C265, 266, 267
Chapter 265: Bug (4)
“Sorry for wasting your time.”
I apologized as soon as I returned.
Because they had never met Dwarkey.
I thought it was only natural to apologize since I had taken away from our exploration time for a personal matter.
Of course, my companions were understanding.
“What’s there to be sorry about? What do you take us for?”
“Right, Raven is right. You’re worrying about strange things. We could also be in his situation someday.”
Uh, I don’t think it’s a good idea to say that…
That’s when, as I was thinking that…
…Raven spoke to the bear-like man on my behalf.
“…Mr. Urikfrit, can you please not say that? It’s a jinx.”
“Raven, you don’t even believe in superstitions.”
“I’m an explorer now.”
“Ah, right.”
The bear-like man chuckled, and the slightly heavy atmosphere lightened.
‘Was he intentionally joking?’
“What are you looking at?”
‘…No way.’
I chuckled at Raven’s arrogant gaze. And then I got to the point.
“Alright, we’ve rested enough, so let’s go sightseeing.”
It was time to start exploring.
_________________
Starting Island Laimia.
The island you arrive at first, regardless of which path you choose on the 5th floor. But Laimia wasn’t called the Starting Island just because of its symbolism.
It had the basic materials needed for 6th-floor exploration.
Well, at least in theory.
“It’s already been cleared.”
We looked around with disappointed eyes after climbing to the top of the mountain that was located in the center of the island.
Originally, a special type of tree grew here.
It was a tree with a hardness of 3rd-tier metal, and it was light and buoyant.
But…
“Well, no matter how fast trees grow, they can’t grow back in just a month.”
…all that greeted us when we reached the summit were thousands of stumps. Well, there were some trees that had grown to some extent…
“Most of them are unusable.”
“But there are some that are big enough. Let’s take these.”
…so we took out the axes we brought.
And we carefully selected and cut down the trees that were big enough to be processed into materials, storing them in our subspace pockets.
Did it take about 30 minutes?
“Maybe we can get this much next month too.”
“Yes. If there’s no one here like this time.”
Phew, I wish the 6th floor was also reset every month.
It was a shame.
The 1st to 5th floors were reset every month, no matter what you did, but it wasn’t the case from the 6th floor onwards.
Time flowed continuously here.
Just like how the marks on that giant rock over there weren’t erased.
“Wow, there’s something written on the rock! It looks like letters… what the hell does it say?”
“Weren’t you going to the sanctuary every day to learn how to read?”
“Haha, I gave up on that!”
I sighed at Ainar’s carefree attitude and then approached the rock and read the letters.
Most of them were just nonsense.
So-and-so was here, please let me earn a lot of money, I really like you, so-and-so, and so on.
‘People in this world are also the same when it comes to graffiti.’
I chuckled and looked away.
Towards the vast ocean below.
Although we couldn’t get many trees, I could see an island that wasn’t visible from below, perhaps because we were on a high ground.
“Oh, so that’s Parune Island.”
Parune, the second island located north of the Starting Island.
It was also the place we were going to next.
“Avman, just in case, can you sense the portal’s location?”
“No, I can only sense the one on this island.”
“I see.”
Raven spoke up as I nodded, as if to defend the bear-like man.
“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s only natural since this floor is so vast. He said he would be able to sense it again once we get closer to the portal.”
Geez, disappointed my ass.
In the first place, there wasn’t much a Guide could do on the 6th floor, unlike the lower floors.
Especially not at this early stage.
“Anyway, we’ve got everything we need, so let’s go down.”
I went back down to the shore with my companions after finishing our business at the summit. And I took out the boat I had prepared from my subspace pocket and launched it into the water. It was a boat we bought with the clan funds we collected as soon as we formed the clan.
Although we used most of the funds…
‘I wouldn’t have been able to get it at this price if it weren’t for the current situation.’
The timing was good in many ways.
We could use the trees we would obtain later to upgrade the boat or sell them as lumber and buy a better boat.
“Bjorn… th, this won’t sink, right?”
Geez, we even went fishing on a boat in Gnometree.
‘…Ah, the boat capsized back then.’
“Don’t worry, I already tested it in the city. It will be fine as long as you don’t move too much.”
