Of course, that did not mean there were no risks involved. Hundreds of whales were caught each year, but an even greater number of whaling ships had to accept the fate of sinking, whether to storms or to the counterattacks of whales. As for the sailors who ended their lives at sea, they were truly beyond counting.
Even so, men from every corner of Arcadia came to Peiryut with grand ambitions. If one wanted to gather money in a short period of time, there was no work better than boarding a whaling ship. It could even be described as something akin to gambling. If luck was with you, you could get your hands on a fortune; if not, you would never return.
Because of that, Peiryut enjoyed tremendous prosperity. The taxes collected from countless whaling ships were one thing, but the money sailors spent and left behind was also enormous.
The first things sailors sought out after getting their hands on a large sum of money were, needless to say, drink and women. Of course, a few steadfast sailors returned straight home for the sake of their families, but it was an undeniable fact that most sailors went to taverns to soothe bodies and minds exhausted by long voyages.
For such sailors, an enormous number of taverns and inns existed throughout the city of Peiryut. A vast number of merchants and women who had gathered from all over Arcadia to earn money sold liquor and laughter to the sailors. It would not be an exaggeration to say that most of those residing in Peiryut belonged to that category. Peiryut’s prosperity had been built in precisely that way.
However, on the outskirts of Peiryut stood rows of rather shabby and unsightly taverns. Of course, in the heart of Peiryut, luxurious taverns and inns that even an emperor would envy lined the streets, but places that were not so fortunate certainly existed as well.
These were places that targeted the pockets of sailors who had failed at whaling. Even if they had failed to catch a whale, sailors still invariably sought out taverns. If they did not soothe their weary bodies and minds at least in that way, the sailors simply could not endure the long voyages. Naturally, because their purses were thin, they could not go to the expensive central district and had no choice but to drink cheap liquor in shabby taverns like these. From one such tavern, a loud voice suddenly burst out.
“I’m telling you, it’s true. We saw it clearly with our own two eyes.”
“Don’t lie. Where in the world is there a human who crosses the sea riding a Serpent?”
“You’re driving me mad. I said it’s true.”
The man beating his chest in frustration was a typical seaman. Beneath the cloth tied around his head was a copper-colored face tempered by fierce sunlight and rough sea winds. The man, whose scar passing by one eye left a strong impression, was the boatswain of a whaling ship called the Silver Blake. Beside him, the sailors who had boarded with him nodded as if in agreement.
“Though we observed it from a distance, there was definitely a human riding on that Serpent’s head. And it was a gigantic King Serpent, the kind called the tyrant of the sea.”
The boatswain explained heatedly, but the sailors inside the tavern only reacted indifferently. That was only natural, for Serpents were the beings whaling-ship sailors feared the most. Monsters known by the name of sea devils. If one came face to face with a Serpent, there was no way to come away unharmed. A Serpent had the ability to leisurely overturn even the largest whaling ship. After doing so, they were fond of swallowing the sailors who had fallen into the sea one by one.
For that reason, to the sailors of Peiryut, a Serpent was an opponent one had to flee from the moment one saw it. No matter how well a whaling ship was armed with harpoons, it had no means of dealing with a Serpent, which possessed hard scales and boasted of being invincible at sea. Even rough sailors who did not fear death could not hide their terror before Serpents. And yet now a witness had appeared claiming to have seen a human crossing the sea on a Serpent…
“That’s nonsense. Do you know how much Serpents love human flesh? They even come near the inland sea and snatch away children diving there. How could something like that be possible?”
“Who knows? Maybe you saw a corpse it had put on its head to eat later.”
“You damned bastards…”
The boatswain who had brought it up in the first place was so frustrated he felt he might go mad. Having grown up at sea, he took pride in his eyesight above all else, yet people were treating him as if he were blind with his eyes wide open.
However, as he was nothing more than a rough seaman, he had no ability to tell the story coherently enough to convince others. But there was a pair of eyes watching them as they continued to bicker. They belonged to someone sitting in a corner of the tavern, drinking with a robe pulled over his head.
‘Interesting. To think someone saw me.’
When he raised his head, clear blue eyes sparkled. The face revealed beneath them could truly be called handsome. His identity was none other than Damon. At last, he had revealed himself in Arcadia.
‘The new continent, is it? Still, it seems the humans here live decently enough.’
Since it had been an extremely long time since he had mingled among humans, Damon kept turning his head, busy taking in the scenery around him. Having spent five hundred years on edge among liches that were little more than skin and bone, Damon found this long-awaited rest indescribably welcome.
After taking in the four Death Knights at Northwood, Damon immediately moved toward the western coast. Since he had once again transformed himself into the form of a wandering orc, Damon was able to reach the shore facing Arcadia relatively smoothly. However, because he was concerned about Verkis’s pursuit, he could not use teleportation. No—even if he had known that Verkis was asleep, he still would not have been able to teleport. That was because he did not know Arcadia’s coordinates at all.
Because of that, Damon had to give considerable thought to how he would cross the sea. Then, by chance, a King Serpent that had approached the shore entered his sight…
“This works out well.”
Damon immediately cast magic. It was a bewitching spell that made the Serpent regard him as one of its own kind. Of course, the magic he cast was far superior in effect to orthodox magic. That was because it had been combined with the Spirit Snake Art, which manipulated the minds of snakes.
The Spirit Snake Art (靈蛇術). It was an art often used in the Central Plains for the purpose of using snakes to block an enemy’s approach and also to confuse the enemy’s eyes and ears. Of course, many groups other than the Baegyo used it as well. In particular, in sects with weak strength such as Haomun, it was taught to their disciples as basic knowledge.
