The New Gate-Chapter 2Book 18 : Part 5
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Book 18 Chapter 2: Part 5
āAs long as we go like this, itāll feel like the sea, just without waves.ā
Tiera seemed to have made up her mind: she did not hide anymore, as her hair fluttered in the wind.
Maybe, because they were sailing on waves of sand instead of the sea, the ship did not rock much, if at all. The currents were far more subdued in the sand sea.
āNo monsters to be foundā¦ā
The party had been wary of monsters emerging from the sands at night, but nothing happened.
They had been on the lookout ever since they set foot in the sand sea, but could not detect any hostile presence. They spotted a few rare monsters moving about on their own, but they showed no intention of attacking the party.
āI suppose theyāre all waiting to ambush us?ā
āItās likely. Iāve been having a harder time scanning for monsters ever since we entered the sand sea, though. They might be jamming our senses somehow.ā
Shin did not feel like his scanning abilities were halved or neutralized: but if he tried to extend the detection field, he felt as if he was looking at smoked glass: he could see, but not with clarity.
It wasnāt as if he couldnāt see anything, but the unusual sensation gnawed at him.
āSchnee, Milt, do you feel anything?ā
Shin asked for Schnee and Miltās opinion, as the former had the widest detection range after him and the latter was a former player like him.
āI do feel something is off, but itās so small that Iām honestly not worried.ā
āSame here. It feels like something is strange, but if you told me it was just my imagination, Iād agree.ā
The sensation they felt was smaller compared to Shin. He asked the same to Shibaid, but received a similar reply.
āIt feels like something is trying to trick our senses. The Boundary Guardian here is based on a Vanwood, so that might very well be true.ā fr eewebn ovel.com
āNow that you mention it, it does feel like that.ā
In forest areas and dungeons dwelled monsters with the ability of disrupting detection fields: certain locations also had an innate ability of blocking detection.
āIām pretty confident if itās about plant-type monsters, actually. Iām a priestess of the World Tree ā the apex of plant life, after all.ā
Tiera proudly stated that she wouldnāt lose even to Schnee in that area.
What she said was the truth: if dealing with plants, her senses were sharper than Schneeās or even Shinās. It was something she was born with, so Shin couldnāt match her abilities.
āHm?ā
Shin nodded, impressed, when his scan picked up something.
They had ignored the occasional lone presences they had felt until then, but the newly appeared monster had an aura that was simply too large to discount: Shin accelerated the ship.
āAhā¦could this beā¦ā
āYeah, itās here after all.ā
Judging from Miltās reaction, she had surely detected it too. She nodded, showing there was no need for further explanations. Schnee and the others reacted in a similar way too.
āEh? What?ā
āI have a real bad feeling about thisā¦ā
Tiera and Sety had smaller detection fields than the rest: one looked at the party with worry and confusion, the other instinctively understood something was up.
āThe monster we talked about yesterday, Giant Caput, decided to show up.ā
Judging from the size of the presence, it was easily five times larger than the ship. Five times larger than a ship equipped with individual rooms for each party member, a kitchen, and a living room.
Many of the monsters dwelling in the sand sea were very large in size, but even by such standards Giant Caput was incredibly large.
āF-five times larger than this ship? Are you serious? Weāre going to fight something like that in a dangerous place like this?ā
Shin told Tiera about the monster in more detail, but she couldnāt believe her ears. Shinās answer to her question, however, was a clear no.
āNo way. That thing is massive, but it canāt swim very quickly. We didnāt come here to fight it anyway, so weāre steering clear.ā
Giant Caput usually hovered in the 600-700 level range. It was an opponent that required fairly high stats and specialized equipment.
The partyās current objective was the subjugation of the Sacred Place beyond the sand sea: they had no reason to deal with the Giant Caput.
āIām going to use the acceleration device to propel the ship away from here. Weāre going to rock the ship, get ready.ā
Shin tapped the control panel and propulsion devices emerged from the sides of the ship. They were more powerful versions of the devices used to move the ship forward.
āAre you ready, everyone? Here we go!ā
The ship blasted forward, as Shin was pressed against the pilotās seat.
Schnee and the others, who had experienced the same acceleration before, remained on their seats, keeping alert of the surroundings. Only Tiera was completely tense.
It was probably the first time for Kagerou and Yuzuha too, but they looked perfectly calm.
Yuzuha, in human form, was even sitting on Shinās lap, leisurely dangling her legs. It was a mystery how the sudden acceleration didnāt knock her off.
āWoow, so fast! Are we busting into the Sacred Place like this?ā
āIām going to slow down once weāre far enough. If we keep going like this and they have a barrier up, it wonāt be pretty.ā
The ship was not built to be able to stop immediately. It had brake-like devices, but they could only slow it down. There was no emergency brake. If they encountered an invisible barrier, they would definitely crash.
āNot pretty? What do you mean?ā
As they were surrounded by sands, it was hard to tell, but the scenery was still blowing past them at incredible speed: Tiera imagined the ānot prettyā result and timidly inquired. She probably imagined the ship crashing to pieces.
āWell, frankly speakingā¦ā
āF-frankly speakingā¦?ā
While paying attention to any obstacles on their path, Shin whispered after a dramatic pause.
āā¦our rooms below would get pretty messy.ā
āā¦huh?ā
Tiera drew a blank, unable to process Shinās answer. When she finally managed to, she blushed fiercely.
āShiiinn!!!ā
āHahaha! Even if we crash against a barrier, this shipās sturdy enough to withstand the impact. Weāve also got safety devices so that no one is flung against a wall, donāt worry.ā
Tiera realized Shin was teasing her and protested, raising her hand in a fist. Shin was not so irresponsible as to respond to that while piloting the ship, however, so Tieraās fist had nowhere to go, causing her bright red embarrassment.
āHehe, so cute.ā
āIf you really think so, you could have saved her the embarrassmentā¦ā
Filma looked at the exchange and chuckled. She then added that she understood Shinās desire to tease her, and Shibaid sighed helplessly.
āI guess Iāll go to my quarters a bit, then. Once the mission starts for real, there wonāt be time to relax, after all. ā
The Sacred Place was still quite far: that was one reason why Shin had the leeway to tease Tiera.