Chapter 84: No Land in Sight

Max stood in front of the iron door, his hand holding his sword, the Analyzer didn't show any anomaly. Although the [Field Energy Analyzer] detected no anomalous energy around the door, that didn't mean the room was empty. The artifact couldn't reveal what lay beyond it; Max would have to open the door to find out.

The room was locked with a medium-sized, rusted padlock, and Max intended to use force to break it. Taking a deep breath, he turned around toward the party, whose members currently stood scattered, with their weapons in hand, ready to attack if any monsters came out.

Shrink!

Max brought down his sword with Heavenly Cleave, and the lock was sliced in two without any issue. This surprised Max, as he had expected the sword would not be enough to break the lock and that he would need a key to open it. However, the lock was sliced like cake, and Max slid the latch. With little hesitation, he pushed open the door.

The interior of the room came into view, and upon seeing its contents, Max stood like a statue.

"What the hell is that?" Isabelle, who stood directly by the door, exclaimed as she saw what was inside through the gap.

"What do you see?" asked Helene, who was standing away from the doorway.

"I think it's just water," Isabelle said, relaxing from her battle posture.

"What do you mean, water?" Confused by the answer, Helene quickly walked toward the door to see what Isabelle meant. The others also walked toward the door, and Paula, who stood next to Isabelle, saw what the room contained and was greatly confused.

Everyone gathered in front of the room and looked at what was inside. What they saw was just water or rather, the door opened onto another terrain, and it was not an island but a vast expanse of water. As far as their eyes could see, there was nothing but water. If they entered the doorway, they would be dropped directly into ocean-like water and would have to swim. However, they did not know where they were supposed to swim.

"What is this supposed to mean?" Isabelle said. "Max, didn't you say we would get some miracle weapon that would defeat the monster?"

Max heard Isabelle but could say nothing, standing there in silence. He took two steps to the side and looked at the broken room where the supposed monster lived. The room looked very normal; it was not a portal that led somewhere similar to the other one.

What is this bullshit Dungeon! Max cursed inwardly. It made no sense. A Dungeon was supposed to behave like a Dungeon, with monsters infesting it and adventurers like them conquering it, instead of being a place where there was no clue about anything.

"Something is coming toward us from the water, and it's fast," Marlak whispered suddenly, gazing toward the left side of the structure.

"What?" Max followed Marlak's gaze to see what it was, but he could see nothing.

"It's fast!" Marlak shouted in a panic.

"Everyone, enter the room. Now!" Max screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing throughout the island. However, no one listened to him and followed, as they all simply stood in confusion. Shell-shocked by their behavior, Max panicked and pushed Isabelle into the room.

"Quick!" Marlak said as he jumped into the ocean-like water beyond the doorway, abandoning Max.

"Something is coming! Jump now!" Max urgently pushed everyone through the doorway and closed the door behind them before jumping into the water without even daring to look at what kind of thing was chasing them. As Max's hand left the door, he felt a powerful impact slam against it. As soon as Max resurfaced, he looked at the door, but there was no door. It had disappeared, just like the one in the hall earlier.

"Marlak?" Max called out.

"Yes, I am here," Marlak said, jumping onto Max's head and coming out of invisibility.

"Max, what was that? Was it a monster?" Paula asked.

"Marlak, explain!" Max didn't know either. The frog had said something was coming toward them, but he had yet to find out what it was.

"Yes, it was a monster, and it was too powerful for any of you to face," Marlak explained.

"Was it more powerful than the one we faced in Hall 2?" Helene asked.

"Yes, but it was multiple levels stronger than the Hall 2 monster," Marlak said, and the place fell silent. The Hall 2 monster was considered too strong for them, and now another monster was even more powerful than that. What kind of Hidden Dungeon had they gotten into?

"Max, what should we do now? We can't stay in the water forever. What if some sea creature comes for us?" Paula said.

A pirate site took this chapter from its author's official page. The writer, not the site, deserves your attention.

Max looked around, and as far as he could see, there was nothing but water. He currently didn't know whether this was Hidden Dungeon Stage 4 or if they were still in Stage 3. Logically speaking, the island must be Stage 3, where the third Boss monster resided, and they were supposed to defeat it. However, they hadn't done so and had instead walked into somewhere else, so he could make nothing of this development.

Max quickly swam away from the group, took out his iStorage, and activated it. He did not know what kind of water this was, whether it was a lake or an ocean, or whether creatures lived in these waters. Since they could not see any land from where they were, they could not swim blindly in any direction in the hope of finding land.

