Chapter 403 Unique Ecology and the Black Gull

Xia Nan had always been straightforward.

Especially with a close friend like Alton, someone he had survived life-and-death crises with, he rarely kept his doubts or questions to himself. He seldom beat around the bush unless he thought it might cause offense.

Therefore, three days ago, after their trip to the Golden Cod casino ended, he took advantage of a private moment to ask him directly about the [Fate Coin].

Of course, given Xia Nan's personality, he wouldn't shamelessly use his relationship with the halfling to demand anything.

What he wanted to know was whether Alton had any similar items on him, and if so, whether he was willing to sell them and at what price.

Or, alternatively, if there was any way to replenish the uses of the [Fate Coin] Alton had originally given him as a parting gift.

Alton's response, however, took him by surprise.

"Haha, the coin itself was indeed my parting gift to you, but my gift was just the coin."

The halfling casually pulled another copper coin from his pouch. On the front was a woman's blurred face, and on the back, a cloak fluttering in the wind.

The design was identical to the [Fate Coin] in Xia Nan's hand, making him think for a moment that the little guy actually had more in stock.

But upon focusing his gaze and calling up his Attribute Panel, Xia Nan discovered it was just an ordinary, plain coin with no special effects whatsoever.

"The divine power attached to the coin comes from the Smiling Lady."

"As for the recharging you mentioned..." The halfling lightly tossed the copper coin in his hand, watching its two sides flip rapidly in the air before it landed back in his palm.

"It doesn't actually require any special ritual. As long as the timing is right, just give it a light toss like this, and you will naturally receive the Goddess's blessing."

Xia Nan keenly caught the key point in his answer.

"The timing is right?"

"What does that mean? What kind of timing is considered right?"

In response, the usually enthusiastic and lively little guy showed a rare, vague expression, typical of a deity's follower speaking in riddles.

He smiled rather mysteriously, leaving behind only a single sentence:

"Luck favors the brave."

"..."

Walking along the crowded main road of the Saltwater District, Xia Nan recalled his conversation with Alton from three days ago, a thoughtful look on his face.

Luck favors the brave. Did that mean he needed to act the part of a "brave warrior" to earn the favor of Tymora, the Goddess of Luck, in order to recharge the [Fate Coin]?

But what kind of behavior counted as brave?

Robbing a bank or smashing up a shop might seem daring, but such reckless, stupid actions clearly didn't qualify. And throwing his life away against an enemy far beyond his strength, knowing he couldn't win, certainly wouldn't win the Smiling Lady's favor either.

Xia Nan pondered for a long time before finally deciding to set the matter aside for now.

He was not a coward by nature, and he never shied away from battle or competition.

When the "timing" Alton spoke of finally arrived, he was confident he would be able to seize it.

However, after that brief moment of distraction, the short figure walking in front of him had disappeared.

Already used to this, Xia Nan slightly relaxed his Perception, which he had been suppressing due to the overly complex environment.

He suddenly turned his head, looking toward a small stall situated by an alleyway just ahead and to the side.

The halfling was enthusiastically inspecting the goods on the stall, seemingly very interested in the poorly crafted yet highly distinctive local souvenirs of Barracuda Bay.

But just as the stall owner thought he had finally hooked a fat sheep, carefully dressing up his wares with rehearsed pitches in hopes of a high price, the halfling—who had just been nodding along to the vendor's endless chatter as if ready to pull out his wallet—was suddenly distracted by the shouts of a street performer in the distance.

Giving the stall owner a friendly nod to thank him for the introduction, Alton turned and, without looking back, scurried off on his short legs, disappearing into the crowd with a pitter-patter.

He left the vendor sitting alone by the street, his mouth hanging open in stiff disbelief.

The halfling race had always been like this.

They were warm and friendly, but their attitudes toward life showed two extremes.

One faction enjoyed domestic life, content within their own little slice of the world. Hearths, good food, tilled fields... they had no interest in the outside world, enjoying only a stable life at home with family and friends.

