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Chapter 23: Dawn Tide Breaker (2)
A gust of wind from William's finger blew the water off me. I quickly straightened my tangled hair and followed him.
“Hercu, how did you know about the mer-bead? Did someone tell you?” William asked.
We wandered around the camp. The oddly flat stone ground, combined with the sharp mountains, reminded me of a tree trunk that had only been halfway chopped, and the rest tore apart under the tree’s weight as it lost balance and fell.
“Until a few minutes ago, I thought Dragons were just a myth. So, no.”
“Interesting . . . oh, and that wasn’t a Dragon, just a mere Drake, fully grown but nothing too special. Against a Dragon . . . even I would struggle,” he said nonchalantly.
“Struggle? This man? How much higher can the power ceiling be? Does a limit even exist?”
The people around stopped their training duels and eyed me warily. Even though they didn’t look much different from other crews, they all seemed to have strength similar to Lush, some even to Miru and Nita.
Many had small tattoos and showed the typical signs of Jade Mint overuse.
“Did you perhaps sense—or feel the mer-bead?” William asked.
His stern look embodied authority. Everyone we passed bowed like a weight pressing down on their backs.
It budged me that he asked so carefully instead of directly. For some reason, he tested how far he could go. But why?
“Well, yeah, I did. You know, my arm can also sense Jade Mint when it’s starving.”
He looked down at me and crooked a brow. He was at least two heads taller than me.
“What else?”
“That’s it. When I tried to use the arm for some witchery, it got out of hand—control.”
“Witchery?” He chuckled, but his face remained the same stern expression.
“Is he lacking facial muscles or what? This is getting kind of creepy.”
William nodded to a pair of bowing men in reinforced armor. “Is that why you desire to learn from me?”
“Oh, I haven’t really thought about that so much. But when I saw you fight, if you could even call it that, and considering the dangers we would have to face . . . I’m not so strong.” I looked at him. “But I need strength to survive Under The Dawn Sea!”
“I see . . .” He fiddled with something in his pocket.
“How about we make a new . . .”
Fast steps raced above us. A figure leaped from one of the huts and drew a sword.
My eyes darted to William, but against all odds, he seemed to miss the ambush and casually walked without a care in the world.
“No. He wouldn’t not notice . . .”
The figure fell to us, preparing a wide swing with his long sword.
“Time to test you.” I jumped and drew my cutlass with my metal hand, pumping Jade Mint from the cartridges into the engine. Our blades clashed, the force of the blades colliding pushing me down.
I grinned. “You wish.”
I landed on William’s shoulder, which didn’t even budge despite the weight. Thanks to that, I could press against the force. Green steam screeched out of the engine, and my knees threatened to give in, but I held strong.
The attacker, a boy my age, frowned as he pushed harder.
I titled my cutlass, and his blade slid along and down. I pivoted on William’s shoulder and followed with a kick à la Nita at the boy’s side, sending him diagonally down. He missed William, and instead, his sword carved the stone ground.
I squatted on William’s shoulder with a smirk on my face. “Yo!”
William sighed. “May I introduce my son, Wyn?” He gestured to him.
“Huh?!”
Wyn dusted himself off as he stood up. He wore unfamiliar clothes: a loose green jacket tied together by a red cord around his waist and wide green pants. His black steel boots reached his protected knees, and his gauntlets up to his elbows.
He sheathed his long silvery blade back in its ornamented scabbard. The sharp edge was a light red.
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“So he had struck with the blunt side.”
Wyn spat insults and hit his palm with a fist. It clanked clearly, with no rattling whatsoever.
“Those . . . aren’t just gauntlets. They are prosthetics. Don’t tell me the legs too? It’s hard to tell. The casing is extraordinarily well-made. Damn, I wished I had stuff like this.”
Wyn pointed at William. “I’ll hit you next time, old man! Even if I have to sneak in while you sleep!”
William raised his eyebrow higher than with me, and his lips curved slightly upward.
“You have the right spirit, but you should still focus on your recovery.”
Wyn scoffed.
I looked him over. “Four prostheses? Recover? What in the world happened to this guy?” His green hair parted in the middle and got longer in the back. It looked similar to Nita’s green hair stains. Dozens of questions boiled inside me.
“And who are you?” he hissed and pointed at me.
I spun my cutlass and also sheathed it back. “Hercu.” I grinned.
He wrinkled his nose and turned to walk away with his clanking metal feet. “Next time!” His index finger shot up.
