Even a distance that would take several days on horseback was crossed by the wyvern in half a day.
The place they arrived at was a port city in the southern part of Wecos.
The kindness toward Yuria didn’t end there.
The captain of a merchant ship, Leon Robillio, who had once formed a good connection with Benya, readily offered to take the two of them on a voyage heading east.
Yuria was initially surprised, then firmly refused, but in the end, she had no choice but to accept the favor.
“This is the first time I’m meeting the young lady in person, but I feel like I know her like my own niece. That Benya fellow never stopped bragging about his daughter whenever we met. Whenever we gathered the captains to discuss this and that, he’d babble on without end. He’d put on that pale expression that looked as if he had no emotion and say, ‘It’s not because she’s my daughter, but~’ and then he’d brag endlessly.”
“Pfft! Ah, Dad really said that?”
“What would I gain by lying about this? So don’t refuse. You deserve to be treated well.”
Watching their conversation from a step away, Zion felt a quiet relief.
Over the past few days, Zion had been silently wrestling with his own helplessness by Yuria’s side.
No matter how strong he became, no one else could heal the wounds in her heart.
All he could do was hold her hand, like Naia had done for him when he was young.
Even that, he wasn’t sure if it was truly helping Yuria.
That’s why her current appearance shone all the more brightly to him.
“If I were in her shoes, I’d probably still be suffering to this day. She’s really strong-hearted. Seriously, this is ridiculous.”
Frey, dumbfounded, finally spoke, [The very person who played the biggest role in her recovery is saying this nonsense?]
“…Who? Me?”
[Yes. You.]
[Ahahaha. Our Zion sure has a low opinion of himself.]
[Don’t laugh, Arcs. Zion, that’s not humility—it’s self-deprecation. Undervaluing yourself is the same as undervaluing those who trust and rely on you.]
Zion was speechless at those words.
But he wasn’t fully convinced.
Was it really possible to properly recognize one’s own worth?
Wouldn’t that be arrogance?
[Don’t worry. We’re always watching. If you slip up, we won’t hesitate to scold you.]
Arcs: [Huh? Me too?]
[Did you come here just to eat? This is my home. You want to get kicked out?]
Zion, still pondering, nodded slightly.
Frey, Arcs, and the other Awakened he hadn’t yet met were like second teachers and family to him.
With them watching, there was no reason to be afraid of making wrong choices.
After spending one night, the two boarded Captain Robillio’s merchant ship, the Very Small Hope.
The vessel docked at the pier was 100 meters long and had four towering masts.
The exterior was covered entirely in steel.
Compared to nearby ships, it was overwhelmingly magnificent.
“I’m both the captain and owner of this beauty. Well, half thanks to that Benya guy. That Benya fellow was something else. Anyone who ignored him ended up broke, but those who followed his advice became quite successful. Like me.”
They were assigned the finest rooms on the ship, usually reserved only for foreign nobles and distinguished guests.
Now, Yuria no longer refused the kindness.
However, with a face that seemed to be holding back tears, she smiled brightly and greeted the captain warmly.
“I think my dad is really a fool.”
Just before setting sail, Yuria left her single room and deliberately stayed with Zion in his cabin.
Zion felt uneasy about a grown man and woman sharing a room, but seeing her expression, he couldn’t bring himself to send her away.
“So many people cared about me like this, yet he did something like that. Fool, idiot.”
“Smart people don’t always make smart or right choices.”
The ship’s floor lightly trembled.
The Very Small Hope left the pier and began to cut through the sea.
Wecos faded behind them.
A country they would never return to.
Hell was real—and it was right above the sea.
“Ugh… ugh… eee…”
***
On the third day of the voyage, Zion realized this fact anew.
“Zion, are you okay?”
The cabin door opened gently, and Yuria entered.
Zion, lying on the bed with a pale, almost lifeless face, groaned faintly and blinked drowsily.
“Angel… if you’re going to kill me, just do it quickly… I don’t want to suffer anymore…”
“Quit exaggerating with your seasickness. That’s just whining, right? You’re not really going to die, are you?”
“Ugh… I’m sorry. That joke was a bit much.”
“You still have the energy to joke, huh? Let me change your towel.”
Yuria chuckled softly and perched at the edge of the bed.
Even the slight vibration was torturous for Zion.
[It’s strange. Awakened hardly ever get seasick.]
[Well, Zion’s senses are pretty sensitive, right? Maybe that worked against him this time.]
Zion had never imagined seasickness would be this bad.
Since he’d never been on a ship before, it was inevitable.
But Zion had another reason in mind.
“It’s probably because there’s a lack of MP concentration out on the sea.”
The two Awakened widened their eyes at this guess.
It was a blind spot.
Whenever a gate opened on Earth, the atmospheric MP concentration skyrocketed, spreading evenly over time so most areas had uniform MP levels.
Zion’s world was different.
The MP concentration was generally weaker than Earth’s, with a large gap between monster-infested areas and others.
Marine monsters were almost never seen, so most countries treated them as legendary creatures.
Zion’s ability to constantly grow by absorbing surplus MP in the atmosphere worked like poison under these conditions.
“If only some monsters would appear…” Muttering that, Zion suddenly opened his eyes.
“…Monster scent.”
“Hm?”
Zion jumped up and focused his senses.
