Chapter 444

Chapter 444

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

“It’s fascinating. In some ways, it’s similar to druids transforming into animal forms. If we had someone like Jin Gonggong, we could have confirmed it.”

Hyein expressed regret. Because he thought of it as a form of the Polymorph skill, he believed it could be possible, but those who experienced it didn’t think the same way.

“No. If it were Jin Gonggong’s transformation, we’ve seen it several times. While complete transformation into the respective animal is possible, it’s limited to whispers. As far as I’ve seen, there’s no Polymorph skill that allows one to walk around on two legs like a bright red goat. That’s a different category...”

“That’s right. It’s not a skill that transforms into an animal. It’s more like reinforcing... enhancing your body with the energy of an animal. A sort of possession.”

Leeha was approaching the concept of infusing the energy of an animal into one’s own body. The somewhat eerie explanation made other users gulp and swallow.

“Too bad! It would have been great to confirm what those red goats were fighting against.”

“It would have been impossible even for a Leeha if they noticed my magic. Immediate retreat would have been the correct answer. They might have nullified invisibility using some kind of magic. Even with considerable magic detection, it seems impossible to catch them. Hmm... Did those guys really nullify invisibility?”

Kijung expressed disappointment, but Bailephus praised Leeha’s judgment while also questioning the mana of the unknown individuals. Leeha, however, couldn’t be sure about that.

“It’s unlikely that invisibility was nullified. If they had nullified it, they would have asked, ‘Who are you?’ when I released the spell. The guy only sensed me to some extent, saying there was something unseen here. Definitely something... that’s how he put it.”

“Instinctively noticed my invisibility spell, huh?”

Bailephus merely nodded, and despite being an Ancient Dragon, his knowledge was limited when it came to the new continent.

Even with such a significant keyword mentioned, it was clear that he wouldn’t provide further hints.

“Is that really all, Ha Leeha-ssi?”

“What do you mean? Do you think I’m hiding something?”

“No, no. Just asking. Why so sensitive? It’s just a question.”

Chiyou chuckled. While looking at her face, Leeha suddenly noticed Shin Nara standing behind Chiyou.

Shin Nara briefly met Leeha’s gaze but quickly averted her eyes.

“Nara-ssi..”

Leeha felt frustrated by Shin Nara’s inexplicable behavior, but in this situation, there was nothing he could say.

Instead, someone else spoke up for him.

“Chiyou-nim, there’s no need to doubt Ha Leeha-nim’s words. This is a time for us to come together, so let’s avoid such remarks.”

“Huhut, Rubini-ssi seems to really like Leeha-ssi.”

“What are you talking about—”

“Just think about it, does Nara-ssi feel the same way?”

And Chiyou was waiting for that moment, the moment when Rubynee would step forward for Leeha.

‘Really, dislikable human. Do they think Nara-ssi would say anything just because they do? Whether they are an extraordinary enemy or something else hasn’t been revealed yet. But even if not, Chiyou, I really don’t like you—’

Leeha found it amusing to see Chiyou seeking Shin Nara’s opinion, especially when Chiyou had been thinking Leeha did nothing but despicable things.

“Well, if you guys like it, that’s fine. My mission is just to safely arrive on the new continent, so let’s focus on that for now, Chiyou-ssi.”

“What should we do, then, Chiyou-ssi?”

“Yes, yes, of course. So, how should we proceed?”

“Just a moment, Nara-ssi—”

“Buhit! What’s the big deal? Have we all forgotten how we got here?”

Even using all their skills, they wouldn’t make it in that time. Even with maximum effort, it would take at least two days.

Therefore, they planned to cover as much distance as possible before sunrise and strengthen their perimeter defenses afterward.

Then, when the sun set again, the plan was to make a final sprint and dock at the New Continent.

“Adjusted to the northeast! Now, just increase the speed,” reported Fernand with a determined expression to Alexander.

The leader of the New Continent Expeditionary Force nodded and met the eyes of each user gathered around.

“It’s the final stretch. With me here, there’s nothing to fear.”

The confidence of the number one-ranked player was not just arrogance, and now even the users knew that. Approaching this closely meant that even in the worst-case scenario, Alexander and Baileyphus might reach their destination!

It served as insurance against quest failure. Of course, no user wanted everyone to perish and only escape quest failure. Briefings for unforeseen situations had been prepared based on each person’s experience, and users were well-versed in coping strategies and situational scenarios.

There was no need to delay any further.

“Let’s go,” Alexander said.

There was no response from the members of the New Continent Expeditionary Force. They understood that there was no need to delay any further; their mighty ships were their tickets to the new continent.

“Full speed ahead!”

Therefore, Alexander’s command was simple.

The members of the expeditionary force did not respond. Perhaps they thought that the noise of their large ships should not reach the enemies’ ears.

A bit of excitement lingered, but more than that, there was a sense of determination. The users returned to their assigned ships.

All sails began to swell as the wind caught them.

It was when the sun had just dipped below the sea.

“Speed up!”

“Let’s go, speed up!”

Suddenly, two massive ships began to increase their speed in the darkened sea.

The sea was calm, but the users, even though they knew there was no enemy in the vicinity due to the thorough scouting by Druids, pets, and summons, couldn’t help but feel uneasy in the unexpectedly quiet environment.

‘Even if it’s known, they can’t appear this quickly. But it’s too quiet; it makes me uneasy.’

While cutting through the dark sea, a red light flashed on the deck.

Rubini had used her Area Mapping skill, revealing the vast map.

Despite being known, the sea remained calm without a hint of an enemy. This fact, while comforting, also raised concerns for Leeha.

“The sea creatures are the ones that make navigation challenging. This is precisely why Kraven designated the area just before sea creatures appeared as their territorial waters.”

In other words, the absence of sea creatures might be because the New Continent is indeed very close. There were three main assumptions for this phenomenon.

Firstly, the issue of depth. It was assumed that sea creatures might be active in shallower waters.

Secondly, salinity levels. Although it’s the sea, the difference between coastal and open sea waters is significant. Therefore, it was speculated that sea creatures may only be active in the central ocean areas, and not in the coastal waters adjacent to the continent.

And lastly, the third reason...

“...they systematically killed off the sea creatures as they appeared.”

Since these were monsters, it was natural that they would respawn after a certain amount of time. However, the possibility of such a setting couldn’t be ruled out.

While the ships were small, their basic maneuverability, based on sail power, was smoother than the sea creatures. The threatening appearance of the red goats that Leeha had observed also aligned with the assumption of such a setting.

“Their presence was substantial...”