Port Elias
The enormous Thornback Ironwhale roared, and didn’t charge at the ship again. Its gigantic body continued to spin in place, and it finally began to start twitching.
The merfolk on the deck, and even Geiger and Geiger Dole, were completely stunned as they watched the scene.
This terrible deep sea creature that had nearly destroyed their entire fleet had been left like this with one strike from Mister Ley? They couldn’t even understand what method he had used! For a moment, they gazed at Leylin with reverence.
However, it was as if he didn’t notice that at all. His eyes were still locked on the struggling Thornback Ironwhale.
After a short while, the whale’s struggling grew less and less pronounced, until it finally became completely still. Clouds of black smoke emerged from the harpoon wound it had sustained.
*Whoosh!* The enormous harpoon returned suddenly, bringing with it a white lump of brain matter.
By the time the harpoon was back on deck, Geiger Dole was shocked to find that it had already transformed into a giant palm of steel,. The hand sifted through the brain material of the whale, before finally passing a solid black lump of material to Leylin. Immediately afterwards, it withdrew into the opening of the cannon and returned to being a harpoon once more. It seemed to have lost all of its previous vitality.
‘What terrifying power!’ Geiger Dole felt a trace of fear in his heart. ‘That type of living metal, once it entered his body…’ just the thought of it made him shudder all over.
From Leylin’s view, it was foolish to wish the entire world would know about every impressive fight one fought. A Magus was someone who grasped the power of the truth, and ought to know how to use a minimal amount of power to reap the maximum amount of benefits.
As a result, he only modestly shook his head and said, “My current strength doesn’t count for much…”
“It’s all thanks to Mister Leylin’s strength that our fleet survived! If not for you, I’m afraid our fleet would have suffered great losses this time.” Geiger Dole expressed his thanks sincerely.
“Mm… Also, this is the Thornback Ironwhale’s most valuable resource,” Leylin raised the dark solid in his hand, a fishy smell spreading from it.
“Congratulations, Mister Leylin! This is the essence of the whale, a resource unique to the Thornback Ironwhale. It’s very rare to see such a big piece!” Although Geiger Dole said this with some envy, he didn’t have any sinister thoughts. If Leylin was a normal person, he would have already snatched this kind of precious material away and thrown him into the ocean to feed the fish. However, he didn’t have the courage to do this to Leylin, in fact he wouldn’t even think of it.
“Oh,” Leylin nodded, and simply tossed the whale essence to Geiger Dole. “Treat this as compensation for allowing me passage on your ship.”
This type of material wasn’t worth much in Leylin’s eyes, so he’d given it away without thought. However, Geiger felt that Leylin was shrouded in mystery. An adventurer who could so easily give away such a treasure was likely to be very strong.
Under Geiger Dole’s command, the fleet of ships then arrived at the place where the battle had taken place and began to strip the Thornback Ironwhale to pieces. Every part of a rank 3 sea creature’s body was precious, not to mention the special whale essence. This was worth up to five times more than the original goods they were carrying!
Leylin did not care about that sort of thing, but it was serendipitous for Geiger and Geiger Dole.
Leylin did not interfere with the resource gathering, only watching them break down the Thornback Ironwhale as they cut out pieces of its flesh and skin.
Simultaneously, the Godric was once again called back to the ship, with groups of merfolk sailors roaming around its body, applying a gelatinous material to its wounds.
This continued for nearly a day. Although the majority of the Purgatory World’s daily cycle was night, the bright moonlight made it seem like day. By the time the fleet had set sail once again, the smile in Geiger Dole’s large vertical eye was so pronounced he was almost squinting. They’d had no choice but to discard some of the miscellaneous low-value goods in order to lighten their shipment weight.
The Godric had recovered from most of its injuries as well and had regained its vitality. It pulled the ship even against the strong headwinds and after the sails had been let down, even the larger ships ran at a decent speed.
An unbroken group of islands appeared on the horizon after the third sunrise, looking like a string of pearls. A few white seagulls let out excited cries as they circled the sky.
“Port Elias? We’ve finally arrived!” Leylin was leaning against the mast, looking at the nearby waterway.
