Chapter 226: I Love The Sea! (7)
Ray rolled up his sleeves and dipped his hands into the sea.
Normally, water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius.
However, the sea, mixed with impurities, undergoes a phenomenon called freezing point depression, which requires a lower temperature to solidify.
The constantly moving waves make it difficult for the waters temperature to drop sufficiently, hence, it doesnt freeze easily at normal freezing temperatures.
Of course, if the temperature drops enough beyond a certain threshold, freezing is inevitable.
Ray drew mana from the atmosphere and concentrated it into his submerged hand.
A chill wind swirled around, and a blast of cold air struck.
He exhaled and chanted the incantation.
Frozen Field.
Crack!
Instantly, the surroundings froze, and the distinctive sound of space tearing echoed, a hallmark of ice magic.
The calm water surface turned frosty and solid, a harsh chill engulfing the area.
This was the 6th Circle Field magic, usable only by those bestowed with the title of Archmage.
Among them, the ice field was considered the most complex.
His control over mana was so precise that everything, except the boat, was chillingly cooled.
Ray then withdrew his cold hand with an expression that read Ah, its cold, and blew on it to warm up.
Brr, its cold. It seems possible to freeze the sea.
Iriel and the divine envoy were speechless at his seemingly superhuman feat.
I knew you could cast Meteor without any trouble, but still
Ray, staring blankly at the sea, turned to Iriel, who was tapping the frozen surface.
The important part starts now. No matter that its Field magic, freezing the entire sea is impossible. So, in short, walking across the frozen sea is a no-go.
Why? It seems frozen enough to walk on
She asked, to which he shook his head and responded.
The waves are too strong; the ice would break immediately. It would be a feat to even stand on it for a moment.
So, crossing the sea by freezing it is out of the question. Any other ideas?
I have one.
Go ahead.
Soyeong, who had raised her hand to speak, said quietly.
What if we freeze the sea as we are doing now, and walk on the broken ice fragments caused by the waves? It should be possible for us.
Black Shadow agreed with her idea.
Thats a good thought. It would ultimately save time and be less risky than traveling on a boat.
Ray pondered, looking into Soyeongs shining eyes.
Simply put, its better than being on a boat. But we cant just abandon the boat from the start.
The boat contained various provisions, blankets, leather, and clean cloth.
If we only think of the sea ahead and abandon all these, what then?
More than anything, the thought of the boat being torn apart by the waves was already heart-wrenching.
Therefore, Ray added another suggestion.
We cant last long abandoning the boat. So, lets push through as I initially suggested, and switch to the ice method if we cant go any further.
Your command is accepted.
That seems the best option.
With everyones agreement, the plan was set.
They would sail across the sea as quickly as possible.
If the boat broke, they would use ice magic to freeze the sea and walk across the ice fragments.
Of course, whether this would work was uncertain.
No matter that there were four Sword Master level members, advancing only by stepping on floating ice fragments was quite a challenge.
Moreover, one mistake could lead them to fall into the sea.
The difficulty was almost extreme.
Ray wrapped the provisions and blankets in leather to protect them as much as possible.
Theres only one chance. We must maintain the boat until we arrive.
For the next 19 days, the boat was an indispensable element.
Losing it here was not an option.
As they moved efficiently to get ready, they soon arrived at the boundary line.
Swallowing hard, they looked ahead.
The peculiar thing about this sea was its distinct boundary line.
There was a stark division between the calm sea and the turbulent one.
Iriel frowned, uncharacteristically worried.
It looks like we shouldnt cross it.
Just looking at the terrible waves made the thought of approaching them daunting.
They could almost envision their boat being swallowed by the waves and themselves being tossed around on the sea surface.
Soyeong and Black Shadow seemed to share similar thoughts, only groaning in response.
This is more than I expected
Its a bit different from what I imagined
Ray pulled in the oars and secured them in the boat.
To this, Soyeong asked,
Why are you stowing the oars?
From here, Ill proceed with my specialty.
Iriel, looking anxious, said,
That strange name already makes me nervous Im not the only one, right?
Rowing will just break the boat. Besides, this isnt a sea where oars would be of any use. With waves like those, theyll be immediately flung back out, right?
Iriel silently gazed at the sea.
It looked as tumultuous as a boiling kettle.
As Ray had said, rowing seemed indeed impossible.
Ray, with one hand submerged in the sea, shouted,
Hold on tight! Were starting!
