10 Squad. How to Build a Radar.
Ever since realizing this map had a Blue Zone too, Seowoon kept checking the map frequently, never letting his guard down.
Compared to the Azure Dragon of the last game, this Blue Zone was a whole different level—getting caught in it meant immediate game over.
He'd been traveling every day, avoiding islands and taking the shortest route possible.
After the Sea Crystal, they hadn't encountered any particularly aggressive enemies.
"Passing 150," Jeong suhwa reported.
The team, already used to these updates, only casually turned their heads without much tension or sense of urgency.
After encountering countless enemies from afar who seemed just as disinterested, like cows and chickens ignoring each other, it had become routine.
In fact, when ships crossed paths at long distances, it wasn't uncommon for one to deliberately veer its bow to show they had no intention of fighting. As a result, skirmishes were rare.
As stars began to light up the night sky as though they might pour down, Limin stretched after anchoring the ship.
"Ughhh! Steering all day is no joke."
"You've done great. Go get some rest."
Limin had long been excused from night watch duties while piloting the ship.
As Limin entered the tent set up on the deck, Seowoon climbed the mast to scan the surroundings.
Nam Sagwang climbed up beside him and spoke.
"By tomorrow, we'll arrive."
"As long as nothing unexpected happens."
"I'll tell you in advance: passing on Gang Gigong's enlightenment isn't difficult. But how well you absorb it depends entirely on your own ability."
Seowoon retorted without backing down.
"It's the same with the insight of the Mad Light. How much you absorb is purely up to your own skill."
"I know."
Nam Sagwang turned his head to avoid Seowoon's gaze, a spark glinting in his eye.
"That… looks like it's coming this way."
At his words, Seowoon nodded.
He confirmed that something was charging toward them in a pack, noisily cutting through the moonlit, calm sea.
"Everyone, prepare for combat!"
At his command, the resting team members rushed out of the tent and took their positions.
Among them, Juriel, who had spotted the strange lifeforms approaching, gave a quick briefing.
"Siren! Mirror Silence!"
With her shout, she completed her casting and swung her staff. A muffled sensation filled everyone's ears.
Jumping down to the deck, Seowoon asked her,
"What kind of magic is that?"
"A spell that blocks out external sound," she replied.
Lyle added, offering more explanation in her stead.
"From what I've heard, Sirens are semi-human monsters that confuse people's spirits through sound, luring them into the sea to devour them."
By now, the Sirens had drawn near the caravel, poking their upper bodies out of the water and playfully waving.
With beauty that could drive a man mad, all the male team members turned their eyes toward the Sirens frolicking near the caravel.
And it wasn't just female-type Sirens.
There were also delicate, boyish ones and muscular, sharply masculine ones—all waving at the crew aboard the ship.
Dump, the simplest among them, was the first to speak.
"They're just overhyped monsters. Maybe they're not as dangerous as the rumors say."
"Yeah. Maybe we should lift the spell for a moment…"
Liman agreed, mesmerized by the Sirens' innocent charm.
Juriel looked at the two of them with a mix of disbelief and disappointment.
"We warriors aren't so weak that we're easily shaken."
Even Nam Sagwang chimed in, and Seowoon finally said,
"Who knows—they might drop good items?"
"Very possible. Wouldn't be surprising at all."
With item rewards in mind, Seowoon turned to Juriel.
"Juriel. How difficult are they to hunt?"
"I've never fought one myself. But from what I've heard, Tawa Empire warriors can hunt them without much trouble."
After a brief moment of thought, Seowoon gave the order.
"Cancel the magic and prepare to attack."
Ready to jump into the water and eliminate the monsters if needed, he waited as Juriel let out a sigh and canceled her spell.
– Kyaahaha! You fools! What are you doing?
– Come down! Let's play together!
The Sirens giggled and splashed seawater like squirt guns, playfully calling out to the crew. Seowoon's expression hardened.
He had never once imagined they'd be able to communicate with normal monsters.
Dump looked like he was on the verge of ripping off his armor and diving straight in.
"It's fine… just for a bit…"
As he loosened his shoulder guards, Seowoon smacked him on the back of the head.