“Bu, but… ugh! It’s, it’s shaking!! Is, is there something wrong with the boat?! It’s so different from back then!!”
“That was a lake, and this is the sea.”
Actually, the biggest problem was that this boat was twice as small as the one we rode back then.
Anyway, we all got on the boat after the commotion.
And…
“Alright, let’s set sail!”
…we diligently rowed and sailed against the waves, just like we practiced on land in the city.
Because our boat didn’t have a sail.
We wouldn’t have even been able to fit four people if we had bought one with a sail.
And we didn’t have enough money to buy a bigger one.
After all, there’s a certain charm to being a newbie.
“I, I think the boat is going backwards…”
“It’s just your imagination! Row harder!”
“One, two. One, two!”
Although there were some trial and error since it was our first time rowing in real life, we quickly adapted, as expected of explorers who overcome adversity with sheer willpower.
“Oh, the island is getting closer!”
Raven, as if the sailing content stimulated her emotions, reacted unusually even to small things.
But her excitement didn’t last long.
‘But it’s taking much longer than I thought…’
It didn’t seem that far when we saw it from the summit, but the boat was moving at a snail’s pace.
No, was it just me who felt that way?
I can’t believe we’re encountering a hurdle this early after entering the 6th floor.
“Ugh.”
“Bjo, Bjorn? What’s wrong?!”
“Sea… sick…”
Bjorn Yandel wasn’t made for the sea.
_____________________
“Sea, seasick? Isn’t that something that happens when you ride a carriage?”
Misha asked worriedly, looking at me dying from seasickness.
Although I wanted to ask how she could even ask that question…
…it was only natural from her perspective.
She had spent her entire life inside the walls.
It seemed like even Raven only knew about it from books.
“Seasickness refers to dizziness caused by the discrepancy between your vision and your sense of balance. It doesn’t just happen when you ride a carriage.”
“Ah, I see…”
Misha nodded, her voice clueless.
“Come to think of it, I’ve also been feeling a bit nauseous…”
Although Misha was better off, Ainar, a born barbarian warrior, was in a worse state than me.
“Move aside! Ugh!!”
Ainar, forgetting about rowing, grabbed the railing and started vomiting.
“Kyaak!”
“St, stop! Miss Ainar! You can’t move like that!”
The boat rocked violently as she vomited fiercely.
I was seriously worried that it might capsize.
“Ugh, ugh…”
“…St, stop!”
We couldn’t physically stop her since the boat was so small that there wasn’t even enough space to stand properly.
And four of us couldn’t swim.
Everyone except for Erwen and Misha.
We were quite far from the island, so even if I used [Gigantification], my feet wouldn’t reach the ground like last time.
No, wasn’t this a really dangerous situation?
“Raven! Knock her out with magic!”
“Ah, yes!”
I quickly assessed the situation and gave the order, realizing it wasn’t something we could just laugh off.
“Seretara Bairon!”
“Ugh, ugh… huh…? Hmm…”
Fortunately, Ainar hadn’t invested much in Magic Resistance yet, so she quietly lost consciousness after a single spell.
And…
“Um, mister… I, I think I’m going to die.”
“Uh, me too. I need one too.”
My companions, unable to endure the storm that was Ainar, fell one by one.
“But Mr. Urikfrit is unexpectedly fine—”
“…Ugh, ueeeeek!!”
“Uh, uh… Mr. Yandel, are you okay—”
No, there’s no way.
“Uwaaaaaaaaak!!”
I heard a sigh from behind as I was carefully holding onto the railing and vomiting.
“…Why isn’t there a single person who’s fine?”
Surprisingly, Raven wasn’t seasick.
____________________
The concept of the 6th floor was simple.
To sail the vast ocean, pass through various islands, and reach the 7th floor. And because of that, a ‘navigator’ was essential from this floor onwards.
A specialized professional who navigated the ship, recorded the course, and even absorbed essences that were helpful for sailing.
‘Well, there’s no need to rush since there will be many applicants if we just have a proper ship.’
I got off the bow and dragged the boat to the shore with my hands. And I put it in my subspace pocket so that I wouldn’t lose it.
It was a method I could only use while sailing a small boat.
After all, we would need a bigger boat to cross the Windless Zone, the Frozen Sea, and other treacherous seas.
