In the calm, bright river, the small ship swayed left and right very gently as if it was dancing on the blue water. Meanwhile, not that far away from it, the wind was whistling violently. In a sense, the river seems completely detached from the environment around it as if it has its own set of rules it goes by.
No wind or rain could disturb the sacred river as it remained completely pure and touched. On this river and inside the small ship, the squad rested quietly.
It had been almost an hour since they walked inside and the exhaustion had led them all to sleep, except for Arthur. The swaying of the ship felt like a gentle mother comforting them into a long, blissful sleep.
Arthur spent that entire time simply staring at his message menu. His expression was calm but his mind was deep into its own world, thinking about everything he experienced so far. He had been contemplating whether he should reply or not and the more he thought about it the more he felt hesitant.
“I should… I shouldn’t… I should… I shouldn’t…” He muttered to himself as he tapped his finger on the wood rhythmically. Time passed very quickly for him and he eventually exhaled and closed the menu, trying to get all the bugging thoughts out of his mind.
“I’m such a coward, man.” He hit his head against the wood slightly as he closed his eyes. “I should make up my mind already but… Why is it so hard?”
The more time passed in that state the more Arthur got frustrated over it. He really wished it was a simple step to move on or fix this problem but he lacked the experience to truly take that step with confidence. Uncertainty plagued his mind and he can’t do much about it until he sees Isla again.
‘I still have a long trip to get back so I have to be patient.’ He thought to himself.
*CREAK*
As if the ship heard him, it made a creaking sound in response, tilting slightly back and forth. ‘Hmm, it seems this ship is really not as sturdy as I expected. The river is completely calm and it is still making noises.’
Looking all around him, Arthur could see the visible cracks, mold, and other imperfections in the frame of the ship. However, the degree of damage wasn’t bad enough to abandon the entire thing. They didn’t have the luxury of choosing their vessel.
As he was like that, Arthur got a little curious. So, he stood up and walked to the door. ‘I want to take a closer look at the water, it’s by far the most interesting detail about this river. That abnormal bright blue color should have a reason.’
The thick mana in the atmosphere was also very suspicious and he had many questions in mind. Slowly, he opened the door and walked outside before he closed it again. Immediately, the wind welcomed him with a good slap, snapping him completely into reality again.
Covering his face, he walked slowly toward the edge of the deck and peeked outside. The magical scene of the blue water captured his gaze immediately and swept his mind away. It was simply breathtaking how beautiful it was.
Standing there for a good few minutes, Arthur simply admired the river, basking in its divine atmosphere. He felt an odd yet satisfying connection with it as the mana flowed through his skin, feeling cold yet pleasant.
‘The mana here feels really weird. I don’t know why but it feels a lot more pure than normal mana. I can feel it helping me heal a little faster.’ He mused.
Although Arhtur’s body wasn’t completely absorbing the mana, it was still quite pleasant to his injured and tired body, like a cold drink on a hot day. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire
As he was like that, Arthur had a rather weird idea. ‘What if… I go for a swim?’ He asked himself. ‘This water looks too good not to go for a swim…’
The urge to simply dive in the river grew very quickly in his head. Arthur didn’t find it off as he was too occupied with how good it looked and how fun it will be to just swim in there. Even in this brutally cold weather.
So, in a matter of seconds, Arthur found himself leaning forward over the edge, staring dazedly at the river.
‘Just a few minutes and I can swim back. We are still at the port so nothing will harm me.’ He kept adding more and more reasons for him to do what he wanted to do. Slowly, his hand moved to his shirt and started unbuttoning it.
After that, he threw it to the side, leaving himself completely bare-chested in the cold. He even threw his Shattered Skull Armor Set as he felt like he didn’t need it. After that, Arthur jumped on top of the rails and got ready to leap into the water.
During all of that, Arthur’s eyes didn’t leave the blue water as if there was nothing else in the world to look at.
“Let’s have a swim.” He muttered before he tilted forward to jump. However, at that moment, he suddenly felt a hand grab his arm tightly. The sudden action snapped him out of his daze and he looked to the side.
“What the hell are you doing, Arthur?” Deka asked with a deep frown. “Why are you about to dive into the river?”
“Huh?” The question made Arthur blink before he looked down at himself and realized that he was naked from the waist up. “Why am I… What?”
“…” Deka stared at the confused boy silently. “Were you not aware of what you’re doing? If you jumped into that water, you would’ve been dead.”
Then, she slowly pulled him down.
“I…”
‘What the hell happened? I lost track of things for a few seconds and then I snap back into reality and I’m about to dive into the water?’ Arthur rubbed the back of his head confusedly. The feeling he experienced was perhaps the weirdest of his entire life. He felt like he was conscious but also completely disconnected at the same time.
‘Was that doing of the river itself? Did it just make me hallucinate into diving into the water?’
When that realization suddenly hit Arthur, he stopped and looked at the water again with wide eyes. A horrifying feeling filled his heart. If his suspicion was right then there was something extremely wrong with the river… Something that wanted to pull him down there.
That reminded Arthur of the giant and the lake. That darkness of the lake had a similar feeling albeit it immediately struck horror into his heart and didn’t try to ease him into relaxing and putting down his guard.
“Just don’t even dare to think about it, ok? The river has too many monsters lurking in it to go down swimming. Even if it appears as if the water is clear and there is nothing down there, they will emerge out of nowhere and catch you.” Deka explained.
“Yeah… You’re right. I won’t do it again.” Arthur said as he wore his shirt again and put his armor on. His mind was still bugged by what he experienced.
“Are you coming back inside or not?” Deka asked again as she turned around to leave.
“I’m after you, ehem.”
With that, the two walked back to the storage room. But, before he closed the door, Arthur stared at the river one more time before he turned away. ‘I need to keep this in mind, it’s not normal at all.’
Arthur wasn’t foolish enough to think it was just his intrusive thoughts that made him do that. He wasn’t going to let this river get him.
***
A few hours passed quietly after that with nothing major happening. The group took all the time they had to rest and recharge their batteries before the trip ahead. It wasn’t enough for them to make a full recovery but it was enough for them to regain a lot of the energy they had lost in the past few days.
Then, by dawn, Deka woke them all up and immediately started work. First, the mercenaries thoroughly checked the ship’s condition and whether it was eligible for sailing. They cannot afford it to break down in the middle of the trip and leave them stranded in the river.
Luckily, the ship was still in good condition with most of its body parts intact and ready to take on the water. Then, the group prepared all the necessary things for the ship to start moving. It solely relied on the wind to move using the large sails.
After that, they had a small breakfast for energy.
“Is everyone ready?” Deka asked.
“Yes. We are ready to sail now.”
“Cut the rope then! We’re sailing!”
Saying that, the thick rope strapping the ship to the port was severed and the vessel immediately started moving, being carried by the strong wind down the river stream.
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!