Sky walked through the island. Many of the stores were small open tents that were closing down because it was nightfall. Some stores were still keeping their shop open because there is no law that states they should close down at a certain time.
The last time Sky was here he managed to escape with Jericho. If he hadn't saved Jericho that day Sky would have been with his parents, and Jericho would be a slave to the Warlord by now, and the Warlord's influence would probably be larger right now.
Sky doesn't regret what he did. But still he does wonder something about himself: did he really do it because he secretly wants her magnetism ability? Or did he do it out of the kindness of his heart, despite killing numerous people at this point both innocent and guilty alike?
He would be lying if he said he didn't want her magnetism ability. And it turned out to be an amazing ability to have due to how much money he got from her finding all those chests inside of dungeons, and that it could be evolved to be an even more amazing ability. In the end it ended up benefiting both of them.
But what if Jericho did not have the magnetism ability, would he have saved her back then? Even Sky doesn't know the answer, but most likely no.
"Sky, I made it back to the ship." Jericho said through the chat function.
"Good." Sky whispered so nobody heard him.
The lights were being turned on all around the island which illuminated the entire island.
It was a surprisingly large island. There were people and buildings everywhere it was hard to navigate. Sky could even see 5 battleships docked.
On the center of the island was a building the size of a mansion. The lights of the windows were still on. There were a lot of men with swords and guns standing guard the entire mansion.
'Yup, that's where he's hiding.'
On the way he saw something he hadn't seen in a long time, a stall that sells fried and cooked tentacles.
'Nope! Must not eat!' Sky was tempted but had to act stealthy.
On the way he noticed a stand that sells shrimp.
'My favorite food…' Sky wiped the drool off his mouth. Shrimp was his favorite food of all time, with cooked tentacles being second.
'Shrimp… squids… steamed rice…' Sky drooled at the thought of it.
'Next time. Next time.' Sky controlled himself and continued towards the mansion.
Sky stealthily made it to the mansion. It had no gates or walls around it, instead it had a meager amount of patrol guards surrounding the mansion.
'Why is the protection so lax? Either he's lazy, which I doubt because he managed to build an iron wall around the island. Or… he's too powerful, he doesn't need anything to protect himself from. Yeah, probably that one.'
Sky squinted his eyes to see if he could find the warlord to see his stats. Sky saw his profile picture so he knew what he looked like.
'I need to get closer.'
Sneaking around the guards was easy. Sky could sense them before they could see him.
{New skill learned}
{Sneak: lvl 1: people with low level observation abilities can hardly see or sense you while sneaking}
Sky could feel his movements getting quicker but quieter.
Once Sky made it to the mansion he flew to the side of the mansion without being detected. He was able to fly using telekinesis.
{Mana cost: 80/s}
Like it was explained in the red dungeon using telekinesis consumes mana depending on the object he's using it. When flying it would consume 100 mana per second, 80 mana once the 20% mana discount is in effect.
Sky made it to the tallest room of the mansion, the fourth floor. The windows of the room were being blocked by a curtain. Using his telekinises he moved the curtains. There was no one in the room.
'Dammit. Locked.' Sky was hoping one of the windows would be unlocked.
Just as he was contemplating how to open the window, he sensed someone entering the room so he quickly stepped to the side of the ledge.
From the window he saw it was a woman who entered the room using a key. She wore a maid costume and appeared to be cleaning the room. But in reality the woman was looking for valuables to steal.
Seeing the key was in her pocket Sky had an idea.
'Identify.'
{Lindsey Miller}
{HP: 190/190}
{Mana: 40/40}
{Str: 5. Dex: 7 Spd: 12 Int: 8 Mind: 12 Vig: 9}
{Personality: Thief, selfish, mischievous}
'Sorry about this.'
*Crack*
Sky cracked her neck and before she hit the ground Sky used his telekinesis to gently let her body fall before it made a huge noise..
Using his telekinesis he expertly took out the key from her pocket. He then skillfully managed to unlock the window.
'Man, I am good!'
{Skill has leveled up}
{Expert telekinesis: lvl 3 → lvl 4: Able to move objects better at a 200m radius without using your hands}
'About time.'
Sky went to the thieving woman and proceeded to make her a card.
{Unable to use skill}
'Wait, what, why?'
Sky looked at the woman and she was looking right at him. She was alive, crying, and scared.
