Chapter 18

The traveler didn't want to believe Caesar immediately as there were many holes in his story. He couldn't understand why the young man would take the initiative to tell him this.

Walking out of the park, he shook his head, refusing to think about it any further. It had nothing to do with him anyway. As he was wandering around, he took his journal out and wrote the details of Ceasar's story.

He didn't find it as important but if he somewhat needed it for later, it would be better to write it. Looking at his journal, he had already spent seven days here in Whitestone city and should already be preparing to leave.

However, according to the reminders written in the notebook, he had to stay for a couple more days as his body was not in the best condition.

The traveler's body was still tired from all the events that happened lately so he decided that today shall be his rest day.

He paid the inn another three hundred fifty alvas so he could stay for another week and despite having a lot of money on him, he couldn't help but feel weak when he looked at the amount he needed to pay.

The traveler decided to take a stroll around the city and perhaps look at the shops he could find. He was also thinking of going to the city square since he heard that it was quite a lively place.

Looking at the map, he was figuring out which directions he needed to take to get there. Although the instructions were clear, he needed a couple of minutes to understand. Without further ado, he headed towards the City Square which was just a few meters away from the park.

The sun was hung in the sky, it was another cloudless day, and the structures and decorations around the city stood out once more because of their unrivaled beauty.

There were plenty of folks around the area, mostly families of three who were enjoying the lovely and warm atmosphere.

Children wore happy faces as they run around, playing games, and chatting with one another. In the middle of the City Square there stood a statue made out of white stone. It was fifty meters tall and it resembled someone whom the traveler did not know.

Around the statue were plants and flowers which were pleasing to the eye. Apart from that, the floor was made out of white stone bricks and food stalls were around the area. They were selling foreign food that the traveler had no idea of, still, the smell was captivating.

The buildings and stores around City Square were fascinating as their decorations, names, and style were uniquely interesting. There were a bunch of items and products that the traveler wanted to check out but first, he went to the accessory store.

He did so because he wanted to see how much worth the rings he received from Amelie was. Stepping into the shop, he was greeted by a lot of tables, mannequins torsos with necklaces on them, and rings that were protected by glass.

A man who seemed to be the salesman came to him with a bright smile on his face. He was not old but not young either and the smile looked forced.

His eyes were closed and he wore an interesting outfit. Was he a salesman or a waiter in a restaurant? Apart from that, he wore high heels instead of shoes.

"Hello and welcome to Lyn's accessory shop, Lynalyn Cessory! We sell top-quality accessories perfect for your mother, lover, wife, or daughter! If you, mister, also love to wear accessories just like me, we also have some for men! So, dearest customer, what can I do for you?"

The traveler took the rings out of his bag and presented them to the man, "Mind looking at these?"

The salesman's expression and composure didn't change, "An appraisal I see! Of course, this shop is perfect for that as well! But it will cost you one silver alvas!"

The traveler frowned at the price. A silver alvas for appraisal? It was ridiculous and unreasonable.

After he was finished with his business in the accessory shop, he didn't hesitate to leave. He sold the two rings for four hundred silver alvas, two hundred for one each.

Although he knew it was worth more than that, he didn't wish to stay there any longer as he found the salesman annoying and eventually he wondered why that man still had his job.

Checking the amount of money he currently had, he had nine gold alvas, six from Caesar, one from killing the witches, and two for the mission he did. He had about nine hundred silver alvas, not exactly but not any more than that. The traveler pondered for a while... He currently had a lot of money but he didn't know where to use them.

The traveler thought for a long time before deciding to go back to the inn. He grabbed a leather bag filled with his dirty clothes and concluded that he should get it cleaned. Perhaps he should buy more clothing, something different from the usual to make a change.

After dropping off his dirty clothes at the nearest laundry shop and letting the workers handle them, he went back to the city square to buy new clothes with Chimera following behind him.

Since he had the money, he was going to buy a couple of items as well... Such as a few new journals in case he runs out of pages, new leather bags for more storage during his travels, and things that might come in handy.

However, after he was done with shopping, it was already nighttime. He didn't expect shopping to be so tiring and exhausting.

He had also bought Chimera a saddle, he was planning to use him to carry his belongings and use him as his mount from time to time. It has always been his intention anyway.

The moon hung high up in the indigo sky. It provided light for the people who were in the dark. However, the moon was rather shy tonight as she hid behind the dense clouds that covered her like fierce soldiers.

