BXBX NOVEL Chapter 200: Scarless
Chapter 200: Scarless
The hammer landed against the wooden mast of the small boat, slowly fixing it back into place.
The old man, using the back of his hand, wiped the sweat off his brows.
At that moment, he heard footsteps coming behind him, and when he turned around, to his surprise, the young man had already returned.
"Oh, you're back?" The old man asked. "Don't be discouraged if you couldn't find her corpse right away."
"Oh, I found it." Adam said and showed a blue rose in his hand. "The curse is gone, and she has been put to rest."
The old man's eyes widened in surprise, and he took the blue rose gently, looking at its cold petals with tears streaming down his face.
To those who didn't know what was going on, it would look weird for the old man to cry over the blue rose, but Adam knew what exactly was going on.
"Sorry about my outburst." The old man said and wiped his tears. "You found the blue rose with her?"
"They surrounded her sleeping place." Adam said. "I suppose these blue roses mean something to you?"
"Yes, they do." The old man sat down on the boat.
"The crying woman was my wife. I came here to look for her, but I never did, as if the island didn't want me to find her.
"These blue roses. I gave her a bouquet of blue roses every year on her birthday. It has been said that those who are killed by a curse will be surrounded by things that they remembered fondly in life.
"It makes my heart happy that she didn't forget me..."
"There is a theory that the islands of the Blind Sea have a consciousness of their own." Adam said while looking around. "Maybe this island felt lonely, so it didn't allow you to find her because it needed company, and without the curse, no one would stay here."
"Or because the island knew that I wouldn't be able to kill the curse." The old man said with a sad smile. "After all, killing the curse would mean killing my wife."
"Perhaps so." Adam said and looked at the small boat, already fixed. "Oh, you already fixed it."
"Yeah, I work fast." The old man said and looked over to the ocean, where the storm was calming down. "Now it is the best time to leave."
"Are you coming with me?" Adam asked and took a seat on the boat.
"No, I don't think so..." The old man looked at the blue rose. "This is where I belong."
"Very well." Adam nodded.
"However, before you leave, have this." The old man walked over to him and handed him a small, silver chest.
"A chest..." Adam smiled and said. "What's inside?"
"Its magical chest." The old man said. "There are thousands of things you can get from it, but it depends on your luck. If your luck is bad, you might get a dirty boot, but if you are lucky, you might get a treasure beyond your wildest dreams."
'It's like spinning a lottery wheel.' Adam thought and put the chest inside his inventory.
'However, I am not going to use it yet. I have ways to increase my odds. I don't want to open it just to completely rely on luck. I'll have to boost my luck first.'
"Good luck in your way back, young traveler." The old man said and gently pushed the boat away from the shore.
The white sails billowed in the wind as the boat started to sail away.
With strong wind carrying the boat away, the island soon vanished from sight.
...
New World, Ebonreach.
The carriages wheeled down the cobblestone roads as they entered the city through the archway of the grand stone gate.
Rough-faced, battle-hardened mercenaries filled the streets; not a single one of them was void of scars or evidence of past combat.
If one wanted to become strong and respected in Ebonreach, they would need to prove their worth through battle.
It didn't matter how high their rank was; the strength in the battle was all that mattered. After all, there were mercenaries that didn't actually know how to fight against fellow players, so they weren't thought highly of in these streets.
In that sense, it was the most disrespectful city of the five.
In this region, not even King Moriarty had any say, as in the eyes of these scarfaced mercenaries, he was nothing but a baby-faced royalty hiding behind his big walls.
Through the stone archway, people continued to swarm in, and among them, a tall-figured young man looked around the city as if it were his first time here.
'It's been a long time since I've been here.' Adam thought.
Whenever he visited the Ebonreach, he would usually spend a few days there to gather supplies before going beyond the wall.
'Now, where are the Crimson Hounds located...'
Adam followed the walking pedestrians until he came across one of the stores that seemed to
be selling maps.
In the store steps, there was a thin-haired man talking with a few friends of his, blocking the entrance to the store. It looked like he was the owner of the establishment.
"Excuse me, sir, do you know where the Crimson Hounds are?" Adam approached them, hoping to get some directions.
It shouldn't be too hard for them to know, as Ebonreach was the smallest city alongside
Driftwood.
While Dawnwatch was enormous and those who had lived there their entire lives wouldn't know every street, Ebonreach was different.
It was a small, tight-knit community where everyone knew everyone else's business.
The thin-haired man looked annoyed and said. "You think the information is free, huh, pretty
boy?"
In his and his friend's eyes, Adam looked like a rookie mercenary who wouldn't be able to survive five minutes outside the wall.
"I am willing to pay, if that's the case." Adam said.
"Hah." The thin-haired man stopped leaning against the doorway and said, "I don't feel like
taking money from scarless, let alone talking to one."
"y'know what scarless is, boy?" One of his friends asked.
"Enlighten me," Adam said with a smile.
The man grinned, showing his yellowish teeth.
"Scarless are the bottom of the hierarchy here, boy."
"So, one has to have scars to gain respect here?" Adam asked.
"Exactly." The thin-haired man said. "Now, get out of my face, scarless!"
"But, I do have scars; want to see?" Adam asked.
"Some papercut doesn't cut it, boy, it has to be a proper scar made by steel and blood!"
Adam lifted his shirt to reveal a hideously long scar around his left waist. It was unclear what
could've caused it, but the sight could make weak-hearted faint.
However, Adam was proud of the scar and wore it as a badge of honor.
It also looked quite amazing beside his chiseled abs, making him even more attractive to
those who were close enough to catch a glimpse.
"What an amazing scar!" The thin-haired man exclaimed alongside his friends.
They examined the scar with round, thrilled expressions. They looked like scar fanatics,
obsessing over every detail and whispering excitedly to each other about what could'ven/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
caused it.
"How did you get this amazing scar?" They asked.
It came from his fight against Renard, but it was quite a sensitive topic, so he didn't want to
spread it around.
Adam hid the scar under his shirt to the disappointment of others.
"From someone I was lucky enough to kill." Adam said with a chuckle. "Is this scar enough to
get directions?"
"Of course, haha!" The thin-haired man's attitude had completely changed. "They're just a
few blocks down that way."
"Thank you, I appreciate."
He bid them farewell and then headed in the direction the man had pointed.
He was pretty excited to return to his guild, and he was wondering how they were doing in
Ebonreach's competitive environment.