57: The Sailing Salesman
Fanfic (Probably) or original
He sighed as he leaned back against the rail, staring at the bottle in his hand. it was the last thing aboard to eat or drink, and the cursed fog that had surrounded him for weeks stayed unchanging. He had been lost… for a long time. Worse, all his people were lost long ago. His last shipmate, the cabin boy, had died three weeks back. He was doomed.
So, woke up one morning, had a system. Checked the world outside, nothing had changed, and I was the same me, so… not sure where it came from, but DOPE! The system grants me the ability to gain/ unlock powers, abilities, and skills by upgrading my shop function and selling new things to new worlds. Sounds great, right? Well, there's a few catchs.
The lapping of the waves was getting to him. In some ways, it was worse than silence, really. After all, the silence… at least it would not remind him of his dead compatriots, his lost friends. What could he do, but hate the sound of that which took them away from him?
In order to use the system, I have to climb into a boat and sell stuff to people lost at sea. Worse, I have to travel through mystical mist, AT MIDNIGHT! Successfully navigate my way to, through, and beyond the mist, and sell to whatever person is in danger on the other side. Needless to say, it took three years of training, education, and practice before I was willing to try it. Even worse, my starter boat (system provided!) was a crappy (VERY crappy) rowboat that barely fit one. Later, I have the ability to upgrade the ship, gain crew, and even recruit sea legends (let's go, Kraken!) to help me. every day I don't use the system, however, is one hundred bucks in debt. I'm broke, and in BAD shape financially.
What did the treasure he find matter, if he lost his friends. What did his strength matter, if he were to die here? If only…
Still, I have a system, One Piece is FOR SURE coming up, and I have access to three in-stock items pre-rolled by the store: a Compass of Desire (refreshes once a month) for $5,000,000, forty Back from Lost at Sea talismans (restocked once a week) at $50,000 a pop, and unlimited One-Day All-Ship Ration and Supply Pack for $500. Thankfully, the system auto-calculates for inflation, market price, and the likes. Besides, a Compass of Desire? You'll make that back, no time. Now if only I had five million dollars, instead of being a-hundred-plus thousand dollars in debt. Eh, I bet I'll make it up, eventually. Powers and fame, here I come!
Suddenly, he could here… something else! He shot up and peered into the darkness. There, approaching from the port, was a small skiff, barely a one-person boat (which was weird, due to the fact they were at least three months from land) with the name: The Wellerman on the side. It's crew was a creepy-looking young man who, while he knew what he was doing well enough, was clearly a merchant, not a sailor. Never-the-less, he was rowing away, making headway towards his ship!
"Ahoy, there!" he called to the strange man. "What're ye doing out here? If ye're the devil, I've no interest in trade! 'Sides, I'm the only soul left aboard!"
The man in the boat laughed as he pulled alongside, stowed his oars, and looked up at him. "Devil, I am not. Trade, however? That IS my game. Lucky are ye, young man, to make my acquaintance! I be the captain of the Wellerman, the finest trade vessel on the seas! So great are we, that only those in the direst need get our attention! Word has it, sonny, that you have treasure, but no supplies, no crew, and no way home. Well, if that's the case, call me up or come down! I have a few things ye might like to look at."
The captain looked over his ship, then down at the man below. He was doomed already. Not like this man could make it any worse. "Well enough. Come aboard, at let us trade."
No-one knew the whole story of what happened when his ship, two-hundred strong, only came back with forty-one souls on it. No-one asked how he kept finding his targets at sea, no matter where they hid. And no-one but his heir, his heir's heir, and so on, ever knew the story of how he survived at sea. But one thing was for sure: the legend of the ghostly Wellerman and its merchant captain spread through time and space in a way that was almost… supernatural.