Chapter 385 - 173: Aberration Without a Self...
Ronan looked somewhat taken aback. "Captain, have you met the Keman people before?"
’Isn’t this the Red-haired Captain’s first time out at sea?’
"The Keman people?"
"They are the people living on Dakman Island. They call themselves the Keman people. In their tradition, ’Dak’ means ’valiant,’ so they also call this island ’The Valiant Keman People.’"
"’The Valiant Keman People...’"
Wei’en gazed at the small island, his Spirit Perception sweeping over it again and again. This time, he didn’t even spare what lay beneath the ground.
’One spot, two, three... five places with Isolation Arrays.’
Clelia asked, "Did you find anything?"
"I’ve found a few things." Wei’en paused to think for a few seconds, then pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. Eight o’clock. "You stay here," he said, his tone pensive. "I’m going to go have a look."
"I’m going too!"
’Whatever’s making him look like that has to be interesting.’
"You..."
Wei’en hesitated, knowing she had guessed something. "Then stick close to me. Hmm, do you have any puppets left? Leave one on the ship."
"Oh?" Clelia raised an eyebrow. "Is it dangerous?"
"I’m not sure, but there are probably some bizarre things up there. Just in case."
"Oh? In that case, I really should prepare a few puppets..." Clelia’s gaze shifted to the pirates on the deck.
"See those ugly three-masted sailing ships over there? Them."
As he said this, Wei’en jumped down from the crow’s nest and told Ronan his plan.
"Like I needed you to tell me," Clelia muttered, glaring at his retreating back. She sized up the few ships in the distance, her voice dripping with disgust. "They certainly are ugly. I guess you’ll have to do."
Before long, the steamship was moored securely in the harbor. Several pirates jumped onto the pier, grabbing iron chains as thick as their arms and looping them around the large iron bollards on the dock.
"Velen, secure the *Ronan*!"
"Alright, Second Officer."
Velen was the ship’s Boatswain, a pirate with a burly build and equally rough features. His dark skin was covered in scars, and he was missing a front tooth, which gave him a slight lisp when he spoke.
However, aside from Ronan, he was the most powerful Extraordinary on the steamship.
After giving the order, Ronan looked at Wei’en again and asked hesitantly, "Captain, are you sure you don’t need me to come with you?"
"Velen will be enough," Wei’en said calmly. "You stay and guard the ship. If you notice anything wrong, sound the whistle. I’ll be back immediately."
"Don’t worry, Second Officer! With me following the Captain, nothing will go wrong!" Velen thumped his chest in assurance, a grin spreading across his face that looked ferocious no matter how one looked at it.
’With his level of strength, I can’t help but have my doubts...’
Ronan thought, ’The Captain will be fine for sure. But you, on the other hand... I’m not so sure, Boatswain...’
"Let’s go, let’s go! I can’t wait to go see the island."
Clelia came over, leading several pirates whom she was controlling. She made them squat in a corner of the deck. "You were right, Captain," she said. "Not only are their ships ugly, the men themselves are too."
Wei’en glanced at her, leaped off the steamship, and started walking inland.
By now, figures were already appearing on Dakman Island one after another. They were mostly pirates from the tavern, just waking up from a drunken stupor and coming out to check on their ships.
At first, they paid little attention to the arrival of Wei’en’s group.
But soon, they noticed something wasn’t right.
"R-Red hair?!"
"By Lady Storm, it’s the crew of the *Ronan*! I recognize that steamship, and that’s Boatswain Velen!"
"W-what about red hair? Is he the red-haired man who killed Captain Henrik of the *Storm Hunter*? The new captain of the *Ronan*?!"
Oh?
Wei’en was surprised by the pirates’ reactions. He knew the news about him killing Henrik was out, but he hadn’t expected it to spread so fast.
"Your reputation precedes you, Captain."
Clelia watched the pirates with great interest, a sense of accomplishment welling up inside her, as if she were witnessing the birth of a powerful Wizard before her very eyes.
"I’d rather it didn’t..."
Wei’en didn’t think this was a good reputation to have. If he had a choice, he would rather not have it.