‘And in the first place, that’s why clans are recommended from the 6th floor onwards.’
Since boats were so expensive, it was a burden for teams to explore the 6th floor.
“Phew, it’s land! Land!!”
We arrived at Parune Island, looking half-dead, as the sun began to set in the distance.
We had a simple meal and then immediately started preparing for camp.
“So the sunset can look like that…”
“Really. I thought for the first time today that it was a good thing I became an explorer.”
My companions, who had only ever seen the sun disappear beyond the walls, felt a sense of awe as they watched the sunset over the horizon.
Actually, I felt the same way.
It really felt like we were on an island on Earth, just by being on this sandy beach.
Well, I had never actually been to an island like this.
‘Why didn’t I come sooner…’
I regretted my past self, who was always cooped up in his room, playing games. Back then, I was living in a much wider world without walls.
“Ainar, you go to sleep first. I’ll wake you up last.”
“Is, is that okay?”
“You suffered the most…”
“Thank you, Misha!”
We decided that Ainar, who had suffered from seasickness, would be the last one to keep watch, and then we decided on the order for the rest of us.
“We don’t have to do it in pairs. I heard only monsters below 8th grade appear on this island.”
“Yeah, okay. Let’s take turns, and wake each other up if something happens.”
“Um, but if we’re doing that, wouldn’t it have been better to sleep on the previous island? It seemed like there were no monsters there.”
“We didn’t know we would arrive this late.”
“That’s… true.”
We just spread out our sleeping bags on the sand and lay down since the weather was nice. Although we brought tents since it rained sometimes from here onwards…
“It’s pretty.”
“Yes, it is.”
…we unanimously decided to sleep under the stars after seeing the Milky Way spread out across the sky.
“…My wife would have liked this.”
“No, you’re talking like she’s dead. Are you going to tell her that?”
“…Wh, what are you talking about? I, I meant it’s a shame that she quit being an explorer! That’s what I meant!”
“Stop chattering and go to sleep. We’ll explore the island as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”
Could it be because it was our first night on the 6th floor?
My companions fell asleep after a long time, as if they were feeling sentimental.
And the next morning…
“We’re going to walk along the coastline and look around before entering the island.”
…we woke up early, packed up our campsite, and walked around the island.
There wasn’t any particular reason.
I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.
How much the size differed between the game and reality.
‘The island is much bigger than I expected.’
That’s when, as we were halfway around the island…
“Oh, Bjorn! There’s a boat!”
…we found a boat anchored at the shore.
Although it wasn’t a large galleon, it was at least three times bigger than ours, and it had everything.
“This is enough to cross the Windless Zone and even the Frozen Sea. Ah, of course, it’s bound to its owner.”
“Uh, so we can’t take it?”
Ainar tilted her head with an innocent look at Raven’s explanation.
And at that moment…
“Hey, barbarian. What are you doing in front of our boat?”
…the boat’s owner appeared from inside the island.
“Wait, aren’t you that barbarian from before?”
“It’s been a while.”
It was a familiar face.
---------------------------------
Chapter 266: Bug (5)
He laughed at my words.
“I can’t believe you remember me.”
It seemed like he was surprised that I recognized him.
Well, it was a brief encounter.
We didn’t even properly introduce ourselves, and we were both too out of it to have a proper conversation.
But…
“Those kinds of memories are hard to forget.”
Of course, how could I forget?
That time when I crawled through the dark cave on three legs, my mangled foot bleeding profusely.
[Partslan. Give him a potion.]
[It’s for when we can’t use divine power.]
[You have plenty anyway. I’ll pay you back later.]
[Tsk.]
This guy, who was the swordsman of the team that saved me, threw a potion at me with a disgruntled expression at his leader’s words.
It was a rare experience.
How often do you feel humiliation and gratitude at the same time?
“As expected of a barbarian, this part is good. A warrior’s code is to never forget a debt, right?”
He smiled in satisfaction, interpreting my words as he wanted.
I didn’t bother correcting him.
Well, it was true that I felt grateful.
“But it’s a bit strange. I didn’t expect you to still remember me.”
“There aren’t many people who can crawl that far with a body like that.”
He said so and then looked me up and down.
“I can’t believe you’re really Bjorn Yandel.”
