A Budding Scientist in a Fantasy World-Chapter 218

After the group finished the audience with the [King], the [King] and his family left the audience chamber. Alice suspected they had gone to figure out what land to allocate to Jonathan, and to figure out the logistics for the reality mana artifact. Meanwhile, the group went to find Murim. It took a few minutes of navigating through the palace before they found Murim’s room in the guest quarters.

The four of them approached the door, before Allira knocked on the door. The group waited a few seconds, before Alice heard a rather groggy ‘whozit?’ from the other side of the door. Another minute passed by as Alice heard faint shuffling sounds from within the room, while Allira and Ethan exchanged amused looks.

“He still likes sleeping in, huh?” said Allira.

Ethan grinned back at her, as if the two were sharing a private joke. A few minutes later, Murim opened the door, and Alice could see that his clothing was rumpled. It was obvious that Murim had thrown it on in a hurry. His hair was also poorly managed, and Alice could smell alcohol from the interior of his room. Ethan raised and eyebrow at Murim, and Murim gave Ethan a shrug.

“Sorry, I stayed up too late last night sampling some of the royal wine cellar’s offerings. I’m a bit hung over, but I can function fine. Anyway…” Murim squinted, as if trying to ward off an errant ray of light, and then glanced at Alice. “I imagine you’re here to check what I found?”

Alice nodded.

Murim grinned. “You’ll be happy to know I discovered quite a bit, then. Based off of the information you gave me, I started searching by searching the areas northwest of Illvaria,” said Murim. “I don’t mind telling you that things got kind of dangerous more than once. The Sigmusi did not like an Illvarian Immortal moving through their territory. The moment they realized who I was, they sent Emilia after me.” Murim grimaced. “Crazy [Assassin]. She nearly got me during her first ambush, although I managed to get away. After that, I managed to dodge her for a while as I moved through the country, but she kept hunting me the whole journey. That slowed things down a bit. Worse, the Maelstrom that you wanted me to check out is pretty firmly in the area controlled by the Sigmusi navy. The Maelstrom itself is pretty firmly between the Sigmusi Colonia and the Sigmusi Imperia. Had to get on a boat with some… shady folks in order to investigate it properly. I’m pretty sure they were [Pirates], but I had money to spend, and the status of an Immortal to prevent them from getting any funny ideas.

“Once we finally got close to the Maelstrom, I think I confirmed what you were looking for. During the search, I saw a giant pulse of rainbow mana tear through the air, as if it were trying to give the entire world a paint job. The area was also crawling with monsters, so I wasn’t able to get any closer. Still, based on what I saw, it looked like I was close to the source of a massive amount of unusual mana, most of which was rainbow-colored. That’s what you’re looking for, right?” Asked Demor.

Alice nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m searching for.”

Demor grinned. “Then it looks like your destination is the Maelstrom, instead of the western continent.”

At Demor’s words, Ethan had a strange mixture of amusement and relief on his face. “Well, I’m a bit disappointed that my guess was wrong. I definitely thought that it would be on the western continent, not the Maelstrom. Still, even if I’m surprised, it’s good news. Less travel for us.” Ethan frowned. “However, the monsters and the difficulty of accessing the area aren’t good news. You said that the place is crawling with monsters?”

Murim nodded. “I couldn’t even approach past a certain point, because the monsters were so dense. My Perks make it easier to travel through monster infested lands, but that wasn’t a ‘monster infested land.’ It was almost literally a wall of monsters eating each other and laying eggs. To get to the heart of this mess, you’ll need to find a boat to get to the center of the maelstrom, and a way past the wall of monsters. I’m mostly equipped for land exploration, so my knowledge past that point is hazy. Sorry, but that’s all I found out.”

“Far better than nothing,” said Ethan. “We can figure out the rest on our own. Thank you for what you’ve done,” said Ethan.

“So we’re leaving soon?” said Allira. “Are we going to try to sail from Illvaria to the Maelstrom, or travel over land and then get a boat once we arrive?”

