Chapter 145
Chapter 145. One Who Walks Within an Eternal Dream
What must be clearly distinguished is the difference between a storm and a typhoon.
What spread out before Yul’s eyes now was closer to a gigantic typhoon.
Enormous clouds, as if the will of nature itself had taken form, blanketed the Archipelago Ocean.
“Over there!”
Rather than flying by riding the waves and wind, they flew above the typhoon and entered its eye.
A vast surge of magic could be felt.
‘It’s the Kraken.’
At the very center of the massive typhoon, he spotted a ship locked in a desperate struggle. A Wing Vessel.
‘That’s insane skill.’
He didn’t know who was piloting the Wing Vessel, but they had just barely evaded a Kraken’s tentacle by a hair’s breadth.
“I-it has already been over two weeks since I drifted away.”
If they had been under constant attack for two full weeks, it would have been a miracle to still be alive. But that didn’t seem to be the case.
From afar, he could see the crew moving briskly. If they had been attacked nonstop, they wouldn’t have been able to preserve that level of stamina.
It looked like they had hidden on some island to evade one round of attacks. But they must have been discovered and were now fleeing.
‘What does it want?’
The Kraken clearly had a purpose. Attacking Arurion’s ship to this extent went beyond simple hostility.
‘It’s clinging on obsessively because it wants something.’
Thinking about it, the Kraken had been attacking sea elves continuously. This time, it seemed especially severe.
“That’s the boatswain currently evading the attacks!”
An astonishing level of seamanship. Or perhaps the Wing Vessel itself possessed absurd performance.
At that moment, Yul spotted the Kraken preparing a new attack.
This was different from when it had lashed out with its limbs to smash the ship.
Suddenly, the sea began to swell like a towering mountain. This wasn’t just a difference in wave height.
As its form emerged, there was nothing to say but that it was overwhelming.
The Kraken’s true body revealed itself. It ‘leapt’.
That such a colossal creature could jump was unbelievable. Everyone present must have thought so.
No matter how fast the Wing Vessel was, compared to the Kraken’s massive body—stretching several kilometers—it was nothing more than small prey.
Yul sharply descended and sent Sildoren toward the Wing Vessel.
Keeping his gaze fixed, Yul confirmed that Sildoren had landed safely on the Wing Vessel, then moved toward the airborne Kraken.
Even if he tried a body slam, it didn’t seem like he could deflect the trajectory of something with that much mass.
-Hey, Kraken.
-……!?
-Nice to see you again!
Wasn’t this a perfect situation to fire the UV Thermal Gun?
-YOOOU BASTAAARD!
-That leg I ate last time was delicious!!!!!!
The medium-output UV Thermal Gun, charged over a short time, fired.
-KRAAAAAAAH!
As the beam struck its main body and began to scorch its flesh, the creature curled itself up midair, lifting its legs to shield its torso.
Thanks to that, the Wing Vessel below was able to escape the encirclement.
The UV Thermal Gun continued firing until the monster fell back into the sea.
The prolonged firing left the magic circuits warm to the touch. Being only medium-output, the UV Thermal Gun couldn’t completely eliminate it.
Instead, the Kraken shielded itself with its legs, and those regenerated limbs burned less than before. It seemed the new legs had developed resistance to the thermal beam.
Protecting its head, the Kraken fell back into the sea in a grotesque manner.
Buried deep underwater, the Kraken sent out a magic signal.
-This isn’t even your territory, so why are you butting in!!
-No reason. I saw you and felt like hitting you.
-You thug-like bastard!
Yul stood loftily in midair, looking down below.
It’s not Eul-Yong Ta, it’s Yul-Yong Ta!
Holding a chain-linked inverted triangular weight, Yul spun it around in the air.
-Come on, try me.
-Come down here. I’ll tear you apart.
Yul descended slowly as he asked,
-Why are you attacking the sea elves? I’m curious.
-As if I’d tell you.
-Then I’ll beat it out of you!
He spun the Divine Light Spire and drove it straight down into the sea.
A tentacle surging upward was struck by the Divine Light Spire and torn nearly in half.
Feeling the numbing impact, the Kraken withdrew its tentacle. Yul noted that it regenerated almost instantly.
-Looks like you powered up in the meantime? What’s with that regeneration? Where’d you get it?
-That’s none of your business.
-You’ve gained resistance to beams, too, haven’t you?
Instead of answering, the creature began hurling enormous rocks torn from the seabed.
Yul dodged the boulders with an infuriatingly casual posture.
‘And yet it can’t use mantras. Just what is this creature’s identity?’
A Kraken of monstrous size. Before, it had only been huge, but now it was covered in new abilities.
Given its terrifying growth rate, it was impossible to tell where it had been or what it had been doing.
‘It’s obsessively fixated on sea elves. This time, the primary target seems to be Arurion.’
Yul glanced toward the Wing Vessel. By now, Sildoren was likely conveying Yul’s words.
-They won't be able to escape anyway.
-What?
-Siren pirates will arrive within the storm.
Just as he said, pirates dyed blue by the storm appeared.
‘They really exist?’
The pirate crew from within the storm that Largo Faegan had spoken of. They were real. They suddenly popped up from beneath the waves. To think there were ships capable of submerging.
-Come beneath the sea.
-Why should I? You come up.
-Are you afraid? Scared you’ll lose if we fight underwater?
-Yup, I’m totally scaw-ed~
Yul rose upward.
Yul was someone who had even tried to catch the larger Sea Horror Mother Nest. He wasn't at a level where he couldn't handle the Kraken.
But right now, the Wing Vessel mattered more.
