7 Hellish Wraith

Ever since encountering this group of suspected pirates and hearing their declaration of criminal intent, Cen Jiu had no intention of letting them leave in one piece.

As the game progressed and these pirates revealed their true colors, she felt it was only right to have a showdown with them to honor the narrative.

The one-eyed leader’s blood sprayed outward, inevitably splashing across the faces of the crew members standing beside him. It was not the blood of their usual victims, but that of their own boss. The man who had always trampled women underfoot was dying, his throat slit by a woman in full view of everyone.

Those who had survived the sea monster attack still had some memory of this woman. Some had been rescued by her, while others remembered her vividly because the one-eyed leader had gone out of his way to torment her.

But the most terrified among them was a crewman with a lisp. He was the only one besides the leader who had spoken to Cen Jiu and boasted arrogantly in her presence. It was because of that arrogance that he had lost his teeth, becoming a pathetic sight mocked by his own companions.

Yet, it had been three days since they returned from the sea; how could this woman still be alive? If the boss was dying, was he next?

"…That woman! She should have been dead long ago!" he stammered, his lisp accentuating his panic.

Before the other crew members could react, he drew his scimitar in a fit of pure terror and charged at Cen Jiu like a madman.

"Go back to your hell, you lowly wench!" His swordplay was frantic and chaotic. Cen Jiu dodged every strike, her footwork as ethereal as a ghost.

"I’m not afraid of you! You’re just an evil spirit…" He swung his blade fearlessly until he collided with the tip of the "evil spirit's" dagger, staining the white-stoned path with fresh blood. He collapsed into a pool of gore, his eyes wide and unseeing as he looked toward the sky in his final moment.

The sight of their companion going mad and essentially offering his neck to the slaughter deeply traumatized the remaining crew. Having escaped the sea monster only to lose their ship, the *Flying*, and now their leader, they could not bear any more horrors.

"An evil spirit——!!" someone screamed, and they turned to flee in a panic.

That was all it took. The rest of the crew scattered like birds, disappearing from Cen Jiu’s sight in an instant.

"…Well, that’s that." Cen Jiu wiped her dagger clean and sheathed it.

She had already reloaded her save once. During the first attempt, after killing the leader, the toothless crewman had gone on a rampage. Cen Jiu hadn’t reacted in time, got hit, and then the other bystanders joined in, hacking her health to zero.

After reloading, she planned to stealth-crit the leader and then prioritize the toothless one. With the previous experience, the execution was flawless and triggered some hidden game mechanics. These intelligent humanoid enemies apparently had a "fear" stat; seeing her take down two of them without receiving a scratch had terrified them into fleeing.

However, the game did not seem to encourage active combat against hostile mobs, as she hadn't gained any combat skills despite killing two of them.

Fine. In the spirit of love and peace, Cen Jiu decided not to chase the runaways and waste her time.

Now, it was time for the pleasant task of looting!

The gear attributes in this game were quite realistic, functioning much like cosmetic items in role-playing games. Her starting equipment was at least slightly more durable than the gear on the two dead pirates, so there was no need to take theirs.

Her encounter with these pirates seemed to be a scripted event. Why else would they happen to be resting here, carrying absolutely nothing of value? Ah, right—the valuables were likely in the belly of the sea monster.

How poor, she thought.

After a thorough search, Cen Jiu only found a few items that didn't look like total trash:

[Pirate Scimitar: A standard-issue scimitar of the notorious pirates; worth a few coins.]
[Percy’s Short Blunderbuss: Captain Percy’s personal weapon. It has been heavily modified for increased power, though it carries a high risk of backfiring.]
[Percy’s Personal Money Pouch: A heavy bag of gold coins, containing enough currency circulating in the Ayr region for a comfortable return ticket—provided it’s accepted.]
[Letter to Percy: Correspondence addressed to Percy. It is difficult for you to read; perhaps you should find someone to translate it.]

"Difficult?" Skeptical, Cen Jiu opened the letter and studied it intently.

Within three seconds, she gave up. The content was written in the common tongue of Ayr, and with her current skill level, she was effectively illiterate in this other world. She needed to find a way to improve her literacy skills quickly.

Cen Jiu sighed and silently tucked the loot into her backpack.

Following her cultural struggle, she immediately encountered a physical one. The blunderbuss was much heavier than she imagined, weighing a full eight pounds. In comparison, the two-and-a-half-pound scimitar felt light as a feather.

Her backpack weight now exceeded her character’s light-load limit by two pounds. As long as she was even a gram under the limit, she could move with agility, but the moment she exceeded it, she was hit with a medium-load penalty that hampered her dexterity.

In other words, her movement speed had decreased.

As a player, this was absolutely intolerable.

"..." After much hesitation, Cen Jiu painfully decided to leave the scimitar behind. Since it was a new find, she hadn't grown attached to it yet, and she already had her dagger and enough money for now. This weapon, which seemed to be little more than a trade good, wasn't worth the encumbrance.