Fortunately, he had his iStorage to help him. Once the slots appeared, he quickly selected slot number 22. The slot icon looked like a boat, though Max did not know what kind of boat it was. When he had checked things in his room a few days earlier, he had been unable to bring them out, and examine them because some of the icons represented seemingly strange, enormous things. Thus, one of the things he had failed to check was the boat-like icon in slot number 22.

Now that they were stuck here, he had no choice but to bring the item out. Hopefully, it was a big boat that everyone could occupy. If it was a single-person boat, they were doomed in this place. They would not survive; even if monsters didn't kill them, they would freeze to death because the water was too cold. Once their Mana was depleted, it would be over for them.

Max selected the slot and brought the item out.

Splash!

The item dropped out of nowhere with a big splash, and Max was dumbfounded by the sheer size of the thing he had called a boat. It was not a mere boat but an otherworldly Artifact. Although Max was not familiar with water travel in his world, he believed the technology to be advanced, since trade was conducted not only between Kingdoms but also with the other two continents separated from the [Brassicaceae] Continent. Therefore, their alchemical technology had to be advanced enough to facilitate intercontinental travel. However, looking at the Artifact that belonged to the Republic of One World, Max was thoroughly shocked.

[Oceanic Patrol Craft]

Type: Maritime Transport

Grade: Epic

Description: An advanced maritime vessel from the Republic of One World Military, designed for long-distance travel across open waters. It features a high-speed propulsion system, an enclosed passenger cabin, automated navigation assistance, and an integrated weapons system equipped with plasma cannons and automated defensive turrets. It can accommodate up to eight occupants.It requires a Grade-2 Energy Cell.

The first thing Max was happy about was its size. Just by looking at it, he could guess that it could accommodate everyone, and the details also showed that it could accommodate up to eight people.

"It's good. I never knew you had this kind of Artifact with you," Marlak said, looking at the boat with awe and surprise.

"Hahaha! Don't underestimate me. Remember, I am the one who freed you," Max boasted after hearing Marlak's surprised tone.

Max quickly swam to the boat and searched for a door to board it, but the boat appeared completely locked, with no clue as to where the entrance was. He had to figure it out himself, just as he had figured out how to operate other Artifacts earlier. It did not take long for him to find a symbol that resembled a palm.

Max placed his palm on that spot, and suddenly, the boat activated with a chime, while neon lights flared around it, similar to how the iStorage activated. Once it was successfully linked to his Mana Signature, the boat became his, and soon the door opened, revealing the interior.

"Everyone, let's board my Oceanic Boat," Max called out to everyone, who looked shell-shocked by the sudden appearance of the boat.

"Max, what is this?" Isabelle asked in great panic. They were in the middle of the water, with no land in sight. Now, seeing the big boat, she felt both shocked and happy.

"It's my boat. Now, everyone, get inside before something devours us whole," Max urged everyone to enter.

Everyone came out of their shock and quickly boarded the boat. Max entered last, and as soon as he stepped inside, the whole boat lit up as screens came alive with different details. The center of the boat was occupied by three seats on either side, with two more seats positioned at the front center for the drivers.

Max quickly sat in one of the driver's seats, where numerous buttons blinked and screens displayed details. Not knowing how to operate it, Max quickly searched for the "automated navigation assistance" option mentioned in the description. He could not figure everything out immediately, as he needed time to learn how to use it. However, they first needed to find land or shelter. Although the boat was big, he could not guess what kind of monsters inhabited these waters, so their first priority was to move toward land.

He searched through the plethora of buttons for the option. The only good thing he could think of was that the screens displayed the language he spoke. If they had displayed the language of the world the boat came from, they would have been doomed, as it would have taken a day to figure out what was what. Fortunately, he could understand the language, and he quickly found a button labeled "Auto Pilot." He pressed it, and soon, more options appeared on one of the screens:

Enter the coordinates of the destination

Enter the name of the destination

Scan and navigate to the nearest landmass

Max quickly read the options and selected the obvious third one, feeling great joy in his heart. This Artifact had an option to search for land. What a great Artifact! he exclaimed. As he relished the joy, the screen began scanning for land. Everyone curiously stood behind Max, watching him press the strange controls and looking at the other buttons and screens in confusion.

Soon, the scan completed, and the screen began beeping at a particular location, displaying options to confirm the selection or search again. Max pressed Confirm without a second thought. He was greatly relieved that it had successfully found land, and he wanted to go there rather than search again.

Once he confirmed the selection, the boat activated a few more lights and screens and began moving from its location. The screen displayed a line connecting the small boat icon to the marked land.

The entire boat was currently operating on his Mana. Surprisingly, the consumption was very low compared to that of Ranged Weapons, which consumed a lot of Mana. Still, he believed that accessing the weapons on the boat would require the same or grater amount of Mana. He could only hope they wouldn't face any obstacles along the way.