Money and time

Chapter 45 is out now on my Patreon. The first five chapters are worth 3.00$ a month. First ten chapters are worth 6.66$ a month + benefits. And all 15 chapters are worth 10.66$ a month + benefits.

Sorry for the late chapter but I was writing the 15 chapters on my Patreon and I got very sick for over a week which set me back. But now I will be posting a chapter every 2-3 days. Enjoy.

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Sky woke up on the floor of his parent's new house. They had spent last night playing games, chatting, spending time together as family because these last few days will be the last they'll see each other for a long time.

Sky had a blanket covering him and a pillow under his head, something that wasn't there before.

Behind him was his parents who also slept on the ground with Sky.

Sky smiled. They were the best parents one could ask for.

Sky left to buy some take-out. But first he had something in mind, buying a cheap ship.

Sky went to the ship dealer shop. There were all kinds of ships there as Peeves is large. 

The ships there ranged from normal fishing boats to exterminator ships.

The price range was 80,000-700,000 shells. 

Only in Harbot's did they sell battleships and storage ships. Their prices easily exceeded 1,000,000 shells.

The dealership was located in the docking area. Sky wished he could simply steal all the ships but won't to not cause his parents any trouble.

"System, if I were to get the cheapest fishing boat would you recognize it as my own ship?"

{Yes. The only ships/boat the system won't take are small boats}

Sky once tried using his system to take command of a speed boat and a row boat but it deemed them as "not a ship" which doesn't make sense to Sky but it is what it is.

"Would you like to buy this fishing boat?"

Sky saw a young man no older than 18. On the other side was an old man smoking a pipe who was the young man's father. The young man's father was keeping an eye on his son to see how he did in selling a ship.

After all, he wanted his son to succeed in the family business.

Sky remembered his dad doing the same when he was in charge of the store those few rare times.

"Yes, I would like to buy it."

"Wait, what? I mean… sure, that'll just be 80,000 shells. And I'll even throw in a fishing net for free."

The young man was surprised. Usually they see cheap customers who want a huge discount for no reason. 

Sky handed the man 80 cards with 80,000 shells inside. The older man came over to see if it had the correct amount.

"Well I'll be damned. Not a single shell less. The ship is yours." The old man's eyes shined to count 80,000 shells.

{You now command "fishing boat"}

{Shells: 60,341}

He used to have over 200,000 shells but half of it went to Jericho and Jay to buy whatever they wanted. The sub-crew who was clearing portals everyday is earning him 25-30k shells a day. 

"Did I do a good job, pops?" The young man wanted to hear his father's praise.

"I don't know. But I guess you did… okay."

Sky transformed the boat into a card. Afterwards he got some takeout, placed the bags in his home, and went to the backyard.

"Activate." 

Sky spawned the fishing boat in his backyard.

After teleporting all over the boat he was very happy his plan worked.

"It worked! I can come back here anytime as long as the ship doesn't get destroyed!" 

This was his plan all along, to be able to come home at a moment's notice. He just did not know if it would work on land.

{Due to your smart thinking you have gained: 2+ Mind}

{Mind: 131 + 50}

'Even better.'

"Sky, everything okay?" Ben walked up towards Sky. "Why is there a fishing boat in the backyard?"

"This is my present to you guys. I know this is weird but please do not destroy this boat, or move it from the backyard. Just keep it here for my sake."

"Uh… sure, son." Ben had a feeling he wouldn't get a good answer from Sky if he asked him the reason.

"You scared me, you know? When I woke up and you weren't there I thought you had already left."

"Not until tomorrow, dad."

"I know. While you were gone Mr. J said he had something important to tell you. He's waiting at your ship."

Sky nodded and teleported to his ship which left his dad confused on the spot.

"Wait, Sky? SKY?! Since when can he teleport?" 

Sky appeared on his other ship. Mr. J was the only one on the ship.

"Mr. J?"

"Ah! Sky, where the hell did you come from?" Mr. J jumped from fright because he didn't see Sky sneak up on him.

"My dad says you had something to say to me?"

"Well that plus some things I want you to have."

Mr. J gave Sky one while holding the other.

"These two cards were what I used during my days as an exterminator. I was thinking one day I would give them to my son thinking he would also be an exterminator, but it's clear by now he is not going down that path which is why I want you to have them. You'll probably need them more than I do."