I turned to William, who continued to stroll ahead. “Anyway, where were we?”
“Don’t question it. Don’t question it. Don’t—”
“Right. The deal.” William looked over his shoulder to check if I followed, so I caught up again.
“What do you say to this: I make you my personal disciple, and in return, you help me to track down mer-beads with your arm.”
I stopped myself from agreeing instantly. The offer sounded good, but would a person like him really make a deal that benefits someone he could step on with his little toe? I doubt it. From what the others told me, mer-beads should have way more worth. However, I would need a stronger teacher if I wanted to get stronger quicker, and he needed someone to detect mer-beads.
“What could be the catch . . . one way or another, he seems like he really wants the power of my arm, and there’s no way I sell it below value.”
“I have another condition.”
“I am all ears,” he said curtly.
“Resources—Jade Mint, of course. But I also need better parts for my prosthetic arm—”
“Help yourself. I can provide you with everything you could dream of.”
“Shoot, that was way too easy! Huh, if not material things, then how about this.”
“I would also like some information.”
“Ask away.”
I stifled a grunt. “Have you ever heard of Alvar Hays—”
William abruptly stopped in his tracks. “How do you know this name?” The tone of his voice had shifted way darker.
I cleared my throat. “A worker from the factory we robbed . . . mentioned it.”
His shoulders relaxed. “I see.” He got going again. “Don’t worry about it, Hercu. This name holds no significance.”
“Sure . . .”
Even though I was excited to ask him more about it, I feared he might get angry. He also might find it suspicious when I show too much interest in the name.
“For now, I better not mention that I am his daughter.”
“Okay, and when do we start training?”
He pulled out a golden pocket watch that connected to his pants.
“I'm sorry, but I don't have much time for this now. There are still preparations to be made for the dive. Here's what we'll do, I'll have my son teach you the basics. It doesn't matter if you learn them from him or me. All he knows originates from me, so don't worry. And when we get back from our trip down there, and we have more time, I'm all yours. What do you say?”
“Damn it! I knew there was a catch. He wants to see the mer-beads before he shows me anything of importance, huh?”
I saved my questions and accepted. William then sent me to one of the warehouse huts, where I was allowed to choose things from. And boy, did I choose things.
On my way out, with my hands stacked with various black steel items, different Jade Mints, and new clothes—or, respectively, armor, I wandered around and explored the rest of the camp.
Cylinder containers out of black steel, big enough to fit a small group of people, caught my eye the most. A lot of them seemed like discarded failures, but some looked finished. I walked up to one of them and examined the sheer greatness.
Not only was it black steel, but it was thick. To forge and shape something of this scale would even be a challenge for the best blacksmiths. There was also a kind of door or maybe a hatch. Even on the closest inspection, I couldn’t see the tinniest gap.
“The top forms a handle with two gears and a reel. It’s like my grappling hook . . .”
“Not bad, huh?” A middle-aged woman leaned against the metal and clanked a wrench against it.
“Oh. Yeah, it’s great.” My laugh came out a little dry. I felt like she caught me peeping.
“It better is.” She repeatedly threw her wrench up. “It took enough time and nerves.”
“I can imagine.” I nodded to the failures.
“Oh yes, and that's nothing, I tell you.” She sighed.
I tried a consulting smile.
“But none of your concern.” She laughed and approached me.
“I’m the chef engineer, Nelly the name.” She closed her eyes while she smiled and offered me a hand.
I looked at her hand. Then at my stacked-with-stuff hands.
I looked back at her. She patiently waited for me to take hers, eyes still closed.
Carefully, I handed her my foot. And she shook it.
I was at a loss for words.
Her lips pursed together, and she broke out in laughter. “I was just kidding, Hercu.”
“Oh man, and I thought everyone here is a weirdo—” I cleared my throat. “I mean . . . unique, eh. Special . . .”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry! You’re right. With our project, you have to have a few loose screws.”
“I guess so.” I forced a laugh.
“Nah, nah. Relax, it’s all good.” She scanned the stuff I carried. “Specific plans?”
I followed her eyes. Only one of her eyes had a green shade to it. The other remained brown. And only the same side of her hair in the messy bun had green stains.
“Sort of.”
“Need a helping hand? I finished my tasks and have quite the cute little workshop.”
“Oh, ye sure.” I beamed. I wouldn’t miss such a chance.
“Nice! As cool as the elevator is, it’s kind of boring after working so long on it.”
“What’s an elevator?”