It seemed like he had already deduced my identity from my appearance without even needing an introduction.
Tsk, I don’t know if I should call this an advantage or a disadvantage.
That’s when, as I was chuckling…
…Raven approached me from behind.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Partslan.”
“Who…? Ah, Miss Raven?”
I was as surprised as the swordsman.
What, they knew each other?
“Right… that’s right. I heard you joined that team.”
“It’s a clan now, not a team. By the way, wow! I didn’t know you and Mr. Yandel knew each other, is this fate?”
“Fate my ass, we don’t even know each other’s names.”
The swordsman chuckled and revealed his name as I interjected.
“I’m Malmaln Partslan.”
“That’s a strange name.”
“It’s one of the few families that still use the central region naming convention. Just call me Partslan. Everyone does.”
“Family? Are you a noble?”
“Noble, my ass. Maybe thousands of years ago.”
I immediately understood what he meant.
There were a few cases like this.
Those who were nobles or royalty before the world ended…
…but became commoners after entering this city.
Although they didn’t have titles, they still maintained their legitimacy by choosing a head of the family.
“So what were you doing in front of our boat?”
Partslan then got to the point after the introductions were over.
I answered honestly since we weren’t really doing anything.
“We were just looking around the island.”
“I see.”
Partslan, who knew Raven and was aware of my fame, didn’t doubt us and readily agreed.
And…
“Nervio Fertia.”
…he activated the magic circle engraved on the boat and unsummoned it, storing it in his subspace pocket.
Although it was a trivial action, I was quite concerned.
“But where’s the team you were with?”
“They’re exploring the island.”
“It seems like they’re looking for something.”
“Well, I don’t think we’re close enough to talk about that.”
Geez, he’s already being prickly.
Although he drew a clear line, I could roughly guess the situation.
‘They left the boat on the shore and then sent one person to retrieve it…’
They must have been looking for something.
After all, most summoning engravings had a cooldown.
They were probably planning to leave on the boat as soon as they judged that there was nothing to find.
‘The fact that he unsummoned it means they found what they were looking for.’
Then what were they looking for?
I had a hunch.
After all, I had also come to the 6th floor for that reason.
‘If that’s the case, my plan will be disrupted…’
I subtly controlled my expression to hide my frustration.
But could it be that it was the same for him?
“Yandel, how long are you guys staying on this island?”
Partslan asked me subtly, his voice nonchalant.
That bastard, he’s testing me.
“I think we’ll be staying here.”
“Staying here? There’s nothing much here.”
“It’s our first time here.”
“Hmm, but it wouldn’t be bad to at least visit the next island… well, whatever. It’s up to you.”
Partslan, who was speaking with a hint of hope, quickly corrected himself, as if realizing he had crossed a line.
Right, who are you to decide where we go?
“Anyway, if you’re staying on this island, we might see each other again. Then I’ll see you later, Yandel.”
Partslan then ended the conversation.
His intentions were obvious.
He wanted to tell his companions about us and discuss the situation.
“Wait.”
Partslan turned around as I spoke briefly.
He seemed curious as to why I suddenly called him.
I couldn’t just let him go.
Actually, this was something that had been bothering me since earlier…
“It’s not just Yandel, it’s Viscount.”
“…What?”
I repeated myself as he tilted his head as if he misheard.
“I said Bjorn, son of Yandel, Viscount.”
Don’t try to act friendly with me.
Did he still think I was that ground-dwelling barbarian?
___________________
“Then I’ll be going. Ahem! Vi, Viscount Yandel…”
Raven sighed as Partslan hurriedly ran away.
“…Mr. Yandel, did you really have to do that?”
I knew what she meant.
That I was being too harsh.
But I puffed out my chest confidently.
“You weren’t expecting me to use honorifics, were you?”
I didn’t even make him call me ‘Viscount Yandel-nim’, and I even let him use informal language.
But she’s asking if I really had to do that?
“Raven, I don’t understand you. What kind of noble is this lenient?”
“Uh, well, you’re not wrong… but this has never happened before. What the hell happened between you two…”
Although Raven seemed to think it was a personal vendetta, it wasn’t.
In the first place, I was more grateful than anything for him saving my life.
But that was one thing, and this was another.
