CHAPTER 362: CHAPTER 204: 2 SHIPS

By now, the walking corpse, whose upper half was flesh and blood, had been completely disassembled.

Alka was now completely certain that the constructs on this creature, including the metal plates on its skin, had grown out organically. They weren’t sewn on.

This meant many assumptions had to be overturned; perhaps there was no one on this island creating undead creatures after all.

Another possibility arose: something on this island had affected these corpses.

Taking a darker view, it was even possible that these bodies had been influenced by this force while they were still alive, still human. This influence caused some of their body parts to transform into metal and magical machinery.

For flesh and blood to sprout metal, and even constructs capable of moving like a living body...

Alka believed this couldn’t be achieved by a mere Spell.

He strongly suspected it was the power of a Treasure.

Alka stood up. Magic Power surged from his hands, and two streams of clear water gushed forth. He washed away the filth on his body and the surrounding debris. Fortunately, he had Julia’s Shield to protect him from any potentially hidden negative Energy or bacteria.

Afterward, Alka turned to the others and said, "Stay alert. This island is very dangerous."

How could an island where flesh grows into metal and magical machinery possibly be safe?

And then there’s that member of the Holy Machine Church trapped on this island... Who knows if these strange corpses are related to him?

If they are, we might have already been exposed.

Alka frowned, remembering their original reason for coming to this island.

"Let’s keep moving."

With that, they maintained their formation and continued deeper into the dense forest.

"Metal growing from flesh... We haven’t even reached the Endless Sea and we’re already encountering things like this," Jason quipped as he passed the disassembled corpse. "Who knows what other absurdities await us there."

Hearing Jason, Pororo, who was at the front, couldn’t help but ask, "Is it really that exaggerated? The book didn’t seem to describe anything too outlandish."

Alka interjected, "The stories in that book are clearly fragmented and disjointed; the author omitted a great deal. What’s left are mostly experiences that ordinary people can accept. Besides, we never saw the ending, did we? It’s as if it was cut off midway."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Alka; they had all noticed this.

The accounts in the book often jumped significantly. For instance, the beginning described their arrival at the Endless Sea, but then it abruptly skipped to two or three years into their voyage. Then it would skip another year or two, with intervals between events ranging from at least six months to as long as three to five years. By the time the account ended, they had supposedly been in the Endless Sea for twenty to thirty years.

Yet, the narrative concluded with them still sailing, and many of their accomplishments and experiences were only briefly mentioned. In contrast, some unusual landscapes were described in meticulous detail. And the experiences that were detailed were mostly unique and captivating, the kind that would make readers yearn for them.

From this, it was clear the author had done so deliberately, tailoring the book for those still within the Divine Sea Region.

Pororo listened as the others chimed in, finally nodding in understanding.

So, he was the only one who had taken that book entirely at face value.

Humans... they really do love to scheme against each other.

Silver ripples continued to extend from Chadite’s feet, spreading outward.

After they had advanced a certain distance, Chadite began to lead them in a circular path around the island, rather than continuing straight. This allowed Chadite to survey the island more efficiently.

Chadite’s primary task was to survey the entire island and map its complete terrain for Alka’s reference. Only when the map was complete would they truly begin to explore the island.

This procedure was one they had developed over several explorations in the Homeland Sea and had become their team’s standard operating procedure. It all stemmed from Alka’s keen instinct for finding Treasure.

Everyone suspected this instinct was a blessing from the Holy Mother, especially since Alka, a native of Home Island, had twice received visions from Her. Alka, however, never confirmed this, only admitting it was possible.

Alka himself suspected his "golden touch" might indeed be a blessing from the Holy Mother.

They felt the ground beneath their feet grow steeper as they wound their way up to the cliff they had spotted earlier. Here, they found a huge scar on the land: a massive crater, as if formed by an explosion. It contained a large amount of wreckage, though the remains were all wooden and had long since rotted away.

Alka slid into the pit, examined the remnants for a moment, and then climbed back out.

"The timing of this impact mark and the metal residue suggests they’re from the same period," Alka said after climbing out. "This is part of a ship, probably a side plank from the stern. Somehow, it ended up crashing here on the island."

Hearing Alka, Jason remarked in surprise, "A ship couldn’t have reached this spot from the sides or the back of the island, could it? It must have come from the front. Who, or what, could have pushed it all the way up here?"