章節 19: Chapter 19
Chapter 19
A/N: Wow, I sure had a lot of people outcrying over Murphy's law in the reviews. Silly me, I would've put money on the Jack Sparrow joke or the silliness with the Lobster Zoan being the main items of commentary. Definitely a bet I would've lost.
I will say though, if you're expecting Jack's karmic comeuppance to be of the instant variety I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a little while...
A/N 2: Sidenote. Since someone pointed it out and asked. 'Marine' (uppercase) is what I use when referring to the organization while 'marine' (lowercase) I've been using for individuals.
Yeutton Port, Caeba Kingdom, South Blue
It's been nearly two full days since the incident with Mira-jane and Lorthos. The nearest Marine vessel capable of rendering aid had been roughly eight hours away at the time Yuriko made her call. Add in the extra little time it took for that ship to actually receive the order to shift course and you'll realize we were sitting there on the damaged decks of the Bloody Jewel for quite some time. Riding on Kiwi's back has definitely spoiled me. When you're used to zipping around from island to island all the time you temporarily forget that most sailing ships only get 5-8 knots. And that's assuming the weather's on their side.
I spent some of the time sitting around feeding Kiwi treats, much to the minor amazement from one Seamen named 'Hughes' in particular, and the rest of it keeping my hands busy by helping where I could. At one point I considered attempting a diving run for the Witch's cutlass but I discarded the idea for multiple reasons. Even if visibility wasn't an issue, which it would be. Even if the Blue wasn't deep enough here to obscure titans like Lorthos, which it was. It's still a bad idea because it lets a Marine lieutenant and her subordinates know I can swim without issue despite me demonstrating what looks exactly like Storage-Human Devil Fruit powers. Even if my extensive usage of [Geppo] and [Rankyaku] doesn't get ferried up the chain of command then that shit definitely would.
Were I a colder human being I could've hidden the existence of the [Inventory]. I could've used a ratty bed sheet from the ship or perhaps a ripped sail to cover the corpse of the marine Mira-jane executed rather than provide a clean one myself. I could've made the abused dehydrated civilian women drink from the filthy brown-tinted water in the kitchens rather than show I have cantines. I could've asked the blind and emaciated Guilford not to mention the powers he knew I had from when we both were contracted aboard The Marjhan.
Do all those plus a few others and I could dive for the sword all day without the marines batting an eye. Other than them thinking I'm insane for willingly going in sea-monster infested waters that is. And what would that all earn me? A 1 in 10,000 chance of even finding the cutlass, combined with the knowledge that I am a horrible person.
So you know, since I'm not a complete shit of a human being, I made use of the [Inventory] quite prolifically. Water, food, fresh shirts for the women and even chains to tie up surrendered pirates whom I had previously ejected overboard. Turns out not everyone prefers drowning to life imprisonment.
As I said earlier though, it's been nearly a full two days. Guilford's under medical care, Yuriko's taken charge of getting the civilians home, the Bloody Jewel has been scuppered by Marine cannons, and I've got a document signed in triplicate that's good to the tune of just under 40 million Beri's. 30 for the Witch, 7.3 for her right hand, and an extra 1.82 that [Observe] found hidden among the lackey's.
It was easy to see that the leading officer of the second Marine vessel, a Lv. 53 Commander, didn't want to sign off on it. Just the idea of authorizing that high a payment to a bounty hunter seemed to stick in his craw something foul. Like a piece of rancid meat he was being forced to chew. Four separate times I saw him question Yuriko if my involvement was indeed 'crucial' and every time that her story remained unchanged his mood further soured.
Eventually though, he signed the paper with a resigned huff, muttered a curse under his breath, and respectfully requested I take my bird and remove myself his ship. Which by that point, I was all too happy to do.
So now here I stroll, with a spring in my step and an all-too-pleased look on my face, up to Petty Officer Abrella's 'BOUNTY' office to receive my payday. The paperwork's good on my end. Mori's taken care of his. And I've made sure to call ahead.
This is the moment my months of grinding have prepared me for. Cashing in a bounty of this size may grant me a little more repute and it's enough capital to buy and stock a mansion if I wanted to, but those aren't the parts that matter.
I have five active [Quests] at the moment. There's the big one, the One Billion Beri [Quest] that's ticking closer million by million, and there's the four smaller ones. The last four the [Game] issued me when I turned in Reggie Polivar so many moons ago. The [Quest]'s to collect bounties worth 20, 30, 40, and 50 million respectively.
