After docking the ship, Yinsen took a walk around the beach. At first, he wanted to set up his camp on the shore, but after observing for a while, he realized it was too close to the sea. High tide might flood the shelter he had worked so hard to build, so he had no choice but to move farther inland.
"This place looks good."
He looked back. This happened to be a small rise in the ground, some distance from the woods, making it less likely that something would suddenly leap out of the forest before he could react.
The slightly higher ground would also keep the rising tide from reaching him.
"Next, I need to put up a shelter."
Yinsen looked up at the sky. The clear weather had somehow given way to dark clouds, and it seemed like rain could start at any moment.
If he could not build somewhere to keep out the wind and rain as quickly as possible, he would have no choice but to return to the ship to rest.
After drifting at sea for so long, he truly wanted to sleep soundly on solid ground.
Even exploring the island would have to be put aside for now.
"Good thing I properly learned how to make a tent with simple materials back in the Diablo World."
With Yinsen's current strength, he could not simply chop down a large tree, carve the wood into the materials he needed with dazzling swordsmanship, and then build a perfect Wooden Cabin with astonishing craftsmanship.
At most, he could gather and carry relatively sturdy branches. Anything as thick as his wrist was already his limit.
For the roof, he found some broad, heavy leaves, then stripped bark from branches and twisted it into rope. By putting all that random stuff together, he made a simple tent.
Yinsen went back and forth making repairs. In the end, as he looked at the strangely shaped tent before him, he could only smile helplessly. "At least it can keep out the wind and rain."
He gave it a casual pat. Though the tent was not much to look at, it was quite sturdy. It probably would not get blown down by the wind... probably...
Crawling inside, Yinsen lay on the "bed" made from large leaves and stretched hard, while considering where he should begin exploring the island tomorrow.
"I'll circle the island first and take a look."
If possible, Yinsen wanted to explore every inch of the island. He could circle the island and gradually work his way toward the center, ensuring that he covered every part of it and increasing his chances of finding a Combat Magic Stone.
But he also knew that method was impractical because it wasted too much time.
After finding an island, most adventurers always chose to head straight for its center. It seemed that the belief that the most valuable things lay at the heart of an island had become a universal rule.
"That has to be wrong. Otherwise, the information that nearly every island has magic stones would be common knowledge."
Yet even an old sailor like Wood, who had drifted at sea for years, might not know that.
"I should take it slow. First, I'll make a circuit, pick several landmarks in different directions, then choose one direction and explore inward."
Eliminating one direction at a time was a little worse than spiraling toward the center, but it was the most practical approach for now.
"I'm on my own. This kind of thing is still a bit troublesome. It would be nice to have some help."
People were social creatures. When Yinsen had first gone to sea, he had just left the village after living among many people for years. Everything had felt fresh at the beginning, so he had not thought much of it.
Later, the pressure of survival, along with the discovery that the sea was far from peaceful, gave him an urgent need to improve his strength. For a time, he had no energy to think about such things.
Now that his strength had increased, his safety had some measure of protection, and the pressure of survival had suddenly lessened, he found himself missing company. He had also adventured with Isendra and Zul for a while and grown used to having teammates. Suddenly being alone again inevitably made him feel a little lonely.
"With my situation, it isn't easy to find teammates either."
Tossing and turning, Yinsen gradually fell asleep to the sound of raindrops growing heavier. In his dream, he had many teammates and an enormous ship. A group of companions lived happily aboard it, and after adventure upon adventure, they finally found the legendary Endless Land...
When Yinsen opened his eyes, the sun had already risen. Its warm rays had baked his crude tent nice and warm, while the rainwater left over from last night had vanished without a trace.
After leaving the tent and washing up with the rainwater he had deliberately saved the night before, Yinsen remembered his dream.
"Why was my ship full of guys in that dream? Didn't I even manage to talk a single girl into joining? What kind of good ship is that?"
Angrily throwing the leaf in his hand to the ground, Yinsen put on the armor Charsi had given him.
Other than wearing it for half a day when he had first returned to the Sea of Tranquility, he had not worn it again. He had only taken it out each day to clean and maintain it.
Armor, even light armor, was not particularly comfortable to wear.