However, it was an undeniable fact that the techniques of the Baegyo, the ancestral sect of sorcery, were the most outstanding in terms of effect. Though it was large, a Serpent was still a type of sea snake, so there was no way the Spirit Snake Art would fail to take effect. On top of that, it was used in conjunction with magic. Damon’s intention was realized before long.
“Kyaoooo.”
Looking at the Serpent that approached and lowered its head, Damon instinctively realized he would be able to cross the sea easily. A King Serpent was an existence that could be called invincible at sea. Excluding dragons, of course…
Thanks to the King Serpent, Damon was able to cross the sea with great ease. The Serpent cut across the sea route between Truvenia and Arcadia at a speed no fast ship could ever achieve. Damon leisurely enjoyed the scenery of the sea, and he took care of eating and sleeping entirely atop the Serpent’s head.
Occasionally, sharks and the like approached after smelling a human, but there was nothing to worry about. The sharks fled for their lives the moment they saw the King Serpent Damon was riding. The same was true of other Serpents. Watching one Serpent that had approached in reckless bravado go straight into the King Serpent’s stomach, Damon thought he had chosen a fine mount.
In that way, after exactly fifty-seven days, Damon was finally able to set foot on the land of Arcadia.
“You’ve worked hard.”
After sending back the King Serpent that had carried him across the sea, the place Damon sought out was none other than a tavern. Since it had been five hundred years since he had been able to drink, he was truly desperate to bury himself in a jar of liquor. Also, because he had eaten nothing but dried meat until now, there was no way he did not want to eat proper food.
But the decisive problem was that he had no money. Inside Increcia, there must certainly be treasures whose value could not even be discussed, but for the current Damon, they were nothing more than pie in the sky. Since he did not know the coordinates, he could not take them out. There was no reason a lich like him would have money.
“Damn it. It’ll work out somehow, won’t it?”
Because his craving for alcohol was so intense, Damon finally decided to eat and drink without paying. Entering a shabby tavern that caught his eye, Damon ordered food and liquor as he pleased. The food did not look particularly expensive, but to Damon, who had eaten nothing but dried meat until now, it could only be a delicacy. Boiled whale meat and fish soup. And after ordering the rum favored by seamen, Damon ate until his stomach was practically bursting. Then, as he was patting his protruding belly, he happened to encounter the seaman who had witnessed him.
‘Interesting. To think there was someone who saw me…’
Once his stomach was full, his worries came rushing in. Of course, there was no way he had money to pay for the drinks. In the end, he could only resent the innocent original owner of the body.
“Damn bastard. He looks like some high-ranking noble, yet there isn’t a single coin in his pocket…”
Grumbling, Damon rose to his feet. Since he was still wearing the clothing of a wandering orc, his appearance was shabby beyond words. Dirty leather clothes that only reached his elbows and knees, and a worn-out backpack. If seamen did not commonly wear short pants, his attire would have made him immediately regarded as a madman.
In that state, Damon headed toward the exit. At the counter beside the exit stood a young woman who looked quite spirited. From the way she observed his every movement, it seemed she already held a trace of suspicion toward him. A faint smile appeared on Damon’s face.
“Shall I pay it off with my body, then?”
In truth, he had many ways to get out of this predicament. If he used magic, which was his specialty, the matter could be resolved easily. He could simply cast hypnosis, or else cast a bewitching spell that made a stone look like a silver coin. If he wanted to use a more extreme method, he could cast Invisibility and slip out. That would be all.
However, Damon did not particularly want to do so. In truth, using magic on an ordinary person who knew nothing was something that deeply wounded his pride. Though he had been an expert of the unorthodox faction, in the past he had been a typical murim man who did not use lethal methods against those who did not know martial arts. Because of that, Damon finally decided to pay for his drinks by taking a few blows.
As Damon approached, the woman who seemed to be the tavern owner blocked the doorway.
“You ate quite a lot. That will be twenty-five copper coins in total.”
He did not know how much twenty-five copper coins was, but from the start, it was irrelevant. Damon smiled as if embarrassed.
“What am I to do? I’m sorry. Now that I think of it, I have no money.”
He expected her to be quite flabbergasted, but the woman was not very surprised. It was the reaction of someone who had likely experienced this kind of thing often. After looking Damon up and down once, the woman shouted loudly toward the kitchen.
“Brother! Come out here.”
“What is it?”
“It’s been a while, but we’ve caught someone eating and drinking without paying. Looks like you’ll need to teach him a lesson.”
“Got it.”
With a rough reply, a large man appeared wearing an apron. He was a sturdy man who looked like he could use quite a bit of strength, with muscles bulging all over. As if a fine spectacle had appeared, the customers’ gazes focused on them all at once. Seeing the man approach him while holding something like a rolling pin, an expression of boredom appeared on Damon’s face.
‘Damn. If I take that properly, I won’t come out unscathed.’
Damon, who had thought to let himself be beaten without resistance, changed his mind. He quietly drew up mana and cast Protecting over his whole body. A protective spell that shielded the body from physical blows. With this, no matter how strong the man was, it was practically certain he could not inflict any damage on him. Fully prepared, Damon gave the approaching man a broad smile.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that, but I was just so hungry.”
“You damned bastard…”
As if there was no need to show him any more mercy, the man grabbed Damon by the collar and lifted him up. Because of that, his hood slipped off, revealing his handsome face. At that moment, a short gasp of astonishment burst out from right beside them.
“Ah.”
The gasp had come from the mouth of the woman who had called the man out. Her gaze was fixed on Damon’s face, his collar held firmly in the man’s grip. Though it was dirty from not having been properly washed, dust could not obscure jade. At the sight of a handsome man rarely seen in a harbor city, the woman looked as if her soul had left her.