Hilt's Revelations
[Name: Connie
Age: 21
Spirit Vein: Purple (Upgrade Requirement: 500,000)
Cultivation: Spiritual Enhancer— 7 (Upgrade Requirement: 58,000)
Technique: Wooden Rumble (Earth-Rare)(Special Traits: Wooden Saviour—2, Bark of Youth— 2)(Upgrade Requirement: 20000)
]
Connie, Kilth, and Hilt practiced the same technique and none delved into body cultivation. While Hilt was too high on the ladder of strength, and Kilth was still a peak Spiritual Dweller at such a young stage, only Connie proved to be a match but only on the surface. In reality, Trilok could also see the skills this youth practiced, and by now, he knew the difference.
Kol and Vayu had memorized some skills, too, but they still didn't show on their information screen while Trilok could see his naturally and upgrade the information. This led him to believe that for a third party, the information of a skill will only reveal when they have mastered the skill to some extent.
"This place looks like a cleaner dump," Kilth mumbled from behind before a hand smacked the top of her head, "Be more respectful. Master is the only one who tolerates your shenanigans, not me!"
"Ow, how dare you lay your hand on me! On my head no less! Did you pay thousands of coins on my hairstyle?!"
"I did! And I'll turn you bald if I heard another nonsense out of your hole!" Connie hissed, no longer able to keep the same elegant demeanor and fully triggered by now.
"I don't think we need to actually protect them from trouble," Noland whispered, "The two seem able enough."
"I'm just in for the coin," Trilok shrugged. Any 'living' coin is more than welcomed at this point.
"It's not like we are afraid of troubles. In fact, Master brought us specifically hoping that we would kick a harder board," Connie overhead his guides and smiled. A flash of surprise passed through Noland's expression before he smiled, "Then you should meet Jenc. He'll be a tough board for you to knock on. Just make fun of his eyepatch and insult his late Father."
"Who would do something so insulting?" Kilth frowned.
Noland's smile turned brilliant as he looked towards Trilok. His entire body language seemed to scream— This guy!
"Amazing..." Connie looked at Trilok appreciatively, "This is the kind of troubles we expect ourselves to be in."
Trilok only frowned, he wished to give credit to his extremely beatable younger brother but seeing that Connie's expression contained a trace of sincerity, he just accepted the strange praise.
"We had decided to train ourselves this month. And since Chief thinks we lack in a few areas, it might be better to compare ourselves to you," Noland looked at Connie, "What is your profession?"
"Architecture does not fall under the spiritual professions so to assist in my designing skills, I follow Master and learn the art of inscription from him," Connie replied as his figure attracted attention from many men and women around the four. The community ship, in essence, was a transportation vehicle and a location itself. A moving village of sorts. So, the area to cover was definitely large.
"And you, Kilth, was it?" Trilok inquired.
"Well... all four of them," She smiled.
"What?" Noland and Trilok frowned.
*Thuck*
A chop to the head made Kilth groan as she gazed at Connie with aggression.
"She hasn't chosen any stream yet. Usually, in the Ark, the younger generation is encouraged to pick the more mundane profession, such as Architecture, and support a spirit profession using the additional knowledge. Kilth has just reached the peak of Spiritual Dweller and will decide now."
"She's already at the peak?!" Noland exclaimed while Kilth's lips curved into a prideful smirk.
'That's right! Most of my friends are similar to me but here... hehe, praise me! Revere me!' Kilth could barely contain her excitement while Trilok revealed a slightly surprised expression, too. However, given the resources present in the Ark, or at least, imagined to be held by the Ark, it wasn't strange that it only requires a year to reach the peak of the first stage.
Not to mention the fact that the qualities of their spirit must be amazing, too. Unlike his own white spirit and Noland's green.
"It's nothing much," Connie took the humble approach, "In truth, everyone who is officially a member of the Ark is given a stipend until they hit the peak of the spirit dweller realm. The stipend itself comes in the form of cultivation resources but from the enhancement realm, we all are on our own. Even master only teaches us skills and his professional knowledge, but does not share his resources.