At the same time, Yinsen finally understood why medieval knights wore surcoats over their armor and used cloaks to cover their backs.
"I used to think cloaks were just for decoration. Turns out they weren't..."
One unavoidable problem with metal armor was that it absorbed heat under direct sunlight. Without a cloak and surcoat to shield it, even slightly hot weather turned the wearer into a walking metal oven.
In winter, metal absorbed the cold instead. Without wrapping himself in a thick mantle, he would become a walking icebox.
The armor Charsi had given him did not come with accessories such as a surcoat or cloak. That was why he had only worn it for half a day before being roasted badly enough that he had to take it off.
This time, Yinsen wore it because he had no way of knowing what dangers might exist on the island. It was better to put on all his equipment just in case.
Besides, other than his initial circuit around the island, most of the island was dense forest. The leaves would block the direct sunlight, so Yinsen did not have to worry about his armor becoming an oven.
"Or I could consider installing a temperature-regulating Magic Array on the armor."
As he persisted in circling the island, Yinsen felt the armor grow hotter and hotter against his skin. He had no choice but to adjust his route and walk in the shade as much as possible.
Fortunately, the island was not particularly large. Combined with Yinsen's considerable endurance and speed, he soon circled the entire island and returned to his camp.
"The island isn't big. I made a full circuit in just over half a day. Before it gets dark, I can explore the woods a little."
He also needed to find food. Along the way, he had spotted several fruit trees. They were a specialty of this world, and the supplies he had exchanged for at the guild had included such fruit.
The fruit was simply called fruit. It resembled a coconut, though it was smaller, with green skin that was very fragile. A light smash could crack it open. It was hollow inside and stored fresh water with a plant-like fragrance.
Aside from water prepared separately, this fruit was the world's main source of water. Nearly every adventurer stored as much of it as possible aboard their ship.
Water kept in buckets for too long would rot and become undrinkable without a purification magic stone, but these fruits could be stored for an exceptionally long time.
Furthermore, Yinsen suspected the water inside these fruits contained enough vitamins. In this resource-starved world, many adventurers survived on salted fish, dried meat, and freshly caught seafood, rarely eating vegetables, yet they did not suffer from the various seafaring illnesses he knew of. The most likely reason was the existence of these fruits.
Previously, Yinsen had relied on his ability to use the Water Creation Spell, so he had not brought much fruit. Now, however, he had unexpectedly found plenty on this island—enough to fill one of his ship's storage holds.
"I wonder what else there is?"
Over the following days, Yinsen's life became very regular again. Every day, he got up, washed, ate, then began exploring the island according to his earlier plan, gathering foods he recognized. For those he did not recognize, he took samples and prepared to bring them back to the guild for identification.
"Miscalculated. I should have bought some kind of illustrated guide to all known foods."
Yinsen did not have much experience, and he was still figuring many things out. This world also had many rules different from those of his previous life, so it was normal that he had not thought of everything at once. Fortunately, he always remembered his mistakes and avoided making them again.
Exploring as he went, Yinsen gradually approached the island's central region.
There was nothing strange about the center of the island. It was merely a small rise in the ground. Compared to the lush trees surrounding it, this place looked rather barren, without even a blade of grass.
Yinsen had come here several times before, but he had never found anything unusual.
"Could it be underground?"
If so, that would be troublesome. Yinsen had not brought any digging tools. Was he supposed to use his longsword to dig through dirt? If Kashya found out, would she cross dimensions just to chop him to death?
Just as Yinsen hesitated over whether to continue exploring other unknown areas first or dig here, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the woods ahead. Several people then emerged from the forest.
Yinsen looked up and discovered that one of them was actually someone he knew.
It was Rodney, one of the two people Yinsen had rescued before. Yinsen had left Stat Island early because he had noticed that Rodney seemed to bear him ill will.
Sure enough, the man's next actions perfectly confirmed Yinsen's judgment.
"Ha, so it's you! To think we'd run into you here. You really are unlucky!" Rodney apparently had not expected to encounter Yinsen either, but after freezing for two seconds, his face immediately filled with excitement. "Captain, it's this kid! He has the Combat Magic Stone he got from Wood!"
Before you continue