The ocean stretched endlessly beneath the evening sky.
Golden sunlight reflected across dark waves.
The ship Sea Wanderer continued its journey toward the unknown horizon.
Unfortunately.
Nobody cared about the horizon anymore.
Nobody cared about treasure.
Nobody cared about exploration.
Nobody cared about the ocean.
Because one problem currently existed aboard the ship.
A silver-haired traveler called Nameless.
Or more specifically.
A silver-haired traveler who had somehow killed a giant shark with a hairpin.
And because sailors were sailors.
And adventurers were adventurers.
And scholars were scholars.
Everyone wanted answers.
Which was unfortunate.
Because the person they wanted answers from was Kel.
And Kel had already answered the question fourteen times.
Fourteen.
Exactly fourteen.
Not thirteen.
Not fifteen.
Fourteen.
He knew because he counted.
The fifteenth person arrived.
A young adventurer.
"Sir Nameless."
Kel slowly turned.
The young man smiled awkwardly.
"Can I ask something?"
Kel already knew.
He knew before the question came.
He knew before the man opened his mouth.
He knew before the man even approached.
And somehow.
That made it worse.
The adventurer cleared his throat.
"How did you kill that shark?"
Silence.
Kel stared.
The adventurer smiled nervously.
The surrounding crowd leaned closer.
Waiting.
Watching.
Listening.
Kel slowly closed his eyes.
Then opened them.
Something inside him finally snapped.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Just exhaustion.
Pure exhaustion.
The kind born from hearing the same question repeatedly.
The Count let out a long sigh.
Then stood.
The crowd immediately became excited.
"He's going to explain!"
"The secret technique!"
"The legendary method!"
"The hidden art!"
"The supreme throw!"
Kel stared at all of them.
Then rubbed his forehead.
"Fine."
Instant silence.
Everyone listened.
Even the sailors stopped working.
The captain listened.
Raven listened.
The scholar listened.
The cook listened.
A seagull landed nearby.
Even the seagull listened.
Kel pointed toward the ocean.
Then spoke.
"You can also kill it."
The crowd froze.
What?
The adventurers exchanged glances.
The sailors exchanged glances.
Raven narrowed her eyes.
Kel continued.
"Take any sharp object."
Another.
"Imbue energy into it."
Another.
"Compress the energy."
Another.
"Ensure the energy remains inside the object."
Another.
"Find your target."
Another.
"Throw it."
Another.
"The compressed energy increases velocity."
Another.
"The target dies."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The ocean waves crashed softly.
The wind blew.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The explanation hung in the air.
Then.
A sailor slowly raised his hand.
Kel pointed.
"Yes."
The sailor swallowed.
"My mother can also cook."
Kel nodded.
"Good."
The sailor continued.
"She tells me to put ingredients in a pot."
Another.
"Then cook it."
Another.
"And food appears."
Another.
"Your explanation somehow reminds me of that."
The entire deck erupted into laughter.
Even Raven laughed.
Even the captain laughed.
Even the scholar laughed.
Kel looked genuinely confused.
"What is incorrect?"
The sailor pointed toward the dead shark.
"Everything after the first sentence."
Another sailor joined.
"You said it like it was simple."
Another.
"How much energy?"
Another.
"How much compression?"
Another.
"What kind of object?"
Another.
"How do you keep energy inside?"
Another.
"How much velocity?"
Another.
"How do you aim?"
Another.
"How do you throw across hundreds of meters?"
Another.
"How do you pierce a shark's skull?"
Another.
"How do you do all that without anyone sensing it?"
Kel blinked.
Then considered.
For several seconds.
Then answered.
"Practice."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The crowd stared.
Raven covered her face.
The captain turned away.
The scholar looked physically injured.
The sailors groaned.
The adventurers nearly cried.
The explanation somehow became worse.
The Scholar Suffers
The old scholar approached.
Notebook already open.
Eyes full of hope.
"Sir Nameless."
Kel nodded.
The scholar adjusted his glasses.
Then spoke carefully.
"When you say compress energy."
Another.
"Do you mean physically?"
Another.
"Magically?"
Another.
"Conceptually?"
Another.
"Spatially?"
