Winkad

A few days went by…

Sky noticed that as they got closer to Winkad the number of Caribbean ships grew in numbers. It was of no surprise to anyone, they were near the danger zone.

"Hi, Captain." Jay greeted Sky.

"You're up early. How are you feeling?" 

After Jay witnessed the brutal massacre of people on that island he has been down. Lately he has been getting better and going back to his old self.

"Better. How do you do it? How are you so used to seeing so much bloodshed?" 

Sky could not answer that truthfully. It was his {power of the mind} that made him feel incapable of feeling anything. It was the power granted to him by the system.

It did not mean he had been stripped of all his emotions, just the ones that would affect him negatively especially in battle.

"Truth is I don't feel anything for them. After killing so many people and monsters you just kinda… get used to it. It does get easier over time. Jericho is an example of that."

"How many people have you killed, Captain?" Jay asked.

"A lot, even some innocents."

"But why?"

"Most of it was to defend myself. Sometimes it was for my own selfish reasons."

"And you're okay with that?" Jay asked.

"I am."

"Are you going to make me kill other people like you did with Jericho?" 

"Oh, she told you that. I only did that because she needed to do it. We had to fight against a powerful enemy and I needed to be sure she had what it takes and that I could rely on her. If we had lost this fight, there was no telling what could happen. So no, I won't be making you kill other people if you're not capable."

"But someday I will, right?" 

"Not innocent people. Perhaps pirates, bad people in general. We're not the kind of crew who mercilessly slaughters everyone we see… unless they attack first."

"Captain, I don't mind killing people who try to kill us first. Truth is I was prepared for that once I joined this crew. It's part of the adventure. I just really don't want to kill innocents, especially children."

Sky smiled. "I don't think I can hurt children either so don't worry. Oh! Before I forget, use this."

Sky handed Jay the scroll that belonged to him.

{Red scroll: Grants 46 strength}

*Rip*

{Jay Press}

{Level 33}

{Str: 72}

"Woah. I feel very strong. Thanks captain!" Jay could feel his strength growing.

'Wait he said he wouldn't hurt children but not the innocent?' Jay realized something in Sky's wording.

"SKY!" 

Jericho yelled at the top of her lungs.

"WE'RE HERE!" 

The three saw an island in the distance. 

Checking the system map and the name 'Winkad' appeared on the island.

Jay ran up to the front of the ship with his spider glasses.

"I see houses and a lot of people." 

Sky took control of the ship and went at full speed.

Jericho did not even wait for the boat to dock and jumped into the ocean and ran to the island looking for her family.

"Let's go with her." 

"Aye, Captain."

Jericho ran around frantically searching for her house and her family. The island was somewhat familiar to her as she had only spent about a week on the island.

'Wait, where did I live again? That's right!' Jericho remembered her house's rough location and ran as fast as possible.

After a few minutes of running she made it to her house.

It was an old worn down house. It seemed to be in much worse condition than she remembered.

Jericho ran up to the door and banged loudly.

"Mom! Katelyn! It's me! Open up!" 

"They're not home, Jericho. I don't sense anyone inside." Sky said.

"But… where could they be?"

Sky forced the door open.

"Oh, look at that, the door opened by itself." Sky smirked.

Jericho ran inside not to find them but to find proof they still lived here.

The inside of the house was still just as shabby as it was on the outside.

'Almost no furniture.' Sky thought.

He took a look at the kitchen. 

'There are still leftovers on the table and two plates and seem to be from last night. Seems Jericho's family cooked something last night so they must still be here, but where?'

Opening the fridge he noticed there was still fresh food.

'They recently bought food. That's good. Mean's they're still here and aren't planning on moving out soon.'

Sky got a picture of Jericho's family that was hanging from the fridge. It seemed Jericho was ten years old at the time the picture was taken. Her father, who he recognized, still looked the same.

'Hm, her mother and sister got freckles. Guess Jericho got her father's looks while the sister got her mom's looks.'

{Skill level up}

{Sense: lvl 9 → lvl MAX: Able to sense very well hidden enemies and others from 100 meters away}

'About time that skill leveled up.'

"Captain, did you find her family?" Jay asked, concerned.

"No. They're still on this island somewhere."