And I'm about to cash in two of them at the same time.
Abrella accepts my side of the paperwork with a smile, reads it over twice to make sure it's right, and then nods to a second marine waiting behind her post. The man, a fellow Petty Officer named 'Clune' clicks open an empty suitcase and then bends to knee level to start inputting a combination into a steel safe.
"Congratulations Jack." Abrella beams. "This is incredible." she breaths in mild disbelief before turning to help Clune remove stacks of bills from the vault.
'Oh ho ho. You have no idea.'
Ding!
Quest Completed!
Quest: Collect a bounty worth at least 20,000,000 Beri.
Reward: +25 STR, +25 VIT or DEX, and 15,000 Exp.
Ding!
Quest Completed!
Quest: Collect a bounty worth at least 30,000,000 Beri.
Reward: +40 STR, +40 VIT or DEX, and 20,000 Exp.
You have reached Lv. 57!
You have reached Lv. 58!
You have reached Lv. 59!
You have reached Lv. 60!
Congratulations! You have reached Lv. 60!
Stat points awarded per Lv up increased (25) → (30)
You have reached Lv. 61!
You have reached Lv. 62!
You have 265 points to spend!
I had to physically restrain myself from whistling. God damn that is a lot of points. I don't even know where to start. Well that's not wholly true. We start by selecting the 25 from the first [Quest] to go towards VIT and let the 40 from the second one allocate to DEX. Now I don't know where to start.
The only place I'm sure I'm not starting with is STR. With [Natural Growth] building it up by 10 free points a week 'Or 17 after factoring in [Adrenalin Rush]' I really don't see myself putting points in that stat..ever again really..it'd just be wasteful. 'Besides, the stat just got a pretty serious bump off the two [Quest]'s so it's not like I'm actually lacking in that department.'
Which I guess means the other four areas get the 265 all to themselves.
A finger tapped my chin as I internally hummed and pondered over the stats screen 'Okay let's see here, this doesn't have to be hard… we'll put some here...50 more in that...clean this up...let's get INT and WIS matching again...another 50 in that...bump those up by 10...what does that leave us with?19? Hmmm how about four in there, five in the rest, and I think that just about does it!'
Points to spend (265) → (0)
VIT (200) → (305)
DEX (307) → (404)
INT (123) → (155)
WIS (124) → (155)
Max Health (4,000) → (6,100)
Oh yeah.
This is it.
This is what I needed to beat Eustass. Now we just have to find him.
'Goodbye Jack. Hellloo Super Jack.'
Abrella thumps the now full suitcase on the counter in front of me."Well there it all is. Mostly in 100 count stacks of 5,000's. Hey, speaking of 30 million, did you read the paper yesterday?" Abrella continues as she tries to staple my papers to the ones Mori prepped beforehand. She clicks the device twice more and frowns when nothing happens. "Some rookie in East Blue broke the record over there. 30 mil as his starting bounty. Now North Blue's in last place for the five oceans. Their record for that's only 28."
My elation dies. The air freezes in my lungs and I gaze at the Petty Officer in horror. Not that Abrella noticed, her eyes are downward, digging through a desk drawer for a new box of staples. "What?"
"I said the record in North Blue's only 28." she repeated, setting a new strip of staples into the empty tray. "The Grand Line's obviously still in the lead at-" I snatch the briefcase and run for the stairs. "Hey! Wha-Jack! Where are you going!"
'Luffy's bounty is active! Luffy's bounty is active!' The words pulse in my head and their implications send me into a panic attack as I sprint to the fourth floor. Luffy and his crew arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago just slightly after the Kid Pirates did. Therefore, it must be assumed that they entered the Grand Line at 'roughly' the same time. 'Wait! Fuck! Does it mean that? The different routes through 'Paradise' have differing numbers of stops.. then you have to factor in the times it takes for Log Pose's to set.. plus adventures.. and then there's..Shitshitshit! I don't have enough information!'
All I know is that there's a chance my vengeance slipped away without me even noticing.
I reach the top floor and sprint down the hallway. Master Chief's office comes into view and an involuntary yell rips loose. "Mori!" I barrel through the unlocked door, "When was the last sighting of..the..Kid.." 'Ohhh crap... so that's why the door was closed.'
Mori is sitting ramrod straight at his desk, his hands folded in front of him and his posture rigid and alert. Between the two of us sit a pair of chairs. The one on the right is empty. Its twin on the left however contains a man with a cigarette hanging loosely off his lip. His feet are propped on Mori's desk in a relaxed manner and his shoulders are draped in the 'Coat of Justice'.
