Author’s Corner: Greetings all! Time for another chapter! This time, we’re doing the reports from a certain crew member regarding the event of the last chapter.

Crew Member: Officer Demuril Ackbar

Position: Tactical Officer

Incident Injuries: Minimal

It all started with the faces that couldn’t be there. Several of us would see them, lasting for only a few blinks at a time, before they would vanish into subspace. We thought it to be a unique form of dementia at first, triggered by the unfamiliar atmosphere. However, when I made the report to Vice-Captain Celeste so that I may be relieved of duty until my mental health improved, she took it remarkably seriously.

Our scanning technology had been focused primarily on looking beyond the veil of this ‘subspace’ region to look at possible planets and systems we would be passing. The Vice-Captain instead issued an emergency order to have them scan the exterior of the ship for life signs. What could survive out there? Even with our technology, we have yet to make an organism that can survive in the vacuum of space, let alone this hostile environment.

But sure enough, there were readings from the scans. I didn’t know whether to be impressed that the Vice-Captain knew about this, to rejoice because I was not insane, or to dread what was out there. She called them Abstracts, and described them as one would describe a terrifying monster to a young child. And I was glad she did, as well. Without her explanation, we may have all been killed the moment we left subspace.

After she informed the Captain about the situation, he decided to have Sharon Bradbury’s small rabbit swarms patrol the halls to lock the creatures in a solid state. While I did not approve of the blatant waste of resources, the person in question didn’t seem to mind it. However, that did not solve the larger issues, which were the crew’s lives and the safety of the ship.

As such, I proposed a plan the the Vice-Captain. First, I verified that these creatures were capable of sensing the ‘souls’ of their prey. Then, I proposed that the crew place itself in a single, large room capable of easily holding them while maintaining a line of sight with all entrances and exits. Although it was not possible to see them through the floor and ceiling, this would drastically limit their paths of approach.

The Vice-Captain readily accepted this plan, and when the Captain himself showed up(a rare sight for sure), she conjured over a half dozen small metal spheres that floated above the ground. The Captain took these into his mysterious inner space, and went back to his room for ‘training’. While I do not question his morals, I believe the Captain is unfit for leading a large group of people such as this, though others seem to not share my opinion. Nonetheless, we have our orders. I am merely thankful for his decision to leave the regular operation of the crew to the Vice-Captain.

For the next several hours, those who were able to sleep did so, while the rest prepared for the fight that was to come. As for me, there was little that I could do to prepare. My own class was Huntsman, and I had yet to acquire any of the combat pets that would serve to enhance my ability. As an addition to this report, I am also submitting a formal request to be allowed on the away team to the next inhabited world, so that I may rectify this.

In order to avoid the risk of being stranded between systems, the Vice-Captain chose a nearby star system which was rich in asteroids. With any small amount of luck, we would easily be able to find the minerals needed to replace any damaged sections.

When the Vice-Captain produced a sword and hammer for me to wield, I was at a loss for what to do. I have wielded a sword before, but not since basic training. As for this large hammer, I could not even see how such an implement would be useful for combat situations. My preferred weapon was a bow, but against these creatures I had my doubts if that would be useful. As such, I refrained from requesting a new weapon, and merely accepted what I had been given.

The preparations, what little there were, went exactly as planned. Several dozen rabbits had emerged from Bradbury’s body, which then began to patrol the hall in an orderly manner, the likes of which I had never before seen from an animal. I wonder if it would be possible to ask for the use of one of her animals as my Hunstman companion. I will inquire about that after this report has been filed.

The following day, we had all gathered in the mess hall, and were ready to encounter these creatures. Given my own lack of combat ability, I assigned myself to a rear scouting position, so that I could keep eyes on the Abstracts at all times. As such, I would like to take this time to list the various abilities demonstrated by the four Abstracts that appeared.

The first, identified as a Needle Hair type for the purpose of this report, appeared to have the ability to manipulate its excessive hair, and seemed to be able to use the hair as a stabbing implement. Although it possessed four limbs with long claws on the hands, it did not use them as proper weapons.

The second, identified as a Hundred Hands type for this report, was a long insectoid with a hundred hands attached to it by what appeared to be tentacles. These limbs were capable of exerting great strength, as demonstrated by when it effortlessly crushed the skulls of two of the elves who had foolishly charged ahead with the Captain. They are also capable of forming a shield to evade attacks, shown while fighting against Bradbury.

The third, identified as a Large Foot, had a peculiar appearance, but its only offensive power appeared to be the blade-like arms protruding from its sides. It may have hidden combat abilities, but there were not shown during this encounter.

Finally, the Demon Child type, which proved the most difficult to deal with. It had a great agility that far surpassed that of the other three. According to the Vice-Captain’s information, this should be due to it having not absorbed enough souls so far. Nonetheless, it was the most troublesome enemy. As with the others, it was capable of fading through walls at a whim, and would toy with its opponents.

Now, I shall describe the order of battle, as I saw it. After the Needle Hair charged into the room, the Captain, along with three other elves, recklessly charged forward while brandishing their swords. With my position and duty to scout, I noticed hands rising up near their feet, and quickly shouted out about the trick that the enemy was using. The Vice-Captain showed obvious disappointment at my words, likely due to the group of people that had charged forward, only to succumb to such a maneuver.

