People were fighting among themselves. Those words instantly put me on alert. It was possible that I had become a little complacent without realizing it.
¡Pum!
There were no Noark scouts. No, there weren't many explorers to begin with. But the labyrinth was a world in which anything could happen. So let's quickly confirm the information.
«How many in total?»
When I lowered my voice to ask, Erwen answered without stopping: «At least eight».
«That means at least two teams are fighting».
«For now».
«Anything else I should know?»
«… No.»
Hmm, that's not what your tone of voice is telling me. It is not good to overlook these things. You know what it's like in the movies.
«Anything else I should know?».
I asked more firmly this time and Erwen replied cautiously: «...I don't have a good feeling about this for some reason».
Ah, of the veo.
«I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that...»
I chuckled at Erwen's unsure voice. «There is nothing to regret».
I was the same. As soon as I found out that the explorers were killing each other, an ominous feeling came over me. I was contemplating how to move forward.
«Yandel, what should we do now?»
«Are you going to save them again...?».
I tilted my head. «Again?»
«That's what you did on the first floor and when the royal capital caught fire. Since you like to save people...»
What was he talking about? The situation was completely different from then. In the royal capital, I only had energy to spare, and I also promised to do so if I had any energy left. And on the first floor...
«I think I know where you're wrong, but let me clarify this while I have the chance». As a result, I cleared the way to guide thousands of explorers and, undeservedly, ended up being a hero. To be honest, it was true that I had warmed something inside me. «The people I was really trying to save then were you». However, my priorities had not changed. I was a selfish person who didn't deserve to be called a hero. It was enough to protect mine.
«You mean...?»
«There is no need to get involved when you are giving vibrations. We're leaving the island».
«But is that okay? We don't know what their situation is, they may need help». Mr. Bear spoke with an uncomfortable expression.
I don't think it's always been like this... It seems like he's still intoxicated by the heroism he felt on the first floor.
«Those people are explorers too. They are in this profession because they were prepared for it». I spoke firmly, with the authority of a leader, and Mr. Bear accepted it without further words.
However, he belatedly worried about one thing. «Raven, are you okay? You seemed to know that man before».
«Mr. Patzran? Well, if the fight is there, there's a good chance he's caught in it...» Raven couldn't finish her response to Mr. Bear's concern. Then he looked us straight in the eyes and drew a firm line. «But it doesn't matter».
«No does it matter?»
«Anyway, we're not that close. What if we go to help and something happens?». It was an extremely exploratory and selfish response. We are all silent at the following words «...For me, my team is more important».
Wow, can you say that with a straight face? This girl has become bolder now that she is a year older. Although she still looks like a girl.
«Then it's decided.»
As soon as the decision was made, we turned around and ran towards the beach. Estimated arrival time was approximately one hour. Since it wasn't a very big island, there would be no problems as long as we got out quickly.
It's a shame we have to leave the hidden piece behind... But we can try again once we observe the situation from outside the island. Yes, running away is best when you're anxious.
I threw away my last regrets.
«¡La playa!»
Arriving at shore after a long time had passed, we hurriedly pulled out our boat and floated it above the waves. Then we got on it one after another and rowed away from the island.
«B-Bjorn!» It was as our nerves began to ease that the brave warrior Barbara Ainar screamed, revealing her frightened emotions. «What's going on? The sea is...! The sea is rising!»
The calm sea changed in an instant and began to shake the ship violently.
[The Farune Island offering has been destroyed. The Fury of the Sea envelops the island].
Damn sea.
The hidden piece of Farune Island was simple: When the hidden offering in the center of the island was destroyed, you could proceed with an event called the Sea Fury. It was a kind of defense event. A sea monster was rushing towards the island from the shore, and had to be repelled from the inside. What I was looking for was the essence of the event boss, the rank 4 monster Elfrot. It was an essence that Missha and Erwen could use until the second part. Whether it fell or not was a separate issue. Anyway, it wasn't something to think about right now.
At least eight people there. And six people here...
The highest difficulty event was unlocked. Whatever the hidden piece was, it meant that leaving this island was the top priority.
"¿Q-Que es esto?"
«The waves are suddenly rising. I had never heard of this happening before...»
«¡Rema! ¡Date prisa y rema!»
Surprised for a moment by the raging waves that seemed to say that no one could get away from this island, we hurried to start rowing. We were almost out.
We can get out of here if we go a little further.
In fact, even after an event occurred, it was not impossible to leave the island, according to the system. Only most of the ships sank before they got far.
«One two. One two!»
We chanted and worked hard to push the boat over the waves.
I should have spent more money on a good boat.
It still didn't seem like we were going anywhere. Beyond a stalemate, it seemed that they were pushing us little by little towards the island even though we rowed hard. That wasn't just a feeling, it was really the case.
«B-Bjorn! The island is getting closer!»
The boat kept being pushed back even as we tried to cut through the waves. It left a bitter taste in my mouth for some reason. If only I had installed a magic propulsion device on the ship, we might have been able to break through.
«Bjorn! The boat is filling with water...!» Ainar said.
«What do we do? It must have a leak somewhere!» Raven said.
When the boat began to fill with water, panic spread among the group. The time to make a decision was approaching.
After thinking for a moment, I quickly gave the orders. «We give up leaving the island. Everyone sit on your back. Let's ride the waves as much as possible towards the island».
This was the advantage of a small boat with capacity for six people. It's not that the boat had no distinction between front and rear, but it didn't mean much, especially if the waves pushed the boat sharply like this.
