Sky used his map to check if there are any portals nearby. The more he can level up before the quest timer is up the better his chances.
"Rise and shine!" Sky opened the door abruptly, Jericho was still sleeping on the bed, all the pillows and sheets were on the ground.
"What? Huh?" Jericho woke up confused, almost falling out of the bed.
"It's time to train. Here, put this on. I don't know what you liked so I bought all this for you." Sky threw a mountain of clothes at Jericho, all of which are clothes for girls.
Sky already reached a human island, he tried to wake Jericho but she was still asleep. So as to not waste time he bought all the clothes at a clothes shop, one of the people working there gave him a weird look.
"You have ten minutes. First we eat, then train, kill, train, loot, and repeat." Sky closed the doors.
Twenty minutes later…
Jericho came out of the captain's quarters dressed in normal girl clothes.
"You're late." Sky said.
"Sorry, some of the clothes weren't my size and… yeah."
"That's okay. Eat. If you want more I have some, you can eat as much as you want."
Sky bought a table big enough for two people to eat, and some chairs as well. On top of the table are cooked fish, covered in lemon and salt, and on the side are fresh vegetables.
Jericho wasted no time devouring her plate and more.
"Feeling full?"
"Yup."
"Good. Let's train." Sky whipped out various weapons made of metal, from knives, to
Two-handed heavy weapons.
"Try moving the smallest knife."
Jericho did as he instructed. The knife was moving, but the best Jericho could do was rock it back and forth. After a few minutes Jericho was already tired.
"I'm nearly out of mana."
"I know."
{Jericho Haydie}
{Level: 16}
{HP: 330/330}
{Mana: 3/85}
{Stats: Str: 10. Dex: 19. Int 27. Mind: 15. Vig: 23}
He would like to have the option to allocate her stat points for her but the system randomly allocated her stat points for her. The only option was to keep leveling up and hoping to upgrade her mana, or give her more sea scrolls that could raise her int.
'Her mana is not only low, but the magnetism skill takes up way too much mana. The only good thing is that the system also helps with regenerating her mana as her mind stat grows like me.'
"Take a seven minute break until your mana comes back." Sky said.
'Seven minutes? That's oddly specific.' Jericho thought.
Within minutes she was feeling better.
"Again."
Jericho would be training, then resting, then training, and repeat until they reached another portal.
"Good job, I can see improvements." Sky said.
{Magnetism: lvl 2: able to move metal object more proficiently}
'If only her mana wasn't so low she could've made faster progress.'
She went from barely being able to move a knife to making it float in the air, she couldn't believe her progress from half an hour of training.
They reached another green portal.
"You already found a portal?"
"I did."
"That was fast."
"Yeah… by the way I'm making you use your magnetism skills to kill monsters in the portal."
"Aw… okay."
{Entered green portal}
Sky tried looking for a green+ portal but they are hard to find, not to mention a red portal.
Sky would also check his map constantly, there are more and more boats everywhere that are green ranked boats, sometimes green+ he believes that they might be the warlord's men looking for him.
After a while they managed to exit the portal.
{Sky Rouge: Level 61}
{Stat points: 45}
{Jericho Haydie: Level 19}
"Wasn't that fun?"
"No."
"Good, onto the next portal, there's a lot."
'There's no way he's going to find a portal in such a short amount of time… right?'
Jericho would be wrong when Sky would keep finding portal after portal.
On the way to each portal Sky would force Jericho to practice her magnetism skill.
The more she used her mana the more it grew.
Meanwhile…
At Peeves, there was a broken woman in her bed, all life and hope in her eyes was gone. There was food beside her she hadn't touched.
"Hon!"
Her husband barged in full of shock and excitement. He waved around a letter.
"..."
"Look! It's a letter to you! It's Sky! Sky's alive!"
"Sky?"
To hear his name brought some emotion in her she hadn't felt for a while. She read the contents in the letter, she started sobbing and crying tears of joy.
"It's him! My baby's alive!" She hugged her husband as tight as she could. The life in her eyes was back.
