NOVEL NEXT 33 – More Pirates
By the time Genji returned, most of the pirates had been killed. Although the fight against Khan was short, he had killed many while avoiding him. Paired with his teammates, who had a decent amount of combat experience and good teamwork, they managed to clear the crew.
"Well, that was something."
He sat down and popped a mint candy into his mouth.
"Want one?"
He offered 7156 a piece, but he declined. The sailors detached the hooks and started the repairs. After a while, the ship was back on track, but this couldn't be said for the passengers. After experiencing a navy attack and now a pirate raid, they only wanted to reach their destination safely.
As cleanup was happening, Genji noticed something about the bodies of the pirates. They had shriveled up as if all their life had been sucked out of them. It was a strange occurrence considering how much time had passed. When he asked the captain about it, he received a strange response.
"Legend has it that these scum made a deal with the devil to gain their powers. The only thing is the devil always takes everything back when they die, leaving them like this."
It was an answer from a fable, but Genji knew better. The world intro explained this phenomenon.
Days passed as the journey continued as usual. The ship had experienced two more pirate attacks, which Genji's group fended off. The waters were surprisingly infested with these criminals, all bearing the curse of the sea. It was strange how they seemed to attract pirates, yet they had never seen a normal merchant ship.
In these skirmishes, nothing was outstanding about the attackers. The strongest person was often the captain, but they barely reached the levels of elites. Genji was easily able to dispose of them with his superior techniques and weapons, but the same can't be said for the ship.
After so many battles, the crew had run out of supplies to repair the vessel. Combining that with the uneasy passengers, the captain was forced to find an island to dock. Genji suspected the number of passengers would decrease after that stop, but that's not his problem.
As the sound of metal chains clanked and the flapping of sails receded, Genji and the team prepared to disembark. The only reason they got on the boat was to escape the pursuers.
Now that has been achieved, there's no point in staying any longer. As much as the captain "welcomed" them, they had a mission to investigate. After some time, they found an inn to stay at.
"14 cougars per room," The innkeeper told them.
It was another unfamiliar currency, which Genji was getting tired of. Is this something he will have to worry about in every world?
"Too much. I'll do 6," Genji negotiated.
"Why don't you rob me? 12."
"How about 9?"
"No. I'll make too much of a loss."
"But think about it. We have eight people here. You should consider it a discount for renting so much."
The innkeeper hesitated for a few moments before reluctantly agreeing.
"That'll be 72 cougars."
"Not so fast. We're only renting 4 rooms."
"You-"
"Take it or leave it." Genji gave the owner a cheeky grin.
"Fine," the owner sighed in defeat.
"Here's the payment."
Genji put a bag of coins on the table and took the keys. After they entered the main room, his teammates gave him a weird look.
"What's up?"
Genji hopped on the bed and looked at them.
"How do you have money? As far as we know, you have never earned anything."
"Oh, that? Pirate ships tend to have some loot."
"Are you for real?"
"Yeah. Although those guys were dirt poor, the passengers were 'very willing' to pay for some protection."
The group ignored the dubious statement and focused on more important matters.
"You know the mission. Let's split up and gather information. We'll meet back here in a few hours."
As Genji walked through the streets, he noticed something was off about the people on the island. Nothing uncanny or anything that would seem dangerous. It was more of a behavioral difference that he was not used to. Whenever the townspeople saw him, they would walk away from him. As he got close, shops would close, mothers would pull their children behind them, and some people clenched at implied weapons.
It doesn't seem like the townspeople are very welcoming of them. As for why, Genji didn't care. Right now, his main priority is the mission, and nothing can distract him from it.
At least, that's what he thought. As he was walking by an alley, he heard a woman's voice.
"Stop! I don't want to go with you."
"Don't be like that, girl. I promise it will be fun."
"Yeah, listen to the boss. We promise to be gentle."
Then the conversation was followed by raucous laughter. It was very jarring to the ears, but Genji continued. Well, he would have liked to, but one of the goons spotted him.
"Hey, you. Stop right there."
In his bad mood, the person decided to take his anger out on the passersby. Genji saw a red handprint on his face as he staggered over to him.
"What do you want?"
"This is the territory of the Roder pirates. The rule is you have to get down on your knees and pay up. Otherwise, you wouldn't like what's going to happen next."
Genji raised his brow at the arrogance of this person.
"Look, whatever rejection you experience, that's not my problem. Stop trying to drag other people into your incompetence and piss off."
"You!" In his anger about his problems being pointed out, he drew his saber and waved it threatening at Genji.
"Do you see this? If you don't do what I said, then you'll have a bad time, you hear me?"
"And if I don't? What are you going to do about it?"
"I'll let you know true pai-"
Genji decapitated the person as he got tired of hearing him talk. He's encountered enough ruffians to know where this conversation is going, and he would frankly prefer not to deal with it. Since they are going to end up fighting anyway, why would he bother to listen to his bull crap?
