Discovering the Island

I'm back! The familiar ship, the familiar sea level, and the familiar sunlight.

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

"Although I gained a lot and even made some good friends... I really don't want to go back to that cold, dark world."

Of course, if Ethan becomes powerful enough to easily destroy anything in the future, he would be happy to go back and help the people who helped him.

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

Having lived there for a month, he had already been educated by Akara and Zul on some knowledge.

Strictly speaking, the Diablo World exists in three spaces: Hell where the Demons live, Heaven where the divine beings live, and the human world sandwiched between Heaven and Hell, which is the place he went to.

The Rathma Cult had long realized that the most important thing in this world is the balance between Heaven and Hell. The strength of either side would destroy all of humanity. This is also the core tenet of the Rathma Cult. It can be said that the existence of the Rathma Cult is to maintain the survival of the world and humanity.

"What a miserable world."

Only then did Ethan understand why the Demons could never be completely killed – because the heroes didn't dare to completely annihilate the Demons. When the power of the angels gains absolute dominance, humanity will completely become slaves to the divine race, and their fate might not be any better than being ruled by Demons.

Heaven and Hell in that world are essentially two countries ruled by high-level beings. Humans just happen to live in the neutral zone between the two countries, naturally becoming targets for both races to win over. Humans survive the pincer attack of these two high-level beings precisely because the two races keep each other in check.

"Sigh~"

Thinking of Isendra and Zul, who were about to embark on a journey to confront Diablo, he knew directly that the final outcome for these two wouldn't be very good. Just like the heroes in Diablo 1, it's hard for them to have a good ending.

He looked at the Bracers on his wrist, and the Ring on his finger, the Light Armor on his body, as well as the Long Sword and Iron Rod... almost all of his equipment was obtained from the Diablo World.

"I owe them a huge favor."

He secretly made a decision in his heart. Ethan adjusted his mood and began to sort out the gains from this trip.

Several books, including Basic Magic Potionology, Basic Magic Array Knowledge, Introduction to Basic Elemental Magic, and a Basic Swordsmanship Practice Notes.

Several pieces of equipment, including Bracers, Ring, Light Armor, Iron Rod, and Long Sword, all of which were Magic Equipment with various different effects.

Not counting the knowledge that still required some time to digest, just with the advantage of the equipment, he could easily defeat his former self from a month ago.

"And I also accumulated a lot of close combat knowledge and combat experience this month."

Only at this moment did he finally shed the identity of a mere 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 packages, Ethan felt a headache while sorting them out.

He didn't know what kind of world he would go to in the future, but if he continued to collect various materials like this, just the books alone might fill up the space on the ship. Let alone searching for resources on various Floating Islands, there wouldn't even be space to store food and water.

"Other things are fine, but paper books take up too much space... and in this world full of oceans, paper books are particularly troublesome to maintain."

Salty, humid air would cause great damage to paper books. If they weren't taken out to dry frequently, they would quickly become moldy and damaged.

"I wonder if there are any methods in this world to store information..."

Suddenly, he remembered the Magic Stone the clerk used to fill out his information when he applied for membership. Ethan lowered his head and looked at the wristband hidden under the Bracers. He remembered that his information was stored in this thing, and the Adventurer's Guild also had a way to read it. Wasn't this exactly what he wanted?

"The clerk wrote on paper first, and then stored it in the Magic Stone, which means this thing can directly read information from paper."

He secretly regretted not thinking of this before. He could have taken advantage of having extra resources to ask the other party for a similar tool to store his books and materials.

"Now I don't have any extra resources. If I want to get similar items, I'll have to search for Floating Islands."

Ethan had always been very interested in the magical islands of this world. He really wanted to see how a calm sea area, where there was originally nothing, could suddenly have an island float up, and then within a few days, transform from a bare reef or coral island into an island rich in resources. What a magical sight that must 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 while he was in the Diablo World for thirty days? Was that island still there?

He glanced at the Pointer, which was still firmly pointing in one direction. Although he didn't know if it was the same island as before, at least it proved that there was an island nearby that could be locked onto by the Pointer.

"According to Uncle Wood, the existence time of the islands is not fixed, but before they sink and disappear, they will frequently vibrate. The shorter the interval between vibrations, the closer it is to sinking."

