One day later…
Sky was in his room smiling because the moment he had been waiting for was here.
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of healing lvl 9 → Curse of irrecoverable lvl 1: Target receives 50% less healing. Target cannot regenerate. Unable to use healing spells or aid others in any way}
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of strength lvl 9 →Curse of feebleness lvl 1: Lowers target's damage output by 50%. 5% change of target losing the will to fight}
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of weakness lvl 9 → Curse of frailty lvl 1: Increases damage target receives by 50%. 1% chance of breaking a random limb every time they take damage}
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of blindness lvl 9 → Curse of hallucinations lvl 1: Target loses 50% of their total eyesight. 5% chance of target experiencing a random hallucination that will do damage}
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of hearing lvl 9 → Curse of tinnitus lvl 1: Target loses 50% of their total hearing. 5% chance of target experiencing a loud noise in his ears causing extreme pain headaches and discomfort}
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of touch lvl 9 → Curse of intangible lvl 1: Target's ability to handle objects is lowered by 50%. Target's dexterity stat is lowered by 10%}
{Skill evolved}
{Curse of speaking lvl 9 → Curse of mute lvl 1: Target's ability to speak is lowered by 50%. Target will speak in a helium voice and nothing can get rid of the the helium voice for the next 24 hours after it has been casted}
(Man these skills took a while to think about :P)
"Helium? What's that?" Sky covered his mouth when he realized his talking was extremely high pitched and funny to hear.
"Dispel all."
{Removed seven curses}
Sky felt when the curses were removed from him.
"Ah, finally!" Sky covered his mouth once again, his voice was still high pitched.
'System, why is my voice still like this? I clearly casted dispel all.' Sky asked in his mind.
{There are some things that even dispel all cannot dispel}
'Okay, I see that, but is there a way for me to get rid of this voice?'
{Wait 24 hours}
'I mean now!'
{I don't know}
Sky could somehow hear the system say that in a mocking tone. He sat down and began to think about his next course of action.
{Quest}
{The powerful being wants you to evolve the curses found from purple and red scrolls}
{Progress: 8/9}
{Quest reward: 100,000,000 exp, new skill {Hex}}
{Quest time limit remaining: 10 months, 25 days}
Sky wasn't worried about evolving the final cursed skill, curse of death. Using it on himself was out of the question as it could lead to his death, which is why he needs 'volunteers' to level up his skill.
{Curse of death lvl 3: Target has a 5% change of dying if their total HP reaches 3%}
Sky stood up and stretched his arms. There was one more quest he nearly forgot about but he wanted to complete.
{SPECIAL QUEST}
{Earn 1,000,000,000 shells starting now!}
{995,900.000/1,000,000,000}
{Rewards: 1 new title: 3x player coupon}
Sky was eager to complete this quest as it is the first time he's seen a title as a type of reward. Currently he has three titles, once that increases his power when fighting monkeys, another that increases his power fighting spiders, and another that increases all of his stats by 50 and that used to be his best title when his stats were under 100.
Now he really wanted a new better title as 50+ to all stats was almost nothing now, and he never fights spiders or monkeys.
Then an evil idea crept up on him and it showed in his smile. He peeked out of his room, and he saw Jericho was talking to her mother using the call function.
"Aww, I really wish I could see that." Jericho said to her mother.
"When are you coming back, sweetie? We miss you and you already paid back the debt. I really want to thank Sky in person instead through call, and also… I really think your sister wants to see Jay again." Mabel, Jericho's mother, said that last part softly.
"No I don't!" A flushed Katelyn could be heard from the distance.
'Hehehehe.' Sky laughed to himself. 'Curse of mute, dispel.'
Sky immediately cast the curse on her and dispeled it almost instantly.
"Katelyn, you really wa-AH!" Jericho held her mouth surprised to hear her voice get so high pitched.
"Jericho? Baby? What's wrong?" Katelyn thought she heard a weird voice and a scream.
"Nothi… nothing." Jericho whispered. "Gotta go."
"Why does your voice-"
Jericho instantly ended the call wondering why her voice changed.
'Is this puberty? This isn't a voice crack. But if it was puberty shouldn't my voice get lower?' Jericho began thinking of many reasons why her voice changed.
Just then she could hear the faint sound of someone barely containing a high pitched laughter coming from the Captain's quarters.
Jericho sighed as she realized why her voice changed, it was Sky.
She walked to his room and opened the door. She saw Sky on the ground unable to hold his laughter and holding his stomach with his arms.
"You… you did this?" Jericho spoke softly but her high pitched voice could still be heard.
Sky took a second to breathe and nodded.
"Hilarious, now remove it."
'If I could I would've done it already.'
Jericho heard Sky's voice in her head. Sky was using telepathy to communicate.
"I… you can't remove it?" Jericho used the eye of truth on Sky as could be told by her eyes changing colors.
"Nope. It'll be gone after 24 hours from now on." Sky spoke up and Jericho gasped hearing his voice.
