Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Bird of Kapke Island
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Chapter 169
By now, crossing through gates had become so familiar to Jeong-hyeon that it hardly needed mentioning.
However, that wasn't the case when passing through the "Bird of Kapke Island" gate.
No, to be precise, crossing the gate itself was familiar, but the moment right after was the problem.
Wobble—
"Huh?"
Jeong-hyeon let out a deflated sound at the unexpected swaying of the ground beneath him.
"Ack!"
"W-What's this?"
The other hunters entering one after another behind him reacted the same way.
Even if they didn't have direct combat traits, they were all hunters, so none of them ended up falling on their butts in a situation like this, but it was still disorienting.
Only after looking around did the hunters realize that the surface they were standing on wasn't solid ground.
"It's a boat?"
"Yeah."
Under a clear sky, with nothing in sight but the sea and the horizon.
And floating atop it was a small wooden boat.
Jeong-hyeon and the other hunters were right there on its deck.
'What the hell is this?'
He had figured there might be some ocean since "island" was in the gate's name, but he hadn't expected it to be this intensely oceanic.
For Jeong-hyeon, who had only entered caves, forests, and the spirit realm up to now, it felt quite novel.
Novel or not, this place being a gate didn't change in the slightest.
"It's been ages since I last saw a sea like this."
Yu A-young, who had seemed briefly flustered, looked around and spoke warmly.
The sea.
Ever since gates began appearing, it had certainly become a dangerous place.
Gates spawned indiscriminately on land, in the ocean, lakes, and everywhere else, naturally.
With how busy they were handling gates on land, it was practically impossible to monitor the open ocean where people didn't live.
Human reach extended to coastal areas at best, but seeing scenery like this vast expanse was nearly impossible even for hunters.
The cloudless, brilliant sky made the sunlight shatter beautifully against the waves.
"The view's nice, but we should secure the perimeter around the boat first. Marine monsters could show up."
"Ah. Sorry."
But Jeong-hyeon set aside his appreciation of the scenery for the moment and instructed the party to stay vigilant.
Now that they were at sea, they had to worry about marine monsters no matter what the mission was.
The ocean's immense size meant some marine monsters were colossal beasts beyond what a single human could handle.
Even so, humans hadn't simply surrendered control of the seas to monsters.
At Jeong-hyeon's command, the party members scattered around the small boat to scan the surroundings.
"This area's clear for now."
"Same here!"
Fortunately, there were no immediate reports of monsters swarming in.
Jeong-hyeon unleashed every detection ability at his disposal on the waters below, but nothing unusual turned up.
The occasional massive lifeforms he sensed were just large fish, not monsters.
Still, he didn't let his guard down completely.
Even the best detection skills only worked at half effectiveness underwater on average.
And if it really was a marine monster, it could cover that distance in an instant.
No matter how beautifully the blue sea sparkled, inside a gate, it was an unknown realm where monsters could lunge out jaws-first at any moment.
'For now, I just want to get off this ocean...'
That was why Jeong-hyeon's mind was growing a bit urgent.
At that moment, Park Sang-hee, bearer of the "Thousand-Mile Eyes" trait, called out to him.
"Hunter Jeong-hyeon! You need to come take a look over here."
"What's up?"
With B-rank enhanced vision, it was more like a telescope than human eyes.
The trait was literally called "Thousand-Mile Eyes," after all.
Had he spotted a monster approaching near the surface?
But when Jeong-hyeon approached, Sang-hee shared some unexpected information.
"There's an island in that direction."
"An island?"
The spot Sang-hee pointed to was around 2 or 3 o'clock if the boat's bow was 12.
Jeong-hyeon narrowed his eyes and peered intently that way.
But,
"I don't see anything."
Just like everywhere else, only the horizon stretched out.
Jeong-hyeon didn't have enhanced vision, but his eyesight already surpassed most hunters.
Sang-hee, unaware of that, chuckled as if it was the most obvious thing.
"Hahaha, of course. I can see it because of my 'Thousand-Mile Eyes.' It's normal not to."
"No, seriously, there's something..."
Of course, it was obvious.
But Jeong-hyeon still tilted his head, puzzled.
He hadn't expected to see the island in perfect detail.
Still, if there was an island, shouldn't its outline be vaguely visible?
But Sang-hee's response exceeded Jeong-hyeon's imagination.
"Actually, there's a tree tip poking up just beyond the horizon. Waves make it peek in and out, but if there's a tree in this ocean, doesn't that mean high chance it's an island?"
"?"
'This is Thousand-Mile Eyes?'
Honestly, even with the trait name, he'd thought it might be a bit exaggerated.
But this seemed straight out of folklore tales, not falling short at all.
A tree beyond the horizon.
How the hell do you even spot that?
Especially one hidden and revealed by waves.
"Well... let's head that way for now. We have to find an island anyway."
