Starting from Zero

"...Captain is Siren? Come on, slowly." I pulled him up.

"Ye-yes sir." He took a deep breath. "There are Sirens out there, a lot of them! Our ship is surrounded!"

I looked at King Conqueror. He"s been on the sea for way longer than me.

"They"re sea monsters. If you don"t know already, you can consider them as Mermaids."

"Mermaids??" Big Pot let out a foolish smile. "Heehehe!"

"Cut it!" Merciless knocked his head. "I know about Mermaids. Those things are awfully strong. You"ll just get dragged down into the water and torn up into a skeleton."

"For real? Are we talking about Mermaids or Piranhas?"

"Stop it." I waved a hand at them and signaled King to continue.　　
"Just like in the stories, they have human body on the upper half, and a fish tail. No legs. Mermaids are extremely beautiful while Mermen have handsome looks that can charm any female. But they fight like the deadliest warriors. No one wants to run into these things when sailing on the sea!"

"Ca-captain!!" Someone else stumbled into the door. It"s my second officer. "They"re going to attack--"

The singing voice changed. It became a cadenced chorus, with a vocal and a group of accompaniment. It does sound wonderful but I already have experience with Yuri"s skills. This is not good for health!

"To the deck!!" I urged everyone to go up there while waking up anyone who seems to be losing their consciousness.

I saw bunches of staggering sailors along the way. Even the second officer is talking with a thick tongue now. When we reached the surface, the first thing I saw is a line of sailors standing along the rail and jumping down together.
d.a.m.n it!!

I slapped my own face and rushed to the head of the ship. A group of Mermaids are swimming alongside Bi-Lin. Our ship is going at full speed and these creatures can keep up with us like enjoying the afternoon in a beach park!

I soon noticed the one Mermaid among the group who is wearing a set of armor. It"s green, corset-style protection, which perfectly displayed her beautiful body curve. The other Mermaids only have two sea sh.e.l.ls in front of their private parts. As for Mermen...they leave their upper body bared.
That must be their leader!

She"s not wearing helmet. I can clearly see that pretty face in many women"s dreams and those silky, blond hair. She"s singing something, and there"s no doubt she"s been leading the show!

"What should we do?" I turned and asked King, without finding anyone. Everyone is lying on the floor, sleeping. With smiles!
Oh come on this is no time for getting mercy killed!

"Ziri! What"s going on?" Yuri ran up from the cabins. "Why are they sleeping? Miss Rose was with me and she just fell down!"

"It"s the Mermaid song." I looked at her. "Why are you not sleeping like everyone else?"

"I...don"t know. I don"t feel good but I can keep myself awake for now. And you"re also awake!"

"So we both have something that can resist this."

I looked around the deck. Yup, we two are the only ones still standing now. I walked to Hawk and shook him. Nope.
I gave him two strong slaps on the face.
"Elfy--stooooop...heh heh heh heh..."
This is hopeless.

I found Big Pot and kicked him on the stomach. No reaction! Looks like I can"t wake up anyone by violent means.

Sigh. I walked back to the ship"s tip and looked at the Mermaid leader again.
"Hey you! What do you want?"

She was surprised, but only for a second. The song changed again. Some high-pitched not

es began to appear. She must be trying to take me down by using different voices but...I don"t feel anything, if not better than before.

Yuri joined me and looked at the Mermaid too, which surprised her again.
"Who are you? Why are you not sleeping under my song?" She stopped her singing.
However no one is waking up. So the effect will last for a while.

"I ask again, what do you want? Do you get any profit by putting my crew into sleep?"

"Your ship!"
I was expecting her to give me an answer like "your money" "food", even "your lives". But this is totally unexpected.
"Give me your ship, and I"ll let your people leave on the other ships." She pointed at those alliance ships anch.o.r.ed a little farther away. "I only want this big one, and nothing else!" 　　

"But why do you want a ship?" I give her a doubtful look. "I mean, you are Mermaids! Can"t you swim in the sea?"

"That"s none of your business. Hand over the ship and go, or we"ll kill all of you and take it!"

"Too bad then. I"m not planning to give up my ship yet."
No way. I"m still indebted to the shipyard for G.o.d"s sake!

"So you don"t agree?" The Mermaid leader give me a stern face. "Last chance. Hand it over."