And while everybody thinks that Ark is a paradise, in reality, it's not like that. Every gain is backed with skill and every improvement in skill is caused by tough competition..." Connie's gaze flickered as he looked around with a hearty smile.
"But... I don't hate that kind of environment. Those with ability and talent can shine without any attachment holding us back."
"Sounds chill," Noland mumbled.
'No, it isn't,' Trilok groaned inwardly but he had to admit that competition itself is the cause of improvement whether directly or indirectly.
"Anyway, the first order at hand is to... rest!' Kilth exclaimed, a little unwilling that her dad's disciple stole her thunder once again but she wished to break into this new ship the right way and that's by taking a nap first.
"I don't want to follow this guy," She pointed at Trilok, "No self-respecting man should ever wear shorts with so much hair on his legs!"
Connie frowned, "Be civil."
"It's quite alright. You'll get used to this eventually," Trilok smiled, "After all, Noland and I live next to each other."
---
Roa, Rehia, Jakel, Cassindra, and Naheng stood on the opposite side of the steering orb while Jolly and Hilt stood closer to the inner portion of the unfurnished office.
"So... you want a clear understanding of the situation about the so-called pirates?" Hilt looked at those standing in front of him while Jolly gazed towards his empty community with an idle expression.
"It's not an interrogation, Sir," Cassindra spoke up. Out of the eight important men and women previously, only these five were currently present, indicating to their power and influence in the ship.
"But, there have been strange hints about the pirates," Roa added as Hilt frowned.
"You didn't even tell your own kid?" Hilt looked towards Jolly.
"Not like it would affect him. Or Jeli for that matter," Jolly shrugged as Hilt pursed his lips.
Gazing at the four men and single woman, Hilt sighed and grumbled.
"Would have been mighty grateful if you'd furnish your own office."
"It's the Ark's job to keep their property well-furnished. Or, they can send me the funds and I'll take care of it," Jolly turned and smiled.
"Whatever," Hilt rolled his eyes and explained.
"Objectively, Jolly here, is capable of handling the pirates on their own and due to circumstances, also isn't capable enough to take care of them. The Silent, Cheerful, and Roaring communities are the three most well-developed and strongest. Your community, the Silent, only entered the top rank because of Jolly and not the old chief. So, his strength is extremely clear.
As to why he truly isn't capable of handling the leader of the Pirates is... it points to a shameful event of the Ark itself."
The others frowned while Hilt continued.
"The group of Pirates named Cursive is divided into three fleets. Two vessels half the size of a community like the one I arrived in and the main vessel is an ancient community ship repaired to functionality once again. The Leader of the Pirates is a youth named Hordy... he belongs to the Inscriptionist family of the Ark— Island's Ink."
"A rebel?" Roa instantly inquired with a deeper frown.
"I would like to apologize for my rudeness and inquire as to why this young man decided to rebel against the Ark. And what may have happened to the disappeared population of the Hen Reserve Community?" Jakel inquired. His gaze was sharp as Hilt shook his head.
"There's nothing rude about well-placed questions but, as I had pointed previously, the cause of this particular incidence is quite shameful and if possible, I will not dignify this particular incidence with an explanation. As to the population of Hen Reserve Community from the age of 18 to 30 with prowess under 6th rank of spiritual Enhancement... they are hostages."
Jakel's eyes twitched as he stated sourly.
"You mean they are being suffered for an improper action of the Ark. Probably being used in the most disgusting ways by the pirates as they wait for us. Instead of coming here right now, why did you not go straight for the Pirates?" As his reputation stated, the best swordsmith was sharp in his actions as well as his words.
"You misunderstand. The pirates are, in reality, an outsider community funded by Hordy. But, the thing you should be worried about is not their current decency. It should be their spirits...
Most likely, all the hostages are mortal men and women by now."
"What?!" Aside from Jolly, others instantly exclaimed.
