Chapter 136

While they were eating lunch, various conversations went back and forth around the table. By the time the meal was nearing its end, everyone had reached their own conclusions.

After some thought, Cindy spoke.

“Hmm… yeah, I think I’ll pass. It’d be better if I didn’t get involved in this.”

It didn’t seem easy to turn the excavation of the ruins into a business opportunity. The reason for that conclusion was simple.

First of all, the timing was a bit late.

Elus was a port city located quite far from the Demon Realm. If the rumors had spread all the way here, there was a high chance that other merchants had already claimed the profitable opportunities.

Of course, if she truly wanted to, she could still enter as a latecomer and push aside the competition…

“But I don’t really feel like going that far. Working with stubborn mages would probably lead to plenty of annoying situations.”

In times like this, it seemed more comfortable to simply watch from a distance. That was the conclusion Cindy reached.

Claire thought much the same.

“I don’t really want to participate in the excavation either. I already have a mountain of work to deal with.”

Claire was busy conducting research on fairy bloodlines. She was curious about the ruins, but she didn’t have the luxury of letting her attention drift in that direction.

So the daily lives of the people here would likely remain unchanged.

“Alright, I should get going.”

After roughly chewing and swallowing the fruit pie that had been served as dessert, Woojin set down his spoon.

Arwen spoke to him.

“Are you heading out for work?”

“Yeah. It’ll take a while before I get back.”

Recently he had picked up something that was both a side job and a hobby. Since they had spent quite some time chatting, it had gotten late. Woojin hurried a bit as he prepared to go out.

“See you later.”

“Travel safely.”

Leaving the group’s farewell behind him, Woojin grabbed his travel bag and stepped outside the mansion.

He ran lightly along the coastline as if jogging. The scenery around him was quite pleasant. A clear sky without a single cloud and a sea rolling in gentle waves. The cries of seagulls echoed from time to time.

It was perfect weather for sailing.

After arriving at the harbor, Woojin purchased a few supplies and then headed straight for the dock.

‘It’s been staying put nicely.’

He looked over the ship anchored there. It was a fine small sailing vessel. At the bow was a carved figure that resembled a beetle.

It was one of the sailing ships owned by Cindy’s merchant company. Recently, Woojin had received its ownership.

‘I only asked to borrow a suitable ship… and she went and put it entirely under my name.’

Cindy was truly generous.

Feeling that once again, Woojin carefully climbed aboard the ship. Then he pulled the rope connected to the seabed and hauled up the anchor.

Woojin prepared the ship to depart alone. Thanks to learning how to handle a ship through his recent interactions with Jonathan, he could now operate a sailing vessel fairly smoothly even without help.

Of course, for a single beginner to operate such a ship would normally be extremely difficult…

But Woojin had several tricks.

“Pes, Katus.”

Responding to his murmur, particles of white light appeared in the air. The light slowly swirled together in one place, forming a glowing mass shaped like a human hand.

The hand floated through the air, untied the ropes, and spread open the furled triangular sail.

‘Cat’s Hand.’

It was a spell named after the saying about wanting even a cat’s paw when you’re desperate for help. A spell that created a third hand to assist with everyday tasks.

Originally, it had been a spell he couldn’t use, but recently he had learned it through tutoring from Claire.

‘She said she improved the spell to make it easier to use.’

Claire had modified the original Cat’s Hand spell so it could be used more easily and efficiently. They were improved spells containing her own know-how.

When Arwen began learning and using those spells one by one, Woojin felt a bit envious and ended up starting to study magic as well.

Learning spells was a tedious task… but it wasn’t without results.

“Glomus, Venti.”

A favorable wind spell.

A fierce wind swirled through the air. Like a tangled ball of thread, the gust slowly unraveled, pushing against the sail and sending the ship steadily forward.

Woojin turned the helm so that the bow faced north. Then he rummaged through his bag and took out a book.

Since there was nothing to do until he reached his destination, he planned to spend the time studying spells.

‘Ugh… I can’t believe I’m doing this again.’

Woojin grumbled inwardly. Studying magic was tedious. Still, with the experience he had accumulated, it was far easier than before.

In the past, Claire would have had to explain everything step by step beside him before he could barely understand. Now, even studying alone, he could grasp about seventy percent of it.

As he studied spells for quite a while…

He suddenly felt something familiar.

‘The smell of the seawater seems different.’

The sea surrounding the Demon Realm had been corrupted by the Rift Core, giving it a bleak scent and atmosphere.

The Northern Sea.

The fishermen of Elus called this sea the Northern Sea. A simple and straightforward name. The place Woojin had reached was the boundary between the Northern Sea and the Southern Sea.

Fishermen gathered pearl oysters around the Northern Sea, but they never approached this boundary line. If they made a mistake, they might encounter magical beasts and lose everything.

‘If the ship sinks, that’d be a huge problem.’

The moment he encountered a magical beast, this sailboat would be crushed as easily as straw.

He could endure if he placed a protective barrier over the hull with a defensive spell… but it was such a difficult and complicated magic that Woojin had not yet mastered it.

So he couldn’t continue sailing further.

‘Better anchor the ship here.’

He threw the anchor into the sea. The heavy metal sank beneath the water’s surface. Its weight would keep the ship from drifting.

After that, Woojin removed his upper clothes and folded them neatly. Then he stretched lightly.

He had finished stretching before entering the water.

‘Let’s go.’

He dove straight into the sea.

Woojin swam forward toward the Northern Sea.

Submerging deep underwater, he looked around. The waters of the Northern Sea were murky. There were coral reefs covered with sharp spikes and tangled seaweed twisting like a witch’s hair.

