Chapter 143
Yu-hyun immediately opened the study.
In an instant, more than 5,000 Divine Spirits filled the library.
The influx of Divine Spirits had slowed as rumors of the newly opened Mental Realm had spread, but it had not stopped.
“Celin, please manage the message window. It seems I’ll be quite busy this time around. You can handle it, right?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes, senior.”
After conveying this to Celin, who was waiting in the Observer’s Room, Yu-hyun surveyed his surroundings.
When he first entered the Mental Realm, it was necessary to understand what kind of place it was and the stories it comprised.
Yu-hyun was on a ship, and so were the other collectors.
There were a total of five ships, and they were large. About thirty collectors were evenly distributed across the five ships, six to each.
The ship Yu-hyun boarded was the largest, positioned at the center of the five.
Fortunately, all three members of White Flower Management were gathered there.
The remaining three were the mysterious collector from Management, Mr. Gweseon Bangsang, and Mr. Park Cheol-oh.
“What! Where’s the exit?!”
“It’s closed!”
“This is serious.”
Not only was the power dispersed, but the entrance disappeared as soon as they entered.
This meant that they could not leave this Mental Realm without meeting certain conditions.
“I never thought this Mental Realm would require conditions.”
Park Cheol-oh murmured in a low voice.
Normally, Mental Realms have no conditions.
The entrance is always open, allowing free entry and exit at any time.
Occasionally, a unique Mental Realm appears—one that requires the ‘conditions’ Park Cheol-oh mentioned.
“It’s the first time such a thing has been witnessed domestically.”
“Yu-hyun, what are the conditions?”
Kang Hye-rim asked quietly, audible only to Yu-hyun. She was still unfamiliar with Mental Realms that had ‘conditions.’
“The exit from the Mental Realm is created only when certain conditions are met.”
“What kind of conditions?”
“It varies with each Mental Realm. That’s why it’s important to find the conditions, especially in places like this. Usually, there are very few such places even overseas, but to think we’ve come to one now. We’re out of luck.”
As Yu-hyun muttered this, he quickly scanned the surrounding landscape.
There were sailors on the ship.
They were all phantoms composed of stories.
They were busily moving, coiling ropes, and unfurling sails, preparing for something.
“Move quickly!”
“Don’t dawdle!”
Listening to the noisy voices of the seamen, one might think they were not in a Mental Realm but in some fishing village.
Yu-hyun stroked his chin, analyzing what he had seen and heard.
“Judging by the structure of the ships, the masts, and the appearance of the Western sailors, this isn’t another dimension but a story from Earth. And what are those things mounted in front of the ships? Are they for shooting something? I was worried about the sea, but having five ships is somewhat fortunate. However, we still lack enough information to determine exactly what story this is.”
Yu-hyun, just in case, activated [Laplace’s Demon Fragment].
[Activating the power of Laplace.]
[Failure!]
[Insufficient information available.]
[Current information gathering rate: 23%]
“So it doesn’t work?”
It was just a shot in the dark, and he hadn’t really expected much. Yu-hyun immediately gathered Kwon Jia and Kang Hye-rim and said,
“Both of you, listen carefully. First of all, it seems certain that this place is a world where stories from Earth are realized. However, we still don’t know exactly what story involves so many ships and a voyage.”
“Could it be some kind of naval battle?”
“I don’t think so. The briefing mentioned that there’s a giant phantom creature here. If it were a naval battle, they wouldn’t have said that. The most likely guess is the Kraken.”
The Kraken is one of the legendary sea monsters, a giant cephalopod creature.
Its massive size and powerful tentacles, capable of wrapping around and breaking ships, made it a plausible possibility.
“Is there a tale involving the Kraken?”
“There’s no specific story about the Kraken. It’s been a legend since the Age of Exploration. But it’s not impossible. Considering the number of ships and the voyage, and the unidentified giant creature the second exploration team saw.”
“Hmm. That makes sense. But does that mean we have to face such a creature on these ships?”