After two of the crew were tripped, their heads had been gripped from below by the Hundred Hands type Abstract, and instantly crushed. The full creature itself then floated up from under the floor, and Bradbury engaged it in battle. To my surprise, she first fought by summoning another series of horned rabbits, directing them to engage with the enemy. Afterwards, several of the crew had their swords float up into the air. At first, we believed this may be due to an unseen enemy, but Bradbury seemed to be controlling them.

While she engaged with the Hundred Hands, the Large Foot dropped down from the ceiling, crushing one of the crew. Several others then drew their swords and charged towards it, while the Vice-Captain quickly summoned a large turret, which blasted towards the Needle Hair with a ball of metal. Afterwards, she turned her attention to the Demon Child, which cut off the legs of one of the crew when it arrived.

The Large Foot was easy to fend off, with the crew members occupying is blade limbs. The Hundred Hands was being distracted by Bradbury using several spinning swords the flew through the air. The Needle Hair was quickly dealt with by the Captain using a similar flying sword. However, the Demon Child was too fast to be hit by the Vice-Captain, and was quickly killing several of the crew.

It wasn’t until the Captain used some strange method to control one of the flying swords to defeat the Hundred Hands that the situation turned in our favor. Although it caused him to collapse, while bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth, it freed up Bradbury to help against the Demon Child. With her more nimble control of the two dozen swords, the Demon Child had no chance to evade, and was quickly pierced through while the Large Foot was destroyed by the Vice-Captain’s turret.

With those four taken care of, the Vice-Captain reported that the original groups of animals that had been watching the statue-type enemies had already died, and another group had taken their place. In order to avoid wasting more valuable resources, we immediately headed out to take care of them. These statue types posed no real threat to us, so long as we had enough eyes on them to ensure that they could not move, so we dealt with them using the large hammers that the Vice-Captain had provided.

After the four statues had been dealt with, we did a final sweep to confirm that there were no more enemies present on the ship, and gathered our dead. Thanks to the warning from the Vice-Captain, and the information she had given us beforehand to allow us to devise a plan to attack, we were capable of overcoming this situation with only sixteen crew deaths. While we had also lost nearly a hundred of the horned rabbits, Bradbury did not seem disturbed by this fact. It is possible that she has an even greater reserve within her inner space. I would like to formally nominate Bradbury as the primary leader when forming away teams. With her abilities, I believe she is well suited for the task.

End of report.

…

“He gives really good reports…” I said musingly after finishing reading Ackbar’s recap of the incident. Even if I did feel a bit upset at the parts where I was described essentially as an incompetent leader, I couldn’t really deny that he was right.

“Hmm?” Sharon next to me slowly woke up, and finally saw that I was awake. “Ah! John, you’re alright! I mean, well, we knew you’d be alright, but you’re finally up!”

“Yeah, I should be okay now. Not so much as a headache.” It would have been strange if I still had one after resting for two full days. “And I read up on what happened. You did a good job?”

Sharon had a silly smile as she heard that. “I did, huh?”

“Yup. Ackbar even recommended you to be the leader of away teams, thanks to the ability you showed.”

She giggled lightly. “Well, he ended up asking me for an animal, so I gave him one of my younger wolves. He seems to be quite active when it comes to training.”

I nodded my head, and a blue screen appeared in front of me.

Quest CompletedCreatures of the Abstract

Rank ★★★ Ship Defense

Thanks to your foreknowledge, the abstract creatures were repelled with only a minimal loss of life. Your ship is safe, for now at least.

As a Quest Reward, you have been granted one Small Favor from your patron deity. Patron Favors are ranked as Small, Medium, and Large, and can be redeemed for the following effects. Favors of a lesser category may not be exchanged for a larger one.Small: One item of equivalent level, one new skillMedium: One item of superior level, two new skills, one free resurrectionLarge: One intelligent item, three new skills, two free resurrections.

You may redeem your favor at any time by praying to your patron deity. Additional favors may be earned by completing quests assigned by your patron deity, or performing actions that they approve of.

I looked at the rewards list, and couldn’t help but stare dumbly. A new skill, am I able to choose what kind of skill it is? Or is it chosen for me? Same with the item.. would I even get to pick whether it is a weapon or armor?

“What’s wrong, John?” I heard Sharon asking from next to me, but I knew it wasn’t just me that was confused by this. I could almost feel Celeste in my head, trying to process this.

“Uhm… well… apparently the god of madness and chaos liked what we did, so he is letting me get a free skill or item…”

“Wait, what? You can actually talk to your patron?” She looked at me confused, and I nodded. Though really, I didn’t know either until just recently. I thought that you had to be at a temple to do so.

“Well… here goes.” Calling Malthan, do you read me oh god of chaos and madness?

Huh? Oh! Hi, I'm here. Sorry, was playing strip poker with the goddess of beauty. What's up?

“This is a very casual god, apparently….”

What's the point of divinity if you don't enjoy it? Now try to hurry up, I sense a royal flush coming up, and I want to get that shirt off..

Ah… it’s about this favor....

Oh, for the abstracts? Yeah, that was a good show. So, what are you wanting?

Author's Basement: Comment below what you think he should ask for. One item, or one skill, with description!