My SSS-Rank Grim Reaper System-Chapter 71: All Aboard
[ROAD NORTH – 3 HOURS AFTER LEAVING CORAL PORT]
Alex stopped in the middle of the road.
He looked around—open fields, a dirt road stretching endlessly toward the northern horizon.
Then he looked at his feet.
Then at the map Sera had given them.
Then back at the horizon.
"Wait," he said aloud.
The team stopped—Raven ahead, Emily and Grim behind.
"What’s wrong?" asked Raven.
"I have a question. I probably should have asked it before we left." Alex pointed at the map. "Sanctuary of Dawn. Three weeks’ travel. In the Crystal Mountains."
"Yeah, so?"
"The Crystal Mountains..." Alex checked the map again. "...are on an island. Across the ocean. About 200 kilometers off the coast."
Silence.
"So?" Raven repeated, not seeing the problem.
"So?" Alex looked at her incredulously. "HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET THERE? There are no vehicles! No transport! We don’t have a boat!"
Longer silence.
Emily and Raven exchanged glances.
Then Emily spoke—her voice carefully neutral.
"Alex... did you forget I have Luna?"
Alex blinked. "Your unicorn?"
"My unicorn who can fly. And who can carry passengers."
"Oh."
A pause.
"...That would have been useful to know three hours ago."
Raven laughed—genuine, uncontrolled.
"You walked for three hours without even asking how we’d get there!"
"I thought there was a plan!"
"The plan WAS Luna!"
Alex rubbed his face, embarrassed. "Alright. So we summon Luna and—"
"Wait, wait," Raven interrupted, a mischievous smile appearing. "So you want you and Emily to have a nice romantic ride on a flying unicorn while I walk and swim 200 kilometers?"
Emily blushed. "I didn’t—it’s not—"
"Because that sounds like an unfair deal," Raven continued, stepping closer to Alex. "You two all cozy, snuggled up on Luna, while I sweat under the sun. Interesting."
Alex raised his hands defensively. "I didn’t say that! Luna can carry everyone, right Emily?"
"Well..." Emily hesitated. "Technically Luna can carry two people comfortably. Three if they’re very squished. But 200 kilometers with three..."
"Exactly," said Raven, now inches from Alex. "So the question is—who gets left behind?"
"No one gets left behind," Alex said firmly. "That’s ridiculous."
"Master. Has. Point," Grim commented. "Unicorn. Not. Designed. For. Four. Humans. Plus. Skeleton."
"Thanks for your input, Grim."
"You’re. Welcome."
Alex sighed. "Alright. Seriously—we need real transportation. A boat or something."
"With what money?" asked Emily. "We have 1,665 crowns. A small boat costs at least 20,000."
"Rent one," suggested Raven.
"5,000 crowns per week. Still way too expensive."
Defeated silence.
Then—"Wait!"
Everyone looked at Alex.
"What if we... find an abandoned boat?"
"Abandoned?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "Where exactly?"
"On the coast. There must be some. Shipwrecks, old ones, damaged ones. One that no one is using."
"That’s..." Emily searched for a word. "...theft?"
"It’s not theft if no one claims it."
"That’s literally the definition of theft."
"It’s appropriation of unclaimed resources."
"That’s worse!"
Raven laughed. "I like it. Let’s steal a boat."
"It’s not theft!"
"It. Is. Definitely. Theft," Grim confirmed.
"You guys aren’t helping."
---
[COAST – 5 HOURS LATER]
They had walked to the nearest coast—a small fishing port called Salthaven.
A dilapidated dock. A few active boats. Most in poor condition.
"There," Raven pointed to a boat at the far end of the dock.
Small. Torn sails. Hull with peeling varnish.
But floating.
"Looks abandoned," Alex observed.
They approached.
The boat was... empty.
Mostly.
Except for the skeleton sitting at the helm.
Completely skeletal. Rotted clothes. A sailor’s hat still on its skull.
A bony hand still gripping the tiller.
"Oh," said Emily. "That’s... sad."
"Very sad," Alex agreed. "He probably died here alone."
"We should give him a proper burial," Emily suggested.
"Definitely," Alex agreed.
Raven had already jumped aboard.
She walked straight to the skeleton.
Grabbed it by the shoulder.
Moved it away from the helm like a sack of potatoes.
She set the skeleton aside with care but efficiency.
Then—she took the hat off the skull.
Put it on her own head.
Turned toward Alex and Emily—who were staring at her in absolute shock.
"What?" Raven asked casually. "I’ve handled one of these before."
Alex blinked. "That’s your concern? Not the fact that you just... moved a corpse?"
"Skeleton. Technically."
"STILL!"
Emily climbed aboard carefully. "Raven... it’s not very ethical to take his belongings."
"He’s not using them."
"Because he’s DEAD!"
"Exactly my point."
Alex rubbed his temples. "Are we really going to have an ethical debate about stealing a skeleton’s hat?"
"It’s not theft," said Raven, adjusting the hat. "It’s... unclaimed inheritance."
"That’s WORSE than what I said!"
Then—a soft glow.
Pale green.
Everyone turned.
Grim—in his 80cm form—was standing next to the skeleton.
His bony hand touching the remains.
Green light emanating from the dead skeleton—flowing into Grim.
Like ethereal mist being drawn in.
Absolute silence as they watched.
The skeleton began to crumble—turning into fine dust.
In seconds—completely disintegrated.
Only rotted clothes and emptiness remained where it had been.
[SYSTEM – NOTIFICATION]
[Grim – Residual Soul Absorption]
[Souls gained: +1.2]
[Total: 618.3/1,000 (61.83%)]
Alex closed his eyes. "Grim."