Without thinking, Woojin stepped on some seaweed.

Screeech!

The seaweed wrapped around one of his legs. To catch the prey that had wandered into its grasp, the carnivorous seaweed pulled at his ankle with all its strength.

But Woojin didn’t seem bothered at all. After briefly looking at the seaweed, he simply put strength into his ankle.

Rip—!

The seaweed tore apart like old cloth. Woojin casually kicked away the fragments and continued swimming north.

‘This is a bit annoying.’

There were too many obstacles.

Traveling by sea allowed one to reach the Demon Realm very quickly, but because there were so many dangers, the Temple Alliance had chosen to conduct their northern campaign by the relatively safer land route.

It was a wise decision. If a ship sank by bad luck, all the passengers could be wiped out at once.

‘…Maybe I should try it around here.’

Woojin stopped swimming. He untied a leather pouch that had been fastened to his waist beforehand and pulled out what was inside.

Animal intestines soaked thick with bright red blood.

They were the intestines of a pig that had been slaughtered that very day.

Crunch!

Woojin clenched the pig intestines tightly in his hand and crushed them. The fishy smell of blood spread through the seawater. The surrounding coral and seaweed seemed stirred up, swaying toward him as if beckoning.

After waiting for a moment…

Several dense presences could be felt. Magical beasts were rushing toward him from the distant north. Woojin examined their appearance.

Six large fish.

The scales around their mouths were bright red, making them look as if they were wearing clown makeup. Their lips were lined with rows of vicious teeth, jagged like saw blades.

‘Clown Piranhas.’

They were magical beasts mentioned in the Demon Realm Travel Records. Monsters that looked like piranhas enlarged to about six or seven meters.

They weren’t particularly powerful beasts, but they were aggressive and lived in packs. One of the magical beasts commonly found in the Northern Sea.

They had caught the scent of the bait and rushed over. Seeing this, Woojin smiled.

‘These look fairly edible.’

He had lured a school of fish with bait.

Now it was time to shake the hook.

Woojin waved his left arm left and right as if greeting them. In response, the leading piranha immediately charged forward and opened its jaws wide.

Crunch!

The tooth-filled jaw clamped down hard on his left arm. Immediately the piranha shook its head violently. Dragged by the movement, Woojin was flung around like a stuffed doll caught in a dog’s jaws.

It didn’t hurt much. He had wrapped dragon scales around his arm beforehand.

But salty seawater kept rushing into his nose.

‘Next time I should bring a nose clip.’

Thinking that, he drew his machete. Then he slammed the handle of the blade down hard on the fish’s forehead.

Thwack!!

The piranha’s head caved in. The fish monster immediately went limp.

One down.

But there was no time to catch his breath. From below, another magical beast charged in. The piranha shot upward like a missile toward Woojin.

His blade moved slower than usual. Perhaps because he was underwater, the machete didn’t swing well.

‘Block it.’

Woojin lowered the machete. The moment the blade touched the piranha’s upper lip, he used weight enhancement to increase his body weight dramatically.

Riiip—!

The piranha split apart from side to side like a filleted fish. Rather than Woojin cutting it, it looked as if the fish had rushed onto a knife stuck in a cutting board and split itself open.

The piranha, now cut clean in half, floated helplessly toward the surface.

Four magical beasts remained.

‘Those ones… aren’t attacking.’

Perhaps because they had just watched their companions die in an instant. The remaining four piranhas didn’t charge immediately. Instead, they circled around Woojin, swimming in loops and observing the situation.

A cautious attitude.

But from Woojin’s perspective, it was slightly troublesome.

‘…At this rate I’m going to run out of breath.’

Woojin couldn’t breathe underwater like a fish. It was about time to head back to the surface.

After checking his surroundings, he quietly swam upward. Woojin lifted his head above the water and took a deep breath.

Fresh air filled his lungs.

Then—

Crunch!

Sharp teeth bit into his ankle.

Woojin was dragged back underwater. The piranha, clamped onto its prey, suddenly dashed toward the deep sea.

It seemed to have realized that Woojin was a land creature. Just as he was about to swing his machete to shake off the annoying beast—

Crunch!

Another piranha suddenly bit down on his right wrist.

It didn’t stop there. The remaining two also rushed in and grabbed Woojin’s remaining left arm and leg.

Both arms and both legs were seized.

The four piranhas began swimming in different directions, trying to tear apart their enemy’s limbs.

It was like being subjected to a dismemberment execution.

He had heard stories that criminals were punished this way in the past, but experiencing it firsthand was new.

‘What a unique experience.’

How should he repay them?

Woojin blew out a stream of bubbles as he pondered briefly, then decided to let these cute friends experience an execution method from the era of the Industrial Revolution.

‘Was it called the electric chair?’

He couldn’t remember the exact name, but it didn’t really matter.

BZZZZT!!

A burst of lightning exploded outward.

The piranhas convulsed violently. Their bodies spasmed as they were electrocuted, unable to regain their senses.

One especially large piranha hurriedly tried to escape. It looked like the leader of the pack.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’

Woojin shoved his hand deep into the creature’s mouth and delivered another blast of lightning.

The fish monsters opened and closed their mouths repeatedly, letting out silent screams.

Woojin observed their condition for a moment before stopping the lightning.

The four lifeless piranhas floated up to the surface belly-up.

“Did I overcook them?”

If too much lightning was used, the inner cores would burn and become inedible.

Slightly worried, Woojin slit open the fish’s chests with a dagger.

What he found inside were perfectly intact inner cores, without any burn marks.

Cooked just right.

He secured a total of six inner cores.

‘A full haul.’

They said there was always a way to profit wherever you went.

And the results were quite satisfying.