The other faction was like Alton, acting as if they would never stop walking. They loved adventure and exploration, were curious about all the unknown things they met on their travels, and always looked endlessly excited.

It was strange to think about. Xia Nan had privately mused that if he were a halfling, he would probably lean toward the former—a stable home life. Yet this directly contradicted his current identity as an adventurer and his journey from Rivervale Town to Barracuda Bay.

Thinking it over carefully, the root cause was ultimately his transmigration and the lingering anxiety brought on by the Transcendent powers of this world.

Both of them had only recently arrived in Barracuda Bay and weren't entirely familiar with the environment.

Fortunately, Barracuda Bay was a coastal town built around its port. There was no need for detours; they just had to follow the main road all the way down.

Soon, their destination, the Wave-Breaking Wharf, came into view.

The morning mist had not yet fully dispersed, but the port had already awakened to the call of the salty sea breeze and the rising sun. Mingled with the cries of seagulls circling high above, the work chants, the rumble of rolling wagon wheels, curses, and shouts all blended together into the unique clamor of a bustling environment.

"Make way! Make way!"

A burly, bare-chested half-orc coolie roared in broken Common at the crowd blocking his path, the crates stacked on his back towering higher than the man himself.

Not far away, two gnomes in simple hemp clothes were arguing fiercely with a middle-aged man who looked like a dockmaster. The wooden boat moored next to them was clearly overloaded, its waterline dangerously low.

The marketplace along the peripheral streets was at its busiest time of the day. Stalls were packed tightly together, selling everything from fresh catches to exotic goods. Looking at the bizarrely shaped sea creatures that hadn't existed in his past life, and the handicrafts filled with the unique style and aesthetics of this other world, Xia Nan felt he could easily spend a whole day just browsing.

The passing crowds were incredibly lively, a mix of all kinds of races.

Several wealthy-looking merchants walked at the front, their attendants trailing behind holding up the hems of their silk robes to avoid the puddles. Rugged dwarven sailors gathered in small groups, still relishing their tavern tales from the night before. Occasionally, one or two figures in inconspicuous cloaks slipped through the crowd, their ears ending in sharp points.

But what Xia Nan found most novel and fascinating were the ships moored at the wharf, all varying in shape and size.

While they all shared the same function as water transport, their appearances differed drastically based on their distinct purposes and the personal aesthetics of their builders.

A three-masted galleon from the Bay Chamber of Commerce bobbed gently with the waves. Built entirely of northern silver-veined fir, it was light, sturdy, and boasted a streamlined hull. Its light blue sails, which looked thin but were incredibly durable, bore the Chamber's emblem: an ocean current and a gold coin.

Moored next to it was a trade ship from a distant Barbarian Tribe alliance. The hull was painted in intimidating red and black stripes, shaped like a bizarre shark with an axe-like horn, and covered in tribal totems.

Beyond those, however, were an overwhelming number of smaller, exquisitely crafted boats.

Unlike the cargo vessels or warships, the specific purposes of these small boats were ambiguous and hard to discern.

Instead, they strongly reflected the personalities and preferences of their captains. Every single one looked different. Lined up at the port, they presented a chaotic and cluttered sight at first glance.

Some had wide bottoms and single masts, their hulls painted a solid azure that blended into the seawater below like camouflage. Some were long and narrow with twisted triangular sails, built for stability and speed. Others were luxuriously decorated, sporting milky white hulls trimmed with gold.

And without exception, the people moving about on the decks of these small boats were fully armed adventurers. A remarkably high percentage of them held senior Class Grades.

Xia Nan watched the scene at the wharf with great interest, his thoughts drifting.

He had learned a bit about this before setting out, and seeing it with his own eyes confirmed it.

Just as the Misty Forest was to the adventurers of Rivervale Town, the adventurers living in the Southern Archipelagos faced a vast, boundless ocean. After years of adaptation, they had developed a unique ecology vastly different from the inland regions.

