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“The sun’s getting colder.”

Titus stood outside the restaurant, leaning against the window near where Talia had her arms out, head resting on them as she yawned.

“Can’t you just say it’s getting dark, like normal people?” Talia murmured almost unintelligibly, her yawn lingering longer than it should, mirroring the stillness of the orange sea stretched before her.

And the sea wasn’t the only thing still; even the ships were frozen in place, with no sign of movement, nor any new vessels appearing on the horizon for hours now. The group took turns observing and checking each of the ships as they docked, and they were sure what they were trying to find hadn’t come up yet.

“When in Rome, do as Romans do, Talia. When in Rome.” Titus crossed his arms, glancing over at her.

“What does that even mean?” Talia groaned.

“It’s an old proverb from the ancient world.” Titus smirked, seemingly proud of himself for some reason.

“...Right.” And that’s when Talia decided to leave him alone, leaning back from the window to look at her companions who were all quietly sitting around the table.

Julian sat quietly, his gaze fixed on the dock—she hadn’t seen him take his eyes off it even once.

They’ve been at the restaurant for almost half a day now, fortunately, most restaurants in Artemia are used to people idling inside their establishments due to adventurers and monster hunters—as long as they spend money inside, they didn’t care what they were doing.

Even if they were sleeping, like Dyrroth, Juliet, and the barkeep they were holding hostage. Well, Juliet and the barkeep were asleep; Dyrroth was back on Earth, busy with something else but still watching through Cyrus’s stream so that he would be able to get into the action as soon as he needed to.

For now, though, Cyrus was quietly chatting with his audience, occasionally moving to get a better angle of Julian doing absolutely nothing.

“I’ve heard that some people like watching others do nothing or even sleep…” Talia sighed, turning around to see Cyrus glued to Julian. “But even the newbie has viewers like that? I thought they’d want more action.”

“...Look at his face, then look at mine.” Cyrus grinned, moving beside Julian and sticking his face close to his. “Who wouldn’t want to watch him?”

“Makes sense. I’d pay not to see your face, Cy. Heh!” A grin crept over Talia’s face as she flipped him the middle finger.

“Shouldn’t you be home drinking milk?” Cyrus shot back, raising his own middle finger.

“Shouldn’t you be dying of old age?” Talia raised another middle finger. “Seriously, you look like a potato baked in beef tallow.”

“Why is that so specific?” Cyrus raised his remaining middle finger. “And you look like the butt of an alpaca.”

“What even is an alpaca!?” Talia shouted, irritated by the sound of his insult.

“It’s an extinct animal!”

“And why do you know what its butt looks like!? You freak!”

As the two bickered, Julian, caught in the middle, couldn’t help but glance back and forth at their raised middle fingers, now nearly touching in front of him. Soon, however, he sighed and leaned back.

“I don’t think there’s any need to argue.” Julian lowered their hands. “From my limited perspective of what beauty is, you’re both… average-looking.”

“That…” Talia’s eye twitched. She didn’t mind exchanging insults with Cyrus, but something about Julian’s blunt, unintentional honesty felt like a blow to the gut.

“...Why do I feel like I just got roasted even though I know it wasn’t?” Cyrus stepped back, clutching his chest dramatically.

“If you kids are done playing around, I need you to come look at this.”

Fortunately for the two, before Julian could say anything more, Titus knocked on the window, motioning for the group to look outside. Finally, another ship appeared on the horizon.

“You think that’s it?” Talia leaned out of the window to watch the distant speck against the dimming wall of the orange sun, the ship casting a large shadow and making it seem larger than it was.

“Is that our target, my dudes!?”

“What the—!?” Talia nearly jumped as Dyrroth’s head appeared suddenly over her shoulder. “Weren’t you just asleep a second ago!?”

“Relax… I had the stream on in the background.” Dyrroth bobbed his head, wiggling his pinkies and thumbs in a mock dance. “I watched everything. Eyy.”

“...Are you actually high right now?” Talia arched an eyebrow.

“Nah, I was in my real body,” Dyrroth sniffed. “You should try it sometime; it’s trippy. Like you’re super stoned, and then when you shift back here, everything’s crystal-clear. It’s the best high without technically being high. My senses are through the roof. It’s like… I can see through you.”

“What the fuck!?” Talia swatted his finger away as it crept dangerously close to her face. She opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, Julian stood up from his seat. And just like that, the group fell silent for some reason, eyes shifting to the approaching ship.