“Raven, there’s a big difference between me telling someone to speak informally and them speaking informally without me telling them to.”
My companions and acquaintances didn’t change their way of speaking even after I became a noble.
Because I told them not to.
But what about Partslan?
Although it wasn’t something a barbarian should say…
…he spoke informally as soon as he saw me.
“Ugh, so you did that to show off your noble authority? You’ve really become a noble now.”
What is she talking about?
“I’m not a noble, I’m a clan master.”
“…Yes?”
“It means I represent you guys wherever we go. But you’re saying I should have just smiled and let it slide because he’s someone you know? Even though I barely know him?”
“That’s…”
And most importantly, we would probably encounter that team again since our goals seemed to overlap.
That’s why I activated Noble Barbarian Mode.
I judged that it wasn’t good to be underestimated from the beginning.
“…I’m sorry for being sarcastic. I was short-sighted this time.”
Raven apologized, hanging her head low.
It was one of her strengths.
To admit her mistakes and apologize sincerely.
“That’s enough. I’ve forgotten about it.”
I magnanimously let it slide, as expected of a barbarian, and then asked what I was curious about.
“But I didn’t know, Raven, do you dislike nobles?”
“No? Not at all.”
Hmm, really?
She was being quite sarcastic earlier.
Ah, could it be that they were close?
So she was angry because I was bullying him?
I asked again, thinking it was a plausible guess, but Raven shook her head again.
“Uh, that’s definitely not it. In the first place, I’ve only met Mr. Partslan a few times at banquets…”
“Hmm, then why were you so angry?”
“I wasn’t angry…”
“But you were different from usual.”
Raven couldn’t answer my question easily.
It wasn’t because she was uncomfortable talking about it…
…but rather because she didn’t seem to know the reason herself.
“I was just… a bit. I don’t want you to be like that, especially… no, what am I saying? Ah, I don’t know either.”
Raven looked confused.
I chuckled.
Because I think I understood what she wanted to say.
I would also feel strange if Ainar suddenly changed and acted arrogantly. Damn right, a barbarian’s charm lies in their innocent heart.
“Ah, both of you, stop it! What’s with that weird atmosphere?!”
Misha, as if she didn’t like the awkward air, intervened, and the topic naturally changed.
“So what are we going to do now? There’s still a lot left to see on the island.”
“Ah, I’m done sightseeing.”
We had roughly finished measuring the island’s size…
…and we had also confirmed that there were other people here.
Competitors who might have come to this island for the same reason.
“Then what are we going to do?”
I answered Raven’s question briefly.
“We’re going inside the island.”
We couldn’t just back down because there were competitors.
___________________
Parune Island.
It was a popular hunting ground, located closest to the Starting Island.
Although all the monsters were below 8th grade…
…it had a significant financial advantage because of the large number of insect-type monsters that appeared.
Well, if you only looked at the profits.
“Erwen, fire! Fire! Fire! Quickly!!”
“Ye, yes!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk! Ugh! I think I swallowed one!!”
“Miss Ainar! A magic stone just came out of your mouth! Did you crush it with your teeth?!”
The 8th-grade insect-type monster, ‘Krungbi’, whose body was bigger than a human face.
And the swarm of bugs it summoned.
Whoosh!
Although magic stones poured out whenever Erwen, who handled fire spirits, or Raven unleashed their AoE spells, no one was happy.
It was the same for me.
‘It’s more disgusting than I thought.’
It was hard, even though I thought I had a strong stomach.
The sticky fluid that covered my entire body.
The sickening smell of burning bugs.
Phew, I didn’t want to know that this kind of smell existed in the world.
“I didn’t know there were this many monsters… it’s because there are no other people around… Kyaak!”
“Don’t talk! It went into my mo— Ugh!”
Although my companions were experiencing the worst moments of their lives in real time, they didn’t say they wanted to go back.
The reason was simple.
“It seems like Bjorn was right.”
“Yes. There’s definitely something on this island. Otherwise, those people with a good boat wouldn’t have come here.”
Of course, we weren’t going to stalk them and find out what it was.
I already knew what it was…
…and in the first place, there was no one in our clan who was so immoral that they would agree to such a plan.
Therefore, we decided to search for it ourselves.
Assuming that something was hidden on this island.
