Chapter 187: Bigger Fear

The situation in Lima Port City suddenly turned around after the ground shook, and a long pillar of light emerged from the distance.

For some reason, the sea's water level had also suddenly decreased, causing some ships to strand and smaller fish to fall out of the water.

That situation happened so fast. People began panicking, running away toward the tall wall in fear that a large wave would wash the city away.

In this kind of situation, Isabelle still couldn't move from the edge of the tilting ship, holding herself in fear with a pale face.

One woman, Cecil, couldn't stand the sight and approached the onyx-haired girl and grabbed her collar, raising her high to match her gaze.

"Ye scurvy bastard! How long ye be standin' there like a useless deck swab? If ye be truly strong, then let's ruddy well slay that she-devil o' a monster and save Arthur, damn it!" Cecil shouted loudly. Her expression turned into anger because of Isabelle's weak response.

No reply returned, and Isabelle was only dangling on Cecil's hand like a straw doll. Her body shivered in fear, remembering the last sight she had seen back in Horizon Online and what had happened earlier.

"N-No..."

"What be ye meanin' by sayin' 'no' like that, ye scallywag?! Arthur be gettin' himself swallowed by some monstrous beast, and we be needin' to lend him a hand!"

Isabelle didn't respond at all. Instead, she threw her face away, not wanting to see Cecil's anger that was directed at her.

"Coward!"

Shouting, Cecil threw the lifeless Isabelle down her ship. The onyx-haired girl rolled on the sand a few times before she stopped and just lay motionlessly.

This sight further enraged the minotaur girl, and she jumped down the ship, landed near the spiritless girl, and kicked the sand onto her face.

"Ye've left me mighty disappointed." Cecil spat on the sand, looking down at Isabelle.

"Ye were braggin' 'bout how ye knew him inside out, but look at ye now, hidin' like a scurvy bilge rat when he be gettin' devoured by that blasted monster. Did ye not know that the beast won't be digestin' him in her belly for a good year?!"

Isabelle's head perked up at those words, and she looked at Cecil.

"Ye reckon Arthur be gettin' revived by the mornin' and sayin' a jolly 'hello'? Nay, ye fool! Some sea monsters keep their prey alive for a year afore devourin' 'em! Did ye truly reckon he'd be just fine sittin' cozy in that beast's gut for all that time, huh?!"

"Is that true?" Isabelle forced out a weak voice from her throat as she pushed herself up weakly.

Strength left her body due to fear, and she knew she couldn't stay like this and needed to face monsters, but while her mind understood that, her body still couldn't be moved as she pleased.

"Aye, it be true, ye daft fool! Did ye not set eyes on that towering light from afore?! It means our Arthur be still locked in fierce combat with that monstrous creature, even after bein' swallowed whole!"

Isabelle's eyes widened in understanding. That was right.

The only person who could probably do something like that was Arthur and not anyone else. While that attack was stronger, that was certainly <Dimensional Breaker>, a skill derived from mastering <Swordsmanship> to the highest.

"Right..." She muttered, standing upward. The sand covering her body fell as she moved, looking at where the light earlier came from. A huge wave was coming from that place, and a shadow of a giant monster with tentacles could be seen within that wave.

Just looking at that shadow brought the primal fear out from within her subconsciousness. However, she stood straight and finally noticed the small window in the corner of her eye.

Isabelle didn't notice it beforehand because her brain failed to register everything, not even her voice. And somehow, her strength returned as she clutched the pendant she wore.

Saying she wasn't afraid anymore was not true. In fact, her legs still trembled in fear. Facing her biggest fear which caused her to be scared of monsters, wasn't easy.

But when she thought of losing Arthur to that monster for at least a year, she somehow thought that would be scarier than that thing. The image of Arthur's body getting chewed by that monster slowly within her stomach made Isabelle grimaced.

Cecil didn't say anything as she understood Isabelle was now facing her inner fear. What she could do was to prepare something else and walk away from the onyx-haired girl silently.

'We just reunited.' Isabelle thought, taking a step forward toward the sea.

The attack from earlier and the floating window probably was his last resort to tell her that he was still alive. And because the monster was too strong, a Boss-rank, Arthur would certainly need time to escape without help. A few days, probably.

