Soul Art Online

Soul Art Online

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Chapter 14: Interlude- 1

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- Arthas -

We left the room early in the morning, so as not to miss the ship to Saboady.

Exploring Lannisport can always be done when we return.

The journey will take around one and a half days so we were all stuck on the ship till then. During this time, all of us decided to level up our skills since we had free time.

Veena got to her crafting and I got busy with my swordsmanship.

Elaine had taken a Tailor Class on the side and Shiroe was levelling his Scribe skills.

Star had taken a Peddler Class on the side so he couldn't level it right now so he was also working on his Sword Skills till we got down.

Thankfully, Shiroe had bought several maps from the shops telling us about surrounding lands and we were talking to other people on the ship to find out information and quests we could get.

And that's why I was here, getting the captain of the ship drunk so that I could get some useful information out of him.

"We sail on the endless blues. No one knows how big these oceans are, for no one has ever conquered it." The captain said as he smoked from his cigar. "No, there was a man, one man like no other…" With that he shook his head and didn't say anything else.

I took this as a chance to pour him his drink and he smiled at me, taking a sip of his drink and continued.

"He was a man who sailed across the whole world, saw everything the world had to show, and gained every treasure the world had to offer… the man looked up to by man and hated by even more, some called him a hero while others called him a pirate but one thing both these groups agreed on was that… he was a King."

….

"The King of Pirates, Gold Roger."

"Ah." I could only deadpan at his words.

Because why not?

There was already the Sabaody Archipelago so why not other One Piece characters?

"He was captured but even at the end of his life, he started the Great Pirate Age, with just a few words, the news that he had left all his treasures in One Piece, the Ultimate Treasure of the world. Even now, thousands of people every year go out to the sea to search for that mythical treasure but to no avail."

The man went on rambling as he was getting more and more drunk.

I then asked him about different places in the nearby islands and found out that around a month away was Loguetown, the birthplace of Gold Roger.

There were mentions of many other places which I knew like Water Seven, the biggest ship making centre of the world, Reverse Mountain, even the nation of Giants, Elbaf.

I totally had to go to Loguetown because I knew there would be many references I could make there.

I still hadn't made references from any of the Big three in my previous life. In fact, I had found that just randomly blabbering the references didn't help. We had to be in specific places or situations for them to work.

That's why I kept an eye out for any news of places which could be used for references. My memory of my previous life was also not perfect so there might be things I miss but I think my memory is improving the more I level up.

I asked the man further about the seas and found that there was indeed a World Government in this world, but it was on another continent beyond the Reverse Mountain and was very hard to reach at our level.

"What other races are there in the seas?" I asked. "I mean, apart from Humans."

"Races? There are many. Giants, Long legs, Fishmen, Mermaids, etc. There are even stories of Gods in the seas." He laughed.

"Please." I calmly poured him another drink and he continued.

"In one particular legend, Davy Jones was a great sailor until he fell in love with the sea goddess Calypso. He would be given the Flying Dutchman as well as the sacred task of ferrying souls who died at sea to the worlds beyond. Because of that love, Davy Jones agreed to set foot on land once every ten years, where Jones would be free to be with Calypso. But when Davy Jones came ashore after his ten year duty, he was forsaken by Calypso, who was nowhere to be found."

….now, I don't know anything anymore.

Pirates of the Caribbean world is mashed up with One Piece?

Just what kind of special hell has the Game Master created in this place?

The man however was unbothered by my inner turmoil and continued. "So, Davy Jones plotted with other pirates to tear the rule of the seas away from Calypso, in which they imprisoned her into the body of a mortal woman. However Davy Jones was drowned by his own guilt so he left her as it is."

He took another sip from his glass and continued.

"Abandoning his duty, Davy Jones then returned to the seven seas, only now sailors everywhere would fear him to the death, for Jones had turned fierce and cruel, with an insatiable taste for all things brutal. He became a nightmarish creature; half human, half sea beast, a crab claw for an arm, and a beard made of octopus tentacles. As the legendary ruler of the ocean depths, Davy Jones preys on wayward sailors lost at sea with the Flying Dutchman, now a cursed ghost ship. It's a story mothers tell their children to make them sleep. But little do they know all the stories about Davy Jones… are true… cough cough."

The man was getting tipsy by now but was lost in his storytelling so I took advantage of the situation too. "Jones also commands the Kraken, an ancient and horrible squid-like beast of the sea, which brings the captain of the Dutchman ever more souls into joining his crew. Those who wish to avoid death and final judgement agree to serve Jones aboard his haunted vessel, eventually becoming a part of the ship itself, forever enslaved to its terrifying captain."

"Say what? Is Davy Jones real?" I asked.

"Absolutely. Although only a fairy tale in these parts of the world, beyond the Reverse Mountain, in the real seas, he is as real as it gets. He even has a bounty put on his head, a bounty only matched by the Pirate King Roger till now."

"So all those stories about him are real? Even the part about him locking up a Goddess? Does that mean Gods exist in this world?" I asked.

And if they did, what Tier would they be?

"There are many legends in the seas about Gods, be it the legend of the Sun God Nika, the liberator of seas or the Sea Goddess Calypso, the fickle Goddess who brings wealth and ruin on her whims. As for whether that's true? Who knows my boy, who knows…"

….damn.

So I am in some kind of a mismatched world of Pirates of the Caribbean and One Piece, and perhaps even more worlds.

"What? Scared of the seas?" He smirked, perhaps at the look on my face. "I don't blame you? Most of the people I have told these stories have completely given up the idea of going into the seas. I don't blame them. It's dangerous out there."

I looked at the man and smiled, thinking of something. "When you told me these stories intending to scare me off, you forgot one thing."

"Oh, what's that?"

My smirk widened. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+9 to all stats.

+18% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Map of All Treasures

[Map of All Treasures]

A piece of parchment which shows the location of a treasure randomly. The map on the parchment changes every month.

I smiled at the reward and the man looked dumbly at me before laughing on his own.

"That was a nice one, brat. Just don't let anyone else hear you calling yourself that. Jack Sparrow is a wanted man by both pirates and the World Government. People could be after your head just for the slightest clue about his current whereabouts."

"Obviously, I'll mind that. Do you perhaps have any maps of the nearby islands? Perhaps Loguetown?" I asked.

"Wanna go to the town of beginnings and the ends? Sure, I can help ya. Just ask me when I am sober. Now, off you go. I need to take a nap."

The man sent me off and I was happy enough with today's gain.

Hope Shiroe has found something in the meantime too.