RE - Ascension

"Hahaha... Bless the god. After all the shit we went through, we finally made it."

On the top deck of a mast wooden ship that sailed above the calm sea, the ship's captain along with his crew joyfully cheers as they saw a faint sight of landmass stretching widely at the far horizon.

Some of the crew even kneeled and kowtowed on the floor as they offered words of gratitude to the gods.

After sailing for a few months through many difficult and perilous moments that even scared them, a group of seasoned sailors. It's not surprising for them to behaved like that.

The captain looked at his crew with a proud smile.

This journey has been the most dangerous one he ever took. Many of his compatriots back in his homeport thought he was really mad for accepting such a crazy journey.

Truthfully, he was not a sailor with a tendency to explore the unknown. He's just an honest sailor that usually makes a living by transporting goods with his old ship.

However, he was tempted to embark on this particular journey because the rewards he would receive were enormous. Enough for a humble captain like him to pay his crew handsomely, and maybe he could also build a new and better ship, which always been his dream for a long time.

Except for the treacherous route, the primary mission of the journey itself was simple enough, which was to transport a small group of five people to a specific destination.

The risk was high, so did the reward. That argument was enough to convince the rest of the crew to accept the journey.

Thinking about the passengers, the captain remembers that he needs to inform them about the current situation.

Thus, he started to shouts.

"Alright boys, stop lollygagging, we have works to do. Keep some of the sails flying and close the rest."

"Get the oars ready!"

"And could someone prepare those small boats too? Please."

"Aye, Captain!!!"

The crew wakes up from their cheerful moments after they heard the captain's order. Soon, the ship's deck was filled with ruckus as the crew running around everywhere and busying themselves.

After ordering his crew to prepare the ship's final procedure before landing, the captain went towards the cabin where his passengers stayed.

Regarding the passengers, he did not know almost anything about their identities. They mostly kept to themselves and rarely talk with others.

Outside the cabin, he saw two huge and intense men guarding the door. These two were part of the passenger group.

One could see that they were twins or at least related to each other since both of them have near-identical faces.

Those two man wore the same type of plate armor with a dark gray color that covered their body from neck to toes. One man had a huge battle-axe hanging on his back, while the other man had a spear strapped on his back as well.

Both of them looked extremely strong and fierce.

These two had shown their unimaginable power back when the ship encountered dangerous moments. They successfully protected both of the ship and her crew from harm several times along the journey.

Because of that, the whole crew including the captain looks up to them with respect and admiration.

It was also due to that, the captain did not pry about their identities even though he has some curiosity. Since powerful people like them must have come from a grand background. Thus, he did not want to offend these people.

So, he approached the two respectfully.

As he about to greet them, he was interrupted by the cabin's door that suddenly opened.

The captain saw the rest of the passengers exited the room. A man, a woman, and a young boy.

The boy's age was around 12 or 14 years old.

He has a short silver-colored hair and blue eyes. His good-looking and youthful face always accompanied by a mischievous grin. He's one of the people of his group that has made some efforts to talk and mingle with the ship's crew.

Not only that, this kid was really active as he always runs around the ship, checking and curious about everything that catches his attention. The captain and the crew were familiar with him due to that.

They didn't know his real name though, but the other passengers always called him "Shorty", probably because of his short stature.

Beside the boy was a beautiful woman in her late 20's with wine-colored long hair and green eyes standing there proudly.

This woman has a tall and voluptuous body that could easily ignite men's d.e.s.i.r.e. She's wearing an exquisite silver light-armor that protected her fiery body. There was also a longsword hanging on her back that was veiled by the black cape she donned.

She's very popular among the crew as most of them were singles, and they have never seen a woman as beautiful and heroic as her.

Even the captain, a man with years of experience, was taken aback a little when he saw her for the first time.

He's sure that many of his crew, especially the younger one, was smitten by her.

Unfortunately, the woman's beautiful face always plastered with an indifferent expression, she also exudes an unapproachable aura which makes it hard for other people to get close to her. That's why none of the crew dare to approach her.

Furthermore, those smitten crew knew their reality. They were just lowly sailors; it's obvious they did not have the right to even get near that noble and precious diamond. Not to mention, starting something beyond that.

That's why they could only admire her from afar.

Meanwhile, a large amount of sweat started to form on the captain's forehead as he grew nervous. The one who's making him like that was the man in his early 30's that stood in front of the woman and the boy.

This man was the leader of the passenger group and the one who was called "Young Master" by his companions. He also one of the passengers who was friendly to the crew.

Thanks to his profession, the captain had several chances in meeting and doing business with many arrays of people including the scions of nobles and rich merchants alike. Some of the good-looking people he has seen could be found among them.