This was the last supply point on the Hail Continent route, and was a prosperous port. Surveying the area, Leylin was pleased to find many boats. These boats had aged model numbers similar to Geiger’s, and there were even metallic warships in the place. There were also many ships far larger than the ones in Leylin’s party.
It wasn’t just alchemy technology, magic drove the extraordinary ships as well. Leylin even saw a pirate ship that was entirely under the control of undead creatures, with numerous skeletons and flame spirits manning the deck. A tattered black skeleton flag that was triangular in shape hung from the top, reeking of a bloody and savage aura. However, what surprised Leylin the most was that they weren’t attacking the other vessels.
“This area is the domain of Port Elias. Under its protection even pirates obey the law. Even if they readily commit crimes in the deep seas, they must obediently restrain themselves in this place,” Geiger kindly explained, “Although Mister Leylin possesses awe-inspiring strength, it is better to abide by Port Elias’ rules. After all, there are some strong people overseeing Port Elias, who possess power comparable to those of the Star rank.”
“Mm, I understand. Thank you for your kindness!” Leylin nodded. He had understood the power ranking of the Evil Eye tribe completely, and they weren’t as strict as the Magus World about it. They simply judged strength by age.
The tribe members only had a few stages of strength. There was the stage of infancy, followed by adolescence, adulthood, and at the peak were the elders. There was less than one Elder Eye among ten thousand Evil Eyes.
As for Geiger’s description of the port overseers having strength on par with the Star rank and things like that, those who were talked about in that way could be considered Morning Stars. Although a thorough classification was impossible, it was still possible to understand the rankings to some extent.
Once someone was labelled a Star rank, in the eyes of the Evil Eye tribe only the oldest of the Elder Eyes could compete with them.
Geiger was considered to be in his adolescence, possessing a strength similar to rank 1 or 2 Magi. As for his father, Geiger Dole had entered adulthood, and roughly had the strength of a rank 3 Magus. Their innate racial abilities gave them a slight edge over Magi of a similar rank.
“If there is nothing else Geiger, let us part here,” Leylin said as he looked at the fast approaching port and the densely populated ships, some of which were unique.
Hearing that Leylin wanted to leave the fleet made Geiger anxious immediately. “Lord Ley! Did we do something lacking in respect? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
Leylin was, after all, someone who possessed great strength but wasn’t greedy. No matter which ship’s captain he met, they would try to rope him in. And although Port Elias was already very close to the mainland, they still required a month of sailing. If they ran into any danger, Leylin would be a safeguard.
“My apologies. I wish to stay in Port Elias for some time, and enquire after my own fleet. Although the chances of my companions surviving is very slim…” Leylin’s eyes seemed to grow dazed, and seeing him like this Geiger could say nothing more. After all, it was only right and proper to search for one’s companions.
When Geiger Dole received this news, his tendrils immediately blanched white at their ends. He moved on deck. “Mister Ley will be leaving? What a pity!” A feeling of reluctance and regret was transmitted with his spiritual force undulations.
“I’ve already dallied here far too long. I’d like to thank the Eden Trading Company and the two of you once more for your selfless help. May the glory of the Purgatory World be with you!”
Having spent some time exploring it, Leylin already knew the conversatory etiquette of the Purgatory World. He spoke without a single mistake, and seemed like a real native.
“What a pity! Since it’s like that, please accept this gift!” Geiger Dole waved his hand, and a merman immediately handed a scroll made of skin to Leylin respectfully.
This scroll even had a fine layer of fish scales on top of it, and the light it reflected was dazzling. It looked extremely bright and beautiful.
Leylin reached out and took the scroll before gently unfurling it. The scroll unfolded to show a light yellow map, next to which were some simple rules.
“This is a map of Port Elias, and it includes some matters to take note of, I trust that it will be of some use to you!” Geiger Dole sent over a wave of spiritual force.
The A.I. Chip scanned the scroll, and committed the information to Leylin’s memory in a flash. He wouldn’t ever forget this information now, but he still rolled it up and put it away, and expressed his thanks, “Many thanks. This map will be very useful to me!”
“We will be resting and restocking our supplies here at Port Elias for a while. If Mister Leylin has any other needs, please don’t hesitate to come and find us...”