"Snap out of it. You can't even swim properly."
"Ugh…"
The Sirens were breathtaking—so much so that Dump's mind seemed to slip away.
From voluptuous, curvy Sirens to those who looked like fragile young girls, their variety was enough to match nearly any man's preference, so Seowoon could understand why they'd be tempted.
"Hey, mermaids. Why are you approaching us?"
He honestly didn't expect them to answer. It was just a casual probe—to gauge hostility and see if communication was possible.
– Heehee, because we have a friend just like us here. Tell him to come out already!
– The sea friends told us. Said a cool guy is on that ship.
– Come down too! Friends of friends don't get attacked. Let's all have fun~
At their innocent-sounding words, Seowoon finally understood exactly why they had come.
It was because of him.
A passing fish seemed to have witnessed Seowoon transforming into a mermaid and attacking an enemy ship.
'These guys… they can talk to fish too, huh.'
Several thoughts flashed through Seowoon's mind in that moment.
"Are you really not going to harm us?"
— Of course. We lie well, but never to our friends. Heeheehee.
"Dump. Go play."
At those words, Dump, who had been squirming with excitement and gazing at the sirens in a trance, threw off his armor.
Worried that Seowoon might change his mind, he bolted into the sea, and Juriel looked on with concern.
"It could be dangerous."
"Or, it could be an opportunity."
At Seowoon's calm response, hope lit up Juriel's face.
"You're planning something, aren't you?"
"I've been wondering—when enemy ships are swept away in the wilderness zones, how do ordinary fish come out unscathed?"
Juriel's expression brightened with realization.
"But what if something happens to Dump—?"
"Then we'll just pull him out and save him."
Juriel frowned slightly at how lightly Seowoon risked a teammate's life for information, but when she saw Dump happily splashing around with the sirens underwater, she nodded in reluctant understanding.
"Oops! My hand slipped, hehe. I'm not really used to swimming, hehe."
— Heehee. Naughty human.
The female teammates shook their heads as they watched Dump swimming around with the happiest grin on his face.
— Oh beautiful ladies, come join us!
Even the male sirens—ranging from pretty boys to statuesque, muscular men—beckoned invitingly to the female team members.
They were stunning by any standard, even from a male perspective.
But the female teammates didn't seem particularly interested or intrigued.
Once it was clear that Dump was having a safe and pleasant time, even Limin and Namsagwang jumped into the water, prompting joyful laughter from the sirens.
"Men, honestly…"
Seowoon looked at Kichan, surprised.
"You're not going in?"
"Not really. I don't even like the water that much. And it doesn't seem right for a minor to be mingling with naked sirens."
"Didn't expect that from you."
Kichan responded matter-of-factly, "I've been to more than enough pool parties. I'm done being fawned over by older women."
Seowoon immediately imagined Kichan surrounded by bikini-clad women at a pool party.
"Ugh… so annoying."
"Excuse me?"
Seowoon, who had accidentally said his thoughts out loud, ignored Kichan's surprised expression and gripped the railing, staring out to sea.
Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and a sharp bloodlust filled the air.
— Kyaaaa!
The beautiful sirens' teeth became razor-sharp, their pupils slitted vertically as their faces twisted into something fierce.
Seowoon prepared to channel his inner energy, thinking they were finally showing their true colors—but something felt off. The sirens' aggression wasn't directed at the ship, but in the opposite direction.
They were standing between the team and the threat, shielding them, rather than attacking.
— Get back on the ship, now!
Gone were the melodious voices—one of the sirens shouted in a raspy, broken tone.
"What's coming?" Seowoon yelled.
One siren shouted back:
— Sewer Shark!
At her cry, a monstrous shark with a giant open maw burst out of the sea, a screaming siren clamped in its jaws.
It was far from an ordinary shark. Though its body was unmistakably shark-like, it had grotesque human arms and legs, giving it a truly revolting appearance.
— Kyaaaa!
As the bitten siren screamed, Seowoon hurled Hamit, which had transformed into a trident, into the beast.
The trident, charged with inner power, pierced the Sewer Shark's torso. The creature howled and dropped the siren as it flailed above the water.