No sooner had he spoken than he chanted the incantation.
Blast! Air Hand!
Whoosh-!
The boat, protected by enhancement magic, shot forward with insane acceleration.
Ahhhh!
Wait, wait a minute! A little slower, please!
Despite the plea for a slower pace, the speed didnt decrease at all.
In fact, it seemed to have even increased.
Rays attention was solely focused on the state of the boat.
He checked whether it was cracking upon hitting the waves or if any fragments were flying off.
He was reducing friction by protecting the bottom of the boat with Air Hand, but with such waves, breaking it seemed almost inevitable.
We wont last even a few minutes like this. Need to increase the speed.
He gathered more mana and injected additional force into his efforts.
Vroooom-!
The already swift boat accelerated further.
At this point, it seemed more accurate to say they were half-flying.
As their speed increased, the boats body trembled violently upon colliding with the waves.
The fierce spray struck the boat so forcefully that it seemed it might capsize at any moment.
Sure enough, the boat tilted sideways due to an enormous wave.
The boat, its flipping over!
At her alarmed exclamation, Ray quickly seized the oar.
He slammed the seas surface with it, shrouded in an aura blade to prevent it from shattering, and the tilting boat began to stabilize.
However, there was no time for relief.
As if to compound their troubles, a wave now surged towards them head-on.
Even more relentless than the previous ones, this wave seemed unforgiving towards the intruders, prompting Soyeong to step up.
She unsheathed a small dagger from her thigh and began carving through the waves.
Her movement made cutting the water with a blade seem like an understatement and allowed the boat to glide forward smoothly.
Everyone, look around! Is there any island or something?
Following his directive, the three of them surveyed their surroundings.
All that met their eyes was the boundless open sea stretching to the horizon.
Theres nothing in sight!
Spread out the map and check!
While Ray contended with the waves, the three of them pored over the map.
But of what use was examining the map?
The island they sought wasnt even charted on it!
Ray, amidst his battle with the water, inquired.
Where are we now!?
Here! It seems we have covered about half the distance!
Iriels reply caused him to scowl.
Had they really traveled at such speed and only traversed half the distance?
Observing the boat on the verge of splintering against the waves, it seemed doubtful they could even manage half of the remaining journey, much less the entirety.
He glanced at the provisions with remorse.
Do we really have to abandon the boat?
As he thought this, ready to leap off at any moment, a faint outline of an island appeared in the distance.
His spirits lifted.
That place was certainly in the middle of nowhere on the map!
If there were any doubts, that was the place to head!
Even if escaping the Krainan Sea in front of them was impossible, reaching that island seemed feasible, albeit barely.
Ray quickly adjusted the boats direction before it completely shattered.
He twisted the oars into a key shape and rotated the boat.
Iriel, realizing the need for balance, skillfully handled her oars.
Huff, huff
Ray, who had been monitoring the boats condition, ensuring the food and blankets didnt fall into the sea, and looking for the island, was mentally exhausted.
Now, even the Divine Envoy and Iriel could see the island.
How did he spot that from so far away in this foggy mess
The sight of the island shrouded in mist was something they couldnt have expected to find while rowing in this insane sea.
His rowing suddenly seemed reassuring.
Just a bit more!
As if responding to her encouragement, the waves grew stronger.
Splash!
The boat, hit squarely by a wave, started trembling like a patient with convulsions.
Ray hastily gathered mana.
Frozen Field!
The sound of the waves was so strong that even the noise of the field magic was drowned out.
The surrounding sea began to freeze, and soon after, it shattered.
The boat cracked open in response.
They had made it far enough.
Now was the time to jump.
Jump!
A pale-faced man yawned widely.
Why do we even have to stand guard
Who in their right mind would cross such a sea?
Right? At best, wed see a corpse, not someone actually making it here.
The two grumbled and sprawled in the bushes.
It was a sea that hadnt seen any trouble for hundreds of years.
They had never been to the outside world but were confident that no one could enter.
Amidst this, they heard screams from the sea.
Whats that sound?
So it wasnt just me hearing it.
As they turned their gazes toward the sea, they could only gasp in shock.
Gasp!
Ugh!
Four figures approached, leaping wildly over the sea.
Unaware of the situation, they couldnt imagine these people were carefully stepping on ice fragments.
Crazy people! No, intruders!
As one shouted, the other spread the alarm far and wide.
Screech-!
A piercing sound echoed through the mountains.
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