'Oh, god. I didn't kill her, just paralyzed her from the neck down. No wonder I didn't get exp or money from her.'
*Crack*
{Received: 63 exp, 100 shells}
Sky then transformed her into a card to get rid of the evidence.
Sky walked through the mansion. It was mostly empty except from some slaves cleaning the house.
Apparently the entire mansion was meant only for the Warlord and his slaves. Everyone else did not have the luxury to step inside.
As Sky sneaked his way inside he could sense six people in a room.
Sky sense ability could let him sense beings from a 90m radius and it was only at level nine.
'Hold on… one of the people in that room of six is hiding his senses better than the rest.'
Sky was worried. One of the men he wouldn't have been able to sense if his skill wasn't so high, the problem was he could not gauge out how powerful they are.
Just then, an old man in butler clothes came to knock on the door. He was sweating profusely, breathing heavily, and was shaking. Sky hid close to a hallway while keeping an eye.
"Master, 'S' team has arrived and they brought some green scrolls with them."
They heard the sound of angry footsteps marching towards the door. The door swung open with so much strength it almost broke.
Sky knew who that man was, none other than the Warlord himself.
'Identify.'
{Larry P. Head}
{HP: 3,100/3,100}
{Mana: 4,995/4,995}
{Str: 133, Dex: 70 Spd: 180, Int: 999, Mind: 810, Vig: 300}
{Fireball: lvl 8}
{Stealth strike: lvl 1}
{Eye of truth: lvl 1}
{Wind manipulation: lvl 8}
{Search: lvl 1}
{Curse of slowness: lvl 7}
{Curse of blindness: lvl 5: blinds enemies of 25% of their vision}
{Dispel curse: lvl 1}
{Summon war hog: lvl 4: summons a war hog to fight for you}
{Boiling steam: lvl 9}
{Water slice: lvl 1}
{Card transformation: lvl 1}
{Heal: lvl 2}
{Personality: Selfish, prideful}
Sky knew that the Warlord had many abilities, most of which were from red scrolls. It must have taken Larry a lot of time and practice to get his skills to such a high level. Sky has seen how many abilities red scrolls had from reading it in a book. The Warlord prides himself in his mana, whereas Victor prided himself with his strength.
If there was a green scroll that can increase his intelligence or mind even by one point the Warlord will buy it or in most cases take it.
There are only seven abilities one can find in green scrolls: water slice, heal, card transformation, stealth strike, curse of slowness, search, and eye of truth. Red scroll abilities have 27 new abilities including summons. Purple scrolls have more abilities than red scrolls, and nobody knows how many abilities can be found inside of black scrolls.
Larry grabbed the butler's shoulders very firmly. Larry appeared angry, tired, and drunk.
"And you want to be disturbed by time for that shit? You already know all the scrolls go to the safe!"
"But, Master, group 'S' is the only group that arrived today.'
"What?" Larry squinted his eyes and his grip got tighter, nearly crushing the old man's shoulders. The man wanted to scream in pain, but he knew if he did or attempted to push him away he would be dead.
"All of the other groups have gone missing. Including most of the slave ships."
"You gotta be shitting me!" Larry pushed the butler to the door. "HARVEY! FOLLOW ME NOW!"
Just then another man, half naked, came out of the room.
'Identify.'
{Harvey Haydie}
{HP: 8,200/8,200}
{Mana: 1,150/1,150}
{Str: 111 Dex: 912 Spd: 1,031 Int: 230 Mind: 180 Vig: 810}
{Shadow sneak: lvl 8: Turn into a shadow that is hard to find}
{Dash: lvl 8}
{Stealth strike: lvl 8}
{Personality: Scared, wimp, greedy}
Sky was beyond shocked. This man was probably stronger than the Warlord. But what also shocked him is that the man in front of him was none other than Jericho's father.
Sky closed his eyes. He had a feeling it might have been him who told the Warlord of Jericho, how else could anyone else know about her? He just didn't want to believe it.
Sky has two wonderful parents, which is why he found it hard to believe a parent would sell out their own kid.
'Not all parents are the same.'
The butler got up and left with a broken shoulder. The other four people in the room, who were slaves, couldn't move as they were chained to the room.
