I Became an Evolving Deep-Sea Creature Chapter 97

Chapter 97. Shillenwe

The sea elves of Shillenwe decided to settle on the Island of Boundaries.

Their number was 900 in total, spread across three sailing ships. Originally, there should have been 300 more, but they were said to have sunk because of the Kraken.

Aranmas and Shillenwe followed Yul as they walked around the island.

“Lord Yul, what is it that we must do?”

“First, farming.”

The staple food of the sea elves was rice. They could not cultivate rice aboard ships, but they said they had traded for it with various island powers in the Archipelago Ocean.

“You need to beco self-sufficient.”

“But we have never grown rice before.”

“That’s sothing you can solve by hiring experts. Didn’t the islands you traded with have farrs?”

“They did, but…….”

Shillenwe spoke with a dark expression.

“But?”

“We have run out of funds. Our fleet was only a temporary one ford by sea elves who were rejected.”

“Is that so?”

They were sea elves rejected by the sea. They had said it themselves—this fleet was ford by elves of the sa kind.

‘Then it seems we’ll need so initial investnt. I did convert all the gold into cash in Frangia, but perhaps I can exchange it back into physical assets there.’

“Aranmas, will there be enough food for a thousand people?”

“Two or three months would be possible, but beyond that would be difficult.”

“We also have provisions. Enough for half a year.”

Shillenwe’s sailing ships were loaded with large quantities of food, cannonballs, gunpowder, and weapons.

“Hmm. That should be sufficient. Shillenwe, how severe is this ‘Rejected’ phenonon? I want the details.”

“It varies slightly depending on the individual. After one month at sea, slight motion sickness begins; after three months, it becos difficult to read the currents. After five months, fatigue increases, and after seven months, stress builds up to the point where one must step onto land. Beyond that, I do not know.”

Being rejected was a phenonon more dangerous than expected. It was said that if they could not step on land, they would be wiped out in half a year at most.

So long-term voyages are difficult.

“Were you avoiding the rejectio phenonon by going ashore?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then it should be possible.”

Yul thought of the islands that had newly 'appeared' in the Great Azure Ocean after the Heaven and Earth Resonance.

By navigating along the islands that had appeared sporadically starting from the Island of Boundaries, one could pass through the Great Azure Ocean and reach the Continental Ocean.

“If we were to sail, when would it be possible?”

“What? We are sailing again?”

Shillenwe’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Even if you settle here, you will lack funds and supplies. But there is a way to solve that. Far to the east lies a vast continent. I have considerable funds there. I was thinking of using that to secure the initial investnt for the settlent.”

That had been the plan originally, but because of the sudden attack, he had returned in haste.

“Are there people living there as well?”

“The continent is filled with large human nations. It’s not that there are no other races, but humans dominate. From there, we will head to the Kingdom of Frangia.”

Aranmas glanced at Shillenwe with unease.

“Are we heading north? Into that sea of nothingness? Did not the High Elf Guides advise us not to sail into that sea?”

“We have already been Rejected by the sea. Since the captains of the wing ships have also abandoned us, Lord Yul is now our master. And, since it is an order, we must follow.”

Yul interrupted their grave conversation.

“What do you an by the advice of the High Elf Guides?”

At Yul’s question, Aranmas answered.

“The High Elf Guides advised us not to sail into the northern sea. They said powerful sea creatures dwell there in great numbers, and since there are no islands, we would be annihilated by lack of provisions.”

“Hmm. That was true, but the Great Azure Ocean has changed since the Heaven and Earth Resonance. Most of the sea creatures once called the Great Powers have disappeared, and their forces have scattered. Moreover, strange islands have appeared here and there.”

“……Then it should be sowhat easier.”

“I do not ask for the impossible.”

Aranmas looked relieved, and Shillenwe’s left eyebrow twitched slightly.

'She's the soldier type who tries not to show her personality outwardly. It doesn't match her appearance at all.'

Despite her girlish appearance, she had risen to the rank of admiral, so she must have possessed remarkable ability.

In any case, Yul now had reason to lead a large sailing ship to Frangia.

“It is not possible imdiately, but yes, in about two months at least, it should be fine.”

“There is no need to go at once. I also have things to take care of. In the anti, you will have to practice adapting to life on the island in order to survive. I intend to depart at the beginning of next year.”

“Understood.”

There was also the option of purchasing resources from the Archipelago Ocean, but there was a high chance that Frangian currency would not be accepted.

‘Should I have kept it in gold for tis like this?’

Gold was a universally accepted substitute for currency. But before converting it, he had not expected this situation.

Now the sea elves would complete their adaptation on the island.

There’s so much to do: creating the IDE (Integrated Developnt Environnt) artifact, developing the magic engineering devices retrieved from the Black Card, scouting the Mother Nest’s stronghold, and the supply of resources necessary for the full developnt of the Island of Boundaries.

* * *

Yul quickly returned to the academy. The first thing he checked upon arrival was the newspaper.

‘It doesn’t seem like anything major happened.’

There had been nothing significant since the last Sea Horror incident.

[Defense Barrier Reinforced!]

[By order of Headmaster Waldorf Brisbane, the surrounding defensive barrier of Weimar Wigma has been fully reinforced.]

[Magic devices equipped with detection barriers have been dropped onto the seabed around Weimar Wigma, enabling detection of attacks from beneath the sea.]