Despite the darkness that covered the entire place because of the disappearance of the bright sun, the City Square remained lively and vigorous. Musicians were around singing and playing different kinds of music while people's laughter mixed with it.

Lovely, joyful, and filled with warmth. The city square was just like this before everything went downhill. The buildings were suddenly on fire, the citizens ran in panic, the music stopped, the fire was gradually devouring everything in its path.

The resident's properties, belongings, and items could not be saved as they fell into the fire's unsatisfied hunger. The children were crying and the City Square that was filled with love was now a place occupied by nothing but despair, panic, and fear.

The citizens worked together to try and weaken the undying fire but their resistance was deemed futile. None of their actions were able to prevent it from spreading and instead, their futile attempts of killing it became its fuel to burn faster.

The traveler simply stood by the side as he watched it all occur. It happened so fast, no one knew where the fire started and how it spread so quickly that it was too late to notice.

The peaceful and precious night turned chaotic. The traveler observed the dancing fire. If one would ignore the screams and suffering of random strangers, they would find the fire graceful and delightful.

The red majestic fire with the mixture of yellow and orange seemed so bright and pretty yet such a beautiful thing could be this dangerous.

Seeing the helpless people trapped inside the buildings, the traveler finally decided to make his move. Leaving his things with Chimera, he began to stride forward. He didn't know where to start but he watched the panicked civilians on the second and third floors of the building near him.

A smile reached his face, it was a perfect time to test his ability. The ability which generates limbs or parts of the body. He approached the nearest building, there were people on the second floor.

The traveler didn't want to enter the house, it was on fire so he somehow have to go through the window on the second floor and help the people down. He didn't know how until an idea popped out in his mind.

He remembered reading a book, he couldn't recall the name but he could recall some of the details. Apparently, there was a woman there who ate a devil fruit that allowed her to produce her legs, arms, eyes, and even ears anywhere. She used her ability to produce a bunch of arms and stack them to create wings and there was a time when she used them as stairs. (1)

The traveler thought that perhaps he could create a stable ladder. In truth, he had no idea how to activate his ability so after a few seconds of attempting to use it, he finally learned how to.

Arms that resembled his came out of the wall and arranged themselves to create a ladder. It was so fascinating that the traveler wanted to repeat it however, he suddenly remembered the current problem.

"Would it hurt me if I step onto this? Probably not right? I mean it's not attached to me..."

"But it still is my limbs? Heh... Anyway," The traveler stepped onto the arms and fortunately, he didn't feel anything. "Woah, what a relief. At least I don't feel it, very convenient!"

"I could use it as a shield if someone tries to slice me in half."

Climbing up the ladder, the traveler thought of the things he could do with his ability. When he reached the window, he knocked a couple of times, and almost immediately, a person opened it.

It was a middle-aged woman who carried a boy in her hands. Despite the walls being stone, the inside of the houses was mostly made of wood which is why when the traveler took a peek inside, he saw the floor burning as well as the furniture.

"P-Please save us!" Said the woman and the traveler responded, "If I didn't come for that, why else would I be here?"

"Anyway," The traveler smiled, "Let me carry the boy ma'am, could you come down yourself? There's a ladder here. It's very stable, I promise."

Without any hesitation, both the traveler and the mother moved fast. She gave him her son and the traveler immediately started to go down as she also came out from the window and climb down. However, after seeing the ladder which was made out of arms, she almost collapsed.

When they got down, the traveler noticed the familiar boy in his arms. The boy also recognized him.

"M-Mister?"

"Oh? It's you?" The traveler was surprised, "What a great coincidence. I see that you've returned to your parents, that's good, huh?"

After coming down, the woman went to his son. "Oh my God! Max, are you alright!?"

The traveler passed him back to his mother. The boy said, "Mom! This was the mister I was talking about! He saved us from the bad guys!"

The mother immediately tried to thank him, "Oh! I... I don't know how I can thank you enough I-" But the traveler interrupted her, "Hold on, what about that girl with you, little guy?"

Max could only express his grief and he also couldn't respond so his mother did so for him, "Don't worry about her. Livia is with her father, he took her away with him... I heard her parents got into a fight after her disappearance so they separated."

The traveler frowned, "I see but didn't they think about their child's mental health? She just went through a traumatic experience yet she came back here but her parents are already..." The traveler decided to stop saying anything as it was better not to get involved. "Nevermind," He said.

† Mundivagant †

(1): His ability is inspired by Robin in one piece. But not only can he generate limbs, but he can also take them away, just as he did with Felix the first time they met.