The ground trembled slightly as a figure that was nearly three meters tall appeared at the boundary of the island's primitive forest.
Its body was grayish-white in color, seemingly formed from boulders. Its face was potholed without any obvious eyes, nose, mouth, or ears.
"Stone giant..." Cattleya muttered the monster's type.
Be it Klein or Anderson, both of them knew nothing about such monsters.
However, they didn't cast an inquisitive look at Cattleya. They focused on the monster, looking highly professional.
Cattleya turned her body to face the docked Future. She raised her right hand halfway and amplified her voice.
"Aim!"
The pirates on duty immediately adjusted dozens of cannons on the port of the ship, aiming them right at the Stone Giant which was lumbering over.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannonballs flew out and landed around the Stone Giant, sending dust flying as the bombardment covered a huge area.
The ground clearly quaked as flames surged. Splinters spewed everywhere as though everything could be destroyed.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The tall grayish-white figure tore out of the dust, having not suffered any serious damage. All it had were a few cracks on its surface.
Cattleya said without a perturbed expression, "This isn't a kind of giant, but a kind of stone golem.
"Its core is the main ingredient of Sequence 5 Guardian from the Guardian Sequence pathway. Therefore, its defenses are extremely high."
Amidst the reverberating cannon bombardment, Klein nearly suspected if there was a problem with his auditory senses.
Since you know that the stone giant has high defense, why did you use a cannon bombardment? Isn't that a waste of cannonballs?
he thought in puzzlement as he lampooned.
Perhaps hearing his inner thoughts, Cattleya said as she watched the stone giant approach, "I've never encountered such a Beyonder creature before, so I wished to do some tests."
I have nothing to say against such a reason... Klein was rendered speechless.
At this moment, Anderson Hood, who had been observing the stone giant the entire time, raised his hand and said, "Do you have anyone who has Beyonder powers in the ice and frost domain?"
"Me," Cattleya coldly answered.
Seeing how Ma'am Hermit had the means, Klein swallowed back the words he nearly said out loud.
He really didn't wish to activate Creeping Hunger unless necessary, despite Zombie possessing the powers of ice and frost.
He believed that he couldn't find any suitable food on the island!
Cattleya took out a grayish-black scroll from a secret pocket in her warlock robe and softly chanted a single word in ancient Hermes, "Freezing!"
Silently, the scroll was consumed by icy-blue flames and immediately, there were crystalline streams of light that appeared in midair.
They flew towards the stone giant and froze the target within as icicles hung from it.
Amidst jarring, cracking sounds, the ice layer cracked in turn as the stone giant slowly walked out of the zone. However, its grayish-white exterior had turned a darker shade. Its motions were a lot stiffer than before.
At this moment, Anderson raised his hands as though he was a conductor gesturing for the audience to give their applause.
Orange-yellow flames which were almost white in color sprouted at the stone giant's feet as though it had stepped into a particular trap.
Its surface rapidly produced a bout of steam as cracks spread across its body in the form of deep fractures.
Anderson pulled back with his right arm as a burning-white spear condensed in his palm.
The flames at the tip of the spear condensed to a point as it emitted a blinding luster.
The spear flew out, accurately hitting the crack in the stone giant's belly as the flames melted a huge hole in it.
As for Anderson Hood, who was originally on the beach, he seemed to merge with the burning-white spear. The flames brightened as he strangely appeared behind the stone giant.
He held his left hand into a fist as his arm bulged. With an uppercut, he struck upwards from the hole and into the stone giant's heart.
This simple-looking strike created an exaggerated effect. The stone giant immediately froze on the spot as cracking sounds constantly emitted from its interior. In seconds, it had crumbled into rubble.
A critical strike... Klein's pupils constricted.
Cattleya calmly stood on the spot and said without any surprise, "Sequence 5 of the Hunter pathway is Reaper.
"Furthermore, they are good at finding the weakness of their prey."
Reaper... A death reaper of life? No wonder... Klein nodded slightly.
At this moment, Anderson crouched down and rummaged through the stone giant's carcass.
Then, he turned his head and smiled ruefully.
"It's not a real monster."
That meant that there weren't any spoils of war!
While Anderson described the situation, the rubble vanished at a discernible pace.
... For an unlucky fellow like you, don't be the one opening chests or looting corpses... Klein couldn't help but lampoon inwardly.
Anderson returned and kept droning on.
"The greatest problem of these waters is this. Not every monster will provide you with riches!"
This is because conjured monsters such as this are a part of more powerful monsters of a higher level. Of course, it's possible that they're the result of remnant powers and auras... Klein already had a preliminary theory towards this.
Having gone through the voyage, he discovered that there were Beyonder traces of Sun, Evernight, Storm, and the Spectator pathway. He had a more fleshed out theory from his previous theories.