‘They’ve been working diligently.’

Apparently, this was ordered by the very headmaster who had been firing those insane magic shells.

‘The headmaster himself was incredibly powerful.’

If the magic bombardnt launched from the topmost level of Weimar Wigma had been aid at a single massive Seaborn, it would have taken it down instantly.

However, because countless Sea Horror Parasites had been scattered in all directions, it had not proven especially effective.

‘It’s not in the papers, but the defensive magic must have been further reinforced.’

He browsed through other articles to see if anything else had changed. The most notable difference was that orcs had replaced the dockworkers at the harbor.

“Move it! Faster!”

These green-skinned orcs were subordinates of the Demon King’s army that had invaded the territory of the forr Empire.

Now they were unloading cargo under the lash.

Nearly naked and being whipped, they still carried the loads efficiently thanks to their physical strength, far surpassing that of humans.

‘Slaves, huh.’

It was the human perspective to say invaders deserved to pay the price, but he could not bring himself to agree with it.

After passing them, Yul paid the innkeeper the lodging fees he had fallen behind on.

Though he could have moved into the dormitory after enrolling as a student, Yul deliberately continued staying at an inn outside the academy.

“Yul! I heard you’re back!?”

He had only just begun reading the paper when Lucian burst in.

“How do you always know without telling you?”

“I told the errand boy to inform as soon as you returned.”

So that was why.

“I see.”

“What kind of journey did you go on this ti?”

“Hmm. I found a clue.”

Yul first took out a glass bottle. Inside the rather large bottle was a white Sea Horror Parasite.

“Sea Horror……!?”

“Its na is Puyo.”

Puyo knocked against the inside of the bottle. Lucian leaned closer, excited.

-Kehk, what’s with this human? Tell him to back off.

“C-Could you explain how you obtained that first?”

Right.

Yul calmly explained everything that had happened. First, how he had gone to an island in the Archipelago Ocean.

After that, how he had stopped by the Kingdom of Frangia to replenish supplies, exchanged gold, received a request from Lui, and completed it.

He had returned to the island, defeated a kraken, and accepted new sea elves—but that part could be explained later.

“Do you think this thing can really find the Mother Nest?”

“There must be sothing among the Sea Horrors that I don’t understand.”

He sealed the bottle again.

“Then, would you like to see what I’ve completed in the anti?”

“Hmm? Already?”

“I’ve finished the right arm, at least.”

“Let’s take a look.”

They headed to Lucian’s workshop in the academy tower.

The personal workshop provided to every student of the Departnt of Magic Engineering had a similar atmosphere to the one in the mansion on Skillg Briggsom.

“You really made it—the right arm?”

The right arm lay in the center.

“Due to material shortages, only the right arm.”

More than seventeen magic stones were embedded into it, and the amount of rune formula inscribed on each was staggering.

From a cursory analysis, it seed the information extracted from the Black Card was accurate.

Selecting only the desired techniques from ancient knowledge and working on both software and hardware simultaneously—what madness.

No matter how he looked at it, Lucian was undeniably a genius in this field. And geniuses like this should be supported.

“I secured the funding. Here’s the account.”

“What? Funding?”

Lucian’s eyes widened as he looked at the pimlin paper Yul handed him.

“W-What is this……? The Frangian currency balance is…….”

“It’s my entire fortune.”

“Did you strike a gold mine or sothing?”

“What are you talking about? I earned it through work.”

He had mined Krelsite from the undersea mine and sold it legitimately, after all.

“With this, I intend to erase our funding problem.”

“Isn’t this too much? With this amount, you could buy an entire fleet.”

“Of course, I don’t plan to spend it all. I just wanted you to know that I have this level of wealth.”

He took the account back. Lucian stood there, stunned by the amount he had just seen.

“Anyway, I’d like to invest.”

“Invest?”

“Yes.”

In truth, he simply wanted to own one Runefra under the na of investnt.

“With enough money, we can make as many as we want.”

“Good. You have the technology but no initial capital, and I have the money.”

“Sounds good!”

Leaving aside his contract as a Sinker, Lucian treated Yul as an equal individual. He was a good guy.

The mont they shook hands, Yul felt it.

‘The Communion level increased.’

【Communion】

[Current Status: Communion Level 2]

[Resonance: Sensory sharing has been enhanced. You may open your senses at any ti to share the other’s vision, hearing, and a portion of their thoughts.]

[Seaborn Effect: Gain a portion of human talents.]

[Human Effect: Receive a small portion of the Seaborn’s main body stats.]

Lucian tilted his head, apparently sensing it as well.

“I think it just reached Communion Level 2?”

“It really goes up just by being together?”

“The exact chanism hasn’t been uncovered yet.”

Unless they found a separate thod to accelerate it, it would likely continue increasing at this pace.

Still, a portion of human talents, huh. What did I gain?

While Yul couldn’t imdiately tell, Lucian’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

Crack.

The workshop’s doorknob shattered.

“I’m not even wearing a gauntlet.”

“It’s only a small portion transfer.”

Even though only a tiny portion of stats—strength, stamina, durability, and the like—had been shared, Lucian’s physical abilities had skyrocketed.

“I feel overflowing with energy. At this rate, I could cut sleep down to one hour.”

“Then you’ll die.”