"Pft! Ahahahahaha! You idiot! You've doomed us both!" Jericho couldn't contain her laughter hearing his voice.
Sky also began laughing and their high pitched laughters could be heard from the room.
Jules, who just jumped on the ship after finishing her morning swim routine, heard two weird laughters coming from Sky's room.
'Weirdos.' Jules thought as she went to the crew's quarters.
After a while Jericho exited the room not daring to say a word until her high pitch voice was gone.
Meanwhile…
Xero was in his office room reading through the reports submitted to him.
"I know I said people can submit their ideas to make this a better place, but what kind of ideas are these? Tax the poor more? Anyone over 50 should be executed because they're a waste of oxygen… whoever wrote this forgot that I am 53. Drinks should be free. It should be legal to marry your sibling, which is gross, blegh." Xero made sure to toss that paper in the garbage.
"Seriously so many horrible and morally questionable ideas! And certain Caribbean officers are allowed to retire from their work and get a huge pay, I bet all of my money Boris wrote that one." Xero also tossed that paper to the garbage.
Just then Georgia entered the room looking like a kid who is about to apologize to her parents.
"Georgia? How are you doing?" Xero stood up from his seat.
"I am doing fine, uncle. I am pretty sure the mind control is gone. I didn't even know I was being mind controlled for god knows how long."
"Yeah, that's… how mind control works." Xero smirked. "I've been doing your job and you do a lot, I mean all these dumb ideas people keep submitting is just unbelievable."
"I know, right? My personal favorite so far was when somebody said that women aren't allowed to reject men's marriage proposals!"
"Hahaha! How do people come up with this?" Xero laughed.
"Hm, yeah. You don't even wanna know my least favorite one I've read."
"What is your least favorite?"
"You don't wanna know."
"Huh… wait, what are you doing here? I thought I gave you the week off to recover."
"Yeah, but I need monies." Georgia began rubbing her fingers asking for money.
"I already pay you well because I made you my personal assistant, why do you need more money?"
"Because I like money."
"Cannot argue with that, money is good." Xero agreed with her.
"Uncle, I thought you would be angry at me for giving the enemy a lot of secrets?"
"It's not your fault. And I am angry, not at you but at the fishmen. And I cannot wait to catch the one who brainwashed you." Xero clenched his right hand tightly.
"Please do. I'll just get back to work."
"If you feel like it, but I still think you should rest for the week, a paid week."
"It just… doesn't feel right to sit back like that. I don't even know how I got brainwashed and I just feel bad, like I betrayed you after all you've for me, ever since mom and dad died and you've taken me under your wing." Georgia said solemnly.
Xero walked up to her towering over her, and he hugged her.
"You didn't betray me, child." Xero said. He couldn't say any more because he couldn't think of anything despite his high mind stat.
Georgia let out a small chuckle, her uncle was never good at these kinds of talks but she knows he cares for her.
"I really want to go back to work now."
"Very well, if you insist. There's your mountain of paperwork." Xero pointed to his desk, there were hundreds if not thousands of paper work.
"..." Georgia.
"..." Xero.
"There is no possible way that is true. I was only gone for a day." Georgia almost had a heart attack right then and there. To think that because she didn't work for a day so much work has already piled up.
"I mean, unless you still wanna take that paid week vaca-"
"I'll take it! Goodbye!" Georgia left the office.
Xero didn't know if he should be laughing or crying at that moment. After that small speech of feeling bad and wanting to work, she runs away when she sees the mountain of paperwork due.
"Hehehehe." Xero chuckled maniacally as he walked up to the mountain of papers, most of which were blank pieces of paper. "She really doesn't think I don't know what she's thinking? Please."
Xero sat down and began reading other reports.
"Hmm… the Abyss family is being a pest, still no Lucious to be found, we haven't seen the purple portal despite all our resources being poured to finding it, and we are missing a mermaid who might or might not contain valuable information about the nightmare sword and we don't even know where she even is."
Xero sighed, so many problems are rising and there is no sign they will be taken care of any time soon.
Boris told Georgia how the mermaid was caught by the mermaids but that part was made up to confuse the mermen when Georgia told them the fake news.
They could've been smarter and used this information wisely but by then it was too late to try.
Meanwhile…
Sky was living his best life sitting on his ship with one of the slaves rubbing his shoulders.
"Ah, I don't remember the last time I got a shoulder massage. Good thing you have some experience with that, Phoebe" Sky said with a smile on his face.
His voice was still high pitched but the three slaves would not dare to say anything about it out of fear.
"I-I am happy to hear that, Master." Phoebe said she was scared at first but she thought if she could do more for Sky than just cleaning he wouldn't feel like killing her.
"Sky, twenty minutes till the next dungeon!"
"Good… Phoebe, you stopped massaging my shoulders, why?" Sky asked with his eyes still closed.
"If you want I can massage something else, Sky?" Phoebe whispered seductively right beside Sky's ears.
