To read up to 15 chapters ahead: https://www.patréon.com/SlyOW
I've also added the link to the bio.
Shoutout to Reallynotloki, Lycha, M and Neoseedman1 for becoming this story's first patrons!
Also, thanks for pushing this story to the top 54 last week, let's aim for the top 20 this week! For the free chapters! (insert pirates screaming here)
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As the last notifications disappeared, Eden found himself within a busy city. The roads were not paved, but rather muddy, and a suffocating, bad smell lingered around the city.
Pirates of the Caribbean took place in the early 1700s, and although some missions could be set before or after the main events of the respective world, in this case, the movies, it would never be too far in the past.
In this age, most people fought with swords and flintlocks. Hot weapons were becoming more common, but many still fought using cold weapons. Moreover, most should be within the realm of ordinary men.
This world also held a certain element of mysticism, which he would have to watch out for, but it should still be a rather easy mission world. As for his mission, it looked easy as well, which was to be expected since this was Eden's first real mission world.
Although missions would be adjusted to their players, and Eden was stronger than the average newbie, or even the average Nightmare out of their tutorial, he was still considered a beginner.
Moreover, Eden had a feeling that this mission would have a follow-up objective.
Walking through the streets of the small city, Eden drew some gazes to him, many believing him to be a noble. First off, he was clean. His teeth were white, his hair was smooth and well-kept, which was usually only seen in wigs, and his skin had no dirt on it.
Of course, there was also the clothing. Unaware of what kind of world he would be sent to, Eden had gone for something neutral and practical. He wore a long, dark grey coat, dark brown trousers, and a white shirt. They did not exactly correspond to the time period, but it was not so outlandish that Eden would be chased around with pitchforks either.
Some ruffians looked at him in an unfriendly manner, but the machete strapped to his hip was enough to deter most. While not as noble as the longsword, it certainly could chop up a man just the same. And for those that might not scare, the patrolling teams of guards killed any recklessness in them.
Eden could feel the stares, but he paid them no mind as he listened to some of the conversations around with his enhanced senses, quickly grasping the current situation and deciding his destination.
Eden entered a bar called the Garland. Going in, Eden realized he had not been the first to come here. Some players had somehow already disguised themselves to look like the natives, but some had faulty disguises, mostly by looking too clean. There were also others who did not bother camouflaging themselves as natives.
But as Eden looked around the bar, looking for his target, his danger sense flared up as the world slowed down.
Had Eden's attributes not increased since his time in Friday the 13th, even with time slowed down, he would not have managed to dodge the attack, but unfortunately for the attacker, he had.
Tilting his body forward, Eden dodged the bullet that had been fired at him. He turned to look at the shooter.
Eden's perception of time returned to normal, and everyone in the bar turned to look at the shooter as well, turning completely silent. It was a young man, around 18, or maybe even younger.
His hand holding the gun was trembling, and his eyes shot wide open. He looked at Eden in utter fear and panic as he stuttered, "I-I didn't mean to-"
Eden had no mercy as he rapidly unsheathed his machete and slashed down at the teen. Seeing the complete lack of hesitation in Eden's attack, the previously shivering teen instantly became serious, his face turning cold as he jumped to the side to dodge the machete.
But by being so focused on the machete coming down from above, the teen missed the kick coming from the side. Eden kicked him hard in the ribs, sending him flying into a nearby table.
The men sitting around it were forced to jump back to dodge the teen, who crashed into the table and looked quite angry. A look at Eden and his machete was enough to calm them down and make them retreat, however.
As for the teen, after crashing into the table, he held his side in pain, but he had managed to keep hold of his gun, knowing it was his only way to survive. Had Eden not thrown in his faint, thus splitting the strength behind his kick, the teen would have been in an even worse condition.
After all, Eden's Strength with his machete equipped was a whopping ten.
Ignoring the pain wracking his side, the teen raised his gun toward Eden, only to find a chair flying his way. He jumped out of the way just in time to dodge it, but as he landed on the ground, he found Eden already right next to him.
This time, there was no dodging as Eden cleanly cut off his hand holding the gun.
Despite his usual composure, he was unable to contain the pain this time as he wailed in pain, only for Eden to strongly kick him in the face. Several teeth came loose as he tasted iron, which was closely followed by a foot pressing down on his throat, choking out any noises he could make.
Gradually increasing the pressure on his foot, Eden looked around the room with a wild look in his eyes, speaking loudly, "Is this all Shadows has to send at me? Come out, or he dies!"
