Part 1: The Museum Piece
The docks of Port Siren were divided into two sections: The Public Marina, where players rented skiffs, and the Golden Quay, reserved for the Merchant Guilds and their elite partners.
Elian stood on a rooftop overlooking the Golden Quay.
"There," he pointed.
It sat at the very end of the pier, isolated by velvet ropes and magical barriers. It wasn't sleek like the modern elven clippers. It was a monstrosity of black wood and iron, massive and menacing. Its sails were tattered grey rags that fluttered even when there was no wind.
[The Obsidian Leviathan]
It was the flagship of the "Gilded Scale" Merchant Guild. But it hadn't sailed in fifty years. It was a museum piece—a cursed heirloom that drained the life force of any crew that boarded it.
"That's a coffin with sails," Roger muttered, adjusting his scope.
"It's a mana-engine," Elian corrected. "It doesn't need wind. It needs fuel."
He looked at Caelum.
"And we brought a nuclear battery."
"The Dynasty is guarding it," Jax reported, peering through a spyglass. "Commander Thorne is there. He's shaking hands with the Merchant Guildmaster. They're loading supplies onto their warships. They plan to hunt us tomorrow."
Elian grinned. "Then we better ruin their schedule."
Part 2: The Heist
Night fell over the Azure Sea. The moons of Floor 24 rose—one blue, one pale white.
Step 1: The Distraction.
Lyra walked into the "Siren's Song" Tavern, located right at the entrance of the Golden Quay. It was packed with Dynasty guards taking a break.
She tuned her lute.
[Skill: Discordant Hum.]
She didn't play a song. She just plucked a string that resonated with the frequency of glass.
PING.
Every beer mug in the tavern shattered instantly. Ale soaked the guards.
"Hey! Who did that?!"
"My armor is sticky!"
A brawl broke out. The guards from the pier rushed in to break it up.
"Showtime," Isara whispered from the shadows.
Step 2: The Infiltration.
Jax and Isara moved like smoke. They slipped past the remaining guards at the velvet ropes.
Jax used his acid-coated daggers to melt the lock on the magical barrier.
HISS.
The barrier fell.
They sprinted up the gangplank of the Leviathan.
"Clear," Isara signaled.
Step 3: The Battery.
Elian, Valen, Titan, Roger, and Caelum rushed the deck.
The moment they stepped on the black wood, a system warning flashed.
[Curse Active: Life Drain.]
[Your HP is being consumed: -10 HP/sec.]
"Hurry!" Valen grunted, his health bar ticking down.
They dragged Caelum to the central mast. There was no wheel. There was a massive crystal skull embedded in the wood.
"Touch it," Elian ordered.
Caelum placed his hands on the skull.
"Feed it."
Caelum released his suppression wall. The 50,000 Mana he had been holding back flooded into the ship.
WHOOOOOM.
The black wood groaned. The tattered grey sails suddenly ignited with blue phantom fire. The ship shuddered, waking up from a fifty-year coma.
The HP drain on the party stopped. The ship was fed.
Part 3: The Wake-Up Call
"Hey! Someone's on the Leviathan!"
Thorne, standing on the deck of his own warship, the Dynasty's Pride, pointed at the blue flames erupting from the museum piece.
"Stop them! Sink it if you have to!"
Alarm bells rang. The Gilded Scale merchants ran out screaming. "My heirloom! They're stealing the heirloom!"
Three Dynasty Warships began to turn their cannons toward the Leviathan.
"We're stuck!" Titan shouted, pushing against the docking clamps. "The chains are too heavy!"
"Roger!" Elian barked. "Phase 2!"
Step 4: The Bait.
Roger stood on the bow of the Leviathan. He wasn't aiming at the Dynasty ships. He was aiming at the water.
He loaded a massive shell, glowing with purple runes.
"Here kitty, kitty," Roger grinned.
THUMP.
He fired a Pheromone Flare directly into the harbor water.
It wasn't just bait. It was a dinner bell for every Apex Predator in a ten-mile radius.
Part 4: The Escape
The water in the harbor began to boil.
ROAAAAAR.
Tentacles the size of redwood trees erupted from the deep.
[Field Boss: The Harbor Kraken (Level 28)]
It didn't attack the Leviathan (which was masked by Caelum's mana). It attacked the source of the noise—the Dynasty Warships firing their cannons.
A massive tentacle smashed the Dynasty's Pride, snapping its mast like a toothpick.
"Kraken! It's a Kraken!" Thorne screamed, abandoning his pursuit to fight the monster.
"Now!" Elian shouted.
"Valen! Cut the chains!"
Valen activated the Sun-Fire Hilt.
"Solar Cut!"
He slashed the massive iron mooring chains. The heat sheared through the metal.
SNAP.
The Leviathan was free.
Caelum channeled more power. The blue fire sails caught the magical wind.
The massive black ship drifted away from the dock, accelerating unnaturally fast.
Elian stood at the stern, watching the chaos.
The Dynasty fleet was in ruins, tangled in a battle with a Level 28 Kraken. The Merchant Guild was watching their priceless heirloom sail away into the night.
"Thorne!" Elian's voice was amplified by the ship's magic.
Thorne looked up from the wreckage of his ship, covered in sea-slime.
"Thanks for the upgrade," Elian called out. "We'll take good care of her."
The Leviathan turned into the wind and vanished into the darkness of the Azure Sea, leaving nothing behind but burning wreckage and a very angry squid.
[System Notification]
[Guild Base Acquired: The Obsidian Leviathan.]
[Status: Mobile Fortress.]
[Current Destination: The Hidden Island.]