Captain Gelric, Base Commander, Lv. 68
The marine elite lazily lolls his head backwards at my interruption. "Oy oy. Speak of the devil. We just got started talking about you Mr. Parker." He taps the empty seat next to him. "You wanna pull up a chair?"
I briefly glance Master Chief's way and the best way to describe the look in his eyes is 'internal screaming'. "...I prefer to stand thank you."
"Suit yourself." He says with a shrug. The Captain looks between the two of our uneasy expressions and lightly frowns. "Oy oy." he mutters like it's a verbal tick. "Why so nervous boys? I'm not mad about the little covert 'hunter business' the two of you have going on."
The rigidity in Mori's shoulders fades down just a drop. "You're...you're not?"
"Hardly." Gelric answers. "I like it. It's a novel approach. Oh my XO was furious, that's for certain." The Captain shakes his head and laughs to himself. "He wanted you scrubbing toilets with toothbrushes for the next three months. Thought it might wisen you up about sharing Marine reports with independent parties. No worries though, I calmed him down."
Mori attempts to join in with the captains laughter but is obviously finding scant comfort in his CO's words.
"Though let me just say, if you two were trying to be clandestine about it then you really need some work." The man continues. "First of all," Gelric pauses to suck down on his cigarette. "Did you think we wouldn't be monitoring communications after the incident we had with Jorgen?"
'Uhh..'
"And secondly, always turning in the bounties at this base. I mean c'mon. It's like you were practically waving it in our faces."
"But just to reiterate.." I spoke cautiously. "Mori's not in trouble?"
"Nope. Technically he hasn't broken any written rule. It's an odd little loophole the two of you are exploiting. One that I imagine won't be open forever." Gelric swerves an accusatory finger in my direction. "Though you need to do me favor. Stop turning them in only here! Take those picaroons somewhere else. We don't keep infinite funds stored in the back here and I've had to submit paperwork twice already requesting more because of you."
"I'm..sorry?"
Gelric rolls his head back forward. "Mori we'll table the rest of this discussion until later. My office, 1730 alright?"
Master chief nods. "Yes sir."
"Excellent." Gelric hops to his feet and faces me. "So then, what was your question Mr. Parker? Why'd you run in here as though the building were on fire?"
"Oh..I..um.." It's an odd mixture of feelings. The panic of needing answers has returned but its coupled with the hesitation of speaking in front of this man who's clearly not leaving quite yet. "I wanted to know when the last sighting of the 'Kid Pirates' was?"
Gelric whistles. "Now that's a big fish." The officer turns to the enlisted. "Well Master Chief. When was the last sighting of Eustass Kid?"
Mori's eyes fall downward, avoiding my gaze as a labored sigh seems to suck the life force out of him. "I'm sorry Jack. Their ship was spotted near the Kangawa outpost just over a week ago...I read the report of what they did to your home..kind've figured that's why you approached me again in the first place..I was worried that If I told you where they were then you'd go rushing off trying to stop them and get yourself killed."
My pupils move between the two men awaiting my reaction. Clearly I'm missing something. "What's the Kangawa outpost?"
Gelric takes over. "Kangawa is one of three small islets just a half-days sail away from the entrance to Reverse Mountain. What Master Chief Mori is saying is that it's likely Eustass Kid has already departed for the Grand Line. He's not South Blue's problem anymore."
Each of the knuckles in my hand pop as my fists squeez impossibly tight. An array of conflicting emotions play across my face and my jaw clenches down with enough force to bite a tongue off. "I..I missed him. I'm finally ready for my rematch and I missed him.'
Gelric snaps his fingers in my face. "You alright Parker? Not gonna run off after him are you?"
Short angry breaths puff from my nostrils. "No. I like to think I'm pretty tough, scratch that, I know I am...but that doesn't mean I'm going to haphazardly jump into the deep end." 'Not to mention I have some major concerns about Kiwi's ability to navigate that sea. Migratory birds use the planets magnetic field to know north from south and remember where things are. In the Grand Line though everything gets screwy..compasses spin wildly...logic goes out the window..and the storms are more wild and unpredictable than anything here in the Blue's..all in all it sounds like a fantastic way to get the two of us totally lost.' "Besides, I've still got work here to do in South Blue. I'm just starting to make an impact. I can't run off just because the pirate I hate the most has temporarily moved out of reach."