— Tatat!
Seowoon kicked off the railing and launched himself at the beast.
Landing on its back, he yanked the trident from its gut—but the shark wrapped its human-like arms around him and dragged him down into the ocean.
— SPLASH!
The sirens immediately dove in after him to help.
While the team stood stunned, Kichan reacted first, launching glowing orbs into the sky to light up the area and prepare for combat.
— All martial artists confident in diving, get in the water now!
Juriel issued the order in Seowoon's absence.
Jinryng, who remained onboard, drew his sword and leapt into the sea as well.
Juriel summoned more glowing orbs and tossed them into the water, illuminating the depths to help their submerged teammates see clearly.
What they saw stunned them into silence.
Seowoon—transformed into a mermaid and wielding a trident—was massacring the Sewer Shark swarm.
The sirens were overwhelmed by his strength and couldn't keep up. The rest of the team, even if they wanted to help, simply couldn't move through the water as swiftly as Seowoon.
His fish-like lower body let him slice through the water as quickly as the grotesque shark monsters themselves.
Before long, the ocean turned into a bloodbath as the sharks' blood spread through the water. Soon, lifeless Sewer Shark corpses floated belly-up to the surface.
And then, even those disappeared—leaving only leather pouches drifting in the waves.
As the slaughter ended, the sirens gathered around Seowoon, bouncing with joy.
— He's the King of Tyres!
— No! He's the Master of the Wastelands!
— Wrong! He's Kairens, the Hero of the Great Seas!
Ignoring the sirens swimming wildly around him, shouting all kinds of things, Seowoon poked his head above the water. Juriel and Lilingyu sighed in relief and smiled.
But that smile didn't last long.
The female sirens suddenly began throwing themselves at Seowoon.
They clung to his arms, wrapped around his waist—they literally launched full-body assaults on him from every direction.
Juriel and Lilingyu nearly forgot themselves and almost jumped into the ocean over the railing.
"If you go down there, you'll ruin the formation! Stay in position!"
If it weren't for Rael's warning, the two women would've been blasting magic and spreading poison into the sea.
"Hey, come on, cut it out. I'm not who you think I am."
— You're not a king?
"Nope."
— Not the Master of the Wastelands?
"No."
— Not Kairens, the hero?
"Nope."
— Then where are you from, friend?
"I came from far away. Just let me go for now, alright?"
Brushing off the sirens clinging to him, Seowoon approached the injured one who had been bitten by the Sewer Shark and was still bleeding.
He gently carried her toward the ship and called out.
"Rael! Can you heal her?"
Without hesitation, Rael cast a healing spell on the siren, whose body was covered in dozens of gruesome bite marks.
Moments later, fully healed, the siren threw her arms around Seowoon and thanked him profusely.
— Thank you! Thank you so much!
After prying her off with some effort, Seowoon finally brought up what he really wanted to say.
"Hey, friends. Can we all gather for a second?"
The sirens naturally clustered around him, eyes fixed on his lips.
"You all know about the Wastelands, right?"
— Of course.
— With how much chaos they cause, who wouldn't?
"Right. So, I assume you also know how to detect and avoid them ahead of time?"
— You can't miss it. The currents and water temperature change before it happens.
— What, can't you feel it?
'Of course I can't feel that.'
"I've spent more time on land than in the water, so it's hard for me to notice. Is there a way to predict it in advance?"
— I'll teach you!
cried the siren Seowoon had saved.
— Yeah, we'll tell you. You defeated the Sewer Sharks for us, after all.
Seowoon's lips curled up into a satisfied smile.
"Are you sure? Won't it be a hassle?"
Though his words were modest, the sirens laughed and assured him it was fine.
From that point on, the sirens began trailing Seowoon's caravel as it sailed.
Sometimes they warned of enemies approaching from afar. Other times, when Sewer Sharks came near to prey on them, Seowoon stepped in and took them down.
Killing the sharks also yielded a good amount of "Essence of the Sea," making the sirens not just strong allies but incredibly useful bait as well.
'The best radar system I could ask for.'
That was how Seowoon saw the sirens who now followed him.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]