Dawn breaks.
The sun had yet to fully rise. Only a thread-thin glimmer of golden light could be seen at the far end of the horizon, dyeing the clouds that had lain silent all night into brilliant clusters of flowers.
A medium-sized merchant ship drifted leisurely across the sea, its hull rising and falling with the waves.
"We're already over two hours past the agreed time, aren't we? Why is there still no sign of anything?"
The dark-skinned middle-aged man serving as first mate stood on the deck, gazing at the outline of an island looming faintly through the morning mist. His expression was somewhat worried.
In contrast, the captain beside him, a broad-built man with a grizzled beard, was clearly much calmer.
As though he had already been through countless similar situations, he held a pipe in one hand and casually pressed down his brimless cap with the other, his expression steady.
"Who knows? Maybe the Pirates on the island discovered them, or maybe something else happened."
"It has nothing to do with us."
"Once the sun is fully up, if we still don't see a signal, we'll withdraw according to the original plan."
The crew aboard this merchant ship disguised as a rescue vessel were all ordinary people without Profession Levels.
At night, they could rely on their sailing experience and the cover of darkness to deliver the Adventurers near the island.
But by day, a ship like this would be extremely conspicuous on the sea. If the Pirates on Wildberry Cliff spotted them, they would be in serious trouble.
No matter how generous the reward was, the Captain had to consider the lives of his Crew Members.
In fact, the only reason they had waited until now—and were even willing to remain until full daylight—was out of