Another.
"Temporally?"
Kel answered immediately.
"Yes."
The scholar froze.
"...Yes?"
Kel nodded.
"All are acceptable methods."
The scholar looked ready to jump into the ocean.
Raven Intervenes
Eventually Raven stepped forward.
Saving everyone.
Or at least attempting to.
The explorer woman folded her arms.
Then looked directly at Kel.
"Let me translate."
Kel nodded.
"Go ahead."
Raven pointed at him.
"This idiot."
Kel blinked.
The crowd nodded.
Reasonable title.
Raven continued.
"This idiot."
Another.
"Has practiced so much."
Another.
"And has such absurd control."
Another.
"That what he calls simple."
Another.
"Would probably take normal people decades."
The crowd immediately understood.
Collective relief spread.
Finally.
Someone spoke a language humans understood.
Kel thought about it.
Then nodded.
"That is accurate."
The crowd groaned again.
Telepathic Conversation
Far away beneath Scarder Lake.
Seiren was dying.
Not literally.
But close.
The Guardian laughed so hard she could barely maintain telepathic communication.
"Practice?"
Kel remained calm.
"Yes."
"That's your explanation?"
"It is true."
"Kel."
"Yes?"
"If someone asks how you built Frostbound Coast."
"Yes?"
"Will you answer 'construction'?"
Kel thought.
Then replied.
"That would also be technically correct."
Seiren's laughter exploded again.
The Guardian genuinely couldn't handle him.
The Demonstration
One adventurer suddenly stood.
"I can do it."
The crowd looked toward him.
The man confidently pulled out a throwing knife.
Imbued aura.
Compressed power.
Took aim.
Then threw.
The knife flew.
Beautifully.
Magnificently.
Straight into the ocean.
Missing everything.
Not even close.
The crowd watched.
Silence.
Then.
The knife slowly sank.
A fish appeared.
Looked at the knife.
Then swam away.
The fish seemed disappointed.
The crowd burst into laughter.
The adventurer sat down.
Emotionally destroyed.
The Rumor Evolves Again
By nightfall.
The story changed again.
As ship rumors always did.
First version.
"Nameless killed a shark."
Second version.
"Nameless explained how."
Third version.
"Nobody understood."
Fourth version.
"Only Nameless understood."
Fifth version.
"Even Nameless may not understand."
Sixth version.
"Nameless exists beyond common sense."
The final version became the most popular.
Especially among sailors.
Because it explained everything.
And nothing.
At the same time.
Later That Night
The deck had finally quieted.
Most adventurers returned to their cabins.
Most sailors resumed work.
The ocean once again became the center of attention.
Kel stood alone near the railing.
Watching moonlight reflect across the waves.
Cold wind moved through his silver hair.
The sea remained beautiful.
Endless.
Mysterious.
Ancient.
For several moments.
Peace returned.
Then footsteps approached.
Raven.
The explorer woman stopped beside him.
Neither spoke immediately.
The waves filled the silence.
Finally.
She asked.
"Are you always like this?"
Kel looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Raven sighed.
"Impossible to understand."
Kel considered.
Then looked toward the horizon.
The moon reflected in his silver eyes.
For a brief moment.
His expression became strangely distant.
Almost lonely.
Then he answered.
"Probably."
Raven studied him.
The mysterious traveler.
The strange swordsman.
The man called Nameless.
There was something odd about him.
Something she couldn't identify.
Not arrogance.
Not pride.
Not confidence.
Something else.
As if he viewed the world differently.
As if he constantly saw things others missed.
As if his mind never stopped moving.
The explorer woman eventually smiled.
Then shook her head.
"You know."
Another.
"For someone named Nameless."
Another.
"You're becoming very memorable."
Kel stared at the ocean.
Then answered quietly.
"That sounds troublesome."
Raven laughed.
Because she was beginning to realize something.
The most dangerous thing about Nameless wasn't his strength.
It wasn't his skill.
It wasn't his mysterious techniques.
It wasn't his impossible calmness.
The most dangerous thing.
Was that he genuinely believed everything he did was normal.
And somewhere in the depths of the ocean.
A shark with a hairpin through its skull silently agreed.