Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 500 - 64 Seeing Sunshine Again_1

Chapter 500: Chapter 64 Seeing Sunshine Again_1

"Oh, sunshine, magnificent sunshine." As the girls emerged from the sea, they were greeted by comforting and warm sunlight. The evening sun, colored orange-yellow, bathed the girls, cloaking them in a light yellow veil. Looking up, the glistening sea spread out in hues of gold, as if countless golden ribbons were dancing fluidly beneath the water. Not far from them, a school of fish jumped up, their splashing sparkling dazzlingly under the sunlight. As they took a deep breath, scents of the sea filled their nostrils. Under the rays of the sun, the slightly burning smell of their surroundings consumed them. It had been over ten days since they all saw each other. Only then did they realize the little moments like breathing and smelling that they often took for granted brought so much joy. They discovered just how diverse and delightful the scents in the air can be, and how reluctant they were to ever let them go.

As they looked back, they saw a different scene. Behind them, less than a hundred meters away, a dense cloud of white fog stretched high from the sea to the sky. The fog seemed to wall off the island from the outer sea, separating them like two different worlds. Driven by curiosity, the girls swam cautiously into the fog. Suddenly, everything turned white, and they could no longer tell directions, nor could they see their own bodies with a downward glance. As they ventured deeper, a slight deviation scrambled their sense of direction. Without the sight of the sun, the surroundings, or each other, all that seemed to exist was the heavy fog weighing on their hearts. Catherine gingerly took out her compass, holding it as close as she could to make out the dial. Unexpectedly, the compass was useless in the fog. The needle spun wildly, failing to give any sense of direction.

In the adventurer’s world, because most of the adventures took place in locations laden with various magical energy fields, it was not unusual for compasses to be frequently disrupted, failing to indicate directions correctly. However, it was unexpected for such a phenomenon to occur on the vast open sea. No wonder people believed that without the help of the Sea Race, navigation within the navigation hazard zone was virtually impossible.

After a few minutes in the fog, Catherine finally understood that not only darkness could evoke pressure. Although the white fog made the surrounding seemingly gloomy, it did not look dark at all. Still, it was the white fog that blocked their vision, leaving them lost and disoriented. After a while, they might even feel they have lost their selves, as if they no longer existed.

A few minutes later, Catherine could no longer endure it and chose to retreat back into the water. The moment she submerged, the fog’s influence was cut off, and her vision returned. From beneath the sea, she looked up to see the fog above the surface, solid and impenetrable. There was no sight of the horizon, and no one knew how far it stretched. It seemed only when they reached another island would they bask under the sun again.

Looking around, she found others had done the same, also retreating back under the water under the pressure of the fog, looking a bit shaken but all right. They communicated with each other through glances. Only Pannis stayed submerged without ever peeking out of the water in the first place, covering her mouth and sneaking giggles, calculating the time. They didn’t have time for him right now. The girls quickly swam out of the fog and lifted their heads to take deep breaths of air. For a moment, except for Lina, it seemed they all had forgotten the potency of the Amphibian Beads they wore, which enabled them to breathe underwater.

"You find it amusing?" Catherine glared at Pannis and retorted, "You didn’t even warn us."

"A warning would have been no use," Pannis stifling a laugh replied, "Without personal experience, you would never understand. Your reactions were actually pretty normal. The first time I did this, I reacted just like you all did, so don’t feel embarrassed."

"That fog..." Catherine peeked at the wall of fog, "Will it ever dissipate?"

"At least no one has ever seen it disappear," Vivian replied. "Records in documents indicate that various people have spent decades continuously observing and researching the fog at the edge of the near sea, only to discover that the fog barely changed in decades. The only change was the continual transformation of its external shape. According to the data provided by the Sea Race and the Drakes, it has been like this since the second age, and no one knows why."

Catherine shook her head and sighed softly. The rest remained silent, knowing exactly why Catherine was so affected. Her parents had encountered a Sea Beast attack during a voyage in the navigation hazard zone. The Sea Race navigator they had hired was killed by the Sea Beast’s counterattack for their initiative to fight. Bereft of their guide, the survivors were forever lost in the thick fog. The ship was discovered by a member of the Sea Race by happenstance half a year later, with only dehydrated corpses remaining on board.

"Phew," Catherine exhaled deeply, shook her head to shake off the memories, and said spiritedly, "We can’t change the past, so let’s leave it be. What matters now is the present. That barren island, that’s our destination."