“Could that be the ship we’re waiting for?” Julian murmured.

“If it’s not, then we probably already missed it,” Talia shrugged.

“She’s right.” Titus nodded. “The sun’s setting soon. I’d bet this is the last ship docking today.”

“Okay.” Julian turned, walking over to Juliet and gently shaking her awake. He didn’t need to say much—after all, they’d done this exact routine with each new ship arrival. This time, however, everyone headed out with him.

To say Calydion’s dock was large would be an understatement. Even with its vast size, however, the sheer influx of ships made it look small, almost overwhelmed. There were probably no fewer than a hundred ships moored here, not counting the smaller boats.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Crates, barrels, and cargo were scattered everywhere, it almost made it hard to traverse around it since it almost became a maze across the dock. Fortunately for the group, this also made it easy to slip into the shadows near where the new ship was docking without attracting attention.

The only real challenge was dealing with the noise and the smell. Though the dock wasn’t bustling with people right now since everyone was done unpacking their things, it was still far from quiet.

The waves, though gentle, rocked the ships just enough to create a symphony of creaking wood, strained ropes, and other assorted sounds—a chaotic hum that filled the air. Perhaps a reflection of what the group was feeling right now.

And the smell…

“You alright, my gigadude?” Dyrroth quickly noticed Julian brushing his nose.

“...The smell.” Julian hesitated before answering, unsure if Dyrroth had actually been addressing him. “But I’m fine. I’ll get used to it in a few seconds. And they’re about to bring something out.”

“Okay, here we go.” Talia muttered.

No one really questioned Julian’s words; they all turned their attention back to the ship at his word. Onboard, several workers were now unloading a large crate. At first glance, it didn’t appear special—just another crate among the countless others scattered around the dock. No, in fact, it truly wasn’t anything special.

“...Are we sure it’s them? Nothing about this ship stands out from the millions we’ve surveyed.” Talia whispered, her voice tinged with skepticism.

“Hey, recognize anyone?” Juliet nudged the barkeep, who they now had gagged to keep him from shouting to the crew of the ship just in case. The barkeep, however, seemed tired of all of this, a sigh escaping from the cloth in his mouth as he watched the people unload the crate.

He didn’t react at first and was about to shake his head, but soon, his eyes widened, and he began excitedly pointing at someone. Of course, his hands were quickly swatted down by Juliet as it was going over the crates.

“If you shout, or if I hear your voice go any higher than it should be, I’ll stuff you in one of these crates and throw you into the ocean. You got it?” Juliet whispered, her tone taking on a slight menace as she adjusted the cloth in his mouth.

“Hmn. Hmn.” The barkeep nodded vigorously, then gasped slightly as Juliet finally pulled down the gag.

“Them.” The barkeep pointed at a group of figures draped in robes, their faces obscured by oversized hoods. “I’m not sure if they’re the same people who approached me a year ago, but they’re definitely wearing the same clothes.”

Everyone exchanged glances as the barkeep’s words hung in the air.

“Now, please… I’ve done what you asked. Just let me go, and I’ll—” Before he could finish, Juliet’s fist connected with his chin.

“How do you want to do this, Boss?” Juliet casually asked, as if she hadn’t just knocked someone out cold.

“Let’s… watch them for a while.” Julian didn’t even glance at the barkeep, his attention focused entirely on the group carrying the cargo. “They’re… handling it very gently.”

“I see what you mean.” Talia narrowed her eyes at the crate, her suspicion growing. “What do you think’s inside? Don’t tell me… it’s actually that Orpuk thing?”

“That’s possible.” Titus joined in, his gaze following the crate. “Look at the holes—I am positive they’re for ventilation. I do the same thing when I ship out my champions.”

“Champions…?” Talia raised an eyebrow, clearly not following.

“Yes. My cocks. Champions.”

“Co—You mean chickens? Wait, you mean cock fighting? Isn’t that illegal?”

“Not on Proxima Centauri.” Titus scoffed.

“You—ack. It doesn’t matter.” Talia waved Titus off dismissively. “But if Orpuk really is inside that thing, then—”

“They’re illegally smuggling monsters into the city.” Juliet continued her thought, “I think this is way above a simple quest now, Boss. Should we… inform the guards? But if we do, it might mess up your quest… No, forget what I said.”

“Hey. If it’s the Orpuk, my dudes, why isn’t it making any noise?” Dyrroth stood up, only to be immediately pulled down because of his height. Fortunately, they caught him just in time before one of the people from the ship could notice.

