Arcane: Begging for Help in a Parallel Universe!

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Under Janna's repeated warnings and reminders, Link Star promised her that he would not recklessly abuse the newfound application of his abilities.

Only then did she leave, satisfied.

As the number of her followers grew and her faith increased, Janna was gradually able to manifest a faint, human-like form instead of her usual bluebird avatar.

To be honest, even in her bluebird form, her figure had been thin and faded like a washed-out painting due to the lack of faith.

"It seems the Bluebird Commerce Plan needs to be accelerated," Link muttered to himself, breathing in the fresh, purified air left behind by Janna's cleansing.

"I'll leave this matter to Darcie to handle. The Ferros family's commercial influence spans most of Runeterra. We'll start with a pilot program in Piltover, and once we've established a successful business model, we'll expand it across all of Runeterra."

"With the help of the Bluebird Commerce, Janna will grow stronger and provide me with even more assistance."

Link added this task to his备忘录 (memorandum) and turned his attention to the development of the human enhancement serum.

After all, a strong body is the foundation of revolution.

When fully focused, time always slips through one's fingers unnoticed.

In the blink of an eye, eight days had passed.

During these eight days, Link worked tirelessly in his workshop, dedicating himself to the development of the human enhancement serum.

The formula for the serum had been completed by the third day, but the remaining time was spent waiting for the blue sunflowers infused with his blood to bloom.

"My human enhancement serum is finally complete," Link said, holding a large test tube filled with a deep blue liquid. Despite the dark circles under his eyes, his excitement was palpable.

Pride, his companion, spoke up with concern, "Father, you haven't slept in five days."

"I know... yawn—" Link interrupted himself with a yawn, shaking his head vigorously. "I'm definitely reaching my limit."

After glancing at the serum, Link carefully stored it in his inventory.

"Father, aren't you going to use it now?"

"No. My body and mind are too exhausted. The dual pressure would affect the serum's absorption."

Link grabbed a vial of the Zeroing Potion from the test tube rack and trudged back to his room.

"Pride, I'm going into hibernation to recover. Keep watch over me."

"Yes, Father."

Link lay down on his bed and drank the potion.

Overwhelming drowsiness washed over him like a tidal wave, and he fell into a deep, hibernation-like sleep almost instantly. The potion worked to dispel the fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days.

Pride carefully tucked Link in and stepped back, standing guard as he waited for his father to awaken.

Two days passed quietly, and Link finally woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he felt an intense, resentful gaze directed at him.

Turning his head, he saw Pride blocking the door, preventing anyone from entering.

Standing three meters away from Pride, Darcie stood with her arms crossed, her eyes filled with annoyance as she peered through the gap between Pride and the door.

"You're awake?"

"When did you get here?"

"You should be asking how many times I've come here," Darcie replied, tapping her arm impatiently. "Hurry up and get ready. I'll be waiting upstairs. Something's happened with the family."

"Got it. I'll be up in half an hour."

Link nodded slightly, and Darcie turned and left, her hurried steps making Link wonder what could have happened to make her so agitated.

Without wasting any time, he first praised Pride for his vigilance, then brushed his teeth, washed his face, and grabbed a tube of instant nutrient solution from his alchemical workshop.

After swallowing the nutrient solution, a warm sensation filled his empty stomach.

Letting out a satisfied burp, Link left the workshop with Pride in tow.

Darcie had been waiting for a while outside the workshop's hidden entrance. As Link released Pride from his inventory, he asked, "What exactly happened?"

"We had a shipment from Ionia that was passing through Bilgewater, and it's been seized."

Link's eyelids twitched as a sinister and authoritative figure flashed through his mind.

"Don't tell me it was seized by Gangplank!"

Darcie gave him a surprised look, and Link coughed awkwardly. "Don't look at me like that. I may not seem like it, but I'm actually quite knowledgeable about the outside world. Janna—"

"Enough. I don't need to hear all that," Darcie interrupted impatiently. Link shrugged. "Alright, you're the head of the family. You tell me."

Darcie took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself and not let her frustration and anger affect her judgment.

But in the end, she was just a young woman who had recently come of age.

She couldn't perfectly control her mental state like Camille could.