"Not happening." I answered without hesitation.

"Very well. I appreciate your courage, and I shall mourn over your foolish decision!" She waved at the rest of the group. "Get them!!"

All Mermen jumped from the water and lunged at us!
"Phiona!"
They are basically fish, so fire will work!
Phiona"s first move is to unleash a wide-spread fire storm around her. These magic flames are somewhat adhesive, any Merman contacted with them won"t be able to put them out unless they jump back into the water.

"You"re strong." Their leader stared at me in anger. "Ready the [Ocean Soul]!"

I don"t know what that is but definitely something bad.
"Yuri, your song!"

"Oh, right!" She just remembered to ready her flute and began her skill. "Variation of the Fallen Ones, Chapter One--[Decadent Spirit]!"

Yuri"s song calmed the scene for some reason. The creatures are now looking at each other, with their expressions full of doubt and uncertainness. The leader slowly raised her voice and asked Yuri: "Siren"s Flute? Why is it in your possession?"

Yuri didn"t answer. She continued her song. I think some of the enemies are getting affected.
The Mermaid leader opened her mouth again.
"Ohhh---..."
Her song and Yuri"s flute turned into one. If not for the dire situation I"d believe they"re performing together. I know they"re not, however, from their painful expressions. Sweat is streaming down from Yuri"s forehead.

The song lasted for several minutes, and Yuri"s clothes is soaked with sweat now. Yuri paused, took in a deep breath and raised her flute again.
"Variation of the Fallen Ones, Chapter Three--[Dancing Spirit]!"

The once gentle flute suddenly turned violent, which caused the composed Mermaid leader to jump a little. A water pillar appeared under the Mermaid and lifted her up. She changed her posture and is now...standing on the pillar? Her tail changed into a pair of legs!
"[Ocean Soul]!"
She"s now singing in an unknown language. I don"t really have to understand the lyrics since I can visibly see the air around me getting disturbed. There are sound waves coming out from the two!
Phiona spun in mid-air and fell into the water. I quickly un-summoned her.　　

Yuri"s notes are getting faster. I can feel my body heating up. The Mermaid’s song is also becoming faster, and more complex! Whatever they"re doing, they must have reached the climax of it. My chest feels like getting torn up from the inside! So this is what it feels to "have your blood boiling". Well, I think my blood is boiling for real, cause red liquid is flowing out of my nose like running water! I"m not the only one. Most of the Mermaid/Mermen are having the same symptoms. Some weaker ones are even giving out blood from their eyes.

The Mermaid leader is no longer handling the situation with ease. Her voice is trembling. Yuri would also produce several wrong notes now, and she"s also nose bleeding. To be precise, everyone in my sight, including those on deck and those swimming in the water, are bleeding. Except for the Mermaid leader.

It"s time to do something. I walked to the front and stared at the leader. She saw my gaze. I grinned, and turned into werewolf.
Oh h.e.l.lo dear, let"s see if you can handle me while keeping up your song.

I leaped over our distance with ease and lunged towards the water pillar. I saw her confident smile, before I crashed into something and was bounced back. There was a pale blue sphere shaped barrier flashing around the Mermaid. Well shoot, so she has backup plans. It"s a good thing that all the other enemies are struggling against the song or I"ll be in serious trouble.

I didn"t return or try again. Instead, I jumped into the middle of the Mermaids.
All"s fair in a war. Don"t blame me for this.
I grabbed a random Mermaid and swam towards my ship. Wait, am I swimming in dog-paddle style? Oh well.
I climbed onto the deck while carrying the semi-unconscious Mermaid.

The Mermaid leader saw my action. She can only give me stares, since she can"t move. I lifted the captured Mermaid in front of me and move my claw in front her neck, then I gave their leader a wicked grin. My intention is obvious. The leader only gazed at me for several seconds, before she closed her eyes. I see tears on her face now.
She didn"t stop her song however, she only made it even more aggressive. Yuri"s bleeding through her ears now!

I dropped the Mermaid. No use for her since my hostage plan failed. I"m not a slaughterer anyway. The Mermaid looks pretty good (if you only consider her face, that is), I don"t feel like killing her for no good reason.