Sky could not simply hide somewhere in the Warlord's room because his 'wind manipulation' ability was so high level, at that level the Warlord could feel anyone near him even if they were hiding, making it impossible to hide.
'He has more mana than me, but his speed, dex, and strength stats are lower than mine. I need to find a way to keep him distracted for a few seconds before I jam my naginata in his face.'
Sky knew what he had to do. Before the Warlord returned to his room Sky hid in an empty room that was around the corner of the hall. Hopefully he will be back soon.
He did feel for Jericho, should he tell her about her father? If he was confident he would kill Jericho's father then and there.
Meanwhile, Jericho was still anxiously waiting for Sky to contact her.
{Quest time remaining: 15 hours}
'What is taking him so long?' Sky was getting worried. He was very glad he decided to go on with his quest early instead of the last second, otherwise he couldn't afford to be so carefree.
Then he felt a familiar presence and heard the angry footsteps and loud noises.
"I HATE THIS! I HATE THIS! WHY ME? WHY ME?"
Larry is not someone who has trouble dealing with his emotions, but this month has been the worst month by far, it would be weird if he wasn't angry.
"Access chat: Jericho, get ready."
Jericho, who was covered in a blanket, stood up once she heard Sky's voice.
"Understood." Jericho placed the cards on top of a barrel and one-by-one began throwing them far away.
"Activate! Activate! Activate!"
Multiple ships appeared around her.
Using the ship controls she commanded every ship to surround the island just far enough where the light from the island couldn't touch the ships.
"Sky, It's ready. Just tell me when to shoot."
"Good. Once I tell you to shoot I want you to use one of the smaller but faster ships and get away."
"Wait, what? I thought we were doing this together?"
"We are, but there is someone else here I did not expect and he's stronger than the Warlord. If I am able to kill the Warlord, I need to get out of here as soon as possible. Just trust me, take one of the ships far away when I tell you to go, okay?"
"Hmm… okay. But you better come back safe."
"I will."
Sky waited for the Warlord's tantrum to be over. It seems he was beating the slaves to death and taking out his anger on them.
'You know, now that I think about it many people are getting hurt or killed because of me.' Sky thought.
A few minutes passed when Sky sensed Larry was getting slower, he was getting tired, getting drunk.
'I don't sense Jericho's father anywhere. Anyways…'
"Jericho, now." Sky opened the door to his room and began walking towards Larry's room.
With a deep breath, Jericho commanded every ship to start shooting cannons at the island.
And in perfect unison every single ship shot their cannons. Many cannon balls were aimed at the very top of the walls where the people were.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
All cannonballs created a loud explosion which shook the entire island. Even Sky did not expect so much power.
"Dash! Super strength! Mana grace!"
{Dash: lvl 9: increases speed by 45% for 1 minute}
{Strength has increased by 25% for 10 minutes}
{Mana has increased and recovered by 20% for 10 minutes}
Larry immediately looked out his window shocked. He saw explosions, fire, and his iron walls were being torn down.
"WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUUUUCK!" Larry was about to lose his shit.
At that moment Sky ran up to Larry with naginata in hand.
Larry, despite everything that was happening, felt someone rushing towards him. He already knew what it was, an attempted assassination.
"SLOTH!"
"CURSE OF SLOWNESS!"
{Larry P. Head is slowed down by 55%}
{You have been slowed down by 35%}
*CLASH*
Sky struck Larry's chest. But instead of seeing blood Sky saw blue energy protecting Larry's body.
{You have dealt 4,393 damage}
{Damage has been negated}
'What?' Sky didn't think Larry could react fast enough to protect himself.
The blue light around Larry's body was almost gone, as if Sky were to strike him again the attack would go through.
Sky and Larry both knew that.
Before Sky could attack again Larry jumped out the window.
Sky immediately followed him and jumped out of the way.
"HELP ME! HELP ME!" Larry cried out for help.
Amidst the chaos and destruction people were panicking, Larry's men were trying to figure out who was attacking them.
In short there was no one to save him.
Larry did have some items he got from red portals, but he didn't carry them with them when Sky attacked him. And knowing he didn't have a chance to grab them Larry fled else he would die.
'Identify.'
{Larry P. Head}
{HP: 3,100/3,1000}
{Mana: 602/4,995}
Sky understood now. It wasn't an item that protected Larry, it was his mana.
Larry conjured a mana shield that shielded him from dying.
