I didn’t take anything yet, just looked around while they ate. The road here was much wider than the one we had been following before, and the land around it was flatter too. To my left, the dense forest stretched on, but beyond that there were open fields, scattered trees, and a few yellowed bushes here and there. The whole area felt strangely vast, like this part of the Circle went on forever.

"Tell me, Ace," Bone said, chewing slowly. "Why are you here? I don’t see a collar on you."

I shrugged. "Ken and I were just curious about the Circle, that’s all."

There was no reason to tell them the truth. The less they knew, the better.

"The Circle doesn’t like curious fellahs, fellah," one of the men on my right said in a low, gravelly voice.

"Yeah," I replied.

"The chick with the mask," another one said. "Have you seen her?"

"Yes," I said. "She was dragging somebody."

"A murderer," Bone said. "We were the ones who ratted him out."

"A murderer?" Ken asked with his mouth full.

Bone took another bite of the banana. "Uh-huh. Bad stuff."

"He killed a kid," the gravel-voiced man said. "Poor soul was stealing from him."

"Stealing what?" Ken asked.

"He was a baker," the same man replied. "The kid used to steal a loaf from him every day."

"And he just killed him over bread?" Ken held the apple tighter in his hand.

Bone nodded. "Cold blood. He caught the kid a few times and told him to stop, but then he just exploded."

The whole group went quiet after that. Bone scratched the back of his head and stretched his hands toward the fire, staring into the flames for a while. I glanced over my shoulder once more, half expecting a Teleporter to just appear behind us, because that was apparently the kind of thing the Circle liked doing to people.

Ken finished his apple and tossed the core into the forest before grabbing a cup of water and drinking it in one go.

"We should go," I said, standing up. "Come on, Ken."

"Thanks for everything," Ken said, getting to his feet. "And, uh, nice to meet you again, Bone."

"Likewise, kid. You heading to the closest safe zone?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah."

"Then stay sharp."

"Thanks," I said, getting up too. "Come on, let’s move."

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

╔═══════════════╗

Location Discovered!

─────────────────

Name: Shipwreck of Pi

╠═══════════════╣

Region: The Circle

Objective:

○ Find the phantom chest.

○ Complete two quests.

○ Hunt the creature feeding

on the wreck’s memories.

╠═══════════════╣

Gained EXP: +27

╚═══════════════╝

So this was the safe zone.

It sat in the middle of the Circle like something the sea had forgotten and the world had been too tired to reclaim. The building itself was not a building at all, but a massive shipwreck, an old vessel so large it had been turned into a shelter over time rather than simply left to rot. Its hull had split and warped with age, one side buried half into the ground while the other rose high enough to cast a long shadow over the dirt around it. The wood was dark, weather-beaten, and cracked in places where the planks had dried and shifted over the years, but the ship still held together stubbornly, bound by iron braces, ropes, and wooden supports that had clearly been added later by whoever had claimed the place as their own.

The entrance had been cut into the side where the hull had torn open, turning the broken gap into a wide doorway that led into the interior. A set of rough stairs and planks had been nailed together to make the climb easier, and from where we stood I could see people moving in and out through that opening without much concern. The deck above us was crowded too, with archers posted along the railings and a few figures leaning against the mast and broken rigging as if they had been living there for years.

Around the shipwreck, the ground had been flattened by endless footsteps, and the immediate area was ringed with tents, crates, rope bundles, stacked supplies, and small cooking fires that gave the whole place a rough camp feel. It was not clean, and it was not peaceful, but it was alive in a way the rest of the Circle was not.

"Boy," Ken whistled beside me. "Wow."

"Oi!" one of the archers on the ship’s deck called down to us. "Lower your weapons, kid."

Ken reacted quickly and swung his bow to his back. "Shit. Sorry."

"Be careful next time."

I put the dagger back into my inventory and stayed where I was. Apparently, the safe zones were more than just a name... they were truly safe. This part of the Circle was protected by the sheer density of the air, preventing any monsters from entering.