A mile or so away, a barren island made of rocks, pebbles, and soil towered above the sea level. No trees were to be seen, indicating that the island was not a forest-type, rather a plain rock-type. Vivian observed the island through a Hawkeye Spell. Apart from a few controlled members of the Sea Race, there was practically nothing there, no large plants, no large animals, it was a barren island.

"The sight of land finally," Catherine couldn’t help but smile, "Even if the land is full of enemies, it feels better than being at sea, if only to look at."

"We must do more than just gaze at it," Pannis half-submerged in water, said as he looked at the barren island under the setting sun, "According to Doris, during these past ten or so years, she has searched everywhere that has sea water. The only places left for us to explore are these islands. Considering the other two are quite far, this must be the last possibility."

"Given how tightly guarded this area is, it must certainly be here," Lina pushed herself up to take a look at the desolate island, her hands on Freya’s shoulders. "Unless those controlled Sea Race creatures act like true intelligent beings and heavily guard this place on the surface, only to hide the goods elsewhere. But then, they wouldn’t really be ’controlled’, would they?"

"I’ve noticed something," Catherine commented amusingly at Lina: "Regardless of how this mission turns out, your biggest gain is that your aversion towards water has improved significantly, and your swimming skills have leapt forward."

"I’m still not quite there," Lina shook her head. "I can’t breathe underwater without the Amphibian Beads."

"At least you wouldn’t nearly drown in waist-deep water," Pannis replied casually, immediately moving out of Lina’s striking range which left Lina frustratedly splashing water around.

"I wonder if their detection range will increase once we surface," Catherine said, oblivious to Lina’s frustration, "that might be a problem if it does."

"I doubt it would. They didn’t react when light hit their faces underwater, so they’re probably not relying on light for detection," Pannis proposed. "Just to be safe, I’ll give it a try. Meanwhile, you guys dive back and keep a safe distance."

The girls didn’t object. After enjoying the sun and the fresh air for some time, they dived back into the water and hid under the area covered by the dense fog. Pannis did not act immediately. After approaching the outskirts of the defense circle, she bobbed up and down on the water surface, observing the patrol team’s movements from both above and below.

The responses from the Sea Race creatures were vastly different underwater and above water. Underwater, the patrol team was intensely spread out, actively moving back and forth with little-to-no defensive gaps, whereas the Sea Race on the island was not as plentiful, the gaps between the patrol teams were significantly larger and hence, it was comparatively easier to infiltrate. But the main problem was getting to the beach as it required passing through the underwater cautionary circle which was quite troublesome.

After observing for a while, Pannis resurfaced and mused for a bit, an idea suddenly sparked in her eyes. She plunged into the water and headed towards the controlled Sea Race patrol. As soon as she neared their 40-meter range, three patrol members detected Pannis and surged towards her, sounding an alarm. Nearby patrol members reacted and began to converge on her from both sides. Pannis executed an elegant flip in water, straying away from the Sea Race and disappearing from the surface. It was only after seven or eight minutes when the Sea Race members finally returned to their original positions.

The girls didn’t sit idle; using the characteristic of the controlled Sea Race that only targeted intelligent beings, Freya deployed five or six disc-shaped puppets enchanted with Vivian’s Eye of the Mage spell. The puppets penetrated the defensive zone and simply suspended motionless in the water. Due to the Eye of the Mage spell, the movements of the underwater patrols were completely in the hands of the girls, including the returning patrols distracted by Pannis.

"I’m back," A current stirred below and Pannis emerged from the depths, signaling the girls to regroup on the surface where there was no dense fog, "I’ve tested it out. Their detection range hasn’t changed, still at forty meters, even if the heads are surfaced."

"That’s good to hear," Catherine nodded, "now we have to figure out how to plot a course."

"Actually, I’ve thought of a good strategy," Pannis brought up, "with this method, it’s quite easy to find a safe path."

"What method?" Catherine was taken aback, surprisedly asked, "You make it sound so simple."

"This will rely on the greatness of our Legendary Magician, Master Vivian." Pannis continued, "The only question is whether Vivian has the capacity to pull it off." (To be continued. If you like this story, feel free to vote or donate on qidian.com to show your support. Your encouragement fuels my inspiration. Mobile users can visit m.qidian.com for the best reading experience.)