Chapter 282 - Adrift (2)

A thought suddenly struck me. That stone Amelia was holding... Could it be the lord of Noark's "treasure"? Of course, for now, that was nothing more than an unsupported hunch.

"... What's that stone?"

Like a proper barbarian, I came right out and asked. But Amelia's answer was merciless.

"Mind your own business."

Then do a better job of keeping it out of my business.

'Judging by her reaction, it does seem to be that "treasure"...'

She wasn't likely to answer even if I pressed her. So I set aside my interest in the stone and focused on something else. Right now, something took priority over curiosity.

PSSSH!

A gap appeared in the barrier holding back the water like aquarium glass, and a jet of water began streaming through.

「The sanctuary will disappear soon.」

Time to start getting ready.

First, I picked up my fallen mace and the fragments of my shattered breastplate and put them in subspace. Then...

"What are you doing? Get over here. Unless you want to get swept away."

I took out some rope as well. Realizing what I intended to do, Amelia frowned.

"You're not going to use the scroll?"

"Oh, you mean the Mass Teleportation scroll?"

The Mass Teleportation scroll was the centerpiece of Plan B. What had happened during the battle against the Abyss Lord Verzak had left such an impression that I'd later asked Kyle whether he could make a similar scroll. This was the result.

However, it could only transport two people at most. You couldn't specify coordinates, either. It could only take you to the "coordinate transmitter" registered when the scroll was made.

'Without downgrading it like that, he probably couldn't have made a scroll out of it in the first place.'

Oh, for the record, Raven had the "coordinate transmitter." She normally kept it in subspace, but since I'd warned her in advance this time, she should have it out. In other words, I could get straight to my companions just by tearing the scroll.

But...

"We've killed the thing, and we're not in danger. Why waste something that expensive?"

Using it for a little convenience would be insane. Sure, Kyle had said he'd make another whenever I wanted, provided I brought him the materials... But how long would gathering all those take? Most were not only expensive but so rare they were difficult to obtain at all.

"So hurry up and sit over here. Once the water drains, the others will come rescue us anyway."

"And until it drains?"

Wasn't that obvious? Hold our breath and wait it out. It would only take a few minutes. Couldn't she manage that much?

"... Never mind. I'll tie myself down."

Amelia took a large spike from subspace and drove it into the ground. Then she took the rope from me and tethered her torso to it.

"Oh, help me when you're done. I've only got one hand."

"... It's always something with you."

Whatever. She was going to help anyway. I raised my remaining hand overhead as if cheering, and Amelia secured a rope around my torso. That took care of the preparations.

PSSSH!

We chatted for a moment as we watched water pour through holes appearing throughout the sanctuary. Surprisingly, Amelia started the conversation.

"Looks like the pain has passed."

Oh, and I'd been doing so well not thinking about it.

"... Ugh."

Pain had a way of growing worse the more you focused on it. So I quickly changed the subject.

"Enough about me. Can't you tell me now?"

"...?"

"That stone. What exactly is it for? From what I can tell, it seems to be the 'treasure' that bastard and bitch were after."

"Barbarian, I believe I told you to mind your own business."

Amelia drew a firm line with an icy voice. But an inability to contain one's curiosity was a barbarian trait.

"You say that, but how am I supposed to ignore it when it keeps glowing right next to me? I'm not asking for much. At least tell me why it's glowing. You looked surprised yourself earlier."

"That's..."

Why was the stone glowing? At that question, Amelia trailed off and tightened her grip on the stone in her hand.

"I don't know either."

"Huh? You don't know?"

When I stared at her in disbelief, Amelia clicked her tongue and glared back unabashedly.

"That's right. I don't know. Is there something wrong with that? I don't know much about this thing to begin with. Only that, with it..."

Yes? With it, what? I was listening intently without interrupting when...

「The sanctuary disappears.」

The barrier holding back the seawater broke, and water came surging in like a disaster movie.

Damn, of all times.

'I felt like I was so close to finding out.'

It was a shame, but what could I do? I'd have to ask more when I got another chance.

"Hold your breath! Hang on to the rope!"

I shouted, drawing a deep breath, and cold seawater engulfed us.

WHOOOOSH!

Now it was time to hunker down for a while. All we had to do was hold our breath and wait for the water to drain on its own. Then the others would return in the boat and find us.

Was it because Stormgush's Essence came with Lung Capacity?

'I could easily last ten minutes.'

Holding my breath hardly felt uncomfortable.

It hadn't been a particularly useful stat in the game. Whenever underwater combat was necessary, I prepared my entire setup in advance, so I never needed anything like increased diving time.

'But this might be surprisingly useful...?'

Unlike the game, this was a world where I had to fight with an actual body. Lung Capacity would help in combat, too. I was no longer Lee Hansoo, who did nothing but tap away at a keyboard. I knew how important breathing was in a real fight.

'My body's starting to heal, too.'

The distinctive itching sensation of healing wounds spread throughout my body. It wasn't because this sea had the properties of a potion instead of salt water. It was simply the effect of my newly acquired skill.

「The energy of the sea permeates the character's body.」

「The Passive Skill [Origin] greatly increases Natural Regeneration.」

Stormgush's Passive Skill, [Origin]. Its effect was simple. Contact with seawater increased Natural Regeneration, and the longer the contact lasted, the more that increase grew, like compound interest. If I remembered right, after about ten minutes, even a severed arm would grow back.

