The Future

A week at sea, and the new crew of the Pearl was sweating under the midday sun, learning from Sabrina the ropes of what to do in a ship. It wasn't just Jack, Amanda, and Frank. James and Lara were also learning together with them.

They're were getting along well, Amanda and Lara hitting it off the most. Lara seemed to look at the older girl with some kind of admiration, and Amanda just thought she was cute, like a little sister. James and Jack didn't have much in common but were getting along well enough, and both liked spending time at the deck and under the sun. Jack was very much the social butterfly, he talked and helped everyone aboard, as a pseudo big brother.

Arthur, when not ordering them into doing different things, observed their interactions. If they continued like this for the rest of the month, he might just accept them on the ship.

He had also finished digesting the potion of Mystery Pryer and drank the next sequence. He was now a Sequence 8 Melee Scholar.

Right at this moment, Arthur could be seen sparring with Amanda, the rest of the crew watching from the sides. For now, they were doing hand-to-hand combat, but later they would be incorporating rapiers into their sessions. The Pearl did have them after all.

Jab, hook, jab, uppercut, dodge, dodge, parry. They would go back and forth, again and again.

Being a Melee Scholar, Arthur had summarized that he needed to study the secrets of close combat. However, only now that he had become one did he truly understand what it was about.

Even with his previous experience, he now noticed things he took for granted before. With every session, his movements became more fluid, waisted movements became less frequent. His steps were more confident, and his attacks faster.

Arthur didn't know how long it would take to digest the potion, but he thought that getting into fights would speed up the process. Of course, he would only do so when his crew was ready. He wasn't too worried about Amanda and Jack, one was a bodyguard and the other had experienced living on a ship, and was the bartender on an island populated with pirates. But James, Lara, and Frank were another story altogether.

"Okay, that's enough," Arthur said, blocking a fist to his head. "Lara is next, but let's eat something first."

Going into the kitchen, Sabrina was already reading the table. The three new members had been fascinated by the women, at first thinking she was a Beyonder like Arthur, but were astonished to know that she was actually the Black Pearl's spirit.

Sabrina was happy to have more people on the ship but was also worried about what was happening to her. With every day that passed, she became a little more corporeal. Her range of activities, and the things she could do, expanded. It wasn't bad, she just wished knew why it was happening. Both Arthur and her knew it was something Marcus had done, it was the only option.

They just wished to know what would be the end result. Not even Harion knew the answer to that.

Arthur had also asked Harion about which potion formulas he had. Apparently, he had a lot. From Arthur's memories, Harion had earned the complete Fool pathway, and some formulas from the Sun, Tyrant, Visionary, Door, Justiciar, and Black Emperor pathway. Basically, every complete formula is mentioned in the novel.

Harion had, of course, the complete Hermit pathway. How could he not with the Card of Blasphemy sitting next to him in Arthur's cabin? He also had the lower sequence formulas for most pathways. However, the formulas above sequence 5 were out of his reach. The reason being his method to get the formulas, a method he wouldn't explain, would bring the attention of the church right back to him.

With that information in mind, Arthur was already planning how to use that to his advantage. For his crew, Arthur would give an explanation of the twenty-two pathways, and let them choose their path. His plan of creating his own organization would be way easier with so many formulas. Getting money was no problem with that, the only problem was going to be the ingredients.

Even with the formulas, some ingredients or ritual requirements were bound to be in the possession of the different churches. Arthur would need a way to circumvent that. Perhaps he could nurture a Planter, and let them take care of the ingredients? He wouldn't be able to do so with all ingredients, but it was a start.

His own Beyonder gathering was without mention. That which he didn't have could be obtained from others. Another thing was the uninhabited and primitive islands, like the one with the Rainbow Flowers. Those were treasure troves of materials.

'I'll have to give this matter more thought.'

…

It was late afternoon, the sea was calm, the winds billowed, and the sun was on its way to illuminate another part of the world. Arthur had just finished sparring against Jack, his last bout of the day.

All of them were preparing to go eat and take a rest when Sabrina took notice of something on the horizon. A gigantic sailboat, as big as the Pearl was moving in their direction.

Arthur wasn't calm but also didn't panic. He thinking of what to do if it were pirates. Considering three of his crew member were teenagers with little experience in fighting, he was of the approach of sinking the ship before they tried to board the Pearl.

Giving a nod to Sabrina, the cannons were just starting to ready themselves when Arthur noticed something.

The ship's flag. An eyelash-less eye with ten stars surrounding it.

The symbol of the Future, Admiral of Stars Cattleya's boat.

"Well now, isn't that interesting," commented Arthur, his eyes only conveying excitement.

"Gather round boys, and girls," he continued. "We'll be having guests."

Arthur went to the wheel and steered the Pearl in the direction of the Future. Jack and Amanda were already armed, sword and revolvers in hand. James, Lara, and Frank had swords and nothing else. They didn't know how to shoot yet, and no one wanted an accident.

As they got closer, the silhouettes of Cattleya's crew could be seen.

The Poison Expert, first mate of the Future, Frank Lee.

The second mate, Bloodless Heath, Heath Doyle.

Boatswain and Navigator's assistant, Seabed Murdered, Nina.

And last, but not least, the Navigator, Ottolov.

'I never thought I would meet a future member of the Tarot Club this early,' thought Arthur.

At some point, the ships were side to side but no one made the first move. To an outsider, it would look like both crews were just staring at each other. But to those on the ship, they were waiting. On either side, the crew looked to the helm of their respective ships, where Arthur and Cattleya locked eyes.

Arthur had to admit, she was truly a beautiful woman. Cattleya had black hair and purplish eyes, hidden behind thick glasses. She wore a black, classical robe with numerous symbols on it. Hanging on her waist, there was a celestial globe and a short scepter.

"A pleasure to meet you, Admiral of Stars," Arthur waved cheerfully, breaking the tension that was building up.

"The pleasure is mine," Cattleya answered bewildered.

…

Cattleya didn't know what to think about the captain on the opposite ship.

He seemed young, but that didn't mean anything. His clothes were that of a pirate but were of high quality. His entire ship had a magical aura but didn't seem out of control.

Most importantly, her intuition told that looking at this man with her Eyes of Mystery Prying would only bring her danger.

One had to know she was a Sequence 5 Constellation Master.

'So the question is, who are you?'