As soon as he left the house, the young man was surprised by the small world around him...
The houses in the surroundings were simple, each with its own peculiarities. In fact, they had a common and basic structure built with simple planks, wooden beams, and stones to support the layout.
It was evident that the small village did not sail in gold or that perhaps it did not flaunt its wealth by squandering it for trivial things.
From its current location, Atlas could see almost the entire village because, in addition to being in a slightly elevated position, the size of that place was pretty tiny, not even reaching the size of the Nevery village.
At first glance, it seemed like a typical village, but the young man discovered a surreal fact when his gaze rested on the thick and tall defensive wall surrounding the whole place, also composed mainly of massive logs of wood and stones.
Initially, he thought that the blow suffered was more severe than he imagined, but he had to change his mind when he left his gaze across the summit of what seemed to be a wall about ten meters high, composed of a dense foggy blanket, gray as ashes.
In fact, such a thing was shocking, but when he thought of the myriad formations scattered around the world, all of this no longer seemed so strange.
Intrigued by that particular wall, the young man walked towards it, taking a random direction, and passed one house after another until he reached a small square.
"Fresh fish... Fresh fish... hurry up, these are the last pieces..."
"Crab of the icy abysses... A claw to heal every ailment, ideal for healing potions..."
"Horn of the Rainbow Dolphin... a superb material for spearheads..."
Although the square was not as extensive as that of the city of the Inflamed Chalice, the goods exhibited by the fishermen, if you could call them that, were enormous. Indeed, it was better to say gigantic ...
Claws of two and three meters...
Carcasses of sea creatures five or almost six meters long...
Atlas recognized some of them and was stunned because he knew them well.
A Shark of the Abyss is 10 meters long...
A herd of Electric Jellyfish of the same features as a horse...
Crabs with Flaming Pincers of at least 3 meters...
"Chaotical beasts at the Epoch Descendant Ruler Realm and even Eon Redemption Overlord Realm. This place is way too scary..."
Clearly, it wasn't a trivial fishing village...
There were also stalls full of valuables and weapons, but the prices were so high that Atlas merely observed them with drool in his mouth without even stopping for a second.
That little paradise was like a dream, but in the end, it continued toward his destination. After a while, he reached the village border, where one of the two gates was located.
Next to the door, a group of elderly people were sitting around a small table where half-emptied bottles of wine and playing cards stood ready to be managed by them.
One of them was the village chief, Waret, and as soon as he saw the young man approaching them, he called him loudly: "Hey... Boy! You seem to be feeling better... Sit down with us..."
"Old fellows, this young boy is Atlas..."
The other people sitting at the table turned their gaze to Atlas and observed him briefly before mumbling...
"Is he the so-called phantom zombie that caused all that ruckus on the other side? Truly disappointing... We must punish that fool and confine him for at least a month. How could he confuse a young boy for one of those aberrations?!... Ridiculous!"
"Mmm... Indeed, Borbur's mischiefs this time are unforgivable. Moreover, he wasted two blessed arrows... One month is not enough. Let's make one year!"
"Waret... you should compensate our little friend with something, don't be a jackass..."
It was clear that the three other elders had a nice gab.
Waret raised his hands to the sky and sighed bitterly: "Don't worry, we're going to deal with Borbur somehow. Fortunately, our little friend has a very magnanimous heart."
One of the elders held a giant milk-white pipe in his hands, and after a deep pull, he shook his head gloomily: "If I had been in his place, I would have squeezed your pocket until it was emptied... Hahaha..."
Atlas slowly approached the group, but after what he had seen, he kept his mouth shut, although, in his mind, he could only criticize that old bastard...
'So, he ran away to play cards? Shameless old man...'
Waret brought one of the free chairs to the table and made the young man sit down.
"So, what do you think about our village? It's small and very simple, completely different from the villages on the continent."
"Well... Surely, it looks like a simple and tranquil place..."
Atlas didn't have much to say about the village, not least because he had lived on top of Lonely Mountain for many years and was used to the most mundane world.
"Hehehe... Old fools, have you heard that?" Waret turned to the others and smiled: "According to him, it's a tranquil place. I don't understand why you old bastards criticize it every day..."
"Evidently... he slammed his head a bit too hard..."
"Sure, being young is a blessing..."
"Definitely..."
It was evident that the others had a completely different opinion than the village chief and did not hold back the criticism.
"Idiots... You are decrepit old men, but you still have a forked tongue. Ahi..."
Waret avoided instigating them further and continued to talk to Atlas.
"Surely, after everything you've been through, you want to go home. But I have bad news for you, as you'll have to wait for at least two months."
