Sea Raiders

On the Pontos Coast, legend said that Child of the Ocean Pontos had brought Rhonamuth and the other city-builders ashore here.

Following the coast southward led to the southernmost tip of the Salia Peninsula: Tsimari Fishing Port. It was a sacrificial site promised to Child of the Ocean, and also the destination of Ace's journey.

Ace's carriage traveled along the coastal dirt road, jolting constantly over its potholes.

He leisurely drove the carriage, taking in the seascape and the busy figures of the fishermen. It was his first time seeing the sea. According to a short, skinny boy from the nameless village they had just passed, mermen and sea raiders ran rampant in these waters and often came ashore to pillage.

Ace had chosen this route precisely because it was the most likely to be robbed, hoping for an unexpected encounter with a small band of mermen or sea raiders.

For the past few weeks, he had been traveling through remote wilderness and had not encountered many low-level Demonic Beasts. He had run into plenty of ordinary beasts, though, and they had all become skewers of roasted meat.

Without new low-level Demonic Beasts, he could not discover new runes. Stifled by the frustration, Ace decided to wander near the coast and see whether he could encounter a small group of sea raiders or mermen.

Sea raiders were ready-made living materials. Strong and robust, with evil deeds piled high, they were perfect for experiments—whether dissection or drug testing.

Mermen clashed frequently with humans, and their bodily structures differed vastly from those of humans. Capturing some to study would also be a fine choice.

Every so often, Ace activated Minor Ultrasonic Perception to scan for creatures within a five-hundred-meter radius.

The fifth time he activated the spell, the world flashed past before Ace's eyes in black and white. At last, he found them: three double-oared wooden boats. Each boat had five oars on either side and one rudder, carrying eleven men. They were suitable for coastal sailing in nearshore waters.

There were thirty-three sea raiders in all. Most wore leather armor and gripped heavy axes. Five or six wore chainmail and helmets, carrying swords and shields.

The nearby fishermen desperately rowed their boats away, but the sea raiders paid them no attention. Those miserable fishermen had no oil to squeeze from them. The raiders had received word from a lookout that a great scholar's carriage would be passing by. They were preparing for a big score, to seize a fat hostage.

In Ace's perception, there were only images; he could not hear their conversation. He still did not know that the prey had set their sights on him as well. As for who was hunter and who was prey, each would have to rely on their own abilities.

"Ward, take one boat of men ahead to the pile of roadside rocks. Set up the tripwires and lie in ambush. Becky, take one boat around behind them, set up the tripwires, and make sure the hostage doesn't escape. The rest of you come with me. I hear the hostage is about to arrive. We'll head straight for the dirt road and drive the carriage toward the rock pile."

A tall, powerfully built sea raider wearing a nasal helmet issued the orders.

"Awoo! We'll use that scholar's skull as a bowl!"

Several sea raiders howled loudly and swiftly scattered into action.

In Ace's perception, the sea raiders secured their wooden boats and quickly split into three groups. One went to ambush at the rock pile, another circled behind, and the last charged straight toward the carriage.

I've been watched. I still lack experience. Even sea raiders cannot be underestimated, Ace thought.

He stopped the carriage, leaped up, and landed atop its roof. The Spellbook opened in the wind, its pages flipping rapidly. His mental power activated the Illusion Gaze card, and the spell model lit up at once. Mana gathered so densely it was almost visible to the naked eye, forming a mysterious rune structure that shrank into Ace's eyes.

Ace's eyes gave off a strange rhythm. The rune structure continuously formed and vanished in time with it. He fixed his gaze upon the approaching sea raiders, and suddenly they felt the heavens spinning and the earth turning. The carriage before them vanished, replaced by a gigantic Demonic Beast covered in tentacles, letting out a terrifying cry—horrifying and revolting.

The sea raiders hurriedly dodged the Demonic Beast's pursuit. They did not know why they were gripped by such abnormal terror, their minds filled with stray thoughts, while the companions beside them suddenly vanished after only a few steps.

