A cockpit galloping by him air waving in the time of lluvias.
The notebook of strange stories that the village chief left me did not mention how much it shone, but that was not important. Since this was a sudden encounter, he had to think quickly. The notebook advised me that nothing bad would happen as long as I didn't attack him or get close to him.
But doesn't that mean we'll have to let it go?
To be honest, I couldn't help but swallow in expectation when I saw the horse. I felt like I had witnessed a legendary monster.
What should I do?
Since the village chief had gone out of his way to warn me in the notes, this thing was probably dangerous. However, if we managed to hunt it, our reward would be proportional to that danger.
Tal era la ley de Dungeon and Stone. Con un gran riesgo venía una gran recompensa.
«¡Oh! ¡Se está alejando!»
«Shouldn't we do something? It's definitely a new kind of monster...!»
«Stay in your positions and wait for the commander's order!»
In the end, I made my decision. There was a chance that the horse contained a clue to help us escape that not even the village chief knew about.
Let's let it go for now.
However, it was neither the time nor the place. We were not on dry land, and even our forces were divided into four different ships. Since I still didn't know how dangerous this horse was, I concluded that it would be wiser to attempt a raid later, when we were better placed and had planned for it.
Bzzt, bzzt.
I grabbed the message stone as if I were holding a walkie-talkie and said: «Don't attack the monster you see in the air. Commander's order».
As soon as I spoke, the barbarian commander's order resonated with all the leaders of the expedition group. Needless to say, but no one ignored my order and tried to act on their own.
Faucet.
After standing at the bow of the ship, I clicked my tongue as I watched the horse recede over the horizon.
Still, I hoped to see him again in the future.
***
One piece of advice you needed to know to live a frugal life in Rafdonia was that 99.9 percent of the money circulating in the world was brought to market through the Dimensional Square inspection office. It was the same reason why their coin was also called «stone». A hundred stone coin was worth that in mana stones.
¡Splash!
In other words, at that time we were spending about five hundred thousand stones per hour constantly feeding the mana propulsion system to its maximum capacity. And that's just for a boat.
«Using money makes this much faster», I reflected.
Not even the aquatic monsters we sometimes encountered could attempt to board our ship because of how fast the ship was going.
«Auyen, at this rate, how long will it take?».
«I think the estimated time has been cut in half, Commander».
We had reduced the month of travel to just fifteen days.
If we hadn't gone to Library Island first after leaving through the stone door, we wouldn't be in such a hurry.
But why regret now?
Even so, thanks to the fact that the engine was running at full capacity, we were able to recover the few days invested in the detour. However, it depleted our mana stone reserves quite a bit.
«Hahaha! Have you seen it? We have already burned a million stones! Oh, I guess it's 3.78 million since there are four ships?».
«...There are four million stones, Miss Fenelin.»
«Hahaha! By the way, this is fun!»
Ainar was assigned the role of navigation assistant and would throw the mana stones into the mana propulsion motor every time Auyen gave him the signal. He seemed to enjoy spending so much money.
That being said, there were a few people who couldn't stand to see how many mana stones we were wasting.
«So there are fifteen days left until our destination...» Raven lamented.
«How much will it be for the four ships?».
«I don't know the exact amount, but probably enough to buy a decent mansion in the good part of town».
«Hoh...»
Honestly, I had the same feeling. Although we were using the mana stones brought by the expeditionary group when they entered Basement Plant 1, just seeing this display hurt my heart a little. Still, it was a necessary cost. The less time it took us to reach Rainbow Island, the better.
«It's because of the rainy season, right? The reason we go so fast».
«It can't be helped. If it takes us a month to arrive, the rainy season will have started again».
Our destination, Rainbow Island, was surrounded by mystery. We needed to arrive before the rainy season to have as much time as possible to explore.
«That's why now I'm even more curious. Why did you go down there alone, Mr. Yandel? From what I see, doing whatever you did was a higher priority for you than saving us more time for the island.»