Although that was not the young man's goal, Atlas was intrigued by his words: "Why so much? Don't you have a Teleportation Formation connected to the continent?"
Hahaha!!
His world caused quite a considerable commotion.
"Teleportation? Boy... That damn sea is… How should I explain it to you... Hmm..."
"Idiot... No one knows... why are you acting like that?... Boy. I'll explain it to you..."
"Crazy old man... Think about that damn pipe of yours instead of interrupting others... Damn, I have to start over again..."
While two of them kept arguing, another explained everything: "Boy... don't pay attention to those two. Unfortunately, our island is so close to those cursed waters that it is impossible to build a Teleportation Formation."
Waret added: "By coming here, you have certainly passed through the square... and you may have noticed a small pile of stones right in the center..."
In fact, Atlas had noticed it but had not given it much weight because it was covered with grass and flowers in every corner.
"... well. The first inhabitants of this village tried to build a portal, but just when the main chaos runes of the formation were taking shape, the latter turned into small black skulls, and the structure imploded, swallowing all the experts into the void."
"It's absurd... it must be a story you tell to scare others..." Atlas looked back at them strangely but also a little perplexed because he had never heard of this eventuality.
The first one who had spoken sipped some wine from the glass and then mocked him: "Hehehe... there are much more disturbing stories, trust me. At first, not even the three of us believed in that story, but old Waret saw everything with his own eyes..."
Atlas turned his gaze to the village chief and saw him saddened.
"Mmm... unfortunately, it is true. My grandparents were part of the first expedition of experts sent to protect this region. But on that fateful day, they were annihilated. Although it happened long ago, that macabre event is hard to forget. The screams and cries..."
Atlas saw tears coming out of the old man's eyes and felt a little melancholy: "I'm sorry..."
Waret wiped the tears with a handkerchief and smiled: "Ahi... I'm so old, but I can still cry like a baby. What a shame..."
"Anyway... to survive on this island, we have established stringent rules, one of which is that we can return to the continent only once every six months."
'Six months?? It seems a bit extreme to me... and why did he say survive?!'
"Village chief... I don't understand one thing. If this place is so dangerous, why are you staying here? Isn't it better if you go back to the continent?"
Atlas's words were followed by a macabre silence, and only after a while did one of them reply: "If only we could... Unfortunately, for reasons related to our past, we cannot live on the continent..."
'Maybe they are the descendants of criminals... or there are other reasons, but it seems they do not want to talk about it...'
Atlas did not insist further and instead tried to find out more by explaining his true intentions: "Actually... I'm not trying to go back to the continent. In fact, my true destination is the other side of the borders..."
The young man's words caused so much dismay that one of them could not help but comment: "Old Waret... it seems that our little friend has gone crazy because of that blow..."
Waret was also slightly stunned by his statement and commented: "Then that was why you asked me how far those damn waters were... Atlas, you can't seriously say..."
"Unfortunately, I have to go there to find a person..."
The four looked at each other for a moment, and then Waret spoke cautiously: "Atlas... it's madness. No one can survive in that place."
"I understand your concerns, but I have this..."
Atlas knew he wouldn't convince that little group with words alone, so he showed them the Soul Compass.
"Mhm... A Soul Compass... what an incredible object. And it seems to be seriously pointing towards that place... Poor soul..."
"Well... with this object, you will certainly not lose your way through those waters, but you must know that if at some point in the journey that light goes out, then..."
Waret did not need to finish the sentence because Atlas understood the meaning of the speech very well and interrupted him: "I understand it, but I can't go back without her..."
Atlas spoke with so much determination that he eventually convinced those four old men.
"Old Waret... losing your way is not the only problem of that place..."
"Damn, I know! But what do you want to do? Perhaps with our help, he can return safely..."
"Why don't we send that idiot with him?! At least, he can save a bit of his face and repay him somehow..."
"Do you want to send that idiot? Bha..."
A heated argument sparked among the small group, but Atlas understood from their speeches that perhaps Nihilir's actions were correct. Here, he could find a way to return unscathed from those seas.
"Idiot... why don't you go?"
"Old fellow... I understand I am the youngest, but even my bones are starting to give way..."
"Geez... we can't send Waret... and leave the village without protection..."
"It's natural, but we can't even send this young man alone. Therefore, although I exclude the possibility that she has delved far into the depth of this region, we cannot ignore this possibility..."
Atlas stood aside and avoided interrupting them until Waret, the one who had spoken the least, interrupted them: "Let's send him..."
Of course, the young man did not understand who he was referring to, but the others remained silent for a brief moment and then exploded...
"ARE YOU CRAZY??"