"Really? Thanks Mr. J. Activate."

A rifle appeared along with a box filled with ammunition.

It was a lever rifle with a scope barrel attached to it. 

"I call her Betty. I got her from my first irregular red portal. She's my greatest treasure aside from my family. Take good care of her and she packs quite a punch to both her enemies and the one who uses it. One time I nearly broke my shoulder from the recoil. She also has a nice ability you'll need."

{Betty: Red}

{Damage: 1,200}

{Requirements: Str, 120 Dex, 120}

{Ability: Firebullets: Activating the ability will transform ordinary bullets into fire bullets}

{Mana cost: 10}

"Woah, it can shoot fire bullets? This is perfect for Jay."

"Exactly… wait, what the hell? How did you know it shoots fire bullets? I didn't even tell you yet."

"No need to worry about that, Mr. J."

"Oh I get it. You have that inspect ability."

'Inspect?' Sky hasn't heard of that ability but it sounds like he's confusing it for his 'identify' ability.

"And here, you should have this as well. It's perfect for someone like you who uses mana frequently." Mr. J handed Sky the other card.

"Activate."

'Inspect.'

A pair of black gloves appeared before Sky.

{Galva gloves: Red}

{Damage: 1,000}

{800+ HP when worn. 1,000+ mana when worn. 100+ Mind when worn}

{Requirements: Mind: 190 Int: 150}

{Ability: Mana pilfer: steal the mana of others. Rate of mana you can steal from enemies depends on wearers Mind stat}

{Mind/s}

{To explain it clearly to the player, if your Mind is 100 you can steal from the enemy 100 of their mana per second. The higher the Mind stat is the more mana you can absorb}

'Woah!' Sky was amazed, he can steal others mana from their bodies? 

It was different from his ability that absorbs mana because that only absorbs mana attacks if their mind stat was lower than his. If he were to absorb the enemies entire mana they could die. Of course he would have to test if he can kill others that way.

Jericho almost died by overusing her mana to protect Sky.

"Woah, these are amazing! Too bad I can't wear them." Sky was happy to receive this amazing item.

Problem was that he did not meet the Mind stat requirement.

"They are. I almost died because a guy used those gloves on me. I was able to kill him and claim these gloves as my own… wait, what do you mean you can't wear those gloves?"

"Observe."

Sky placed the gloves on and they fell off cleanly.

"..." Sky.

"..." Mr. J.

"..." Sky.

"HOW?" Mr. J felt that this made no sense. He clearly saw the gloves fall off as if they were butter.

"The ability I was granted gave me a lot of benefits, but it also came with restrictions." 

"I have never heard of such an ability before. Is there a way you can bypass those limitations?"

"I can but not right now."

"Good. Keep them then. I was worried I was gonna have to take them back. But that ability is really, really weird. Which is why you should never tell anyone else."

"I won't. I am not that dumb."

'However, that thing is still watching me.' Sky thought.

The moment he evolved his curse of slowness ability to curse of sloth someone has been watching him all this time. Even now that entity is watching him.

But according to his system this entity cannot do anything but watch.

"I know you're not. Jericho! Jay! Come here! I need to tell you all something!" Mr. J raised his voice to the two people on the other side of the boat.

"Mr. J! I learned to manipulate my mana!" Jericho ran to them with a piece of mana string connected to both her hands.

"Already? Even if you took longer than Sky, that speed is already impressive." Mr. J was impressed.

Sky wasn't surprised. Anyone under his system's influence can learn skills faster than before. 

Mr. J and his family were also a part of his crew now. 

Every single one of them was between level 2-4 even Mr. J who should be many levels ahead of the others. 

According to his system every being out there starts between level 1-5 because the only way to level up is through a system.

Jay arrived when he heard his name was called.

"What up?"

"Everyone, huddle and speak softly. I do not want anyone else to hear this." Mr. J said softly but in a serious tone.

Everyone huddled together. Mr. J pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and revealed its contents to the crew.

"This is important. I want you all to recognize this symbol. Take a good look at it."

The picture was that of an anatomically correct human heart with two bones sticking through it to form an 'X' symbol.