They paid close attention to "storm tracks" and "current windows." Before every voyage, they meticulously studied nautical charts and spent points or gold coins to consult experts on recent shifts in maritime weather.

The Association's quest board no longer featured tasks like "wipe out a goblin tribe in a dense forest." Instead, quests involved collecting specialty shells on a distant island's beach, mapping the reef distribution of uncharted waters, or searching for cargo ships lost nearby.

Adventurer Squads still consisted of three to four people, but the core of the team had shifted from the strongest fighter to the captain and their ship.

An experienced captain-adventurer and a sturdy, reliable ship were the prerequisites for forming a crew and taking on high-reward quests.

Without a ship, one couldn't even leave the port. Barracuda Bay might be prosperous enough to keep a man fed with a little effort, but to make real money, one had to brave the vast, dangerous, and opportunity-filled ocean.

During his three days in Barracuda Bay, aside from familiarizing himself with the environment, Xia Nan had taken advantage of the Three-Legged Sea Dog's massive gathering of adventurers to gather a lot of local intelligence.

Thus, he learned that adventurers in the archipelagos generally operated with the "ship" as their basic unit.

One ship meant one independent Adventurer Squad.

Of course, there were times when squad members lacked sailing knowledge, so they would hire professional sailors, navigators, or shipwrights for support.

But in the vast majority of cases, any senior-grade adventurer in the Southern Archipelagos possessed sailing skills and experience far beyond ordinary men, easily capable of handling their custom ships alongside their teammates.

And in certain situations—such as when a highly prestigious adventurer stepped forward, or a difficult quest required the cooperation of many adventurers—these individual ship-squads would form temporary or semi-permanent grand fleets to pursue a common goal.

To some extent, if Barracuda Bay's Bay Chamber of Commerce or the Governor's Mansion ever took to the sea, they would operate in the form of a grand fleet.

This unique ecology of maritime adventurers was something Xia Nan had never encountered before.

He couldn't help but find it novel.

If he planned to stay here long-term, learning to sail was a must. And if he didn't want to latch onto another Adventurer Squad and become a mere "mercenary" among the islands, he would need to find a reliable shipwright or shipyard and commission his own vessel.

He might even have to decorate it according to local customs.

Of course, that would be another massive expense.

As the primary tool of the trade for adventurers in the Southern Archipelagos, a sturdy sea ship didn't come much cheaper than a high-end piece of enchanted gear.

Xia Nan had over eight hundred gold on him, which meant he could barely afford one, but he was a newcomer. He didn't know much about Barracuda Bay or the Southern Archipelagos as a whole, making him an easy mark for scams.

He intended to use his search for the encryption key to the [Dream Weaving Corridor] to embed himself in the local adventurer community. Once he made some progress and learned more about the place, he would make his next move.

Until then, he could only hitch a ride on someone else's ship.

Hera had already described the cargo ship they were supposed to escort and given them its exact mooring location two days prior.

This saved the pair from wasting too much time at the wharf; they soon found their target.

The Black Gull, a very standard medium-sized cargo galleon.

It was about thirty meters long, nine meters wide, and featured a three-masted design.

Among the many ships at the wharf, its appearance was utterly unassuming. The hull bore no flashy paint or decorations; it was crafted entirely of common continental oak and coated with a mix of tar and rosin, giving it a modest, rustic grayish-brown hue.

The figurehead was a simple wooden carving of a seagull with its wings spread in flight. The paint was somewhat chipped from the wind and sun, a clear sign that it had weathered quite a few years at sea.

At present, the departure time was fast approaching, and the Black Gull was a hive of activity.

His eyes sweeping over the sailors hustling up and down the gangway, Xia Nan thought about finding the captain or someone in charge to get them settled in and give them a rundown of the ship and the voyage.

Suddenly, his gaze paused.

Not far from the gangway, a familiar figure was earnestly hauling cargo.

"Colin?"