‘Thanks to that, it won’t seem strange even if we find it later…’
The problem was Partslan’s team.
The hidden piece on this island was an event that involved the entire island.
‘A total of 11 people if there’s no one else besides us.’
Although it wasn’t over the 15-person limit for the highest difficulty, 11 people was still a burdensome number.
‘That’s probably why he tried to kick us out. It would be much easier for them to progress through the event without us.’
I was a bit curious.
How did he even know about this hidden piece?
Was there a player among his team members?
Or was he a player himself?
‘I’ll get a sense of it when I meet him—’
That’s when, as I was thinking…
“Mister.”
…Erwen stopped us.
“Someone is fighting over there.”
She pointed towards the center of the forest.
She had much better hearing than us, so she couldn’t have misheard.
“It seems like Mr. Partslan’s team is hunting. Hmm, if we encounter them here, they might misunderstand and think we followed them—”
“No. They’re not hunting.”
“Yes? What do you mean they’re not hunting—”
Erwen’s eyes sharpened as she said,
“It’s the sound of people fighting each other.”
It meant that PK was taking place.
--------------------------------------------
Chapter 267: Parune Island (1)
People are fighting each other.
Those words jolted me awake.
Perhaps I had become a bit complacent without realizing it.
Thump!
There were no Noark explorers.
No, there were barely any explorers in the first place.
But even so, anything could happen in the labyrinth.
So I had to confirm the information first.
“How many are there?”
“At least eight.”
Erwen answered immediately, without a moment’s hesitation, as I asked in a low voice.
“So at least two teams are fighting.”
“Presumably.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“…No.”
Hmm, her tone didn’t sound like it.
It wasn’t good to just ignore this.
It’s like in movies, right?
“Anything else I should know?”
I asked again, more forcefully, and Erwen answered cautiously.
“…I have a bad feeling.”
Right, so that’s how it is.
“I’m sorry. For saying something unnecessary…”
I chuckled, looking at Erwen, who trailed off.
“It’s fine.”
Because I felt the same way.
An ominous premonition started to creep up on me as soon as I heard that explorers were fighting each other.
That’s when, as I was contemplating what to do…
“Yandel, what are we going to do?”
“Are we going to save them again…?”
I tilted my head.
“Save them again?”
“You did that on the 1st floor, and when the Imperial City was on fire.”
What is she talking about?
The situation was completely different from back then.
I had the means to help in the Imperial City, and I had also promised to help if I had the strength.
And on the 1st floor…
“I think I know what you’re misunderstanding, but I’ll make it clear now.”
I had ended up being treated like a hero after leading thousands of explorers and opening a path.
Honestly, I was a bit excited.
But…
“The ones I really wanted to save back then were you guys.”
My priorities hadn’t changed.
I was a selfish person who wasn’t worthy of being called a hero.
It was already hard enough to protect myself and my people.
“That means…”
“There’s no need to get involved when I even have a bad feeling. We’re leaving this island.”
“But is that okay? We don’t even know what’s going on, they might need our help.”
The bear-like man spoke with a troubled expression.
It wasn’t like his usual character.
It seemed like he was still drunk on the hero hype he experienced on the 1st floor.
“They’re also explorers. They must have accepted the risks when they chose this job.”
I said firmly, with the authority of a leader, and the bear-like man readily agreed without a word.
But could it be that he was worried about something else?
“Raven, are you okay? It seemed like you knew that guy.”
“Mr. Partslan? Hmm, if they’re fighting, then it’s highly likely that he’s involved…”
Raven trailed off at the bear-like man’s concern.
And she looked at us with a determined gaze and drew a line.
“But I don’t care.”
“You don’t care?”
“We’re not that close. What if something happens to us if we go to help them?”
It was a selfish answer, typical of an explorer.
But we were all speechless at her following words.
“…My team is more important to me.”
Geez, she’s saying that without even blinking.
She’s become shameless after getting a year older.
She still looked like a kid.
“Then it’s decided.”
We turned around and ran towards the shore as soon as the decision was made.
Our estimated arrival time was about an hour.
It wasn’t a big island, so there wouldn’t be any problems if we just left quickly.
‘It’s a shame to leave the hidden piece…’
Well, we could just leave the island and come back later depending on the situation.
‘Right, it’s best to run away when you’re uneasy.’