"You killed Small Beans! You will pay for that!" The other people surrounding the lady noticed this and drew their weapons. One person pulled a flintlock and aimed at Genji.
*bang*
Genji sidestepped this and drew his saber. Then a small bloodbath followed as the walls took on a new shade. At the end, Genji swung his weapon to clean the blood and walked away.
"What a pointless battle," he muttered to himself.
At this moment, the woman finally snapped out of her shock and called out to Genji. "Benefactor, please wait."
Genji turned his head around as an impatient look appeared on his face. "What do you want?"
"You need to leave this island as soon as possible. Don't dally."
"Why should I?"
"Because you killed members of the Roder pirates."
This was the second time he heard this name, which sparked his interest.
"Are they supposed to be something?"
"Yes. They are the vengeful group of pirates that are terrorizing this island. If you don't leave soon, you might be hunted down."
"They don't sound that powerful?"
Hearing this, the woman's face became desperate.
"Please. You don't understand. They are cursed pirates. No one can resist them. Not against their captain. You have to leave."
"If it makes you feel better, sure."
Genji placated the woman before walking away. Of course, he has no plans about leaving so soon. Even if he does, he doesn't have any way to. The merchant ship will be under repair for the next few days while his teammates need time to gather information.
When he returned to the inn, he met up with the team and explained what he found.
"Other than a pirate group that is terrorizing the town, there's nothing special about the area."
"I found a bunch of troublesome pirates as well."
"Killed some Roder pirates."
"You too?"
"You encountered them as well?"
"Why are they everywhere?"
"I might have an idea why," Genji spoke up, "They seem to be the dominant group on this island. They also like to take revenge, so we might have some trouble. Especially when most of us offended them today."
River Stream's face darkened as trouble meant danger, something he wanted to avoid at this moment.
"Be careful from now on. But just in case, be ready to leave," Logan gave his suggestions and disbanded the meeting.
The next day, trouble came as expected. As the group got up to continue their investigation, they were stopped by a group of brutish-looking men.
"He's the one," a goon with a swollen face pointed at one of the teammates.
"You heard him. Get them."
The pirates drew their weapons and charged at them. Genji shook his head and pulled out his saber.
"Remember what I said about removing trouble from the roots? If you're going to offend people, make sure to clean up the bodies. I don't want to deal with this type of problem again, okay?"
Goulda, the shield bearer, nodded hesitantly and pulled out an axe. Genji sidestepped an attack and swung at a pirate to the side. The unexpected attack caught the person off guard and left a deep cut on his arm. Logan took this opportunity to disarm the person before taking a few shots at the others.
It was a simple battle as the opponents were mostly common enemies with one elite leading them. To Genji, this battle was purely annoying as elites don't drop any loot. But it wasn't a complete waste of his time as his energy reached 220 after that kill, reaching the limit from elites.
As the pirates were bleeding out on the floor, Genji stabbed his saber into their hearts and twisted it. Then he repeated this motion with all the others.
"Do you have to do that every time?"
"Always have to make sure they are dead. I don't want to end up backstabbed after a hard fight."
The others raised their brows as that was an oddly specific description.
"Let's go back to the room. I don't think we will get much information today," Logan said as he motioned to the empty streets.
All the bystanders that were there before had fled after they saw the Ruder pirates starting a fight. As for the remaining people, they had scurried when they realized Genji killed someone.
"Very well."
Logan led the group back into the meeting room and looked at the group.
"So what are we going to do? It seems like we have thoroughly offended this local tyrant."
"What else? Kill them all." Genji had a ruthless look as he took out a cloth and started cleaning his saber.
"Why are you so bloodthirsty?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why is killing the first thing you consider when you come across a problem?"
"The best enemy is a dead one."
"But you should consider other options like negotiation."
Genji gave them a weird look as if he was looking at an alien with a second head.
"What's with that look?"
"How did you survive so long with that attitude?"
"What do you mean? That's a normal attitude among people."
"Hmmm. First time I've heard of it."
"Wait, how do you pass your worlds then?"
Something was weird about this conversation, and his teammates were starting to notice.
"By killing everything, of course."
Genji said the sentence as if that's the only acceptable way of doing things. The others were speechless at that response.
"Uhhh, Enigma? You do realize things will only become more difficult if you kill too much, right?"
"My equipment begs to disagree."
'Great. So we have a murderous psychopath in the team,' the others thought to themselves.
Genji stepped out of the shadows and took a seat. It had been a few hours since Genji volunteered to scout the pirates in preparation for their night raid. The group eventually agreed to remove this problem while they had the advantage. As Genji said, it is always better to take the initiative.
Sitting down, Genji realized the group was talking about him. Curious about the topic, he decided to stay quiet and listen in.
"So, what do you think of Enigma, 7156? I heard that you worked together with him in the last world," Logan decided to make some small talk as they waited.