"ICE TRIDENT! ABSOLUTE SHOT!"
Sky threw the trident.
Larry felt something fast was coming towards him. He grabbed a woman and used her as a human shield. But the ice trident pierced through the woman and Larry's abdomen.
{Dealt critical damage to woman and killed her}
{Dealt 2,000 damage to Larry P. Head}
{602 damage negated}
{Dealt 1398 damage to Larry P. Head}
Sky jumped up high to avoid the crowd of people blocking his way while still holding the naginata.
Larry wanted to flee but can't. The ice trident did not break and the woman was stuck in his chest like a kebab. He wanted to summon his war hog, or use any spells on Sky but he was out of mana.
Larry, out of the corner of his eye, saw Harvey, Jericho's father watching him.
"HELP ME!"
Sky turned to where Larry was looking. And he started to panic.
Harvey could very well take on Sky and they all knew it. But he smirked. Using the chaos and the fact that Larry was occupied, he ran to Larry's secret vault. Harvey was only there for the money in the first place.
Larry's eyes were wide open from the shock and fear that was about to happen.
With both hands Sky swung his naginata at Larry, cutting him and the woman perfectly in half.
{You have killed Larry P. Head}
{You have completed quest}
{Received: 200,000 exp, 325,000 shells, false Warlord's shirt}
{Level up}
{Level 122}
{Stat points: 20}
{Curse of slowness has been removed}
Sky was standing there shocked and appalled. He actually did it. And it was much easier than he thought.
"I… I actually did it?" Sky was so shocked that it felt like a dream.
In reality it wasn't easy. Sky used everything he had in his disposal. Instead of rushing it he took his time and came up with a plan that improved his odds of succeeding. He grinded non-stop for an entire month, clearing dungeon after dungeon, leveling up all his skills.
He got rid of his right hand man which would have given Sky trouble if they double teamed him, decreased his power by killing his men and stealing his ships, launched a sneak attack that made Larry lose all his mana.
Sky also relied on Jericho for help which caused the giant commotion in the first place which meant no one was able to focus on Larry at all.
"Holy shit. That actually worked." Sky wanted to laugh.
'But, wait, didn't he have some items on him or something?' Sky was perplexed. He checked his corpse and there was nothing of value on him.
Greed flashed in Sky's eyes. How much money and items would the Warlord of the sea have on him?
Sky immediately ran to the Warlord's room and ransacked his room while ignoring the four corpses of the women Larry had beaten up to death.
'I don't see anything here! Where could he have hid his stuff?'
While Sky was frantically looking, an idea popped up. He closed his eyes, limited his breathing, calmed down, and started to feel any irregularities in the wind.
'I feel something weird… from over there.' Sky walked to a hidden door that one could not see with the naked eye.
Inside was a small treasure chest. But the inside of the treasure chest continued all of Larry's secret stash.
"JACKPOT!"
Before he could grab the items, he barely sensed someone behind him.
He immediately swung his naginata, but the man was so fast he already had a knife on Sky's throat.
It was none other than Jericho's father.
Despite the knife right on his neck Sky felt no fear. But if he did make a sudden movement it would be game over.
"Hello, you must be the one who rescued my daughter. Let's talk."
Meanwhile…
Jericho was on a boat sailing away from the Warlord's island due to Sky's orders.
"Sky, please make it back soon."
Then out of the corner of her eye she saw something move in the ocean at rapid speeds. The ones who were swimming were none other than fishmen.
"Fishmen! Sky!"
There were approximately 30 fishmen, and they were all headed to the Warlord's island, and they were all seeking vengeance.
Meanwhile…
Sky was at every disadvantage here.
Harvey laughed. He jumped back and put the knife away.
Sky noticed Harvey was carrying a huge sack on his back. It was most likely from the Warlord's vault.
"How's my daughter?"
"I dunno. Why would you care when you sold her out?"
"Yeah… that was a dick move of me, right?"
"Yes, yes it was." Sky agreed.
Harvey scratched his head.
"I know nothing will change what I have done. But I really needed the money."
"I don't care what you needed it for."
"I think you should care if you're together with Jericho. Look… what's your name?"
"..." Sky said nothing.
"Look, son, there is a very powerful man searching for me as we speak. All because of a mistake I made."
"Mistake? Taking a purple scroll was a mistake on your part? That's called an action."