Sky opened his eyes abruptly and stood up looking at Phoebe. She was scared of him but now her complexion changed entirely.
'Identify.'
{Phoebe Prune}
{Possessed by a powerful entity}
"I knew it, Madame."
"PFT!" Madame, who was in Phoebe's body, began laughing uncontrollably.
Jericho and Jules looked at her thinking she must be crazy to laugh at Sky like that, they could laugh because they were close, not to mention she was deeply afraid of him.
"Jericho, Jules, please head to the crew's quarter."
"Yes, Master." Jules didn't have a choice but to follow his order.
"Are you planning on killing her for laughing at you?" Jericho asked in her high pitched voice.
"No, but please just leave us."
Jericho raised an eyebrow before heading back inside the crew's quarters which were located underneath the ship.
"Ohho, Sky, your voice man. When I first heard it I could not stop laughing, and when you did the same thing to Jericho I lost it. Ow, my sides, it hurts from laughing." Madame sat down where Sky was sitting.
"What do you want, Madame? I still have ten months left."
"Oh I know that. Quite frankly I have severely underestimated you, I knew you progressed fast but this was wayyyyyyyyy faster than I thought, I should've given you three months instead."
"That doesn't answer my question, why are you here?"
"Well two things, I wanted to ask if there is anything weird after you evolved eight curses or something?"
"No, why?" Sky asked.
"You see there is this story that once someone is able to evolve nine curses they'll be able to unlock a new powerful skill. Where I come from, the number nine is considered a cursed number, it makes sense because the number nine is pronounced the same way as "curse" in the dead language. It is said that only one man, a very talented man, was able to evolve all nine curses in his lifetime, but that was 800,000 years ago, no one has done it since not due to lack of trying. I myself have evolved 2 curses, nearly three and it has taken 1/10 of my life to accomplish that."
"How old are you?"
"Seven thousand years old."
"Holy, and you barely evolved three curses?" Sky was amazed.
"Yeah, I didn't just evolve curses but I further continued to improve them. Then again I didn't start taking curses seriously until seven hundred years ago. Also… in the Land of the Gods it is much tougher to survive out there than here."
"What's your second reason?"
"To warn you about something. It seems that someone has sensed my presence and they know I am helping you, but they don't know who you are or where you're at, yet."
"You put me in danger?" Sky asked.
"No… we gotta do something about your voice first, it's distracting as hell, funny but distracting."
Sky got closer to her.
"Did you put me and my crew in danger?"
"No, on the contrary I am protecting you. A lot of people here can sense when someone evolves a skill, you're just lucky I sensed you first otherwise you would've been in trouble because I made sure no one else can sense you."
Sky activated the mind of truth on her.
"How is that even possible? How can you protect me when you're so far away from me?"
{Magic!}
"Magic!" Madame waved her hands around.
Sky read her thoughts but she wasn't thinking on anything.
'System, is she telling the truth.' Sky asked in his mind.
{She might or she might not be, who knows}
'Why do I even bother asking you?'
{I thought you would've realized that sooner}
'You know what, system? Let's play a game.'
{Uh, sure, what game?}
'Let's play fuck off, you go first.'
{...}
"So someone from the Land of the Gods has sensed my presence and they'll most likely be looking for you, they will send out their men and they will kill you." Madame said while lazily stretching her arms back.
"Great, just what I need, more enemies."
"That's why I am here, to help you out. I will not let you die not when you have so much potential. Do you have a map and something to write with?"
Sky took out a copy of a map he had in his inventory and gave her a black pen.
Madame wrote something on the map.
"Here, in three days time I will leave you something you will need." Madame handed Sky the map. But before Sky could grab it she pulled the map back.
"But before I give you this I want you to do me another favor."
"What?" Sky asked.
"I have no doubt you will become the strongest in the Land of the Dead in less than a year at the rate you're going, which is why I want you to come to the Land of the Gods within three years time."
"You… want me to come to the Land of the Gods? Is that even possible?" Sky asked. He has never heard of anyone going to the Land of the Gods.
There is only one record of anyone from the Lands of the Gods coming to the Land of the Dead, the founding family of the Fallen God Family.
"It is possible. I want you to come here within three years, maybe less."
{Quest: Land of the Gods}
{Within three years reach the Land of the Gods with the help of the figure, Madame}
{No quest reward}
{No punishment or timer}
"Why would you want me to come there?" Sky asked.
"I will tell you soon, something important just came up."
"What would that be?"
"My beautiful niece just came to visit me. Do evolve the final curse soon. Bye."
"Wait, what? Don't leave just like that! Tell me why you-"
Before Sky could ask his question Phoebe's eyes and facial features returned to normal. She was in a daze before she realized she was sitting on Sky's chair.
"AH! Sorry, Master! Please don't kill me!" Phoebe jumped out of the seat like a scared cat then kneeled before him and started begging for her life.
Sky clenched his fist before letting go.
"Get away from my sight."
"Y-yes!" Phoebe ran away with tears covering her face.
Sky sat down pondering…