บท 35: Drunken pirates
Liam was glad that his group made it through the first small test without much trouble.
Everyone looked largely satisfied with the deal.
Only Liam knew how much wealth a good alchemist was able to amass. In his old life the top alchemists had their own shops, protected by their guilds.
More than one of them turned their lives around, rising from a normal citizen to an ultrarich person.
Liam didn't have any concrete plans yet but if Balm showed some talent he might discuss business with her.
Somewhat annoyed by the group pressuring her good friend, Cyclone didn't make much of a spectacle out of it as she revealed the last piece of loot.
A blue sparkle immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Even Radiant Shield forgot his roleplay as he announced his surprise:
"An uncommon item!"
"And even a necklace. Super rare!"
"What effects does it have?"
Cyclone posted the information in the party chat.
[Phera's experiment
Category: Uncommon
Level requirement: 4
Intelligence +4
Agility +6
Effect: Increase the rank of a single skill of your choosing by two.
An experimental subject of Vasily's student Phera. Dissatisfied, she eventually sold it.]
Everyone observed the necklace's stats, not quite sure what to make of the necklace.
However, Liam was quite interested in it, as it would come in handy after his next class change.
With the expert speaking up, the others were somewhat reluctant but still handed over the necklace to Bleary Mirage.
"Thanks guys. Don't worry I'm sure we will find equipment for everyone."
"It's alright. At out levels we discard equipment quickly anyways."
Finally, all the loot was distributed. Liam chose to rank up his [Brutal Strike], not because of the damage but because of the stun effect.
Knowing that the cliff hid high leveled monsters Silver Blade led the party along the path towards the pirate village.
Soon, human voices reached their ears. The pirates sounded drunk, singing of imaginary adventures.
The environment around the party changed subtly as many trees were cut down, obviously used for the wooden houses which came into view gradually.
The pirate village was located under the cliff side, occupying a surprisingly vast space. It wasn't built on one plain but rather on higher and lower platforms.
Unnecessary, tacky decorations adorned the wooden paths.
In the distance an impressive black ship could be seen.
While Quickstep stared at the pirates with a gaze as if wishing to join them, Balm threw out a question:
"Such a big ship must have cost a lot! Can they even make enough money to pay for it?"
Everyone was thrown off by the question, not considering such a problem.
"Maybe they stole it?"
"Who cares. The key is that it will be ours after the quest. Whether it likes to or not."
"It doesn't look like we can get there.", commented Silver Blade.
Liam shook his head.
"Guys, let's concentrate on the quest. We can get our hands on the ship later."
"Are you sure?"
Quickstep eyed Bleary Mirage suspiciously, not yet regarding him as all-knowing.
Liam just shrugged his shoulders.
"Companions, Bleary Mirage is right. Let us not discuss whether to… confiscate… the ship yet. First, we need to retrieve the trident!"
As Radiant Shield spoke up as well, the group focused back on the quest.
Silent Acacia knew his job and approached the pirate village carefully, shooting an arrow.
"Oi! Who interrupts our drinking session?"
A small group of pirates yelled angrily as they stood up from a few crates and chased after Silent Acacia, a cup in one hand and sword in the other.
Silver Blade readied her shield as she quickly used [Inspect].
[Drunken Pirate Fighter
Rank: Common
Level: 6
HP: 250/260
Status: Poisoned]
Silver Blade quickly made the connection between drinking and a poisoned status as the pirate tumbled towards the group.
Bang!
Suddenly a gunshot rang out. Silent Acacia felt the hair on his neck stand up, hastily throwing his body forward.
[Stance -8]
Proving that he was indeed a pro gamer, the thief narrowly dodged the bullet. He looked over his shoulder at a pirate standing at the back.
[Drunken Pirate Shooter
Rank: Common
Level: 6
HP: 190/210
Status: Poisoned]
The pirate shooter had trouble reloading his small revolver, naturally making its attack speed extremely low.
Additionally, he had to keep walking forward as Silent Acacia left his range, delaying him further.
Cyclone flinched from the loud sound, staring ahead with wide eyes.
"They have ranged fighters!"
"Hmpf. Let's show them, Cy!", exclaimed Balm as she opened fire.
"Right!"
[-60!]
[- 51!]