Unfortunately, many things were beyond his control. The Caster City State was one, and killing Henrik was another.
The crew of the *Ronan* following behind them also looked pleased with themselves.
This was how it was at sea. One’s own strength was secondary; following a powerful captain with great prospects was more in line with the expectations of most crew members.
Even though they might face being targeted or even hunted by the Black Pearl, they were still the object of other pirates’ envy.
In the law of the Deep Sea, there was no place for the weak. Siding with the strong was an immutable law.
"Hey, Velen, you lucky bastard."
Boatswain Velen’s face bloomed into a wide smile, making even his worm-like scars seem much more amiable.
"Luck? That’s my own damn ability!"
After Wei’en’s group left the port, a pirate in the crowd quietly returned to a two-masted sailing ship and retrieved a sealed box from a hidden compartment in the ship’s hold.
Carefully taking an organ from the box that looked like a human ear, he whispered, "The Red-haired Captain is on Dakman Island!"
Then, without hesitation, he cupped his hand over the ear, as if sealing the message within it.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
Then came the sound of chewing. The pirate’s face turned white, but he clenched his jaw and managed not to utter a sound.
"Hhh... hhh... Thank... you... for your... trouble..."
Hearing this voice, the pirate’s sweat-drenched face broke into a look of joy, and he quickly put the ear back into the box.
’It worked! One hundred gold pounds in my pocket!’
Meanwhile, Wei’en was unaware that his whereabouts had already been passed on by someone with ulterior motives.
"Captain, the fuel is in the repair shop over there. Fresh water is a bit more troublesome. We need to follow the stone path behind the shop all the way to the hill back there. There’s a freshwater spring..."
Hunched over, Velen stood just behind and to the side of Wei’en, quietly reporting on the supply situation. "It’s all thanks to you, Captain. If you hadn’t raided the *Storm Hunter* earlier, it would’ve taken us another whole day to get everything we need."
After Velen finished speaking, Wei’en scanned the people coming and going around them and asked, "You just said we need to go to that hill over there?"
’The hill is another one of the spots that blocks my Spirit Perception. Could that be the place?’
[You have been targeted by Adeluto Watson’s killing intent. Evaluation: Interesting... Reward: Survival Points +2.]
[Note: Eyeless Monster. An Aberrant Extraordinary. Its eyes were blinded by the taint of killing intent. After devouring its own eyes, it transformed into an Eyeless Monster, losing its sense of self.]
’An Eyeless Monster?!’
Wei’en’s steps faltered for a moment. His Spirit Perception instantly enveloped everyone in the vicinity—the tavern, the repair shop, the ships in the harbor...
’So that’s what an Eyeless Monster is. It’s not that they’re truly eyeless. They’re monsters that gouge out the eyes of other creatures and put them in their own sockets to pretend they can see.’
"Found something?" Clelia’s voice was filled with excitement, like a hunter who’d spotted her prey.
"Yes, there’s a problem."
Wei’en’s gaze shifted to the area behind the repair shop. The Eyeless Monster was behind a tree not far from the hill. Its eyes, only the size of a fingernail, were a clear mismatch for their sockets.
Its body from the neck down was covered in a layer of gray scales. Each scale opened and closed rhythmically, as if breathing.
"That... doesn’t really feel like an Aberration."
"It’s an aberration... but it’s an Extraordinary." What concerned Wei’en more were the three words from the system panel: ’losing its self.’
"An Extraordinary? Now that’s even more interesting!" Clelia snapped her fingers, and her body slowly sank into the shadows.
Velen and the others were startled and were about to draw the flintlocks hanging at their waists.
"Carry on," Wei’en raised his hand slightly, signaling them not to move. "The First Officer and I will go check it out."
"...Understood."
With that, Wei’en flickered and vanished from Velen and the others’ sight.
"Boatswain, what do we... do now?"
"Didn’t you hear the Captain? We follow the plan. Take the fuel back to the *Ronan* first. As for the fresh water... we’ll wait for the Captain’s orders."
...
...
「Meanwhile, aboard a five-masted sailing ship just one day’s journey from the *Ronan*.」
"First Officer, we’ve found Red-Hair’s location! He’s—"