67: Chapter 67 The Legend of Alcatraz

By the time Richard returned to Blackwater City, the sky had already grown quite dark.

The lighthouse in the harbor district had just been lit, and its orange beam of light had yet to sweep across the entire sea surface.

He pushed open the doors of the Adventurers Guild.

The chandelier in the guild hall was already swaying slightly from the roar of the crowd inside, which was easily several times noisier than usual.

The hall was packed with people; some were familiar faces, but more were strangers—likely Adventurers who had rushed over from surrounding towns, their gear still covered in the dust of a long journey.

"Richard! Over here!" Jinbao's voice came from a corner.

The gnome stood on a chair with his goggles pushed up onto his forehead, waving a mug of ale vigorously in Richard's direction, nearly spilling it onto the head of the black cat beside him.

The black cat dodged the ale with a precise side-step, clearly wanting to kick the gnome down.

Richard squeezed through the crowd and placed his horned helmet on the table.

He asked curiously, "Is today some kind of big occasion? This is the first time I've seen so many people in the guild, and it looks like many of them are novices."

Cecilia sat beside him, her sword leaning within easy reach of her right hand.

She turned her head and whispered, "Let Morpheus tell you the news; he's been as excited as a silver-haired gorilla since this afternoon."

"Haha, really?" Richard was quite surprised to see Cecilia crack a rare joke.

Morpheus sat next to Selina, holding a piece of parchment filled with dense writing, his purple eyes dancing with immense excitement.

A nautical chart was spread out on the table, with a thick circle drawn in red ink over an empty stretch of sea just east of the center.

A line of small text in the Common tongue was noted above it: "Orian Island (Demon Island), center of the Roaring Storm Sea (Coordinates 11°20′N, 142°11.5′E)."

"Captain, you're finally back!"

Morpheus handed over the parchment, his speech nearly twice as fast as usual.

"News just came in today... Ships have spotted a massive island that suddenly appeared in the center of the Roaring Storm Sea! It's not a mirage, it's not an illusion—it's a real, tangible island!"

"That island must be the legendary Orian Island, which has been submerged on the seabed for nearly a thousand years. It's very likely that the underwater earthquake last month pushed it back above the surface!"

He swallowed hard and continued, "The Gold-tier Adventurer party [Oath of Embers] has already departed first!"

Richard took the parchment and glanced at it.

The paper contained brief intelligence about Orian Island written in neat Common script:

The location of the ancient Orian Kingdom, a lost civilization legendary for its ability to forcibly enslave demons; the reason for the island's sinking is unknown.

Below that was a summary of emergency commissions issued by the Adventurers Guild, the contents of which were mostly similar:

Acquire artifacts from Orian Island, make rubbings of ancient texts on the island, and bring back any magical relics related to the "Law of Dominion"; rewards are negotiable based on the item's value, and the offered prices are extremely high—one could say there is no ceiling.

"Forcibly enslaving demons… How is that done? Interesting." Richard placed the parchment on the table.

Morpheus rested his staff on his shoulder, took a deep breath, and arrived at his favorite part: explaining ancient civilizations:

"According to the information currently circulating, the Orians invented a type of magic called the 'Law of Dominion'."

"This magic doesn't operate on the elemental level; instead, it found a loophole in the Abyss's contractual structure."

"In the simplest terms… they learned how to tie a knot in a demon's soul and then hold the end of the rope in their own hands."

"They used demons to power their cities, Forging weapons, and waging war against other nations."

He paused, a look of sorrow appearing in his purple eyes:

"Suddenly, one day, they failed. No one currently knows the specific reason, but all the Orians on the island died on the same day, and then the entire island sank into the sea."

"Only a tiny number of Orians who were out fishing survived, but within a few years, they were all wiped out by hostile nations…"

Priestess Selina hung her holy symbol back on her waist, a flash of competitive spirit in her silver eyes:

"The vast majority of Silver-tier and Gold-tier Adventurer parties haven't had time to return; they are still caught up in the war with the Murloc legions. This is a rare opportunity for us!"

"Those veteran Gold-tier teams, tsk tsk—if we wait until they've moved everything movable off the island before we set out, we'll really only be left with the dregs."

Jinbao clapped in agreement, "That's right! This is a rare chance for us to get rich! Who knows, we might even discover ancient alchemy technology!"

Selina continued, "I've already contacted a captain. He is the owner of the 'Sea Dog,' a medium-sized sailing ship with an oak keel, and he's also a veteran sailor of the Storm Temple."

"He definitely has the capability to navigate this route. He's already taken on two Adventurer parties; adding our team will fill it up just right."

She turned to Richard, the corners of her mouth curling up into a smile with a distinctly combative air.

"My dear Captain, so, are we going or not?"

Richard didn't answer immediately.

He tapped his fingers on the table a few times, his gaze lingering on the red circle on the nautical chart for a moment.

An island that had been asleep for a thousand years had now unexpectedly surfaced. The magic arrays or traps on it were likely defunct, and there probably weren't any living creatures left. Plus, the acquisition prices for artifacts offered by the guild were extremely high.

He withdrew his finger from the nautical chart, looked up, and his black eyes flashed with confident light.

"Go! We must go! If an Adventurer doesn't participate in adventures, they might as well go home and farm!"

The group quickly prepared and purchased a large amount of supplies; basic preserved rations included hard bread, salted beef, and some dried fruit hardtack made by elves.

They weren't particularly short on water, as Selina, being an apprentice priest of the Storm Temple, could cast [Create Water]. However, just to be safe, Richard still bought two barrels of ale and placed them in his dimensional bag.

Additionally, Jinbao and the black cat purchased some seasickness medicine, tarpaulins, and several bottles of [Alchemical Fire Oil]; this type of fire oil could handle sea creatures or aquatic swarms.

Richard also specifically bought anti-rust paste to prevent their weapons from corroding. Finally, he went to the Black Silk Chamber of Commerce, spent 135 gold coins to buy three bottles of healing potions, and another 90 gold coins for a bottle of mana potion.

Including the two healing potions rewarded from the previous mission, they now had a total of five. He distributed two of them to Cecilia, so they could be used to treat other teammates at any time.

After all, they both had the best constitutions, the strongest recovery abilities, and could provide support the fastest.

He didn't know how effective the mana potion would be, as Richard had never drunk one before, but he trusted the integrity of the Chamber of Commerce—surely, you get what you pay for.