Goodbye, scimitar. I’ll come back for you once I’ve stored my other items in a safe spot.

Cen Jiu looked back several times, but finally steeled her heart and quickened her pace to leave this place of regret.

Walking along the white stone path, Cen Jiu reached a stone bridge, where she caught a full view of White Rock Town. It was a small town nestled between mountains and water, with the river in front and mountains in the back. The houses were primarily built of light yellow and white stone bricks, adorned with orange-red square structures. The rounded arches of the doors and windows neutralized the sharpness of the building outlines, full of an antique architectural aesthetic. It was a style not found where she lived in reality, and seeing it in the game felt fresh and intriguing.

Strangely, the streets were completely empty. Not a soul was in sight.

Cen Jiu checked the system’s game time; it was exactly noon. Even if everyone was home having lunch, it shouldn't be this desolate.

According to the map, crossing the bridge led to the town’s central square. The number of shops still in business could be counted on one hand. While the residential houses were well-maintained and showed signs of life, many had their doors and windows tightly shuttered, as if the inhabitants had moved away.

The quest log remained silent, implying the situation was still within reasonable parameters.

Regardless, she needed to find a living person to gather information.

The system refused to translate the text on the signs of the open shops, but the icons were clear. One sign featured an abstract wooden beer mug. Cen Jiu pushed open the half-closed wooden door and stepped inside.

"Didn’t I say there’s no food today? Or are you here to drink before heading into the mines?" The figure lounging in a rocking chair behind the counter spoke with great impatience. Her head was turned away, and her eyes remained firmly shut, intending to continue her nap.

Cen Jiu sat down at the bar and greeted, "Hello?"

The woman in the rocking chair woke up instantly, sat upright, smoothed her messy hair, and pulled a headscarf from her apron pocket to tie it back. She looked about thirty—in the prime of her life—with a sturdy build like a cow, rounded features, and a friendly, amiable smile.

"Oh, a new adventurer, dear?" The woman expertly poured a glass of green, bubbly drink for Cen Jiu. "Apologies for mistaking you for a drunkard. Just call me Martha; this is on the house."

"Nice to meet you, Martha." Cen Jiu picked up the wooden cup and took a small sip.

The drink was tart, slightly sweet, and carried a refreshing, bitter note of some kind of fruit. The carbonation from the fermentation enriched the texture, and being chilled made it doubly refreshing—a perfect drink for the midday heat.

"Delicious! What is this? Can I have another?" Cen Jiu’s eyes lit up as she finished the cup in one go.

Martha laughed heartily at Cen Jiu’s satisfied reaction and refilled the cup. "This is my signature prickly-fruit wine. If you have important business to attend to, don't drink too much."

"Thank you! Call me A-Jiu." Thanking Martha for her generosity, Cen Jiu noticed a new buff in her character menu:

[Consumed Prickly-Fruit Wine: Moderate alcohol intake has accelerated your blood circulation. All stats +1. (Remaining duration: 59 minutes)]

A "drunk" meter had also been activated, but the alcohol content of the prickly-fruit wine was clearly low; two cups had only increased it by a tiny fraction. The buff was secured, and there was no point in being greedy. Cen Jiu warned herself to show restraint; she didn't want to trigger a debuff.

"I’m embarrassed to say this, but it’s my first time here. I heard Ortega is in the neighborhood, and I have something to deliver to him…" It was time to probe for information. She had heard the pirates mention something about a property deed; perhaps finding this "Ortega" would grant her a house, providing a safe place to rest and store her items.

Martha’s eyes widened in realization. "No wonder you’re traveling alone—you’re here to make a delivery!" She had been wondering why Cen Jiu was carrying a backpack so full and heavy, far exceeding what a normal person would carry.

"Just follow the main road west. He lives in the manor at the very end." Martha showed little respect for "Ortega," and her expression held a hint of disdain. She didn't forget to warn Cen Jiu, "He has a terrible temper. Be careful, A-Jiu; that old man has a filthy mouth when he gets angry."

The map system updated with a new location marker.

[You have obtained information about: Ortega’s Manor.]

With the intel secured, it was time to go. Cen Jiu left a silver coin at the bottom of the wooden cup, stood up, and left the tavern.

"Thanks for the tip, the prickly-fruit wine was great. I’ll be back!"

As soon as she stepped outside, Cen Jiu sensed a gaze fixed upon her. It felt like a beast, full of a predator’s aura, sending a chill down her spine.

"…?" Were there wild beasts in this town?

She immediately locked onto the source of the gaze and met the person’s eyes.

A child, dressed in tattered, filthy rags, was peeking out from behind a house. His eyes were like amber, and his narrow pupils were as aggressive as a beast’s.

"Hello?" Cen Jiu hesitated, then decided to raise her hand to greet him.