"Yeah. Nothing else in sight, so that must be the 'island' in the name."
Sang-hee nodded confidently at Jeong-hyeon's agreement.
It felt a bit dubious with nothing visible no matter how hard he looked, but if Thousand-Mile Eyes said so, it was probably there.
'Man, without the Thousand-Mile Eyes hunter instead of an archer, we'd be stranded for sure.'
He clicked his tongue inwardly as he returned to the boat's center.
Bringing a vision-enhanced hunter over an archery one had been a stroke of luck.
He'd chosen it thinking it might help against flying flock monsters in the gate, but now it seemed essential, not just advantageous.
'Now, how do we get there...'
Jeong-hyeon glanced around as he spoke.
Basic sailing gear was all there: sails, rudder, anchor.
And oars on both sides.
For a coincidence, the party's traits were perfectly suited.
"First, Hunter Yu A-young and Hunter Park Sang-hee, keep watch like now."
He assigned the two available members to vigilance.
"Hunter Jo Yu-jun and Won-ho hyung, mind handling the oars? It's far, so it'll take time. Tag me in anytime if you're tired."
"Got it."
"Okay."
The two melee fighters got the oars.
Rowing was grueling, obviously, but Won-ho had strength enhancement, and Yu-jun likely had buffs for it, so no worries.
"And Hunter Kim Byeong-ju, blow some wind into the sails."
"Leave it to me!"
Finally, the sails—the soul of a sailboat.
No strong wind now, but who cared?
They had Byeong-ju with wind magic.
As Jeong-hyeon untied the sails, Byeong-ju invoked his magic.
Creak—
The ropes linking to the sails tautened with a sound, and soon the boat sliced through the waves.
"Whoa, we're moving!"
Everyone exclaimed in awe at this novel experience.
'Romantic, huh.'
Jeong-hyeon didn't show it, but the pre-cataclysm vibe stirred his heart.
Splash—
With the wind mage's support plus two rowers, the little wooden boat surged forward faster than imaginable.
Before long, the island Sang-hee mentioned entered Jeong-hyeon's sight.
'You saw that?'
Bonus admiration for Sang-hee.
It was still just a speck of dust to Jeong-hyeon.
No, without the heads-up, he'd have dismissed it as a reef.
Spotting a tree from there? Mind-blowing.
Soon, others spotted it too.
"I see it! Real island!"
The boat's speed made the island grow rapidly.
Minutes later, its shape was discernible.
Visibly, it was flat-topped with scattered trees up top and gray cliffs below.
No reports of other islands from Sang-hee, so this was likely "Kapke Island."
'But no flying things around?'
One oddity: nothing flying near the island.
Not even seabirds, let alone avian monsters.
The gate name screamed "bird," yet no bird-like thing in sight.
An ominous feeling crept into Jeong-hyeon's mind.
On the flip side,
'Psh, if it were tough, they'd have thrown marine monsters at us from the start.'
Not all marine monsters were giants.
Most were human-sized mermaids or rockfish, common even in level 5 gates.
Yet after significant time boating, no signs.
Basically, safe until the island.
'Jackpotted twice in a row, now behaving. Obviously.'
Grand Mantis duo, then Lizardman Warrior Chief—next gate could be easy.
Jeong-hyeon calmed his anxiety as the boat neared steadily.
Then his unease manifested differently than expected.
"Hear any sound from somewhere?"
"Sound?"
Jeong-hyeon noticed first.
Muffled by boat and waves, but definitely a sound.
No, more a melody.
"Yeah. Like singing..."
"Nah, Hunter. What kinda song in this ocean?"
Byeong-ju, fueling the sails, laughed it off.
Fair point—singing seemed out of place.
Ship's horn, maybe.
But soon Sang-hee backed Jeong-hyeon.
"Huh? Yeah, I hear it. Singing."
One person's word could be dismissed, but two of six changed things.
Especially Jeong-hyeon and Sang-hee, the party's sharpest senses.
"Slow down a bit."
At Jeong-hyeon's order, Byeong-ju eased the wind.
The rowers paused.
Noise reduced, others nodded too.
"Yeah. Real singing."
"From the island?"
Yu-jun muttered, eyeing it.
Had to be.
No known singing marine monsters.
'Do singing monsters even exist?'
Jeong-hyeon knew of none.
"Dunno what, but nice melody."
"Yeah. Kinda drawing me in."
Even amid this, they shared appreciation.
Lyrics unknown, but the alien tune tugged at hearts just by listening.
This far, yet so captivating—up close, hypnotic maybe.
'Hypnotic? Wait—'
A guess flashed through Jeong-hyeon's mind like lightning.
An alert popped up.
[The buff trait, "Dullahan's Curse," strongly resists mental attacks on the user.
'Siren's Song' has no effect on the user.]
"Everyone, plug your ears!"
Jeong-hyeon's bellow echoed across the sea.