"I didn't have time to color it but the heart is always made of gold. Whenever you see this picture on a flag or somewhere, run."

"Why?" Sky asked.

Mr. J almost looked too scared to say it.

"Jericho, has your father ever told you about this?" 

"I think so. He also said to avoid it but never told me why."

"That was dumb of him. This symbol represents the Fallen God Family. The Fallen God Family is said to be the only ones from the Land of the Gods to have set foot outside because they were banished from the Land of the Gods. It is how we know black portals exist, it is how we know there are gods in this world."

"Banished? Can't they go back?" Jay asked.

"No. No one can enter the Land of the Gods because there is an invisible barrier that splits both the Land of the Dead and the Land of the Gods. It is said that the Fallen God Family came from that land hundreds of thousands of years ago. They were the ones who founded the Caribbean. They are the most powerful family alive, but they are also the most corrupt people you can ever meet. Their word is the law."

"Are they powerful?"

"Yes, insanely, but their strength has deteriorated over the years. There is another law you guys should know, whenever a purple portal appears, if there is a scroll or an item that comes from the purple portal it must be given to the Caribbean. You will be rewarded handsomely but you can never keep the items from a purple portal."

"Wait, what happens if someone runs away with a purple scroll?" Jericho asked, nervously.

"Well… from what I know no one is stupid enough to try but I imagine there's a few idiots who will attempt to do it. I heard that if you steal a purple portal you will be imprisoned, and you will have to pay back what a purple scroll costs, which I heard is usually 500,000,000 shells."

Sky and Jericho looked at each other.

"Mr. J, let's say hypothetically this man who stole a purple scroll was gone and the scroll was hidden, would they be able to find the scroll if it was consumed by someone else?" Sky asked.

"I do not know."

"Okay. Then let's say this thief was missing, but had a family, would anything happen to said family?"

"Well someone has got to take the blame. I imagine the family would have to be punished for the other family member's foolish actions even if they haven't done anything wrong. Maybe they'll be executed or forced to pay back an impossible sum of money.."

"BLEGH!" Jericho threw up upon hearing that.

"What's wrong with you?" Mr. J asked, confused and concerned.

Jay ran to get her a towel.

"Sky, please, I have to get home now!" Jericho grabbed Sky's shirt and pleaded to him.

"Okay. Let me do something and we will leave soon." Sky agreed.

"Mr. J, what do these Fallen Gods look like?" Sky asked, seriously.

"Um… they don't look human at all but more like mutants. They practice incest to keep the 'bloodline pure' or something like that. I remember seeing one, they dress in all white, on their back or front they have that symbol of their families crest. Like I said, if you see one do not fight, run and hide from them."

"Thank you, Mr. J for everything. But we need to go now." Sky was sad to see his stay was shortened.

"Why so soon? I don't get what's happening." Mr. J felt he said something wrong.

"I know. And trust me it is best if you don't know." Sky led Mr. J back to their house.

"Jericho, take control of the ship and set sail now! I'll meet up with you!" 

Jericho nodded and hastily set course to the Land of the Dead.

Sky returned home and saw his parents, Mrs. J, Julien and Jake in the living room.

"Sky, everything alright? You seemed worried." Jasmine asked, concerned.

"Yes… I have to go now."

"Now? Why? We were gonna spend all day today toegther." Jasmine rushed to her son.

"I know. I know. But something came up and Jericho's family might be in danger."

Mr. J's eyes widened a bit. The questions Jericho and Sky asked him earlier started to connect.

'Oh my god.' Mr. J thought.

"I'll be back in a moment's notice. If anything dangerous happens, ANYTHING at all, you know how to call me and I will be back here." 

"Okay. I thought I would be ready to let you go but I am not ready." Jasmine began to tear up a bit.

"I know. So long, mom." Sky gave his mother one last quick hug.

"I love you. You're a very brave man to do this for a little girl and her family. Please come back home safe." 

Sky let her go and walked to his dad.

"Bye, dad."

"Bye, son. Take care." They shook hands before they hugged each other.

Sky hugged Mrs. J and she whispered in his ears, "give 'em hell, boy." her words made him chuckle.

Sky shook Mr. J's hands.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. J."

"So long lad. Please take care and remember what I told you about 'them'."

Sky nodded. He hugged little Julien then lastly shook Jake's hands.

