For The Greater Good-World 1: A Corrupted Cove || World//Zero ||

31. At the Boarding Dock

For the next two days, the dungeons were still kept closed while the elites searched through them. On the third day was when they started opening them up again, starting with the first dungeon and moving to the second. The third dungeon with the Dire Boarwolf boss, however, was still closed, and more boards were put up blocking the entrance. Even one of the elites nailed a notice to the wall, saying that the dungeon was "under construction" and "that it wasn't ready to be opened yet". However, Alec and pretty much everyone else knew the real reason why it was closed: because of the corrupted crystal. Speaking of the corruption, it began spreading more throughout the island, slowly but surely. Every day, it seemed to reach a new spot that it wasn't the day before. Still, the blue crystal that floated near the Boarwolf Forest glowed as blue as the cloudless sky. Alec wondered if it would be only in a matter of time when it would turn corrupted, too.

As for the adventurers affected by the Dire Boarwolf's corrupted radiation, blinded, many of them were sent back to the docks across the sea on ships. They would board at noon. Alec was sometimes at the tavern or back at base by that time, so he would go up to the boarding docks and watch as the adventurers got on those big pirate ships that brought them to World Zero, only to be taken back.

When he got there, he saw about ten of the adventurers waiting there on the dock as a boat came sailing in from farther away. His fox pet hopped on the fence post where he was resting his arms and sat down, observing them as well. In the group leaving, he didn't see Danny there. Was he going to stay after all?

Behind him, Alec heard the sound of someone spawning into World 1 using the blue teleporter. He didn't turn to see who it was, too distracted by the ship moving ever so gradually toward the boarding dock, seeing the specks of people moving on board. He only turned around when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and he saw that it was Sean. He was all smiles and seemed chipper, as always.

"Hey, Alec!" He folded his arms over the fence post as he looked down at the dock of people down below. "What're we looking at?"

"They're going back home," Alec told him. "Didn't you hear about what happened a couple of days ago? With the third dungeon?"

Sean cocked his brow. "Uh, no? Why? Did something happen?"

Alec sighed and told him about what happened. How the Dire Boarwolf was corrupt, how they found the shard the way it was, the toxic radiation.

"Wow," Sean said, once Alec was finished. "It almost sounds like you were there when it happened."

"I was," Alec said.

"Oh!" Sean was surprised, and then he frowned and looked down at the sea. "Oh." He paused for a moment and then said, "You didn't get hurt, though, did you?"

"No." He did have a few scratches and bruises, but he didn't want to tell him about that. "These people, though. They were blinded, and they don't think that they can stay. So they're leaving."

"Pity," Sean said. He smiled again. "Guess what? I completed the last dungeon! Just like I told you about. Do you remember?"

Alec narrowed his eyes. Didn't he care at all about what was happening? Either way, Alec replied. "Yeh, I think so."

"Well, I did it! Now I can progress to World 3!"

Alec didn't share the same enthusiasm and kept to himself. Sean seemed to notice this but still tried to make him show some sort of interest. "But I think that I might still stay in World 2 for a while. I still need to complete my side quests."

"Hm."

"I think that it'd be weird not having a mentor anymore," Sean went on. "You're free of 'em once you get into World 3. I guess that's because you'll know everything that you need to by that point."

There was a pause. It was long and uncomfortable. Alec decided not to fill the silence, keeping his eye on the boat. It was getting closer now, and he could actually pinpoint faces on the people on the ship.

Sean laid his hand flat and patted the top of the fox kit's head. "Have you named your pet yet?" he asked him. The fox batted at his hand with its brown paw, pinning its round ears back.

"No, not yet," Alec said. He felt like he never had the time to actually think of a name.

"I don't know why you're so particular on what your pet's name is," Sean remarked. "I just name them the first thing I think of."

"Like what?"

Sean giggled to himself and opened his satchel. He put both hands inside and scavenged through it before pulling out a fat feathered owl. It let out a painful screech, catching Alec off guard and forcing him to look at it. It was red with striking yellow eyebrows, and its wings were big enough to cover Alec's head. It flapped them loudly and flexed its talons uncomfortably, as if it was trying to get away.

"This is Talons!" Sean said. "Can you tell why I named him that?"

Alec didn't strip his eyes away from the scrambling owl. "Uh-huh."

"Okay, now look at this." Sean shoved his owl back into his satchel, and Alec heard it scream until it was forced completely inside, a couple of red feathers getting loose into the air. Sean stuck out his tongue and rummaged some more before pulling out a giant orange frog, its huge glossy eyes staring right at Alec's face. It looked slimy and warty, but Sean didn't seem to mind. "This is Beacon!"

"Uh...why?"

Sean lifted the giant frog up slightly and looked at it. He then said, "I don't know. I think it's because the skin looks bright." Beacon gave a light ribbit before Sean put him back in his small satchel. Sean glanced at Alec as he was rummaging around again. "I got another pet, but I might give this one to the Pet Master. I don't really like it."

"What is it—"

"OW!" Sean suddenly interrupted. He sucked his finger before putting his hand back in his satchel, and finally he pulled out a little baby spiky lizard. It was a quillodile, like Melody's, only it was smaller—younger, at that—and purple. It looked to be smiling though, and it wriggled around in his grasp.

"Why don't you like that one?" Alec asked. Now that he saw it up close, and because it was recently hatched, he personally thought that it looked kind of cute.

"Because it's spiky! How am I supposed to hold this thing?"

Alec shrugged, watching it squirm around. "Fair."

Sean groaned and put the squeaking pet back in his satchel. He folded his arms back over the fence post and followed Alec's direction out to the ocean. The ship was finally at the dock, and Alec watched as they threw over an anchor to keep it in one place. The people on the ship kicked down some stairs for them to walk on and they went to the people waiting on the dock. They led them up onto the boat. They went as quickly as they came, for a few moments later, they fished the anchor out of the sea and the ship was turned around, going back to where it came.