"HEY!" Someone said loudly.

Jay and Sky turned to face the feminine voice.

Sky recognized her from the picture, Jericho's sister.

Jericho's older sister, Katelyn, pointed a small knife at them.

Katelyn was tall like her father, almost as tall as Jay. Her hair was brown, long, and in a ponytail that reached her waist. Her looks were decent, skinny, and her bust size was small. Her freckles were on her cheeks and nose.

Jericho and her shared a few physical similarities, except Jericho wears her hair in a twintail fashion and lacks freckles.

'Identify.'

{Katelyn Haydie}

'Hmm… her stats are below ten which is considered normal for people who have not used a scroll.

And she had no abilities either.'

Sky thought since Jericho's dad was an exterminator his family would have scroll abilities or have their stats increased. But that was not the case.

"I already told you people my mom and I will pay you back. So please leave us alone!"

"I think you're misunderstanding something here." Jay said.

"I got this, Jay. Access chat: Jericho Haydie. Jericho, come down now. I found your sister."

"What?" Katelyn was confused.

She heard footsteps running across the second floor. Coming down the stairs Katelyn saw someone she did not think she would ever see again.

From the shock and surprise she dropped her weapon.

"Katelyn!"

Jericho ran and leapt I'm her sister's arms crying and hugging her as tightly as possible.

Katelyn hugged her sister bug as tight as she could. She still could not believe that after half a year

Jericho was back.

"Jeri! You're back! You're alive!" Katelyn did not cry, she was so happy to see her sister finally back.

After a while Jericho asked, "Kate! Where's mom! Is she okay?"

"Mom! I need to tell her!"

"Tell me what?" 

An older woman came through the door holding a small bag of apples.

When she saw Jericho she dropped the apples and quickly hugged Jericho. She was so fast

Jericho could not even react. Once Jericho realized it she hugged her mother tightly.

"You're back! My little angel is back!" Both mom and daughter wept uncontrollably.

Kately hugged them after finally reuniting again after all this time.

"I'm sorry I left! I wanted to chase after dad and bring him home, but he's a horrible person! I hate him for what he did! I'm sorry!" Jericho could not stop crying at all.

After all this time of thinking her mom and sister were dead she was finally able to see them again, alive and well.

"It's okay! What matters is you're back and you're safe." Jericho's mother was too happy to see her youngest daughter again,

'This is almost exactly how my mom reacted. Identify.'

{Mabel Haydie}

Sky identified her. Her speed stat was over 300 while the rest of her stats were between 20-50 and she had only one ability, ice trident.

"..." Sky.

"..." Jay.

Both men had no idea what to do or say that wouldn't ruin this moment for them. They stood still like statues giving no clues they were there.

After a while all three took a step back from their hug.

"Baby, who are these two men?" Mabel looked at Sky and Jay.

Katelyn had completely forgotten about them and to see two men in her house scared her.

"This is Sky, he's the one who brought me here. He has done a lot for me."

"Hi." Sky waved at them.

"And that's Jay. He's good at using guns."

"Hey." Jay smiled at them.

Katelyn gave them a slight nod, still not fully trusting both of them.

Both Mabel and Katelyn leaned closer to Jericho. 'Do they know you have the magnetism ability?' both whispered.

'Sky does. I don't know about Jay but he's trustworthy.'

"Well." Mabel stood up and shook both their hands. "I guess we can discuss what happened all this time during dinner."

"Mom, we don't have enough money." Katelyn reminded her.

"I do. Sky?" Jericho looked at Sky since he carried all the money.

"Wait, before I do anything I just need to confirm something: I know your husband stole that scroll and went into hiding. But what I need to know is if you owe the Caribbean money for it, since there is a chance they're pinning the blame on you?"

Mabel sighed a bit. Katelyn folded her arms and looked the other way. They both hated Harvey down to their core.

"Yes, you're right. Since the Caribbean cannot find my husband the fault lies on me and my daughters. My idiot ex left us a debt we cannot pay back."

"Mom, how much do you owe the Caribbean?" Jericho asked, concerned.

"Five hundred million shells. I haven't even managed to pay back one million after all this time."

Everyone closed their eyes. This was a great sum of money for anyone.

