Beyonders

Though the evening breeze had chilled his back on the way across the sea, it hadn't yet begun its nightly job of sweeping among the island of Moonshine, between its buildings, clustered vines, and palm trees.

The Black Pearl and its crew had made an easy journey, full speed ahead so they could buy their potions ingredients as soon as possible.

Moonshine still looked the exact same, with its tavern's open, the smell of fish, sea salt, sweat, and gunpowder. Its residents and the sailors walked through the streets, their destinations unknown, but Arthur thought they might just be on their way to get drunk.

His conversation with Calico had gone with no problems. She was happy that the people she had recommended were all accepted even before the deadline since that meant she had a better standing with Arthur now.

Arthur had thought Calico would need at least a week to gather all ingredients, but he was surprised to find he was wrong. Since the ingredients were all for Sequence 9 potions, the supplementary ingredients were all common things that one could find in most apothecaries. As for the main ingredients, most of the potions Arthur's crew had chosen had main ingredients that could be found on the sea. She said for Arthur to return the next day, or even in a few hours, and she would have everything he needed.

He even sold a few more rainbow plants and crystals to her, as a sign of appreciation for her efforts.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was doing their own stuff. Jack went to visit his old boss, and tell him the good news while enjoying a drink.

Amanda stayed on the ship, she had been a little under weather that day and choose to rest.

James and Lara were accompanied by Sabrina, touring the place for the best food they could find.

Frank was the most unusual of the group, he talked to some old acquaintances, and after pulling a favor, if one went into the Angel of the Sea, a bar in Moonshine, in of the corners, Frank sat a booth to divine the future of the sailors. That was his idea of how to act as a Seer.

Arthur, on the other hand, after leaving Calico behind went towards the location of a fighting ring. He went towards the busiest place in Moonshine nights, what could be called the 'center of the town'.

Walking into a dark alley, on his right was a wood door which he gave three heavy knocks. The door slid open, showing the huge man that was guarding it on the other side.

"Watcher or participant?" He asked, his voice sounding more like a growl.

"Participant," Arthur answered.

The man nodded and signed for Arthur to follow him. They walked through the dimly lit corridor, till they arrived in a spacious room with a ring in its center, surrounded by a crowd that cheered, yelled, and drank while the two fighters exchanged fits.

Arthur didn't have to do much to be a fighter, just give his name.

He went inside the ring, and his opponent came not a second later. Arthur's foe was a man of similar height as him, short hair, trimmed bear. His nose was crooked, a sign he had it broken countless times. He had no shirt, Arthur could see a scar on his abdomen, the left side. A knife wound, perhaps? To everyone else, the man entered the ring normally, but for a Beyonder like Arthur, it was easy to see he had a slight limp on his left leg.

"Begin!"

First, Arthur raised his right hand towards a jab, and when his opponent glanced at it, he whipped his left on the man's temple. Now disoriented, the man tried to defend himself by jabbing at Arthur, which he blocked, and countered with a hook to the left cheek.

Arthur took advantage of his dazed opponent and gave him a hook on his scared side, followed by a kick on the knee of his limping leg. He kneeled, and passed out when his face met Arthur's knee.

All of that took less than a minute.

The crowd was silent for only a moment, before going wild. Some cheered for the money there made, other's raged at their loss.

Arthur didn't care for that, only for the sensation of his potion slowly digesting. He turned around with a huge grin on his face, spreading his arms and making sure that everyone there could hear him.

"Who's next?!"

...

The morning came quick, and with it, Arthur's night of fighting ended. Besides the moments he took to rest, he spent the whole night in the ring, fighting one opponent after the other. He even made some money from bets, around 800 pounds.

He never lost a single one.

By the time the sun rose on the horizon, Arthur felt his potion had almost digested. He thought that by the end of the month, it would be finished and he could become a Sequence 7 Beyonder.

I should go to Calico, and see if she has everything I need. Then, after the whole crew turns into Beyonders, we'll sail towards adventure, wherever it is, thought Arthur.

Arthur went on his way. He found Calico, and after guaranteeing she had everything he had asked, paid her for the ingredients and some extra for the trouble.

On his way to the ship, he took notice that many people now glanced in his way, where before he was just another face in the crowd. Fighting and winning the whole night must have given him a reputation among those that had seen or heard from the ones that were there.

Arriving at the Black Pearl, Arthur asked Sabrina to call everyone to the kitchen.

He was glad to see his crew was fine, even though Jack looked like a breeze could end him.

"I have here with me the ingredients to your potion, who wants to go first?"

Lara once again surprised Arthur when she choose to go first, but maybe it shouldn't. This was the same girl who had given up her rich life, running towards the unknown with almost no plan.

If she made a decision, she followed it, no matter what anyone else said.

Her process was fairly easy, nothing bad happened. In half an hour, the number of Beyonder's in the Black Pearl had been raised by one. Lara had become a Sequence 9 Apothecary.

Amanda and Jame's turn was the same as Lara's, no issues happened and in the end, they became Sequence 9 Bard and Sequence 9 Hunter respectively.

Now the almost the whole crew of the Black Pearl was made of Beyonder; Melee Scholar, Sailor, Seer, Apothecary, Hunter, and Bard.

The only one missing, was also the one Arthur worried about, even though he expected nothing truly bad was going to happen.

"Ready, Sabrina?"

"Yes, I'm ready..."

Sabrina raised the potion glass, and poured its content on her mouth, the viscous liquid flowing down her throat. Her experience was like the other, her visions had doubled, her ears listened to things she couldn't see.

A moment later, it was like it had never happened, only her body now felt more real, and information about what she could do floated inside her head.

She had become a Sequence 9 Sleepless.