Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 846 - 787 I Like This

"Name."

"Drake the Sea King."

"Is that your surname?"

"That’s my stage name."

"...I like your sense of humor, what’s your profession?"

"Look at my tricorn hat, look at my scimitar, do you need me to engrave ’Cursed Pirate’ on the hat before you recognize my profession!"

"Judging by appearances is a superficial act, it’s rare to find straightforward people like Drake these days."

"...Are you insulting me?"

The person across from him chuckled, revealing startlingly white teeth, the redness of the gums was frightening.

"How did you get to the City of Wandering?"

"Came by boat, a ghost ship."

"And where is your ship now?"

"Ran off."

"Who did it?"

"The ship ran off itself. At the moment it was unleashed, it dove into the ground like a piece of meat kicked into the water, made a ’glop’ sound, and tunnelled away."

"Your ghost ship can also tunnel?"

"It probably realizes that going out to sea is dangerous right now."

The other party picked up a glass, swirled it around affectedly, then put it back on the bar.

"Your ship ran away, and yet you don’t seem in the least bit worried."

"I can’t run away, we share the curse. No matter where it runs to, I can easily summon my crew back in the blink of an eye."

His eyes seemed to shine.

"Please show your citizenship card or temporary residency card, Mr. Drake."

"You’re lucky to have come early, I might just lose this thing after finishing this drink." Drake pulled out a shiny crystal card from under the turned-up brim of his hat, casually conjured by the Blue Dragon Priest, a symbol of a scholar’s identity.

The other person looked at the card, their hand clearly trembling; they didn’t take it for inspection, instead they slapped the bar counter as if to vent and said, "What a pity, it really is the magic of a teacher!" A contract full of laws against fraud silently turned to ashes between their fingers.

"Wait a minute, you’re not the management here!" Drake stood up suddenly, staring at the two friendly men in mysterious attire who came up out of nowhere, questioning him for no apparent reason. Drake, out of instincts, answered honestly.

"What do you mean we’re not? We are the students of the esteemed scholar, disciples of that human-shaped magic fountain; we’re more official than the officials, the City of Wandering is my home!"

The person in black sitting behind Drake patted his back.

"Alright, alright, Brother Drake, we’re just concerned about the safety of this city. You’re a new face, that makes you suspicious. After all, the residents of the City of Wandering are very innocent. Here we seldom find stowaways, fraudsters, and mad researchers. We have to protect our city. Now the misunderstanding is cleared up, you are a trustworthy friend, let’s have a drink together."

Drake let the familiar stranger behind him guide him into drinking down one shot. To his delight, he found that the magical floating city could actually produce liquor that ghosts could taste, which made him even happier. Because he was worried about the White Dragon being taken away, he came to this bar with all its riffraff to gather information. Considering himself a crafty old hand, Drake was quickly cornered by these two men, and the unexpected pleasant surprise was finding alcohol he could actually drink.

"Anna! Two more ’Heart-stirring’ ones, less fear and add some ice." The man in front shouted to the female bartender and winked at Drake, "Special Spirit Liquor, it’s on me."

Drake knew well that the man must have an ulterior motive, but he couldn’t control his own throat. Even his pirate instincts that should have alerted him were ignored. Drake rubbed his fingers together, showing a flattering smile to the man.

Soon, the good-looking but somehow off-putting female bartender brought up two glasses of pale blue liquid bubbling with fizz.

"A toast to you, Mr. Drake, to your health and smooth sailing."

"To freedom! To the end of the world!" The events faced at sea still made the pirate shudder when he recalled them. He couldn’t picture the future; perhaps it was time to take a long vacation from his pirate life. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"This is the thing, Mr. Drake, I have some matters here that might interest you..."

As expected, here it came. Drake felt slightly tipsy, now he could betray his first mate’s underwear pattern for another drink, "Maybe, sir, but right now I’m worried about my brother White Dragon, I’m afraid I don’t have the spare energy..."

"The White Dragon won’t have any problems, we have the best wrap-up team. Since he’s already escaped from God’s embrace, now it’s even hard for him to want to die."

Drake nodded his head, raising his hand.

"Another drink! I need to moisten my dry throat."

As if they already understood the nature of certain people, the following booze arrived swiftly. Smelling the wine in the glass, Drake leaned toward the gentleman beside him.

"Now I am interested, please explain, generous sir."

He sat up straight, his eyes glowing as he quickly traced something onto the sheepskin he pulled out. The paper shimmered with strange symbols Drake had never seen before, and at last, the pattern he saw was the one from the Cursed Coin, something Drake had never mentioned.

Drake swore he’d never leave any fingerprint on that paper.

"This is it, Mr. Drake, my recent research topic is the utilization of cursed power. Don’t you think the ghost ship’s curse, this kind of teleportation mechanism that defies the logic of space-time and energy loss, is worth exploiting?"

"Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself..."

The man picked up the glass Drake had put down and rolled its rim across the parchment. Drake watched his fingerprints appear on the contract as if he saw the devil bare its fangs.

"It has been pleasant meeting you, Mr. Derek."

"I am Miracle."

"I am Inspiration." The person behind him added, placing a small pouch of gold coins in the palm of the bartender.

"Welcome to the Shadow and Light District of the City of Wandering."