«Oh, that...» I was thoughtful for a moment, then I explained Hamsick's existence to him and told Raven that I had taken him off the island with me.
«Did that monster appear in the crack? So you were wondering if we could count on that monster's help in the future?».
«...You could see it that way».
«Hmm...» Raven only had a contemplative expression on her face and didn't say much more for a while. «Ah, okay. Now that we talk about secrets».
«¿Sí?»
«Esa corona de flores. Se me ocurrió un nombre para ella».
So he had finally made up his mind. She hadn't told me anything about it in the last few days, so I figured she'd keep the name to herself. «What is it?»
«...Crown of flowers of anguish», Raven responded quite shyly, and then even went on to explain her reasoning to me even though I hadn't asked her to. Something related to the flower crown giving an increase in mental immunity, but it also had a big drawback, so a difficult decision had to be made to use it.
Hesitating, he asked: «What is it like?».
Well, I didn't know. Perhaps it would have been better if she said that she was distraught because she had had a hard time finding a name for the object. Instead, I said, «It's good».
«True? Then you have to keep your promise, okay? When you make this object known to the world, you have to use this name and tell everyone that I gave it that name. Oh, and of course, I'm your researcher too».
«Understood.»
After giving him my statement, Raven disappeared with a satisfied smile on her face, and the journey continued without particular incident. I spent most of my time chatting with my allies and the rest patrolling or returning to my room to test the waters with Hamsick.
«(Hamsick, were you okay?)»
«(...Take me back.)»
«(Today we will experiment with near-death experiences. I've heard that just when someone feels like they're about to die, people can remember things they've forgotten...)»
«(¡No! ¡No la haré! ¡Nunca!)»
Wow, how sensitive. I was quite vocal when I started trying some things.
«(Hmm, maybe he was completely dejected after repeated failures,)» I murmured to myself.
Hamsick became enraged. «Squeak!» It was the nice screech Hamsick made when he was really angry. Of course, the others only heard it as a terrifying howl. When I took Raven to my room not long ago, she turned white as a ghost and ran away.
«Don't be so angry. I was joking about trying the near-death experience. Oh, I brought you something you might like)», I said, taking out a few books that Raven had given me. Hamsick's anger was immediately replaced by joy.
It's like raising a nest.
The book was written in the ancient language so that Hamsick, who only spoke that language, could read it. It wasn't a storybook or anything like that either. However, Hamsick seemed to enjoy it, as his attention was never diverted from the book, and I would simply lie on the bed next to him and rest.
One day, of the days, three days, four days ...
Days later, while I was waiting in my room, Ainar came to look for me.
«¡Bjorrrrn!»
«I told you to call me commander, not Bjorn-»
«Auyen said we would reach our destination in an hour!»
Hah, we were finally there. It was time to raise our loosened guard once again.
***
After heading to the bridge, I found Auyen clinging to the helm while studying the map with a serious expression on his face.
«Ah, commander. Ya is here».
He was my navigator and the only person from the Anabada Clan who called me commander, as I had asked.
«Did Ainar tell me that we will soon reach our destination?»
«Yes, that's right», he confirmed.
«Are you sure? Didn't you say yesterday that we would arrive around this afternoon?».
«After a while, the wind started blowing again, so I had to recalculate everything».
Wind... Well, I noticed how my hair was shaking as soon as I went on deck. I approached the handrail and saw that the water was much more agitated than before.
If the waves start to approach you during the rainy season, immediately stop what you are doing and find a place to hide».
Those words came from the village chief's book of strange stories, but I had the feeling that he was not referring to what I was looking at. It wasn't the rainy season either. Braver waters didn't necessarily mean the waves were crashing into us.
«So do you trust this new calculation?».
«Yes», Auyen stated. «I have checked it several times considering the modified speed».
«If you say so. Good job».
After receiving Auyen's report, I used the message stone to inform the other ships that we would soon reach our destination, and to be prepared for any situation we might encounter.
«¡Erwen! ¿Algo ya?»
