Chapter 508: Why are we in a Jungle?

Editor: Tseirp

“Abel… why are we walking through a jungle… or rather, a dense rainforest?”

“…Because the ship sank, obviously. We had no choice.”

Ryo and Abel were making their way through the dense jungle.

The reason, as Abel said, was that their ship had sunk…

The two had set off from the Autonomous City of Kwebasa, filled with dreams and hope. They were traveling aboard a Grand Duchy warship arranged by Duke Helb, the younger brother of the Grand Duke of the Atinjo Grand Duchy.

The ship had been steadily heading north without incident, and the crew had not mistreated them in any way.

The voyage had been smooth.

On the fifth day, the ship crossed the northern border of the Atinjo Grand Duchy and continued its journey northward, with the continent visible on the left-hand side.

But then, on the sixth night after leaving Kwebasa, disaster struck.

Ryo and Abel had enjoyed a surprisingly delicious dinner for a warship, though not as skilled in cooking as the head chef Susie, and were sound asleep when it happened.

Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently up and down.

It felt like an earthquake but vertical.

However, being on a ship, it clearly wasn’t an earthquake…

“What’s happening?!”

Abel, lying in his hammock, literally jumped up.

Ryo did the same and immediately used his to scan the surroundings.

The result…

“There’s a huge hole in the cargo hold…”

“Are you saying the ship’s going to sink?”

“Let me try sealing the hole…”

But before Ryo could finish chanting a spell, the ship shook violently again.

And then came the despair-inducing sound of wood splitting apart…

“The hull’s broken! Water will reach here soon!”

Ryo shouted.

They were on the middle deck.

The warship was large, but even large ships sink when their time comes.

“Come forth! Neil Andersen!”

As Ryo chanted, the scabbard of his knife glowed faintly with alchemical light, and the second ship of the Rondo-class, Neil Andersen, materialized.

Though ten meters in length and fairly large, Neil Andersen was dwarfed by the enormous middle deck.

The two hurriedly boarded the Neil Andersen.

And almost simultaneously, the warship split in half and was swallowed by the sea.

The sound of cracking wood continued.

There were no screams.

Everyone aboard, aside from the two, were sailors.

When the ship broke, most had already leaped into the sea.

Being near a sinking ship is dangerous.

So the sailors swam away, intending to cling to floating debris.

Or make their way to the visible shoreline on the left…

But after jumping in, they realized.

Why the ship had sunk so suddenly.

They saw several enormous ‘legs’ rising from the water’s surface…

“Krakens…”

Many sailors muttered the name.

At the same time, multiple Krakens moved southward, paying no heed to those thrown into the sea.

Had they destroyed the warship merely for sport…?

Regardless, even a warship stood no chance against a group of Krakens.

From aboard the Neil Andersen, Ryo and Abel confirmed the Krakens’ departure.

“Those things again!”

“There were so many of them…”

Ryo muttered bitterly, and Abel said, relieved they hadn’t been attacked.

Fighting one Kraken with the Neil Andersen was feasible, but facing multiple Krakens was…

“Indeed, fighting multiple Krakens at once is currently beyond me.”

Ryo conceded, acknowledging his lack of firepower.

“But someday… I’ll assemble a force capable of defeating dozens of Krakens! “

“Y-Yeah, good luck with that…”

Ryo declared, raising his fist in determination, and Abel cheered, silently hoping to keep his distance when the time came.

Afterward, the two aboard the Neil Andersen became a makeshift rescue team.

They used the Neil Andersen’s manipulator arms to pull sailors—who had been thrown overboard from the Grand Duchy’s warship or had jumped into the sea themselves—back to shore…

They also towed wooden debris, barrels, and anything the sailors clung to back to safety…

They made countless trips back and forth between the sinking site and the shore.

As a result, all the more than 100 crew members were saved.

Both Ryo and Abel were deeply thanked by the ship’s captain.

However… the ship was lost.

The crew decided to wait for rescue onshore.

