"Can you drink more?"
Arka looked at Balazs before him. His cheeks were flushed and he reeked of alcohol.
His eyes were half-lidded.
"My friend, don't be so naive. Look at me. I grew up on alcohol... so this little bit is nothing to me."
Hearing him stutter even as he spoke, it was clear he wasn't as capable as he claimed.
It seemed the alcohol he grew up with wasn't high in alcohol.
"Okay, another one then," Arka said helplessly, clinking his glass with his.
After all, Balazs wasn't in a good mood right now, and alcohol was the easiest way to let off steam.
At least he wasn't getting drunk, which was good, wasn't it?
As long as he wasn't getting drunk, then he was fine.
"Ah, refreshing!"
Balaz sighed, placing his glass on the table and leaning heavily against the wall.
"I've been in deep trouble this time. It's all thanks to those damned traitors."
"I consider myself a good captain. I've been trading for over a decade, from a small 30-meter-long vessel to a 70-meter-long merchant ship. I've treated my brothers and I well."
"And yet, those guys betrayed me for a mere 382 gold sails. Sigh."
He leaned against the wall and sighed deeply.
Then, through half-lidded eyes, he looked at Alka and asked gravely, "Friend, I know you hold treasures too. There are only so many places available. If they run out, I won't be able to do anything, right?"
Hearing this, Alka's eyes widened slightly and he glanced around warily.
This was clearly not the place for such talk.
Seeing Alka's expression, Balazs smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Relax, my friend. I'm just drunk, not that foolish."
As he spoke, he opened his left palm, revealing a circular pattern on the center.
A faint surge of magical energy emanated.
A disc-shaped object, a white stone disc engraved with dense, regular patterns, emerged.
The patterns could be seen flowing across it like magma, revealing a fiery red hue.
Alka sensed this object the moment it emerged.
This was a treasure.
Then Balazs performed a move that amazed Alka.
He held the treasure and threw it toward the bartender.
"Rochela, take this. Keep it for me."
The muscular, dark-skinned old man opened his single eye, raised his right hand, and caught the treasure.
Then he casually tossed it beside the bar, completely unconcerned.
The patrons drinking nearby merely raised their eyes, seemingly accustomed to it and uninterested.
"See?" He said with a hint of pride. Then, leaning forward slightly, he whispered to Alka, "This isn't an ordinary bar. There's a spell next to every seat that changes the language. Those without a treasure can't get in."
Hearing this, Alka glanced at the table he was holding onto but didn't see anything different.
Thinking carefully, he realized something was amiss.
The conversations coming from the surrounding seats were indeed a bit bland, like normal small talk.
Alka had assumed the people who came to this bar were relatively civilized. Was this the reason? He hadn't even noticed any treasure detection system when he came up. No, the surprising thing was that there was a system that could detect whether someone was carrying treasure.
And just in this tavern alone, there were only a dozen or so people sitting there.
So...
This is incredible, because this place is obviously only visited by people familiar with the island.
The treasures here are truly inundated.
The Endless Sea... is truly something not to be underestimated.
We need to be more low-key.
Alka thought silently.
Then he heard Baraz continue to grumble drunkenly.
"You might not believe this, but when I obtained the treasure, more than half of the quota had already been used. I could only enlighten a dozen people when I got it."
He was extremely dejected at this point.
"Alas, I understand them, but there's nothing I can do. Every Revelation spot is so precious. I've done my best to provide spots for those who have followed me along the way, but there's still a gap."
He poured himself another glass and took a sip.
To be honest, Alka couldn't empathize.
He didn't think the Revelation spots were precious; rather, they were too numerous.
There were six people on the ship who controlled treasures.
Excluding Jason, who possessed a living "treasure," and Lucelia's special treasure,
The remaining four held five treasures, totaling over 600 spots, nearly 700.
None of them had used their treasure spots, and even those who had, the ones holding them, were long dead.
In the Home Sea, the total number of Revelationists was less than 20. He has absolutely no idea how to use so many spots, so how can you expect him to empathize?
‐‐Although he can't empathize, Alka understands.
‐‐The problem isn't the lack of resources, but the inequality of them.
‐‐And the later one is enlightened, the greater the gap, and the more anxious one naturally becomes.
‐‐Balazs seemed to have finished his grumbling, leaning against the wall, drinking his wine.
‐‐Alka suddenly said, "Speaking of which, before we left this time, we encountered an interesting thing."
‐‐"Oh?" Balazs turned, his face curious.
