The Arcadia System

[A/N: I will be posting the free chapters on Royal Road]

Chapter 1

May 8th, 1866

On a ship, a man dressed in rag clothes swerved the wheels of the ship.

His old pirate clothes failed to protect him from the horrendous weather.

One particular gust of wind invaded his nose and made him sneeze.

He cursed not long after, "Bastards. These winds are as horrible as a beggar's breath!"

A young man at his side trembled as he fixated on the barren sea, "Captain, are you sure you wanna go on? We can still turn back now."

Instantly, a stick smacked his face.

"Nonsense, have you forgotten our pirate creed? We promised that old hag that we would bring her there," shouted the pirate.

"Also, we all agreed together. There's no turning back."

The pirate captain took a look at his crew. He was warning them not to underperform.

A tiny voice tried to talk, "But, captain…."

"--it's just rumours. Don't worry. We, pirates, can deal with anything, even the bloody devil."

"But, captain…."

"--I've told you bastards to calm down. Our ships can withstand anything, even the bloody apocalypse. "

"But, captain….."

"Plus, that crazy old lady is paying us ten bags of gold."

Once again, the tiny voice tried to talk, "But, captain….."

This time, he was heard by the captain, "what is it?!!"

"So--so-some of us didn't agree to this job," said the tiny man hiding behind the bulky crewmates.

"Ehh, really? Didn't you agree?" asked a confused captain.

He raised his brows at the man with a tiny voice.

What he didn't know was that every little movement he made intimidated the man.

"No, I didn't," squealed the man.

In a fit of courage, he raised his voice louder, "I--I'm not even part of your crew!"

Clearly, he felt wronged.

Yet, the captain's expression showed he was clueless

"What do you mean you are not part of my men?" asked the captain.

"I was the one that stole your ship's supplies and I got caught by you. From then on, you have been commanding me to do your daily bids. It's been five years now!!!!"

"Oh, you are that guy. I thought you were dead. Well, it's your bad luck. Get in line!"

He threw another stick from his pocket at the tiny man.

Seeing the courage of the tiny man, the other wrong crewmates tried to follow in his footsteps.

"Captain, I wasn't aware we were going to the devil's triangle. You just told me it was a simple transportation job."

"Captain. You kidnapped me from the English navy. Please release me."

Among them, a teenage girl dressed in rich clothes cried, "awaaa! I just wanted to be rebellious. So, I snuck into a pirate ship. Who would expect the ship to be on a direct course to the devil's triangle?! Uwaa, I should have stayed with my mom and learned how to be a good wife!"

As she cried, a huge shadow loomed over the ship.

Because she was facing it, she couldn't see it but the others could. That was why they kept quiet.

The girl continued crying until she noticed the abnormality.

The ship rocked and she fell down. However, before she could get a holding grip to stand up, she caught a glance at the appearance of the shadow.

"Holy mary!" She screamed and fainted.

The shadow was a huge wave that proceeded to swallow them after much build-up….

...…...

To understand how the pirates got there, let me start with possibly one of the greatest questions in the world.

What was a god?

Well, to a certain cat that existed in the late 1800s, he identified himself as a god.

From the moment he was born, his life was golden.

Born to the rare Turkish Angora breeds, he was easily an exotic creature.

However, to him, his life began when he met Myrna, his self proclaimed caretaker.

He remembered back then he was laying on his small pillow like a king, towering over the other lesser cats as humans came to observe them.

He didn't care about the other cats though. They couldn't match his intelligence. Even the rare wise animals had agreed to that statement.

Shaking his white fur, he yawned and closed his eyes, showing his disinterest in whatever event was going on.

As far as he knew, he was priceless and whoever came to buy him must surely be prepared to afford him.

Hence, he closed his eyes and simply waited for his eventual caretaker.

However, to his disbelief, not long after he decided to take a nap, he felt a warm sensation lift him from his original position.

Instantly, he fluttered his eyes open and took a look at the person that had the guts to pick him up.

"Uhhh, it's so fluffy," a small squeal escaped from the culprit's mouth, a young lady.

Her soft arms caged him in her embrace.

Furious, he tried all sorts of cat-escaping tactics, even going as far as to release an embarrassing cry but nothing worked.

The young lady was far more merciless than she looked. She could even resist his sad face.

Cornered, he finally resorted to his ultimate attack. It was one that always guaranteed him a win.

Cuddled in the young lady's arm, he slightly raised his right hind leg and released his heavenly shower on her.

He ended his attack with a chuckling "meow" that signified the fulfillment of his revenge.

Yet, in a wild turn of events, the outcome wasn't what he expected.

Normally, the humans he peed on would smile angrily but would walk away.

However, this young lady clearly wasn't normal. Immediately she noticed she had been peed upon, she didn't hesitate to fling him across the room in such an unladylike manner.

He didn't understand how someone could be so savage to a cute cat like him.

Doesn't the girl understand that if he died, his breed might go extinct?

Worst of all, after smashing him, she came to him and revealed a smile that could capture the world.

"Uhhh, I acted on reflex. I'm so sorry."

She took another good look at him and squealed, "Uhh, did your bones break?….such a cute cat. I've decided. I'm picking you."

With a proud grin on her face, she picked him up despite his clear annoyance and the rest was history...

.....

He remembered that iconic moment vividly

The duo of a cat and a human would later go on to become explorers.

Myrna, with her stubborn nature, had the right qualities for an explorer.

Five years after she took him, she became a member of a hidden exploration group, whose goal was to discover hidden secrets.

Two years later, she found a way to prolong his life through some of the artifacts she had found.

Three years later, she sold some of her artifacts and became a millionaire, which was quite rare at her time.

As she was leaving her late 20s, she randomly picked a young man and settled down with him.

She had two kids and ensured the longevity of her lineage.

Five years after her marriage, now a full woman, he and Myrna went back to their life of exploration.

While others were discovering places like the new world and eldorado, the duo was uncovering ancient ruins.

Every day on the job was potentially the day of their death. Yet, it was thrilling!

Therefore, it became their schedule.

They would spend two years on their job and the succeeding year would be used to reconnect with the kids.

After a few more decades, she quit due to her old age and fully focused on her kids.

Of course, he accompanied her. Without her, he would have exceeded his lifespan a long time ago. It wouldn't be wrong to say he was the oldest cat alive on earth.

Plus, she was his life-bound caretaker. He had given her that privilege.

It was meant to be a good ending to the story yet….

Yet….here they were, on a ship, in the middle of nowhere.

His cat's senses tingled tremendously as the waves blew on his furry body.

How exactly did they get here?

Oh, he remembered.

Having clocked 60 years old, Myrna couldn't get over the good ol' days and decided to embark on one final adventure. One would supposedly finally mark her entry into old age.

When he heard that, he felt it was okay. After all, he also missed their adventures.

Yet, of all places to explore, crazy Myrna decided on the most dangerous, the devil's triangle.

Many things. could be said about this place.

First of all, it was a region on the sea near the new world.

One would think it was completely traversable. Yet, no human has ever crossed this region. Even the prime explorers from Myrna's secret group have no explanation for this place.

Now, after months of planning, they had neared the devilish region and were now face to face with the foremost danger of the devil's triangle, the devil waves.

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