Chapter 47

“Move, move!” yelled Arthur. Perhaps that place was linked to the sword or the book, so that was the reason everything was crumbling.

There was no time to think about these things, and the only thing inside everyone’s mind was to get the hell out of there. Kai got all the gold coins before that, so it was okay.

They ran through the same way they used to get there, and now everyone knew there was no danger inside, so Arthur and his friends ran like crazy.

A few pieces of the roof fell, and Arthur had to sidestep a few times to avoid getting hit by those. He even had to grab Joshua, who was running slow, so he wouldn’t get hit.

“Thank you. You saved my life again!” Joshua said with a look of admiration.

The situation looked critical a few times, making everyone think if they would get out with their lives, but in the end, nothing bad happened. All of them got out of that temple alive, and the place turned into dust a few moments later.

“That was close. Imagine dying because of a crumbling building.” said Kai.

.

“A miserable way of dying, that’s for sure. Anyway, let’s head back and count all the gold coins we got!” Arthur said, and all of them nodded in response.

The ship was nearby, and the rest of the crew was waiting there with anxious looks. They heard the noise, and saw the temple turning into dust, so it was normal to get worried.

“You’re okay, that’s a relief.” said one member from the crew.

“Not only okay, but richer!” Kai tossed all the gold coins inside an empty barrel of the ship, and asked, “who will help me count this?”

They all looked, but no one answered it. And, against all odds, Dara, who Arthur was trying to hire to do just that, asked if she could be the one helping.

“Can I help? Captain Arthur hired me to do that, anyway.” Dara said.

“Wait. Doesn’t that mean you accepted my offer?” Arthur smiled at her, and she smiled back. Hayla, who was beside Arthur, also looked happy to see Dara joining their crew. It seemed these two girls became friends already.

From one barrel to another, Kai and Dara counted all the gold coins they got, and it amounted to a whooping 10 thousand coins. It was a lot of money, and Arthur still had tons of treasures inside his backpack, so Frostpeak’s crew was far from being poor.

Arthur said to everyone he would distribute a few bonuses to everyone after their task was done. They all worked hard, and Arthur wanted to give them a proper salary. A well-paid crew was a happy crew.

Their next step now was to find Runo, and get information about the Doom Order from him. Dara told Arthur he could be on the island of Liset, as he had family there. He did not know where Liset was, and had to get the help of a few members of his crew, and a map to find it.

“It will take us a week to get there, damn. After this task is done, we need to get a good time on land, because of this sailing is killing me.”

“I agree with the captain.”

“Me too.”

There was nothing they could do on that island anymore, so they could only leave and go towards that man. Arthur traced their routing using the map and a compass, and they went sailing in Liset’s direction.

~~~~

After 7 days of constant sailing, Arthur finally arrived at Liset. It was not as big as Athegas, but it was still a big city, not like those villages they usually saw.

Just like any other city, the guards inspected everyone who walked in, and now that Arthur was a captain, the guards usually were more loose and did not bother him that much.

“Captain Arthur, all right. You and your crew can go in. Enjoy your time in Liset.”

“Thank you, officer.”

Many people walked around the streets, yelling and selling their goods and services. It was just like any other city. Arthur thought it would be hard to find Runos with that many people, but it turned out not that hard at all.

“Do you know about someone named Runos?” Arthur asked to a thug he found in a dark alley. He beat up the shit out of him, and in the end, got the information he needed.

“Look, man. I don’t know if it’s the same person, but there is a Rufos organizing an illegal fighting tournament. Maybe it is the same person you’re after, but please, don’t kill me!” the thug begged for his life, and Arthur let him go.

Based on the rumors, Runos was doing an illegal fighting tournament in the underground area of the city. That was a golden opportunity for Arthur. He could find the man he was looking for, use the tournament to train and even get money out of it.

Arthur gathered his crew and explained everything. In the end, they decided to only send Arthur as a fighter, and Kai would act as backup. In fact, Kai would bet in all Arthur’s fight to get some money for the crew.

“You can use these gold coins we just got and bet on me. We will multiply this, hehe he!”

“That’s brilliant, captain. You’re such a wise person!” Kai laughed together.

Not that difficult to take part in those illegal fights. Arthur beat up a few thugs, got the information he needed, and went to the place.

All he had to do was to fill out a form with the name he would use when fighting, and that’s it. Arthur was not stupid, so he bought a mask so no one could recognize him.

“All right. You can come back at night for the fights.” The man who was watching the door said to Arthur after he gave him the form with his information.

“I can’t wait to beat some people up!”