I discarded my last shred of regret.
After some time…
“It’s the sea!”
…we reached the shore and quickly took out our boat, launching it into the water. And we got on board one by one, rowing away from the island.
That’s when, as I was starting to feel relieved…
“Bjo, Bjorn!”
…Ainar, the valiant barbarian warrior, shouted, her voice filled with fear.
“Wh, what’s going on! The, the sea…! The sea is rising!!”
The calm sea suddenly turned violent, rocking the boat.
「The offering of Parune Island has been destroyed.」
「The wrath of the sea engulfs the island.」
Damn it.
___________________
The hidden piece on Parune Island was simple.
When you destroyed the ‘offering’ hidden in the center of the island, you could trigger the ‘Wrath of the Sea’ event.
It was a kind of defense event.
Sea monsters would swarm towards the island from the shore, and we had to block them from inland.
And what I was aiming for was the event boss’s essence.
The 4th-grade monster, Elprott.
It was an essence that Misha or Erwen could use until the late game.
Well, whether it dropped was a different matter.
Anyway, it wasn’t something I should be thinking about right now.
‘At least 8 people on that side, and 6 people here…’
The event had started at the highest difficulty.
It meant that our top priority was to escape this island, regardless of the hidden piece.
“Wh, what’s going on?”
“I’ve never heard of the waves suddenly getting this high…”
“Row! Row harder!!”
We hurriedly started rowing after a brief moment of panic at the violent waves that were pushing us back, as if no one could escape this island.
After all, we were almost out of the island’s vicinity.
‘We can get out if we just go a little further.’
Indeed, even in the game, escaping the island after the event was triggered wasn’t blocked by the system.
It was just that most boats would sink before they could get far enough.
“One, two. One, two!!”
We chanted and rowed, overcoming the waves.
But…
‘I should have spent a bit more money and bought a better boat.’
It didn’t feel like we were moving forward.
It felt like we were being pushed back towards the island, even though we were rowing with all our might.
And it wasn’t just a feeling.
“Bjo, Bjorn! The, the island is getting closer!”
The boat was being pushed back even though we were trying to sail against the waves.
I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.
If we had just installed a magic engineering propulsion device on the boat, we might have been able to break through.
“Bjorn! The boat is taking on water…!!”
“Wh, what should we do? Is there a hole somewhere?”
Panic spread among the members as the boat started taking on water.
It was time to make a decision.
“We’re giving up on escaping the island.”
I quickly gave the order after a brief moment of contemplation.
“Everyone, turn around and sit down! We’ll ride the waves and head towards the island!”
It was the advantage of a small boat with a capacity of six people.
Although there was a front and back, it didn’t really matter. Especially not in this situation where the waves were pushing us back so violently.
“Put all your heavy equipment in your subspace pockets!”
I had them take off their equipment to reduce the boat’s weight and prepare for a capsizing.
Okay, then we were done with the preparations.
“Right!!”
I only used the oars to keep the boat from capsizing, not to move it.
That’s when, after about 3 minutes, as the island that was far away started to get closer…
“Lo, look…!”
…the boat, which had been bouncing and moving forward, was swept away by a large wave.
And…
“Kyaaaaaak!!”
…it completely capsized.
“Gasp!”
My body was submerged in water in an instant.
I somehow grabbed onto the overturned boat and held on.
“Is everyone okay?!”
“Uh, for now!”
“I’m okay!”
Everyone except for one person reported that they were alive at my shout.
“Where’s Raven?”
What happened?
Don’t tell me she was swept away?
“Gasp, here! I’m here!”
Phew, that startled me.
We quickly discussed as we clung to the overturned boat and bobbed on the water.
“So what should we do now?”
“Can’t we just stay like this?”
“Uh, it seems like we’re moving in the right direction…”
It wasn’t a bad method.
The boat, made of special buoyant wood, wouldn’t sink even if it was overturned.
‘It actually feels more stable than when we were on board…’
The waves were pushing us towards the island, so the boat would reach the shore even if we didn’t steer it.
“Hold on tight!”
We then endured, holding onto the boat’s handles tightly to avoid being swept away by the waves.
That’s when, after about a minute…
‘Oh, I didn’t think about this…’
…we faced a new crisis.
