Midway Island

"Gods..."

Looking at the waves outside, Captain Kost of the "Golden Lamb" wore a look of despair. The sound he uttered was not like a prayer, but more like the last breath forced out of his chest.

He was lamenting his Fate, as a temporary malfunction had caused the ship to suddenly go out of control and veer out of the safe channel.

Generally speaking, even if you enter dangerous waters, you can regain safety as long as you return to the correct route in time. But his luck was just so bad; the ship suddenly stopped on the return journey, as if it had been grabbed by something and could not move forward!

"Creak..."

The ship was slowly sinking; an invisible force overcame buoyancy and was dragging the ship into the sea.

Kost watched as the iron railings along the ship's hull Distortion and warped, leaving deep dents that, upon closer inspection, resembled the imprints of countless fingers. In other words, many invisible arms were gripping the ship, trying to drag it into the deep sea.

Oh my god!

"Ventilate the boilers! Keep adding fuel! Gunners, fire overboard!"

Kost was terrified and furious. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Listen up, everyone! If you don't want to die, get moving!"

The crew members also looked terrified, and they began a frantic struggle for survival.

"Whoosh!"

Fueled by the billowing wind and the large amount of fuel injected, the boiler glowed red-hot, converting the surging Steam power into the ship's forward propulsion.

"Boom! Boom!"

One cannon shot after another was fired, attacking the deep darkness beyond the ship's side.

However, even the overloaded boilers couldn't free the ship from its restraints; the shells flew through the air and landed in the sea, hitting nothing. The entire ship continued to be pushed downwards.

"Storm above!"

"Goddess!"

A cacophony of cries and wails erupted from the cabins of the passengers aboard the "Golden Lamb," who had utterly lost hope. The crew members, who had fought so desperately, also felt their own powerlessness, standing there blankly, their expressions Distortion and miserable.

Fear completely gripped Kost's mind; he could feel death approaching step by step.

Then he saw the Sun.

Theoretically speaking, this is the depths of the Berserk Sea, where the sky is perpetually overcast, and even at midday, one should not expect to see a single ray of sunlight. But Kost dared to swear that, in that instant, he and everyone on the ship saw the brightest sunshine ever.

Clear, bright, noble, and great.

The light seemed to penetrate the body and shine directly into the heart.

In an instant, Kost, who was in dire straits, seemed to New Life, and all his negative emotions were dispelled.

The warmth of the sunlight remained in his heart, giving him immense Courage.

"Boom!"

At that moment, the entire ship suddenly rose significantly, returning to its waterline position.

"Captain, our ship can move forward again!"

Although the crew members were thrown into various places by the impact, excited shouts immediately rang out.

"Turn around immediately and return to a safe route!"

Kost rallied and issued another order, and the crew, regaining their energy, quickly changed course and returned to the safe route. The entire ship cheered, celebrating their narrow escape. Some even entertained unthinkable thoughts, planning to convert to the Sun —a rather absurd notion for people from the country of Loen.

Luther withdrew his hand and looked at the Berserk Sea in the distance.

Those blood-stained, illusory arms and bluish-black Tentacle were sizzling and burning, turning to ashes. The ordinary people on the ship were unaware that such things swarmed across the sea; they were the ones who had seized the ship and intended to spread death over it.

These Spirit World Creature are tainted by the aura of death, and are therefore greatly restrained by the power of the "Sun" Pathway.

He watched the ship return to the safe channel and sail away, then looked around at himself.

"Crack, crack..."

Several enormous black Monster were crawling rapidly on the sea surface, rushing towards Luther. Their limbs were thin and elongated, supporting their bodies like water striders. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the structures that made up their bodies were...

Its body was actually countless black skulls!

Amidst the sickening grinding of bones, the skulls turned, their dark eye sockets facing Luther;

Numerous bloody arms and bluish-black Tentacle rose from the sea, clustering together and swaying incessantly;

Deep within the darkness, even more strange Spirit World Creature are rapidly approaching...

Luther's actions revealed his stance, provoking hostility from all the creatures in the area. They were already hostile and resistant towards Luther, and now they had ample reason to attack him!

Luther calmly watched them, then manipulated the sound of the Tide within his body.

The illusory voice suddenly became louder, even faintly reaching outside the body, showing a tendency to spread outwards.

In the next instant, all the movements of the Spirit World Creature abruptly stopped. Then, the black skeleton Monster changed direction and floated away into the distance, its bloodstained arm suddenly retracting, and the creatures that had been spreading from further away also quickly disappeared.

Soon, the entire sea area centered on Luther became extremely empty, with only the obstinate Storm still raging.

"Whoosh-"

They seemed afraid of and resistant to me.

Luther muttered to himself, then set off again, following the flight path towards Midway Island.

As its name suggests, Midway Island is located right in the very center of the Berserk Sea. Most ships traveling from the Northern Continent to the Southern Continent stop here to rest and recover in preparation for the second half of their journey.

Luther arrived at Midway Island around noon. The island was surrounded by Storm and darkness, and a lighthouse stood at the dock, always lit to guide nearby ships.

He quickly landed on the island and found the ground bare. Probably because it was constantly surrounded by Storm and lacked sunlight, the island in the Berserk Sea had no vegetation at all, only some moss.

Midway Island has only one large town settlement. Luther drove his "Psychological Invisibility" in and followed the flow of people into a dimly lit bar. Inside the bar, many flags of the Northern Continent were hung: Loen, Feysac, Intis, Feynapotter... and so on.

"A glass of Lielangqi, please."

A man spoke to the bartender at the bar.

"11 soli 1 cup."

The bartender wiped the glass and said listlessly.

"It's so expensive, why don't you just rob someone!"

The latter was startled, then burst into angry curses.

"Nonsense! This is the heart of the Berserk Sea. There's no sunlight here; not even a single hair on a dog's head can grow!" the bartender yelled. "Is this your first time in the Berserk Sea? Let me tell you, all the food on this island is transported by ship, so of course it's worth the price. Take it or leave it!"

Such excitement is probably because she hasn't seen the sun in a long time and is feeling depressed.

Luther thought to himself, then casually waved his hand, releasing a "Soothing" spell to soothe the bartender's emotions, before saying, "A glass of lemonade and a plate of fresh fish."

"Meow."

Luna poked its head out from Luther's arms and let out a soft meow.