"Speaking of work," Gelric raises a hand, clearly forcing a subject change. "That reminds me. Before you barged in so rudely, Master Chief was telling me about how when you two first met he offered to have you join our intrepid little band here at the 4-6-8. Even talked about skipping the 'Recruit' and 'Apprentice' ranks."
My eyes narrow as I see the pitch coming from a mile away. "Yeah?"
"Would I be correct in assuming that the idea has even less appeal to you now? As amusing as it might be for you to have the title of world's strongest 'Seaman', I imagine it wouldn't mesh well with your current goals."
I do my best to reign in the snark. "Be a pretty safe bet that one."
Gelric cupped his chin in thought. "Alright then.. how about at his rank?" The Captain asks with a backwards thumb jab towards Mori. "We can even talk about you continuing to act as an independent agent with that bird of yours."
Mori openly sputters at the suggestion and my immediate response gets put on hold as my eyes get drawn to the forming text screen.
New Quest Alert!
Quest: You've been given the chance to join the Marines! Now at the high-tier enlisted position of Master Chief! Join the world's largest organization and forge a name for yourself under the indomitable banner of 'Justice'. Garp the Hero, Sengoku the Buddha, Great Staff Tsuru and so many others. They all started at the bottom. But with time, strength, and the will to push forward...they became Legends. Wouldn't you like your shot at joining them?
Reward: +30 STR, +30 VIT, +30 DEX, +18 INT, + 18 WIS, +4 LUK, 9,750 Exp, 120,000 Beri a month salary, Lv. 2 [Skill Disk], and [Skillbook]: Rally.
Note: This is the sum total of all [Rewards] that you would have been granted had you joined at the lowest rank of Seaman Recruit and then been slowly promoted up to Master Chief. Additional [Rewards] will be granted upon each subsequent promotion henceforth.
Note 2: As an official member of the Marines you will become ineligible to collect bounties on pirates you capture thus making it difficult to complete your remaining bounty related [Quest]'s.
Note 3: Accepting this [Quest] and then abandoning the Marines will result in a forfeiture of all [Rewards] as well as you being branded a traitor and enemy of the World Government.
[ACCEPT/DECLINE]
I scan over the words and then head for the [DECLINE] button. It's not a terrible offer, but still not one that interests me and definitely not one I'm willing to entertain in my current mood. It's neat to know that the [Game] offers increasing [Rewards] with each promotion. And I'm sure employing a little deception would allow me to circumnavigate the problem in 'Note 2' rather easily. However once you get to the bottom line, there's still too many negatives in play to even consider accepting.
I open my mouth to tell the Captain my decision but it seems he's already read it off my face.
"Not good enough eh?" he says with a knowing smirk. "Thought as much. A smart man knows not to take the first offer." Gelric pauses to take a drag from his cigarette. "Unfortunately it's the best I can give at the moment." he exhales a cloud of smoke. "I'll have to phone Rear Admiral Aquino and see if we can sweeten the pot a little. Get you a deal worth taking."
The Captain moves to my side and pats my shoulder on his way out. "Cheer up Parker. Bit of bad news isn't the end of the world. Eustass will get what's coming to him." His head dips forward a little and whispers the rest faintly in my ear. "..and if you're hoping the higher ups won't recognize two of the rokushiki from little Yuriko's report then you are sorely mistaken."
Gelric smirks at the subtle tensing in my posture and claps me on the back once more. "Well I best get moving. I've lingered too long already. Mori, meeting 1730, don't be late, and Mr. Parker..you have a great rest of your day."
Master Chief stands for his CO as he leaves and when the door clicks shut it's just the two us standing silently in the office.
"Jack..." My friend starts warily. "You okay?"
"Not particularly." I growled beneath my breath.
The marine reaches for a drawer by his leg. "...you want a drink?"
"Just tell me who the next target is."
Mori sighs deeply. "Take your pick." he pinches a handwritten sticky note from his desk and holds it out. "Two small-timers seen in the last 12 hours. Both less than 5 million. The first was near Cherrytown, the other by Butterpond."
I snatch the sticky note and head for the door. "Excuse me. I need to go hit something."
"Jack," he calls after me. "I really am sorry I didn't let you know."
