Chapter 78. Painting
Charles sat at the pier as he watched a cargo ship being unloaded in the distance. Picking up a paintbrush, his hand moved across the blank canvas before him.
He started sketching an outline before filling in the colors and followed up by adding shadows and reflections. As time passed, a unique landscape watercolor painting came to life on the canvas.
Charles had never expected that the enhanced physical abilities by 096 would actually aid him in his artistic pursuits.
"How does it look?" Charles asked his alter ego residing within his mind.
"Looks fine. But isn't the ambient colors a bit dark?" Richard said. The hand holding the paintbrush then started moving on its own accord to add a few details to the painting.
Initially, Laesto had merely brought up painting as a passing remark. However, after carefully considering his options, Charles decided to paint as a form of stress relief.
Charles was just planning to do some idle doodling, but when he recreated scenes from his mind onto the canvas, he gradually found a liking to this art form.
Disregarding the aesthetic pleasure of his paintings, portraits of his family, landscapes from the surface, and towering skyscrapers, came to life under Charles' paintbrush. To be able to create artworks that reflected an idea in his mind was intrinsically fulfilling.
No matter what, Charles had achieved his goal. With this newfound hobby, he no longer yearned to be out at sea all day long. He could quietly stay on the island and wait as time washed out the mind contamination caused by the sea.
Three months flew past. As Charles honed his painting skills, the exhaustion and haggardness that always stained his face began to fade.
Just as Charles and Richard were engaged in discussing their artwork, a group of sailors approached with their arms draped around each other in camaraderie.
Among the group, a middle-aged sailor with a distinctive mole on his forehead noticed Charles deeply engrossed in his painting.
He leaned closer and then exclaimed in astonishment, "Look! This gentleman is painting our ship! It looks the same!"
The other sailors gathered around in excitement.
Charles didn't like being the center of attention and took his canvas, wanting to leave. But just as he rose to his feet, the man with a mole on his face requested with an appeasing grin, "Sir, could you paint something for me?"
Charles raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Do you know the Spider Islands governed by the Governor of Whereto? Our cargo this time is spider silk from there. My son has always been curious about what that place looks like, so I was hoping you could paint it out to broaden his horizons. He had never been to another island."
Being at the end of the sailor's expectant gaze, Charles pondered briefly before he sat back down.
"Alright then," Charles agreed and expertly layered color blocks on the corner of the canvas.
"Wonderful!! Let me describe the place to you. It's really terrifying, with white spider silk covering everything, from trees to the rooftops. Also, the spiders are enormous... even larger than a human—"
"You don't have to elaborate," Charles interrupted the sailor as his brush slid deftly over the canvas. As details were gradually added in, a white island port took shape.
The buildings were tightly clustered, set against a disorienting backdrop of an intricate labyrinth of spider webs. Minute specks of crimson glowed within the maze of spider silk—they were the eyes of the spider. Looking closer, one could even make out the monstrous form of the spider that was larger than a building.
"Wow...this is so accurate! It's almost like the real deal! Sir, have you been to that island before?"
The Spider Islands supplied a large number of clothing materials for the humans in the subterranean seascape. Having captained a cargo ship for years, Charles had indeed navigated the route leading to the island many times.
"Thank you. My son would be pleased to see this." The sailor received the painting and scampered off toward the dock's exit.
Emboldened by the success of their colleague, the other sailors crowded around Charles.
"Sir, can you draw me a painting of the Isle of Whereto? I've never been there, but I heard that it's the most prosperous island in the Northern Sea. I want to know what it looks like."
"Sir, do you draw portraits? Can you draw me? I'm afraid that if I die at sea, my daughter will forget what I look like."
A low bellow of a ship's horn abruptly drowned out the sailors' voices as it entered the nearby waters.
Staring at the appearance of the ship approaching from the distance, Charles’ normally impassive expression tightened into a frown. A white triangle emblem was emblazoned on its hull. It was a ship belonging to the Divine Light Order.
Charles made his way through the chattering sailors and headed for the docks. With his eagle vision, he immediately spotted Kord standing at the ship's prow. The old man's usual affable demeanor was completely gone and replaced with that of an addicted gambler—haggard with a trace of craziness.
Without waiting for the ship to anchor, Kord lurched his way down the shaky wooden ladder. He held a box about the size of a watermelon in his hands.
"Take it! Give me the nautical chart! Now!" Kord demanded as he violently threw the box at Charles.
Charles opened the box to reveal Sonny's severed head, preserved in lime. The man's eyes were wide open. Even though he's dead, Charles could still pick up the trace of malice and madness in his eyes.
"You must've gone through quite a bit to kill him, didn't you?" Charles remarked casually as he lifted the head by the hair.
"Give! Me! The! Map!" Kord spat through gritted teeth as his expression twisted in desperation. He looked as though he would swallow Charles alive if Charles denied him the nautical chart.
"Calm down," Charles said as he cradled the head and turned in the direction of his tavern. Kord's face turned a shade darker, and followed after Charles with a gaggle of his minions trailing after them.
"No signs of surgical alterations on the face, a single layer of skin, steel pins of the Divine Light Order in his brain. Seems like the real deal," Charles muttered to himself as he confirmed the authenticity of the head. Immediately after, he tossed the head into a nearby heap of reeking garbage.
Seeing Sonny dead elicited little emotional response from Charles. Sonny had wanted to kill him, so it was only right for him to respond to the provocation. He was merely removing an obstacle to his journey back home through Kord's hands.
The door to Charles' room pushed open with a creak. Placing down the pencil on her shoulder, Lily hopped off the table and landed on the floor. "Mr. Charles, you're back from your sketching so soon today?" she asked with a curious tilt of her head.
Charles scooped her up in his hand and stroked the silken fur on her back. He took a glance at Kord before turning back to Lily and instructed, "Gather the crew, we've rested long enough."
"Alright," Lily responded. She stole a glance at Kord before scampering along the corner of the wall and exited with a parade of mice in her wake.
With a thud, the diary page that depicted the nautical chart was displayed before Kord's eyes. The Sacred Acolyte of the Divine Light Order reached out his trembling hands toward the notebook, then shrank back, seemingly in fear. He frantically gestured to one of his subordinates.
A follower of the Divine Light Order that was standing beside hurriedly approached with a metal rectangular box. As the follower operated the box with a series of clicking sounds, Charles finally realized the identity of the box—an antique camera.
After taking the necessary photos, Kord finally accepted the diary in his hands. His entire attention was on the pages as he scanned the contents, not willing to miss out on a single detail.
After what felt like an eternity, Kord lifted his gaze from the book and looked at Charles. "Have the coordinates been calibrated?"
"I've been to this place," Charles said as he pointed at the island that housed 1002. "According to its coordinates, we can easily extrapolate the positions of the other islands."
"Great! Excellent! Wonderful! I'm going to find the Land of Light very soon!! Hahahaha!" Kord burst into jubilant laughter as he pounded on the table like an overjoyed child.
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