Without anything good idea, I removed my gauntlets and pressed my furred claws against Yuri"s ears. Though I don"t know if this would work at all. It"s possible that the Mermaid"s song can went through your veins.
And nope. It"s no good, telling from Yuri"s unchanged painful expression.

Phiona fainted...I wonder if Tank can hold himself against the song. Insects have different ways of hearing their environment, if I remembered correctly. I quickly summoned him.

The giant beetle looked around for a bit and locked his gaze onto the Mermaid leader at once. I opened his status window and saw a list of numbers displayed in white, which means the music doesn"t affect him.

"Tank, go!"

Tank lifted himself while creating a loud buzzing sound. Yuri let out a sigh in relief, so we somehow interrupted the song.
Tank already reached the Mermaid and used those sharp scythes to attack. As I thought, they only created some sparks on that blue sphere.

Tank moved back a little and spat acid at the barrier. Green liquid covered the entire sphere, only to reveal the undamaged protection after a brief moment. So acid doesn"t work either.

Tank changed tactic. This time he used his orange colored fire beam. It didn"t work. The barrier is still unharmed after getting burned for several seconds. Darn it. This thing"s hard!

In the end, Tank charged ahead again and sprung open his hidden forelimbs. Those two bone hammers. .h.i.t the sphere and caused a sharp "BANG!". The barrier flashed a little but remained intact.

That said, the Mermaid leader inside is obviously shocked. The force of the attack still went through and affected her.
I pressed on the Fire Gem on my forehead and summoned Dragon Wasps. A swarm of over 700 hornet-like creatures appeared around me, gazing at the Mermaid with bright red eyes. I"m sure this looks pretty terrifying from the outside.
With a finger snap, all Dragon Wasps flew towards the barrier, creating a round ball formation around it.

They bite and cut at the barrier, which is beginning to show signs of instability. I ordered some of the wasps to back off, then I told the remaining 300 wasps to self-destruct. After a terrible explosion, the sphere stayed but is not bright as before.
Hearing my signal, Tank rushed again and gave another mighty bash at the barrier.

Crack! The sphere shattered with the sound of breaking gla.s.s, spreading glimmering shards everywhere. The Mermaid can no longer maintain her magic at this rate. Her song stopped midway, that water pillar also disappeared. Then she just fell towards the water.
At the same time, Yuri fell towards the floor. I caught her before she hit the deck but she"s already fainted!

I gently put Yuri down and looked down at the surface. The Mermaid leader is ordering her subordinates to retreat. Well of course I won"t let them escape like that. Without much thought, I dived into the water and followed them.

My Dark Dragon Lord set can help me breathe under water so I don"t feel much stress. However...my swimming sucks! The enemies are not in their best condition, still, our distance grew larger and soon I lost track of them!

Now I don"t know where or how deeper I am. My armor keeps me alive but it can"t help me find my way!

Ok. So now I"m lost in the sea. Perfect.
There"s only water around me. I can neither see the surface, nor the sea floor. The only thing I can do is to swim upwards. The sky is dark when I reached the surface. There"s the moon providing some light but I can"t see very far. I used my Star Gaze to look around. Nothing.

So either Bi-Lin has left, or I went to the wrong place by myself. Probably the latter, cause I don"t think my crew will just abandon me. 　　

My private chat and teleportation ring both proved to be useless on the sea. c.r.a.p. So I can only kill myself to get back to my ship now?

"Ohh, fancy meeting you here." A gentle female voice came from behind. I turned around and immediately got ready to defend myself.

"You know I was after you?" It"s the Mermaid leader!

She just smile. "You know, when you swim under the water you sound like a motor boat. I can hear you from miles away. I"m not deaf."

"Why are you here?" I scouted around in caution. I"m confident in my strength but...this is the sea, I"m not sure I can keep my advantage in the water, against a seaborne monster.

"You were following us right? I came to get you, since you lost your way." That serious att.i.tude when competing with Yuri is nowhere to be found.

"Get me? To where?"

"You will see."

She dived under and I followed behind. I can"t find Bi-Lin anyway, might as well find something to do.

"So why exactly did you attack our ship?"

"Isn"t it normal for monsters to a.s.sault players? If we don"t, the sea will become a place crowded with players to train themselves. We don"t want that."

Like Clark, apparently this Mermaid has the same level of intelligence. As they said, the Lost City is a testing field for advanced AIs. Maybe I just found another?