But those scions could not be compared to the man in front of him now.

The man was the most good looking and manliest man the captain has ever seen.

He has a short albeit stylish dark hair, a pair of intense violet eyes, and a face with finely yet a bit rugged feature and sharp chiseled.

His body was tall, and his skin was slightly tanned. He wore a combination of expensive looking dark-colored leather clothes and some kind of a dark leather half-robe, which faintly outlined his strong albeit non-overbearing muscle.

The man was completely different from the arrogant scions who mostly have either skinny or fat bodies.

Appearances-wise, the captain thought the man was exactly what a proper manly man supposed to look like.

Just like those grand statues he has seen in a rich noble house once, which supposed to be the statues that represent heroes of the past and the gods.

But as the captain think further about the man's appearance, the weirder it becomes.

'By the gods... I'm not liking this young master, right? Shit, I still had that widow to court...'

The thought of a certain widow with a plump and feisty body successfully prevented his mind from becoming haywire.

"Hello, Captain. Are you alright?"

A deep yet kindly sounded voice startled the captain who was still in the middle of recovering his mind.

"Ah..."

He finally realized that the young master had been trying to talk to him since earlier.

"Ye... Y... Yes, Sir. No! Yes, Young Master, I'm perfectly fine. I apologize for my rudeness."

The captain replied stutteringly since he was both startled and nervous.

"Haha... It's fine, no harm is done and you don't have to be so nervous, you know." said the young master while he lightly chuckled.

"Hehehe..." Even the silver-haired boy also chuckled at the captain's antic.

The other three people didn't react much, they already saw it too many times before. Many people always have similar reactions when they met their young master. So, it's not surprising.

The captain could only bashfully nod. This was not the first time he talks face to face with the young master, but he still couldn't get used to it.

Actually, what makes him nervous was not the man's appearance, but rather it was the strong aura that came from the man's body. That aura greatly pressured the captain to the point he would be afraid when the man was nearby.

As a result, the captain assumed that this young master was an extremely powerful person. Although he did not know how strong the man was since he never took any action himself, the captain could sense that he was probably much stronger than the twins.

To be honest, the captain regarded himself as a badass, since he also has a bit of strength and could proudly call himself a warrior, but when he stood in front of this young master, he could only feels weak and small. It's really strange.

"I've heard your crew cheering earlier. I guess we've already arrived, huh..." the young master calmly spoke again.

"Indeed, Young Master. We have arrived. I came here precisely to inform you." the captain replied perfectly this time since he already recovered.

"Let's go then, I want to see the situation." Said the young master while he walked past the captain.

Other people including the captain followed the young master as he headed for the ship's bow.

The crew, who mostly still in the middle of doing their task, respectfully greeted him as he made his way and he warmly returns the greetings.

When he arrived at the bow, he calmly analyzes the situation.

He watched the view of the landmass at the far horizon keeps getting clearer and clearer as the ship slowly approaching the coast.

He could see flocks of birds started to gather around and flying above the ship, while the winds blow a very cool air that gave fresh feelings to the ship's occupants.

The sun was shining brightly and it's ray grandly illuminated the world without being interrupted by the clouds.

Overall, the situation was remarkable, very different to the atmosphere the ship had encountered in the past few months.

The young master then took a deep breath and thinking, 'This is really a good day.'

***

The Mortal Realm of the Grand Primal Chaos contained thousands of the so-called cl.u.s.ters. Each cl.u.s.ters was filled with dozens of small worlds where mortals lived.

Inside one of the cl.u.s.ters, called the "30 Myriad Cl.u.s.ters", a small world exist near its boundary.

This small world was known by its natives as Profound Magnificent World, a very arrogant name for a small world that has even smaller sizes than its neighbors.

Profound Magnificent World has three continents; Eastern Profound Continent, Western Profound Continent, and Central Profound Continent.

This world also has several archipelagos and thousands of islands aswell.

Currently, in an empty beach located at the southwestern coast of Eastern Profound Continent.

The ship's captain along with his group of passengers and few of his crew already set their foot on the beach's sand.

Because the ship couldn't possibly get close to the beach, these people needs to take a few small boats to land on the shore.

Few of the crew and the twin guards were busy unloading the horses belongs to the passengers' group, while the rest of the people was just standing around and looking at the empty beach.

"This is it, Young Master, Eastern Profound Continent." Said the captain as he also stared wonderingly at his employer.

This was the first time for him to be here on this continent. Honestly, he did not know anything about this place. But from what he have heard back in home, this continent was a backwater place, some even called it barbaric continent.