Ethan frowned. “I don’t like the idea of travelling through Sigumusi territory and then trying to find a ship willing to take us to our destination while Emilia pursues us. Once she realizes there are multiple Immortals, she’ll definitely call for reinforcements, and if they catch us with an actual army or enough Immortals we’ll die.”

“Isn’t that a problem if we travel by boat as well?” said Allira. “It’s not like Illvaria has much of a navy to help us reach our destination. We’ll be sailing through a bunch of Sigmusi-controlled waters, right off the coast of a dominant naval power, in order to reach a destination that is also in the water.”

Ethan sighed. “I still think we’re better off leaving by boat from Illvaria. At the very least, Mages play a huge role in naval warfare. Unlike on land, where horses and infantry can make their way to a mage and cut them down before they start using magic, on a boat there are far fewer ways to approach a target. With so many direct options cut off, Mages have an even bigger advantage than usual. I should be able to defend us in a naval battle.”

Allira looked thoughtful for a moment, before she nodded.

Murim also nodded. “Sounds like you have a plan, then.. Good luck to you. All of you.”

“Good luck to you as well,” said Ethan, as he nodded. “I take it you don’t wish to come with us?”

Murim snorted. “Most of my Perks are useless when I’m on a boat. I’m not setting foot on a boat unless I have no choice at all.” Ethan raised an eyebrow, before he sighed.

“Fine. We can’t force you. Do you at least have a suggestion for any good [Navigators] or people who can help us sail through the ocean? Maybe you ‘borrowed’ the talents of the [Pirate] captain you mentioned?”

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Murim snorted again. “Not a chance. I don’t have any contacts that can help you here. You’ll probably have to rope your mother into helping you sail. We all know she has some kind of water movement Class, and she’s also pretty likely to have a Perk that helps her resist mana baptisms. With how dense the mana at your destination is, she’s going to need it.”

Ethan thought about it for a moment, before he nodded. “I suppose that is the most logical choice, if my mother is nearby. My mother hasn’t been on a boat in a few decades, but her Perks will back up our travel well enough that it should be fine. I just hope we don’t run into a Sigmusi fleet and go down.”

Murim shrugged. “I imagine they have their own problems to deal with at this point. Towards the end of our chase, Emilia seemed anxious to go deal with other problems. It’s part of why I managed to escape her pursuit.” Ethan and Allira both looked thoughtful at this statement.

While Ethan and Allira were lost in thought, Murim raised an eyebrow at Allira. “I take it you’re going with Ethan and Alice, then?”

“I intend to,” said Allira. “My shadows are one of the most effective tools for scouting in Illvaria, and they can also double as recyclable troops. They’re a great fit for what will be needed during this journey, especially if there’s a giant horde of monsters right outside of the destination.” Allira sighed. “I’d love to help defend Illvaria against monsters warms instead, but it seems Lady Alice’s journey is of greater relevance to the overall picture. So even though it sucks, I’ll do what’s best for everyone instead of what I want to.”

Murim nodded. “Good luck to you too, then. Oh, and make sure to visit Doll before you leave - she might be able to rig some good weapons onto your mother’s ship, if you’re planning to use it again. I don’t think your mother has updated her ship since she stopped working on her sailing-related Class, right? Ship designs have changed a lot over the past few decades. You should at least update the weapons system for the ship and get any other updates that are needed. I’m sure Doll will make time to fix it.”

“Will do,” said Ethan. “Is there anything else you observed that you feel would be relevant?”

“Hmm… keep an eye out for ocean monsters. I already mentioned them, but there were a lot of them. Seriously. Be careful. Also, I didn’t get close enough to confirm the presence of any other obstacles or barriers in your path. So be ready for anything. Ask Doll to give you a giant set of tools. That’s about all I have to say.”

Murim nodded at them a final time, and told them which inn Ethan’s mother was staying at before the group left.

“So, are we going to see Doll first?” asked Allira.

