"I'll... let you sort your... uhm. Yeah, see ya," Ax said as he slowly walked away. He'd seen enough multicolored goop for one day.

  Ax walked away from the front of the ship and stood on the starboard side of the ship. Leaning over the rails. As he looked over, beside the ship was a cluster of shadowy figures under the surface of the water.

  "Oh? These are some cool-looking fish." He said as he stared at them, elbows resting on the rails.

  As the fish got closer, one of them jumped over the water. Revealing itself in the air, much like a dolphin. Ax's eyes widened. The multicolored fishy scales shimmered in the moonlight. However, they weren't fishes.

  "Mermaids..." he uttered to himself. Friendly sirens were swimming by the ship, their hair the same color as their scales. Curls like seaweed, colors like sea gss. They were beautiful. That's all that Ax could think about. There were five of them.

  One looked at him staring at them. As if she knew what he was thinking, she blew him a kiss. Ax only waved back at them, 'They're kind of cute...' he thought to himself.

  His face got immediately spshed with what felt like a full bucket of water. Immediately followed by rather undylike snorts of ughter.

  'Not that cute...' he said as his face was now drenched with water. He shook his head really fast, getting water out of some of his hair that got wet. All while the mermaids were still ughing.

  ***

  It was around 9 AM.

  Ax had fallen asleep, leaning against the rails on the floor.

  "Here," one of the coordinators said as he handed Ax a small wooden box and a canteen of water.

  "Breakfast is in 30 minutes; this box has 10 apple slices. Take care," he said as he walked away. The coordinators all wore leather armor with the letter 'R.'. Engraved in a very fancy, regal font at the chest and back.

  "Welp." Ax got up. "I'm hungry."

  ***

  Ax's breakfast was a mushroom sandwich.

  As Ax finished his food, he walked back out at starboard, and he saw something in the distance, getting bigger and bigger.

  "Land ho!" the man at the crow's nest screamed.

  As Ax squinted his eyes, the isnd got closer. He could see a forest of tall...

  "Mushrooms? That's The Lushmush," he asked in amazement. The fungal forest was now in full view.

  A dark-skinned elven coordinator stood atop the forward bow, behind the base of the figurehead, and cleared his throat.

  "Seekers! Your first trial begins now!" Every seeker on the boat had their attention focused on this one man. Some indoors, some sitting on the rails. Someone was almost blue from vomiting the whole trip and being seasick.

  He had a silvery, mirror-like token in his hand. Holding high above him, he screamed.

  "There are three hundred and thirty-three of these tokens scattered all across the isnd at varying locations! These shine like stars under the dimmest of lights! Grab one and bring them back to the ship at the end of the week to pass with flying colors!" he screamed.

  All the seekers are on board the ship. Got up from their rest, up from being seasick, walked out the doors, and stood on deck. As Ax looked closely at the token, it was engraved. '333K.'.

  As the ship hit the shore, the entire galleon shook. Anchors are being dropped down.

  The coordinator, with a sly grin across his face. His silvery hair down his shoulders. Clutched the token in his grasp and threw it towards the fungal lush. Throwing it as hard as he could, deep within the forest.

  "Your trial starts now!" he screamed.

  Ax almost lost his bance. The deck shook with the speed at which the seekers ran and jumped off the ship, onto the shore, into the forest.

  Ax looked over the rails, even though the shore looked soft. He was hesitant to jump; his legs shook at the simple idea. What if he broke his-

  "SWEET LAND, I'M COMING TO YOU~," the previously mentioned stone monkey screamed as he ran past Ax, diving headfirst onto a rge mushroom.

  Ax could only look in awe at him bouncing off the mushroom like a cartoon character.

  "I... guess that works?" he said as he looked at the mushroom.

  He took a deep breath and gulped.

  He took a leap of faith. Jumping off onto the mushroom legs first. As if it was a spring, he bounced off. Reaching a great height and covering a fair bit of horizontal distance.

  "WHOAA—AH!" he screamed as he fell headfirst into mycelium-ridden soil. Getting a face full of dirt.

  "Ow!" he yelped. His voice was muffled.

  As Ax got up, he smudged the dirt away from his face and looked ahead of him. The seekers were already in the forest; he could already hear the cshes of swords. Gunshots, small explosions.

  Ax spped the dirt off his coat. The mushrooms towered over him, rger than any building he was used to being around. The sun is peeking over the mushrooms.

  He took a deep breath and ran. He ran into the forest as fast as he could, half prepared for what awaited him.

  Ax saw more of those mushrooms, shaped like umbrels. But of varying sizes, as he looked overhead. He saw a chain with a silver token hanging off of it.

  An idea popped up in his head.

  "This is going to be a horrible idea," he said as he looked back down at the mushrooms.

  "Here goes nothing..." he said as he got a running start and jumped onto the smallest mushroom. Boosting him up into the air, he used that momentum to jump on the other.

  "WHOAH!" he screamed as he kept carrying the momentum onto the mushrooms till he reached the top of the tall, ft mushroom with the token hanging off of it.

  Ax nded atop the sturdy mushroom top on his knee.

  "That... went smoothly..." he said to himself as he walked towards the chain hanging off the ledge. He crouched over, reaching for the token, and finally had it in his grasp.

  "7K... What an odd number; anyway, that was easy enough..." he said as he was grinning with his teeth out, staring at the token.

  As he opened his coat to put away the token.

  Thwack

  "AH!" Ax screamed as something hard hit his forehead.

  As he opened his eyes, he saw the same monkey. With his tiger skin kilt, having his back turned, looking at him over his shoulder. Smirking, taunting him.

  "Thanks for the token, idiot," he said as he tried to jump off.

  "No, you fucking don't!" Ax excimed as he grabbed his revolvers and—

  SHATTER

  CRACK

  Shot an ice barricade between the ledge and him, as he was about to escape.

  "Tsk, pesky human," he said as he turned to Ax, with his staff aimed at Ax and token wrapped around his neck.

  "You're one to talk, stone monkey," Ax said as he aimed at the one standing in front of him.

  "Your name? Human?" he asked as a smirk spread across his face.

  "Axton, Axton Axe. You? It feels wrong calling you a monkey," Ax replied.

  He chuckled, "My name is Son Houzi."