Seeing all the commotion settle down, Harley walked beside a short man wearing the same pirate uniform. This man had never stopped smiling since the first time he noticed him.
The man covered the barrel, humming a lovely tune when Harley came from behind him.
"Hm." The man raised a brow, looking up at Harley's face. Tha man couldn't help but flinch at the sight of the jester's eyes, but he quickly shook it off.
"Those things are scary." Harley shook his head, a terrified expression on his face.
"Yeah, you definitely wouldn't want to get bitten by them! Hahaha." The man kept it short, cocking the barrel before dusting his hands.
"Why didn't we kill them?" Harley asked, wondering about this one question. He had seen a few crossbows back at the jester village, but he had never seen them use it since he came to this ship.
The man seemed surprised, raising a brow as he turned around.
"The ash messes with the essence of the creatures, putting them to sleep. We can't kill them because of that darn leviathan. We would've been eating magical fish." The man shuddered at the mention of the leviathan.
"Don't worry about it. Just know that we are safe because of the ash." The man picked up the barrel that was more than half full and put it on his shoulder, making Harley gulp a mouthful.
"Probably why the captain is keeping you alive. If any blood enters these waters, that thing would find us, and he'll have to use his pet drake, which would cost him a lot of power." The man shook his head, walking into the basement to drop off the barrel.
'That was... Harsh.' Harley chuckled at the man's brutal words but he didn't say anything.
It is what it is.
Harley hung around the deck, helping in whatever way he could until the sun started to recede and skies went dark.
Then, he went to the basement escorted by some pirates. He was thrown in the cage again and locked in.
He sat up, looking at Eman with a frown. The lady knight with long hair was also looking at him.
"What happened? You're not injured." The lady knight spoke first, surprisingly in a neutral tone.
Harley relaxed against the back of the cage, letting out a deep breath before he answered:
"Well, I actually extended my life till we get to wherever we are going. I think they want you guys as prisoners, even if they're to kill you." Harley commented, seeing the captain look down.
They were headed to the Kingdom of Gord, an independent kingdom that joined the war very late, and it had already been taken over by the enemy.
These knights were sent to retrieve artifacts from some ancient place, and they were ambushed on the way. All the artifacts were stolen and are on this ship.
"That mad sorcerer, does he want to make us see our own kingdom fall?" Eman gritted his teeth.
Clank!
Harley flinched, hearing someone punch the bars. He looked to the cage above the female, and the bulky man was there, his face contorted in rage.
Harley could see that he had a short beard that covered most of his face and rather short hair.
"If you guys get out of these cages, can you defeat the pirates?" Harley asked, making Eman turn around to look at him.
Not just Eman, but almost all six people in cages turned to look at him, except the woman.
"Can you make that happen?" Eman asked, his frown deepening.
"They are keeping our artifacts somewhere. If we have access to them, we would win. The drake would be a big problem as it might destroy the ship." The skinny man above Harley spoke. His voice was hoarse, almost like there was sand in his throat.
"It must hurt to talk. When last did you have water to drink?" The man didn't reply this time, still looking at Harley for an answer.
The entire basement was quiet for a few seconds. Harley was quiet, looking at the knights all around him.
Then, he chuckled, nodding his head in amusement.
"Hehehe, alright. Then you all should be ready, then." Harley spoke, immediately laying down to sleep for the first time in two days.
...
"Jin!" Harley called out to the young man standing close to a wooden door ahead of the basement door.
The young man, who was staring at the environment vigilantly, suddenly frowned as he saw Harley, but then the frown turned into a confused look.
"Why is your hair changing color?" Jin asked, looking at the streaks of white on Harley's hair that were becoming more and more rampant.
Harley laughed, walking over to stand on the other side of the door.
"I don't know why the captain makes me guard the weapons. We all know that if he sells them, we all get a share. No one would be stupid enough to try anything." Jin grumbled in frustration.
Harley looked at the white sails that were over ten meters long, imagining a certain creature standing over him.
"You forget the part where he can summon a monster on this ship that can also spit flames."
Jin laughed at Harley's statement, looking towards the captain's cabin below the space where the steering wheel was.
He did know much about ships.
After his conversation with Jin, Harley began to walk around the ship, helping random pirates with unnecessary stuff.
The deck planks creaked under his boots as he stood near the mainmast of the large frigate, roughly 45 meters from the bottom to the top. The ship stretched long and imposing around him—far too vast for a quick glance to capture every detail, which was precisely why he mapped it methodically, all the sections.
Ahead, three masts rose tall, holding the sails, each three meters away from the other. The sides of the ship were over ten meters apart, making this structure a large one.
"This thing is really big," Harley mumbled, staring at the masts from top to bottom.
Afterward, the deck ascended in two broad steps to the quarterdeck, where the captain sailed from. The great double wheel dominated the space, the binnacle forward of it with a brass hood catching stray light.
Swivel guns perched on the rails, their barrels trained inward because they were avoiding killing anything so that's understandable. There was a door below the quarterdeck, the room that belonged to the captain.
