The Achievement Junkie

The night winded down calmly. It seemed like any other day for most, besides the news of Jack owning a Hell-flame Fox. There was a mix of emotions about it, some were filled with fear while others were filled with respect. With the support and assurance of the Adventurers Association, the general public accepted the news and was eager to see what might happen in the future.

The busiest place of the night was the docks. Reinolt City was a well-known port city and its pier was far larger than most. Each dock had two levels, a lower at sea level and a higher level for easy entrance to the massive ships that arrived daily.

Filled with the latest arrivals, Reinolt Pier was bustling. Dozens of deckhands were unloading and loading cargo. Sounds of crashing waves began to grow, surprising a few experienced sailors.

"What's going on?" asked a young sailor, looking to his captain.

"Change of plans, we're staying in Reinolt for the night. Go and get us a few rooms," replied the captain. His steely gaze pierced into the distance, trying to understand the coming rise of the tides.

Without a word, the new shipmate hurried away into the city. He wasn't alone, many others were doing the same.

High up on one of the upper docks stood two men. One wore a full set of armor, showing his status as a city guard captain. Next to him was a weathered old man in an open blouse. The young captain looked to the old man and asked, "Got any idea what's going on? Is it just a sudden storm?"

"I can't be sure. It seems too sudden to be natural but we didn't find anything strange before we docked," answered the man.

The captain was surprised for a moment before he calmed his gaze. "What should we do?"

"Brace the ships. Keep the troops on standby. Stay away from the lower docks."

Taking the advice seriously, the captain turned to leave but heard one last thing from the old man. "Give the orders now, don't waste any time."

Shocked by the man's stern tone, the captain walked to the edge of the upper docks and yelled, "Men! Brace all ships, double time! Hurry and leave the lower docks before high tide! We're on standby until further notice!"

Both the old sailor and the captain left for the nearby dock house. Everyone, soldiers and sailors alike, was astonished to hear the guard captain's orders.

Like lightning, everyone rushed with ropes to tie down the ships and leave the lower levels. As the water was rising and began to pass the lower docks the last few people managed to finish their chores and return to safety.

They all looked out to the sea with a sigh of relief. Storm clouds were rolling in the sky and the waves were becoming rougher as they crashed into the newly-braced ships.

Back in the dock house, the old sailor continued to look at the rough weather. He felt uneasy. The old man wasn't too powerful, not even lv. 30, but his vast sailing experience let him feel that the storm wasn't anything normal.

"How many men do you have stationed currently?" asked the old man.

"Around fifty, but most of them are only privates stationed here for manual labor. Why?" The captain was again surprised to hear concern from the old man.

"How many are higher than lv. 15?"

"Maybe a dozen. Why?" replied the captain, still trying to get the old man to explain his worries.

"Ask for back up," stated the old man.

"Father, you know I can't do that without an explanation."

"Trevor, just do what I said and tell them it's at my request. Send the message immediately."

"But why? They need an explanation or I'll just look like a fool."

The man glanced at his son and shook his head. "You may be the youngest captain, but they won't blame you if you're doing it for me. Now go, give the command."

"Fine," said Trevor, who felt defeated. Whether he was able to get reinforcements or not, his reputation might take a hit. No one would want to send troops just to help prepare some ships and he was already viewed as someone who only reached his position due to his father's reputation.

Soon word spread and the troops stationed at the dock were dumbfounded. They could see that the lower docks were already underwater and were surprised by the sudden storm, but asking for more troops when they were on standby made no sense to them.

The command was followed and a few messengers were sent. After a half-hour, each of the three messengers returned with an additional ten men, all of which were very reluctant to be sent to the docks.

"Remain on standby and await further orders!"

They all heard their captain's orders and felt dejected. None of them could understand their leader's logic and kept staring at the stormy sea.

The young captain returned to the dock house and looked to his father. "We now have eighty men total and eighteen are above lv. 15."

"That's all?" The old man sounded disappointed. "Ask again, this time make sure to get more above lv. 15."

"Seriously?! I'll be a laughing stock with such a ridiculous command! We have plenty to handle the storm, especially now."

"The storm's not what I'm worried about," stated the old man.

"What do you mean? What else is there? I don't see anything and there haven't been any unusual reports. The storm has been going on for almost an hour, it's just a sudden storm. What more could it be?"

The man stroked his peppered beard and sighed, "I'm not sure."

Suddenly, everyone heard the creaking of wood. They all looked to one side of the docks, the side given to the Reinolt Navy.

As the storm grew more violent, the creaking grew louder and more violent. Then, there was a snap. All eyes were on the most distant navy ship, which had broken in half and began to sink into the man-made bay.

Trevor was stunned, unsure of what happened. He was about to step outside to the dock house balcony and give an order, but a rough, calloused hand grabbed his shoulder as his father said, "Wait. We don't know what we're up against."

Slightly calmed by his father's words, Trevor nodded and looked back out to the docks.

The same scene repeated itself with the next ship. Soon, almost half a dozen ships had been sunken.

"Call for back up."

"Men, Send word for reinforcements immediately!" Trevor yelled, no longer hesitating to follow his father's advice.

Without question, five messengers took horses and left for the barracks, the three city gates, and the castle.

The rest of the city guards tried to remain calm. Most had never seen battle and only became a soldier to earn a wage for manual labor while maintaining some kind of status above the norm. Those men were trembling, unsure of everything happening before their eyes.

Most of the veterans grabbed the hilt of their swords. They understood that whatever was happening to the ships wasn't natural, and the navy ships seemed to be targeted. Waiting for the order to charge the upper docks, the veterans were determined to lead the charge and claim as much glory possible. Such was the mantra of the Royal Court; glory for all is the glory of Reinolt.

"Father, what should we do? Shall we charge?" asked Trevor, who was growing more impatient.

"Wait. What's the point of sending your troops if you don't know what you're up against? You may be sending them to their deaths unknowingly."

"But the ships, they're my responsibility and I--"

"Forget the ships. Lives are what matter, not wood and rope. So long as you're men stay alive, it's a victory," reasoned the old man.

Unable to retort his father Trevor watched on, eager to find the cause of his ships' destruction.

Less than five minutes had passed since the first ship was destroyed, but over a dozen other navy ships had already joined it at the bottom of the bay. Reinforcements wouldn't arrive for at least another ten minutes and no one had any idea what the cause of all this was.

Just then, the last of the twenty navy ships stationed at the pier was destroyed. The water level had already reached the upper docks and that side of the upper docks began to shake, startling everyone.

As the water seemed to stall after reaching the upper docks, everyone could see figures swimming in the water around the shaking docks.

Those figures didn't look human, yet they didn't look like fish either. They all thought their eyes were lying to them because those figures were the same shape as a tiger or lion. Seeing over a dozen of those underwater silhouettes sent shivers down the soldiers' spines, who couldn't even imagine what those things might be.