Chapter 91 - On the Island's Beach
The trio stood on the beach, staring at the forest ahead of them, feeling a bit apprehensive about heading back into such a place.
"Mosquitoes, insects, skeletons... and s-snakes," Anna recited, listing everything they might encounter.
"Don't mention snakes! We don't want to attract them..." Luke replied.
Does she not know the basics of bad luck? Don't talk about what you don't want to happen. Please, little snakes, stay away.
"I think it's better if we stick to the beach as much as possible and only head into the forest when necessary," Alice suggested.
That shouldn't be a problem if we're spotted—the creatures will try to kill us on sight. The real issue would be if one of the chained drowned sees us. According to Flyn, they're an extension of the boss, an entire army sharing their master's senses. The chained drowned are dangerous because of this, and Flyn mentioned that the boss strategically places them to have a good view of the area around his lair.
Flyn theorizes that the boss's power is amplified by his ghost ship, meaning that any drowned close by will be under his control as long as he has that ship. According to Flyn, the ship somehow increased the creature's power.
Flyn believes that the ship is something the monster somehow stumbled upon, at the very least, a treasure that fell into its possession. Creatures can't use cards like humans, so it found the ship outside of its card stage and claimed it. How powerful could a ghost ship from a card be? I didn't even know vehicles could come from cards. But that thing is a living ghost ship, so is it a summon? If so... what an insanely overpowered item. Now I understand why the kingdom is so obsessed with expeditions in the Oblique World and campaign maps. How many powerful cards are out there, waiting to be claimed? This explains why they even monitor what their subordinates acquire. Someone with a ship like this, capable of navigating a monstrous ocean without attracting the attention of sea monsters... how powerful would that person be on land? I'm thinking too small... how many powerful cards are in the hands of the Houses and the Royal Family? Now I see why no one can stand up to them and why they use their wealth to buy cards of interest... cards are resources, and resources are power. No wonder they might even kill for a card.
The ship is a personified card that a boss is using, like picking up a fallen sword. This means it's an ownerless card. According to Flyn, an experienced pirate with conjured items from cards he calls "treasure," all we need to do is touch the most important part of the treasure. In this case, we need to get our hands on the helm, the ship's steering wheel. Since the card has no owner, it will automatically transfer to the person who does this. All we have to do is touch the helm, and the boss will lose his powerful ship. With that, we can use the card to escape and find the exit from this Campaign Map.
In theory, this all sounds too easy, but it means entering the territory of a boss who controls an army of the drowned. He probably doesn't stray far from that ship... and if he isn't in the lair, we'll have to wait for him to return. He really uses that ship to get around... how dangerous.
I can't believe I'm now curious to read the description of that ship's card... imagine what that thing can do? I saw it emerging from the Veil. Can the ship sail underwater?
I need to clear my mind. We have to face an entire journey to the lair, fighting off whatever comes our way, then sneak in unnoticed and steal a ship... I miss the days when I was in that cave. Things were simpler.
They decided to first explore the area they were in. The beach was small and quickly gave way to the forest, but they discovered that by swimming a bit further, they could reach a much larger part of the beach, and so they did.
I can't believe it! I found that rich person's water again.
"Coconuts! Finally, you guys have to try this stuff. It's like drinking water that grows on trees."
Luke ran toward the palm tree and tried to shake it, but it was in vain. The tree was too large and sturdy.
"We had this when we arrived on the first day; it was really good. I'd only ever had it on special occasions," Anna said, reminiscing about how her father's company would occasionally pay for luxury resort trips where they served coconuts. Her father worked for a prana crystal energy company, so she had a bit more knowledge about the Deviant world before entering it herself. That's why her parents weren't easily swayed by offers of nobility. Due to his job, he had a lot of contact with Deviants who owned transportation companies. They would transport prana crystals from the Oblique World and sell them to businesses. There were also Deviants who owned mining companies within the Oblique World, although the mining was done manually since technology didn't function there.
"And you, Alice? Aren't you excited to have some coconut water?" Anna asked, cheerful.
"Oh… I had plenty when we were desperate for water. I don't really like it that much," Alice said, feeling a bit embarrassed about her noble background.
"More for me, then," Luke said, trying to climb the palm tree.
"Do you like coconut, Luke?" Alice asked.
"Yeah, I love it. I've never tasted water this good."
"Then I'll get it for you."
Before he could say she didn't need to climb, Alice threw something at high speed, and the coconuts fell. Whatever she had thrown returned to her hand afterward.
"Boomerang!" Luke said, amazed.
Would it be too embarrassing to ask her to let me throw it? Better keep quiet… Man, that's so cool.
The scarf looked at him, irritated.
You're cool too, and I forgot I could just order you to get them for me… my bad. I was being dumb. You could wrap around the tree and climb up… or maybe I could turn you into a boomerang?
He tried, but the scarf couldn't change shape like that.
"Here!"
Alice tossed a coconut to Luke.
"Having a boomerang has its perks…" he commented, internally lamenting that she didn't want the item.
"Want some?"
"I prefer the water from your canteen," Alice replied.
The canteen hanging from Luke's belt moved as if agreeing.
Since when does that thing move?
After studying the area around the beach, the trio decided to take a moment to rest before venturing into the forest. Fortunately, they had eaten some fish earlier that Flyn had caught. The open sea functioned like a normal sea, though Flyn mentioned that in all his years of piracy, he had never seen such an abundance of fish in one place. This sea had plenty of fish, including unique species. Flyn explained that this part of the sea was surrounded by the Sea of Storms and the Sea of the Veil, trapping the smaller, more fragile fish in a large area he called a reef. The fish there were normal, but there were also monsters. The giant creatures living there were enormous fish, and Flyn mentioned that they didn't necessarily target humans—they just ate anything that moved in the water without distinction. His boat had an effect that repelled monstrous creatures, essentially masking its presence. However, the boat wouldn't work against the creatures outside the reef and wouldn't last in a storm.
"What's that?" Anna pointed to a structure. They approached and saw a massive, abandoned fortress.
"A dungeon…"