The first pirate already lost a huge chunk of HP before he even arrived.
"Good job!"
"Don't save on MP!"
"Got it!"
The mages went to work. One pirate died unjustly, not able to engage in close combat.
But the rest crashed into Silver Blade's and Radiant Shield's defense, easily held back by the two tanks.
Meanwhile Silent Acacia stared at the pirate shooter. He knew his team could easily deal with these week mobs, getting more interested in his personal duel.
He stopped his retreat, firing an arrow.
The pirate shooter staggered drunkenly, maybe trying to avoid the arrow but it was useless.
Liam knew that later in the game enemies would begin dodging, but now they were still more or less in the tutorial.
Silent Acacia hit the pirate squarely in the chest.
[-55!]
The thief was delighted by the damage he dealt with his new bow.
But he knew not to be distracted as the opponent raised his weapon again.
Bang!
[Stance -8]
Silent Acacia dodged smoothly, answering with a [Flurry].
[-66!]
[-66!]
"Are you kidding me?"
Silent Acacia rolled his eyes as the pirate only had a sliver of health left.
He dodged another attack, shot once more and the opponent finally dropped to the ground.
Turning around with a smile on his face, he looked into seven faces patiently waiting for him.
"Well done, babe!", cheered Quickstep half-seriously.
Silent Acacia was somewhat embarrassed, turning around quickly to pull more mobs.
The party continued in a steady rhythm, fighting their way through the pirate village.
All the drunken pirates were unfortunately interrupted in their leisurely lives.
At first a few of the group members were uncomfortable with fighting human enemies but it helped as the unintelligent pirates always repeated the same lines.
During the fights Liam studied the group. Silent Acacia, Silver Blade, and Quickstep were definitely the best among them.
It was quite impressive as Silver Blade relied on her martial expertise to rival two pro players.
Next up were Radiant Shield and Cyclone, one also a martial artist, and the other a veteran gamer.
Balm was able to keep up with Cyclone most of the time but showed some weakness when attacked by a large group. Since the young woman explained that she aimed to become a healer, Liam hoped that she improved her ability to cast under pressure.
Lastly, Sun's Knight was the most casual among the group. Liam could see the annoyance on his face as he found it difficult to keep up. It would show in the future if he chose to improve or give up.
The party didn't know Liam's thoughts, continuing to fight left and right.
Silver Blade had decided to explore the pirate village, raising everyone's level in the meantime.
Liam soon reached level 4, but it would still take some time until Silver Blade made it to level 5.
On top of that they found two wooden treasure chest, getting a new sword for Quickstep and a helmet which was given to Sun's Knight.
Altogether it took two hours until the party reached the deepest part of the village.
Before them was a large platform, stairs going upwards from the right and left. A few pirates were gathered around it, all of them looking stern without any signs of being drunk.
Radiant Shield signaled everyone to stay back as he used [Inspect].
[Pirate Fighter
Rank: Common
Level: 7
HP: 330/330]
"Careful, those guys are tough."
No one revealed any playfulness, knowing full well that the strong enemies were coming now.
Guarding the stairs were two tall female pirates, wearing bandanas around their heads, most likely elite opponents.
"Acacia, you know what to do."
The young thief nodded his head as he carefully pulled a small group, quickly retreating.
"Cyclone, Balm!"
[-48!]
[-38!]
[-62!]
[-50!]
Damage numbers popped up as the mages mixed normal attacks with skills, welcoming the pirates fiercely.
"Not bad!"
The pirates appeared angry as they approached, their faces grim, their sabers hacking at the tanks.
[Stance -7]
"Damn, I won't be able to tank long."
"Focus them one by one."
The rest of the group reacted quickly. Attacks rained down on the opponents.
[-52!]
Liam dealt considerable damage, the pirate quickly dropping below one hundred HP. His party members followed.
"Why?"
With a sad expression, the pirate dropped to the ground.
His companions didn't appear to care for the loss, readying their next attacks.
Silver Blade and Radiant Shield watched closely, fully focused. As soon as the pirates' swords moved, they directly used [Brutal Strike].
With two pirates stunned, only one was able to attack. This was a common strategy to minimize the damage.
Under the two tanks' lead, the party worked together calmly, defeating the few pirates one by one.
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Mykrail
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