He was clueless about why would this young master wants to even go to this kind of place.

It's not weird for the captain to have a bad impression of this land as he came from the Central Profound Continent.

Central Profound Continent was the most glorious continent in Profound Magnificent World. Whether its civilization level or its martial heritage, both were at the apex.

The other two continents cannot be compared at all to the Central Profound Continent. Even the size of the central continent was bigger than the two continents combined.

Due to that, the majority of the central continent's natives have acute superiority complexes, which they would look down on the other two continents as well as the people that came from both places.

Sensing the captain's stare, the young master knew what kind of thought he has.

"I know you've been wondering why I requested you to transport me to this place. But let just say, I have my own business. Okay?" The young master calmly spoke to satisfy the captain's curiosity.

"Yes... Yes, Young Master forgives me for my curiosity." The captain hurriedly apologized.

The young master lightly smiled, "It's fine..." Then, he spoke to his beautiful wine haired companion, "Diandra... Give the captain what we had promised him."

The wine haired woman named Diandra immediately walked towards the captain, while at the same time a large purse magically appeared on her hand.

The captain was stupefied at the scene. He shifted his eyes towards an expensive looking ring on one of the woman's finger, and he realized something.

'No wonder they didn't bring any baggage with them. They have a Space Ring for godsakes!' Thought the captain as he gulped at the sight of the woman's ring.

Space Ring is a type of magic item which was extremely rare and expensive. One can store many things inside the space within the ring. It's really practical and useful.

Owning this ring could also elevate a person's social status due to its rarity. The captain knew that most nobles did not even possess one, only those famous people or super family's descendants has them.

But the captain thinks it was good that the ring was rare and expensive. Otherwise, who would still employ someone like him to transport goods?

"Here's your payment. There are 20,000 gold coins inside this purse, just like the young master had promised you." Said Diandra indifferently while she handed over the purse to the captain.

The captain held the purse with trembling hands. 20,000 gold coins were the biggest amount of money he has ever seen.

The people of Profound Magnificent World utilized copper, silver, and gold coins as currencies.

1,000 copper coins were equivalent of one silver coin and 100 silver coins were equal to one gold coin. 10 to 20 silver coins was enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for 6 months, that was if they didn't spend excessively.

That's why 20,000 gold coins were already huge payment for a normal sailor like the captain.

The crew who were still busy tending the horses couldn't hold their elated expressions when they saw the captain received the purse. They know their payday were about to arrive, and there will be a big bonus for all of them.

"Thank you, Lady. Thank you, Young Master." the captain quickly showed his gratitude as he bows for a few times to Diandra and the young master.

After that, the young master gave the captain a talisman that has magical abilities to protect the ship and her crew on the return journey.

"Do not cross the ocean directly to return. Even though you have my talisman, I can guarantee you will not survive. Just sail along the western coast to the north until you reach a large port city called Cattigara. In that port, there are few merchant fleets that routinely sailed to the central continent several times a year. The return journey should be safe if you join them." the young master also gave the captain some tips about the return journey.

Central Profound Continent and Eastern Profound Continent were separated by a massive ocean called the Ocean of Death.

The ocean received this name because of its unpredictable harsh weather, its stormy waves that could easily break a large ship apart and a large number of aquatic demon beasts lived below its waters.

Demon Beasts was living beings similar to animals. But compared to ordinary animals, Demon Beasts were more powerful, more ferocious, and more intelligent. Some Demon Beasts could even speak any language as long they were able to learn it.

Aquatic demon beasts of the Ocean of Death were infamous for their hostile attitudes and ferociousness. They will attack any sh.i.p.s that intrude on their territories. It was rare for a ship to survive once they enter the ocean.

Due to that reason, there were almost zero sea activities between the central and the eastern continent.

Originally, to transport the young master and his group to the eastern continent, the ship actually sailed through the Ocean of Death directly, and the journey was a smooth one. However, it was thanks to the efforts of the young master's twin guards, who has protected the ship from the demon beasts' threats, so that the trip was safe.

But since the twin guards will be leaving, the captain couldn't use the same route to return home. That's why he immediately agrees with the young master's advice to sail to Cattigara first.

"And remember. Before you reach Cattigara, don't tell the natives that you actually came from the central continent. If they knew about it, you would invite lots of attention and perhaps some annoying problems would also come knocking your door... Be sure to warn your crew about it aswell. Never underestimate the natives too. They also have many strong people amongst them." the young master gave his warning with a serious voice.

Hearing that, the captain decided to remember every young master's words.

Since their business has finally concluded, the captain and his crew returned to their ship that anchored not far from the beach.

While the young master and his companion continue their journey towards their still unknown destination.