Shout from the Mast: Intruder from Monster Island
A shout rained down from the high mast.
“North-northeast! From the course north-northeast! Unidentified object approaching at high speed!”
At first, the magic swordsmen on deck barely reacted. What mattered to them far more was the glowing circular magic circle at Karina's feet and the red vortex of mana surging upward like a pillar of fire.
KWAAAAAH!
The mana vortex, now piercing even the clouds, was powerful enough to whip the magic swordsmen's hair around just by slowly spinning in place.
“So this is the skill of a mage who graduated top of the Imperial Academy...”
“Impossible. How can anyone control that much mana alone...?”
“Even for someone from the Magic Tower, setting up a spell over that range seems too greedy...”
Dozens of magic swordsmen stared blankly at the red mana towering far higher than the ship, murmuring to themselves. Though they wielded swords as their primary weapons, they too had learned to infuse mana into their blades—they knew better than anyone just how extraordinary that level was.
“...Ha... haha!”
Ivan Hellenger, who had known Karina since childhood, felt the same. Beneath his blond hair swept back by the wind, his eyes gleamed with desire.
Lucky me that a monster like her has a crush on me. If I hold onto her power tight, I can become way more famous than I am now... He was lost in such fantasies when—
“Course north-northeast!”
The lookout's shout pierced the red vortex once more, finally drawing attention—but only after he explained what that direction meant.
“It's coming from the direction of Monster Island!”
Heads whipped around. Right—they'd been riding the swift currents in a wide arc to reach Monster Island faster.
Something moving from that direction...
“Which way is it headed?”
“Toward the southwest!”
“What is it? Size?”
“Looks about the size of a rowboat from here!”
“A boat?”
“Ah, sorry! Correction—more like the size of a whale!”
“A whale? You yelling your head off over a damn whale?”
“N-no! It's just the size—it's not a whale! The speed doesn't match either, and we can't rule out a Dead Sea monster... Ah, sorry! Now it might actually be a boat!”
“You fucking idiot!”
Ivan bellowed, thrusting out his hand. His adjutant handed over a spyglass. Ivan raised it to his eye and turned toward the compass magic circle at the bow.
“North-northeast?”
“Ah, sorry—more like east-northeast! You should look that way!”
Ivan scowled.
“East-northeast... still nothing...”
“S-sorry! It's picking up speed! Try north-north-northeast!”
“You bastard! You mocking me to my face?!”
“N-no, that's not—!”
Though visibly annoyed, Ivan's spyglass darted busily. And he wasn't alone.
Click. Clack.
Click!
The magic swordsmen, knowing a mere lookout wouldn't dare joke in this situation, began pulling small spyglasses from their pockets one by one.
“Not east-northeast—north! No, north-northwest—it's heading that way!”
Adjusting their focuses, they soon spotted it.
Far away, on the horizon.
“............What the hell?”
“............A boat? No, a human?”
“............M-monster!”
A massive barbarian's face, wrapped in bizarre wings, streaking a glittering straight line across the endless sea.
***
This sensation was a first.
Each time the raft surged forward, seawater exploded against my forehead, cool and refreshing.
“Kr-hahahahaha!”
Correction—not surging, but cleaving through.
I was jetting along, kicking up massive sprays like a goddamn jetski.
KWAAAAAH!
SSSSHHH!
...By spinning the massive oars gripped in both hands like propellers.
And still in Berserk Mode!
Steam practically rose from my body, muscles brimming with vitality even at rest! This rock-solid core that barely budged no matter how hard I pushed! It all formed an insane engine cranking at max output, sucking power from every fiber and channeling it into my arms as whirling propellers.
The effect? Explosive.
“Faster... can I go faster?!”
I snorted and poured on the power.
KWAAAAAHH!
SSSSHHH!
Faster, faster, more! Wind howled in my ears.
KWAAAAAAAAHH!
SSSSHHHH!
Just parting my lips made my cheeks balloon like a rollercoaster drop, mouth buzzing. Eyes stung against the gale. Scenery blurred past like I was on a train.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
I yelled and flailed my arms wildly.
