Chapter 217
Chapter 217
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Sapphire Island
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The village overrun by packs of monstrous crocodiles faded into the distance.
I'd had no intention of joining them at first.
While riding Blackie, I spotted two sheriffs under attack from what looked like a mid-level Corrupted Being—a monster crocodile.
At the time, I figured I'd just hurl a mana spear from the sky and be on my way.
But one of the sheriffs was a woman.
Her face was hard to make out under the sheriff's hat, but that body... it was something else.
A figure like that had to belong to a knockout.
She wielded her revolver in a unique way, infusing her bullets with her ability. It kinda resembled my mana fixation technique, but not quite.
Of course, that wasn't the point.
A gorgeous sheriff...
No way I could just ride past.
I leaped down from Blackie's back, timing it perfectly to save her in the nick of time. And up close, her beauty didn't disappoint.
Worth the detour.
Some dude with a gun was yapping away, but I tuned him out.
A blonde with blue eyes like hers made me pretty forgiving.
She wanted to stick with me.
When a beauty asks, how do you say no?
In the end, I ended up traveling with her.
Blackie was a full-fledged raid party member. Timid for his size, sure, but he was a high-rank monster. I'd been feeding him well, so he'd bulked up even more.
With his skills, mid-level Corrupted Beings were no sweat. And any he took down would still count toward my quest.
"......"
Why was this monster so damn sharp about useless stuff...
The pickup truck pulled up after a long drive, stopping in a clearing by a lake ringed with forest. A wooden building stood nearby.
'This their base?'
I spread my senses, but no signs of life.
They unloaded massive bags of food from the truck onto a small yacht at the lakeside dock.
Looked like they'd take a boat from here.
Sure enough, we boarded a yacht driven by Humphrey, the bearded old-timer, and set off.
The forested lake was scenic, with a small island in the middle. We were headed straight for it.
"Where you from?"
Philip approached me on the deck as I took in the view.
Guy was itching to finish his interrupted interrogation from the crocs.
Super wary.
I got it, but it was annoying all the same...
A dude prying into my background? Normally, no chance. But for Grace, I'd play along.
"Korea."
"Korea? You didn't understand me?"
Philip scowled, unsatisfied.
"Don't know Korea? Korea."
"I know Korea. Country in Asia. That's not what I'm asking. Not your nationality—where'd you come from?"
Even the truth went over his head.
I scratched my chin, pondering, then gave him what he wanted.
"Canada."
Still not buying it. Face full of doubt.
No point now; he wouldn't believe anything. And I wasn't keen on earning his trust anyway.
"Not gonna answer straight. Suspicious... Don't try fooling me, even for Grace. No shady moves. I'm watching. If you do anything dangerous..."
He subtly flashed his pistol.
"......"
Is this guy for real...?
Ridiculous.
But I had to cut him slack.
Grace and Philip hadn't awakened to the superhuman level where guns were useless yet.
They had no clue how strong high-rank Awakeners got.
Hence the pistol-waving nonsense.
Their tension eased as Grace approached.
"What were you two talking about?"
"Just..."
Philip mumbled and bailed.
Grace glanced at him heading to the cabin, then turned to me.
"Un-ho, where's that spear?"
"That spear?"
"Yeah, the huge one you had."
"Got it right here."
I'd stashed it in my inventory on the truck ride.
"Hidden it somewhere at the dock?"
I pulled the spear from my inventory, showed her, and stored it again.
"What? H-how?"
"Superpower."
"Even this kind of superpower... Ah, so that's why you don't carry luggage!"
"...Yeah. Telling you 'cause I trust you, Grace. Keep it secret from others, though."
"Got it. Thanks for trusting me."
She answered earnestly.
Truth was, even if she blabbed, no big deal.
Just my way of charming her.
The yacht docked at the island dock, as I'd figured.
A weathered arch sign stood at the dock entrance. They were holing up on the island to dodge monsters.
'Zombies, sure. But real heavy hitters? No chance...'
No need to point it out.
I was the outsider here.
No reason to convince them.
A few folks waited at the dock to greet us.
As the group disembarked, they hugged what looked like family, all smiles.
"Grace!"
A woman's voice called Grace's name.
My eyes naturally turned that way.
A cheerful beauty with long, dark brown hair. Joy and relief lit her face.
"Carrie."
Grace called back happily.
They shared a light hug.
Back-to-back beauties? Mood booster.
Better hideout than I thought.
Good call following.
Been living too much in the skies lately.
Rushed here on Blackie, skimmed the area. Time to settle in, scope properly.
Humans need their feet on the ground.
"Grace, who's this?"
Carrie spotted me, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Oh, Carrie. This is the guy who saved me. Un-ho Park. He's a powerful superpowered Awakener."
"Oh! A superhero too! Nice to meet you. I'm Carrie McBride. Just call me Carrie."
"Nice to meet you. Call me Un-ho."
"Un-ho, Carrie's Philip's sister."
Grace filled in.
Philip... reevaluated.
His affinity shot up to average.
"Un-ho! You're tall. Great build too. Basketball? Or football?"
"Nah, I'm a hunter."
Lively and curious type.
"Hunter? Unusual, but it suits you. Joining us?"
"Yeah."
"You'll need a place to crash. Want me to show you around, Un-ho?"
Music to my ears.
But the buzzkill butted in.
"Carrie, I'll handle it. You go help with dinner."
This guy...
"Philip, seriously? I can guide then do dinner!"
"Sorry, I'll show Park around."
Carrie fumed at her brother's block, but Philip wouldn't budge.
'Siscon, huh.'
Wary of me, didn't want her alone with a stranger.
Still pissed me off.
-Thwack!
Carrie read my mind and stomped his shin.
"Ugh!"
"Hmph!"
She stormed off, huffing.
"Un-ho, Philip'll show you your quarters. Got stuff to do. See you later."
Grace dipped too. Bummer.
"Follow me."
Philip rubbed his shin and led the way.
Even if he's her brother, this jerk...
Wanna smack his nape, but endured for the two beauties.
A short hike from the dock revealed a big central clearing ringed by wooden cabins.
Philip led me to one.
"This is yours."
Predictably messy inside.
Bunk beds everywhere—looked like an old group dorm.
"Where's Grace's place?"
"Why you asking?"
"Got my interest."
"You follow us for Grace?"
He scowled.
"Obviously. She got a boyfriend?"
Would complicate things.
He stonewalled—no answer, no directions, just left.
But his reaction told me plenty.
Philip had the hots for Grace.
Good news: no relationship yet.
If there was, he'd have mentioned by now.
'Petty bastard.'