn Mutation], making them razor-sharp. They are blessed with strong resilience and penetration comparable to iron. In addition, they fly faster than normal thanks to the wind-reading nature of plant magic. Enemies slain by these arrows undergo accelerated decomposition, feeding the soil for the botanist.

“Interesting. You used a skill like that back when we explored that labyrinth together,” he said.

“An archer needs special arrows for different kinds of prey. But having a skill that generates everyday-use arrows is basic for anyone who wants to rank up,” Artemis replied.

“Once I got the skill to generate knives and started combining them with telekinetic abilities, I mostly stopped using the bow.”

“It’s always good to have other ways to fight, Luke. You never know what kind of situation you’ll end up in. I’m not usually one to influence your system choices, but I’d recommend keeping that one in mind.”

He moved on to the next.

[Aphrodisiac Craft (Epic)]: Grants the botanist knowledge in the preparation of pheromones and other compounds that can help attract females of his own species or whatever species he wishes to pursue, by understanding what draws them in. In addition, it magically strengthens any libido- or charm-based potions he may create. Sometimes a lonely botanist needs many females to bring him a little comfort and warmth.

“Why is the system even giving me this as an option?”

“Oh, I wonder why...”

“And it even mentions many females. I would absolutely be in trouble in that kind of scenario.”

“A lion needs many lionesses. And did you know lionesses are the ones who hunt? Meaning hot badass women are waiting for us.”

Then he read the final three skills.

[Bones of Mother Freya (Ancient)]: Mother Freya’s bones carry the power of a matriarch who was deeply beloved by plants. This skill allows the Botanist’s bones to gain Mother Freya’s magical properties, inheriting the power of her plant magic. The Botanist’s bones will regenerate far more easily, even if they are lost or destroyed. Like roots, they draw nutrients from the body to accelerate regeneration. In addition, this skill allows severed limbs to be reattached simply by aligning them and letting the bones reconnect. This skill represents the botanist’s harmony with nature and deep bond with plant life.

[Botanical Digestion (Epic)]: The Botanical Guardian understands that there may be times when food cannot be obtained, depending on how hostile or dangerous the environment is. This skill allows the botanist’s stomach to consume any and all plant matter, converting it into nourishment and nutrients for the body, extracting everything needed to stay alive. Hunting may be one way for a botanist to feed himself, but sometimes a blade of grass is enough to keep him alive and ready for battle.

[Thorn Activation (Rare)]: Allows the botanist, while using [Thorn Mutation] on a plant, to activate the thorns and fire them outward. Sometimes traps are the best way to protect territory when you cannot be in many places at once.

There was a time when seeing Epic options would have impressed me. Now it’s just normal.

“So, what’s it going to be?” Artemis asked.

Botanical Digestion is extremely useful for survival. I have to admit that. The thorn skill, I can pass on. And the aphrodisiac one too.

That left him with three options. Luke clicked the one he had chosen.

[You acquired the Profession Skill: Bones of Mother Freya]

“There go the beloved arrows,” Artemis commented.

“In terms of both combat and survival, there was no way I could pass this one up. But don’t worry. At level ninety, the system will give me the list of all the skills I rejected. Maybe I’ll pick that one then, just to have it in reserve. Or maybe not.”

***

The ship approached a new section of the city. It was a vast enclosed area with only a narrow opening, sealed off by high walls. They passed through it after turning into another entrance, similar to the one they had used to enter the labyrinth in the first place.

“It’s the entrance to the next area,” Layla said.

As they drew close, a massive notification appeared.

Area 2: Graveyard of Ships

It is not only the drowned dead who were cursed. The ships whose crews were lost at sea were cursed as well. This part of the city became their graveyard. Many ships still wander these waters, carrying on the wills of their former captains. They remain trapped in an endless vigil, locked in an eternal war to sink all who enter their territory. But be warned: the kraken makes its home in this area. And here, your presence can be noticed far more easily.

Good luck.