Chapter 237
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Kukuru Island and the Special Training Survival (4)
Baraya Lake was named by Tempest, who sealed the Moonlit Mirror on this island.
There was a sea region called 'Baraya' in another world, and this lake bore a striking resemblance to it.
And looking at the lake firsthand, one could indeed see why he thought it resembled the landscape of another world.
The water formed layers like stairs, descending deeper toward the center—an incredibly peculiar sight.
In the middle of the deepening lake was a deep hole, its bottom out of sight.
Even I, who knew about it from the original story, couldn't help but blink and stare blankly.
“So this is where the Moonlit Mirror is...”
“Baraya Lake.”
However, perhaps because it looked too artificial to be a natural formation…
Alice and David, having reached the lake, seemed rather bewildered.
They had somehow managed to arrive at the lake after fighting through attacks from massive creatures.
Perhaps they realized that finding their target, the Moonlit Mirror, here would not be an easy task.
But we couldn't just stand here staring at the lake forever.
Raven, who was scouting ahead of the group, spun around and spoke.
“Hey, this is no time for sightseeing. Let's get a move on.”
“Ah, right!”
“Jellin, a question. The Moonlit Mirror is in the center of the lake... meaning, down in that deep hole, right?”
“Hah, hah... Yes. From what I've been told, that is correct.”
Unlike the Fixers, who had now fully adapted to the heat, it seemed Jellin was not quite there yet.
Completely drenched, she answered Raven's question while struggling to catch her breath.
Despite her training, perhaps she didn't possess the same level of talent as the Fixers.
Honestly, those guys were the weird ones. How could they adapt in just a few days? The protagonist buff is a total cheat.
In any case, Jellin's confirmation seemed to solidify Raven's course of action.
No matter what, they had to enter the lake to secure the Moonlit Mirror.
He crouched down, touched the flowing water, and muttered with a slight frown.
“...This isn't a lake, it's practically a boiling bath. Swimming across would be dangerous.”
“R-Really? You're right. Hmm, but shouldn't there be white steam rising from it then?”
“It might be because the surrounding temperature is abnormally high, and the humidity is so great that the water can't turn into vapor.”
Since Kukuru Island had become a fiery hell, it was only natural that the lake at its center wouldn't be cool.
According to Raven and Alice, who had dipped their hands in, it was less like a lake and more like a hot spring.
No matter how sturdy one's body was, swimming in such scalding water for an extended period could be life-threatening.
The Fixers paused to consider how to reach the center of Baraya Lake.
Building a bridge with nearby trees, or a boat, or even digging down into the earth.
After putting our heads together and tossing around various ideas, we ultimately decided on the simplest and most reliable method.
“Yuria, I'm counting on you.”
“Yuria... if it's too much, you can say so, okay?”
“We're in your hands.”
“Okay!”
That was to use me—my psychokinesis.
Well... it wasn't surprising, since there was no surer way.
The method itself was extremely simple, no need to build a bridge or anything.
I just had to lift everyone here and fly them to the center of the lake.
Perhaps it was because I had freely displayed my psychokinesis over the past week.
Everyone seemed to believe that with my skills, we could reach the center of the lake without any trouble.
And they weren't wrong.
I could lift this much weight for hours, assuming I maintained my concentration.
Merely crossing the lake was hardly a burden for me.
‘In the original story, I remember they had no other choice and spent days carving a boat out of wood...’
Tempest must have known Baraya Lake would be in this state.
I suddenly wondered if this was one of the reasons he brought me here.
Anyway, with that thought in mind, I lifted everyone and reached the center of the lake in an instant.
Then, relying on my psychokinesis, we slowly and carefully descended into the hole.
Deeper, and deeper still.
I wonder how far we descended into the hole at the lake's center.
When the bottom was still not in sight after descending a distance equivalent to the height of a building, Alice spoke, her eyes twitching.
“H-How... how much further down does this go?”
“Who knows. At this rate, we might reach the Earth's core. We might burn to death.”
“Jin, stop saying weird things! You're making me really nervous!”
“Keuk...!”
It seemed the unusually deep hole was already making Alice anxious.
Understandable, since we had already descended so far that the entrance was no longer visible.
But were her worries unfounded?
Before long, we reached the bottom of the seemingly endless, dark hole.
And the Fixers, myself included, couldn't help but marvel at the sight that unfolded before us.
The bottom of Baraya Lake was filled with flowers, illuminated by fireflies that lit up the surroundings.
The color of the flowers and the light of the fireflies were a mystical shade of purple.
It felt as if we had fallen somewhere between the world of the living and the dead.
“Wow... It's beautiful...!”
“How strange. For so many flowers to be growing in such a deep place. They can't be getting any proper sunlight...”