‐‐What interesting things could one encounter on the Broken Isles?
"You weren't here this time, so you didn't know. A pirate group has landed on the island, and they're heading straight for us."
"According to the information we obtained through interrogation, it's said that some valuable items were mixed in with your shipment, unlike in the past. But I don't think that's enough to warrant a major fuss.
Perhaps some of your crew members are leaking information they shouldn't have."
Hearing Alka's words, Baraz frowned.
"As for the pirate group... among the defectors, there's indeed one who's colluding with a group of pirates. Doesn't their captain have a scar running from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth?"
Alka nodded; the captain he'd killed did have that scar.
"The Bone-Throating Pirates, a bunch of cowardly scum with no real skills."
"I'm sorry to have put you in danger because of our problems," Baraz apologized sincerely.
Alka waved his hand, dismissing the idea.
"It's not dangerous, don't worry."
Aside from the leader, Alka, who took a bit of notice, the rest of the pirates were nothing but trash.
At this moment, Balazs suddenly had a thought.
He slowly raised his hand, and a faint light flickered from his pocket ring.
A half-skinned map appeared in his hand.
"Did you get it from him?"
Looking at the map.
Alka hadn't expected the other half to be with Balazs.
What a coincidence.
The other half also appeared in his hand.
Balazs looked at the map with a hint of surprise, smiling, "That's quite interesting."
Then he explained, "The reason the traitor wanted to connect with this pirate group is because the pirate leader took a fancy to this half of the map in my hand."
"I didn't think much of it at first, but it was such a coincidence."
Alka listened, sipping his wine, and tapping his fingers lightly on the human-skin map.
The map was now facing up, with the front covered by Alka on the table.
The atmosphere between the two of them quieted down slightly.
Balas seemed to have sobered up, lost in thought.
"So, friend, are you interested in collaborating?"
He said, pushing the map over.
Alka looked at him and asked directly, "If you don't mind, would you tell me a little about this map?"
As he spoke, Alka turned his own map over and placed it next to the one Balazs had pushed over.
Seeing Alka's sincere gesture, Balazs no longer hid anything and said, "This human skin map was peeled from the body of a pirate leader twenty years ago.
He was quite famous in the Broken Seas surrounding Southern Cross Island, but he was also a scumbag, specializing in robbing merchant ships and immigrants from certain islands. This also made him incredibly wealthy."
"Careful and cruel, to conceal his whereabouts, he often sank entire ships, causing countless deaths."
"After being captured, he refused to reveal where he hid his treasure until his death. What's more concerning is that he was covered in tattoos."
"After his death, two pieces of skin were inexplicably missing from his body, in different locations."
He pointed to the two human skin maps on the table.
It was obvious that although the maps were stitched together, there were distinct differences in the drawings, skin color, and texture.
Clearly, they were not from the same area. "One of the skin maps came with this treasure when I obtained it.
I was quite interested in it at first, but then I really didn't know where the other half of the skin was, so I gave up."
"This treasure might be able to offset my losses and even help my guild advance further."
Baraz looked at Alka, waiting for his answer.
But he felt Alka wouldn't refuse.
After all, they were a treasure hunting group, weren't they?
Alka seemed lost in thought, his fingers tapping lightly on the map.
In fact, he had already known the treasure location on the map through blinking.
There were only a few locations.
The golden beam of light, according to the legend, must be more than just a single treasure.
It must also contain many additional treasures.
And the spot he tapped was precisely this golden spot.
[Bloody Treasure]
[Difficulty: Seeker (Level 3)]
[Popularity: 86,000]
[Treasure Information: Hidden by a scumbag pirate, this is his life's work, but it's also ill-gotten gains, stained with the blood and souls of innocent people.
The treasure is hidden in an unexpected place, a safe place known only to him.]
Since it's golden light, Alka must have gone there.
The problem is that the information he knows isn't enough.
He doesn't even know the pirate's name.
And most importantly, he doesn't know which island the map points to.
Even if the two maps were put together, the map depicting only a single area; not even the outline of an island is known.
The golden spot of light was clearly marked in a very detailed area.
Without the location, it's impossible to discern anything from this map.
As for the unexpected location mentioned on the treasure, it's clearly marked, so what if it's unexpected?
The only thing to worry about is exactly where this island is.
Cooperation is inevitable.
Otherwise, just gathering intelligence would waste a lot of Alka and his team's time. It would be better to work with Balazs, who has been working on Southern Cross Island for over a decade.
"How should the treasure be divided?" Alka suddenly asked.