Harley made his way behind the back room that Jin was posted at. There was a bit of space there for a person to come and observe. Above the room, there was a rope holding a big telescope, which surprised him.
'I thought I was in some kind of backwards Earth.' He shook his head.
Here, the rails were short enough for a person to trip over, so he nodded and went back inside the basement.
Later that afternoon, there was another horde of razor fishes or whatever they were called. The crew was very busy handling it, while Harley stood back and did nothing... well, because he was weak.
In a corner, Harley looked at his hand, and then he focused hard on his ability. His hand suddenly seemed like it glitched and vanished.
'Not that useful, but still alright.' He smiled, making his hand appear back.
He felt a little drained from doing it, but soon he got used to it as he did it over and over again. His invisibility skill...
Nighttime came.
This time, the crew let Harley hang around the deck while they went around drinking as much grime and beer as they could.
He then went into the basement, shutting it behind him.
"Well, that one definitely enjoys sleeping in a cell." One of the pirates giggled.
"Well, it's going to die, ain't it? Might as well prepare itself."
"Dang, I know you don't see jesters as real people, but they're still humans. Calling him 'it' isn't alright." Jin spoke up, drinking a cup of water.
"Who's this party pooper?" The pirate mumbled, shutting up as Jin frowned at him deeply.
Behind the ship, Harley appeared out of nowhere, seemingly phasing into existence. He stayed quiet, looking at both corners to make sure no pirate was coming yet.
He raised his palm, imagining a weapon. The next moment, a dark transparent aura left his palm, coalescing into an item.
It formed a dagger with serrated sides.
Harley smirked as he saw the weapon, clenching it in his hand. And then he waited.
Looking up at the sky, Harley wondered when was the last time he saw stars. The sky was beautiful, having so many white clouds moving despite it being nighttime.
Being alone, Harley couldn't help but think about how messy both his lives had been. He didn't remember much about his old world by now, but he remembered a few things.
And the few things that he remembered were bad things. But above all, the mission that he was going to complete this night would mark his first step to freedom.
He looked down into the waters, and he saw a massive circle balloon filled with air. He dragged it up to him, and then he cut the rope.
Then he set a trap.
Soon, the sound of boots clamping on the wooden deck kept getting closer.
Harley sighed, vanishing from where he was in an instant. An elderly man with brown hair came around, holding a lantern. He looked into the horizon, observing for any movements.
He stepped into a circle made with a rope...
All of a sudden, a skinny hand covered his mouth, and before he could retaliate, he felt a sharp pain from his neck that shook his brain. The ropes tightened as if someone pulled them, and the man tumbled overboard.
Harley appeared right where the man stood, his eyes cold. Just like that, he had killed a person.
It was a new experience for him. Ever since he had that conversation with the knights, he was ready to commit murder if it meant that he would win.
[You have slain a Scheme 2 pirate.]
[You have acquired a story fragment.]
Harley frowned, hearing the melodious voice of the Oracle once more.
'It has been a while since I heard this... strange voice in my head.' Harley smiled, but then he paused, remembering what the voice said.
'Story fragments.'
He had heard of these before. Wardens go into mental warfare and conquer stories from fragments to grow stronger.
Harley didn't know any other way that wardens used to grow stronger, but he knew of this one way.
Before he could compile his thoughts, the sounds of the Oracle reached his ears again.
[You have acquired an attribute: Cold Blood!]
'Ugh, I thought it was about to say artifact. A real sword would be nice.' Harley looked at the dagger that looked see-through, and he dismissed it, making it turn back to smoke and sink deep into his palm.
Liquid shadow was proving it's usefulness though.
With a thought, a piece of brownish, ancient-looking paper appeared in front of him, displaying his world record.
—–— World Record –——
Name: Harleyquin
World of origin: World 09 - Earth (Collapsed)
Current world: World 02
Race:
Essence Rank: 1st Echelon, Scheme 1
Artifacts: The Wish Locket
Fate Flags: 0
——– Story Profile –——
Information Hidden
Story Fragments: 2
Subjugated Fragments: 0
Unfinished Subjugation: 0
——– Attributes –——
Cold Blood
——– Abilities –——
Unwritten Presence, Borrowed Tongue, Omniscient Perspective.
———~~~~~~———
At this point, Harley frowned, remembering one of the verses of the Wish Locket that specified about story fragments. A rather surprising one too.
His eyes scanned the paper for the section.
———
Verse 2 [Heroic]: Kneel, and be remembered
Echo: Subjugation
Effect: All absorbed story fragments are instantly subjugated and transformed into essence.
———
Letting out a sigh, Harley took a step, gazing down at the man who dangled on the rope, bleeding into the waters.
Pulling out the Wish Locket from an inner pocket of the trousers he wore, he looked down again.
"Kneel, and be remembered." He spoke the verse.
In an instant, he felt a flood of power surge into him, making him feel refreshed all over.
He felt stronger than a while ago, which was a good feeling. He stood up, looking at his hands.
They phased and vanished.
'Hm, that feeling of drainage is slower now.' He mumbled, looking at the distant ocean.
Then a smile bloomed on his face.