Chapter 199: The Winged Angel


    ?


    The Fourth Volume - The Winged Angel.


    ***


    Ssh, ssh, ssh!


    Waves after waves came and sshed, covering the shore in the saltwater and foam. The wind blew and the seagulls cried out in the sky.


    The small boat rocked back and forth as it stopped by the sharp rocks of the small ind.


    After tying the boat to a nearby tree, Adam stepped out into the small road that led straight to the fallen rock structures.


    To his small surprise, there was an old man waiting for him, a cane in hand and a wide brimmed hat on his head.


    "Hello, young traveler," the old man said. "How unfortunate of you to encounter that storm."


    "A storm that''s protecting this ind, I assume." Adam said and took a seat on one of the rock formations next to the old man.


    "Oh, why do you think so?" The old man asked with an elderly smile.


    "This is the ind of the crying woman, is it not?" Adam asked. "An ind gued by the curse of a woman''s sorrowful spirit."


    "You seem to know a lot." The old man chuckled. "You shouldn''t havee here; after all, you''re now trapped here."


    "Like you?" Adam asked.


    "Exactly." The old man said with a chuckle. "I identally sailed here thirty years ago, and I''ve been stuck ever since."


    ''The story stays the same as in the past life.'' Adam thought to himself. ''He is Quest Original, here to wait for a yer toe and to end the curse.''


    "You seem like a powerful young man; maybe you can end the curse." The old man said.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Oh, please tell me more." Adam said. "I''d hate to get stuck in here."


    "Hundred years ago, a ship wrecked near these shores, and on that board, there was a powerful witch who had been said to bear a curse of the unfortunate.


    "That curse caused the shipwreck, and she ended up on this ind while everyone else died. "Haunted by the guilt, she was sitting in these same rock steps, day in and night out, with tears streaming down her face as she relived the tragic events over and over again.


    "She also died, yearster, to the starvation.


    "Her corpse, swallowed by the ind, is somewhere in here, and the curse is still living strong within her corpse.


    "You''ll have to find her corpse and destroy the curse."


    Ding, ding!


    As soon as the old man finished talking, two dings echoed deep inside Adam''s mind.


    ***


    [Rare Quest Acquired!]


    [Quest: Curse of the Crying Woman]


    [Rank: B]


    [Description: The ind had swallowed the crying woman''s corpse. You must find it, and then destroy the curse within]


    [Time limit: 1 year]


    [Reward: ???]


    ***


    "Now, go and destroy the curse, young traveler!"


    "Very well." Adam said. "I have a favor to ask, however."


    "What is it?" The old man asked.


    "Do you mind fixing my boat?" Adam looked towards his boat with the mast broken from the middle. "I still need to have a way to leave this ind."


    "I''ll see what I can do." The old man said, and then asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you know that I used to be a shipwright?"


    "Oh, you''re?" Adam chuckled and stood up from the rock seat. "Coincidence, just


    coincidence."


    "Hmm..." The old man murmured and then walked over to the small boat.


    With a chuckle, Adam stepped into the depths of the forest and tried to remember the location


    of the corpse.


    In his past life, he was sessful in doing this quest, but it took him a couple of weeks as it took him a long time to find the location of the corpse.


    Luckily for him now, he knew where it was.


    ''Right, it''s been already a year since my regression.''


    It felt like the time had flown by.


    After leaving the twenty-fifth floor behind, he''d been treasure hunting all around the New World, and had fully paid off the Z Package.


    However, there was something in this ind that he wanted still, and he nned to get it before going to Ebonreach to reunite with his guild.


    During the past few months, he''d reached level 12 and had reached second level in all of the Three Powers.


    While he was not that far from reaching third level in Magick and Kiryoku, his Kraft had changed from white to ck.


    Its durability had increased greatly.


    With the second level of Kiryoku, he can now sense auras and use that to dodge attacks. He can also urately determine the opponent''s level of strength.


    As he stepped deeper into the forest, he suddenly stopped and looked around him.


    This ce looked familiar as the trees around him made a perfect circle. It was like the forest was telling him that this was the correct ce.


    His gaze went down to the ground, and with a smile, he used Ground King and smashed


    through the ground.


    After a short fall, hended in a dark chamber that was filled with blue roses. The scent of the flowers was overpowering but strangelyforting at the same time.


    At the center of the flowers, there was a person lying on a stone pedestal, seemingly dead with


    a flower bouquet in her hands.


    She seemed holy and ethereal, like a goddess frozen in time.


    A silver dress draped over her delicate figure, and her long hair cascaded down her back in waves. She had rosy-red lips, blushing cheeks, and closed eyes that seemed to be in eternal


    slumber.


    It didn''t look like she was dead and was merely sleeping like a sleeping beauty.


    As Adam approached the stone pedestal, he noticed that there was one blue rose missing from


    the bouquet.


    He picked up one of the blue roses and ced it on the bouquet.


    The wind was instantly filled with a sweet, floral scent.


    It definitely did something.


    At that moment, a ghostly figure sat down on top of his shoulder, her hair gently flowing in


    the breeze.


    She didn''t weigh anything, like a feather, and her eyes were the color of the ocean on a calm


    summer day.


    The ghost looked just like the beautiful woman on the stone pedestal, but more ghostly as if she wasn''t real, but he could still feel her sitting on his shoulder.


    "The crying woman, I assume?" Adam asked as he looked at her beautiful face, her eyes filled


    with sadness and despair.


    ''You''vee to free me?''


    She didn''t speak a word, but her thoughts were loud and clear in Adam''s mind.


    "I did," Adam said.


    Finally, she smiled—a smile that could light up the darkest of rooms.


    ''Thank you.''


    "What do you want to do?" Adam asked. "Leave this ind?"


    She nodded.


    ''Yes, sail away.''


    Adam nodded.


    Then, from his backs, wings emerged that were so beautiful and majestic that they took her


    breath away.


    ''The Winged Angel, are you?''


    "No, just a human."


    He said, and then took flight, soaring into the sky with grace and power.


    She wrapped her arms around his neck, eximing as she looked towards the sun.


    With tears flying out of her eyes, she showed a final smile of bliss and slowly vanished from


    his shoulder, her final words whispering into his mind.


    ''Thank you, angel...''