372 - Gigantea Island

Jack stood on the quarterdeck of the Silent Mermaid. His eyes were fixed on the horizon.

The Fateless Gathering was over. But, the information it gave him stayed in his mind.

The news of the King becoming the Saint of Rage didn't matter for him. But the consequence, the risk of chaos that would result in innocent lives, was a heavy weight.

His mind worked with the cold efficiency of a machine. He considered teleporting back to Lonestone using his [Nine-Anchor Portal Ring]. But he quickly abandoned that thought.

He was a fateless being. He knew his presence in Lonestone would be a beacon for trouble.

If he went back, there would be a high chance that he would be recognized, even with the stealth power of his specter incarnation. His opponent would be a demigod or illuminated beings after all.

Worse yet, those he cared about might be caught in the crossfire. He would cause more trouble by returning back compared to by staying away.

Jack looked at the horizon to which the Silent Mermaid was traveling to. The Myriad Island Archipelago... He felt that this voyage might bring what he needed to reach the next stage of his power.

Illuminated level. He needed to step into that stage.

...

The voyage toward Gigantea Island was anything but a pleasure cruise. The Myriad Archipelago seemed to be protected by the sea itself.

Just a day after the gathering, they encountered the first trouble. The sky had quickly turned the color of an overly ripe plum. Indicating the upcoming storm.

Soon, the wind shrieked through the ghost-ship tattered rigging like a dying banshee. The sea waves crashed over the bow like falling mountains. Whipping the deck with torrential rain and gale-force winds.

However, the Silent Mermaid rode the waves and went with the raging wind with an incredible ease. It was not a common ship after all. It was a ghost ship that had fused its keel with the [Heart of the Ocean].

Jack and the other crew members were all in the deck. Safe and sound... warm and dry... They watched the storm outside from the transparent front wall of the main cabin.

They could see the sky that seemed to be torn apart, with black clouds churning like boiling oil. And they could observe the wild rain that lashed against the air in sheets of diagonal fury.

But still, the Silent Mermaid moved easily against the wind.

As a ghost ship, it didn't really depend on wind or mechanical engine for its navigation. Moving in a chaotic storm might be troublesome for other ships. For the Silent Mermaid, it was nothing.

The ghost vessel kept moving gracefully through the churning water. Weaving between the churning sea waves like a needle through cloth.

The storm kept hammering the ship's exterior. But the crew members were all inside. Safe and dry.

They easily survived that storm, and the two more storms that followed in quick succession.

The third storm was even greater than the two massive storm before. It was a monstrosity of lightning and cyclonic winds that threatened to lift the ship out of the water.

The lightning strikes were especially dangerous. The ghost ship wasn't equipped to face that element. Thus, the crew had to work hard to protect the ship.

Baroness Artheim and Leon worked together. Using their lightning-based magic to bleed the atmospheric tension away from the masts. Grounding the stray bolts into the sea before they could shatter the spectral wood.

Jack unleashed his spellcards... [Sanctuary Field], [Force Shield], and [Mirror Wards] at critical points where the stray lightning bolts ignored the two's atmospheric manipulation.

They managed to survive until the storm passed. But it wasn't as effortless as the previous two storms.

And then, just a couple of days before they reached their destination, the crew witnessed an incredible spectacle. It was something that silenced even the most talkative of them.

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In the distance, they saw two colossal entities rose from the depths. These two sea beasts were locked in a deadly battle.

One was a massive, armored killer whale. Its back was covered in jagged, obsidian-like plates.

The other was an abyssal horror. A mountain of thrashing black tentacles lined with razor-sharp teeth.

Every time the creatures slammed into each other, the impact generated shockwaves that sent twenty-meter surges across the water. The roar of the beasts echoed like thunder. Vibrating right through the timber of the ship.

Jack didn't hesitate. He quickly commanded the current navigator, Ned, to move away from the clash.

Fortunately, the Silent Mermaid had already activated its invisibility power. Both monstrous creatures didn't seem to be able to detect it.

The ship glided silently right past the catastrophic duel. Thanks to its speed and complete invisible cloaking, the sea monsters paid them no mind. Entirely unaware that a crew of humans had just passed within striking distance of their lethal struggle.

A couple of days later, the oppressive atmosphere of the open ocean began to lift. The sea air was now mixed with a strange, herbal scent. Bitter, fresh, and slightly sweet.

"Land ho!" Leon called from the crow's nest.

In the distance, the silhouette of Gigantea Island appeared. It wasn't a jagged rock or a sandy beach. It looked like a mountain of emerald green velvet.