«Put all the heavy equipment in the subspace!» In addition to reducing the weight of the boat, I had them remove their equipment in preparation for capsizing. Then all the preparations that could be made were finished.
"¡Good!"
Oars were used more to prevent the ship from losing its balance and capsizing than to move it. About three minutes after that, when the island in the distance had clearly approached, the ship bouncing relentlessly forward was swept away by large waves.
«There...!»
«¡Kyahhh!»
It overturned completely.
«Pft!» My body was immersed in the water in an instant. For now, I held on to the overturned boat as best I could. «Are they all okay?!»
«Yes, for now!»
«I'm fine too!»
When I screamed, reports of survival came from here and there, but not from a single person. «What about Raven?» What happened? Was she dragged?
«Puh, here! I'm here!»
Ugh, that surprised me. Floating in the water as we held on to the capsized boat, we quickly exchanged thoughts.
«And now what?»
«Can't we stay like this?»
«Uh, looks like it's going in the right direction...»
It wasn't a bad idea. A ship made of special wood with strong buoyancy would never sink even if it capsized.
This actually seems more stable than being inside the boat...
As the waves broke inland, the boat would head to shore without any special maneuver on our part.
«Hold on tight, everyone!»
We held on to the handle of the boat so that the waves wouldn't drag us. A minute later, we face a new crisis.
I hadn't thought it through...
«There, a rock! It's a rock...!»
As we approached the shore, the boat approached the reef. It was now impossible to change trajectory.
«Meet in the center of the island if we separate!» I screamed urgently, assuming the worst. And just at that moment, the ship crashed into the reef.
***
I opened my eyes to the sound of crashing waves. Everything seemed blurry, as if something had gotten into my eyes, and the unique salinity of the sea got hard into my mouth.
Kakak, cocoa, cocoa.
For some reason, there was a gnawing noise coming from none other than my feet. Wondering what it was, I raised my head just to check my lower body and stood still. A crayfish monster the size of a large dog was struggling to bite my foot somehow.
«You have to be kidding».
Do you really think that's going to work? With my physical resistance?
¡A slap!
I used my free foot to push the Sterrap, hurriedly lifted my body and hit the crayfish on the head with a board.
[Has defeated a un Sterrap. EXP +1]
As a rank 9 monster, the crayfish monster disappeared like light with a single blow.
But where had this plank come from?
Only then did I realize I was clinging to a plank from the moment I woke up. Where had it come from? Without having to think deeply, a forgotten memory came to mind.
Oh, right. The ship was torn to pieces...
The ship had crashed into the reef and shattered. I grabbed onto the largest plank there was and hugged it tightly, judging that not even a barbarian would go down with this.
Did I survive thanks to that?
After fully understanding the situation, I quickly looked around. No one was seen on the empty shore.
I wonder if the others will be okay.
I was sure Raven was okay. I may not have known how to swim, but I saw her use flotation magic at the end. Missha and Erwen knew how to swim, which lessened my concern. The problem was Ainar and Mr. Bear, who didn't know how to swim.
I hope they were safe on the shore.
No matter how much I tried to calm down, I kept worrying. But on the other hand, my hands kept taking my equipment out of subspace and putting it on. Soon a swarm of monsters would arrive on the island. Watching the Sterraps crawl around, it seemed like it hadn't been long since the event started, but we had to be prepared.
He said the scouts were fighting each other. What the hell happened to start the event?
There were some things I didn't understand, but they were the kind of things that couldn't be resolved at the moment. If I had known that was the case, I would have gone to help them. That way I would at least know what the situation was.
Walk.
I was about to leave the beach and enter the forest when I stopped. It was because I heard a presence beyond the bushes.
Dash, ram, ram.
It was the sound of someone running.
No es un monster.
The monsters on Farune Island were all flying insects that could glide. That meant it wasn't the sound of a monster running. Furthermore, it was very likely that he was not my clanmate because we were going to meet inside the forest. There was no reason to run in the opposite direction.
So is he one of the scouts who were fighting before?
I slowly raised my mace and waited for the figure in question to appear. The reason for the wait was simple: there were only a couple of steps. Even if a fight broke out, he hoped he could get out of there. So, the first thing was to establish contact and extract information.
Now.
Measuring the distance through the sound of running, I sharply stretched out my hand.
Huff, huff.
«Kyaa, mm-!» The prey submitted in an instant and writhed in the air.
«Stay still. I won't hurt you». My original plan was to wield the mace to subdue them permanently, but I decided to put it on hold. That was because he knew this face. However, it seemed like the other party didn't remember. «I'll let you go, so shut up».
«W-Who are you...?»
«Didn't I tell you to shut up?» When I responded in a harsh voice, the white-robed priestess shuddered. Ugh, now I felt like the bad guy in the movie. «I am Baron Bjorn Yandel».
«Ah...!» When I revealed my name, the priestess was visibly enlightened. He didn't seem to doubt who I was. It seemed like Patzran had told him about me.
«So calm down, Ersina. I am not your enemy».
«W-how do you know my name...?»
How do you think? Because we already know each other. I say it over and over again, but it was an unforgettable memory.
«Priestess Ersina, could you cure this man?»
«Me him.»
When this woman refused to heal me, I felt like my world was collapsing. Well, whatever. That wasn't important.
«We can talk about that later. Explain yourself. What the hell happened inside the forest?»
Assessing the situation came first.