"A day ago, the crew of one of our family's merchant ships returned to Piltover on a ship from Bilgewater. They brought news that our cargo and ship had been seized, along with a message from Gangplank. That despicable scoundrel said that if we want our goods back, we'll have to pay a 'safety fee.'"

Darcie sneered coldly. "Can you believe it? Nowadays, even thugs, butchers, and scoundrels are keeping up with the times. He's dressing up extortion and blackmail as some kind of legitimate transaction."

Link remained silent, stroking his chin as he fell deep into thought.

In Piltover, the Ferros family was the undisputed ruler, controlling the operations of both cities.

Anyone who disrupted the functioning of the cities or threatened the Ferros family would be ruthlessly eliminated.

To the Ferros family, such individuals were like broken gears in a finely tuned machine, needing to be removed before they caused a chain reaction.

This gave the Ferros family absolute authority in Piltover.

But that authority only extended so far!

In Piltover, the Ferros family's word was law, but in other regions, people weren't so quick to bow to their influence.

And in Bilgewater, the port city, Gangplank reigned supreme as the Pirate King.

Ruthless, cunning, and patient, he was a terrifying figure that no one wanted to cross.

He was known for carving intricate patterns into the bones of his victims while they were still conscious and for publicly executing anyone who defied his authority to instill fear and assert his dominance.

In The Burning Tides, Gangplank had once used Graves and Twisted Fate as examples in a public execution to make a point.

His power at sea was unmatched. When the black sails of the Leviathan appeared on the horizon, no one dared to challenge the Sea King.

On top of that, the Sea Priestess Illaoi was his lover...

Well, his ex-lover.

In The Burning Tides, after Miss Fortune—our beloved Sarah—blew up his ship, the Leviathan, Gangplank only survived because Illaoi had him fished out of the sea.

She also subjected him to the Trial of Nagakabouros.

What was the Trial of Nagakabouros?

It was having your soul ripped from your body and whipped by Nagakabouros herself.

Only by enduring the trial could you earn the right to continue living.

What did that equate to?

It was like Illaoi using her E ability to pull out your soul, immobilizing you, and then unleashing her ultimate on your soul right in front of you.

After running through Gangplank's background in his mind, Link stroked his chin, staring at the ground in deep thought.

Aside from the Twin Cities, his knowledge of Runeterra was limited to the biographies and backstories of the champions he had memorized.

To make use of this information, he needed to figure out the timeline of events in each region.

However, the Arcane storyline only covered the events in the Twin Cities and vaguely hinted at the timeline in Noxus.

So, to deal with Gangplank, Link needed to determine where Bilgewater's storyline currently stood.

After some thought, Link looked up and said, "We can't pay the fee!"

"I know!" Darcie gritted her teeth. "If we pay, all our shipping routes through Bilgewater will be compromised."

"Exactly."

Link nodded. Someone like Gangplank would only take advantage of any sign of weakness, like a shark smelling blood.

Not only could they not pay, but they also needed to strike back hard.

Otherwise, all of the Ferros family's shipping routes through Bilgewater would be rendered useless.

Sure, Piltover had the Hexgates.

But the Hexgates were one-way and couldn't be built in other regions. Other regions wouldn't allow it, both to prevent technological leaks and to avoid handing over their transportation lifelines to outsiders.

This meant that Piltover's current transportation system relied on a combination of air and sea travel.

Goods were transported via Hexgates to airships, which then delivered them to their destinations. The airships or ships would then return with payments and local goods.

Neither air nor sea travel could sustain long voyages. The skies were unpredictable, and the seas were filled with sea monsters, so both airships and ships needed to make stops to resupply and allow their crews to rest.

This was why the Ferros family's cargo ship returning from Ionia had been seized by Gangplank.

In Link's opinion, the seized ship and its cargo were likely already gone, along with the crew.

There was no chance of getting them back!

This was Gangplank's cunning. If you paid the ransom, you wouldn't get your goods back, and you'd only become his personal ATM.

If you refused to pay, he still profited from the seized cargo, and piracy didn't require long-term planning.

And if you tried to confront him directly, well, you'd be fish food by noon.

That was just how the Pirate King of Bilgewater operated.

So, to resolve this, Link's only option was to head to Bilgewater himself, armed with Pride and his equipment, and take Gangplank down.

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 130 on my patreon go take a look and remember if you reach 300 stones of power I will publish the next chapter.