I had to admit, the air here was heavy. Far too heavy. Breathing wasn’t automatic anymore; it felt like something I had to consciously do. Every few minutes, I found myself taking a deep breath just to pull enough air into my lungs.

"Come on," Ken said, already looking at the crowd around the wreck. "Let’s see if they sell anything we can buy."

"With what coin?" I asked.

"Not coin." He spread both arms slightly as he walked backward, still facing me with a grin that looked way too cheerful for this place. "By doing quests. This is the Circle, baby."

I let my shoulders sag. "Yeah. Great."

We walked inside the ship and took in the scene. It seemed this section served as a gathering hall of sorts, with tables scattered throughout the room without any real order. There were no chairs anywhere. Most people stood around their tables with mugs in hand, talking quietly among themselves, while others simply sat on the floor against the walls. The atmosphere felt strangely relaxed for a place located in the middle of the Circle.

The room itself was easily twice the size of my dormitory room back at the academy. Nothing about it was fancy. The floor creaked beneath every step, and the exposed ribs of the ship curved overhead like the bones of some giant beast. Since we were standing in the section where the ship had split apart, two wooden doors sat opposite one another on either side of the room. The door to the left, toward what had once been the ship’s aft section, had a crude beer mug carved into the wood with a knife. The door on the right was unmarked.

"Guess that’s where we’re going," Ken said.

He pushed open the left door, and we stepped inside.

The atmosphere changed immediately.

The room beyond was warmer, louder, and smelled strongly of alcohol and cooked meat. Lanterns hung from ropes stretched between wooden beams overhead, their yellow light casting long shadows across the room. The walls were lined with barrels stacked two and three high, while shelves behind the counter held bottles of every shape and color imaginable.

Several rough wooden tables filled the room. Men and women sat around them drinking from clay mugs, playing cards, arguing about something, or simply staring into their drinks after what looked like a very long day. Most carried weapons openly. Swords rested against tables. Spears leaned against walls. A few bows hung from chair backs or shoulders. Nobody seemed bothered by any of it.

At the far end stood a long wooden bar built from salvaged planks. Behind it, a broad-shouldered woman moved from customer to customer, filling mugs directly from kegs and sliding them down the counter without spilling a drop. A few patrons shouted orders her way, but she barely acknowledged them beyond a nod.

Everyone looked tired. Everyone looked dangerous. Yet there was a strange sense of camaraderie hanging in the air, as though surviving the Circle automatically made people part of the same miserable club.

"Why are we even here?" I asked. "We should be picking plants near the safe zone."

"I always wanted to see what a safe zone looked like!" Ken said. "Isn’t this incredible?"

"We’re putting ourselves in danger for no damn reason," I muttered. "We should be going."

"Come on. Enjoy yourself a little."

I shook my head.

"There’s still a third suspect, Ken. I can’t waste time sitting around doing nothing. If you want to stay here, stay. I’m heading back out there and getting the rest of the plants."

"Fine, fine," he exhaled, clearly annoyed. "Gods, you’re no fun."

Just as I turned toward the door, it suddenly swung open and nearly smacked me in the face.

The woman from before walked inside just as I stepped back, and I immediately knew why the room had gone quiet.

It was the unnamed assassin.

Apparently one of the most infamous people in the Circle.

She carried something in her hand, and as soon as I saw what it was, my stomach tightened. It was a severed head... it belonged to the same man she’d been dragging along on that road.

The entire room went still as she crossed the floor. Conversations faded one after another, and even the people with mugs in their hands stopped drinking and watched her in silence. Without acknowledging anyone else, she made her way to the eastern wall, where a man sat on the floor with his back against the planks. He looked awful, with bloodshot eyes, a pale face, dried mucus on his beard, and a body shaking so badly he looked feverish.

The assassin stopped in front of him and dropped the head onto the floor.

The man’s eyes widened as he stared at it, then stared at it again like his mind refused to accept what he was seeing.

"Gods..." he whispered.

The room stayed silent.

"Thank you," he said, his voice cracking as tears filled his eyes. "Thank you... my kid... he only stole a loaf of bread... thank you. Thank you."