“Alright, chill. Chill.” Dyrroth raised both his palms in surrender as he saw Talia glaring at him. “I’m just saying… do you hear anything from the box, Sword Junkie?”

“I’m… not.” Julian hummed, still watching the group. “What do you think we should do, Talia?”

“Huh? Why me…?” Talia blinked a few times, glancing at Julian. “This is your quest, you should be the one calling the shots.”

“And my call is to listen to you.”

Julian said without hesitation. Talia gasped slightly, her face reddening before she quickly turned her focus back to the cargo.

“Well…” Talia narrowed her eyes, “I was thinking we could intercept them right now, but that might bring more trouble since we don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with yet.”

“What if we take a few of them on and disguise ourselves as them?” Titus suggested.

“No.” Talia immediately shook her head. “I watched the stream of the Newbie’s fight back at the bar. If the ones controlling these dead people are here, they’ll immediately find us out. Worse, they might even set a trap for us by pretending they haven’t noticed us.”

“And what if they go back to the bar and find it empty, my dudes?” Dyrroth asked.

“Probably not.” Talia narrowed her eyes even further. “I initially thought the controlled people might share a hive mind, but considering you’ve killed—I mean, untethered them all—and none of these new ones are reacting… That means they don’t know what happened at the bar.”

“Hm.” Julian stared at Talia for a moment, his gaze lingering. Talia, flustered, felt her face heat up.

“W-what?” Talia gulped nervously, avoiding his gaze.

“Good work, Talia.” Julian smiled at her warmly.

“That… I’m just… You asked for my opinion, I just… gave it.” Talia stammered, her words failing her. She was about to continue when she saw Dyrroth and Cyrus watching her, eyebrows raised, their lips twitching into grins.

“Someone has a little puppy crush on the Sword Junkie.” Cyrus covered his mouth, clearly enjoying the moment. “I wonder who.”

“Ta… ahem…lia.” Dyrroth pretended to cough, his voice dripping with teasing.

“Oh, shut up.” Talia punched Dyrroth in the gut, sending him tumbling to the floor. She quickly turned her attention to Julian, but he was still focused on the group from the ship, who were now carefully placing the crate onto a cart.

“Hm…” Julian murmured, studying them. “How strong do you think they are?”

“That… I wouldn’t know.” Talia sighed, glancing at Julian before turning her gaze back to the ship’s crew. “But Titus?”

“Let me.” Titus crossed his legs, sitting on the ground with his eyes closed. A subtle breeze began to stir around him as he focused.

“He… can tell someone’s level?” Julian’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well, something like that.” Talia shrugged, her voice calm. “His class helps him detect and check people’s mana.”

Everyone watched as Titus’s breathing grew heavier with each passing second. His bald head gleamed faintly under the moonlight, casting a glow that made him look calmer than he already was. And after what felt like an eternity—perhaps actually only half a minute—he finally opened his eyes and whispered,

“It’s the three people our unconscious intel pointed to, they’re the ones who’ll give us trouble. The mana flowing from them is stronger than average. And that small one that looks like it could be a child, I’m certain it's a Mage—and a more powerful one than me.”

“Hm…” The group turned their attention to Julian, waiting for him to decide on the next move. He didn’t take long, his gaze firm and resolute as if the path forward was already clear.

“...They’re making a move. Let’s follow them.”

And without further hesitation, the group began to shadow the small convoy. As they tailed the figures with the cargo, a collective sigh of relief escaped them when it became clear the crate wasn’t headed to the bar.

But their relief was short-lived, vanishing entirely when they realized the cargo’s actual destination.

It was the manor where Julian, Cyrus, and Juliet had been lured just days before.

But, well, it wasn’t exactly the location that made their breaths pause.

It was the crowd that had gathered inside the estate grounds.

“What the fuck…”

Perched on the roof of a nearby house, Julian and the group surveyed the manor, and they could see everything. And what they were seeing made them unable to tear their eyes away from the eerie sight below.

How could they, when almost 200 people were clustered together in the moonlit courtyard, crowded… and completely still?

But most importantly, they were all naked. And perhaps the most second important part, was that even from afar, it was obvious that they were all old people.

“Where… did these people even come from? Are... you sure you still want to continue the quest, Boss?”

"Shit... we're not going to be able to stream this."

"That's seriously what you're worried about here!?"

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