A few days later, Edward, Leyla, and their adventurer friends all stood on the deck of a frigate as it sailed through the sea. The council had approved the expedition, as it had been expected, the few days of delay had been for getting the boat and the supplies ready. Leyla had also seized the delay to repair Edward’s armor while he was staying with her.

They had a bit of trouble gathering victuals. It turned out that food was becoming scarce even if the city still had reserves. Anglers were supplying fish, but the farms outside the city had been damaged by Harpies and other monsters, and cattle had also been lost. This situation coupled with the arrival of so many new inhabitants meant that the consumption was higher than the production. If nothing was done the city would have to eventually face a famine.

The Harpies and monsters in the city vicinity had already been dealt with by Edward, so the farmers were able to go out again, but they couldn’t make up for the lost time. A solution to address the problem was to rely on rune innovation. Leyla had already reinforced the city defenses, but the usage of runes was a lot broader than that. They could be used to help accelerate the growth of vegetables, even though they would require lots of mana and be complex to design. The addition of potential mana reserve in the form of crystals could potentially help with this new runes usage.

Edward was glad that he was able to spend more time with Leyla, but at the same time, he was tense for her safety. They were outside the city walls and most monsters would be able to easily kill her. Having gotten used to facing dangerous monsters in battle, Edward didn’t dare to relax his vigilance.

Sailors never had to face anything more dangerous than Murlocs in this area, but normalcy didn’t mean much anymore. The surge had already begun some time ago and its effects were visible. Edward would be more surprised of encountering only normal monsters than to encounter unknown monsters or variations of known ones.

Thinking back to the wyrm he had slain in the Vipin Forest he kept his aura spread out, probing their surroundings, including the water under the ship. He hadn’t faced any strong swimming monsters yet, but knowing that Leyla was with him and that he had to protect her, he couldn’t help but think about what kinds of things must be lurking in the depths of the sea.

Monsters were growing more powerful and humanity wouldn’t be able to cull them all, inevitably there would be faraway places where monsters would grow unchecked. Actually, in this world, since humanity had never domesticated the wilds, most places could be called dangerous and unchecked.

Leyla was enjoying the trip, treating it as a free cruise with her friends. Said adventurer friends were happy too, contract opportunities had decreased and this one would replenish their pocket. Edward had to admit that the trip had been mostly peaceful until now. Already they had crossed some islands, and instead of seeing them blankets with Murlocs they only had seen a sporadic one, here and there.

Which also meant that Murlocs had not been exterminated and would come back in time. Edward was not surprised. Contrary to the other expedition he had taken part in, he hadn’t found the Murloc’s nest. Without removing the source, it was only of matter of time before their number returned.

*****

They reached Egregius’ Folly only in the evening. Already Leyla had grown used to the sea scenery and had begun talking about potential runes application to improve the ship. She began with Edward’s idea to install perpetual turbines working with a perpetual motion machine thanks to wind runes. Said turbines would be able to replace the masts and the usage of sails, reducing the material needed to build a ship and the dependency on the wind. Another idea she proposed was to attune the ship’s hull to water, reducing the friction with the water and improving speed.

For now, it was limited to straight-up improvements but Edward could see how those designs could lead to a completely new product. With no need for sails and improved aerodynamics, they only needed to add a ceiling and a way to control the buoyancy to create a submarine. Innovation would only brew more innovations, one design leading to another.

Of course, this was without taking into account the technical difficulties. Producing a turbine was fairly simple, but for more complex applications like adjusting the speed of the turbines or transferring the energy to another system, a more complex usage of runes would be needed.

She is right. I will have to visit the Damkinan’s library before long. Edward thought. The low-hanging fruits of runes developments are getting used and for the rest, the runes she has access to right now won’t be enough.

The ship anchored near the coast, and the group gathered for a meeting to prepare for the next day. Edward who had the most experienced since he had already come onto this island, spoke first.

“The crystals are situated in a cavern inside the sole mountain on this island. The Murlocs have been dealt with so I don’t think we should encounter many monsters even if there should be a few stragglers. Nonetheless, Murlocs are crafty and they left an abundance of traps in the forest. Though, if we stay focused, we shouldn’t be in danger. The traps consist mostly of loaded contraptions and spike pits, but they can be skillfully hidden.” Edward paused, checking that everyone was paying attention.