The tall, powerful sea raider in the nasal helmet stared in panic at the monster that had suddenly appeared before him. It was humanoid, pitch-black all over, wielding a huge black axe as it charged him.

The powerful sea raider ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the deadly blow. Then two more pitch-black monsters appeared. Gritting his teeth, he charged them directly. His shield slammed forward, his shortsword stabbed out, and one of the dark monsters actually fell, releasing an incomprehensible howl.

The powerful sea raider was greatly encouraged. Seizing the momentum, he killed two more pitch-black monsters.

Ace watched everything before him with satisfaction. The sea raiders charging toward him rushed into the sea raiders circling behind, and the two sides fought in a tangled melee. The powerful sea raider killed several men in succession.

It seemed the battle would end soon. Meanwhile, the sea raiders lying in ambush among the rocks had also been controlled by his illusion and collectively fallen dizzy. The spell's practical combat effect was outstanding.

Ace's Illusion Gaze spell incorporated the Sound Rune, Magic Crystal Rune, and Mind Activation Rune. After its improvements, the illusion's control effect had become increasingly powerful.

Creatures caught in its gaze instantly underwent a Will check. Those whose mental strength was lower than his basically all fell into the illusion.

The Induction Rune's guiding effect caused them to panic helplessly under the Fear Rune. Combined with the stray thoughts produced in those under control by the Mind Activation Rune, they fell into the false world Ace had constructed and completed its details themselves.

Thirty-three seasoned sea raiders, a force capable of fighting nearly twenty to thirty veteran soldiers, had been defeated with effortless ease.

Ace was extremely pleased with the improved Illusion Gaze. A Will check occurred every fifteen seconds and lasted five minutes. Once a Will check failed, the target would fall into the illusion.

Real sounds and sights drew out the fear within those being stared at. Active Thinking made them unable to distinguish illusion from reality, while favor and disgust could be manipulated at will. This was Ace's strongest area-of-effect spell, capable of very easily defeating a group of ordinary human warriors.

Ace had not yet tested it in actual combat against nobles. But so long as they could not pass the Will check, they would fall into the illusion, their perceptions manipulated freely, ending up just like the sea raiders.

This spell was utterly ineffective against targets with greater mental strength than his, but it was basically invincible against those with lower mental strength—unless the opponent possessed a rare item that could calm the mind or grant immunity to illusions.

Ace himself had once used the Mana Rune to interfere with and break free from the Hallucinatory Eye's illusion. Only after studying it more deeply did he realize how fortunate he had been then.

That barbarian shaman had nearly exhausted his mental power just to partially activate the rune structure inside the Hallucinatory Eye. He had simply lacked the strength to continue manipulating, guiding, and suppressing the enemies trapped in the illusion.

The strongest aspect of illusion spells was the caster's control. Through all manner of real and false illusions, they could play their opponents in the palm of their hand.

If an illusion was controlled by its caster, mana disturbances would very likely be blocked by the caster as well, making it exceedingly difficult to break free.

The sea raiders' slaughter finally came to an end. The powerful sea raider stood alone in a pool of blood, proving his strength. Ace walked over slowly and stopped at the maximum casting range of the minor spell.

The illusion before the powerful sea raider gradually faded. To his horror, he discovered that the pitch-black monsters had all become his sea raider companions. Every one of them lay in a pool of blood. He let out a despairing roar.

Ace lightly flipped through the Spellbook in his hand. His slender finger gently tapped a card on one page, activating Calming Technique. The runes on the spell card flickered and condensed into a halo that hovered before Ace, then followed the guidance of his mental power into the powerful sea raider's body.

Ace then lightly turned several more pages and activated Beguile Creatures. The runes on the spell card flickered, and the spell model gathered mana. A phantom shadow pounced forward, and the powerful sea raider, who had just calmed down, was easily controlled.

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