Reaching the Destination-2

During childhood, every parent gives many instructions to children that they need to follow. And one of the most common instructions is that one should never drink anything that strangers offer them. And this rule is also very helpful in adulthood as well. But when David was going through the cleansing process, he broke the rule.

He broke the rule mostly because his mind wasn't in a very good state at that moment. During that time, he was feeling so miserable that he was willing to drink poison as well if it could only make the pain go away. But luckily the potions provided by Captain Duffy were very effective. After drinking the red potion when David woke the next time, he woke up healthy as a horse. He woke up feeling very energetic as well as the discomfort in his body had also disappeared.

The next day when David woke up, Captain Duffy helped him to his feet and fed him some meat. Then he let him use his bathtub to clean himself thoroughly. At that time David didn't really question anything. But as the day went by, David started to feel that something was wrong here…

Captain Duffy and his crew were being overly affectionate with him. They were treating him nicely. They fed him extra portions of food which David gladly took. Another strange was that after his cleansing, David's appetite suddenly grew. And those guys were treating him with such care that this made David believe that something was wrong.

George as well as Captain Duffy made it quite clear that they are the guy who won't bend their rules for anyone. But seeing them bending their rules for him, David started to get a feeling that something is not right.

And then there were the potions that David drank during his cleansing. David was not a guy that forgets the kindness. So he insisted that they should take money from him for the potions. But they refused to take a single copper coin.

Seeing all of this, David understood that something isn't right here. So he decided that rather than playing mind games, he would prefer to be direct. That is why David requested to join Duffy and George for dinner…

***

That night David joined Captain Duffy and his son George over at the dinner. The trio sat at a round dining table in Captain's room. The dinner served that evening was roasted pork with creamy salad. Seeing the exquisite food in front of him, David's mouth started watering. But he controlled himself as he had bigger fish to fry…

"By all means, David please start." Captain Duffy said while gesturing.

"Don't mind if I do," David said with a smile and served him some creamy salad. George started cutting the roasted pork into smaller pieces and Captain started pouring some wine for the three of them.

After everyone had dinner on their plates and wine by their stands, they started eating their dinner…

"Captain Duffy. George. First and foremost I should thank you, guys. You took care of me at my lowest point. And I don't know whether I would ever be able to repay the kindness that showed me." David said.

"Don't mention it." Captain Duffy said.

"Yeah, you were sick, so because of normal humane decency we helped you." George further on added.

"But it means a lot to me. Especially after you guys find out that I was a Siberian. That means a lot to me." David added.

"Don't mention it." Captain Duffy and George said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, how did you guys find out that I was a Siberian?" David asked.

David didn't remember much about what happened during the cleansing process. But he does remember that after the cleansing process, Captain Duffy asked him 'why did he hide the fact that he was a Siberian'. That question didn't raise any alarms in David's head at that time, because his mind was in disarray at that moment.

But when everything was over, that question started making alarms go on in his mind. How the hell did these guys know that he was a Siberian? David looked exactly like a normal human, so how did these guys know. Because of this, David started formulating many theories about how they found out. And one of them being that one of the potions that they fed him was sort of like truth serum.

Maybe they intoxicated him and then asked him several questions about his identity. If his theory was indeed true then why did these guys made him their target? Did he do anything to make them suspicious of him? He behaved like a normal passenger so what gave him away. And if these guys are indeed working for Gupalo then why are they treating him so nicely. They should have locked him up in a room by now.

And David was sure that these guys are perfectly capable of handling him as he could tell from the blue window floating above their heads….

.......................

Name- Duffy

Rank-9

Description- Captain of the ship called The Lady.

............................

Name-George

Rank-5

Description- First mate of the ship called The Lady

........................

"Oh, your eyes gave it away during cleansing." Captain Duffy said nonchalantly.

"I am sorry what?" a confused David asked. Captain Duffy's answer got him off guard.

"Your eyes, they gave it away," George added.

"My eyes? So what… Do all Siberians have black color eyes like me? And Captain you also have black color eyes. So does it mean that you are a Siberian as well?" David asked.

"Well…. Your eyes changed and morphed completely during the cleansing. So that is when we knew that you are a Siberian." George said while munching on pork meat.

"My eyes morphed? What are you guys talking about?" David asked.

"You how your eyes change because of your emotions. That is called morphing." Duffy said.

"My eyes change because of my emotions?" David asked. Hearing David's question both Duffy and George stopped eating and started looking at him with confusion.

"You are a Siberian. Didn't you notice that your eyes changed after you got awakened?" George asked.

"No…" David said.

"Didn't you know that the eyes of a Siberian change with their mood?" Captain Duffy asked.

"No," David said.

"How? Didn't your aunt tell you about this matter?" Duffy said.

"My aunt?" David asked. Hearing Duffy's question about his aunt, made him realize that these guys knew about him. Because as far as he was concerned, David didn't talk about Solari's aunt with anyone.

"Yes, your aunt. She is a Siberian as well. Didn't she tell you about your eyes?" George added.

"You guys know my aunt?" David asked.

"No… But we met when you were a kid. How is she by the way?" Duffy said.

"I don't know. She abandoned me in a small village. And then I lost all my memories because of an accident. So I don't know much about her." David said while making up a lie so that he could prolong the conversation.

"You lost your memories? But then how the hell knew that you are a Siberian. Because usually, Siberian kids do not start morphing their eyes until they became Rank-1 awakened." George asked.

"What is Rank-1 awakened?" David asked to quickly change the topic.

"It is like he is an empty slate… he doesn't know anything," George said why looking at David with pity.

"Well, then why don't you enlighten him, George," Duffy said….

***

That night, the trio talked till midnight. And then they finally went to sleep. Captain Duffy was gracious enough to give David a foldable mattress and invited him to sleep in his room. And David couldn't just say no to that offer…

After the talk at dinner, a lot of things finally made sense to David. First and foremost he now understands what ranks mean. As it turns out, Rank denotes the mana level of an awakened one. The higher the level of mana in an awakened one's body, the higher would be their rank.

Second of all, David finally understood why these people were treating him so nicely. It turns out that they are afraid of Solaris's aunt. Captain Duffy and George told him that about 5 years ago she and little Solaris came to Guda Island on their ship. And during that time something happened between Duffy and Solaris's aunt that made them both fear her.

David doesn't trust them. But he didn't fear them either. He still has that save point back in Guda Island. So if things do go sideways then he could always commit suicide…

There were still many holes in the knowledge that David possessed. He still was very uncertain about what his future have stored for him. But for now, David could only buckle up and prepare for the worst…