“I will take the lead since I know the way. I’m able to scout anything happening in a two-hundred-meter circle but I may miss some traps. Aquamarine, I would appreciate it if you could stay near Leyla and ensure her safety. If we encounter a powerful monster I will deal with it first, don’t bother with me and stay in formation. If I’m not able to defeat it I will hold it long enough for you to escape, then escape on my own. Any questions?” Edward asked now that he had finished his explanation.

The discussion continued, focused on what variant of Murlocs Edward had encountered, more details about the traps, and the formation that should be adopted by the group. Even though Edward had the most experience facing powerful monsters, Charles showed his expertise. Charles was used to working in a group and was more detailed oriented, preparing the group for each situation that could happen. Even so, the atmosphere was still relaxed. They made preparation but they weren’t really expecting to face any real threat.

The next day, the group left the ship in a small canoe and landed on the beach. They followed Edward’s lead and advanced at a walking pace, looking around for traps with both eyes and aura. They did find some, however, they were already disarmed, either by the previous expedition or by lack of maintenance, having weathered the elements. That didn’t prevent Brian to whistled. “What naughty crawlers! Murlocs are the most basic of monsters you can find, but chasing them in a booby-trapped area such as this one could actually become dangerous.”

Before long the group reached the tunnel entrance leading into the cavern network inside the mountain. The entrance size hadn’t changed, and one would have to crawl to go inside. “Sorry about that,” Edward told them before teleporting directly further inside where the tunnel grew larger and where he could stand without bending. The group complained, and Edward could hear several comments about cheating as they followed him inside.

Aquamarine had to help Leyla since the tunnel was pitch black. It didn’t bother the adventurers since as awakens they could use their aura to sense their surroundings, but Leyla couldn’t do the same.

“Don’t worry. The tunnel will lead to the cavern with the mana crystals. Their glow will provide some illumination.” Edward told her to reassure her. “Do mind your footing though, the stone is slippery with all the humidity.” The cave wasn’t far, the light from the crystals visible from afar. Is it just me or are they glowing brighter than before? Edward wondered. As they entered the cavern, the light from the crystal was providing enough illumination to lighten the whole space, even the pond in the middle of the cavern was reflecting the crystal’s light. Their glow must have grown with the increase in mana.

Apart from the light, the second thing they noticed was the smell. Without a ventilation system, and with so many corpses left to rot, it reeked like hell. Edward had already been confronted with this problem when he was in the Lusus naturae tunnels, but right now it was on another scale. The smell was so strong that they had to fight retches.

Luckily, the stench was so powerful that it saturated their nose quickly. After a few minutes to get used to it, it became bearable. “I damn hope that those crystals are worth it. I’ve never smelled anything close to that stench!” Brian complained with watery eyes. The rest of the group didn’t say anything but they seemed to agree considering their white face.

“It’s not like I had anywhere to dispose of them. The ground is made of rock and I don’t have any magical flamethrower.” Edward defended himself before adding to Leyla. “By the way, I would be glad if you ever manage to make one for me.”

After recovering their bearing, the group beholds the scene in front of them. Murlocs’ corpses in various states of decomposition were spread everywhere in the cavern. Some were reduced to the state of skeletons with bones broken and crushed.

“You don’t do things halfway.” Charles deadpanned.

“There certainly were a lot of Murlocs” Edward admitted while frowning. Did I really do that all by myself? Some of the corpses seemed completely crushed. I don’t remember making this kind of damage.

“Wait…something is strange,” Edward warned the group.

Before he had the time to explain anything several forms erupted from the expanse of water in the middle of the cavern.

“Incoming monsters! Everybody get ready!” Charles ordered.

Edward reacted a moment later. He rushed toward the unknown monsters. It wasn’t that he wanted to fight them without knowing anything, but he had to prevent them from getting close to the rest of the group. He couldn’t let them reach anywhere near Leyla.

The monsters weren’t numerous, there were only five of them, but they were a lot more impressive than Murlocs. They looked like overgrown crocodiles except that their tail look more like fish tails, they were massive beasts reaching eight meters in length. Due to their size, it wouldn’t be wrong to call them drakes.

Once he was close enough to get their attention Edward didn’t move nearer, choosing to keep his distance since he didn’t know their capabilities. From the way, they gushed out of the water, at the very least they could move fast in a short amount of time.

Edward gritted his teeth, not appreciating the fact that he had to deal with unknown monsters while Leyla was with him. They must have been attracted by the Murlocs’ corpses. This expanse of water is obviously connected to the rest of the sea. So much for a peaceful expedition.