Nine Days Later, Draynett Town, Briss Kingdom
"Whoa. Easy there." I laughed as some children darted past my legs. All around me food stalls and festival stands clamored as the celebration continued. A father of two at my left purchases a pair of red pinwheels for his daughters whilst a woman on my right holds up a 'one' with her finger towards a man serving what looked to be some kind of yakitori. "Anyway as I was saying," I continued into the Den-Den-Mushi. "His ship's in the bay but best I can tell there isn't a soul on board. Not even a sentry. I'm assuming they're mixing among the townsfolk but I haven't been here long enough to say for certain."
Mori grunted through the snail. "Alright. Just keep a watchful eye out, Taigam's known for being a schemer. He earned every bit of that 22 million on his head. Remember, even if you spot him it's probably best to just observe until they sail out again."
I chuckle as my eyes sweep across new titles in the crowd. "What? Don't want me to cause a ruckus in the middle of a town?"
"Yes actually." Mori said with little humor. "Briss is one of the oldest Kingdoms in South Blue and with that age comes influence. As I've heard it told, King Leighton has the ear of many high up marines on this ocean. Three years ago, a 'Lieutenant Forscythe' from branch 441 set up an ambush for some small-time pirates who had made port to attend one of the festival sites."
"Should I assume based on the fact you're telling me this story that the operation went to hell?" The street I was strolling down came to an end and opened up into a large hexagonal plaza with five other branching pathways. At its center stood a sizable stone statue of a vaguely familiar galleon with a circular reptilian figurehead.
"Not at all. It was nearly a complete success." Mori continued. "All pirates killed or captured. Two casualties on our side. One civilian took a stray bullet in the arm."
I circled around the large sculpture, admiring the detail. 'Heeey...Isn't this the ship that nearly crushed Luffy and Co. when it fell off an Island Cloud?' "So if everything went as planned why do you know the story?"
"Because Forscythe's career was destroyed because of it." Mori answered. "King Leighton was so livid that anyone would dare start hostilities during the celebrations that he-"
"Okay I think I got it." I interrupted, bending down to read the statue's bronze plaque. "Don't try and capture anyone until the parties over or else I'll piss off King Snowflake. Message received."
This statue left in memorium of the St. Briss, who with 198 souls onboard, including Prince Charles Coombes, eldest son of King Alistair II, embarked on a quest in 1314 to catalog all the currents of the world. May they have peace wherever it is they rest.
I stood back up and continued with my walk. "Guess that explains why there wasn't several Marine ships surrounding Taigam's...pretty dumb reason if you ask me but whatever. How long does this fiesta last?"
"Four days. I believe it's currently on number three."
I hummed noncommittally. "Well if that's everything I'm gonna let you go Mori. Call me if you need to."
The creature-phone mimicked Mori's nod. "Same to you Jack. Stay out of trouble. KA-LICK!" The snail's eyes drooped and I repocketed the animal into subspace.
My next two hours was spent idly roaming around the other roads connected to the plaza. I snacked at a few stalls. Read a couple of profiles with [Observe]. Nothing terribly exciting. At some point my aimless meanderings came to a stop and I spent the time taking in a few performances from street artists.
Currently I was watching an elderly gentleman named 'Nin' turn a blank canvas into an artistic masterpiece in the span of roughly six and a half minutes.
'Damn... I love watching these guys work. It's mesmerizing. One minute it doesn't look like they're painting anything ...and the next it's suddenly a ship sailing among the stars over the sunrise.'
Nin turns his completed product around for the crowd and is naturally met by a round of applause. "Just 2,000 Beri! 2,000 lets you take it home right today!" he spouts with a geriatric smile. "Any takers? Comes in your choice of painting or.." There's a small puff of obscuring smoke and when it clears the portrait has been replaced by a gorgeously stitched carpet hanging over his arms. "...in rug!"
The assembly 'oohh's' and 'aahh's' at the transformation while I do a double-take and activate [Observe]. 'Huh, that's cool. The Rug-Rug Fruit. Nice to see someone using their power for honest living rather than immediately taking to the seas.'
"HEY!" A belligerent voice roars, turning many of our heads his way. "The hell do you think you're doing kids!"
"Crap! Scatter!" A quintet of bedraggled dirt-stained children in threadbare rags sprint down the street as quick as their small legs can carry them. The four smaller ones, who I'd estimate at ages five to eight have arms full of stolen carnival food whilst the eldest one, whom I'd place at ten, has a jingling bag of coins in his hand.
"Thieves! Thieves! Someone catch them!" the pot-bellied stall owner bellows as he struggles to give chase to the gang of ragamuffins.
