Melody

"LOKIIIIIIIIIIII! WASSUP MY MAN!"

The Merchant waved his hands at Sky but stopped once he realized he made a mistake.

"..." Sky.

"..." Jay.

"..." Jericho.

"SKYYYYYYYYY! WASSUP MY MAN!"

The Merchant waved his hands enthusiastically.

They were standing on top of a freezing mountain covered in snow. The entire building was sticking out like a sore thumb in the mountain.

It was of no surprise that they were inside a red dungeon.

"Loki?" Sky asked, curious.

"Don't mind me. What can I do for you?" The Merchant rested his chin on his hands and his elbows rested on the desk in front of him.

"Selling my stuff."

Sky placed all the red grade items he did not need on the desk.

"Huh, no scrolls today?" The Merchant asked.

"No."

Sky made sure to never sell another scroll again unless they were desperate. Every scroll gives power that they desperately need, even duplicate scrolls are kept in his inventory for his family, friends, and future crew members to use.

"Good, smart man. Honestly all of this is worth about 70,000,000 shells at most. You sure you wanna sell it?"

"Yes."

"Very well. *Snap*" With a snap the items disappeared from the desk.

{Earned 140m shells}

{Shells: 153.3m}

Sky grinned. His gold sentient brick doubled the amount of money he received.

"Captain, look at this." Jay pointed at the list of quests hanging on the door.

One of the nine quests hanging was blue which meant it was a special quest.

Sky took the quest and read it. Jericho and Jay stood beside Sky to read the quest as well.

{SPECIAL QUEST: DUNGEON}

{In exactly 34 hours from now there will be a purple portal with great prizes to be claimed. Clear the portal before anyone else finds it}

{More information about the portal will be revealed once quest has been accepted}

{Warning: The party is still too weak to clear the portal. There is a high risk of dying}

{Rewards: ???}

{Punishment: None}

{Time limit: Once the portal is cleared}

Sky reached for the special quest but refrained from doing so. If he had an escape stone he would be confident in escaping the dungeon with his crew no matter how dangerous it may be, but he used it to escape from Lucious and he is still stuck in the dungeon.

But he reached for the quest and accepted it along with some easy quests that give him money, exp, and items he could use or sell.

{Special quest accepted}

{New information has been added}

{Map updated}

{The dungeon is called {Field of the five-leaf clovers}

{Monsters: Green snake}

{Boss: Lepreshade: Purple}

{Loot: 1x purple scroll, 2x purple grade items, shells}

{A special room can be found hidden in the center of the map}

Sky was surprised. Every time he finds a new dungeon he cannot see the monsters or the boss, just the title, the grade, and the guaranteed loot.

And this is the first time the system told him he could find a special room. He always had to rely on his wind, luck, and Jericho to find things that the system hides for him to find.

Checking the map Sky saw a red 'X' not that far from where they stand. The red 'X' was located in the middle of the ocean far from any island.

"Do you guys think we're ready to clear a purple dungeon?" Sky asked his crew members.

Jericho and Jay looked at each other. They might have grown stronger in the past few days of grinding nonstop but they still weren't ready.

"Captain, didn't you have a sort of escape stone you told us about? That you can use to teleport us out?" Jay asked.

"I did, but I used it already."

"You did? When?" Jericho asked.

"That is something you should never know for your sake."

Jericho and Jay looked at each other. Sky didn't tell them but it was obvious it had something to do with a certain Caribbean officer.

"We still have 30 hours, Captain, maybe we can find one in that time."

"I hope you're right." Sky said.

After checking out the items for sale they resumed clearing dungeons growing stronger and richer.

Meanwhile…

Boris was sitting on the ground with bags starting to form underneath his eyes. In order to keep his men and all the citizens alive he made sure to always stay awake in the event of another ambush.

The island was small and poor. It did have a phone and it did not have a big ship but smaller ships. They needed a bigger one otherwise they'll be easy targets for the fishmen.

They had to rely on an eagle to mail a letter to God's paradise but it would take almost eight hours for the bird to reach the island, and even longer for the Caribbean to send out a ship to their location.

Flying was also not an option. The nearest island was hundreds of kilometers away, most of his men do not have mana to fly to that island, not to mention that said island was further away from God's Paradise.

Boris wasn't just protecting the island but thinking, thinking how the fishmen could have found them so fast. He knew it had to be the work of a spy, but who is the spy? A fishmen in disguise? A mermaid? Or a human who has betrayed humanity.

Just then he had a sudden realization. He knew who it was.

"Holy shit."

Meanwhile…

Just then Xero appeared in his room. Everyone who saw him saw the darkened but disgusted expression he had, as if he had witnessed something beyond gross and gruesome.

He sat down on his desk and took out a two liter bottle of alcohol and chugged it all down. He let out a sigh upon drinking it.

It was one of the strongest alcoholic beverages known to men. He would always drink a bottle after the Fallen God family lets him go, he would drink a bottle to hopefully forget what he had gone through even if it was for a few hours.

