Beep!
[Saturation: 25% → 40%]
A shirtless man, with a body forged through years of service in the navy, stared at his own forearm. This dark-skinned man was Talon. He had slept in the basket near the ship's sails.
The sun was punishing and had only just risen. The heat was torturing the entire crew.
Many believed that storms, violent seas, and monsters were the greatest challenge of sailing.
But the more experienced sailors knew that fresh water was their Achilles' heel.
Beep!
[Initialization: 9 days remaining.]
"Give me that damn fruit!"
"It's mine, you already ate a whole box! You filthy fatass!"
The twins were fighting over a fruit that looked like a mix between a banana and dragon fruit skin.
Talon grabbed one of the ropes and yanked the knot. Soon, the wind was swaying his hair and his feet hit the upper deck.
With a single look, the teens stopped fighting and split the fruit in half. Talon nodded and headed toward the ship's wheel. Two staircases raised the deck level at the stern and gave the helmsman a better view.
"I've always wondered why movies show the captain holding the wheel… Why the hell should I steer when I've got someone who can do the hard work for me?", Talon's thoughts were sarcastic as he climbed the steps.
"G-good morning, Captain!" Simon stammered in the presence of the monster who had come back from the dead and executed the redhead girl without hesitation.
"Good morning, navigator… You better keep your eyes open. Try to see if the water changes color, maybe the signal we need to locate our position is right there." Talon saw the nerd's eyes widen and he quickly ran below deck to fetch the nautical maps.
They had found several from different places, using letters never seen before, in different languages, and their translator apparently couldn't read any of them.
"Apparently I can only translate the languages of the people whose bracelets I've absorbed. And we've only got two candidates… for now." Talon's mind recalled the pirates who had invaded his ship… They seemed pretty mixed in terms of countries of origin.
Heavy footsteps reached the captain's ears as he temporarily held the wheel.
"The tusks weighed over 100kg each, but they're now in the hold as you requested. The meat's been salted with what little salt we had left in the reserves, so we won't starve." the old man came up the stairs and sat on the floor.
"Good. Let's stack up on ivory or anything that might be valuable from those beasts. I doubt this game would give us so many resources and skills just to strip them away later." of course, Talon wasn't dumb enough to share the true reasoning behind the devil's pact.
"You think we'll have to sell them in phase 3? Sell to whom, and for what purpose?" the old man sounded confused, but his voice held little to no concern.
"About selling… Of course! After all, this game wouldn't be made just for five people. Probably the entire planet is under some phase or other games, and we'd never know. And as for the purpose… It's simple. GOLD!" Talon was deliberately ignoring the redhead, a sly trick to make everyone forget about yesterday's execution, and if the old marine noticed, he didn't show it.
Slowly, the bickering voices of the twins could be heard in the background. But Talon would only step in if things started to get out of hand.
In less than an hour, the blue hue of the sea started to shift to a light green. Corals and algae clung near the ship's hull.
"This! This! This!" the nerd's screams echoed across the deck and soon the entire crew was gathered near the wheel. The ship had only one sail lowered, so it was moving slowly.
Which gave Talon time to admire the scenery. The corals formed a colorful sea, and many were hundreds of meters wide. At that moment, the ship passed under an arch formed by one of these gigantic corals.
Some small fish swam by at high speed, and birds dove for their prey. A seagull even landed on the basket above the mainmast.
A map was unrolled on the wooden floor.
"This is where we are. I don't know these languages, but the drawings show several coral seas, and other maps do too. From this point, I can trace routes to other maps that mention lots of coral and then piece together a larger navigation map." of course, this would be a monumental challenge.
Not only were the languages different, but the imprecise information and varying styles would cause so much confusion it could kill any normal human crew.
But they were not normal.
Talon's eyes landed on one of the languages with well-drawn characters, and a chill ran down his spine.
"Give me that map. Now!" the commanding voice, laced with anxiety, made the nerd tremble with fear. He quickly handed over a yellowed map with very well-done drawings.
Beep!
[loading…]
A red light flashed from Talon's forearm, and everyone showed surprised faces. Several minutes passed before a red holographic projection with the translated information emerged from Talon's arm.
[Sea of Coral Sharks]
[Southeastern Region; Near the Eye of the Underworld]
[We spent dozens of days in this beautifully hellish place. Yes, a beautiful spot with tasty birds. But just like colorful animals represent danger, this colorful sea represents the poison of death. If we return here, we must beware of what we nicknamed the Demon's Pillar. It's the nest of a troublesome bird species.]
Talon was in disbelief… The redhead hadn't been here long enough to map this place, and her language was probably from the north of her planet.
Which left only one answer that raised more questions.
"How the hell did Arkhand'Zul not die at the hands of that fucking ancient crocodile?!" Talon couldn't keep it just in his mind, and when he spoke so startled, the entire crew prepared for combat.
The last time the young captain had gotten this agitated, they'd received a very unfriendly surprise.
"Hey sailor, we saw the red light, but we don't know what your bracelet is saying." the deep yet oddly warm voice of the old man pulled Talon out of his thoughts.
He finally realized the confusion he'd caused when he saw everyone gripping their daggers.
"I can translate this language here. Simon, get ink and paper, there should be some in the crates down below. And after that, look for more maps with this same language. You'll be in charge of redrawing whatever's needed." the nerd almost jumped into the air, and this was the order he would follow most happily.
"Now… Why is this place called Sea of Coral Sharks?" Talon had a bad feeling about what he'd discover next.