Many folks are giggling lightly at the scene. Obviously viewing it as the -mostly harmless- antics of children. One of the younger ones blitz's past my group and I can't really bring myself to stop her. Stealing is wrong, but I'm not going to take food from a clearly homeless six-year old.
The ten year old with the stolen cash...ehhh.. I have slightly less compunctions about.
My hand snakes out to snag the back of his collar as he tries to run past and the sudden jerk to his momentum causes the coin purse to go spilling form his grip.
Tarou, Child Miscreant, Lv.3
"Wha- Hey! Let me go ya shitty old man!" He cries out, limbs flailing as I lift him off the ground. "Let! Me! Go!"
I reach down for the small brown sack, much to the objection of my prisoner, and toss it to the huffing portly civilian who is only just now catching up to us. 'Cardio's important folks. Try to get a little everyday.'
The vendor accepts the bag with thanks and then glares disdainfully at Tarou, who simply huffs with crossed arms and turns his head away in response. I silently signal to the man I'll handle it which earns me a curt nod, followed by him curving his lip up and waddling away.
I turn to the street urchin -who is adamantly not meeting my eye- and my first thought is that this kid needs a bath. And my second thought is he desperately needs new clothes. His shoes are ripped, his pants barely deserve the title, and his tattered shirt is actually just the top half of an extra-large size blouse someone else clearly threw away. In fact the only item I'd say doesn't need replacement is his bandanna. It's bright red and adorned with a hand drawn doodle that now that I think about it, was also present on the rest of his little rascal buddi-
Ding!
Translation available. View it now?
[ACCEPT/DECLINE]
'...?' The text box stops my train of thought flat and my head subtly tilts to one side. 'A translation? Of what?'
I mentally pressed down on the [ACCEPT] button and with my selection came a new text box replacing the previous one.
Now, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm still a bit fuzzy as to what exactly the [Game] is even talking about. Though if there was anything I was expecting, it'd probably be that the [Game] was going to give me more than just a single word.
We
'..well that just explains everything doesn't it?' I thought rather nonplussed.
"Hey. Geezer. You gonna put me down or what?" The boy speaks, still refusing to look anywhere at me.
I gently lower him to the ground, though while still maintaining a firm grasp of his collar, as I continued to ponder over the screen. No matter what way I diced it...I'm just not understanding what this means. I'm about two seconds away from closing the screen and designating this minor oddity to the mental backburner...when the right neuron fires.
Dot 'A' finally connects to Dot 'B' and my eyes grow saucer wide. My posture turns stone rigid and I nearly scream an expletive in the middle of the street as the realization slams into my skull.
'W' and 'E' are two of the seven letters of the ancient language I can read. The doodle on Tarous's headband isn't a child's sketching. It's a glyph from the lost language. Which means this kid has seen the ancient text somewhere on this island.
My head snaps in the boys direction, a screaming question at the edge of my lips...only to see I am now holding an empty shirt.
"Bleh!" Tarou taunts at me from down the road, his tongue sticking out and one finger pulling down his eyelid. "Can't catch me now sucker!"
He turns to run and all thoughts of not making a scene are momentarily forgotten. '[SORU]!' I vanish from my spot in the street, making the young couple next to me yelp in surprise. I reappear in front of the fleeing child, grab his arm as his expression turns shocked, and then [Soru] the both of us into the nearest alley.
"Where did you get that?" I demanded, gesturing to his forehead.
I didn't intend for my voice to come out that harsh, it was purely a subconcious decision. Regardless of my intention though, the result is a child too paralyzed by fear to answer. His eyes are at their widest and his frame is lightly shaking.
I release his arm and force myself a few steps back. 'Calm down Jack. He's just a kid. A kid you just scared the piss out of.' I kneel down to his level and try to appear apologetic. "Sorry about that." I spoke much more gently. "I just wanna know where you got it."
The ten year old gulps as he slowly calms down . "I..I..I ma..I made it." he manages to stammer.
"Not the bandanna." I softly corrected, even scooting back a little more to give him space. "The symbol on it."
Tarou regains himself and his eyes begin to normalize. "I..um...I drew it." He says between breaths. "It's..it's a mark for me and friends."
"But where did you see it?" I pressed lightly.
The boy seems to remember the events of a minute ago and a wellspring of adolescent defiance surges to the forefront. "I'm not telling you nuthin'." He asserts angrily and crosses his arms. "You ruined my score earlier! That bag was full of of 50 Beri coins, maybe even some 100's! Plus my friends are probably super worried now! And and and you still have shirt!" he finished with a fit.