Alka's words implied his agreement, and Balazs smiled.
Honestly, if he were to search alone, he wouldn't have the ability.
Even if he put the two maps together, he wouldn't be able to make sense of what this thing was.
It's all lines, with no indication of where the treasure is buried.
This map is worse than nothing.
But Alka and his team were treasure hunters, far more professional than himself.
"You're professionals. Do you have any suggestions?"
Alka knocked on the table.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Each side will provide personnel, and the treasure will be distributed according to their contributions. The party with the higher contribution will take first."
Hearing this proposal, Balazs pondered for a moment.
It sounded very fair. Considering the minimum contribution, Balazs's own combat power, plus the fact that he provided half of the map, made his contribution quite substantial.
He believed that he wouldn't play a significant role in the treasure hunt. At most, he could serve as a thug, providing whatever intelligence he could.
He was basically incapable of anything else.
He knew this.
But he was also afraid that there might be treasures among the treasures that he didn't understand. After all, he was just a businessman, not an expert in identification or an archaeologist.
He didn't have a particularly good eye, especially when it came to finding treasures.
As everyone knows, treasures are inherently hidden.
If you don't hold it and inject some magic into it, you wouldn't even know it was a treasure.
He was afraid of making a mistake here.
Some treasures really looked quite unrefined.
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Yes, but both parties must not conceal the fact that they already knew the treasure's value. A divine contract can be signed."
Sure enough, bluffing was impossible.
They were all cunning people.
Alka felt a little regretful. He had used the treasure's borders as a pretext to know it was a treasure.
But it was clear that the others weren't fools either.
He nodded, "No problem."
He still had the confidence to secure the majority of the contribution and then the treasure.
At worst, he could just give him all the remaining wealth.
"Okay, happy working together."
"Happy working together."
The two men clasped hands and smiled.
Then each placed their respective copies of the map into their pocket rings.
"I'll finish my business first. Some of the trouble may take five or six days and nights.
We'll meet here then to discuss the details. I'll also compile the information I know during this time."
Hearing Balazs' words, Alka nodded. "No problem. I'm also quite interested in this island."
After the two finished their conversation, a bell rang outside.
Hearing the bell, Balazs looked out the window and said, "It rings an hour before nightfall, and the same rings when day arrives."
Hearing this, Alka nodded.
This meant there must be some ability or item that could predict the arrival of night and day in advance.
The two men left their seats.
Balazs took the treasure on the bar, and then He said hello to the shopkeeper.
The two of them walked down together.
They parted at the entrance of Baraz's shop.
"We've been drinking for so long! Time flies!" Alka thought silently, observing the people on the street.
He stretched vigorously.
He headed back toward the harbor.
Even though night was approaching, the surroundings remained largely unchanged.
However, several figures wearing helmets and carrying rock-shaking rifles appeared on the street.
They wore brown-gray clothing, the cross symbol on their chests signifying their membership in the local power.
One of them, unarmed, walked along the side of the road carrying a long metal rod.
He reached a streetlight, raised the long metal rod, and inserted it through a hole beneath the lampshade.
A slight surge of magic flowed from his hand into the metal rod.
He lit the streetlight.
A pale flame then ignited within the lampshade, seemingly amplifying the light.
Is that how it's lit?
Alka had thought it would light on its own; it was quite an interesting sight.
After watching for a while, Alka quickened his pace.
When he arrived at the harbor again, the clamor was still there.
However, with the sound of the bell, the number of busy workers at the harbor decreased considerably, and a clamor rose from the tavern at the street entrance.
Food stalls pushed on wooden carts also appeared in the square.
Some hungry workers began to buy the food.
Alka tilted his head to look. The food, resembling bread, looked quite good.
It seemed that food wasn't too difficult to obtain in the Vast Sea.
He hadn't even seen the pale, skinny, starving people on this island.
Yet, the scenery was unusually full of the atmosphere of everyday life.
I couldn't help but slow down my pace.
I watched the laborers toiling, and the housewives carrying lunch boxes.
Taking advantage of the breaks in their labor,
Some laborers squatted nearby to spend a moment with their families.
"Make way, sir."
A man carrying goods called from behind Alka.
Alka immediately moved aside, subconsciously saying, "Excuse me."
His apology surprised the other laborer, but he nodded and quickly walked away.
Soon, the sky was covered by a curtain.
The bright sky immediately darkened.
But the night sky still held many of the twinkling stars and shimmering celestial bodies of the day, making the night seem less dark.