He had been stuck at level fifty for over a year. Ever since arriving in this world, he had not received a single quest. He knew the DNF system he had brought with him was incomplete, and one of its missing pieces was the all-important quest system.
He had thought Awakening was hopeless. Only today had he finally seen a glimmer of hope again. How could he not be excited?
After calming himself down, Barn felt happy. Whether it was the warmth he had not felt in so long aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' ship or the joy of learning he could achieve Awakening, even the unchanging darkness before his eyes seemed a little different.
Feeling the nighttime sea breeze, Barn fell asleep...
When Barn opened his eyes again, it was already the next day. He felt a blanket covering him.
He was just about to ask when he heard a familiar voice.
"Sobered up, Barn?"
"Thanks, Newgate."
Barn had collapsed in the Lookout and slept there all night, leaving every bone in his body stiff. He slowly stood up and offered the blanket back to Whitebeard as he spoke.
Whitebeard did not take the blanket. He simply turned in the Lookout to gaze out at the boundless sea and said,
"Barn, you know, my favorite thing to do is gaze out at the sea. You can see so much from here. Oh, sorry, Barn. I forgot you can't see."
"It's all right, Newgate. I can see."
Holding the blanket, Barn also turned toward the sea and "looked" out at it.
"Oh?"
Whitebeard did not understand what Barn meant. He looked questioningly at the man standing beside him, who was considerably shorter than he was.
Barn smiled faintly and spoke in a wistful tone.
"My old captain, York, once told me, 'Barn, the sea is everything to a sailor. He was born here, and someday he'll die here. Even if you can't see it, it's always there in your heart, carrying your dreams.'"
Whitebeard's eyebrows and mustache twitched together. He shifted his gaze away from Barn and back to the sea.
After a while, Whitebeard spoke.
"Barn, that's all in the past. You have to keep moving forward, don't you? Would you like to hear what your current captain has to say to you?"
Barn seemed surprised that Whitebeard would say such things to him. Once he recovered, he simply smiled faintly, turned his head, and "looked" at Whitebeard as he replied.
"Well, I never agreed to become your son, but I suppose I can hear you out, Captain Newgate."
"Gurararara! I never intended to take an old man nearly my own age as my son!"
Whitebeard teased him with a laugh, then put on a serious face again and looked at Barn.
"Barn, you're carrying far too much on your shoulders. It'll only wear you down. Let it go. Why not try settling into a new life?"
Barn's brow tightened at Whitebeard's words. He merely stood there in silence, holding the blanket.
Seeing Barn like that, Whitebeard patted his shoulder and jumped down from the Lookout.
Barn was still thinking about Whitebeard's words...
Am I carrying too much... Heh, maybe I really should try a new life. You'd think so too, wouldn't you, Captain York?
Barn raised his head and "looked" at the sky. Yet what he saw was not York's comical smiling face, but Gloriosa, Aishi, Whitebeard, Marco, Vista...
"Thank you, Newgate."
Barn smiled...
"It's so hot! What the hell is this place? I'm dying out here!"
Marco sat bare-chested at the bow, constantly fanning himself with the jacket in his hand as he complained.
"Yeah, it's really hot."
Another burly fellow came out of the cabin and walked over to Marco.
"Hey, Marco, look! The seawater beneath the ship is bubbling!"
"What? What did you say, Vista?"
Hearing Vista's words, Marco leaned over the side of the ship to take a look.
"My god, the water's boiling! Huh? Mr. Barn, the water down there is boiling. Why are you still fishing?"
"Chirp, chirp."
Fitz was so drained by the heat that even sneaking bites of bait held no appeal anymore, and was sprawled lazily on Barn's head.
Barn felt the heat too, but this much was still bearable.
"Gurararara! Marco, my son, Barn is only pretending to fish. He couldn't catch anything even in normal waters!"
Hearing Pops say that, Marco smacked his right fist into his left palm and exclaimed in sudden understanding.
"That's right! No wonder Mr. Barn has been fishing every day lately without catching a single fish!"
He even nodded after saying it.
Barn's pale forehead was already covered in fine beads of sweat. Now a vein bulged on it as well.
"Hey, don't talk when you don't understand! I fish because I enjoy the process! The results don't matter!"
Whitebeard's laughter was still the only answer he received...
"Gurararara!"
"Pops, there's a volcanic island up ahead!"
"Ah, looks like that island is why it's so hot here. Boys, let's go take a look!"
"Aw, Pops, do we have to? We'll roast to death!"
Marco complained.
Despite its enormous size, the Moby Dick was fast, and it soon reached the volcanic island.
Whitebeard was the first to jump ashore, carrying his great blade, followed by Marco, Vista, and the other commanders. Barn jumped down too. Animals were terribly sensitive to heat, and Fitz was now listlessly clinging to Barn's head without reporting the terrain to him.
As a result, Barn fell the moment he landed, apparently having tripped over something.
Ignoring the pirates laughing around him, Barn searched the ground but could not find whatever had tripped him.
Yet when he opened his inventory, he discovered that the Materials tab had lit up...
Barn selected "Materials" and saw something he never would have expected.
"Terrabreeze Coal!"
Barn cried out in surprise, drawing the attention of the pirates around him. Whitebeard also glanced back at him.
"Barn, what's wrong?"
Barn selected the terrabreeze coal, and its information appeared:
Terrabreeze coal A material used for enhancement. Used by the secondary profession "Enchanter."
"Enchanter? This is fate! Haha!" Barn knew this profession all too well. As a veteran DNF player, how could he possibly have escaped being fleeced by Kiri? He had never imagined he would get a chance to fleece others himself! Just thinking about it was exciting!
Barn took the terrabreeze coal out of his inventory. It was a palm-sized red stone, but on closer inspection, it even had a metallic quality.
Holding the terrabreeze coal, Barn asked Whitebeard,
"Newgate, can you see if there are any more stones like this nearby?"
Whitebeard looked at the stone in Barn's hand and replied in surprise.
"These little red stones? There are plenty here, all over the ground. There are even a few big ones over there. Barn, what's gotten into you?"
Hearing Whitebeard's answer, Barn grinned so widely his mouth nearly reached the back of his head. He said excitedly,
"Newgate! Nobody's claimed this island yet, right?"
Baffled by Barn's question, Whitebeard surveyed their surroundings and rubbed his chin.
"Doesn't look like it..."
"Then that's perfect! Newgate, listen to me. Claim this island right away. I need a lot of these stones!"
Whitebeard looked puzzled by Barn's excitement and asked,
"Hey, Barn, are you still drunk?"
Barn impatiently cut Whitebeard off and said,
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly sober. These stones will bring you rewards you never imagined!"
Whitebeard was skeptical of Barn's words, but he still did as asked and sent his men to claim the island.
Whitebeard's flag began flying over the island.
Having given his instructions, Barn paid no more attention to Whitebeard and the others. Ignoring the heat, he ran off joyfully to collect terrabreeze coal...
Watching Barn run back and forth in such uncharacteristic excitement, Marco found it very strange. He walked up to Whitebeard, who looked just as stunned, and nudged him.
"Pops, has Mr. Barn gone mad? Should we call the ship's doctor?"
Whitebeard nodded silently.
"He's sick. He needs treatment!"
Marco nodded in wholehearted agreement...