After everyone had eaten their fill—or at least enough to stave off hunger—it was time to get to business.
"Perhaps we should build a raft?" I suggested, stretching my arms. "Better than being stuck on this hellhole forever."
Ace, sitting cross-legged with his hat tilted over his face, let out a chuckle. "Now there's an idea. Beats waiting for a miracle."
Deuce, however, frowned. "Have you seen the waves around the island? They're too fierce. A normal raft would get shredded, or worse, just push us back to shore."
I smirked. "I have a way to get us past the waves. We just need something that floats."
Deuce raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
Instead of answering, I raised my hand and summoned a clear portal in front of us. A second portal opened a short distance away, and I casually stepped through it, appearing beside them again in an instant.
Ace bolted upright, his hat nearly falling off. "Whoa! What the hell was that?"
"Spatial manipulation," I said with a grin. "As long as I can see past the waves, I can open a portal and get us farther out to sea."
Both men perked up at that.
"Haha! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's build a raft!" Ace shouted, already fired up.
Deuce, ever the cautious one, adjusted his glasses. "Alright, but we'll need to make sure it's sturdy. If we slap something together and it falls apart in the water, we're done for."
"We're going to need logs," Deuce said, scanning the island. "Big ones."
Ace sighed. "Yeah, that's the problem. Most of the trees here are small and thin or would take forever to chop down."
I cracked my knuckles. "Not an issue."
Before either of them could ask what I meant, I walked up to the nearest tree—a thick, towering thing at least thirty feet tall—and gripped its trunk with both hands. With a simple flex of my muscles, I ripped it straight from the ground, roots and all.
Ace's jaw dropped. "What the—?"
I casually tossed the massive tree to the side and moved on to the next one.
Deuce adjusted his glasses, blinking in disbelief. "That shouldn't be possible."
"Yeah, well," I said, yanking up another tree, "I'm full of surprises."
By the time I had gathered a pile of logs large enough to build a small boat, let alone a raft, Ace had gotten over his shock and was already helping Deuce strip the trees of their branches.
Ace let out a stunned laugh. "Okay, I gotta admit—that's impressive."
Deuce sighed. "I was going to suggest cutting them down, but… I guess this works too."
Once we had the logs, the next step was binding them together.
I unzipped my backpack and pulled out a compact camping tent. "We can use this."
Ace gave me a confused look. "A tent?"
I nodded and pulled out a knife, slicing through the thick fabric. "The material is strong, and the ropes inside will work as bindings."
Deuce examined the pieces as I cut. "This will definitely hold better than vines alone."
We stripped down the tent, cutting the strongest sections into makeshift ropes. For extra security, we reinforced them with thick vines from the surrounding jungle. The combination of both made for a surprisingly sturdy build.
After securing the logs together, we flipped the raft over and examined our work. The logs were tightly bound, the structure was solid, and despite its rough look, it had enough buoyancy to keep us afloat.
Ace patted the raft with a satisfied grin. "Not bad at all. I say we're ready to go!"
Just as we were about to push the raft into the water, a powerful wave surged forward, crashing onto the shore with enough force to drench us from head to toe. The water seeped into the bindings, loosening some of the makeshift ropes.
Deuce groaned, rubbing his temples. "Damn it. We need to reinforce it again."
I shook the water from my hands. "Alright, let's double-wrap everything."
We spent another half-hour tightening the bindings, making sure nothing would come loose. The tent ropes held firm, and the extra vines provided additional security.
By the time we finished, the sun was dipping lower in the sky, painting the ocean with streaks of gold and orange.
Ace stretched his arms. "Alright, moment of truth!"
I stepped to the edge of the water, scanning past the rough waves. Once I spotted a calm area beyond them, I raised my hand and summoned a portal.
A shimmering gateway opened in the air, revealing the open sea beyond the violent waves.
Ace let out a low whistle. "Now that's a handy trick."
Deuce looked skeptical. "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Only one way to find out." I hopped onto the raft, testing its balance. "Let's go."
Ace grinned, stepping on after me, followed by Deuce, who still looked wary.
With a final push, we drifted forward. The moment we reached the portal, the raft slipped through effortlessly—
And just like that, we were free.
Behind us, the island shrank into the distance, nothing more than a blip on the horizon. The waves that had once trapped us were now far behind.
Ace whooped, throwing a fist in the air. "Hell yeah! We're finally out of there!"
Deuce let out a relieved sigh. "Let's just hope we don't float aimlessly until we starve."
I reached into my backpack and tossed him a water bottle. "I think we'll be fine."
Ace leaned back against the logs, looking up at the darkening sky. "You know," he mused, "I have no idea where we're gonna end up, but something tells me it's gonna be one hell of a ride."
I smirked. Yeah, it will be.
With the island behind us, our real adventure was just beginning.