“I thought we were going to die.” Damian chuckled nervously while looking over to the calm, foggy sea.
The turbulent waves had calmed down, and it seemed like they had left the territory of the Kraken.
“I didn’t expect there to be monsters like this.” Ambrose muttered, his voice filled with disbelief and awe.
“The Dark Waters are vast above the sea and even more so under.” Apollo said with a serious expression.
“Have any of you seen the Wild Hunt?” Ambrose asked curiously about the myth among the players.
“Not personally,” Apollo said. “We’ve heard rumors of them. But no one can say for certain if they truly exist.”
“Knowing the mysteries of Dark Waters, I would say they exist.” Loki said. “But until we have solid evidence, it remains a mystery.”
‘Players have evidence.’ Ambrose thought to himself. ‘There is real video evidence.’
“Enough slacking!” Mars shouted from the second floor. “Clean the deck if you don’t have anything to do. Hop hop!”
After Mars stormed back to his cabin, Ambrose sighed and picked up a floor-scrubbing brush to begin cleaning the deck.
The rest of the crew went to do other tasks.
Leon continued to be the helmsman, navigating the ship through the calm waters.
Meanwhile, Ambrose diligently scrubbed away the dirt and grime and wondered about the vastness of the world that lay beyond the horizon.
‘I wonder if there are dragons and phoenixes like in ancient mythology. Light Continent is indeed basically a starting place, while Dark Waters is where things get very dangerous.
‘I wonder what awaits in the Dark Continent…’
…
Inside a castle surrounded by the eerie mist and rocky terrain that protected the castle from the raging waters.
“Huh, Bonney has gone missing?” A deep voice boomed from within the castle walls.
At the meeting hall, sitting at the head of the long black oak table, a tall man with broad shoulders tapped his finger against the armrest.
He glanced at the other members of the council, his eyes filled with malice.
He was a blue-haired man with a towering presence and blue eyes, as if there were an ocean within his soul. His frame was broad, with muscular arms and axe-like shoulders, as if they could be used to hack down a tree.
At his head, there was a crown with blue sapphires embedded in it, and he wore a long robe with fluttering sleeves and wave symbols embroidered on the fabric.
Beside him, leaning against the high-end throne, there was a gleaming battleaxe that was also blue, except for the silver blade.
His titles included Sea King and Captain of the Sea Pirates.
But his real name was Tyrannus Pelagaios.
The mightiest warlord of the sea!
It was rumored that in a battle at sea, he was unstoppable and undefeated.
The council bopped their heads up and down, affirming that Bonney was indeed missing.
“They failed at their mission, then.” Tyrannus said with a tinge of disappointment. “And yet, I also gave her my trusted mace. If it has been sunk to the bottom of the ocean, I shall find it again.”
“We have also heard rumors that a group of pirates has been spotted in these waters.” A council member named Marcus mentioned.
“Who might they be?”
“Black Heart Pirates.” Marcus said. “Their captain, Mars Godfriend, is a respectable adversary. He has been looming dangerously near our territory.”
“His crew is weak,” Tyrannus said without emotion. “What a shame. If his crew was more powerful, he might be another King.”
“What shall we do if they venture into our territory?”
“A show of power.” Tyrannus smiled sinisterly. ” A show of power that will make them regret ever stepping foot in our territory.”
…
In the Light Continent’s major city, Amaterasu.
The sun shone brightly across the blue sky, with birds chirping, a gentle breeze moving on the streets, and people going about their daily lives unaware of the happenings in the Dark Waters.
Near the city’s entrance, players dressed in proper armor and wielding fancy weapons moved on with their daily routines, which included visiting Crow Forest and slaying powerful monsters.
The top players of Amaterasu had already reached beyond Crow Cave and past the Vulture territory. At the deepest corner of the Crow Forest, they have already encountered powerful monsters that would require a party of fifteen level 50 players to defeat.
At the moment, the hidden tombs and trials have kept players busy.
A hierarchy of power had already been built in Amaterasu—the dojo’s Saturn, War Barbarians, Stormdawn, and Thunderstrike clans were the top contenders for the spot at the top of Amaterasu.
The battles between those clans were frequent, but they didn’t bother the rest of the player base, who did what they enjoyed.
Almost at every store, there were middle-aged to elderly players working diligently.
They were happy to work in a sunny city, and not in reality, where they had worked in companies with a rather depressive atmosphere.
At the entrance, right in the line between the outside and the inside of the city, a beautiful young woman with fair skin and a gentle expression stood.
She wore a vibrant, flower-embroidered dress that fit perfectly within the sunny and summery feeling of the city.
Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her back, catching the warm breeze as she looked outside the city, hesitation clear in her gentle features.
As she took a shy step forward, she quickly pulled her leg back and shook her head.
“I still can’t do it…” Bella whispered emotionally.
The fear of death kept her shackled to the city.
She loved Amaterasu and its vibrant, summer feeling, but she wanted to break free from her fear and increase her level to be able to protect herself so that the tragedy of Yatagarasu wouldn’t repeat itself.
She felt happy about a certain young man protecting her, but she also didn’t wish to be a burden. Therefore, every morning, she would visit the city entrance to see whether she had enough courage to leave the protection of the city.
Eventually, she sighed and turned around with her head hanging low.
She knew that she wasn’t ready to face the outside world just yet.
After walking for a long while, she arrived back at the Whispering Pages, which already looked nice compared to when she first purchased it.
Its windows were fixed, and the bookshelves stood tall near the front door. All the water damage had been fixed, and a new collection of books was stuffed inside boxes near the window, waiting to be unpacked.
It cost quite a bit to fix it all, but it was worth every silver.
After stepping inside the bookstore, the smell of freshly printed pages filled the air.
She inhaled with a sweet smile on her face, turned her gaze to the boxes, and planned to fill the bookshelves with books today.
Emma would return from school in a few hours, and she wished to be done by then.
As she started opening the first box, the door suddenly opened.
Bella turned to the front door and saw an unfamiliar person looking around.
“Uhm, excuse me, we are not open yet.” Bella stood up and spoke gently to the person.
“Oh, sorry.” A handsome blue-eyed young man with curly blond hair apologized with a friendly smile. “The open sign was turned on, so I thought you were open.”
“Oh, is that so?” Bella moved her hair over her ear, surprise flashing through her face. ‘Did the wind blow the sign on?’
“What is your name?” The handsome, blue-eyed young man asked, as he was quite certain he hadn’t seen her before. “Did you just purchase this place?”
“Ah, yes, my name is Be… Dawn.” Bella, out of habit, was about to say her real name, but quickly shifted to her in-game name. “And yes, recently.”
“This place is in Saturn’s territory, and players are supposed to report to them if they wish to work or create a store.” The young man said.
“Oh…” Bella replied, surprised by the information, and hoped there wasn’t some kind of tax. “Who should I report?”
“You don’t need to.” The young man said and opened the door as he was about to leave. “By the way, interesting poster you have.”
“Hmm?” Bella turned to the wall and brightened slightly. “Ah, yes…”
In the wall, there was a brown bounty poster with a picture of a black-haired young man with dull blue eyes holding a sword and a reward that read: “111,111 silvers.”
The young man looked at the bounty poster with a deep look and was about to leave the store.
“Ah, wait.” Bella quickly called out, catching the young man’s attention. “What is your name?”
She expected him to be a member of Saturn Clan as he seemed to have power to decide on matters, such as her not having to report about her bookstore.
“Mine?” The young man glanced at the young woman’s beautiful red eyes and said. “Prince.”
Creak—the door then closed as the young man left.