Taking the Mafia to the Magic World

Chapter 1036  Dangers of the Sea

Vicente's group left Light Cay in the early evening, sailing through the island's territorial sea amidst the almost frightening darkness of this marine area.

Light Cay was a very technologically advanced domain, and from afar, the group could still see the glow of the cities that lined the island's shores. This glow made everything that wasn't glowing even darker, hiding some of the brilliance of the stars in the sky.

Meanwhile, their boat rocked with the waves, an icy cold wind coming off the sea towards the island of Light Cay.

But all the crew members protected themselves inside the ship's closed compartments, taking advantage of the fact that this was an automatic vehicle with several layers of defense that allowed the crew to travel without so much tension.

Even so, Vicente was in the ship's cockpit at the moment, accompanying the group of experienced sailors from Nan's tribe who had stayed with the ship during her trip around the island of Light Cay.

Nan and Larissa were beside him, with the little fairy flapping her bright wings to observe the same thing Vicente was watching.

Big, nervous waves and a gray sky were waiting for them in the distance.

Nan said to him, "The Violent Sea has three types of dangers that almost every traveler has to face on their journeys. These three types of dangers are responsible for over 85% of the losses in groups like ours, so sailors need to be aware of them."

Aware that Vicente intended to make other trips like this in the future, Nan took the opportunity to teach him a little of what she knew.

"The first of these dangers is the existence of underwater natives beyond the territorial seas of the islands of Anicane.

The territorial sea of each island has its common populations of aquatic beings. But these are usually creatures that conform to what we find in the island's forests. In a way, the territorial sea is like the great underwater forest of these islands. They are the aquatic extensions of these domains.

But beyond the territorial sea you find some very unusual beings, who recognize themselves as sovereigns of their own domains and enemies of anyone who tries to challenge them—which includes the mere passage of a boat through their domains.

These tribes beyond the territorial seas are strong, so we set a safe limit for travel to these points." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Several possible explanations told what was behind the different behavior of aquatic beasts from territorial seas and extraterritorial seas.

Beasts in the islands' areas of influence could be stronger than those influenced by the islands. They could be in search of food or resources. This could be a measure to limit those able to go to other islands, something, in Vicente's view, likely, given the way Anicane's truth was kept secret.

In short, there were a variety of justifications behind the peculiar behavior of these extraterritorial creatures.

"The second form of danger is intense weather phenomena. You're seeing the clouds of a storm ahead. But there are parts of the sea that are so terrible that the wind itself can tear apart unprotected Magus bodies. That's why our ship is sealed and we can't open the doors and hatches.

A storm can form in a few moments in this place and mere fragments of sea storms are capable of destroying sensitive tools and unprepared living beings.

There are other special phenomena, such as tsunamis, space storms, and others that seem less risky, but are just as terrible.

On my journey to Light Cay, we experienced a particularly unique phenomenon where we spent 10 days in an area completely devoid of mana. At first glance, this doesn't sound terrible, but if we use our energies for anything in such a place, we can quickly reach a state of exhaustion and vulnerability...

Don't underestimate the phenomena ahead. Sooner or later, we'll pass through a place affected by something like this."

She said this while Larissa and Vicente watched her attentively, she with her mouth open and he with his eyebrows knitted together.

"Finally, the third type of danger is what we call Dimensional Entrances. Don't ask me what they are and what they lead to. But there are these parts of the Sea of Stars where portals suddenly open, taking creatures to other places.

Are they alive? Is it possible to pass through a place like that and come back? I don't know. Millions of years of history tell us that whoever enters a Dimensional Entrance never returns. So if you see something like this, run away. These entrances have attractive powers that will make you enter a state of inability to escape from a certain point, which is often unclear."

"There's no pirate or competitor action traveling through the Sea of Stars?" Larissa asked, seeing in front of her several bright spots in the sea, ships passing through the area.

Nan shook her head negatively. "It's not that there aren't dangerous ones, but they represent a fraction of what happens in the Sea of Stars. Given the vastness of this sea and the large number of islands in Anicane, it's possible to make entire journeys without once encountering beings traveling between islands.

But there are certainly magicians and magical creatures who will take advantage of any opportunity they get. So an encounter with a strange group in the middle of a sea voyage could be dangerous too, despite the low probability of such an event happening."

"Are there any islands smaller than Light Cay on the way? I mean, stopping points or even underwater areas that we'll go deep into?" Vicente asked.

Nan shook her head in denial. "There are indeed places smaller than the natural islands of Anicane, archipelagos, and large volcanoes with small land areas available along the sea. But these places are extremely dangerous and are usually already occupied by the natives of the areas beyond the territorial seas.

Unless something terrible throws us into these areas, we'll avoid them. This includes the underwater world.

The natives of the sea already attack us for merely crossing their territory. What would happen if we actually tried to explore these areas?"

Vicente understood, but wanted more information. "Are there no records of explorers in these places? In a world as vast as this, some answers about Hell and Argardus might lie at the bottom of the sea."

"There certainly are. Not that I've accessed them, though. But there is a group on my island that might be interesting for you to approach. They are individuals who go to the border points between the territorial seas and the outer sea." She indicated by summoning something from her storage item.

Vicente held up her slight note with a name and address written on it.

"When we get to Amae, I can show you the way to this group. But I warn you, joining any tribe on the island means you'll have to give up some of your freedom in complicated matters."

"I'll keep that in mind." He put the note away, leaving that matter for the future. "What worries me at the moment is when we'll start suffering from those dangers you mentioned."

Nan looked to the sea again, sighing. "It won't be long, unfortunately. In three weeks, we'll be out of Light Cay's territorial sea. After that, we'll be susceptible to the dark Sea of Stars for months."