Jake and Sky have never been close to one another so their parting didn't mean much.

"Remember! Do not touch this boat! That's all I ask of you!" Sky ran up to his boat and disappeared from sight.

Everyone but Ben was left in a daze.

"Did he just teleport?" Jasmine was both amazed and sad to see her son gone so suddenly.

"He'll be back." Ben hugged his wife tightly.

"He's a strong kid." Mrs. J added.

"Trust me at this rate he'll be even stronger than I am in a few days, hahaha… I miss him already."

"At least this time you all know he's alive and well." Jake added.

"Dad, hungry." Julien was too young to care.

Jake smiled and carried his son to the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. J left Sky's family in the backyard.

"Is it bad if I call him right now?" Jasmine asked.

"I think we should leave him alone for now. He's grown and has responsibilities now."

"Yeah, you're right. Hope he calls soon."

"I know, I hope so, too… wanna make another one?"

Jasmine couldn't help but elbow her husband on the stomach. He kneeled down while Jasmine walked back inside as if nothing happened.

"OOF! You know, when I asked you that same exact question before we had Sky you also elbowed me in the stomach. To me this means 'yes'. and you also didn't say 'no' just now!"

Meanwhile…

Sky appeared on his ship. Jericho was worried for her family's sake. Jay had no idea how to calm her down.

"Sky, please, make this ship go faster!" Jericho practically pounced on him.

She wasn't this worried when her life was at stake or when she was about to be sold off as a slave. But the thought her mom and sister would have to be punished instead of her dead dad made her feel beyond worried and nervous.

"Jericho, we still don't know if your family is-"

"OH COME ON!"

Jericho jumped on him and pinned him to the ground.

"WE BOTH KNOW MY DAD IS AS GOOD AS DEAD! We both know the Caribbean is going to blame my mom and sister for my fucking, greedy, selfish, no-good father!"

Sky had never seen her this angry before.

Jericho realized what she did and began to feel nervous and worried for her family again.

"Sorry, it's not your fault. But I need to see my family again. I need to make sure they're okay."

"I know. I'd probably react the same if I were in your shoes. I'll get us there as fast as possible, but you have to lead the way because I do not know where to go."

"Okay, I can do that. Wait, we need money. Sky, how many shells do you have?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"For the passage! If you're leaving or entering a new land you have to pay 250,000 shells per boat."

"All I have is a little over 60,000 shells."

"I still have 45,000 from the 50k you gave me. Jay, how much do you have on you?"

"Only 10,000. I used most of it on these two guns I wanted to buy." Jay showed them two pairs of ordinary revolvers plus a huge ammo box.

"That's only 115,000 shells. We need more." 

"Jericho, calm down. We can earn money on the way. We'll clear more portals."

"Yes, smart. It'll slow us down but we don't have a choice. Why is my family so far away?!"

Jericho was not in her right state of mind and they knew it.

Sky produced wind to speed up the boat while looking at his map. He earned more money from clearing green+ portals.

As he was looking through he saw something he didn't expect.

Far away was a red portal.

{Time until destination: 18 hours}

"Jericho, I found a red portal."

"What? Really?" Jericho was happy to hear that because it meant easy money.

"Wait, really, where?" Jay looked around and didn't see a portal in sight.

"Luckily for us it's near the direction we're headed, but the money we can earn from it is a lot. We can either clear this one portal but risk our lives, or we can clear six or eight green portals which will cost us time. We already cleared the second toughest red portal before and we barely made it out alive. But now we are stronger than before but not nearly as much as I wish. What do you think?"

"Red portal." Jericho made up her mind. If she can save time even for a minute she's willing to risk it.

"Jay, this is a crew decision, what do you think?" 

"Captain, I may be weaker but I really, really want to see what a red portal looks like."

"So it's settled, red dungeon it is."

"Also, Captain, why do you keep calling it a dungeon?"

"Sometimes I call portals dungeons for… reasons. Which reminds me, I want you to use this weapon Mr. J gave to me. It belongs to you now so take good care of it. It might help us out in the red dungeon."

"Woah. It feels heavy." Jay carried Betty as if it were his child.

"Also, I hope it's not an irregular dungeon. But it's not up to us."

(Author rolls random number generator and…)