"I knew this was unreliable."
As I sneak along a rugged path in a remote corner of Whale Head Island, I begin to regret my decision to accompany the old man to see the captain he was talking about.
"It doesn't matter—what's the worst that could happen? I'll simply die and start a new cycle."
The jewelry vendor, indifferent to my tension, continues walking without looking back.
This gives me a chance to think more calmly.
"Damn it, I can't risk my life this carelessly. What if I'm thrown into the Sea of Pain to suffer an unimaginably painful death? Or what if I'm not even killed and instead sold as a slave to endure all kinds of torture?"
After reconsidering what might happen, and without further hesitation…
I ran.
"Hey! Wait—what are you doing?!"
Without bothering to listen to the jewelry vendor's shouting, I kept running at full speed.
I ran as if my life depended on it.
"Huff… huff… huff… I finally got away."
Fortunately, it seems the jewelry vendor did not chase after me, allowing me to return to the small town without encountering any trouble.
"In any case, even if he had chased me, he's a decrepit old man, so it would be impossible for him to catch me."
Now, after escaping the jewelry vendor, it was time to look for another way to reach Dead Giant Island.
---
"Sorry, but there are no ships going to Dead Giant Island."
"I'll let you know if I find anyone willing to sail during this period."
"Sorry, kid, but due to the spread of rumors that the Green Serpent Pirates are roaming the surrounding waters looking for something, no ship is willing to sail right now. You might have to wait several months until the Green Serpent Pirates disappear."
"Hmmm, who are the Green Serpent Pirates? Well, I don't know much about them except that they're a group of pirates from the slave races who sail atop the body of a sea beast shaped like a giant green serpent."
"Sigh."
I sigh in frustration as I drag my feet back toward the inn where I rented a room.
"I can't believe a whole week has already passed, and yet there's still no one willing to sail."
After fleeing from the suspicious jewelry vendor, I went looking for an inn to get a place to sleep and have a warm meal.
After that, I returned to the harbor in the morning to verify the information about Dead Giant Island and whether there was anyone willing to take me there.
Indeed, it turned out that the information provided by the jewelry vendor was correct, as it is said that there are two sects on the territory of Dead Giant Island: the "Seekers of the Secrets of Life and Death" sect and the "Black Flower" sect.
I even heard various strange rumors about Dead Giant Island, such as that the island is actually the corpse of a dead giant, and that those who live on the island have the custom of eating the bodies of their dead, surviving by consuming the flesh of the giant's corpse they live upon.
"I suppose it's just an island that resembles a giant's corpse from afar, so it got its name."
Although I had accepted the fact that I had moved to another world—and had even seen terrifying and strange things like a cultivator capable of flight, zombies, and a sea whose waters cause intense pain—I had also seen many demi-humans during my stay on Whale Head Island. In fact, non-humans of various bizarre forms make up 90% of the island's population.
I also obtained a lot of information about the outside world, such as the fact that the universal language is unified into a language called the Language of Immortality, which is said to be the language the Five Immortals taught to mortal beings.
"Fortunately, I can understand it instinctively. Otherwise, I would have had to pretend to be deaf and mute."
This was great news for me, because it meant that aside from reading—which I didn't struggle to learn—I wouldn't need to learn any other languages.
All races also share the same calendar, the Calendar of Immortality, which counts the years after the descent of the Five Immortals to slay the legendary beasts and spread justice and light throughout the world.
Although this justice and light are reserved only for the descendants of the Five Immortals, such as the human race, while others are divided into second-grade races and slave races.
While second-grade races are subjected to suppression and discrimination, they at least possess some rights and can live their lives normally and even practice cultivation.
In contrast, the slave races—who are said to be the descendants of the followers of the Legendary Beast King and, after him, the Sea Beast King—have no right to work except in menial jobs such as mining. If they possess an appearance that pleases the tastes of the ruling races like humans, they can work as servants or prostitutes.
They are forbidden from practicing any cultivation methods, and any member of the slave races who dares to embark on the path of cultivation is executed without hesitation.
Of course, every rule has its exceptions, especially in the Sea of Pain, which the ruling races avoid approaching due to the curse of the Sea Beast King.
Before I realized it, I had already arrived at the inn where I was staying.
"The biggest problem is that my money has started to run out."
"Oh, Salem, you're back. Didn't you find any ships willing to sail yet?"
Upon entering the wooden inn, I was greeted by the sight of the reception hall, which also functioned as a restaurant and bar, with empty wooden tables scattered about except for a few guests who had either come down to eat breakfast or drink some cold beer.
What was strange, however, was that among the seated guests, not a single one had a human appearance; they either had human-like forms covered in scales or thick fur, or even frightening forms like one guest who resembled a giant fish that had grown legs and arms.
"No, unfortunately."
As I entered, the first to greet me was the innkeeper with the strange appearance; he was a man with a fat body, yellowish skin, and bumps resembling small black spikes, but the most striking thing was his nose, which resembled that of a proboscis monkey.
"Tsk, those damned pirates—they've ruined my business."
While cursing the Green Serpent Pirates, who are said to be composed of slave races like himself, the innkeeper gestures for me to sit at one of the tables.
"So, should I take it that you'll be extending your stay?"
"Yes."
I sit on the chair while taking out several copper coins and handing them to the innkeeper.
"You must not have had breakfast yet. Wait—I'll bring you a fish soup so delicious you'll lick your fingers."
The innkeeper takes the copper coins with a happy smile as his nose wiggles in delight.
'Damn it, I feel like I'm going to throw up because of him.'
---
"Another failure."
Looking at the bottle filled with foul-smelling black liquid, I could only sigh in exhaustion.
Five months had passed since my arrival on Whale Head Island, and throughout my stay I hadn't found a single ship willing to sail; even the jewelry vendor had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
This left me with no choice but to remain on Whale Head Island for longer and longer, and I certainly wasn't sitting around doing nothing during this time.
Instead, I was busy trying to purify my body, while also learning alchemy and experimenting with various recipes.
And, of course, most of them failed.
"I need to remember to bring more materials with me in my next cycle."
As I prepare to throw away the waste from today's experiments, I smell a disgusting yet familiar stench.
"This smell!"
It was the same smell I had sensed at the end of all my cycles…
The stench of rotting corpses.