"Moby! Drop the cloak." Jack ordered the current navigator to deactivate the invisibility that covered the ship.

Immediately, the Silent Mermaid shimmered. The invisible force that hid it from the mundane sight rippled. Then it disappeared. The ghost ship re-appeared.

It was a sleek, eerie ghost sloop. Its hull was made of a deep, weathered wood. Barnacles encrusted its rotten planks. Tattered, dark-midnight colored sails hung from its single mast. Swaying in a breeze that didn't exist.

Its mermaid figurehead seemed to be frozen in sorrowful wail. Parts of the hull, the deck, and the mast seemed to burn with a cold, silent purple flame. And soft white mist was spilling out from the gunwales. Pooling around the imaginary water line.

"Rune! Switch to the Ocean Wanderer disguise." Jack ordered.

The mechanical fairy's body instantly glowed with a bright purple color. The Silent Mermaid groaned as its ethereal, skeletal aesthetics shifted. The tattered sails turned into complete, white canvas.

The dark, spectral wood lightened into sturdy, lighter color. The mermaid figurehead turned into a smiling one. And the ship’s name on the hull rippled and reformed into: Ocean Wanderer.

To any observer, they were now just a common one-masted explorer's sloop. Perhaps a bit faster than average. But it was nothing that would attract the attention of most people.

As they drew closer, the scale of the island became apparent. The 'forest' they had seen from afar wasn't composed of trees in the traditional sense. They were... tea plants. But they were monstrous. The stalks were as thick as ancient redwoods, and the leaves were the size of small houses.

"It's incredible." Chloe whispered. Sparkle, her kirin cub, chirped in agreement from her shoulder.

"It's an interesting commodity." Jack said calmly. His practical nature overrode the beauty of the scenery.

Jack had heard about the island and its tea leaves. But seeing it in person was a different matter.

On this island, a single harvested tea leaf already possessed incredible mass and flavor standard. Trading ships would dock just to load one or two onto their cargo beds to sell to distant kingdoms.

Jack stood on the quarterdeck beside Baroness Artheim. She was studying a leather-bound journal.

"So?" Jack said as he looked at the island. "Are there any hidden ancient ruins or forgotten vaults on this place?"

The scholarly baroness looked up. Her sharp eyes scanned the green canopy ahead. "No, Captain. My records indicate no undiscovered subterranean tombs or forgotten ancient civilizations here. Gigantea Island is biologically abnormal, but historically quiet."

"So no hidden, unknown treasures." Jack noted bluntly. "What about known ones?"

"There is one." Baroness Artheim replied. A slight smile touched her lips. "The [Blue Tea Leaf]."

Reina, who had stepped up beside Jack, raised an eyebrow. "A leaf?"

"A leaf. But not just any leaf." The baroness explained. "Rarely, one of these massive tea trees will produce mutant leaves. The [Blue Tea Leaves]."

She looked at the gigantic tea leaves in the island and continued. "Unlike the giant green leaves that cover the island, the [Blue Tea Leaf] is small. Only about the size of an adult's palm. It glows with a faint, cobalt hue."

"And what does it do?" Jack asked.

"Luck." Baroness Artheim said simply. "Real, tangible luck. It is said that anyone who touches a Blue Tea Leaf will find their luck boosted significantly for at least a year afterward."

She looked at Jack. "In our line of work, Captain, luck is often more valuable than gold, isn't it?"

"However, the leaf can't be stored." She continued. "The moment a human hand touches it, the leaf dissolves into pure essence and enters the body. We cannot harvest it to sell. We can only consume it on the spot."

"A temporary buff to the luck stat, huh?" Jack muttered to himself. He liked the sound of that. In this crazy world, a luck boost could be a literal lifesaver.

...

They steered the ship toward a small cove where a collection of wooden huts stood on stilts. A wooden plank showed the name of the place... Teaworth Village.

The docks there were built of heavy timber. Reinforced to handle the weight of the island’s primary export.

Jack saw a simple crane hoisting a single, massive tea leaf onto a merchant vessel. The leaf was wrapped in treated burlap, but even so, it took four men to stabilize it.

Jack, Reina, and the baroness stepped onto the dock followed by the other crew. They immediately noticed that the air there was cool and humid.

They were met at the end of the dock by an elderly man with skin like cured leather. His eyes were deep green and his long hair was completely white. He wore a simple tunic made of woven fiber.

Jack used his [Eyes of Judgement] and appraised the man. This was the Village Chief. Chief Moreteh. A low level awakened transcendent being. A mystic shaman.

"Explorers!" The Chief said in his raspy voice. "You come for the greens or the blues?"