Chapter 269

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

The Ruined Continent

In the end, Hikaru never found out what exactly was this magic item they used to repel specific sea monsters . He couldn’t even tell if the ships had changed route, as all around them was the great ocean as far as the eye could see . And since the magic item was active at all times, his Mana Detection couldn’t really pick anything up . They seemed to be using a compass and the position of the stars when changing routes .

It was a dull twelve days at sea . Hikaru played all the card and board games he borrowed and fished with the three soldiers—their names were Gin, Doran, and Zuzun—a few times as well . Fortunately the seas were calm and they didn’t encounter any stormy weather . Of course, that made for an uneventful and tedious voyage .

All the while, Deena and the soldiers kept their eyes on Hikaru’s party . Deena, in particular, didn’t like Hikaru getting in touch with Duinkler, but the latter didn’t seem to care and kept on approaching Hikaru, using his men to keep Deena away . The man didn’t want the topic of their conversation leaked .

Hikaru himself would not leak crucial information easily . Their conversation was casual, neither side giving away too much .

「Hahaha!」

「Hahaha!」

The two laughed . You cunning devil, Hikaru thought . He couldn’t let his guard down around the man, but he couldn’t just ignore him either .

Deena should have reported regularly to Grucel . However, Hikaru never figured out how she did it . Every noon, though, birds flew about from different ships . Soldiers who received the birds strained their ears, either nodding quietly, smiling, or sometimes whispering to their comrades and laughing .

It was easy to guess that these birds were the magic communications device .

Lavia said she’d get exhausted when sunburnt, so she spent most of her time in their room with Paula . Hikaru, on the other hand, went out on deck a lot, making him a bit tanned . It wasn’t that much, however, as he always wore his mask and cloak .

Hikaru was out on the deck early that day . Finally, he saw it .

「Land . 」

After twelve days on sea, Hikaru saw a black line in the horizon, gradually growing thicker, and eventually he could see green mountains .

「Who called it the Ruined Continent?」

The name might’ve been a reference to the fall of the early settlers . Either way, the name definitely did not fit . Hikaru could feel plenty of life just by looking at the sheer greenery .

Soldiers erupted in joy, cheering . They left their continent for the first time in 500 years and had now finally returned . No wonder they were deeply moved .

「From here, we move south . 」Duinkler appeared out of the blue . 「Scenery change in next three days . You not get tired . 」

And so the voyage continued .

Hikaru watched the land from the deck without ever getting tired of it . There were places with long sandy beaches, woodlands that almost reached the shorelines, precipitous cliffs with goats watching the ships, even natural caverns . Schools of fish swam past the surface of the sea .

No sign of humans could be seen from each of these places, however . Only small animals and some bigger ones that seemed harmless .

「Are there monsters here?」Hikaru asked Gin .

Deena translated what Hikaru said, and Gin, rod out in the waters, shook his head .

「He says monsters stay away from the sea . 」Deena said .

「Didn’t the settlers 500 years ago build a city near the coast?」

Deena’s expression dimmed . 「Yes . You should see it tomorrow . 」she said, referring to the fallen city .

Like she said, the next day they passed by the ruins of a city .

Hikaru, Paula, and Lavia stood next to each other on the deck . Not only them . Men who had nothing to do stood with them, watching .

By the shore, only the rock foundation remained of what seemed to be the docks . Sand had covered other areas . The outer walls of the city had crumbled, covered in grass and ivy . Trees had grown in the middle of houses . The thought of how long it took for the trees to grow that big overwhelmed Hikaru .

There was barely any trace of human civilization left there . Yet what remained was enough to surmise that people lived there once, as it stood in stark contrast to the great mother nature they had seen until now .

Everyone simply gazed at the ruins silently . Some closed their eyes, others looked bored, while some stared in displeasure .

As for Hikaru, he was just overwhelmed .

「As long as these ruins remain, the people of Dream Maker will never forget what happened 500 years ago . 」

Less than an hour had passed when the ruins eventually disappeared from sight and the fleet began approaching land .

「From here, we’re going up a river . 」Deena said .

「A river? I thought Dream Maker was near the sea . 」

「This area is near the Roots . 」

「Roots…?」

「A place where monsters gather . 」

Dungeons immediately came to Hikaru’s mind . But they wouldn’t use the word Roots for that .

「Do you know where the Roots are?」

「We have a magic item that can find them . We mark them on our map and stay away . 」

「So the settlers 500 years ago built a city near these Roots . 」

Deena silently nodded . Monsters stayed away from the sea . Yet monsters destroyed a city built near the shore . A clear contradiction . But with the Roots added to the equation, it now made sense .

「I see . If they had the same magic item that detected Roots…」

They wouldn’t have died, Hikaru thought . He didn’t say the words out loud . There was no need to . The natives who had lived here for a long time should have known these things .

「We are scheduled to arrive in Dream Maker early morning tomorrow . You will be shown to the king’s residence right away, so please get ready . 」Deena left .

The next day, Hikaru and the girls woke up as soon as the sun rose and started getting ready to disembark . They had grown attached to their room after staying there for two weeks, but if possible Hikaru didn’t want to travel for a while . It was just too boring .

He would’ve loved to use a Drakon Passage, so he asked Drake about it, but this was the first time he learned about this continent . He had no knowledge about this place whatsoever . There was one thing, however .

『It stinks . 』

Drake wore a frown ever since the continent came into sight . That most likely meant many evil creatures dwelled here . Hikaru couldn’t really see any monsters, even with the max range on his Mana Detection .

「Hopefully we see it soon… Hmm?」

It was noisy out in the corridor . Soldiers scurried towards the deck . At first Hikaru thought they were just overjoyed to have returned to their hometown, but he could hear angry voices .

「Sounds like something happened . 」

「Yeah . 」

「I think so too!」

『It stinks . 』

「Let’s check it out . Drake, you stay with Paula . 」

Hikaru and the girls left their room and made their way to the deck . They could hear a loud voice . It didn’t take long for them to realize where it was coming from .

Up ahead was a city surrounded by woodlands . Smoke was rising from it . A giant humanoid monster was attacking the city .