“At least we have the Heavenly Gun. I think it’s worth a try.”
The massive cannon was not from the old era. The weapon, filled with the [stories] of that time and history, only looked similar to those of the past, but its power far exceeded the firepower of modern weapons.
“We should inform the others as well.”
Yu-hyun immediately shared his findings with Park Cheol-oh.
Hiding information known only to themselves after coming this far was foolish.
The higher the risk, the more they needed each other’s strength.
After hearing Yu-hyun’s words, Park Cheol-oh nodded.
“Indeed, we had also anticipated that. It seems very likely. Looking at these ships, the hypothesis seems even more probable.”
“What about the people on the other ships?”
“For now, communication is possible. The ships aren’t so far apart that we can’t go back and forth if we want to. However, since we don’t know if there are clues on another ship, we’re currently on standby.”
“Will you use the Heavenly Gun immediately?”
“It’s difficult to use right away. Given its power, it takes time to prepare. That’s why I brought the Heavenly Net. Once the monster appears, we’ll bind it with the Heavenly Net before obliterating it with the Heavenly Gun.”
“So, we still have time before the monster shows up.”
The Divine Spirits silently observed Yu-hyun and Park Cheol-oh’s conversation.
Excluding Yu-hyun’s study, there were eight more that had opened here. Even without the over six thousand Divine Spirits gathered in Yu-hyun’s study, the total number of Divine Spirits who came to visit this Mental Realm exceeded twenty thousand.
This Mental Realm was quite significant.
Normally, Yu-hyun would have considered all these aspects, but unfortunately, gathering information about the Mental Realm was the priority now.
“The sailors seem busy.”
“Yes, they do. They tend to ignore us when we speak to them. I wonder what’s so urgent.”
“If this place is indeed a manifestation of a story, there must be an important character.”
With the clues at hand, it was still impossible to know which story this place belonged to.
The most crucial clue would be the characters around whom the story was built.
Characters are the heart of a story, the indicators that determine where a world will head.
If we can identify them early, we’ll understand this place much more easily.
“Let’s focus on gathering information for now.”
“Agreed.”
Separated from Park Cheol-oh, Yu-hyun led Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jia around the ship.
There were many sailors on deck, but none cast their gaze their way.
Whether they were too busy or some force was at play, it was hard to tell.
“Excuse me.”
“…”
“Hey there.”
“…”
Despite being addressed, the sailors remained focused on their tasks. Yu-hyun scratched his head, puzzled.
There was a slight reaction when they were called, suggesting they weren’t completely unaware of their presence.
Yu-hyun decided to be more assertive.
“Let’s have a word.”
“Ah, stop bothering me!”
Grabbing a sailor who looked less burly than the others and persistently questioning him, the sailor flared up in anger.
“Can’t you see I’m working?!”
“I have something to ask.”
“I’m busy!”
“You seem to be avoiding talking with us altogether.”
Yu-hyun read that much from the sailor’s attitude.
The sailor flinched for a moment, then, as if deciding to be more brazen, blatantly ignored Yu-hyun.
‘What should I do? It’s not appropriate to cause a commotion on the ship.’
It didn’t seem like a good idea to antagonize the sailors here.
And trying to resolve things amicably wasn’t working since they weren’t interested.
While Yu-hyun pondered, Kwon Jia, who had been watching quietly, stepped forward.
“Let me try.”
“You, Jia?”
“Yes.”
With no other options, Yu-hyun nodded in agreement.
Kwon Jia approached the sailor Yu-hyun had just spoken to.
“May I ask you something?”
“No, this person keeps…”
The sailor, frowning and turning around abruptly, was taken aback upon seeing Kwon Jia. His mouth fell open, and then, glancing around cautiously, he lowered his voice.
“Hem hem. Miss, what do you need?”
“Huh.”
Watching this, Yu-hyun sighed as if he couldn’t believe it.
[100TP donation!]