I gently landed on the flower-covered ground and released my psychokinesis.
As they touched down, the others looked around, taking in the mystical scenery of the underground lakebed.
Kukuru Island was such an extreme environment that it wouldn't be strange for someone to die there.
They probably never imagined the place where the Moonlit Mirror was kept would be so beautiful.
However, Raven was the only one in the group who seemed to have no interest in appreciating the scenery.
He just stared intently at the flowers, trying to figure out what species they were. So unromantic.
And so, after a short, silent moment of sightseeing...
Raven gathered the group and turned to Jellin, getting straight to the point.
“So the Moonlit Mirror is here, right? What do we do once we find it?”
“Touching it should be enough. That's likely why he sealed it in the first place, because of what it is.”
“I see. I'm still not keen on touching something absurd enough to change the environment of an entire island... but that old man wouldn't have thrown us in here to die. I guess we have to trust him.”
Alright, the Moonlit Mirror doesn't seem to be around here. Let's split up and look for it.
He decided on their next move and divided the five of them into two groups.
The resulting pairs were the men's group of Raven and David.
And the women's group, consisting of me, Alice, and Jellin.
It seemed he hadn't considered gender, just split the combat power evenly.
I could instinctively tell he had balanced the groups around me and himself. A high evaluation, I see.
“We don't have our terminals, so there's no way to communicate. Let's meet back here in about an hour. Jellin, take good care of those little rascals.”
“Hey, Jin, what do you mean, rascals?”
“Huh?”
“...Understood.”
Alice and I approached Raven, who was spouting nonsense, and pressed him.
What did he mean by rascals? Honestly, setting me aside, wasn't it too much to treat Alice like that?
But he just ignored our noisy protests, picking his nose.
How can he be so annoying? I really wanted to punch him in the gut.
“Well then, see you later.”
“See you later.”
In any case, now part of the women's group, I headed in the opposite direction from the men.
I didn't know the mirror's exact location either, so I planned to concentrate and scan the surroundings.
But perhaps the underground lakebed was larger than I had imagined.
Alice, who had been walking silently while observing our surroundings, suddenly clicked her tongue and spoke.
“It's... much bigger than I thought. Do you think Tempest made this place too?”
“I'm not sure. Decorating a place so elaborately doesn't really suit his style. I think this environment might also be a result of the Moonlit Mirror's influence.”
“Ehh... Just what is that mirror, to be able to do something like this?”
“I apologize, but I don't know the details either...”
Jellin bowed her head, looking sorry for not being more helpful.
Alice reacted with a flustered expression, as if to say it wasn't her fault.
Well... Tempest himself didn't know exactly what the artifact was, so there was no way she would.
Come to think of it, how are artifacts with such absurd influence even created?
“Huh?”
As I quietly pondered the unresolved mysteries of the Moonlit Mirror from the original story, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.
It was a distinct sensation, as if someone were waving at me, beckoning me closer.
It felt familiar, like something I had experienced somewhere before, and I couldn't help but stop walking.
“H-Huh? Yuria?”
“What is it all of a sudden?”
...Perhaps they couldn't feel this sensation.
After a moment of thought, I walked over to Alice and Jellin, took their hands, and led them toward the source of the feeling.
Perhaps because it was in a different direction from where we had been walking, they both looked quite startled...
But they must have trusted me enough, as they allowed themselves to be led without resistance.
I wonder how long we walked, hand in hand with Alice and Jellin.
As the sensation grew clearer and the number of flowers around us began to dwindle...
In the distance, an object that looked suspicious from any angle greeted us.
“Th-That's... Don't tell me!”
“It looks like... a mirror.”
Alice and Jellin exclaimed as they stared at the object floating in mid-air.
That's right. What stood there was a mirror, its identity clear even from a distance.
Given its familiar shape, this must be the Moonlit Mirror.
But I had no time to rejoice in our discovery.
Because an unnaturally strong voice was coming from the Moonlit Mirror, telling me to touch it.
No, could I even call it a voice?
It was far too similar to the voice I had heard from the Object.
“Yuria?!”
“Lady Yuria!”
So, leaving Alice and Jellin behind, I walked forward... and reached out to the Moonlit Mirror.
It wasn't a conscious decision; it felt like my body was moving on its own.
The moment my hand touched the side of the mirror, all sound vanished from the world.
No, it wasn't just sound that disappeared; sight and touch were gone as well.
If I had to describe it, it was the sensation of my very existence fading away.
It felt as if only my weightless soul or mind was being sucked somewhere.
And when that eternal moment ended and everything slowly returned...
I found myself in an unknown place.
“Baek-ah, you're finally awake! Big sister was so worried!”
Standing before a girl with a rather familiar face, no less.