-Aren’t you anxious that what you’ve been targeting this whole time might get taken away?
Yul raised the UV Thermal Gun and fired at medium output.
He wasn’t aiming at the Kraken beneath the sea. He fired at the siren pirate ship attacking the Wing Vessel.
One siren pirate ship within the firing radius went up in flames, billowing black smoke.
Burning sirens leapt from the ship into the sea.
-Filthy Deep King Tribe! Cowardly Deep King Tribe!
-I’m taking that ship, got it?
Ignoring the Kraken, Yul moved directly onto the Wing Vessel and activated the Sea-Sync Demon Eye.
He directed all his power toward altering the ocean currents. He dissolved the counter-current ahead and changed the water beneath the Wing Vessel into a linear current.
Looking down, he saw that the crew, apparently properly briefed by Sildoren, were observing carefully rather than attacking.
Within the storm, the siren pirates thrashed desperately as they failed to catch up to the Wing Vessel, which had begun accelerating at an absurd rate.
‘What are those guys?’
Yul manipulated the waves within the typhoon and quickly moved beyond its influence.
‘Typhoon, Siren Pirates, Kraken, and Arurion……’
There was still some connection he didn’t yet understand.
The artificial current Yul had created was so violent that any regular sailing ship would have been destroyed if it tried to enter, yet the wingship of Arurion remained perfectly intact amid the raging waters.
Partly, it was due to the wingship’s abnormally strong durability, and partly because the pilot was extraordinary.
Personally, Yul wanted to meet the first mate of the wingship.
From what Yul had seen, no one he had met before had piloting skills that came close.
Once beyond the typhoon, Yul transformed into human form and descended. As he approached in full attire, the crew who had gathered waiting bowed politely the moment he landed.
“Thank you for your help.”
“So, you are the first mate.”
“I am Ellarion, first mate assisting Lord Arurion.”
A man with a graceful build appeared, his strikingly handsome face framed by long teal hair tied neatly upward.
He wore flowing sea elf-style robes, with a fitted black shirt underneath that reached his neck.
“Your piloting was incredible. Very impressive.”
“Thank you.”
Judging by the conversation, he was the strict, by-the-book type of officer.
Efficient in his duties, answering with only what was necessary, otherwise quiet and reserved.
“Thank you for your help.”
“I received a great gift from Arurion, so I am simply helping him in return. I would like to meet him.”
“……The captain has not yet awakened.”
“Let me at least see his face.”
Yul first went to the captain’s room and confirmed he was in a coma. There were no obvious external injuries.
“Explain in detail. I only heard that he was injured after the Heaven and Earth Resonance.”
Though reserved, Ellarion spoke at length when necessary.
“Before the Heaven and Earth Resonance occurred, we urgently evacuated to the Island of Boundaries. So, we were able to endure its influence to some extent. The Captain also only suffered minor injuries.”
“Then why is he in a coma?”
“After a minor skull contusion, he fell asleep one day and has remained in this state ever since. We kept traveling south hoping the Healing Spring would be of help.”
“Why was the Kraken chasing you?”
“He said he wanted the Eternal Dream. And he tried to obtain it by devouring the Captain.”
“The Eternal Dream?”
“It seems…… to be the state the Captain is currently in.”
“Hmm. In times like this, one must call an expert.”
Yul hesitated over which expert to call, then picked up a small seashell. It was the Kaiman summoning device that Kaiman had given him earlier. Using it, he summoned Kaiman.
On the Island of the Brown Sage, one must pay a price to seek a sage’s advice, but Kaiman’s advice comes for free.
From afar, Kaiman, covered in what looked like black rags, slid across the surface of the water and appeared.
-What are you talking about! Why am I free when you’re deducting Karma?!
-Never mind.
-Grrr! Why did you summon me!
-I don’t know why the sea elf prince has fallen into a coma.
As Kaiman stepped onto the deck, the sea elves murmured nervously.
Judging by their reaction, his presence was intimidating.
“Quiet! Yul, is this him?”
Yul nodded, and Kaiman cautiously led him to Arurion’s bed.
Inside the room, Arurion Phantarey slept silently, his breathing calm.
Kaiman quickly drew a conclusion.
-It seems he has received a calling from something in the dream world.
“A calling?”
-Yes. It seems his mind has gone to that world after receiving a calling from a divine being. If I explain in detail, the story will be long. So, bring some Silvermoon Tea.
“Sorry, we don’t have one aboard. We discarded all trade goods to lighten the ship after the battle with the Kraken.”
-……You fought the Kraken? What happened?
“Well. It was closer to that side chasing us unilaterally.”
Kaiman, the first mate, and Yul sat at a table, sending the rest of the crew away.
-I’ll state it clearly first. Did you say Arurion Phantarey? If he continues like this, his physical functions will gradually deteriorate and he will slowly die.
“How long?”
-At most, a week.
Ellarion’s face stiffened at the calm sentence of death.
“Is there no solution?”
-He must be brought back from that world. His physical body must be maintained while bringing him back. The best thing is to submerge him in the Healing Spring, and I can make similar equipment for about 50,000 Karma.
“Ah. I know the location of the Healing Spring.”
“You know!?”
Ellarion was surprised, and Kaiman clicked his tongue.
-Then what is needed is a way to call back his mind.
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(T/N): Eul-Yong Ta - the nickname for a famous incident in 2003 when South Korean footballer Lee Eul-yong slapped Chinese player Li Yi during a heated match. It literally means “Eul-yong Strike” (from his name + the Hanja word 打, meaning “strike”). It’s remembered as a legendary slap turned internet phenomenon in East Asian football culture.