---
"Why Master did not go straight for the Pirates, take care of them, and then return for construction?" Connie sat down on the slightly dirty ground without much hesitation. The tent was short in height so sitting was more comfortable. Currently, Kilth, who refused the dignify the interior of the tent with her presence remained outside.
The silver-haired youth looked at the slightly unremarkable woman in front of him. Unlike Noland, who seemed more active with mind and words, his imagination vivid, and Trilok, who was shrouded with a sense of inexplicability whenever Connie tried to deliberately scout his strength, Kol was truly plain.
But she had indeed raised a good question.
"Because of the barricade set by the pirates," Connie stated plainly.
"I am not allowed to explain the matter but aside from community ships that can pass through the barricade due to circumstances, the other options are more inefficient in coin, time, and effort. So, we chose to reconstruct the Silent Community, increase its defenses to match the modern designs of a few wooden vessels, and take the fight to the pirates."
"What about the pirates themselves? Do they really cultivate a demonic art?" Noland inquired.
"There's no such thing as demonic art... but only demonic individuals," Connie smiled, "Besides, both Kilth and I were not told anything about them despite our constant inquiries during the journey."
"What about the Ark? Would you or Kilth be willing to trade a few skills for coin?" Trilok inquired.
Connie blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"Not just skills. I mean everything. Alchemy recipes, pills, maybe substance of influence like Crimson Heaven or resources that are only found in the Ark."
Realizing that he hadn't heard wrong and the youth in front of him really wished to conduct trade, Connie shook his head.
"Not for coin, no. The Ark rarely shares resources based on the coins so anything from the Ark is clearly far more costly and people like me really wouldn't trade it for such a value. Instead, we conduct a barter system of trading."
Trilok nodded. This was definitely a good piece of information to know— Coin is undervalued in the Ark.
"That's a bummer," Noland groaned and even Kol's shoulders slumped.
But a smile touched Connie's lips.
"But Master clearly were impressed by you two and the fact that you two were chosen to represent the younger side of the community means that you might surprise me with your treasures."
Trilok and Noland only sunk in silence.
They did not have any extraordinary treasures. In fact, they focused on mass production and high sale to earn massive profits, and even during the trade festivals, they would focus on refining their strengths and not particularly covering their baser weaknesses. Although the two had a few dozens of body refining resources, they weren't dumb enough to think that Connie would take interest in them even if they didn't know that Connie wasn't a body cultivator.
"So? Do you wish to show me what you are willing to put up on trade?" Connie inquired.
"I do," Noland spoke up.
"And that would be?"
"Inscriptions regarding Spatial Rings," Noland smiled as Trilok sighed.
'Well, this probably is the best way to dump that inheritance...' He added internally.
Connie blinked in amazement. This was rare stuff!
"And how did you get that?" Connie inquired.
"My father was a... well, he sucked as an Inscriptionist as far as my memories serve correct. He came across an inheritance hidden in an inscription manual. Of course, as soon as the news got out, he died by accident in a fishing round.
Well, he had managed to seal the inheritance with his blood, and locked this ring with a blood traveling inscription or something like that," Noland grimaced, "My memories of that day are still hazy and Uncle Roa's words seem pretty distant now. I didn't go down the road of inscriptionist because I had mediocre talent in the art myself. This is the story, and well, confirmed by the sea monster that ate my father and the Chieftain's Son."
Connie nodded, "My condolences."
Noland shook his head.
"Would you like to exchange in private?" Connie inquired as Noland looked at Trilok.
"What are you looking at me for? This is my tent!" Trilok crossed his arm.
"Petty bitch," Noland scoffed.
"Presumptuous bitch," Trilok replied.
"I'll trade with you later," Trilok nodded towards Connie as he smiled and stood up.
The moment Connie walked out, Trilok looked at Kol, "Where's Vayu?"
"Where's Kilth?!" Connie's loud exclamation sounded as Trilok nodded.
"Figures."