"Did they give you a time limit?" Jay asked.

"One year to pay it all back. That was six months ago. If we do not pay the money in six months from now we'll become slaves to the Caribbean until we pay back our debt."

"No, that will not happen!" Jericho exclaimed. "Sky can help! He's great at making money!" 

"Jericho, it's not like I don't believe you but no one can make that much in such a short amount of time."

"Wait, I'm confused." Sky said, "you haven't been able to pay back the Caribbean even a million shells after six months, why are you still here if you know you won't pay it back in due time?"

"It's not like we don't know that. We plan on collecting as much money as possible and flee to somewhere far and safe. It's not like it matters, we will become slaves or criminals either way.

Jericho, the Carribean do not know you're here and they do not know you have that ability of yours, if they do they will hunt you down and turn you into a slave, I just know they will." 

Mabel hugged Jericho again.

"No, mom, listen, we can pay it back. I'll work hard and I know we can accomplish it in six months!"

"Let's say by some miracle you do, then what? The longer you're here the more likely the Caribbean will find out that you possess an ability they are willing to kill for. Even if you do pay back the debt, that will not stop them from enslaving you for your ability."

Jericho looked down. She hadn't thought of that. She was so worried about her family she did not realize she was in danger.

"I thought of that." Sky said, "Jericho almost got enslaved for that very reason, she'll explain the details later. What we can do is make sure Jericho never uses her ability out in public, as long as she doesn't use it no one will, right? Because as far as anyone knows your husband is the one with the purple scroll so all their focus is on your husband, not Jericho."

"I can't take that risk." Mabel said.

"I'm not a parent but I can understand not risking a family member's life like that. But what can we do? I wish I could say I could place Jericho on a faraway island to keep her safe, but she's stubborn! She traveled across two seas to find her father despite all odds against her. And she will find a way to pay back your enormous debt even if she has to swim across the sea. And it's not like we can strip away this ability of hers either."

"So what do you want to do with my baby sister?"

"That depends on her. She might be a little kid but she's grown… although she is a bit of a crybaby."

Sky smirked and glanced at her, which only left her pouting.

"What do you want to do, baby?" Mabel looked at her daughter.

"I want to pay back your debt. I don't want to see you two be slaves. But please, Sky, help me pay back their debts! I literally can't do it without you."

Sky was about to say something. But then he smiled.

"Of course I will! It won't be easy but I think we can manage. First, we need to get off this island." Sky suggested.

'Wait, what?' Jericho didn't expect him to agree so easily. Usually Sky would want something in return especially for something huge.

"Why? What's wrong with this place?" Katelyn asked.

"Well for starters we are near the danger zone."

"We wanted to move to another island, but we can't afford it, and we wanted to stay here hoping

Jericho would find her way back." Mabel said.

"Well I have money. We can afford you guys a simple place somewhere a bit far from here. Second, I sense two people outside watching this place."

"Yeah, those two are Caribbean. They're tasked to watch us both at all times." Katelyn said.

"So you're not allowed to leave the island?"

"We are, but wherever we go they go as well. If the Caribbean doesn't hear from them at certain times they'll send someone to investigate."

"So killing them is not an option, great. So we move out now, the sooner the better."

"Wait, seriously?" Katelyn had a hard time believing him.

"Yes, I intend to help you guys out for Jericho."

"Wait, baby, are you sure you wanna do this? You can still hide and be safe somewhere. As long as I know you're safe I'll be good. But your sister has to go, too."

"Mom, I want to help. I love you guys too much to run away from this."

Jericho knows the risks and she's willing to face them.

"That settles it!" Sky said and they got to packing. Katelyn was the one who was skeptical of everything.

After they left Jericho and Sky stayed behind.

"Sky, I did not think it would be this easy for you to agree. We both knew they had a huge debt 5o pay, but I really thought you would say something else before agreeing." Jericho knew Sky a little too well but was surprised.

"I mean if you don't want me to help that's fine I'll just be on my merry way." Sky was about to leave before Jericho pulled him back by the hand.

"NO! STOP! I did not mean that." Jericho panicked.

Sky chuckled. "I'm just kidding. I just want to help you. But I expect you to help out as well because you're great at finding money, like a little treasure hunter."

