Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 344: Gate 20

Chapter 344: Gate 20

Kazi opened his eyes and saw a vast ocean. Beneath his sandals was sand. ’Wait, sandals?’ He peered down. His normal shoes were gone, replaced by sandals, as were his black garbs, replaced by shorts and a long black coat.

’My clothes, my armour...what happened to them?’ Kazi inspected the coat on him. ’Quilted layers of indigo cotton cloth. The back has white cotton thread—ah, I remember. This is Sashiko. What I’m wearing looks to be a...’

"Sashiko no donza. Fishermen festival coats. They went out of fashion in the 1930s. So why am I..." Kazi turned around, left eye pulsing. "...and everyone else wearing them?"

Kazi was neither alone at this sandy coast nor in the change of wardrobe. Up to thirty players were with him, all of them puzzled.

"Men? Can you open your inventories?"

"No."

"Me neither..."

Now that caught Kazi’s attention. The remark was from an individual in a five-man party. It appeared they came together and one by one panic flashed their faces.

’Open inventory.’

[ Inventory is locked! ]

[ Inventory is locked! ]

[ Gate 20 : Attacking the Princess

Main Objective: A long time ago, there lived a fisherman named Urashima Taro who saved a small turtle. Some days pass and a larger turtle comes forth from the sea and informs him that the small turtle was in fact the second daughter of the Dragon King and that she wishes to see. Blessing him with gills, Urashima Taro swims to the bottom of the sea and reaches the Palace of the Dragon God. There, he meets and accompanies Princess Otohime who is no longer a turtle but a beautiful woman. Days pass. Urashima decides he must go back. While sad, Princess Otohime hands him a box that will protect him on his journey but pointedly tells him to never, ever open it.

Returning to the island, Urashima finds that 300 years have passed and that everyone he once knew is dead. Urashima, out of sadness, opens the box—and he is suddenly aged to an old man. From the sea, he hears his old love’s voice: "I told you not to open that box. In it was your old age ..." Urashima dies, albeit not without leaving a descendent of his own who becomes obsessed with the princess. Wracked with guilt, Princess Otohime has left the palace and isolated herself on an island. Urashima’s descendants have worked with previous players to avenge his death, to no avail. Succeed where your predecessors have not. Find Princess Otohime and kill her.

Prize Pool: 1,000,000 XP, 1,000 PP

SPECIAL LIST OF OBJECTIVEs:

Kill The Samebito

Kill The Nure-onna

Kill Chiyo

Kill Mate

SPECIAL PRIZE POOL: Calculating... ]

Kazi read the paragraphs in an instant and curled a finger underneath his chin. "Huh, so this is a Gate that has spawned previously. Good to know. That means..."

From behind, he felt minor tremors. People were coming. Soon, over the crest of the hill, the fisherman emerged. They were clad in similar festival coats to the players, worn and patched. Leading the group was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a weathered face, his eyes sharp and observant.

Kazi went ahead to meet with him since everyone else was still reading.

The leader raised a hand, signaling to let Kazi approach. "Oi, travelers!" But his yell went far beyond just Kazi. Every player heard. "The name’s Masanori, head fisherman of this village. You must be the ones foretold by the spirits."

For everyone else, the head fisherman’s words were translated into rough, impolite speech of their respective language, whether it was English, French, Russian, or whatever—and it sounded aggressive. Kazi was a little different. There wasn’t a language in the world he did not know. Majority of the time, he preferred to speak in Bangla or Chakma.

’Kishū dialect,’ Kazi noted, his mind switching to Japanese. ’Not really any formality in that accent. Fair enough.’

Kazi jogged over before any misunderstanding could be created. "Yes, we are here to complete the quest," he replied, gesturing towards the players who were keenly listening or trying to comprehend their surroundings.

Masanori crossed his arms. "Then join us! There is much you need to know and our village is the safest place to discuss it. Not here! You’ll get bug bites at night!"