Hoping to be picked up by one of the Grand Duchy’s patrolling warships, which supposedly came by every few days.

But Ryo and Abel couldn’t afford to do the same.

Demanding a new ship under the pretext of their deal with Duke Helb was an option… but it didn’t sit right with either of them.

Neither Abel nor Ryo liked the idea of exploiting their arrangement in that way.

In the end, the two kindhearted adventurers decided to travel north on foot.

They had considered using the Neil Andersen to traverse the underwater route to the north, but…

“I still… don’t have a solid plan to defeat a swarm of Krakens…”

Ryo admitted bitterly, and Abel agreed.

Indeed, fighting a Kraken horde underwater would leave no room for escape.

Thus, the two began their journey through the dense jungle.

Yes, a true jungle.

Thick with overgrown trees and uneven ground underfoot.

An unpredictable and terrifying place… where who knows what creatures might attack.

“They say there’s a pair of foolish adventurers—a swordsman and a magician—braving such a jungle alone.”

“Yeah, if that description is accurate, they’re in for a rough time.”

Ryo remarked, and Abel replied, conditionally agreeing.

Conditionally, of course.

“If not for this wonderful environment where we’re surrounded by walls of ice and walking on a frozen path, making it possible to walk straight ahead…”

Indeed, the two of them were walking along an under the protection of an .

They didn’t need to cut down trees as they progressed, didn’t have to worry about snakes or spiders descending from above, nor about leeches or ticks clinging to their feet…

“Well, I think if you have the power, you should use it. Am I wrong about that?”

As Ryo said this, he created an ice tunnel ahead of them.

Just like when he infiltrated the Atinjo Grand Duchy Embassy in the Free City, the extended forward and split to the sides, creating a clear path for the two to pass through.

This, of course, caused a bit of deforestation.

“You’re not wrong. It’s wonderful. Keep at it.”

Abel said with a nod.

“My apologies to the trees of the jungle. It’s all because of Abel’s orders that I’m forced to destroy the forest as we proceed. If you must blame someone, blame Abel…”

“Hey…”

Ryo shifted all responsibility onto Abel.

“Besides, isn’t there some terrifying creature in this forest? What was it again? That faceless gray monster… if anyone’s going to be attacked, it should be you…”

“A faceless monster? Oh, the Shadow Stalker?”

“Yes, that! The Shadow Stalker!”

Ryo had fought one before while traveling as part of the delegation to the Western Countries.

“Do you think they exist in the Eastern Countries too?”

“Who knows? You’d probably know better than me, given your history as an A-rank adventurer.”

“Shadow Stalkers aren’t very well-documented creatures, to be honest.”

Abel replied, shaking his head slightly.

“And yet you’re making me destroy the forest…?”

“Hey, I never asked you to do that.”

“How can you say that? Fine, how about you walk without the for a bit?”

“Uh, no, that would be inconvenient…”

Once people get used to convenience, they find it hard to give it up.

“But Abel, when you were active with the ‘Crimson Sword’ and had to traverse jungles, you probably did it the old-fashioned way, right? Without magic assistance?”

“Yeah.”

Abel nodded, but then paused midway.

“Abel?”

“W-Well… to be honest… while we mostly walked properly…”

“What?”

“There was this one time when Rin used to cut through the trees and clear a path…”

“…”

“And another time, Warren, following Rin’s orders, charged forward with his shield raised to bulldoze through…”

“…”

“Not my fault.”

Abel absolved himself of responsibility in the end.

“Abel… who was the leader of the ‘Crimson Sword’ again?”

“…Me.”

“Abel… who do you think should ultimately take responsibility for such acts of deforestation?”

“…Me?”

“Abel…you’ve done bad things, haven’t you?”

“…I was wrong.”

Abel confessed.

That said, the current scale of deforestation they were causing was minimal.

“I’m sure the Shadow Stalkers won’t get too angry over something like this.”

“…Yeah, probably.”

And so, the two of them continued their journey northward through the jungle.

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