Shadow Dragon: The Fallen Angel Is My Teacher

I slid the navigation torch into my pocket.

The spatial rune let it fit easily despite its size.

Then I stepped inside.

A wave of warmth hit me instantly, along with the smell of fried seafood.

The ground floor looked like a lively pub.

Dozens of crewmates filled the room, talking loudly and drinking.

Their scales glistened under the dim lights.

Among them were a few humans, though none of them touched the food served here.

They had brought their own.

A serving girl came up to me with a bright smile. "Hello!"

She had a pleasant voice and wore a neat apron, and her head was that of an octopus.

Now, I didn't discriminate if someone looked… a bit inhuman.

But when someone had a head that looked both as huge as a mountain and as tiny as an atom at the same time, it was hard not to get a headache.

"I would like a room," I said.

Her tentacles twitched as she nodded. "Aye, one Tide Coin for a day. If ye be wantin' three meals too, that'll be one more Tide Coin a day."

Then she looked at Dante and added with a grin, "We've got a special offer for servants, sir! Yer servant can stay three days for only two coins, and the meals'll be free."

Dante turned to look at me the moment she mentioned free meals.

His intentions were obvious.

He was excited for food.

'Look at this guy. He suddenly knows how to use human gestures when he needs something.'

I ignored him and asked, "What's a Tide Coin?"

The truth was, I already knew, but I had to confirm it.

This was the domain of a Rank 5 Cursed Spirit.

Things like memory corruption weren't uncommon here.

I needed to double-check everything to make sure my memory wasn't misleading me.

The serving girl smiled, her tentacles shifting slightly. "Tide Coins be the main currency here in Nautilus.

"One Tide Coin equals one day's memories. Ye can earn 'em by doin' crew jobs too, but ye'd have to sign up as a worker for that."

I nodded slowly.

The information matched what I knew.

"Alright," I said, pulling out five gold bars from my pocket.

Each one felt heavier than usual, making my heartache.

"Three days for me and my bodyguard. No meals included."

Her eyes brightened, then dimmed at the mention of no meals. "Aye, gold bars work fine here."

She took them with both hands, her smile widening in a way that was… unsettling.

Across the room, I noticed a few humans watching me.

Their eyes widened a little, and they started whispering to each other.

It was clear they recognized me.

'The Exorcist Union must have put a bounty on my head.'

I ignored them.

The serving girl gestured toward the counter.

"Please come with me, sir. We'll get yer keys from there."

I nodded and followed her, my shoes pressing softly on the wooden floor.

Dante trailed behind me, still looking longingly toward the tables filled with food.

I didn't say anything.

If he ate the food here, he'd be contaminated for sure.

We reached the counter, and the girl rang a small brass bell.

The faint chime echoed through the pub.

I walked closer, and she went behind the counter.

She looked down, opened a drawer, and took out an old, rusted key.

Then she exchanged it for the three gold bars I had placed on the counter.

The reason I didn't ask for food was simple.

On this ship, doing things that matched your role as a voyager or worker would make you become a 'true' voyager or worker.

It wasn't just symbolic. It was how the contamination spread.

For voyagers, eating food, relaxing, or simply enjoying the view counted as method of the contamination.

For workers, it was even worse.

They had to do their assigned jobs.

If they didn't, they'd be punished by the crewmates.

If they did, they'd slowly be contaminated, and become part of the Cursed Spirit.

Eating the food here was one of the quickest ways to be contaminated.

And besides, the food wasn't made from anything you'd want to eat anyway.

Even if it wasn't poisonous, it wasn't meant for humans.

The girl handed me the key.

It was damp and heavy, like it had been sitting underwater for years.

She told me the floor and the room number.

I nodded, pocketed the key, and started walking toward the stairs.

Just as I reached them, a group of human exorcists who'd been sitting in the pub stood up and blocked my way.

Their leader—a man with calm eyes—stepped forward.

"Hello there. I'm Mark. You're new here, right? We saw you didn't know about Tide Coins earlier.

"Seems you don't know much about this place either.

"How about we stick together? We humans should help each other, right?" he said.

I smiled lightly. "Work together? I don't work together with weaklings."

That tone matched my current identity, Caelum Nocthera.

He was a bold person who stole a God.

Someone like that wouldn't talk politely to a group of no-name Exorcists.

The leader's expression twitched, but he forced a calm smile.

"We're veterans. We have been Exorcists for over two decades. I'm at the peak of Rank 2, in fact."

He was bragging, trying to sound important.

I chuckled. "Peak of Rank 2? So scrubs. That's what I said. You're too weak to work with me."

His face stiffened.

The Exorcist Union must have put a bounty on my head by now.

These men had clearly recognized me.

But they hadn't reported me yet.

Every one of them who'd been sitting at their tables was still here.

None had slipped away to alert the Exorcist Union.

'They're planning to subdue me and take me in themselves.'

'They think they'll get a bigger reward if they hand me over personally.'

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

If the Exorcist Union put a high-level bounty on me, didn't that mean I was dangerous?

What made them think they could take me on?

'No wonder these guys are still Rank 2 after twenty years.'

I sighed and picked my ear lazily with my pinky. "Go away already, old man."

Then I started walking again.

The leader's hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder. His grip tightened as he tried to crush it.

I stopped and glanced at his hand.

His strength… left a lot to be desired.

'About 120 in strength,' I guessed.

That was disappointing.

For Martial Artists, unless you were the body type Martial Artists, you could rank up as long as you met the minimum stat requirement, had enough mastery of your weapon and had achieved Body-Mind Harmony.

Still, for a Rank 2 Exorcist to have only 120 strength stat?

'No wonder Earth fell so easily,' I thought bitterly.

That memory soured my mood.

Normally, I wouldn't act on my emotions. An assassin moved only with logic.

But right now, I wasn't an assassin. I was playing the role of Caelum Nocthera, an arrogant, and dangerous young master.

I turned slightly, meeting his eyes with a cold smile.

"Dante, it's fine as long as he doesn't die."

Dante raised his hand, calm as ever.

The leader frowned. "What do you think you're doing? Fighting in here is prohibited—"

Before he could finish, Dante swung his arm.

The backhand was so fast it blurred.

A sharp sound followed, like air being split.

The man was sent flying into the wall. The impact cracked the wood, and he slid down, groaning, blood dripping from his mouth.

The rest of his group froze.

I looked at them with a faint smile. "I said I don't want to work together. Do you not understand simple words?"