"Yes. Master?"
"What are you doing?"
"Feeding."
"I see that. WHY?"
"Was. Hungry. Old. Soul. Still. Present. In. Bones."
"GRIM! This time you REALLY went too far!"
"Sorry. But. Residual. Souls. Are. Nutritious. And. No. One. Was. Using. Them."
Raven laughed—she couldn’t help it.
Emily looked caught between horrified and resigned.
"We’re terrible people," Emily murmured. "We steal a boat, we steal a hat, and now our skeleton absorbed the dead sailor’s soul."
"Technically the soul was already gone," Raven replied.
Grim followed up. "Only. Residual. Traces. Remained. In. Bones."
"That does NOT make it better," said Alex.
"No?"
"NO!"
"Oh. Then. Should. I. Feel. Bad?"
"YES!"
"..." A pause. "No. Remorse. Not. Felt."
Alex sighed—long, defeated.
"Alright. We stole a boat. Grim absorbed a dead sailor’s soul. Anything else morally questionable we want to do before we leave?"
Raven checked the boat. "The sails are damaged but functional. The hull has small leaks but nothing critical. Magic engine..." She checked a compartment. "...running at 60%. Enough."
"Do you know how to sail?" asked Emily.
"I spent two years as a pirate."
Alex and Emily stared at her.
"Sorry, WHAT?" they said simultaneously.
Raven smiled—mysteriously. "A story for another day. Get on. We’re leaving."
---
[AT SEA – 1 HOUR LATER]
The boat—appropriately renamed "Unclaimed Inheritance" by Raven—was sailing surprisingly well.
Raven at the helm, looking natural with her stolen sailor’s hat.
Alex and Emily organizing supplies in the small hold.
Grim at the bow, gazing at the ocean.
"I can’t believe that worked," Alex muttered.
"I can’t believe we stole a boat," Emily replied.
"It’s not theft!"
"Alex. We took a boat that wasn’t ours without asking. That’s literally—"
"Temporary appropriation of resources?"
Emily looked at him. "How long are you going to keep that up?"
"Until it sounds convincing."
"Then forever."
Alex laughed despite himself.
He sat down on the deck, looking at the horizon.
The ocean stretched infinitely.
Blue sky. Bright sun. Salty breeze.
"It’s beautiful," he admitted.
Emily sat beside him. "First time on the ocean, right?"
"First time outside cities, really. Imperial City, then Central City, then Coral Port." He paused. "All this—the ocean, islands, sea monsters—it’s all new."
"Excited?"
"Terrified. But yeah, excited too."
Raven shouted from the helm. "Hey! Come see this!"
They ran to the bow.
And froze.
In the distance—maybe a kilometer away—
Something MASSIVE emerged from the water.
Not emerged.
EXPLODED upward.
A serpentine creature. Scales shimmering blue-green. Five heads—each the size of a small building.
A level floating above it: [???]
The system couldn’t even calculate it.
The creature rose 50 meters into the air—
Jaws open—
Caught a flock of flying creatures (giant seabirds, also level ???)
CRUNCH.
It devoured them.
Then—
It fell back into the ocean.
SPLASH.
A massive swell—small waves reached the boat.
Then—silence.
As if it had never been there.
Alex, Raven, and Emily stared with wide‑open eyes.
"What... what WAS that?" Alex gasped.
Raven and Emily exchanged looks—both slightly flushed seeing Alex’s expression of fascination.
"Tiamat," they said together.
"Tiamat?" Alex repeated. "As in, the legendary monsters?"
"Exactly that," Emily confirmed. "One of the ancient inhabitants of the deep ocean."
"Level?"
"Probably 600+," said Raven. "Maybe 700. The system can’t measure it properly because it’s so far above us."
Alex stared at where it had disappeared.
"600+," he murmured. "That’s... fifteen times my level."
"Roughly."
"And... are there many like that?"
"In the deep ocean, yes. Dozens. Maybe hundreds." Emily pointed at the water. "That’s why no one explores the depths. Too dangerous."
Alex kept staring.
Processing.
Then—he smiled.
A slow, determined smile.
"Someday," he said, "I’m going to defeat something like that."
Raven and Emily looked at him.
"Defeat a Tiamat?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "That’s... ambitious."
"Impossible," added Emily.
"They said that about defeating five level 50+ hunters."
Fair point.
"Besides," Alex continued, looking at the ocean, "it’s interesting. All of this. This world is so much bigger than I thought. Legendary monsters. Infinite oceans. Unknown islands."
He paused.
"I spent nineteen years in cities. Seeing the same sky. Same streets. And now..." He looked around. "...it’s like I’m finally seeing the real world."
Comfortable silence.
Then Raven spoke—her voice softer.
"Welcome to the real world, Alex. It’s terrifying. Beautiful. And full of things that want to kill you."
"And you?" Alex asked, looking at her. "When did you start seeing the real world?"
Raven touched the sailor’s hat. "A long time ago. When I was seventeen. I left home. Joined a pirate crew. Saw the ocean for the first time."
"And?"
"I fell in love. Not with a person. With the world. With the possibilities. With the freedom."
She smiled—genuine.
"I guess you’re feeling the same now."
"Yeah," Alex admitted. "Exactly that."
Emily also smiled. "Then this trip isn’t just about purification."
"No?"
"No. It’s your first real adventure. Seeing the world. Experiencing things."
"I suppose so."
"Master. Growing," Grim commented from the bow.
"In what sense?"
"From. Scared. Kid. To. Real. Adventurer."
Alex considered. "Thanks, Grim. I think."
"You’re. Welcome."
---
