By Kuroshima's cliff, overlooking the dock and the surrounding waters, Zephyr sat on the grass and watched the ships leave with the tide.
There were only a couple of ships left-even his own guild's ships had already departed.
He ordered them to leave without him.
Zephyr hung his head low and closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears.
A few tears escaped down his cheeks.
"So, they're dead." He covered his eyes and wept silently.
The wind howled mournfully around him, carrying the faint scent of salt and seaweed.
His shoulders shook with each sob.
To anyone who knew, it would be a shock to see him crying.
He was a stoic, reserved man who rarely showed his emotions.
Zephyr, the guild master of Zestruction, was known for his unwavering strength and composure in the face of adversity.
He wasn't known as a man of many emotions-he was very honest and would speak the harshest truths without hesitation, but seeing him cry was a rare sight indeed.
He wiped the tears off his cheeks, then stood up with a mournful expression.
His body shook with silent sobs as he tried to hold back the flood of emotions that threatened to consu him.
Then, his fists clenched into tight balls of rage.
"Argh!" Zephyr let out a scream of anguish, and the ground cracked underneath him.
The trees started swaying heavily as if they had turned alive, threatening to topple over.
The wind picked up as if the whole island was suddenly in the center of a massive hurricane.
CRACK!
The ground exploded, and a dust shockwave swept across the land, crushing the trees and leaving a massive crater in its wake.
"Haah, haah..."
Zephyr breathed heavily after venting so of his emotions.
He stayed on the island to do exactly this-he doubted he would be able to contain his emotions during the ship trip back to the mainland and might destroy the ship in a fit of rage.
While his guild mbers participated in the Gathering, Zephyr spent his days back in the real world. He found out sothing that saddened him greatly.
"That's how you died, by the Dark Plague." Zephyr looked up at the sky and regretted his choices that led him here.
Selfishness, greed, and lust—three main things that cost him his family.
"I had a hunch, but he is really your son, Arthur..."
..
Within the ship of the Mad Pirates.
Click, tick, squeak, and click.
A hatch snapped open, and Aemon, with a lamp in hand, descended a short wooden ladder. The air was moist and dusty, with rats scurrying about between the crates of stolen treasures. Aemon placed the lamp ahead of him and walked forward to the end of the level, then opened a door at the end of that and entered the dark brig.
The only source of light ca from a small hole in the ceiling that was dripping water onto the wood floor.
The brig was otherwise empty, except there was a dirty-looking young man shackled to a wall inside a small cell with rusty bars.
The young man's glasses were lying broken on the ground, and his brown hair was dirty and matted. He was barely awake, his eyes closing and opening slowly, his face pale and bruised.
"I am honestly surprised." Aemon picked up a chair and sat on it while facing the young man. "How co you didn't log off and quit already?"
"Agh..." Seth had a hard ti talking because he was so thirsty.
Ever since sneaking inside the Mad Pirates' ship, he hadn't had access to food or water.
"It's ti for you to speak." Aemon said and placed the lamp in front of the cell, letting the light reach Seth. "I will ask you again, why?"
"B-b-because..." Seth coughed. "The real world... is not any better..."
"Really?" Aemon looked around the dirty cell and chuckled. "I have a hard ti believing that. You haven't eaten and drank in days."
"H-hope... t-that's all I have..." Seth said and licked his dry lips. "My mom, dad... brother are all hoping that I'll pull through and beco... rich."
"A father and mother put you through this?" Aemon asked with a chuckle. "Isn't it their duty to provide for and protect their children? This world is not a kind place."
"T-they can't..." Seth said with a hoarse cough. "T-they were in an accident... They can't work anymore. We lost everything. We are poor and hungry every day. I don't want to return to that."
"Wait." Aemon raised a finger and asked. "Have you logged off ever since you left the tutorial?"
Seth shook his head and lowered his head.
"Hahaha." Aemon laughed and shook his head. "You're destroying your body for your family? What if you fail? What if you'll be locked in this brig for the rest of your life?"
"I-I can't fail..." Seth bit his lip, tears running down his cheeks. "I don't want to fail!" "Ahaha..." Aemon's laugh slowly died down, and his eyes had a sympathetic look. "Believe it or not, our situations are sowhat similar."
Seth barely managed to lift his head, his eyes showing that he quite didn't believe that.
Aemon was a popular pirate captain with treasures beyond imagination, while Seth was just a lowly rcenaryman with no future in sight.
"I also don't have a future." Aemon said with a sigh. "It's like my whole life was predetermined. I hate it. I am my own person, but he thinks he can control ..."
'He?' Seth frowned, wondering who Aemon was referring to.
Aemon shook his head and pulled out a bundle of rattling keys from his pocket, then opened
the cell and tossed it over to Seth.
"Eh?" Seth looked at the keys in confusion and then back at Aemon.
"Will you do anything for power and money?" Aemon asked.
Seth looked at the keys, then back at Aemon and ustered his words.
"Y-yes... Anything!"
"I can give you that." Aemon entered the cell, then crouched in front of the malnourished teenager. "I can give you that, but it cos at a price."
"W-what is it?" Seth asked fearfully, but his own desires were clouding his judgnt.
He didn't want to see his mother, father and brother suffering anymore-they were all
trusting him.
He could still rember their smiles and their thrilled expressions after he revealed that he
had beco a rcenary.
They were so happy...
However, they didn't have any idea that the tutorial was the easy part.
The New World wasn't made for the weak.
"I am not telling you that, yet." Aemon said with a smile. "That day will co, though. It might happen in a month, in a year, in five years, or even in ten years, but you're not leaving until that price is paid, do you understand?"
"I understand..." Seth said and lowered his head in a bow. "I am yours to command,
captain..."
"Take off the shackles." Aemon said, then stepped off the cell. "Then join on the deck. I'll start your training, Seth of the Mad Pirates."
Seth quickly took a hold of the keys and started removing the shackles while tears ran down his cheeks. It was very painful, but he felt a sense of relief and freedom as the shackles fell
away.
As soon as the shackles fell off his limbs and onto the ground, he stood up, his legs shaking
and weak from the days of being bound.
'Wait, he said to start the training...'
Seth's expression paled even further.
That ant that Aemon hadn't allowed him to gain his strength back yet. He would have to
endure more pain and suffering before he could rest.
Whether it was food or water, he couldn't get any of them before he earned them.
"F-fine..." Seth gritted his teeth and stepped out of the cell. "Bring it on..."
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