Discovering an Island

He was back: the familiar ship, the familiar horizon, and the familiar sunlight.

After only a month away, Yinsen had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be bathed in warm sunlight.

"Even though I gained a lot and made a few good friends... I really don't want to go back to that cold, dark world."

Of course, if Yinsen ever became powerful enough to obliterate heaven, earth, and air with a single thought, he would be more than willing to return and help the people who had once helped him.

"Maybe I should save their world from the gap between Heaven and Hell."

After living there for a month, Akara and Zul had already taught him quite a bit.

Strictly speaking, the Diablo World contained three realms: Hell, where demons lived; Heaven, where the gods lived; and the human world caught between them—the place he had gone to.

The Rathma Cult had long realized that the most important thing in that world was the balance between Heaven and Hell. If either side grew too powerful, humanity would be destroyed. This was also the core doctrine of the Rathma Cult. It could be said that the cult existed to preserve the world and ensure humanity's survival.

"What a miserable world."

Only then did Yinsen understand why demons could never be completely wiped out—because the heroes did not dare exterminate them. Once the angels gained absolute dominance, humanity would become slaves of the divine race, and their fate might not be any better than living under demonic rule.

The Heaven and Hell of that world were essentially two nations ruled by superior life forms. Humans merely happened to live in the neutral territory between those two nations, naturally becoming targets for both sides to win over. Humanity had survived the pressure from those two superior races only because the two sides kept each other in check.

"Sigh..."

Thinking of Isendra and Zul, who were about to set out to confront Diablo, he knew their eventual endings would not be good. Just like the heroes in Diablo 1, it would be hard for them to meet a good end.

He looked at the bracers on his wrist, the ring on his finger, the light armor on his body, as well as the longsword and iron staff... Nearly all of his equipment had come from the Diablo World.

"I owe them too much."

Having silently made up his mind, Yinsen gathered himself and began sorting through what he had gained this time.

Several books, including basic magic potion studies, Basic Magic Array Knowledge, Introduction to Basic Elemental Magic, and a copy of Basic Swordsmanship Practice Notes.

Several pieces of equipment: bracers, a ring, light armor, an iron staff, and a longsword. All of them were Magic Equipment with different effects.

Leaving aside the knowledge that would take time to absorb, just the advantage provided by his equipment would let him easily crush the version of himself from a month ago.

"And over the past month, I've also accumulated quite a bit of close-combat knowledge and battle experience."

Only now had he truly shed the identity of an ordinary fisherman's son and become a reliable adventurer.

"It's a pity I didn't find any Spatial Equipment."

Looking at the pile of bags and bundles, Yinsen felt a headache coming on as he organized them.

He still had no idea what kinds of worlds he would travel to in the future, but if he kept collecting all sorts of information like this, books alone might eventually fill the ship's storage space. Never mind gathering resources from Floating Islands—there would not even be room left for food and water.

"The other things are manageable. The main problem is that paper books take up too much space... And in this world full of oceans, maintaining paper books is especially troublesome."

The salt-filled damp air would cause tremendous damage to paper books. If they were not aired out regularly, they would soon grow moldy and deteriorate.

"I wonder if this world has any way to preserve information..."

He suddenly remembered the magic stone the clerk had used to record his information when he applied to join the guild. Yinsen looked down at the wristband hidden beneath his bracers. He remembered that it contained his information, and the Adventurer's Guild had a way to read it. Wasn't that exactly what he needed?

"That clerk wrote everything down on paper first, then stored it in the magic stone. That means this thing can directly read information from paper."

He silently regretted not thinking of this sooner. While he still had spare resources, he could have asked for a similar tool to store all the information from his books.

"Now I don't have any spare resources left. If I want something similar, I'll have to properly search for Floating Islands."

Yinsen had always been fascinated by the wondrous islands of this world. He really wanted to see a Calm Sea Area that had originally contained nothing suddenly give rise to an island, then transform in just a few days from a bare reef or coral island into an island rich in resources. What an astonishing sight that would be.

"It must be spectacular."

Before he went to the Diablo World, the Island Pointer had locked onto an island. The only uncertainty was how much time had passed in this world during the thirty days he had spent in the Diablo World, and whether that island was still there.

He glanced at the pointer. It was still firmly indicating a certain direction. He did not know whether it was the same island as before, but at least it proved there was an island nearby that the pointer could lock onto.

