"My boatswain died again, at the hands of those things. How long will this life last? I am so tired of holding on.
Sometimes I wonder if I have already died and this is hell
But think about it, it's impossible. The demons in hell are much cuter than those things. Everything here is illogical, including the humans here.
When I first came here, I thought the development stage here was the early stage of the Industrial Revolution, but later I found out that they also had a lot of technological points on the mysterious side.
But even so, it is useless. Humans are still living like ants. There are too many deadly things in the darkness. We are not the only social civilization here. "
Charles's diary was interrupted by a knock on the door and the voice of Sailor Dipper was heard outside.
"Captain, we are approaching the main coral island."
Charles walked to the bow and looked at the lighthouse that appeared and disappeared in the darkness in the distance. He breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, he finally arrived.
As the Mouse slowly approached, a huge island behind the lighthouse gradually became clear.
The grayish white of the coral rock is the main color of the island, and the various human houses located on it are also the same color.
The port of the Coral Islands looked busy, with steamers of all sizes coming in and out, and rugged sailors waving their hats and cheering, celebrating that they were alive again.
This is a newly developed island. An island that can provide human survival cannot rely solely on corals. It needs resources from other islands, which is also the source of survival for cargo ships such as the Mouse.
Among the people passing by on the pier, many had their ears curled inwards. They were all locals of the Coral Islands.
If a person lives on a coral island for more than five years, their ears will curl inward for unknown reasons, and no one knows why.
But this does not stop people from other islands from immigrating here eagerly. Compared with the troubles on other islands, ear deformation is the mildest side effect.
After quickly handing over the task to the administrator, Charles walked out of the dock with a somewhat grim expression.
What he expected was correct. More than half of the goods were missing. Not only did he not make any profit, but he even lost a lot. These two months' work was essentially in vain.
It takes some time to dispatch supplies from the dock, and this period of time is a chance for the crew of the Mouse to take a short rest.
Near the dock is a row of buildings of varying heights, some of which are hotels for crew members to rest, and many more are places for relaxation.
On the busy streets are some ragged beggars, lying or crouching, muttering words that only they understand.
These are the crew members who were driven crazy by the earth and sea. No one knows what they have been through. If you don't want to become like them, you can only remember the iron laws of the sea and not see, hear or think.
They were lucky because in most cases, crew members who encountered shipwreck would simply disappear along with the ship.
The door of the Bat Inn was pushed open. In the brightly lit hall, a group of strong men who were drinking looked at the newcomer with ill intentions.
But when they smelled the fishy smell of the sea on Charles, they turned their eyes away as if nothing had happened. Guys who can come back alive after going to the sea are not to be trifled with.
"I will stay for 5 days, and I want some more food to be delivered to my house."
"5 days of accommodation for 630 Echo Coins, delicious bread and mushroom soup for 30, a total of 660."
In the damp room, Charles was enjoying his lunch. The food in the port area was not much better. Charles tore the black bread into several slices and threw them into the sticky mushroom soup.
Even after being soaked in soup, the bitter black bread still irritated his throat, but he had gotten used to it.
Charles took out a mobile phone from his pocket and swiped it randomly with his fingers while eating. The scratched screen was as dark as the sky outside.
The only sound in the single room was Charles' slow chewing.
"Captain, are you in there?" Old John's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Charles quickly put away his phone and said, "Come in, the door is not closed."
The first mate walked in cautiously, with an apologetic look on his face. "Captain, I want to tell you that I don't want to do this anymore."
Charles frowned slightly. "Why? Haven't you seen this kind of thing many times?"
John waved his hands. "I'm too old. I sometimes fall asleep at the helm. It's too dangerous. And... and I want to stay away from Earthsea."
Charles' mood became even worse, but he did not try to keep her, and they parted ways amicably.
He placed a stack of banknotes on the table, "Here's your share."
John took his reward but did not turn around and leave. He stood there with a hesitant expression.
"Any thing else?"
"Haha, Captain, you know, although I have saved some money, most of it was spent on those girls. This little money is not enough for me to live on for the rest of my life."
"Why? You don't want me to sponsor part of it?"
"No, no, no, of course I know this is impossible, but I have something good to sell you. Anyway, I'm off the ship, and I don't have any use for this weapon anymore."
John said as he pulled out a black knife about the length of his forearm, saying that the knife was more like a large dagger.
Charles looked at the fat old man in front of him with confusion. It was true that the knife was the first mate's weapon, but he was not short of melee weapons.
"Captain, don't underestimate this knife, it's a relic!"
Charles had heard of these mysterious things before, but had never seen them.
There are many different opinions about the origin of the relics. Some say they came from the ocean, some say they came from the legendary land of light, and some say they came from unexplored islands. No matter what their origins are, it is certain that these things have special powers.
These special powers are varied and there is a price to pay for using them, and the price varies with different powers.
Charles once heard that there was a ring worth 580,000 at an auction in the British Isles. It could make the wearer temporarily invisible, but the price was that the wearer would have unbearable itching all over his body.
"What's so special about this knife?"
Seeing Charles asking questions, John immediately perked up.
"This weapon is very sharp, very sharp, very sharp." He held the long knife and looked at the furniture around him, seeming eager to try it out, as if he wanted to use something to test the knife.
"Thank you, but no, I still think guns are more useful."
Revolvers alone are not enough to deal with those monsters. Charles wants some relics to protect himself, but he doesn't want a useless one.
Although the technology tree of Earthsea is a bit off, some of the big islands have electricity. In a world with guns and cannons, what's the use of a magic weapon? Not to mention a weapon with side effects.
Seeing that Charles was not going to buy it, Old John became anxious, "Captain, it has other special abilities. As long as you hold it, your body's healing ability will be accelerated."
"Two kinds? Then what's the price?" Relics are very strange things. The advantages and disadvantages are not equal. Sometimes, the benefits are only a little bit, but the cost of the side effects can make the owner of the relic live a life worse than death.
"It's not particularly serious. If you hold it for a long time, you'll have the urge to commit suicide. Normally, just don't hold it."
Charles took the black knife and found it unexpectedly light. The knife did not seem to be made of iron, and it felt like plastic in his hand.
After I cut my hand with the tip of a knife, the wound was indeed healing slowly, but not that exaggerated, at most three times the usual length.
"The price is acceptable, and the benefits are not bad. I don't have a ship doctor on my ship, and this thing can make up for this shortcoming to a certain extent."
Charles decided to buy the knife. Sharpening the knife does not delay the work of chopping wood. The money should be spent.
Both parties knew each other well, and finally Charles bought the relic for 160,000 echoes.
(End of this chapter)