''Well… I guess I will clean then?'' I thought it was weird for me to be some cleaner of what seemed to be a military ship. The game was supposed to be fighting against monsters while being some kind of superhuman with magical abilities.
I grabbed the wooden handle into a tight grip and dipped the brush into the water bucket. Then, I began scrubbing the dirt away.
The smudge and dark-colored dirt were quickly washed away by my masterful strokes. At least, I hoped. However, it was hard to tell because the whole floor was stained with weird substances.
After cleaning till my arms ached, I stopped for a moment and wiped my sweat with the back of my hand.
'Fantasy Online was different than I imagined… I thought it was a land-based game, but I guess not.'
I wondered whether other players were already raging because of all the cleaning. Or maybe all spawn spots were different, and I pulled a short stick to become cleaner. That would suck so much that I might file a complaint.
Ding! Ding!
Suddenly, a dinging noise echoed throughout the ship. Soon, a voice was coming from the things that I expected to be speakers. However, when I turned my head around toward the noise, I saw some kind of snail on top of a small shelf.
The snail's shell was rather strange. It looked like a speaker. Then, shockingly, the snail's mouth opened as it began talking!
''We will arrive in New Marineford in 15 minutes…'' After the snail spoke with a somewhat masculine voice, the voice was cut off, and the snail seemed to fall asleep.
I dropped the floor scrubbing brush and covered my mouth, ''What the fuck?!''
My voice was inaudible. Luckily, otherwise, everyone would have heard my scream.
I walked toward the snail and took it into my hands.
''What the actual fuck?'' I put the snail back to its previous spot and walked away from it with still shocked look.
''The creators of this game are indeed strange…'' I shook my head, and my gaze lingered in the direction of the doorway. I couldn't care less about cleaning right now.
I wanted to see the so-called New Marineford, which seemed to be starting place for my journey!
I stepped out of the room I was in. The cramped hallways were crowded with soldiers that went back and forth between different rooms. They seemed to be in a hurry.
There were also younger boys and girls with similar outfits to mine. However, they acted way differently.
Every time soldiers passed by them, they bowed with humble smiles.
I shrugged, 'Should I have acted like that? No wonder that guy got mad.'
However, I didn't care and saw a door being ajar on the right side of the hallway. I walked there and exited the hallway.
I entered outdoors with a grayish handrail in front of me and the beautiful ocean on the other side.
I stopped in front of the handrail and placed my hands on it.
The water splattered against the ship's hull, and a calm breeze of wind brushed past me. There was a scent of salt in the air, and the sound of seagulls flapping their wings echoed above me.
However, then my eyes widened in shock. My eyes reflected the far-away island that seemed to be our next destination.
The island was separated into two parts with a large bridge connecting the two.
The first island had a large building that resembled a lot of western styles. The biggest and more noticeable feature was two massive stone arches that went over the huge building in the middle.
The base was surrounded by a circular stone wall with turrets built inside them. At first glance, I could see five tower-like buildings connected alongside the wall.
Then, there was the large gate with a pagoda-shaped upper structure. Words ''MARINE'' were firmly printed above the gate with the same name painted above other structures but in a different language.
The enormous building was bigger than any skyscraper I had seen, even though I hadn't seen many. It gave me a sense of security but also fear. I wasn't sure, but I felt like every movement of mine was being monitored.
Then, there was the bridge that led to another island that was more populated with houses of somewhat modern-looking buildings. There were actual streets, and it looked like a semi-big City.
The island was guarded by a similar circular stone wall with turrets mounted on top. There was an enormous gate that opened every time a marine ship got near it. It led to the island's harbor that hosted all ships.
The ship that carried me also went in that direction. I looked around myself and returned back to indoors. Soon, I was back in the room where I had left, and no one managed to see even a glimpse of me.
However, I didn't resume the cleaning. Instead, opened the window slightly, enough to see the ship entering through the open gates.
Then, everything became dark before lanterns placed on the walls lit up. A warm yet dimly-lit soon shrouded the ship, and the water was as dark as space.
Soon, a bright light came from the distance, and the ship left the dark path. The ship entered the harbor, where hundreds, maybe even thousand, ships were already docked.
The soldiers wearing similar marine outfits were entering and leaving the ships. Some spent time with people that seemed to be civilians.
There were families, children, adults, teenagers, and even babies held by their mothers. All of them seemed to live their lives as they walked past the harbor.
The large and beautiful City was a mesmerizing sight. Most of the nearby buildings were packed with soldiers or citizens. The tidy stone path led to different streets that led to another part of the City.
Soon, the ship was docked at the nearby port. Instantly, I dropped the brush and left the room. The cramped hallways were crowded with soldiers preparing to leave the ship.
Same with the Chore boys and girls. I went toward them and followed them as they went outdoors, where everyone was already gathered.
While the soldiers had to unpack the ship's cargo, the Chore boys and girls had to clean the rest of the ship till it was shining.
While the Chore boys and girls were literally beaming out of excitement because they could show their worth, I groaned in annoyance, and that was noticed by a marine whose rank was apparently Seaman First Class.
He was also the first person I met in the game. He snapped at me, telling me about Marine not needing lazy and weak people.
I only groaned even louder and went inside to clean the previous dirty room I was in.