That blue whale hadn't done anything to harm them.
The ship continued sailing forward, leaving it behind. After about three more days, a small island appeared ahead of the group.
It was an island of several hundred thousand square meters—like the only patch of green in the vast sea, conspicuously lush and eye-catching, seemingly inviting people to come explore.
The scenery on the island was beautiful; there was even a grove of coconut trees growing at the top.
But no one on board was fooled by its appearance.
"...What is that..." Maro stared at the so-called "island," eyes wide.
He tried using his aura to see beyond the surface, but nothing unusual showed up.
Only his instincts screamed—stay away from that island.
"...Probably some kind of special marine creature," Cyr half-squinted at the island.
Or rather… at the massive beast beneath it.
That "island" was nothing more than the upper portion of the creature's back.
The rest of its enormous body was submerged under the sea.
But even just that exposed section was already larger than their entire ship.
Island whale? That wasn't just some fantastical mythical creature... Oh, right—this was the Hunter world, full of non-human creatures and strange abilities.
Even Chimera Ants didn't exist in his original world.
With such an enormous size, it naturally had a strong life force. Its attack power might not be particularly high...
He could probably kill it—but there was no point. It was too big, too tough. One hit wouldn't be enough.
Creatures this large didn't need flashy attack skills. Just a casual charge could be fatal to anything smaller and weaker.
So for Cyr, this thing wasn't all that dangerous—but definitely annoying.
It fit the definition of a tank: tough skin, thick blood, low DPS.
Cyr didn't enjoy fighting these types of monsters.
He preferred battles that went both ways—where offense and defense were evenly matched. That was where the fun was.
"Avoid it," Cyr ordered calmly.
The ship veered to go around the island. But just as they sailed parallel to it, the island began to sink.
As it did, the surrounding sea started to churn. In the blink of an eye, the floating "island" vanished beneath the surface—and a massive whirlpool, several kilometers wide, formed in its place.
The vortex created a suction force so powerful that everything nearby began to get pulled in.
That included Cyr and the others' ship.
The current grabbed the vessel, spinning it, tilting it, nearly standing it on end.
"Blue."
Two forces—one from the whirlpool, one from Blue—collided. Just before the ship was about to be dragged into the center, it vanished from the area with a swoosh.
A moment later, the ship reappeared on a calm stretch of sea in the distance.
"...If someone weaker had been in our place, this would've ended in a shipwreck," Cyr commented, glancing behind them where the whirlpool still raged.
Did the creature attack them? No. It just moved—dived underwater.
And yet, even that simple movement could easily kill countless people.
The danger of traveling to the Dark Continent mostly came from exactly this kind of thing: fatal events caused not by hostility, but by the casual actions of powerful beasts.
"Island whale, huh..." Cyr muttered, a little wistfully.
He actually kind of wanted to keep it as a pet—but it was way too big. Nowhere to house it.
And besides, that kind of creature probably couldn't survive out of water anyway.
There was a big difference between Blue teleporting people and teleporting an entire massive ship—doing the latter cost far more aura.
Plus, during that instantaneous teleportation, the ship might take some damage…
Cyr glanced down at the slightly bent deck, sighed, and gave it a stomp—pressing it back into place.
"Close enough. Should still be usable. If it breaks, we'll deal with it then."
"How many monsters live in this place...?" Maro took a deep breath and clenched his fists.
The creatures they'd encountered on the journey so far—if it had been just him, he might've died in an instant.
And yet… this was just the road to the destination.
According to other's words, the creatures living on the Dark Continent were only going to be even stronger.
At that time… would he really not be a burden?
"There are probably only a few dozen strong ones," Cyr said after sensing the surroundings.
Within the range of the Six Eyes, the waters were densely packed with living beings. It looked like a sea of heat signatures when sensed, but the number of powerful individuals among them was quite limited—and they were all spaced far apart.
It was as if… each one had carved out its own territory, and none interfered with the others.
"Still, the place we're going to likely has more than just a few dozen," Cyr said, rubbing his chin.
At least thousands—maybe tens of thousands—of strange and exotic creatures. Or more.
After all… it was a region even more vast than where humans currently lived.
Even Meteor City had a population in the tens of millions. Who knew, maybe the Dark Continent housed hundreds of millions of fantastical species.
Cyr found himself increasingly excited for what lay ahead.
The longer they waited, the more his curiosity burned.
The ship continued sailing across the sea for over half a month.
To conserve resources, the three ants had to forage for their own food and water. Still, the voyage consumed plenty of supplies.
Mainly because Cyr insisted on eating three meals a day without fail—and sometimes added an afternoon snack, depending on his mood. Sora would eat with him too.
Their appetites were monstrous—genuine, bottomless pits.
The food was manageable, but the freshwater supply had nearly run out.
There hadn't been any rain along the way, so they couldn't collect any.
Currently, all their water came from Maro's ability.
He condensed water vapor into ice, and when it melted, they had usable water.
Finally being useful gave Maro some peace of mind.
"Should've packed more fruit…" Cyr sighed from his lounge chair.
He could scarf down thirty apples in one sitting. They hadn't really prepared much fruit or vegetables; Storage Curse's internal storage was almost entirely filled with various meats or high-calorie snacks like chips and chocolate, for emergencies.
When all four of his Six Eyes were active, he'd snack constantly. It worked well enough.
But after eating so much of the same stuff, sometimes you just wanted something fresh—like leafy greens or mildly sweet vegetables.
"Why can't I see the end of this path yet…" Cyr grumbled impatiently.
With such a long journey, the survival rate for ordinary people would plummet even more.
Suddenly, from a distance, he caught sight of a figure—and immediately stood up.
"What's that…"
"—An Azure Dragon?"
Scales covering its body, antler-like horns, long whiskers, four claws…
Its body stretched over a hundred meters, coiling and twisting gracefully through the sea. Waves several dozen meters high were mere playthings to it.
Unlike the flying dragons from the Zoldyck family, this one matched Cyr's idea of a true dragon.
It looked exactly like the illustrations of the Eastern Azure Dragon.
And in an instant, one overwhelming thought consumed Cyr's mind—I want to raise it!
After all, he already had a White Tiger. If he could get an Azure Dragon too...
He might even collect all four of the Sacred Beasts someday!
°°°
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