Splash! Splash-splash!
Skiiiirch, splash!
............I'm flying!
'Oh!'
SKIIIIIRCH!
For a split second, the raft skimmed the surface—then the whole damn thing lifted off the sea, sending a thrill through me.
Splash.
It dropped right back, but repeating this until my arms turned red made the raft skip across the waves like stone-skipping.
KWAAAAAAAAHH!
Glancing back, Monster Island—which had filled half my view before—was now a mere speck.
'Holy shit!'
This was actually happening? Felt like my legs had motors strapped on, salt bug style.
That's when I got hooked on this sea sprint, arms spinning nonstop—
Crack!
One oar snapped, unable to withstand the tension against the sea and my raw power.
'Huh, it broke.'
These were made from monster tendons I couldn't even chew during meals—tough as hell, binding rocks and logs into oversized oars sturdier than spears or clubs. It shattered too easily, but no big deal.
I just reached back for the spares loaded on the raft's rear.
This wasn't some flimsy raft—it was room-sized, and I'd prepped exactly for this with a stack of custom oars.
So.
“Round two! Hoo, haa!”
Regulating my power carefully to avoid snapping another, finding the sweet spot for max acceleration— that's when it hit.
“Huuuuaaa... Huh?!”
A prickling sensation at the back of my head, just as I geared up to accelerate again.
***
Dozens of circular magic circles bloomed over the railing of the Hellenger family flagship, banner flapping.
Shoooo!
Shoooo!
Shoooo!
Yellow orbs erupted from each center.
Magic from Ivan Hellenger's magic swordsmen.
All but those accelerating the stern gathered, unleashing binding spells toward the sea beyond.
“......Capture it! Hurry!”
Ivan Hellenger commanded it.
Just like the others, casting binding magic from the railing at that something.
Literally.
SSSSHHHH!
In the blink of an eye, it cleaved the sea and rocketed away.
What the hell is that? A mage? No way—a mage wouldn't look that brutal... Barbarian? Nah, doesn't make sense. More monster than man. But... could a monster have the brains to build a raft that size? Never even seen one like it.
The bizarre sight: something streaking from the bow's right, dazzling across to the left sea.
In that brief second as every pupil tracked it right to left—
'......Something's off!'
Ivan's instincts screamed.
After Karina's cryptic words earlier, anything fleeing(?) from Monster Island's direction couldn't be ordinary.
That thing's definitely tied to Monster Island!
In the Dead Sea, where even decent ships steered clear, some freak on a weird magic tool sprinting across the waves. Of course it felt like a threat—maybe it'd already sabotaged or could sabotage the glory he sought on Monster Island.
Only one answer.
“First one to catch 'it' gets five carts of gold!”
Capture first, ask questions later.
Stop!
His sonic resonance spell boomed with the command, and it twitched—human language worked, at least.
In this scenario, the magic swordsmen's indiscriminate binding spells from the pursuing ship should pin it down.
“More to the left!”
“Keep it up!”
“Don't let it escape!”
“Grab it!”
“Catch the bastard!”
Those magic swordsmen, eyes wild for the gold, had decent skill.
Capture it first. Figure out who or what, and why it's coming from Monster Island...
Ivan nodded at the yellow orbs pouring toward it, then glanced back.
KWAAAAAHH!
Karina floated serenely in the now-deeper red mana vortex, eyes closed, chanting.
Her casting was nearly complete—she was fully immersed in mana control.
Can't disturb her now.
Should I have held the spell for a better read on the situation?
Ivan shook his head. No. With that something's nature unclear, he needed an ultimate attack ready for surprises.
A vortex this tall...
Then—
“Y-Young master! The bindings are bouncing off!”
“......What?”
“That thing! It's deflecting our magic!”
Ivan whipped back to the railing at the unheard-of report—and saw what he shouldn't.
“......Coming right at us!”
Shoooooo!
Shoooooo!
Shoooooo!