Eden had no idea whether this was an assassin from Shadows or just a regular player interested in his bounty. He doubted it, since Shadows was one of the largest guilds in Dreamland, one that stood on equal grounds with the Divine Beast Palace of Lady Phoenix or the Holy Order.
But if Eden did not know, then there were no reasons for the others in the bar to know either. And if he could have people believe he so easily dispatched a member from Shadows, then it ought to scare off some.
There was a pin drop silence in the bar, before someone suddenly laughed out loud. Eden glanced in that direction and was not met with the sight of a player, but what looked like a pirate instead. He used Analysis on him.
[Name: Hector Barbossa]
[Title: Pirate Captain]
[HP: ?/?]
[MP: 0/0]
[Strength: ?]
[Agility: ?]
[Physique: ?]
[Intelligence: Locked]
[Wisdom: Locked]
Eden's eyes lingered on the results of the Analysis, keeping his surprise to himself. What were the odds he would find one of the most important characters within the Pirates of the Caribbean universe in this bar?
Whatever timeline of events this mission followed, Eden was now sure it would heavily involve Barbossa.
Mission aside, Barbossa's stats were surprising as well. Analysis' efficiency depended on the difference between the two sides' attributes.
Eden did not know how much higher than his own stats he could see, but back in Dreamland, the few times he had used Analysis on other players, the highest physical attribute he had managed to see was 15 Physique.
If the mechanic worked the same for Players and NPCs, then Barbossa's Physique was at least above 15.
Although Barbossa was an important character, and thus was probably in the upper tier of strength in this world, Eden also knew for certain that quite a few were stronger than him.
Besides, by the looks of it, Barbossa had not yet been cursed by the Aztec Coins, so he only ought to grow stronger in the future, meaning the common man in this mission world might be stronger than he originally believed.
Seeing Eden look over, Barbossa raised his mug and offered, "Can I offer you a drink?"
Though the offer was unexpected, Eden was not about to pass on it. Looking down, Eden saw the emotions in the teen's eyes. Eden had not lifted his foot, and he was slowly suffocating.
There was something quite unique in seeing someone realizing they were about to die, an emotion that could not be quite seen anywhere else. A special mix of resignation, fear, reluctance, and begging.
Eden coldly brought down his machete all the same, slashing halfway through his skull, ending the teen's life instantly.
[You have killed player 'Kure'. Player Cache sent to your Inventory.]
Curiously, the gun Kure had dropped, as well as the things he wore, did not disappear. So, Eden picked up the gun, putting it in his inventory. He also noticed a new addition to his Inventory, Kure's Player Cache. It supposedly held everything he had in his Inventory at his time of death.
Whenever a Player was killed, everything that was in their Inventory would be sent to their killer. Everything that was outside of it would have to be picked up manually.
Although curious about what Kure could have dropped, Eden left that aside for now as he cleaned his machete and sheathed it, before sitting next to Barbossa.
A drink was slid over to Eden, and Barbossa asked curiously, "So, what is a Monster Hunter doing around these parts?"
Eden carefully looked at Barbossa, his words having taken him by surprise. His title's description had only said that he would earn reputation more easily with factions, enemies with monsters, not that they would know of his title directly.
But that was good news, and increased the value of titles in Eden's eyes. There was a big difference between arriving in a world as a stranger and doing so with an already established reputation, no matter how minor.
Moreover, Eden's Title had evolved to Monster Hunter II, so this reputation might not be so minor.
Since Barbossa had not yet been cursed by the Aztec Coins, and thus was not yet a 'monster', that explained his forward attitude.
With this in mind, Eden decided to be direct as well, "I'm looking for a crew."
Barbossa grinned, displaying his rotting teeth as he exclaimed mirthfully, "Well, it must be your lucky day then, as I happen to be recruiting!"
His smile contained a certain charm, despite the terrible hygiene of the man, as he introduced himself, slightly tipping his hat, "Hector Barbossa, Captain of the Cobra."
Eden smiled back, cleaning the blood of his machete and sheathing it, "Ozymandias, Monster Hunter. When do we set sail, Captain?"
Barbossa laughed raucously, replying, "Tomorrow, at dawn.
We'll meet in the port."
[Main Mission (Enrolment) Completed!]
[Mission Content: Who doesn't love some drama? Join either a Pirate Crew or the Navy. If you do not succeed in joining either, you will be hunted by both.]
[Main Mission II (Famous Pirate): Now that you have joined a pirate crew, it is time for you to make a reputation for yourself. The better your performance as a pirate, the better the rewards. Time Limit: 7 days.]
Despite what one may think, Eden had learned that there were no punishments for failing one's main mission. The only direct consequence would be that all side objectives would be voided, but there would be no direct termination or loss of points.
