Chapter 16: Snake Island (III)
"Red Scale, did you know why all the trees, grasses, and plants on Snake Island are green?"
Allison had asked as they during one of their conversation about snakeisland, gazing at the distant green glowing island where her grandfather went to.
"No, I've been observing it for a while now," Apolo had replied, then asked, "Why?"
"Well..." Allison had hesitated for a bit, then answered, "Over a century ago, a half-diamond ranked chaos beast—a Serene Rock Python—was slain here."
Apolo had looked confused. He'd blinked a few times and asked,
"What's a half-diamond ranked hybrid?"
"What? You don't know what a half-diamond ranked chaos beast means? Where did you come from anyway? From a hidden village deep in the jungle or what?"
Allison had complained and looked at him as if she'd seen a ghost, but then gave a playful laugh and answered,
"Hybrids have various evolutionary stages. Starting from when you awaken your bloodline, you're still just a basic hybrid at peak human standard. But things start to change when you started evolving."
"So what are the evolutionary stages?"
Apolo had asked, intrigued. He knew his parents were silver-ranked hybrids, but he didn't know where they stood in the big picture of the hybrid hierarchy.
Placing a finger on her lips, Allison had answered,
"It starts from bronze-ranked, to platinum, then silver rank, to gold rank, and finally diamond rank—which represents the apex of hybrid evolutionary stage. But there are rumors that there might be more, though they're just rumors."
She'd paused, then added, "Half-diamond ranked is when someone fails their evolution to diamond rank, or when they're on the verge of breaking through. They're stronger than gold-ranked but way weaker than actual diamond-ranked hybrids."
Snapping back to reality as they reached the wooden house, Apolo gently guided Allison to an old armless chair beside the door. The scent of aged wood mixed with the faint smell of salt and wildflowers that clung to her clothes.
Seeing how heartbroken Allison was, Apolo felt as if his heart were being crushed. Closing his eyes, the image of the entire fishing island appeared in his mind.
For five hours, I searched. I checked the shoreline for drag marks. Climbed trees looking for signs of struggle. Examined every rock, every bush, every indent in the sand. But I still found nothing. No blood. No torn clothing. No tracks. It was as if Allison's grandfather had simply... vanished.
A sudden sob from Allison snapped him back. Apolo's face twisted with pain. He walked to her side and knelt on one knee, placing his hands on her shoulders. He wanted to promise her they'd find him. But he'd made too many promises he couldn't keep. Instead, he knelt beside her and said quietly,
"I'll help you find him. I promise."
"P-please... I need him... sniff..." Allison tried to respond through her tears. Her shoulders shook with each breath, her hands trembling in her lap.
"Allison, apart from fishing, is there any other place your grandfather usually goes to?"
Apolo asked, searching for any lead.
Still sobbing, her breath hitching between words, Allison just shook her head.
Feeling a headache coming, Apolo suddenly had an idea and asked,
"Where are your neighbors?"
Finally, Allison stopped crying. Her eyes were swollen, her cheeks puffy and streaked with dried tears. She replied,
"This island and that fishing island belong to grandpa. But those barbarian tribes want that fishing island for themselves. Every month they usually come here to demand it, and if grandpa refuses, they threaten to take the island by force."
"Allison, I know you're in pain, but I need you to calm down and tell me everything you know about the barbarian tribes. Maybe your grandfather is with them."
A light flashed through Apolo's eyes as he spoke quietly to Allison, urging her to focus.
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, took a shaky breath, and said,
"The barbarian tribes are a collection of five tribes, and they rule a lot of islands full of resources and wealth here. But for some reason, they want grandpa's fishing island—and grandpa would always refuse."
"How strong are the tribes?"
Apolo asked, trying to get an idea of what he was about to get himself into.
"Each tribe is ruled by a bronze-ranked hybrid. And when all five tribes come together, they have two platinum-ranked hybrids."
Allison answered.
Almost immediately, Apolo felt as if the weather had suddenly changed. The cool, fresh breeze seemed to be replaced by oppressive heat. He even started sweating. He pulled off his old shirt and started using it to fan himself.
"Hahaha..."
Seeing his reaction, Allison couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time— but only a broken sound.
"Platinum-ranked hybrids? Forget that—if I run across a bronze-ranked hybrid, I'll be done for. As for a platinum-ranked hybrid, I probably won't even know how I died,"
Apolo thought as he gazed toward the fishing island.
"Allison, do you know about anything on that island that the barbarian tribes need?"
Apolo asked without taking his eyes off the distant green glow.
"I don't know. Grandpa never told me."
Allison replied. But this time, she didn't have her playful, innocent expression anymore.
Looking into her eyes, Apolo felt a kind of familiar coldness oozing from them—a coldness he'd only ever seen from one person when she was ready to do something crazy.
"Mom?"
The moment Apolo said it, he felt confused. Even Allison looked around suspiciously, then turned to him.
"Your mom? Where is she?"
"Nothing."
Apolo replied, but the urge to find Allison's grandfather started burning inside him like never before. He felt like that old man saving him was no coincidence.
"Allison, do you have any friends around here?"
Apolo asked, almost choking on his question—because having friends around here would mean swimming across oceans to visit them.
"I don't."
"What? How long have you and your grandfather been here, then?"
"My grandpa has been here for a very long time. I just came here a few years ago."
Allison replied.
"Alright, Allison. I want you to show me the direction of the barbarian tribes' territory, or possibly give me a map of this whole Snake Island if you have one. But I want you to stay here and wait for me."
Apolo scratched his head and asked.
"Grandpa has a few maps, but what are you going to do? If you make any commotion, you might not walk out of the barbarian tribe territory alive."
Allison asked, panic creeping into her voice.
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
Apolo gave her a reassuring smile and stretched out his hand for the map.
She went inside and came back with a neatly arranged map folded into a brown envelope.
"Whoa..."
Apolo was stumped. He'd never imagined the map would be this neat. He'd expected an old map that was already tearing apart, not a pristine one like this.
Opening the map, Apolo felt as if he was about to faint. As he looked at the map and its markings, information started flooding into his head about Snake Island and the landmarks—how they were arranged and the different territories marked on it.
It took Apolo over a minute to finally digest all the information. When he finally opened his eyes, he looked at Allison with awe.
"What kind of map is that?"
He asked.
"This is an MF map. You've never seen one before?"
Allison answered, then asked, surprised.
"Even if Mom and Dad were king and queen, before I left them, all I was concerned with was studying and trying to awaken. I'm not really into technology. We definitely have something like this back at home—I just never had any reason to use it," Apolo thought as he handed the map back to Allison.
"No wonder this map looks so neat. All you have to do is absorb the information and return it."
Apolo commented as he handed it over.
"Are you sure about going to the barbarian tribes' territory? That place is very dangerous."
Allison asked again with a worried expression.
"Relax. I made you and your grandfather a promise, right? That's what I'm about to fulfill. So don't worry—I'll find your grandfather and bring him back."
"How about I come with you?"
Allison asked as fresh tears started streaming down her face.
"No, don't worry. What if your grandfather actually went somewhere else and then only to return later? You want him to start looking for you?"
Apolo asked instead of answering.
Biting her lip, Allison clenched her fists so tight they turned white. Then she said,
"Please, Red Scale... stay safe"
She then pass him a white glowing device.
"Don't worry."
Apolo replied. Then he disappeared from her view, leaving only a huge gust of wind to mark where he'd once stood.
While running, Apolo thought:
"Since awakening, this is the first time I'm helping someone. This is a mission I willingly took without being forced, and I promise to complete it—no matter the cost."