Chapter 35: The Golden City of Shandora
He really was a kind old man—one who cared for his people and wanted to resolve the endless conflict over the land. But the new generation of radicals like the war demon Wyper had completely rejected Gan Fall's proposals. Weren't the guerrillas originally the ones who tried to avoid attacking ordinary Sky Islanders to prevent civilian casualties? So why now, at the mere sight of a few uninvolved Blue Sea people, did they attempt to kill them?
Maybe it was the sight of foreigners stepping on the land that had once been their home, while they and generations of Shandians were driven out. That boiling blood must've clouded their minds. Losing your cool like that was dangerous.
"We ran into some Shandians earlier," Eric brought up, thinking that maybe solving the 400-year conflict could unlock a hidden achievement. At the very least, he might be gifted the golden pillar by the Sky Islanders. He could come back after getting the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and finish the job—even without a system reward, it wouldn't be a loss.
[Ding… You have a new message]
[Temporary Quest 2: Resolve the conflict between the Shandians and the Sky Islanders within one month.
Outcome 1: "Executioner" — Eliminate all Shandians. Reward: Golden Bell Tower / 3 Achievement Points.
Outcome 2: "Butcher" — Bury all Sky Islanders in Upper Yard, including the "God". Reward: All the gold in Shandora / 2 Achievement Points.
Outcome 3: "Inhuman" — Send all humanoid beings in Upper Yard to the afterlife. Reward: All gold in Upper Yard / 1 Achievement Point.
Outcome 4: "Mediator" — Achieve peaceful coexistence between the Shandians and Sky Islanders. Reward: Broken pillar of the Golden Bell (the same one the Straw Hat used) / 5 Achievement Points / 2 Bond Points]
(Note: Gold rewarded by the system is real and stacks with what's obtained in reality. For example: In Outcome 1, if you take one golden pillar in reality, the Bell Tower appears in your system inventory minus that one pillar.)
'What the hell kind of nightmare choices are these?! Is the system trying to train me into some heartless, blood-soaked pirate?!' There was no way Eric would choose one of those deranged options.
"I see. So they've returned. Are you all unharmed?" Gan Fall asked, worried. The guerrilla attacks had been escalating—they were now targeting anyone in the Upper Yard.
"They're the ones who got hurt. If you want to improve relations quickly, sending people to treat them would help," Eric suggested—for the sake of the gold, of course.
The white-bearded elder stopped walking and turned to his guards. "Send ten people to heal the injured Shandians."
"Yes, sir!" One of the guards, wielding a naginata, nodded and departed.
'He's got a naginata. Is he really going to help or going to finish them off?' Having been thoroughly educated by society, Eric couldn't help but assume the worst. 'Then again, in the world of pirates, 80% of people are idiots. They probably couldn't think up something that sneaky.'
"But what's this 'gold' you're all talking about?" Gan Fall suddenly asked as he led the group.
"Huh?" The chestnut-headed uncle almost had a breakdown. He'd just seen the other half of Jaya that had flown up here—proof that his ancestor Mont Blanc Noland wasn't a liar. And now this? It was like a programmer pulling several all-nighters only to be told by their boss the project was canceled—no, worse.
"Whoa, whoa! It's real, it's real!" Eric , seeing the verge-of-tears Cricket, quickly jumped in to reassure him.
"Gold is a yellow, shiny metal," Eric explained, calming Cricket before turning to Gan Fall.
"There's no such thing here. I've never seen anything like that in the Upper Yard. What Apayado has is 'Vars'—along with plants and animals. Our conflict with the Shandians has always been over Vars."
"What's Vars?" Da Vinci leaned in, curious.
"This," Gan Fall bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt. "This is Vars."
"..." Silence.
'Well, it makes sense. Sky Island lacks land. They can't grow new plants, so soil is extremely valuable to them. In our world, soil is everywhere, so we value gold more—for decoration, luxury goods, and status. After all, rarity dictates value,' Eric thought. If a starving man had to choose between gold and bread, he'd choose the bread. Anyone who chose the gold just to resell it was being too clever for their own good.
"Can I get a map of this place?" Eric asked. The 'gods' here were essentially blind—how had the Golden City remained hidden under Island Cloud for 400 years, until Enel stumbled upon it?