Behind him, the players on the coastline agreed. They listened and they accepted the circumstances. No weary glances, no confusion, only straight acceptance.

Masanori led the way down a narrow path that wound through the dunes. The players fell slightly behind, their initial hesitation giving way to curiosity. As they walked, Kazi couldn’t help but notice the intricate patterns on the back of Masanori’s coat, similar to his own. The craftsmanship was exquisite and strangely raw.

Along the way, Kazi peeked over his shoulder and found familiar faces among the players. He turned back and smiled. ’This is going to be fun.’

The path eventually opened up to a small village nestled between the hills and the shore. Wooden houses with thatched roofs stood in neat rows. Villagers stopped their work to watch the newcomers. Children peeked out from behind their mothers, wide-eyed. Masanori raised a reassuring hand to his people.

"Don’t worry! These younglings are with me!"

Masanori the head fisherman led the players to a large communal building in the center of the village. The communal building was arranged for people to be in a circle around a central fire pit, where a pot of stew simmered. Masanori motioned for everyone to sit, taking his place at the head of the circle.

"Welcome to our village!"

The players settled themselves. There were more than two-digits worth so talk bubbled up fast. Sitting next to Kazi was a face he had not seen in a while: Carla, the shieldswoman of the Sapphire Order: ranked number 55 under Spectre 4. No longer wearing the long, diamond-split skirt and black bodice with straps, instead in the same Sashiko no donza as Kazi. In Carla’s case, as well as the other women, they did not wear shorts but cotton linen pants.

"Kazi," Carla greeted with a smile. "Nice to see you again."

"You too."

Kazi couldn’t see a level or class on her. ’It’s not only her either. I can’t see the levels or class of anyone here. This Gate sure is strange.’

"My brothers and sisters from another world, you’ve come once more; and once more, we ask for aid," said Masanori. "Will you help us kill that ugly, worthless shitty woman!?"

The answer was obvious. Yes. Everyone nodded and accepted the mission.

"Thank you! I do not mean to rush but I wish to go out and fight as quickly as possible," Masanori said. "We will sail, we will kill Otohime’s monster, and then Otohime herself! Who is with me!?"

This time, the answers weren’t as unanimous. Kazi didn’t want to go out of his way to be a leader. He waited for someone else to speak up and they did. Another familiar face, the blond gymnast in the white gi, Leon of the Sapphire Order.

"We don’t have our old weapons. We have to come up with a plan." At the mention of a plan, Masanori scowled. Leon continued, "What can you tell us about Princess Otohime and the creatures we need to defeat?" Leon asked. "There’s two of them, right?"

Masanori’s scowl deepend. "Princess Otohime lives on a distant island shrouded in fog. We will need the ones that can sense the life within others to guide us. Otherwise, we’ll crash and die, simple as that. But as for a plan—"

"I can do it," Kazi volunteered, a hand raised. "If it’s fog, then I should be able to see through it fine. Is it magic or something?"

If Masanori was annoyed from being cut off, he didn’t show it. "No, it is ordinary fog."

"That’s even better. I can navigate easily then."

"Uh, hello? The creatures?" Leon asked.

"The Samebito is a big ass shark that patrols the waters of the island. We’ll have to look out for him when we’re going through the fog. After the shark is the Nure-onna, a serpent she-devil. She’s right on the shores. She’s the stronger of the two and the one that has killed the most aside from the princess." Masanori clenched his fist. "That serpent took the life of my best friend. We’re gonna kill it! Ain’t we, boys!?"

"Aye!"

The players did not cheer, it was the fisherman by his side. Some were leaning on the walls while others stood beside Masanori. The loyalty in their eyes burned fiercely.

"That doesn’t tell us much," Kazi said. "Be specific. Tell us what we can do. Like Leon mentioned, we aren’t as powerful as we wish we could be. The more we know, the better we can make our formations."

Masanori’s impatience was clear. He didn’t want to explain. He wanted them to go and fight. But with the players so trepid, he had to explain.

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