'Though there's not much use for this outside the sixth floor.'

I'd once tried bottling seawater to use like a potion, but that had been a complete failure. Just an hour after bottling it, it no longer triggered the skill. What the hell was this "energy of the sea," anyway?

'Anyway, I've finally got my regeneration back.'

A smile spread across my face without my realizing it. That resolved what I'd missed most after losing the Vampire's Essence. This was rank three, no less, and regeneration wasn't even its sole focus. [Origin] alone had other effects.

'I can swap this one out once I start farming rank-two Essences later...'

As I watched my body heal in real time, unable to hide my satisfaction, something struck me.

'Huh?'

Only then did I realize it. The incoming water had extinguished the torch we'd kept lit while fighting Stormgush. Being underwater even made my vision blurry. So why...

'Why can I see?'

Once again, the cause was Amelia's mysterious stone. Even tucked away in subspace, it was shining brilliantly and serving as a light source. The moment I saw that, a question occurred to me. Never mind how light could leak out of subspace, which was supposed to be spatially isolated.

'Doesn't it look brighter than before...?'

Tilting my head, I pointed at Amelia's subspace bracelet. The gesture meant:

'Hey, is that thing okay?'

In answer, Amelia punched me in the chest.

'Mind your own business.'

Something along those lines, probably.

But perhaps the steadily intensifying light unsettled her, too.

"..."

Amelia opened her bracelet and took out the stone. The light it emitted was incomparably brighter than it had been inside subspace.

Uh, something about this really didn't feel right...

Poke, poke.

Growing uneasy, I hurriedly jabbed a finger into Amelia's waist.

'Seriously, are you sure this thing's okay?'

The meaning of my gesture should have come across perfectly well, but Amelia didn't answer. As if the light didn't hurt her eyes, she simply stared blankly at the stone like someone entranced.

'Damn, this is making me even more nervous...'

Just as I instinctively sensed something was wrong, the stone released an explosive burst of pure white light, turning my entire vision white.

That was the last thing I remembered. Just like the day I was first dragged into this world.

'Agh, my eyes!'

And then I lost consciousness.

* * *

「An error has occurred.」

「Unable to locate the character.」

「Character log transmission is temporarily suspended.」

「The Moderator must promptly address the Player's...」

「...」

* * *

When I opened my eyes, there was light beyond them. The red glow of sunset as the sun sank beyond the horizon.

"Fuck!"

Realizing what time it was, I hurriedly sat up.

"A whole day passed?"

It had been night when we fought Stormgush. And now the sun was setting? That meant I'd been unconscious for at least a day...

'... Wait, what the hell is this?'

I soon confronted a problem far more serious than a mere lost day.

'Where the fuck did all my equipment go?'

Belatedly noticing something felt missing, I checked myself and found my equipment gone. No, forget equipment. I had nothing at all. My subspace ring, my earrings, even my magical underwear enchanted with Acid Immunity had vanished. I was completely naked, just as I'd been born.

'Did someone find me unconscious and strip me of everything?'

Hmm, but wouldn't they usually kill me, too? No, there hadn't been anyone else on this island to begin with. And what had the others I sent off in the boat been doing all this time?

Seriously, what the hell had happened?

"This is driving me crazy."

To say my head was spinning didn't begin to cover it. Nothing I knew could explain this situation. So...

"Hey."

I shook Amelia, who was lying beside me. Of course, I kept my eyes turned away. She'd been stripped of all her equipment, too.

"... Amelia, wake up."

Come on. Please wake up. You were the one who owned that stone. What happened here?

"Ha..."

Desperate for answers, I tried earnestly to wake her, but she didn't react at all. She was breathing, so she wasn't dead.

'Goddammit.'

I decided to stop trying to wake her for now and checked my surroundings. Contradictions had abounded from the moment I opened my eyes, but there were still plenty I hadn't examined.

'My arm.'

Right. For now, I could chalk up my severed arm being intact to regeneration from the seawater.

'The spike and rope.'

The spike and rope we'd secured to the ground to keep from washing away were gone. It wasn't as if we'd moved to another island, either. This was the same spot where we'd fought Stormgush. And yet...

'The ground's already completely dry.'

The entire island had been submerged in seawater, but the sand underfoot was dry and loose. Was that physically possible in just one day? I didn't know, but there was a more important issue.

'But I'm still wet.'

If the sun had dried everything naturally, why were Amelia and I still wet...?

BZZZZZZ!

Just then, I heard the distinctive buzz of insect wings in the distance.

'Well, look at that.'

A Krungbi, a rank-eight insect-type monster. Normally, it was the main monster inhabiting Parune Island.

'Why the fuck are you showing up now?'

Calling it ridiculous wasn't enough. These things were appearing just a day after the event ended? They weren't supposed to spawn until the next Labyrinth cycle.

'Anyway, I can figure out the rest later.'

I hurriedly got to my feet and picked up a suitable piece of wood lying nearby. The grip was nothing compared to my mace, but...

'It'll do for a disposable weapon.'

This would be plenty for a rank-eight monster.

I kicked off the ground and charged the insect monster emerging from the bushes. Then...

'Swing.'

I delivered a furious blow with my club.

THWACK!

There was no system message, but the familiar, satisfying feel of the impact reassured me a little. Right. At least my Essences were still intact.