Once people have high enough vigor they become more resistant to poisons but not immune, that includes alcohol which is why he needs to drink strong beverages to feel something.

"Ahhhhh… finally, peace, quiet, and nothing else." Feeling as if he were in heaven he slouched back in his chair with his face turning red.

"Sir!" Georgia pushed the doors open and ran in the room.

"Georgia, I told you before never to bother after they call me!" Xero turned his chair back to Georgia and continued drinking the bottle.

"Sir, it's urgent! Boris is in trouble, some fishmen attacked his ship!"

"If it's Boris we have nothing to worry about. His specialty is killing mermaids and fishmen."

"Sir, it was the Abyss family who attacked him."

Xero appeared in front of Georgia in an instant somehow sober and dead serious. His speed scared Georgia as she hadn't expected it.

"How do you know?"

Georgia handed Xero some papers.

"Some time ago Boris sent a letter using a bird. He's stuck on an island without a phone. The letter goes into more details."

Xero read the papers thoroughly.

"At least he's still alive. Did you send a boat to his location?"

"Yes, I sent one in your name as soon as we got the letter."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me." Xero disappeared from his room.

In less than a second after Xero disappeared a strong gust of wind destroyed the room, even the windows, the hells, and all the papers in the room scattered.

Georgia covered her face with her hands to protect herself from the gust of wind. Soon the wind stopped and she bent down to collect the papers.

'Why did the Abyss family attack Boris? Did they know about the mermaid? If so, how? At least he's alive.' Georgia could not make sense of it but she hopes this problem will be resolved quickly.

Meanwhile…

Boris who was still waiting sensed a powerful presence dashing towards him. Before he could react to activate his time ability the presence appeared before him holding his shoulders.

"Good, you're alive." Xero let out a sigh of relief.

Boris also let out a sigh of relief to see that the powerful presence was Xero and not someone else.

The Caribbean behind Boris gasped to see the most powerful Caribbean officer was here. To see him made them feel safe.

"You scared me, Xero… were you drinking during work hours?" Boris could smell the strong stinge of alcohol coming from Xero's breath, "did the Fallen God family-"

"Yes." Xero interrupted him, not wanting to discuss it anymore.

"I was afraid there would be another ambush so I came here as soon as I saw the letter."

"Xero, I know how the fishmen knew about the mermaid so quickly, there's a spy, without a doubt, and I know who it is."

Xero looked at Boris, perplexed.

"Who?"

Meanwhile…

Sky exited the dungeon with his crew. The portal closed as soon as they left as they had cleared it.

The ship they were in was small and nobody liked it, except Jules who had to clean less due to the lack of space.

Sky was thinking whether or not they should take the risk of entering the purple dungeon. Once they enter they cannot leave one they clear the boss, if they can clear it that is.

"Jules."

Jules turned her head to Sky.

"Have you cleared a purple dungeon before?"

"I have."

"How was it? How did you do?"

"The dungeon was an underground theme filled with various traps and some weird monsters. My ancestor brought me and my brother there for the experience."

"If you were to enter a dungeon would you be able to clear it?"

"I can kill the monsters with a good weapon, and if you manage to remove this curse that's slowing me down."

"Yeah, I cannot do that yet but I'm getting there. How about the boss?"

"I definitely cannot kill the boss by myself."

Sky looked at Jericho and Jay. They thought of bringing Jules with them as she is the strongest on the ship for now.

The problem was the sloth curse Sky placed on her that he could not remove.

"We're still too weak. We may be able to fend off some weak fishmen, but cannot go against the strongest ones like that ship or that kraken, or that Caribbean officer. I think we need to take this risk." Sky said.

"I agree." Jay raised his hand up. This was an adventure he was looking for, filled with risks.

"I think it's too risky but I see your point." Jericho stated.

"I don't think we're ready. You three are too weak to help, I can feel it." Jules said.

"We know, we know. Jules, is there a way to find a purple dungeon?"

Jules shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"How did your ancestor find one?"

"Luck, that's all it is."

"One more question, how well do you fight on land?"

"I can fight well on land, but I can fight better under water."

"Hmm… okay, we're doing this. We're grinding dungeons for the entire day to grow our stats and levels."

"Levels?" Jericho asked, confused.

"Forget that." Sky forgot that levels are not a thing to anyone but him.

Sky took out the trident from his inventory and gave it to Jules.

"From now on that's yours. Get used to it." Sky did not plan on giving her the trident, but if it meant it'll improve their chances of living then so be it.

Jules examined the trident. To hold it in her hands again made her feel powerful.

A few hours later Sky docked his ship at an island.

This island had a shipyard and they needed a bigger ship.

Everyone left the boat not even bothering to protect it as it had nothing of value except a gold sentient brick that Sky was currently carrying on his person.

The island they were in was busier than most other islands they've been to. Everyone was close together and even the buildings were close, it was as if someone designed the area with the plan to use up as much space as possible.

"I didn't expect this to be so tightly packed." Sky said.

"Careful, I bet this is a great space for pickpockets!" Jay said.