[Ahaha, men are just like that, aren’t they?]
[100TP donation!]
[Honestly, if I were that sailor, I’d be happy to be approached by such a beauty too.]
The Divine Spirits laughed and snickered at Yu-hyun. He frowned at their reaction but couldn’t retort. After all, the sailor’s response to Yu-hyun and Kwon Jia was worlds apart.
‘Somewhat unfair, isn’t it?’
Yoo Hyyn felt annoyed but eventually resigned himself to the situation.
The sailor was, after all, a sailor. It was perhaps natural for a sailor, who always stayed on a ship, to be enchanted by women.
And since Kwon Jia was strikingly beautiful, the sailor’s behavior seemed all the more natural.
The sailor whispered to Kwon Jia what he knew.
Yu-hyun noticed from the sailor’s demeanor that he was being very cautious about something.
“So that’s how it is.”
Kwon Jia nodded, ended the conversation with the sailor, and returned to Yu-hyun.
“He told me quite easily. It’s strange.”
“No, that’s… Sigh. Never mind. It’s all good.”
“?”
Kwon Jia, who hadn’t relied on her looks to get information, was slightly taken aback by the sailor’s friendly attitude. Yu-hyun felt even more defeated realizing that Kwon Jia hadn’t noticed it.
“So, what did the sailor say?”
“The captain has given strict orders. He said not to casually converse with the guests.”
“The captain said that. Considering the sailor maintained a cautious demeanor while speaking, the captain must be quite intimidating.”
“Yes. The sailor only told us secretly. We can’t even have a conversation with the deck officer or anyone else in an important position.”
“Getting clues has become even more difficult,” Yu-hyun deduced from the sailor’s behavior that there was something about the captain. Yet, the captain was nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly holed up somewhere inside the ship.
“Baek-hyo, if you see anything from the sky, let me know.”
Hoot.
Yu-hyun sent Baek-hyo soaring into the sky. Since gathering information from the ship proved challenging, it was necessary to keep watch and inspect other external elements.
“Hmm?”
After sending Baek-hyo off, Yu-hyun felt a gaze and turned around. It was Mr. Gweseon Bangsang, staring intently at him.
“Do you need something from me?”
“…”
Mr. Bangsang didn’t respond to Yu-hyun’s question. His expression unreadable behind a mask, it was impossible to discern why he continued to stare.
Before Yu-hyun could inquire further, Mr. Bangsang turned and left.
“Yu-hyun, what’s wrong? What did that person say to you?”
“Nothing. He just kept staring and then left. A strange person indeed.”
“Maybe he was just curious about you?”
“Perhaps.”
Yu-hyun thought it necessary to check the book to understand why Mr. Bangsang behaved that way.
At that moment, he sensed a presence cautiously approaching.
Yu-hyun, Kang Hye-rim, and Kwon Jia turned their attention in that direction.
“Excuse me.”
Standing there was a young man who looked naive. Clearly a sailor of this ship, but his innocent gaze suggested he was a newcomer with little experience.
“What can I do for you?”
“It’s a bit conspicuous here, let’s go somewhere else.”
At the sailor’s suggestion, Yu-hyun nodded.
There was no reason to refuse.
This was the first person who had shown them any friendliness.
They moved to a secluded spot inside the ship, away from prying eyes.
“This should be good.”
“So, why did you want to see us?”
“You’re from the outside, aren’t you?”
The outside?
Yu-hyun didn’t deny it and simply nodded.
“I knew it! You’re from the outside! I was so curious!”
The young sailor’s eyes sparkled with vitality and curiosity.
Yu-hyun thought they could easily find out what they wanted to know from his friendly demeanor.
“That’s right. My name is Kang Yu-hyun. This is Kwon Jia, and over here is Kang Hye-rim. And your name is?”
“Ah, you’re Yu-hyun.”
The sailor revealed his name somewhat shyly.
“I’m Ishmael.”
At that name, Yu-hyun’s expression hardened.