“Look, rocks! Rocks…!”
A towering reef started to approach the boat as we got closer to the shore.
It was impossible to change course now.
“If we get separated, meet at the center of the island!!”
I hurriedly shouted, assuming the worst.
And at that moment…
Kwaaang!
…the boat crashed into the reef.
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Swaaa!
I opened my eyes to the sound of crashing waves.
My vision was blurry, as if something was stuck in my eyes, and I could taste the salt of the sea in my mouth.
And for some reason…
Crack, crack, crack.
…I heard a crunching sound.
From my feet.
“……?”
I barely managed to lift my head and check my lower body, and then I froze.
A giant lobster monster the size of a large dog was struggling to eat my feet.
“What the hell.”
No, do you think that would work?
Just how high is my Physical Resistance?
Thwack!
I first kicked the Sterleb away with my free foot. And I quickly got up and smashed its head with the plank I was holding.
「Killed Sterleb. EXP +1」
As expected of a 9th-grade monster, it disappeared into light with a single hit.
‘But what is this plank…?’
I then realized that I had been clutching a plank since I opened my eyes.
Where did it come from?
I didn’t have to think hard, the memory I had forgotten came back to me.
‘Ah, the boat was destroyed…’
The boat shattered when it hit the reef.
And I grabbed the biggest plank and hugged it tightly. I judged that even my barbarian body wouldn’t sink if I held onto this.
‘So I survived because of this…’
I quickly looked around after realizing that. There was no one on the empty sandy beach.
‘I wonder if the others are okay…’
Raven would be fine.
Although she couldn’t swim, I saw her floating in the air using Levitation magic at the last moment. And Misha and Erwen could swim, so I was less worried about them.
The problem was Ainar and the bear-like man, who couldn’t swim.
‘Phew, I hope they were safely washed ashore.’
Although I tried to reassure myself, I couldn’t help but worry.
But my hands moved busily, taking out the equipment I had stored in my subspace pocket and putting it on.
Because a horde of monsters would soon swarm the island.
Judging by how only Sterlebs were roaming around, it seemed like it hadn’t been long since the event started…
…but I had to be prepared.
‘They said explorers were fighting each other, but what kind of situation led to this event being triggered?’
Although I had several questions, they were things I couldn’t answer right now.
Ha, I should have just helped them.
Then I would have known what was going on—
Thud.
I stopped as I was about to enter the forest from the shore.
I heard a presence from beyond the bushes.
Tadat, tadat, tadat.
The sound of someone running.
‘It’s not a monster.’
All the monsters on Parune Island were flying insects.
It meant it wasn’t the sound of a monster running.
And it was also unlikely to be one of my scattered companions.
We had agreed to meet inside the forest.
There was no reason for them to be running in the opposite direction.
‘Then is it one of the explorers who were fighting?’
I slowly raised my mace and waited for the owner of the presence to appear.
The reason I waited was simple.
I only heard one set of footsteps.
I was confident that I could at least escape if it was a one-on-one battle.
So gathering information was the priority.
‘Now.’
I timed it based on the sound of their footsteps and then suddenly reached out.
“Huff, huff. Kyaa, ug—”
My prey was caught and lifted into the air, struggling.
“Stay still. I won’t hurt you.”
My original plan was to swing my mace and subdue her completely, but I decided to put it on hold.
Because she was someone I knew.
Well, it seemed like she didn’t remember me.
“I’ll let you go, so be quiet.”
“Wh, who are you…?”
“I told you to be quiet.”
The priestess in a white robe trembled as I spoke in a menacing voice.
Phew, this makes me feel like a bad guy.
“I’m Bjorn Yandel, Viscount.”
“Ah…!”
The priestess’s face brightened as soon as I revealed my name.
She didn’t seem to doubt my identity.
It seemed like Partslan had told her about me.
“So calm down, Ersina. I’m not your enemy.”
“Ho, how do you know my name…?”
How would I know?
Because I met her once before.
I repeat, it was a memory that was hard to forget.
[Priest Ersina. Can you heal him?]
[I refuse.]
I felt like the world was ending when she refused to treat me.
Tsk, whatever. That wasn’t important now.
“Let’s talk about that later. Explain what happened in the forest.”
Gathering information was the priority.