"I will obviously. But thank you, seriously. Thank you so much." Jericho hugged him tightly before running to her family.

Sky couldn't help but smirk. In reality he had a good reason to help her family.

{Quest: Paying back a great debt}

{Help the Haydie family pay back their enormous debt to the Caribbean: 0/500,000,000}

{Time limit: 5 months 27 days}

{Quest failure punishment: Jericho Haydie, Katelyn Haydie, and Mabel Haydie will become slaves to repay their debt}

{Quest failure requirement: Mabel Haydie, Katelyn Haydie's deaths}

{Quest reward: Jericho Haydie's undying loyalty, 1x purple scroll, 1x purple grade item, 100,000,000 exp}

Seeing such generous rewards, how could Sky not accept? 

He was worried that Jericho may go back to living with her family, but this quest basically told him Jericho would stay with him. Her ability is the reason why he wants her to himself, she can find treasure chests hidden inside of dungeons.

Not to mention the insane amount of exp he would level up several dozen times. And lastly the infamous purple scroll and purple grade item.

Purple scroll price ranges from 100,000,000-999,999,999 shells and purple grade items usually have the same value as well.

'I am such a good person. Hehehehehe.' Sky laughed maniacally in his mind.

Everyone got on the ship. Sky noticed behind him the two Caribbean men were following them.

'Really sucks that I can't just kill those two.'

Sky sailed with everyone to a safer place. The two Caribbean men got into another ship and followed them.

"We are really doing this?" Katelyn still could not believe it. They just met a man and her entire family decided to follow him and put their trust in him. It just shows how desperate they are, except

Jericho who seemed to trust him a lot.

"We are. Where exactly do we go now?" Sky asked.

Everyone looked at him surprised.

"What?"

"You just convinced us to follow you but you have no idea where to go?" Katelyn said, perplexed.

"I just wanted to get out of that island as quickly as possible before some fishmen appeared.

They're very powerful and I can't imagine winning against them, especially with their large numbers."

To Sky clearing red dungeons was much easier than killing fishmen, and in many cases he is right.Most exterminator crews can clear red dungeons easily. But the biggest threats were humans and fishmen alike, as they can grow stronger using scrolls and items.

The monsters inside of dungeons lack intelligence and can't grow stronger unless they know how to use scrolls, which they cannot. The most intelligent monsters that come out of dungeons are alligator men who can use weapons and can walk on their hind legs.

"I thought this might be the case." Mabel took out a map and laid it on the ground.

"I've been holding onto this map planning where we could hide. But we could live on this island called Marjack. I remember going there once, it's relatively safe, and cheap to live in. There are also a lot of items useful for an exterminator… assuming you are an exterminator, Sky?" Mabel asked.

"I am leading an exterminator crew… in a way. I do what I want. So Marjack is it? How far away is it?"

"Two or three weeks."

"Hmm… time is of the essence so we will need to clear some red portals on the way. First we stop on an island and get some supplies, like antidotes." Sky suggested.

"Um… how are you still alive?" Katelyn asked, "I'm glad you brought my sister but how are you still alive? You only have three crew members, my sister included, and you don't have any antidotes, or potions, or even auto-injectors in case you need to fight a fishmen underwater. And you've been clearing dungeons like that until now?"

"I know, right? Aren't we amazing?" Sky smiled at her which only annoyed her in return.

"Baby, did you find your father?" Mabel asked something that's been on her mind.

Jericho and Sky looked at each other, unsure of where to start.

"Jericho, why don't you catch up to speed with your family while Jay and I cook something and buy stuff we desperately need? Take them to the captain's quarters."

Jericho nodded and led her family to a room.

Jay looked at the Carribean who were following them.

"They're still following us. It doesn't look like it's just two of them but about a dozen of them are following us." 

"If I used my wind ability they wouldn't be able to catch up with us but then they'll think Jericho's family is running away. The last thing we need is more problems."

"Yeah… Captain, exactly what happened to Jericho? I am so lost in all this. I try my best to ignore it for privacy reasons but I am really curious."

"Ask her and maybe she'll tell you." Sky suggested.

On the inside of the captain's quarters Sky and Jay heard the three of them yelling, crying, sobbing, then followed by an eerie silence.