“I suppose,” said Ethan, sounding hesitant. “No, let’s see my mother first instead. Doll likes my mother, so I might as well find my mother first and drag her along. Then, we’ll get the ship equipped with weapons for Sigmusi ships or aquatic monsters, then make our way to the coast so we can sail.”

The group left the palace, before Ethan turned to Alice. “Alice, do you want to come with me to see my mother? You could also take the rest of the day off before we set sail. I know how hard you’ve been working, and I don’t really think that naval supplies and army management are up your alley. That’s what most of the discussion with my mother is going to entail. I’ll still try to drill it into your head eventually, but, well…” Ethan sighed. “At this rate, I expect I’ll probably only get the chance after you become an Immortal. Things are happening so fast. You must be close to level 100, right?”

Alice nodded. “I’m very close, yes. I’ll probably hit level 100 pretty soon.”

Alice left it unsaid, but both she and Ethan knew what that meant.

Based on Alice’s understanding of the way levels and aging interacted with each other, people became Immortal when their attributes, Achievements, and class levels all reached a certain combined level of influence on someone’s body. Alice had a large pile of ridiculously high rarity of Achievements. Her Attributes were on the average side for someone who was about to hit Immortality. Her level was approaching the bare minimum threshold to hit Immortality. With all of those factors combined, Alice would probably hit Immortality pretty quickly after she hit level 100 and went through the associated Class evolution.

In other words, Alice was basically standing at the doorstep of Immortality. Anything she learned about being an Immortal was going to stop being ‘preparation’ soon enough, and start being ‘information she should have learned along the way, but didn’t because she got to Immortality too fast.’ That was both comforting and troubling.

Ethan nodded at her. “So it’ll be soon, then,” he said.

“Soon,” said Alice. She thought back to Ethan’s original question, before she shook her head. “I've already met your mother, and I’d like some time to relax or go back over the information I’ve already collected. I think I’ll sit this meeting out. Maybe I can get a level or two out of going over some books, if I’m lucky. System knows I need every advantage I can get at this point,” said Alice.

Ethan grinned. “I think that’s one of the first times you’ve sworn by the System. We really are starting to rub off on you.”

Alice shrugged, and grinned. Cecilia smiled at her.

“Well, in that case, I’ll go to see my mother alone, and then meet with Doll. Allira, do you mind watching over Alice while I do that? I don’t want her to get assassinated while I’m busy.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” said Allira. She turned towards Alice. “Let’s find an inn for the night. We can relax while we wait for Ethan to finish up.”

Alice nodded, and she, Allira, and Cecilia made their way to a nearby inn. Allira insisted on checking the food before Alice ate anything, which Alice felt was both amusing and frustrating. She had never had someone poison-test her food before - though with times being what they were, anything was possible.

The three sat around for a few hours, and true to her earlier words, Alice spent some time reading through a few books on magic theories. None of them seemed very relevant to her current situation, and sadly, she didn’t get a single level out of her reading, either. After that, since Ethan still hadn’t returned, the three girls fell asleep.

When they woke the next morning, Ethan found them in the inn while they were eating breakfast.

“My mother has agreed to pilot our ship, and perhaps most surprisingly, Doll has agreed to sail with us,” said Ethan, sounding a bit surprised himself. “She said that she’ll outfit the ship with new weapons as we travel.”

“Will that work?” asked Alice. According to her knowledge, [Blacksmiths] needed all sorts of tools such as hammers and anvils to make their craft come to life. Trying to set up a proper forge in a ship would be difficult, to say the least.

“She says it won’t be as effective, but she has some Perks that can help her get set up,” said Ethan.

Alice shrugged. If an Immortal said they could work without a forge, they probably could. Besides, Alice was far from unhappy about having another Immortal with them. From what she had seen of the System, while it was mostly magic-based, there were unquestionably parts of it that were physical, and probably made of steel or other materials. Having a [Blacksmith] to help with repairs would be useful.

“So when do we leave?” asked Allira.

“Tonight. Pack your bags and get ready. We’ll leave right after the sun sets.”