After a while they collected their minds and began thinking about their next step.
"He said he was coming here in a month, possibly later, and he's somehow at Harbot's? We haven't gone there in years since the Warlord took over that area." Ben Rouge said.
"I know. I'm worried, I want to go to him but if I do we might miss each other."
"What do you want to do?" Ben got on his knee and looked at his wife.
"We wait… it's going to take all my strength but wait for him to come to us. First we gotta tell Mrs. J about this. She's been blaming herself for what we thought happened to him… and so have we."
"If that's what you want."
Meanwhile…
An entire day had gone by. Jericho was still training.
{Jericho Haydie}
{Level 22}
{Magnetism: lvl 4}
{Mana mastery: lvl 1: increase mana regen rate by 10% while not moving}
Not only did she learn a new skill, but what should've taken anyone months to get to that level in magnetism took Jericho an entire day. She could move heavier objects freely and efficiently.
Sky managed to find another uninhabited island where there are no animals or dungeons to be found.
"Let's call it a night." Sky said.
"Finally!" She fell on her back, relieved of having to do intense training all night.
She wasn't the only one training.
{Water slice: lvl 6}
{Damage: 60}
{Trident mastery: lvl 6: 60% more damage with tridents: 30% higher critical chance and damage: 60% increase in swimming speed}
{Telekinesis: lvl 3: move objects with the mind further}
{Scaled with int D-grade}
{Slowness: lvl 4: users inflicted with this move 20% slower}
{Lightning bird: lvl 5}
{Summoning mastery: lvl 4: 40% summon damage: summon 4 units at once}
Sky thought he made good progress for a day. Green portals aren't leveling him up as fast as he wanted to, but he could level up his skills.
"How am I doing?" Jericho asked.
"At?"
"Training. I think I am making good progress."
"You are. The only downside is your low mana."
"I know."
"Hey, Jericho, how did you come across a purple sea scroll?"
She looked at Sky. Unsure if she should tell him. But she knows she can trust him.
"I don't know if you already knew but I'm from the land of the dead, or the middle land."
"The middle… oh."
The world is divided into three parts.
The southern land, also known as the land of the free, is the place where Sky is and has spent his whole life in. It was a tranquil and quiet place. One could easily find green portals and rarely can they find a red portal, perhaps once every two months a red portal would spawn.
The middle land, also known as the land of the dead because those from the southern land who try to make it to the middle land have mostly died, they weren't prepared for the powerful beings who live there. Red portals spawn on occasion there and very rarely purple portals.
It is said on the land of the dead there are special red and purple portals that can randomly happen that are harder to complete but more rewarding.
Then finally the northern land, also known as the land of the gods. People who are born there are destined to be powerful, there is no known way to enter the land of the gods. It is also where mermaids can be found.
In the land of the gods purple portals can be found almost every day. And very rarely do black portals spawn, it is said a black sea scroll or weapons that from black portals are weapons that were once wielded by the gods.
"You found a purple sea scroll in the land of the dead?"
"I… I accidentally stole it from my dad."
"Huh. I kinda wanna hear the full story from the very beginning."
Sky sat down. He pulled out some blankets, pillows, and placed a candle between them. and brought some snacks.
"That's nice. Okay, I'll tell you. Hmm… Well, my dad was a part of an exterminator crew. One day, a couple months ago, we hadn't seen him for a few days but that was normal for him because his line of work took that long. So one day while I was playing outside my house, I saw my dad running towards me…"
Jericho's dad then asked Jericho where her mother and sister were, they were home cooking dinner. Jericho's dad looked scared for his life for some reason.
He grabbed Jericho and darted to his house. Jericho didn't quite understand what was wrong at first, what she did hear is that some men were after them for something Jericho's father did.
In a few minutes Jericho's entire family left the house and sailed away in a motor boat. They carried what little stuff they could.
Jericho remembers being scared and not paying attention. Somewhere along the way her parents got into an argument, something about her dad being selfish and an idiot who endangered their entire family.
