No.

Rain closed his eyes, straddling the line between his soul and body. His thoughts accelerated, and his sense of the world became muted. He’d been working on this ‘bullet time’ technique under Velika’s tutelage, but her philosophy when it came to the soul was very different from his. She had no concept of an inner world, instead using a more integrated model. It worked for her, clearly, but it made her instructions difficult to translate.

Reaching tenuous stability, he opened his eyes.

The onrushing Whale seemed to be moving at half speed as it fell from its breach. The scene had a certain unreality, a certain distance—as if he were watching through a computer monitor. The monster’s soul, on the other hand, felt very real. Even from here, he could see it pulsating like a corrupted heart. Monster souls were never pretty to look at, but this one took the prize. It was misshapen, bulging with imperfections and ugly, lopsided growths. It was also enormous, dwarfing even Halgrave’s gold-level soul, though it lacked the gemstone exterior.

The former branch leader would be able to kill it, probably. Despite their level, Whales were uncomplicated, all brute-force and direct-attack magic. Not the kind of thing Halgrave would struggle against. He had his orders, though, and this Whale was only the visible part of the problem. There could be more. The rest of the pod could be under the water, and without Detection, they would never know it until one rose to bite Temerity in two.

Still need to deal with this one, though. Can’t wait for plan B.

Rain shoved aside the memory of a Whale slamming one of the Adamant ships almost under the water, barrier and all. Temerity didn’t have a barrier.

Barely acclimated to double speed, he pushed his balance further. New plans spun into being and were discarded in the space between heartbeats.

He could clear the deck in an instant with Immolate or Radiance, but that would light up Temerity like a beacon. He could throw one of his anchors away as a decoy, but it would fail or be eaten long before the ship escaped, if not immediately. He could send Ameliah to lead the Whale away, but it might not choose to chase an evasive stamina user, not when it had the easy alternative of the ship, so full of magic and of life.

He could...

He could do nothing.

Hope that someone else would think of a solution.

No.

Progress. Status. Resistances. Accolades. Inventory.

Progress Report

marker_1: grannybrain_2 [3061 Light 16 05:00]

marker_2: whale_inbound [3061 Light 28 09:59]

Span: 12.2 days

Character

Total Exp: 2,936,316 -> 3,136,316 (+200,000)

↳Mana Use: 200,000

Skills

Anchor Aura: +25,250 exp, 8 -> 9 (+1)

Prismatic Intent: +51 exp

Tolerance

Speed: 14.0 -> 18.0 (+4)

Synchronization

Recovery: 11.0 -> 11.5 (+0.5)

Endurance: 31.0 -> 31.3 (+0.3)

Vigor: 11.2 -> 11.6 (+0.4)