"They're coming," Josh said as he saw the lights growing stronger. He didn't wait and began to climb the cliff.

The permanent dark skies slowly began to get brighter, the lights driving out the never-ending darkness and illuminating everything. It was as if the sun, that Josh had heard so many myths about was coming out from the clouds.

As soon as the vehicle broke through the cloud layer, Josh stopped for a second to take in the sight.

The ship was beautiful, with strong lights shining on both ends. It was entirely made of wood, with a metal band forming a line from side to side on the bottom, but the most impressive thing was the balloon, which supported its weight and looked like a huge cloud.

There were men wearing metal armor on each side of the deck, and on the bow stood an old man, wearing a loose robe. He was plump, with a round face and belly, his hair was cut short and his long beard well maintained. The people on the ship looked like deities to him.

Josh broke out of his daze and kept going up, ignoring the trembling of his hands as best as he could. The people on the ship looked much more intimidating than anything he had ever seen, and he knew he would probably be killed the moment he was discovered.

He was just beneath the platform as the ship stopped, from up close it was even more impressive.

“My lord!”

“My lord!”

Both Shroo’s father and son ran forward to welcome the people on the ship. Josh could hear the excitement in their voices as clear as day, as well as an underlying fear.

“Another time vising this… land.” An old voice said, the disgust was clear in it. “It’s best you have everything ready, I don’t want this exchange to take long.”

“Of course! I wouldn’t make the steemed envoy wait.” Shroo's father said. “Soldiers! Bring the goods!”

Josh was careful while moving his energy and activated Reaper's soul sight. Looking above, he noticed that most soldiers were not close to the deck, most were quite a good distance away, and the only ones close by were those who were carrying the crates onto the ship.

‘They probably want to show respect to the envoy by not having the soldiers nearby… How submissive of them.’ Johan commented.

‘I want them to show me that submission one day, but It’ll be under my boots.’ Josh had not forgotten what he saw that day, he was only biding his time. After some time, he took deep breaths and closed his eyes, he didn’t want to see what was happening. Souls were being carried by the soldiers and being placed inside the ship.

‘Those bastards…’ He noticed no fluctuation from the envoy's soul as the captives were put on the ship. ‘It seems those from upper islands are no better. All scum.’ Since the day his family died he already knew that, but this was just another confirmation.

The ship was fully loaded and the soldiers walked away, the father and son souls began to fluctuate wildly.

‘They’re expecting the card… Maybe the envoy will not give it?’ Josh asked.

‘I doubt… Despite treating the envoy as superior, they clearly have a long history of business. I think the envoy would not spoil it for a rare card.’ Johan chuckled. ‘And I bet the card won’t be the best card, probably an item that can control an element. They would not be giving an elemental card that could fuse with the body.’

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Josh just agreed and kept looking. After a few seconds, the envoy said. “Here’s the card.”

He didn’t leave the ship at all.

‘He really has repulse for this place… At least that’ll be of some use to us.’ Johan said.

The father and son duo got closer to the ship.

“My lord! Thanks for the gift!” The father enthusiastically said.

“Humph! Thank the grace of my benefactors that allowed this card to be given.” His tone took a darker turn. “I really hope this card will help you wield more mushrooms as promised. Otherwise…”

“O-Of course sir!” The old voice was clearly nervous. “It’s the perfect combination with our current deck, It’ll greatly enhance the wields just as promised. I’ll work myself to the bone.”

“I hope it does. If there’s nothing of what you promised, I’ll make sure to work you to the bones myself.” The envoy said.

Even though Josh was not the target of the killing intent, he felt chills down his back as he heard it. The envoy was sure no pushover despite his appearance.

“Of course, of course!” The father said.

Josh noticed the wild fluctuations coming from the son’s soul, he was so afraid that he could not even move, and his soul reflected that.

‘Get ready, I think they’re about to leave.’ Johan noticed Josh was lost in observing the souls and helped him focus.

Josh got closer to the edge of the platform, making sure to make no noise.

‘William really did a great job.’ Josh commented.

William didn’t only make footholds, on the platform where he would have to basically hang upside down, he had made a stone grid, with thick lines that would help him not fall to his death. He had told Josh it would support his weight for some time, but for him to not let go of the handholds he had made.

There was this grid all the way down as well, so he could get back faster without having to worry that much. He deactivated Soul Sight to not put too much pressure on his body and relied on Johan’s guidance to know where the duo was.

He quickly got close to the edge, waiting for his chance to act.

‘It’s in the son's right hand, the father passed it to him.’ Johan pointed out.

Soon, the ship began to move, and the strong light got weaker, the moment it broke through the cloud layer was obvious, as the world once again fell into darkness, even the “day” that he usually experienced seemed lackluster to its brilliance.

‘We have to act quickly. Don’t take too long, just get the card and come back down.’ Johan was anxious, and nervous about what could happen.

‘Yes.’ Josh had a malice in his eyes that even his brother could not see, a small smile appeared on the corner of his lips, despite his nervousness, it was as if he was looking forward to it.

‘They’ve turned around. Now!’ Johan screamed in his mind, and Josh used a pulse of the reaper to get into the platform, his weak body could not do that on his own. Since he had gotten the Ignore Wounds card, he noticed he could use Reaper for longer, as his body was now able to move even though the card was injuring it.

The first thing he saw as he got onto the platform was the backs of two well-dressed men. They wore smooth clothes, much different from those that the common people of Musharv had, the man to his left had white thin hair, and the younger man on his right had dark one.

The soldiers were all turned to the other side, no one was expecting an attack to come from the border of the island.

Josh knew why he was there and what he had to do, it was just that his objectives were a bit different than his brother’s.

Without hesitation, he called upon the reaper’s powers, his body completely shifting and his hands turning into claws, the mist rolled off his body, completely hiding his features and obscuring him.

Instead of going right away for the card at the hand of the younger man, he jumped at the back of the elder, aiming both clawed hands at his neck.

“I hope you enjoy the payback.” He whispered in the Reaper’s distorted voice.