It was still something that was generally avoided, as it meant fewer rewards, fewer Dream Points, and thus stagnation. And since missions would ramp up in difficulty not only with the Players' power, but also the number of mission worlds they had been to, this could quickly snowball into sending the players into worlds above their level, and getting them killed.
Now, Eden had slightly less than a day before their departure, but considering his tutorial had only taken a few hours, Eden knew better than to simply wait for the next day.
Before anything, he needed information about the place, so he gestured towards Kure's corpse and asked, "How come the guards haven't appeared yet?"
It was obvious at first glance that this was a special island, as pirates were able to stay, but there was no absolute chaos like one would find in Tortuga. Pirates and order were not supposed to co-exist, yet they did here.
Barbossa looked at the dead player, who was getting dragged to the back of the bar by the owner, and said, "Him? No one will come. I suppose this is your first time on Munro Island?"
Eden decided not to answer, simply staring at Barbossa, which made him grin as he briefly explained, "Pirates are granted free access to the island, and are even free to do anything they want to each other, as long as it doesn't affect civilians. They are off limits, or the local forces will get involved. And trust me, you'd rather have the navy catch you than have that happen."
Remembering the groups of soldiers he had seen, which were not part of the navy, Eden mused, "That's surprising. How did the crown come to ever agree to this kind of agreement?"
Whether this territory belonged to the English, the French, or the Spanish, Eden doubted they would so easily agree to having one of their territory turn into a den of pirates, be there order or not.
Barbossa did not seem to know either, "Who knows. Rumors are that the lord of the island secured an agreement, but no one really knows."
Eden nodded and downed his mug in one go, which he quickly regretted as he tasted the piss poor alcohol. Still, he did not let it appear as he got to his feet and said, "I still have a few things to settle before leaving. Tomorrow on the port, at dawn, right?"
Barbossa nodded slowly and watched as Eden walked away, before returning to his mug.
Seeing how easy Eden's conversation with Barbossa had gone, the moment he left the bar, another player approached Barbossa, a cup in hand, and asked cheerfully, "Hey, I heard you were recruiting?"
All that got him was a pistol pointed at his forehead, Barbossa's smile turning cunning as he spat out, "Piss off before I tie you to Cobra's keel."
The player was stunned, but seeing the gun pointed at his face, he quickly ran away, making the pirates in the bar laugh.
Once the player was gone, one of the two men sitting with him, a short, pudgy pirate with rough facial hair, asked, "Captain, why were you so polite to that guy?"
Barbossa rolled his eyes at the question, as if it was the dumbest thing he had heard that day, and groaned, "I swear, Pintel, if it wasn't for your loyalty, I'd have already shot you dead."
Pintel showed an ugly smile and stepped back, leaving his Captain to drink silently, before elbowing his friend Ragetti. The thin pirate whispered an explanation, "That was a Monster Hunter, and not just any one of them, but Sir Ozymandias!"
Pintel was still confused as he asked, "Ozymandias? Monster Hunter? Is he some kind of weirdo?"
Ragetti hurriedly covered his friend's mouth, looking around for anyone who might have overheard, before saying, "Are you mad? Do you want to die?"
Pintel ripped his friend's hands from his face, spitting down the grime that had gotten in his mouth, before asking, "What's making you so scared?"
Barbossa, who could very well hear the conversation between his two crewmates, hinted, "What do you think a Monster Hunter does exactly, Mr Pintel?"
Despite the seemingly simple answer, Pintel replied cautiously, afraid he was being trapped, "Hunt monsters?"
He smiled stupidly as Barbossa nodded, before the Captain added, "And if a sea monster were to attack our ship, what would we do?"
Pintel guessed, "Fight to the death?"
Barbossa hit Pintel in the head and berated, "We would sink, sailor! We would sink to the bottom of the sea like the rotten scum we are. Monster Hunters are people who specialize in fighting against Eldritch Creatures."
"Eatish Creatures?"
A little annoyed, Barbossa corrected, "Eldritch. Mystical. Magical. Demonic. Call it whatever you want. As long as it has anything to do with the supernatural or dark magic, that man is an expert in it. Even a regular Monster Hunter is a formidable ally to have, not to mention a renowned one like Mr. Ozymandias. To earn his kind of reputation, he must have hunted monsters you would not even dare dream of."
Pintel was finally scared as his eyes widened and he asked, "He isn't going to hold a grudge and curse me… right?"
There was a moment of silence between the three as Barbossa did not bother replying, and Ragetti took a moment to hesitantly gesture toward the back of the bar, muttering, "I think you would have already joined that guy behind the bar already if he did."