"Reliable."
"Come on. You need to tell us more than that," Logan swung his arm across 7156's neck. 7156 took a sip from his cup and thought for a few moments before answering.
"He's a strong teammate, but a deadlier foe. If possible, don't become his enemy."
7156 spoke a longer sentence than usual as he looked at Logan specifically.
"No way. You make him sound so scary. There's no -"
Logan finally noticed Genji as he finished his sentence.
"-way."
"I'm back."
"Oh hey Enigma, since when were you here?"
"Since you started talking about me."
"..."
"..."
"So, it's a nice day we have, isn't it?"
Genji decided not to call him out on the obvious attempt to change the topic and started his report.
"I found their hideout. They're occupying a small castle on the coast."
"Is that so? What's the game plan? You've seen the terrain, so do you have any suggestions?"
"I would recommend a two-pronged attack. One group sneaks into the castle and kills as many as possible while the other sets fire to the boat. That should cull their numbers enough to allow us to use guerrilla tactics."
"That sounds good, but we don't have anything to start a fire."
Genji reached into his storage and brought out a flint and steel. As the technology levels banned it, he couldn't take out a lighter or the gasoline that he liked so much.
"You know how to use one of these?"
Logan looked at him weirdly but nodded. Why does he have this?
"There we go. Now how many of you have stealth proficiency?"
7156 and Silver raised their hands.
"Let's go then. We'll go ahead and see how much we can kill. When the fire causes a commotion, we will retreat."
The two of them followed Genji to the pirate's hideout as Genji gave them the rundown of the place.
"I'll go left. You two go right. If needed, we'll converge in the middle. Do I need to go over how to silently kill someone?"
7156 shook his head, but Silver nodded.
"I could use a lesson. Stealth is not my strongest point."
"Very well. You take a short weapon and slip their throat. Make sure to angle the wound upwards to minimize the mess. If needed, you can cover their mouths to muffle any sounds. Any other questions?"
"Why do you seem so experienced in this?" Silver asked, beckoning a chuckle from Genji.
"Skills of the trade. Don't worry about it."
"Now I'm really curious about what you did before EverRealm."
"Wonder all you want, but I'm starting."
Genji merged into the shadows and disappeared from their sight.
"No matter how many times I see that, I can't get used to it," Silver commented, but 7156 ignored him and got started.
*Puchi*
Genji slashed the necks of the drunk pirates and moved on to the next one. Not a hard task when he's extra sneaky and all these people are completely unguarded. It's like they are asking to be killed. Genji shook his head and wiped his dagger.
As he walked along, he heard a ruckus in the main hall. Pairing that with the bright light from outside, Genji knew the pirates had discovered the burning boat.
"Guess it's time to go. Shame I didn't encounter any stronger opponents."
Genji walked to a window and jumped out. As he was falling, he opened his cloak and drifted down. Genji landed on the ground with a small roll before running towards the meeting place. But when he got there, he knew something had gone wrong. The other two did not make it here. Genji specifically chose this place because it was closer to the right side. That means 7156 and Silver should have reached here before he did.
"Sigh. They really are newbies to get caught like this."
Genji drew [Jaguar] and ran towards their side of the castle.
*Clang*
Silver brandished his sword to parry the incoming attack. Seizing this opportunity, 7156 attempted to flank the opponent and stab at their ribs. However, the opponent skillfully avoided the attack by delivering a strong kick to 7156. Under the force of the powerful strike, 7156 was sent flying backward and crashed into the stone walls.
To explain how they ended up in this situation, we need to go back to the middle of their plan. While Silver and 7156 were stealthily eliminating the pirate goons, they noticed a named mini-boss in the room. After careful consideration, the two of them decided to attempt an assassination.
It's important to note that their motivation wasn't greed; it was a calculated choice. Since the mini-boss was sound asleep due to drunkenness, it presented the best opportunity to weaken the group.
Silver then approached the sleeping pirate and drew his sword. But as he swung down, the boss unexpectedly shifted in his sleep, causing the blade to miss the neck. In it's place, the sword dug into the pirate's back, jolting him awake with a burst of pain
Upon realizing that he was under attack, the pirate reacted with incredible strength and pushed both Silver and 7156 away.
[Rusty Robert]
Health: 6987/7100
Energy: 30/30
Con: 21
Str: 19
Dex: 14
Int: 3
Spc: 1
Skills:
-Mini-boss physique: +5000 health
-Scimitar mastery (Experienced)
-Pain is power: The more damage taken, the more strength gained
No further skills could be identified.
This formidable opponent was in the second step. Although 7156 had faced a second-tier opponent in the previous world, it didn't make this situation any easier. In fact, it might be even more challenging, as Robert was a skilled human fighter with considerable combat abilities and a rational mindset. 7156 got up from the wall, bracing himself for a tough fight.