2 First stop! Trouble in the neighboring island befalls Pierre?!
Somewhere in the North Seas, Pierre had just departed from his hometown onboard a ship that will take him to the Central Seas. Pierre del Pierre is a young man whose dream is of being the King of the World. Two years ago, there was a man who came to their town when the young man was just 17. He claimed himself to be the strongest man on the planet and will be the King of the World someday. After hearing the tales of the man, Pierre was attracted to the thought of being the Kind of the World. He was in awe and he is full of excitement as he listens to this man's adventure.
"I can't wait to see what is in store for me!" Pierre excitedly stated to himself.
The ship that he was in stopped on the next island to pick up the next batch of passengers going to the Central Seas.
"You fellas are free to roam around for an hour. We will leave as soon as we finished restocking our supplies and boarding the travellers in this town." the captain of the ship says.
"Oh, I haven't been to the neighbouring island before! Might as well go around and look." Pierre says with a smile on his face.
"Just remember, we only have an hour so better be quick!"
Pierre jumped off the ship, making his first step into the new island.
[My first time stepping on a different island's soil! I can't help myself but be excited!] Pierre thought to himself.
"I wonder where should I go first? Hmm, there's a pub straight ahead and a shoppe right beside it. I can't decide!" Pierre says as he is having trouble with which one to choose.
"Hey, young lad, you got some time?" A man covered in a cloak approached him and asked.
"Yeah, I believe the angry old man on the ship said that we got an hour to look around," Pierre answered without batting an eye.
"Is it your first time going on our island?" the man asked him.
He nodded.
"If it is, we got this great place that can grant any wish you have. Would you like to have a look?" the man attempts to persuade Pierre.
"There he goes again."
"Another victim? Hehe, wonder how much we'll get tonight."
"can't help himself but con anyone he set his eyes on, huh?"
The people around them whispered to each other. Apparently, the man in the cloak is known to be an infamous conman on the island. The island itself is full of them, in fact. It is a place full of fraud and heinous criminals. Unbeknownst to Pierre, he is about to be conned by the man in front of him. The island is called "The Scorching Haven".
"Really?! That's amazing!" Pierre responded in delight.
[He took the bait!] the man in cloak thought to himself.
"Then, can that place make me 'The King of the World'?" Pierre asked the man enough for everyone around them to hear of it.
Upon hearing his question, the man in the cloak and everyone around them froze in shock. In this world, declaring that you want to be "The King of the World" is a big deal. "The King of the World" is someone so powerful and sacred that no one except people who have proven themselves to be worthy of such a title can declare those words.
"W-what did you just say, kid?" The man asked him a second time, believing that he heard him wrong the first time Pierre asked him.
"As I said, I want to be - no, I will be 'The King of the World'," Pierre answered for the second time.
"Are you crazy, kiddo?!" the man in the cloak asked him as he smacked him in the head.
"Hey, what's that for?!" Pierre responded.
"I said, are you crazy?! Why would you say that in front of a lot of people?!" the man once again, asked him as he gets closer to Pierre.
As he is now close to him, Pierre can see his face behind the cloak.
"Is that smacking actually needed for me to ask that, huh?!" Pierre pushes on as he argues with the man.
"Yes, it is! I am just checking if your head has a brain in it!" the man argues back.
Pierre removed the cloak covering the man's face, revealing him out in public.
"You little shit, don't remove my cloak!" the man responded to Pierre's actions.
"What's your name, old man?" Pierre provokes the man by asking him.
"*sighs* I'm not old, you know? Name's Bedivere, you can just call me Bedi if you want," he responded.
"Begi, huh? I'm Pierre, nice to meet you!" Pierre introduces himself.
As soon as they finished introducing each other, Pierre took a stance in front of Bedivere. Waiting for Bedi to make his moves, Pierre decided to start on offence as he throw a straight punch toward Bedivere. Before he could reach his opponent's face with his fists, Bedivere drew his shortsword hidden inside his cloak.
"Oh, that was close!" Pierre says as he evaded the slash from the sword.
"You're quite fast, aren't you?" Bedi asks Pierre, confirming what just happened.
"So are you, Degi!" Pierre complimented his opponent gleefully.
"As. I. Said! My name is Bedi!" Bedi angrily corrected Pierre as he charged against him.
"Too slow, Bevi!" Just like a flash, Pierre appeared next to the charging Bedivere as he whispered to him.
Just like that, Pierre was able to land a deep gut punch on the charging Bedivere, making his opponent lose consciousness. The people who saw their short but fast exchange of blows were left in awe as they witnessed the two of them battle it out in the middle of the town.
"Ah, I'm hungry after that! I think I should go to the pub instead." Pierre said as he rub his growling stomach.
Pierre checks whether his fallen opponent is moving or not. After confirming that he has lost consciousness, Pierre had one conclusion about the situation at hand.
"Can't be helped then. You're coming with me, Dedi," he says to himself as he picked up the body of the knocked Bedivere.
Unknown to Pierre, 30 minutes had passed since he left the ship that will take him to the Central Seas. With the knocked out Bedivere, he entered the pub not knowing of this information. What is the motive of Bedivere? Will Pierre be able to make it in time before his ship's departure?