Next thing she knew her dad pulled out a purple scroll from underneath his shirt and asked Jericho's older sister to translate the scroll for him.
Jericho remembers the stories her father read to her about scrolls and how one could get powerful abilities by holding it and saying "activate" or ripping it.
Just as he was about to hand it to Jericho's older sister, her dad lost grip of the scroll and it flew directly at Jericho's face. Her dad, believing he had lost the valuable scroll, fumbled with the steering wheel and nearly flipped the entire motorboat.
Jericho, who couldn't think at all with the scroll on her face and the boat nearly flipping over, ripped the purple scroll from her face like it was wet toilet paper.
Scrolls are still made of paper, which is why people handle scrolls with great care. It was common sense to never handle a scroll in a dire situation, but Jericho's dad broke that unspoken rule and paid the price for it.
"JERICHO!" Her dad shouted like he had never shouted at her before.
The scroll disappeared and Jericho received its powers.
Jericho had seen her dad's face, it was full of rage.
They would later find a new but shabbier place to live. Jericho's father would then ignore Jericho and give her the silent treatment…
A week later Jericho's father left for good.
Jericho heard from her mom telling her older sister that he planned to sell the purple scroll to someone, purple scrolls go for millions of shells or more depending on the rarity of the scroll, and when Jericho's father learned that it was magnetism he couldn't take it, that skill could have easily gone for hundreds of millions of shells.
Jericho's mom was furious at her husband because not only did he put their lives at stake, but he blames Jericho for 'stealing' the scroll.
Her husband and his exterminator crew found a purple portal, once inside there was already a battle between a bunch of groups who wanted the scroll for themselves.
Jericho's father betrayed his crew and was able to steal the scroll under the noses of everyone in the confusion and heat of the battle.
Learning of that, Jericho blamed herself for her father leaving. Driven by guilt she stole a motorboat and went to find her dad. She looked for him desperate to bring him back, she truly blames herself for taking away her father's money.
She would later hear someone matching her dad's description going to the land of the free. She managed to find a boat headed to the land of the free.
One of the staff members would take pity on her and let her on the boat free of charge. She had to sell her motorboat as she couldn't take it.
Later she realized that the same staff member who took pity on her was a slave trader, and would attempt to kidnap and sell her that night.
That was the first time she took a human life. Despite her low mana her will to live was strong, and she managed to make a chef's knife fly directly to the man and impale the left area of his neck.
She would then flee and spend the next few months looking for her dad…
Sky looked at her, she started to tear up.
'She probably still can't believe she had to take a life.'
"It's alright, that man had it coming. After this is over with the warlord we'll go look for your dad." Sky promised.
"No, I'm not crying because of that, I'm crying because… I did find my dad."
"What?"
One month ago…
After searching for her dad by living off garbage, by some divine intervention she found her dad on some island.
At first she didn't notice but her dad was with a young and pretty lady.
In her happiness she leapt towards him and hugged him and said, "DADDY!"
Jericho's dad was caught off guard. Once he saw Jericho after so long he didn't feel happy, all he felt was the same feeling he had for her once she 'took' away all his money, just pure rage.
"Why are you here?" He shoved her off his leg.
"Huh? Dad?"
"Get away from me. Stay away from me. I do not love you anymore!"
Jericho didn't understand, she just couldn't comprehend why her dad wasn't as happy to see her like she was for him.
After a while Jericho would be taken away by some guards and threw her away. It took time for her to recover after what happened.
She would later then try to go back home after she realized the awful truth. All she wanted to do was head back to her mom. But going back to the land of the dead from the land of the free was not only very difficult, risky, but expensive.
A week ago after coming up with useless ways to head back home, a few men would immediately capture her and take her to some island. She was kidnapped in broad daylight and in the middle of the street but no one did anything, because the ones who were taking her had the warlord insignia on them.
She overheard one of them say, "Are we sure she's the one with the magnetism ability?" "Yup, even though she's dirty she's identical to the picture. Once we get her branded we'll send her to the warlord."