"You're… right. My greed got the best of me. But the point is they're after me. They will not stop until I either bring them another purple scroll, or 300,000,000 shells. And if they were to find out that the purple scroll I took was the magnetism ability, oh man, I cannot imagine what would happen to me."
"Who is after you?" Sky asked.
"The Caribbean, who else? They're the powerhouse of the Land of the Dead-"
"Wait, what?" Sky stood up surprised.
"What's wrong? It's not that surprising."
Sky looked at Harvey, Sky threw the chest at Harvey and immediately ran away.
"Hey, wait… man, some people are so freaking impatient." Harvey was just glad to grab the Warlord's secret stash.
Sky ran towards the nearest ship he owned. But before he could leave the island he saw 30 fishmen jump out of the water. And almost immediately they all started killing people left and right.
"Oh no."
Using identify he could see how every fishman had stats over 300, some ranging between 500 on average.
However, there is one who stood out from the rest.
{Dei Hisos}
{HP: 15,100/15,100}
{Mana: 9,000/9,000}
{Str: 2,000 Dex: 2,300 Spd: 1,800 Mana: 1,800 Mind: 1,300 Vig: 1,500}
{Maelstrom: lvl 7: Create a whirlpool to confuse and damage your enemies while underwater}
{Scorching steam: lvl 9}
{Curse of slowness: lvl 9}
{Curse of blindness: lvl 9}
{Heal: lvl 9}
{Summon shark: lvl 8}
{Curse of weakness: lvl 9: enemies take 45% more damage}
{Ice trident: lvl 9}
{Talent: trident mastery: Able to learn how to handle the trident 100% faster. Able to deal 100% more damage with tridents}
{Personality: Proud, calm, leader}
There was no denying it, this one was a monster compared to the Warlord. And they were all here for Sky.
Sky ran to the other side of the island while there were still people who could cover him.
"Kill every single human here! If you find the ones who killed our friends and families, bring him alive! Destroy all the ships you see! He's gotta be here!" Dei roared his orders, which everyone happily obliged.
Sky made it through the other side of the island. In reality no one could leave the island.
{Slave ship is destroyed}
{Battleship is destroyed}
{Fightership is destroyed}
Sky jumped three times up high and flew to the top of the iron walls.
From the distance he saw some fishmen were destroying his ships with ease. First they would destroy the ships, then inspect it to find him.
The ships were in combat mode and were fighting back against the fishmen using their cannons.
Sky didn't have to think twice. He jumped towards the nearest ship he he owned.
A fishmen suddenly jumped out of the water towards Sky with a harpoon in hand. He didn't even know it was Sky who killed all his friends. All he knows is he wants to kill humans. The fishman was skinny but tall, and had a crazy look on his face
Sky was so caught off guard he wasn't prepared to defend himself.
"HAAAH!"
The fishmen pierced his harpoon on Sky's stomach.
{Received 500 damage: 20% damage negated: → 400 damage received}
{A vital organ has been hit! You are bleeding}
{Suffering 20 damage every second until wound is healed}
Sky fell on the ship bleeding. While the fishmen jumped on top of the ship ready to kill Sky.
Sky is strong for someone who is from the Land of the Free, but his opponents are all from the Land of the Dead. Without proper strategy, team work, or being prepared beforehand, Sky is bound to lose in a 1v1 fight against someone with much higher stats than him, even if his skills are high level.
"HAHAHA! DIE HUMAN!"
The fishmen quickly jammed his harpoon at Sky. But all he hit was the ship's deck. Sky disappeared in an instant.
"What? Wait, what?" The fishman was confused. He destroyed the ship and looked everywhere for Sky, his leader's orders were to not let a single human escape the island.
Back on the island, Harvey was getting worried.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!" Harvey had no way to escape the island. He wasn't a fighter but a runner.
Meanwhile…
Sky appeared before Jericho, still bleeding from his stomach.
"SKY!" Jericho immediately hugged Sky thinking he was dead.
"Heal!"
{HP has been fully recovered}
{You have stopped bleeding}
"Jericho, keep going and do not stop!" Sky was worried one of the fishmen might catch up to them.
"Okay, but where do we go?"
"I want… to go home."
"So Peeves?"
"Yes, set course to Peeves, please."
"It says we'll be there in a month."
"I know. I know."