The smell was so faint that on any other day he might have missed it.
But after three days of seasickness, his monster detection was sharper than ever.
Zion staggered off the bed.
“Zion, where are you going? Ah, the bathroom? I’ll call someone—just lie down and rest.”
“The monsters… are coming.”
Yuria blinked in surprise at his unexpected words.
Zion weakly left the cabin, and Yuria, snapping out of her daze, followed him with a shocked expression.
“Monsters? In the middle of the sea?”
“They’re still far off… but—”
A monster attack on a ship at sea was a once-in-decades occurrence at best.
But, unfortunately—and thankfully—the scent was growing stronger.
The monsters were getting closer.
[You should prepare to summon me and Arcs. Marine monsters vary greatly, and a foe beyond your strength might appear.]
Zion didn’t want to waste the little MP he had suffering from seasickness, but he couldn’t risk lives either.
He nodded once and headed with Yuria to the captain’s room.
“Oh, little friend! Feeling better from seasickness? Hmm, judging by your face, maybe not.”
“The monsters are approaching.”
The captain blinked in confusion at the sudden warning.
“You’ve got a bit of paranoia there, kid. Sea monsters are just superstition.”
“Zion has the ability to sense monsters. He also detected the orcs’ approach early.”
Yuria’s addition hardened the captain’s expression.
He didn’t fully believe the claim, but as captain, he had to prepare for any possibility.
On the vast ocean, even a small mistake could lead to disaster.
“Damn it. Where are they coming from? How far? Size? Do you know what they look like?”
“From the south, about three kilometers away, roughly twenty meters long. I don’t know what they look like.”
“Damn. Sea folk dying at sea is natural, but I never thought today would be the day.”
“I’ll handle the monsters. Captain, please inform the passengers and crew quietly. We don’t want panic.”
Zion’s resolute words made the captain look puzzled.
“…You? Handle the monsters?”
Thus began the Maritime Monster Interception Battle.
On deck, about a hundred crew members gathered with weapons in hand.
Each had a grim expression, staring into the open sea.
The surface was eerily calm, like a herbivore holding its breath sensing a predator’s approach.
At the forefront, Captain Robillio, carefully handling the barrel of a portable Magic Cannon he had procured through his connection with Benya, glanced up.
His gaze landed on Zion, standing still at the unstable bow.
His first impression was unfavorable.
Zion was too young and looked frail.
His collapse from seasickness only cemented that view.
But now, there was no trace of that in his posture.
“Tch. Die one way or another.”
The marine monsters were coming.
If it was a joke, it was a cruel one; if it was real, it was despair.
But now, with Yuria’s relieved expression and Zion’s earnestness, the captain decided to gamble on him.
“They’re coming.”
A low voice carried across.
From afar, something stirred the water and rapidly approached.
The once-calm sea grew rough and choppy.
“We need to slow down. Fire first. No need to aim precisely—just startle it.”
“Port side, open fire! Don’t wait for orders—shoot whoever’s ready!”
“Boom! Boom!”
Shells exploded near the monster’s position, sending sprays of water into the air.
The creature panicked, thrashing left and right.
Holding his pendant in one hand, Zion carefully observed its movements.
Not yet—the perfect moment was coming.
“Kraaak!”
“Now!”
The monster roared, towering out of the water.
Zion leapt into the air.
The pendant sparked and transformed into a spear over two meters long.
“Twong.”
A light sound like a plucked string, then the spear sliced through the air and pierced the monster’s lower jaw.
A beat late, a blast of wind surged, shaking the sea.
Zion landed precariously at the edge of the deck and shouted, “No more attacks! If we provoke it too much, it’ll try to break the ship!”
At the same time, he used the aggro control skill, Provocation, to draw the monster’s attention.
It whipped its head around and glared fiercely at him.
Zion stared back and clenched his hand in the air, pulling hard.
The spear deeply embedded in the monster’s jaw was like a tether pulling him in.
“Kieeeaaak!”
The monster writhed violently, twisting its long body madly.
After a chaotic struggle, the spear was pulled free about thirty meters away.
Blood, flesh, and shattered scales dripped as the monster howled in fury.
Without disappointment, Zion pushed off the deck’s edge and jumped again.
The weapon transformed, this time into a massive warhammer with a long iron chain hanging beneath.
“Hup!”
With full centrifugal force, Zion struck the monster’s crown.
A thunderous blast echoed as its head plunged beneath the waves.
Suspended in midair, Zion hooked the chain onto the railing and safely returned to the deck.
“Yes.”
“It’s not dead yet.”
Zion raised his hand to stop the crew, who were about to erupt in cheers, signaling them to hold.
Suddenly, the water bubbled violently as another monster leapt out, charging at Zion’s back.
Twisting his body, Zion struck the monster’s snout with the warhammer.
With a loud crack, its head smashed onto the deck.
While it flailed, Zion sprang up, transforming the weapon into a greatsword and plunged it into the monster’s eye.
The creature convulsed wildly as its eye and brain were pierced, then abruptly stopped moving and went limp.
Confident the monster was dead through MP Absorption, Zion let out a small sigh, “Hoo.”
Standing atop the monster’s head, he surveyed the crew gathered on deck and finally smiled.
“It’s over. Good work, everyone.”
||
A brief silence.
Then, a cheer shook the deck.