This was all told to him by Wood before, and later he also asked the staff at the guild and got more specific information.

After a Floating Island emerges, various life forms begin to appear at an astonishing speed. The fastest is three days, and the slowest is uncertain; perhaps new life will be born on the island even in the second before it sinks.

These life forms are mainly plants, with relatively few animals. If there are animals on the island, it means the island will exist for at least a year.

According to the guild's records, there are no records of Floating Islands with animals sinking less than a year after appearing.

"I can imagine plants... but how do these animals... appear out of thin air..."

Ethan racked his brain but couldn't figure it out, feeling that many of the rules in this world were beyond his imagination.

Sitting at the bow of the Goddess of Dawn, Ethan was splashed in the face by the waves cut by the bow. While letting his thoughts wander, he recovered his Mental Power that he had just consumed.

Back in the Sea of Tranquility, he resumed his daily routine of cultivation. However, compared to before, when he could only monotonously cultivate Mental Power and the Water Creation Spell, he now had a few more subjects to study.

He had gained a lot of experience in close combat, but his foundation was too weak, and his practice time was too short. He had no right to be arrogant or complacent.

At the same time, he also began practicing the basic swordsmanship that Kashya had given him. It was all basic movements, and the notes were filled with detailed precautions, covering almost all the mistakes and questions a beginner might have.

Practice was tedious and boring. Fortunately, Ethan couldn't do much on this small ship, and he was alone. He couldn't even find someone to talk to. The only things he could do every day were practice, practice, and practice.

Perhaps the rapid increase in his Mental Power before was also related to this environment. Besides diligently practicing and studying, he couldn't find anything else to pass the time.

Even now, he could only fill his 'schedule' with practice.

The monotonous and regular days seemed to pass particularly slowly. Although he could feel his strength improving every day, which made him not resistant to this kind of training and even enjoy it, there were occasional times when Ethan would hope for some change, even if it was just a gust of wind to make the waves a little bigger and create some minor trouble for his voyage.

"See? All those people in my past life who sought death were just bored!"

As he muttered to himself, a small black dot seemed to appear on the distant sea. Ethan stared at it for a long time. After confirming he wasn't seeing things, he immediately picked up the Telescope to get a clearer look.

"It's an island!"

Ethan stood at the bow and watched for over ten minutes, terrified that he was just bored and hallucinating. Only after he was certain it was a real island did he lower the Telescope.

Comparing it with the direction the Pointer was indicating, it was indeed the island that had appeared ahead. More than ten days of continuous sailing seemed to be coming to an end, and Ethan was particularly happy.

"Anything is worth being happy about as long as it's not just the same old sea!"

An island also meant food. Ethan had brought a lot of food on this voyage, and he had also restocked a bit in the Diablo World. Occasionally, he would fish or even use a net to catch some seafood to supplement his food supply. However, the continuous sailing had consumed most of his provisions. If he couldn't find an island, he would have to consider changing direction and searching for the next Space-Time Energy point.

"If that clerk didn't lie to me, then there's a high probability I can find Magic Stones, which should allow me to exchange for what I want."

He didn't expect high-quality Magic Stones; just average quality would be enough to exchange for sufficient food and water. Ethan could appropriately reduce the quantity of these supplies and instead exchange for an item that could be used to record information.

As he contemplated, the appearance of the island gradually became clearer. This was a fully formed island with very lush vegetation. Looking at it from the ship, his eyes were met with a sea of green. Because his view was blocked by the dense plants, he couldn't be sure if there were any animals on the island.

Ethan controlled the ship's speed and slightly adjusted his direction so that his ship wasn't heading straight for the island, but instead would pass by it slightly, allowing him to sail around the island. This also made it convenient for him to observe the waters near the island and find a suitable place to drop anchor.

He found a good spot with almost no effort.

It was a small Natural Harbor. The entrance wasn't very wide, and there were a few towering reefs, but the widest part was just enough for Ethan's ship to enter. The water depth inside the small bay was appropriate, the surface was calm, and through the clear water, he could clearly see that there were no hidden reefs below, only fine sand. Even if the tide went out and the ship ran aground, it wouldn't cause any damage.

"What a great place!"

Not only did Ethan find a place to dock his ship, but this stretch of coast could even serve as his temporary camp on the island.