He originally suspected that these waters were the remnants of a battlefield in a war between Second Epoch ancient gods. Storm belonged to Elf King Soniathrym; Spectator belonged to Dragon King Ankewelt; Evernight belonged to King of Demonic Wolves Flegrea. With Little Sun providing him with the legendary records from the City of Silver at each gathering, Klein had gained a preliminary understanding of the authorities of the eight ancient gods in the Second Epoch.
However, the constant midday and the Sun Chariot formed from gold had made Klein have doubts about his theory. This was because none of the eight ancient gods grasped the Sun pathway.
Soon, Klein connected it to Amon's and Adam's father, the City of Silver Creator who was deemed as the ancient sun god.
After this Creator awakened, and after a series of intense battles, he had taken back the authorities of the ancient gods!
Hence, these ruins of the battle between gods were left behind? The incomplete mural he saw at the elvish ruin suddenly surfaced in Klein's mind.
Elf King Soniathrym and the City of Silver's Creator, who was also the ancient sun god, were at odds!
As his thoughts wandered, Anderson had returned to his chuckling state. He looked at him and said, "How do I address you?"
"Gehrman Sparrow," Klein simply gave his name.
"Gehrman Sparrow?" Anderson was first taken aback before recovering. "I've heard of you. You're the adventurer who nearly successfully hunted Vice Admiral Ailment. You have the title of the craziest hunter! Last month, when the ship I was onboard passed by the Rorsted Archipelago and Oravi Island, I had thoughts of getting to know you over drinks, but your whereabouts were unknown."
Last month? I was doing volunteer work at the hospital... Klein nodded and said, "You know me now.
"Also, try your best not to say anything."
"..." Anderson forced a smile. "I know, my bad luck tends to make the negative words I say become reality. Alright, stop looking at me. I won't speak again. Put down that charm of yours."
Due to the appearance of the stone giant, the pirates' relaxation time was cut short. The Future quickly set off once again, venturing deep into the sea.
Along the way, Klein stayed standing on the deck and leaned against the side of the ship. He observed his surroundings while Anderson was loitering on the ship. He was good at socializing and interacting with the pirates.
Impressive. He easily got to know the situation of the ship... Klein shot a glance at Anderson, who was drinking with a few pirates in the shadows, as he sighed inwardly.
Of course, the Strongest Hunter probably doesn't know that the alcohol he's drinking has a sedative of unknown origins... Klein held back his laughter as he thought mischievously.
With Anderson's help, the Future circled around two hidden maelstroms and a floating palace ruin as it continued down the safe sea route.
About three hours later, night fell again.
Klein rapidly found his lucidity and reason in the dream as he opened his eyes and looked around.
His vision was a swath of pitch-blackness with nothing to be seen.
... Don't tell me I'm blind... Such a thought instinctively appeared in Klein's mind. Then, he reached his right palm into his pocket and took out a matchstick.
This was a component that every Magician needed for his spells.
With familiarity, he took out a matchstick and ignited it. Immediately, a weak flame appeared in front of Klein's eyes.
The flame struggled as it bloomed, slightly illuminating his surroundings.
He was in a prison cell, one with an unlatched gate made up of metal railings!
Why would I be here? I'm neither beside Admiral of Stars or in the mural hall where Anderson was... I'm randomly placed in a particular area? As his thoughts raced, Klein flicked his wrist and extinguished the matchstick that nearly burnt his fingers.
A resplendent layer of sunlight bloomed on his left hand as his eyes had two miniaturized suns.
With the soul of the Priest of Light, he obtained night vision from the Light of Holiness.
As he observed his surroundings, Klein saw that the cell he was in wasn't too cramped, but the floor was dirty and messy. There were many footprints, a mystery as to what previously happened.
Most of them are human footprints. A few of them are rather exaggerated, likely belonging to giants... The single bed is broken in the corner while there's a key beside the door... Someone succeeded in a jailbreak? Klein came before the unlocked metal gate and carefully looked outside.
The prison was filled with darkness. The darkness enveloped a stone-paved corridor, and across from him was a cold but solid wall. The path extended continuously on both sides as though there were more prison cells.
Klein retracted his gaze, picked up the key on the ground, and locked the gates.
He didn't attempt to head out and continued staying in the cell.
He clearly remembered that Will Auceptin had advised him not to explore the dream world. Therefore, he planned on awaiting the arrival of noon!
So what if it's a prison cell? It's not like I'm leaving... Klein huddled in the corner, sitting on the halved single bed, seemingly blending with the rich darkness around him.
In this extreme silence, Klein suddenly cocked his head since he vaguely heard light footsteps!
The sound of footsteps came from afar in an ethereal manner and at a slow frequency as it approached him.