I briefly looked at the tattered cloth still in my grip before chucking it back to him. As he slips it over his head I open up my wallet, thumb past the 1,000 and 5,000 Beri notes and pinch a pair of 10,000's. Slowly, I lay the bills down in front of him and repeat my question. "Where did you see it?"
Tarou's eyes are glinting with barely contained hunger at the offering and I get the impression that he's never actually held that much money before. 'That's sad. 20,000 isn't even that much.' The urchin swallows a much different gulp to his earlier one. "N-not enough." He bluffs.
An amused smirk plays on my lips. "Oh? And how much would be enough?"
I struggle not to snicker as he attempts to school his face into a tough guy act. "I'll..I'll show you where I saw it for thirty thous-...hmm...fifty thous...ah! For one million Beri!" He shouts aloud with a finger in my face, obviously quite proud that he's come up with such an impossibly high number.
"Done."
The street urchin's jaw drops. "Wha-Seriously! Seriously old man? You'll give me a million Beri if I show you!"
Two fingers slip back into my wallet and I slap a thick wad of bills into his hand. 'It hardly matters. Over 98% of my ready cash is in the [Inventory].' "Here's a down payment. Lead the way."
Tarou stares disbelieving at the cash, practically drooling at the small lump of wealth. "Oh wow...this! This way! This way! We have to go through the woods!" He shouts before scrambling out of the alleyway in a full sprint.
For a moment I consider snatching him up again and whistling for Kiwi. Or perhaps flying to the edge of town with [Geppo]. It'd certainly be quicker. 'Though if the Taigam pirates are in fact slinking about I should probably minimize any activity that may alert them that Jack..ugh..'Sparrow'..is around.'
The journey out of Draynett town was not a long one. With Tarou moving at a full sprint and myself lightly jogging behind him we reached the edge of the settlement in just a short half hour. This only represented the first leg though as the young scamp didn't slow in the slightest as he dived into the brush.
From there it became an expedition of hopping over logs, pushing past thickets of uncut wilderness, and turning sharply at landmarks that only someone intimately familiar with the area could recognize. At some point a low rumbling began to sound in the distance and it grew more prominent with each passing minute.
With Tarou leading the way the two of us burst into a clearing where a wide waterfall dumped hundreds of gallons a minute into a slow moving river below. 'Y'know I think I recall Korka mentioning this country had waterfalls..'"We're getting closer! Come on!" The boy called as he climbed onto a moss covered stone at the rivers edge. From there it was a short leap to a fallen tree that he sprinted across as a makeshift bridge. "This is only the first one! We need to get to the fourth!"
The second waterfall we passed was a true behemoth. It didn't rumble. It roared as white foamy mist crashed into the jagged rocks of the lake below it. The third acted as a kind've hybrid between the its predecessors. The river it fed into was perhaps too slow for a kayaking adventure but definitely too dangerous for a casual swim. When we arrived at the fourth though, it hardly deserved to even be called a 'waterfall'. It was nothing more than a few thin streams gently trickling off a cliff into a crystal clear basin below. The whole thing was probably only the size of an Olympic pool. Hardly an impressive size for a natural body of water.
The child still desperately in need of scrub kicked off his shoes and tossed his ratty shirt in a pile on top of them. "There's a hole that leads into the cliff that you can swim through. It's super cool! You'll see!" he espouts, throwing his socks aside and then jumping into the crystalline water.
I similarly shed my shoes and jacket before diving in after him. I follow his path as he swims up a narrow passage between two rocks making up the hillside. 15 seconds later I emerge into a dimly lit cavern with only a few rays of sun bleeding through the cracks and,
"...holy shit."
Alert! You've encountered a Poneglyph! +5 LUK!
LUK (43) → (48)
The massive deep blue monument stands perfectly centered in the room, it's hefty palm-sized glyph's facing exactly towards the reflecting pool Tarou and I are floating in. It's almost as though this room was made just to hold it. 'And that very possibly could be the case.'
"See! See! Isn't it awesome?" Tarou gibbers. "See that first symbol there?" his hand lifts up to point at the Poneglyph's corner. "That's where I got it."
I slowly rise out of the water and am surprised to see that there's actually a crude set of steps smoothed into the rocks to allow one to simply walk out. Wet plopping sounds echo around me as I approach the multi-ton slab and simply gaze at it. "Magnificent…" My eyes focus in on the first three lines of the edifice and as expected,
Ding!