"I can see why." Jules said.

Sky instinctively held his gold brick tighter.

"I can't see anything!" Jericho said, unable to see as she was tiny.

Jules reached for Jericho through the crowd of people and carried Jericho on her back.

"Thank you."

"Hm."

Sky looked back. He did not give her the command to do that, she did it voluntarily. He couldn't help but smile.

Jules realized someone was trying to feel her butt. With a swift movement she broke the person's hands to the point she completely crushed all the bones in the person's hands.

Not one person saw Jules move at all, it wasn't just her speed but her dexterity stat that made it impossible for anyone else to see her hand movements.

Five seconds later it happened…

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The painful scream of a man was heard throughout the island. The entire crew turned around to the source of the painful scream, except Jules who continued walking.

She had broken the man's hands so fast and efficiently the pain didn't process his brain till much later when he looked at his crushed hand.

'Disgusting.' Jules thought.

After a while they got through the crowd and made it to a giant store. Behind the store were many grand ships for sale.

"God, how do people live like this?" Jericho said. They were all crammed together the entire way. Jules placed her down gently.

"Best not to think about it. Does everyone have their stuff?"

They checked their weapons and stuff but nothing they had on them was taken. They never carried small items or money as Sky carried it for them.

Sky entered the shop followed closely by his crew. The inside of the shop was grand but there was no one inside except one other person. There they saw an old lady reading through a book looking bored.

She looked up to see who entered the shop. She saw a bunch of kids and she let out a sigh.

"Okay, what will you be renting now?"

"Rent? No, we're here to buy a ship." Sky said.

The lady looked at Sky. She noticed he had weird clothing on as well as some of his crew members which meant they were exterminators.

"Hmm, you're kinda young to be exterminators. Are you sure you can afford it? The cheapest ships I have for sale are 20,000,000."

"Do you have one that's worth 100,000,000?"

"100?" The lady's eyes widened thinking it must be a joke.

Sky looked at her seriously.

She suspected it was a joke as nobody carried 100,000,000 shells on them, but she had to take the chance.

"I don't have such a luxurious ship. The most expensive ship I have is worth 70,000,000."

"We'll take it."

"Really? You haven't even looked at it."

"Trust me, it's way better than the piece of crap we have right now."

"Well… do you have the money?"

Sky placed stacks and stacks of cards down on her desk. She was beyond shock to see the amount of cards with money in them.

"One second. INSECT!" She screamed facing to the side of the room.

"WHAT NOW YOU HAG?!" The shout of a man could be heard coming from the other room.

"COME HERE NOW YA FILTHY INGRATE!"

They heard some loud and heavy footsteps getting louder and closer.

There appeared a short fat man with his whole face covered in hair, one would mistake him for a hairy dwarf. He was covered in sweat and splinters.

"What is it now? I am building Johnson's ship!"

"They wanna buy Melody."

The man looked at Sky and the crew.

"You want to buy a 70,000,000 shell ship?"

Sky nodded.

"Here's the money they gave but I cannot count it by myself."

The dwarf just noticed the mountain of cards on the desk and they all had money.

"Stay here for a bit, please make yourselves comfortable." The man's voice and behavior changed drastically.

"Where's Pineapples?" He asked the woman.

"He's with his friends."

"Get his butt here now!"

With a loud huff the woman ran outside the shop.

"And close the door on your way out!"

"I'M ALREADY ON IT!"

*SLAM*

The lady closed the doors tightly and hung the "closed" sign on the door.

"I'm gonna count the money but it is gonna take a while."

'Identify.' Sky made sure to identify the old man, by seeing their personalities he can tell if they can be trusted or not.

"Sure. Everyone, let's take a seat." Sky pointed to the side of the building where there were seats.

"You have any food, Captain?"

"Course I do. Anyone else hungry?" Sky asked.

Sky raised his hands and so did everyone else.

Sky took out the food from his inventory and handed it to his crew including Jules since he doesn't discriminate.

Instead of eating, Sky was curious about something. He walked up to the man who was counting the money.

"Everything alright, sir?" The dwarf asked politely.

"I haven't seen this ship yet, can I see it?"

"Oh, I thought my wife already showed you. Of course you can! Please, follow me." The dwarf led Sky to the back of their shop.

There were many ships docked and for sale that they owned. There were three guards there to protect the ships from being hijacked.

At the other side of the docking area was the biggest ship on the island.

"Behold, this is Melody, the greatest ship we own. Enough to fit 300 men, forty cannons, a Captain's quarters, a bathroom, crew quarters, a navigation room, a kitchen, a brig, even a small room for crafting if you're into that, anything you will need is included in this ship."

"I'm sold. Let's go back." Sky said.

"Already? I haven't even shown you the inside."

"No need. This is worth the price without a doubt."

The dwarf could not believe it. Sky was the easiest customer he's ever convinced in buying a ship.

Sky was convinced just by seeing the outside of the ship this is what he wanted. It wasn't a magical ship like he saw at first, but it would do.