«¡No! ¡Todavía no veo nada!» Aunque estábamos pastante cerca de nuestro destino, Erwen desde la cofa seguía sin ver nada.
We slowed down a little and drifted, but suddenly we entered an area without wind. The ship also stopped. The reason why our ship, which could move even without wind thanks to the mana propulsion system, stopped moving was simple.
«We have arrived, commander».
We had reached our destination.
«Is sure?» I pressed.
«I'm not sure this is the place of the pillar of light we saw that day... but I'm sure this is the place we marked as a destination on the map».
«Hmm...» I did not doubt Auyen's words or his abilities. Although we saved him while he hunted looters, he was talented enough to amaze the skilled sailors who came down with the expedition party. If he was sure of it, so it must be.
That, and when we arrived at the place, the ominous winds that had been blowing also suddenly ceased.
I had to change my way of thinking. We had reached our destination, but we still saw nothing. There had to be a reason for it.
«So it's one of two things.»
«... Sorry?»
«Either it's in the ocean, or it's up there».
«Ah...»
No one reacted to my words, as if I were speaking in tongues.
Islands like that also existed on the sixth floor. An underwater island where Deep Giants could be seen, and the island of storm clouds, which had fallen back in exploration priority due to lack of time.
«First we will check underwater».
I figured it was more likely to be under the ocean if it was hidden. I mean, the entire Basement One Plant was an ocean, right?
With that in mind, I ordered them to lower anchor to check the depth of the ocean.
« Commander! All the time given to the dumb background to use all four hundred years! »
How deep was it if the anchor of the military ship couldn't reach?
That just raised more suspicions in my mind.
«...I guess we'll have to go down ourselves».
I picked a few talented individuals and created a special unit, then tied an oxygen tank (magician) to each of their backs before sending them down.
I wanted to go down with them...
«You shouldn't!»
...but I had no choice but to stifle that thought at the subcommander's shout.
He approached me, demanding that I know why I would need to do something so dangerous and that I trust the talented individuals selected by the palace.
«You say all this, but you let the count enter the crack without problems».
«That's how it was. And that day, our expedition group was temporarily left without a leader».
«Uh...» I had nothing to say to that.
However, after his previous confession about how he couldn't handle a position with such responsibilities, I got an idea of what his real reason was for stopping me from leaving.
It's a shame I can't go exploring on my own, but I guess I'll stay here quietly.
I stood calmly waiting on the ship, but the first underwater exploration ended earlier than expected.
It causes a failure. Tampoco is that the ocean has studied ni monstros that hubses so many obstacles in the walk.
«...We couldn't find any ground to lean on no matter how deep we were».
They dove in, sinking as deep as their oxygen tanks (mages) would allow, but they couldn't see anything.
I didn't bother doing a second underwater exploration, concluding that trying again wouldn't give different results.
«Then we'll have to check above».
Naturally, we decided to explore the sky.
«Come on, research captain!»
After letting the wizards who went down into the water rest a little, I made them cast flotation magic to make them rise into the air.
«...I'm glad I chose research then».
Raven had approached me at some point and had a hand on her chest in relief.
«Also, this just caught my attention, but why does the research department have a research captain, but the research department is only the head of the research department?».
«...You're curious about the strangest things».
«You didn't think to name these roles, did you?».
It's not that I didn't give them importance, but it was true that I didn't think too much about them. «That doesn't matter. Go and check it from above. If they start falling or something, it will be your job to catch them».
«Claro.»
We spent a good time distrusting anyone falling from the sky above us. However, contrary to our concerns, the research captain and the magicians from the research department landed safely on the ships.
«The winds became too strong around 650 feet high, so we couldn't climb any higher».
Perhaps it was to be expected, but the first sky exploration also failed. However, unlike underwater exploration, it was not a total failure.
«However... one of the members says he saw something upstairs just before we started descending».
If that wasn't a mistake, then there was something in heaven.
The problem is how we can get there...
It was time to ignite my playing imagination.