Partial translation available. View it now?
[ACCEPT/DECLINE]
'Yes..'
We xexxe thxx xx x xexxxx tx thxxe whx xxxxxw. The xxttxe xx xxx, xxxx xxxwx xx xxxxxxx'x xxxxxxxe, xx whxt xxxxxxy txxxex the xxxxxxe xx the wxx xwxy xxxx xxx xxext xexexxxtxx. xxthxxxh xxxexxxxxxy xt wxx x xxxxhxxx xexext xxx xxx exexxex, txxtxxxxxy xt wxx we whx wexe the xxxexx. The xhxxexxx xxx xxxxxxxx txxtxxx xx the xxxxxxxe xxw thexx xxxy xxxtex, xxt thexx xxxx xxxxexxxxx. xxxexxxx wxx xxw xxxt. xxx wxth xt xxxe the xexxxxxxx xx xxx exx.
My eyes swept over the paragraph and...while on the one hand that's about as much literacy as I was expecting, on the other though...I'm actually rather confused. 'The heck? I'm only trying to read the first three rows...is..is each rune multiple words?' I refocus on just the first symbol of the 132 marking the stone and realize that yes, Tauro's drawing was only half of the thing. 'Holy hell, that's...that's insane! What kind of madman designs a language this way? That's lunacy!"
"Heehee!" Tarou laughs behind me with a giant grin. "Told ya it was the coolest. This place is like my super-secret hideout. My other hideouts are pretty good but this one is the best. No one ever bothers to keep chasing me once I go past the first waterfall." The ten year old struts up to my side and opens his palm. "Now pay up mister! Deals a deal! Heehee!" The boy's face shifts as another thought strikes him. "Ah! And you also have to promise not to tell any rotten adults about this place! They'll just ruin it."
I barely even look at him as I grab everything left in my wallet and hand it over. It's a few 100,000 more than our agreement but I simply don't care. What he's given me here is literally invaluable. It has no associated price tag.
Tarou snickers in delight as he starts counting the bills and I tune him out as my hand glides over the stone. 'Remarkable. It's smooth to the touch...and yet they're supposedly indestructible. How on earth did the Kozuki's carve these?' "I wonder if [Observe] can tell me more.."
Briss Kingdom Poneglyph
Poneglyph's are mysterious steles scattered throughout the world with details of the lost history inscribed upon their faces. Poneglyph's are completely indestructible and so absurdly heavy that one would need the strength of a giant to even hope of nudging it. It is unknown as to how the Poneglyph's creators distributed them across the globe as well as how they etched upon the undamageable stones in the first place. By decree of The Five Elder Stars and the World Government, studying, seeking, or interacting with Poneglyph's in any way is illegal and high treason punishable by immediate execution.
Note: It is widely believed that the only person alive who can read Poneglyph's in their entirety is the 'Devil Child' Nico Robin. However, this claim remains uncorroborated and may not be accurate.
'Hmm, nothing I didn't already know. I expected as much.'
"Hey mister!" I turn to Tarou and see his small pockets are nearly stuffed to bursting with one, five, and ten thousand Beri notes. "I'm gonna head back to my friends now. Thanks for the Beri!"
The child with no idea of what he discovered disappeared back underneath the clear waters of the pool, leaving me alone with the ancient monument. So naturally, I calmly pulled a chair from the [Inventory], flipped open a notebook, and began a sketching of my own. I knew getting caught with this would be a death sentence and I didn't care. I committed to this path when I opened my first 'mystery box'.
Transcribing the glyphs was slow work. Or rather I made it slow. My normal level of handwriting would best be described as 'untidy scrawl' and that simply wouldn't do here. A higher care was required. My fingers moved cautiously, meticulously. Every curve. Every errant squiggle or oddly placed dot. They all matter. Forget one branching line and the entire sentence could change.
I'm not sure how long I sat in that cave, scribbling on that paper. Hours most likely. Each of the squared symbols on the 11x12 stele were unique. All 132 of them. Yes, there were a few a bit more similar to each other than others but not a one was exactly the same.
'I can't even imagine trying to learn to read this the non-hax way. Back on earth I could barely conjugate verbs right in Spanish.'
Eventually though, after what I'm sure was well after the sun set, my work was complete and I stared at the notebook with a smile wide enough to break my face.
'Today is a good day..I think I'll go and celebrate by breaking Taigam's rudder.'
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票