Chapter 80: Mermaid's Tears

The wind howled. Carrying a scent that changes the world every day. Ned stood lifted his head and sniffed the air.

Around him shuffled the Lobby's crew. Either they were cleaning the deck, and chanting pirate song. While the others slept preparing for an evening turn over. The Captain, if not drinking, was with Lady Sisi, doing a movement or stances Ned was curious about.

Even though Ned was accepted by the all-female crew, his movements were watched as to not go inside places he wasn't allowed to.

Places he wasn't allowed to enter were; the Captain's Cabin, the living quarters, and the tavern. With his limited movements, Ned had no other choice but to meditate and keep on absorbing a thin amount of Mana. It has been seven days since Sisi's arrival. In his mind, Ned already memorized their routine without relying on ICE. At dawn, Captain would man the wheel. Replacing Sisi. The rest would start to do their routine. Clean, prepare food, practice their blades.

But Ned noticed one thing, even though they left the Under Current, mages would use their magic to increase the speed of their ship. By using wind magic, mages blew the sails to increase the wind speed. One mage every three hours. They were too exhausted, but with the help of Mana Stones. By absorbing Mana stones, mages would then use it in the spare of their own Mana. After realizing this, Ned used the Mana stones given to him by Ser Edwin.

Ned moved away from the edge of the ship and sat at the quarter deck part - end part - of the ship. He sat cross-legged and flick a wrist. Faint blue light revealed itself on his palm. Mana stone, half the size of his palm. He closed his eyes, feeling the stone.

The stone cracked and perished after he successfully absorbed the Mana. Ned wrinkled his brows as felt he nothing after he drained the stone. Ned absorbed another, and another, the fourth, fifth, until he reached a hundred mana stones then he felt a tick that ran along his veins, then circulated to his chest. A hundred for a single tick of Mana? Ned could almost gawk by the result.

Ned clearly saw the stone the pirates used, some were exactly the same as him. Same size, same color, same use. But the pirates stone, a single stone, were used by mages for almost an hour. And they were feeling satisfied. But Ned used a hundred for a single increase on his Mana points.

[You are absorbing Pure Mana Ned. Only pure Mana. the rest were discarded.]

ICE prompted to ease Ned's thoughts.

"Status," Ned mumbled.

[Mana Points: 1,301/ 3,000.]

Ned could only grin with his current predicament. 30, 00 Mana stones for one 'Egneus', Ned sighed.

"Ned, ye okay?" Sisi said. Walking towards Ned, just after she finished with their daily plans inside the Captain's Cabin. Her voice was as calming as the whistle of the wind. "Saw ye knitting a brow."

With a thought, Ned placed the remaining stone off his grip and replied with a smile. "You leaving again?"

Sisi curled her thin brows. "How did ye know?"

"Well, result of boredom," Ned replied.

Sisi always closed an eye when she smiled. "Before me leave, I wanted to show ye something for helping me last time. But, with our current situation, me crews can't stop the Lobby."

"What is it?"

"Well," Sisi looked away at Ned, with pinkish cheeks. "Me wanted to ask you to swim with me. If only we're not in a hurry, me could show another world underneath."

"Too bad then," Ned said. I'm not really interested. "But thanks anyway." Ned paused, turn an eye on Sisi, and added. "What if you tell me about the Puppet Girl and the Giant?"

Sisi flinched. Ned knew these were the things he wasn't allowed to ask. But it's worth a try.

"It wasn't really a secret, among us," Sisi said. Her voice and beauty would entrance any men. But not Ned. "But ye saving me would outweigh the consequences."

Ned turned his body near Sisi to gesture her to continue.

"What day is it today?" she asked.

"29th day of lower frost month," Ned replied.

Sisi pouted and tilted her head. "Lobby should have entered the Titan Cay by now. Anyway, let's keep this a secret, Ned," she whispered. Leaned closer to Ned. "Eight months ago, the second day of the upper fire month. Empress Chi, our boss, sent us to a mission. To recover a piece of Relic from the Scourge. And, after a long query, with some blade swinging here and there, we successfully got what we want -

to our surprise, it wasn't just a piece. It was actually a Forgedhuman, ye see the eyes right? the human eye, but, burning red. Ye see the stretch? Towering right? Larger than sea orcs, and wider than sea golems. But, looking like a human, right?"