After getting the map from Gan Fall and combining it with the one from Jaya—
"Look!" Eric drew everyone's attention to the two maps. "This is…!" When placed together, the landmasses formed the shape of a skull.
"Remember Noland's loGabk?" Eric asked.
"…On the last page, there's a line no one ever understood. It was Noland's final message before he died—'I saw gold in the right eye of the skull,'" Cricket recalled from memory.
"That line confused everyone because the island was split in two by the Knock Up Stream. The broken geography made it impossible to understand," Eric explained.
Pointing at the spot on the ground—where the skull's right eye would be—Eric said to Gan Fall, "Please take us here. This is where Shandora is."
The group arrived at the right eye of the skull. They stood atop a patch of white Island Cloud, beneath which lay fragments of stone and ruined structures.
"This is it. Is this really the Golden City?" Gan Fall remained doubtful.
"…Get tools. We're digging through this Island Cloud." Eric was speechless. Four hundred years and none of the so-called gods noticed anything strange here? Were their eyes covered in cow dung? Even if the gods were blind to the lower world, how did none of the guards notice? All because the place was covered in Island Cloud? That's just embarrassing.
They carefully excavated the area without using explosives, to avoid damaging the structures underneath.
And there it was—Shandora, the fabled Golden City. A shimmering ancient metropolis stood before them.
"...!" Everyone was stunned into silence. The view was breathtaking—so majestic it stole their words. Eric 's eyes turned into "$".
"This is…" Gan Fall couldn't even stand anymore. He dropped to the ground in awe.
"The Shandians weren't just fighting for Vars. They were protecting this place. Shandora, the Golden City. They've guarded it for generations." Eric explained, fabricating reasons for the conflict—because the real ones were too hazy to remember.
"My… ancestor… Mont Blanc Noland… wasn't a liar!" Cricket wept, his voice shaking with emotion.
"Congratulations, Mont Blanc Cricket," Chiron was the first to offer his congratulations.
"Mhm," Akame and Da Vinci nodded as well.
"Uncle, are you satisfied with just this?!" Eric suddenly shouted, confusing everyone. Question marks popped up above their heads. Ignoring them, he focused solely on Cricket. "What about the Golden Bell?! Aren't you going to see it for yourself?! That bell symbolizes the noble friendship between Noland and Shandian warrior Kalgara! Don't you want to see it?!"
Why was Eric making a fuss again? Because the system still showed the Golden Bell as "incomplete." Only Shandora had the "complete" label next to it. The Golden Bell… was still blank.
"…You're right." The strong-willed uncle wiped his tears and asked Gan Fall, "Where is the Golden Bell? I'd like to see it."
"I've never seen a bell, but according to records from 400 years ago, when the Upper Yard rose up, people heard a grand chime."
"If they heard a chime, that means the Golden Bell rose up too. But there's no sign of it here, and one of the giant vines happens to run through this structure…" Da Vinci turned detective, deducing the situation.
'Uh-oh, I'm gonna get out-sleuthed!' Darren "Charlotte" Erimos jumped in: "The vine grew through the building and knocked the Golden Bell from the top. That's what caused the chime they heard."
"…Truly worthy of being our captain. So clever. Come to my room later, will you?" Da Vinci grinned playfully.
Eric sweat a little at the temples.
"Can we climb up there?" They were still guests here—on sacred ground—so it was polite to ask the 'god' first.
"You can, but I'd like to ask something of you," Gan Fall said, though he agreed.
"What is it?" Eric , thinking only of gold, asked curiously. What could a 'god' possibly need help with?
"You want our help to end the conflict with the Shandians, right?" Da Vinci immediately guessed. After all, that was Gan Fall's only real concern.
"Yes. I want to end this 400-year war… but…"
"But you lack the power to make it happen," Da Vinci, the unrivaled genius, finished his sentence.
"…I'm ashamed. So I wanted to ask if you could help. But if it's too much, I understand," said the kindhearted old man, clearly afraid of burdening them.
"We'll try. But before that, we need to make a quick trip to Angel Island. We'll come back and help afterward, okay?" Eric stated his intentions.
"Of course. I'm grateful." At last, they reached an agreement.
(END CHAPTER)
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