"According to what Uncle Wood said before, an island's existence isn't fixed. But before it sinks and disappears, it will start trembling frequently. The shorter the interval between tremors, the closer it is to sinking."

Wood had told him all this before. Later, Yinsen had also asked guild staff about it and learned more specific information.

Once a Floating Island surfaced, all kinds of life began appearing on it at astonishing speed. The fastest took three days, while the slowest had no set timeframe. Perhaps even in the second before the island sank, new life could still be born upon it.

Most of that life consisted of plants, while animals were relatively rare—if animals existed on an island, it proved that the island would remain for at least a year.

According to the guild's records, no Floating Island with animals had ever sunk less than a year after appearing.

"I can understand the plants... but how do animals just appear out of nowhere...?"

Yinsen wracked his brains but could not figure it out. He felt that many of this world's rules were beyond his imagination.

Sitting at the bow of the Goddess of Dawn, Yinsen let the spray from the waves split by the prow splash across his face as he let his thoughts wander and recovered the Mental Power he had just expended.

After returning to the Sea of Tranquility, he resumed his fixed daily training. But compared to before, when he could only tediously train his Mental Power and practice the Water Creation Spell, he now had several additional lessons.

He had already gained considerable experience in hand-to-hand combat, but his foundation was too weak and he had trained for too short a time. He had no right to grow complacent.

At the same time, he began practicing the Basic Swordsmanship Kashya had given him. It was all fundamental movements, and the notes were packed with detailed precautions, covering nearly every mistake and question a beginner might have.

Training was dull and tedious. Fortunately, there was little Yinsen could do aboard this small ship, and he was alone. He could not even find someone to chat with. The only thing he could do each day was practice, practice, and practice some more.

Perhaps the rapid growth of his Mental Power had something to do with this environment as well—aside from training hard and reading to study, he could find nothing else to pass the time.

Even now, he could only fill his "schedule" with training.

The dull yet regular days seemed to pass especially slowly. Although he could feel his strength improving every day, which kept him from resisting this training and even allowed him to enjoy it, Yinsen sometimes still hoped for some change. Even a gust of wind that made the waves bigger and caused a little trouble for his voyage would do.

"No wonder so many people in my previous life went looking for trouble. They were just too bored!"

Just as he was muttering to himself, a tiny black spot seemed to appear on the distant sea. Yinsen stared at it for a long while. Once he confirmed that his eyes were not playing tricks on him, he immediately picked up his telescope to get a clearer look.

"It's an island!"

Yinsen stood at the bow and watched for more than ten minutes, afraid that boredom had made him hallucinate. Only after confirming that it was a real island did he lower the telescope.

He compared it with the direction indicated by the pointer. It was indeed the island ahead. More than ten days of continuous sailing seemed to have finally reached a pause, and Yinsen was especially happy.

"As long as it's not nothing but the same endless seawater, it's worth being happy about!"

An island also meant food. Yinsen had brought plenty of food when he set sail, and he had replenished his supplies a little in the Diablo World. From time to time, he had also caught fish or used a fishing net to gather seafood, but the continuous voyage had still consumed more than half his stores. If he could not find an island, he would have to consider changing course and searching for the next point containing Space-Time Energy.

"If that clerk didn't lie to me, there's a good chance I'll find magic stones. I should be able to trade them for what I want."

He did not need a High-Grade Magic Stone. Even ordinary-quality ones would be enough to exchange for sufficient food and water. Yinsen could reduce the amount of those supplies somewhat and trade instead for an item capable of recording information.

As he calculated in his mind, the island gradually came into clearer view. It was a fully formed island, its vegetation exceptionally lush. From the ship, all he could see was green. With his view blocked by the thick plants, he could not tell whether there were animals on the island.

Yinsen controlled the ship's speed and slightly adjusted its course. Instead of charging straight toward the island, his ship would pass just to one side and circle around it. This would also make it easier for him to observe the waters around the island and find a suitable place to anchor.

It took almost no effort for Yinsen to find a good spot.

It was a small Natural Harbor. Its entrance was not very wide, and several rocks rose from the water, but the widest point was just enough for Yinsen's ship to enter. The water inside the small bay was of suitable depth and calm, and through the clear surface, he could see that there were no hidden reefs below, only fine sand. Even if the tide went out and the ship ran aground, it would not be damaged.

"What a great place!"

Yinsen had not only found a place to dock his ship; this stretch of shore could even serve as his Temporary Camp on the island.