Sisi's right, aside from its mechanical arms and muscles like an angry ax, everything about the giant was human. He even has a core. Ned thought. He remained quiet to let Sisi continue. And nodded.

"When me crew got the Forgedhuman from the Scourge's hand, it won't budge an inch. Later we found out, it will only move if the coffin was beside him."

"The coffin," Sisi paused. "Ye know why Captain won't tell you about the package? Well, one of our crew was a tad stupid. She tried, Meryl tried to open the coffin." Sisi paused once more. She looked at the busy crew of the Lobby, running to clean the deck. Others cried to set the sail. But, Sisi dropped a tear off her tiny eyes. She looked at Ned and continued. "Meryl, she's dead now, opened the coffin accidentally by pressing some button. At first, we were surprised to see another Forgedhuman inside—"

Anita. Ned thought.

—"and to think that the child's beauty was out of nowhere. Some even pinched her cheek. Suddenly, the child moved. Ned, it moved. It moved the same way as she moved and attacked me. But, thanks to ye, I'm alive."

Ned frowned. "Why? why are you crying?"

Sisi, looked at the sky, she frowned as well, and from time to time, she flinched. "Time to Loot," she said. Said something was blocking her throat. "Time to Loot was originally a crew of more than a hundred Ned. But... because of that child, that... hellspawn child killed our crew. The rest, well, you see them smiling now."

Ned checked to look at the crew. They were the best in hiding their feelings. The crew kept on smiling after what had happened to them. That's right, be strong, or be swallowed by their own demise. Ned thought. "Cruel world," Ned whispered. Doesn't matter what world I'm in. The system, the chain is still the same. People kept on dying.

"Aye, cruel world; cruel girl," Sisi said.

"How did you manage to stop her?"

"Too late for that, the captain saw some mysterious writings on her back, she suspected that the Forgechild was a carrier of an Engraved. So, with her knowledge, she used spells and everything she got to at least bind the child for seconds. And put it back the coffin. But, we're too late. Our sister's blood ravaged the deck."

"But you need to carry on with your mission, so you guys kept on traveling."

"Aye," Sisi nodded. "Anyway, I don't care what ye did back there, thanks to ye, ye didn't just save me, ye saved the whole crew, Ned. Give captain more time, she will thank you with a smile."

"Time," Ned whispered. "I don't know how long I should wait here."

"Don't worry, Ned," she said. "Lobby is off the Under Current. Yes, we won't encounter the Lev'rath, And yes, we're near to Bogblot Port. Maybe a month or so."

A month huh. Ned thought. "Thank you, Sisi, and your crew."

"Aye, Thank you too, Ned," she said. "O'rriadt is far from Bogblot, without us, it would take ye months and months to reach it. Why bother Bogblot? I hear it's nothing but mostly swamps?"

"I need to see someone there," Ned paused. She might know something. "Sisi, do you know what a Mark is?"

Sisi stared at Ned, her ocean eyes gleamed under the stream of the high noon sun. She said while jerking her head. "No, never heard of it, sorry Ned, me couldn't be of help."

The wind blew from the south, which helped the Lobby sailed faster. The sun hit the deck which reflected the wooden surface of the deck. The sail waved back and forth as the wind gashed. The crew ran to keep the Lobby maintained, Captain Darcey, manned the wheel, while her Rook circles the sky.

"It's fine— "

The shout above the mast resonated the ship and traveled on the ocean. "Jack!" the lady pirate cried. Above the mast was a Rook's Nest. There, one was stationed all day to check for intruders and other sails. "Jack! Bone Jack!" she cried once more.

Sisi didn't let Ned finished and stood. She gripped her blade hanging on her waist. She breathes rapidly, and Ned noticed a flesh opened just below her ears. Scales revealed themselves, green and ocean blue scales developed as Sisi kept on breathing. "Ned, go inside your cell. Now!"

"Why, what happened?" Ned said. He stood and remained calm.

"Scourge of the Seven Seas!"