That was the crazy guy who solo-ed the last boss that destroyed every player in Horizon Online.

Isabelle trusted him. But she also didn't want him to suffer inside that monster's stomach for too long. So she would help him, even if she was scared.

"Losing him is scarier." She muttered as she opened her status.

Name: Isabelle (Mild Trauma)

Race: Human

Lv: 70

Sins: 0

Virtues: 25

Status:

HP: 100/100 (MAX 100)

MP: 100/100 (MAX 100)

STR: 73 (MAX 100)

VIT: 76 (MAX 100)

AGI: 77 (MAX 100)

DEX: 67 (MAX 100)

INT: 72 (MAX 100)

LUC: 5 (MAX 100)

Skills:

[Lv 8 Swordsmanship] [Lv 7 Wind Magic] [Lv 5 Holy Magic] [Lv 5 Beast Taming] [Lv 4 Fire Magic] etc

Titles:

[Horizon Online's Survivor] [Castitas Church's Knight]

Her Level increased by one, but that didn't matter.

She clicked the description for her title, [Horizon Online's Survivor], and brought up the floating window beside the small one.

Title:

[Horizon Online's Survive] - A proof of being a survivor of the previous world, Horizon, and reborn in a different body.

Bonus Skill: Transformation - Transform into a 'Player' state. In this state, you are able to bring all your previous ability. Important note (Hidden): You can't be revived if you die in a 'Player' state and you can't return to your current body for 6 months.

"It's time to throw away my current identity for a while... I don't want to resort to this."

No one but her could see the important note, not even a person with Max Lv. <Appraisal>. So Arthur didn't know about this either.

"I need to help him. That crybaby probably cries and is waiting for me."

With a determined gaze, Isabelle took off all her equipment and used the bonus skill.

As she began to jump, a bright light enveloped her whole body. When the light was gone, what appeared wasn't the onyx-haired girl from earlier, but a different girl altogether.

Her stature shrunk a head smaller, and her hair became longer and turned into a platinum blonde. The blue eyes slowly transformed into a green one, and she equipped her best equipment.

A white long bow with an exquisite design was cradled in her left hand, and her right hand pulled the bowstring to the limit, holding a pure white arrow. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she hovered mid-air, standing on an invisible platform.

This girl was Tristan, the best archer and a good enough swordswoman in Horizon Online. And she was at her strongest thanks to the Title's bonus skill.

Although her hands trembled in fear, and she hadn't shot an arrow for over 12 years, she believed she wouldn't miss her mark, the shadow of a monster in a giant wave rushing toward the shore.

"<Thermal Eye>, <Hawk Eye>, <Blessing of Sylph>, <One Shot>, <Body Enhancement>." Her voice had a higher pitch than before, sounding like a younger girl.

Tristan still had no <Limit Break> skill as she hadn't achieved her limit yet. But that didn't matter. Her job was to make an opening, a hole in the monster's body.

And within that body, she detected a human being. That red silhouette from <Thermal Eye> was enough for her to smile slightly and calm down considerably.

The trembling in her hand stopped as she read the floating window out loud.

"I am counting on you, Tristan. What do you mean by that, dummy? Try not to depend on me sometimes."

The arrow released from her hand, drawing a light green streak in the air toward Scylla's side body. A loud boom resounded as her hair and the silver pendant on her neck ruffled due to the wind from the released arrow.

It flew faster than a missile and split the wind and sea like a tornado.

"Raaaaaaa!!"

A loud, devastating roar rang as Scylla's upper body appeared from within the wave. On its stomach area, the part that connected to her tentacles was a hole big enough for a human to enter, filled with dripping blue blood.

"Get out of there, crybaby." Isabelle, or rather Tristan, hoped as she lowered her bow. "I know that's enough for you."

And true to her words, a shining golden blade suddenly poked out from that area, widening the hold. Then an armored man covered in mucus and blood jumped out. He landed on the sea, and the area underneath his feet immediately turned into ice.

With a smile on his face, he waved his hand toward her.

Relief washed over Tristan's body as her legs gave out. Finally, her body fell to the ground.

"You're truly the biggest idiot I've ever met." She muttered as she began to lose consciousness from pushing herself.