Jericho had absolutely no idea how they found out. She had only used her ability once the entire time, and she did it to save her life and there were absolutely no witnesses.
"After that I escaped by once again killing the man who tried to brand me with a burning metal rod by jamming it in his eye. Then I escaped by blending in with other slave children, and that's where I met you."
"I see. You've had it difficult, especially for a kid."
Sky couldn't look at her, not because he found her story sad but because he had a theory as to how they found out about her ability.
"Thanks. I'm sleepy, goodnight, Sky." She grabbed her blanket and slept in the captain's quarters.
"Night."
Sky would be sitting there on the boat for a while longer.
'I really hope I'm wrong about how the warlord found out about her ability.'
Sky then slept soundly.
Meanwhile…
Larry P. Head could be seen walking in a luxurious room.
There was a man sitting on a couch with two women wearing suggestive clothing on both his arms and having a good time. The room was well clean as there is a maid who comes by every often to clean the mess they made, otherwise the room would be filled with garbage.
"Hey, Warlord, where's my money? You said I was supposed to have it yesterday!" He asked.
"I said until I get her there will be no money."
"You still haven't gotten her? Man, are you seriously having such difficulty catching a thirteen year old girl?"
"This 'girl' killed a full grown man by jamming a metal rod down his eyeball!" The warlord slammed the table, scaring off the two women in the room.
"Aw, man."
"Not only that but she received some help."
"What kind of help?" The man got a beer and began drinking.
"Another kid, probably sixteen, killed six men and made their bodies disappear, most likely using the card transformation ability. Know anything about him?"
"Seriously? A kid did that? Man, that's awesome."
"Not for us."
"Yeah, good point. Haven't heard of this kid before. So, what do you want?"
"Help us find them! I don't care about the boy, I just want the girl!"
"Look, I already gave you her exact details, provided you a sketch of her face, and if you can't find her with the resources you have, then adding me to the search won't do you much good. I'm not much of a hunter anyways, but I am good at sneaking."
"This is an order from the Warlord!"
"Listen!" The man stood up and looked down at Larry, but Larry stood his ground.
"You only made yourself a Warlord here because you know that the real Warlord doesn't want to waste his time or resources here. You are not the real Warlord, 'he' is. It's only because no one here is strong enough to compete with you, and those who are strong enough can't be bothered."
"And yet 'he's' the reason why you're here, why you're hiding here, like a stupid coward after you stole that purple scroll when you know everything that comes out of purple portals are his! You're strong enough to face me, but you're cowardly enough to run away from your family, and sell out your daughter for two million shells!"
The man looked away. Larry left the room and the man alone.
The sun rose…
Jericho could hear someone calling her name.
"Jericho!"
"What?" Jericho stood up, she saw Sky beside her bed.
"Been trying to wake you up all this time. Let's eat and continue to train."
"Haaaa… coming." Jericho stretched her limbs, got dressed and exited the captain's quarters.
Food had been already set up on the table. After finishing her breakfast Sky took out a log from a card and placed it in the middle of the boat.
"Okay, you can take a break today with magnetism, we'll be focusing on training your weapon. What do you prefer, knives, swords, bows, guns? Can't be anything heavy because you wouldn't be able to carry it."
"Do I need to use weapons? I can just use my magnetism." Jericho said as she made a fork float by her.
"And if you run out of mana?"
"Um…"
"That's what I thought. Mana and stamina are two different things anyways, although you can feel tired if you exhaust too much mana. Anyways, if you want you can train with guns since using bows requires some arm strength, but you have to learn to fight with a sword or a knife, whatever you want."
"I think knives. I'll go with knives."
"Great." Sky handed her a knife and pointed to the log.
"Start slashing away. Once you get the hang of it you'll be using it in real combat without my help. And tomorrow we can then focus on training your magnetism and knife combat."
"Can you show me how first?"
"Sure, but I'm self taught." Sky took out his crappy knife he hadn't used in a while since the baboons.