Chapter. 20. Off-Road (5)
****
“Wow, it’s the sea.”
ocean.
What comes to mind when you think of the sea?
People before the twisting of dragon veins would recall the endless blue waves, the fishy smell of the sea, and the liveliness of the port.
“Ugh, it’s the sea.”
“Tsk! It’s like rotten corpse water. Close the window! “Because I don’t want to see it!”
However, I can assure you that anyone who has seen the sea after the twisting of the dragon vein will be able to completely forget any memories of the past.
The water is blue, but with heterogeneous green waves mixed in here and there as if alive.
The beach is dyed red by the violent carnivorous moss of the sea, and if you step on it barefoot, your skin will peel off in an instant.
Not to mention the ferocity of sea creatures, the smallest waves are constantly crashing to a height of more than three times the height of a human being, making it a sea of fragmented continents.
Moreover, this is the sea with the ‘Deep Blue Line’, which is famous for being the roughest and most violent of all seas.
“…Is there some kind of war?”
“This is everyday life in the port city, young friend.”
The castle walls were full of moss, seaweed, and teeth marks of all kinds of sea creatures, blocking the endless waves and sea creatures like a veteran in battle.
“Those who live in the city have a longing for the blue sea of old stories. There goblin friend! I heard you traveled around there quite a bit? “Is this your first time in the sea?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve seen it a few times from a distance… but this is my first time crossing over it in person, right? maybe?”
“That’s too bad. “Sooner or later, you will experience the most terrible experience of your life.”
“Or that’s where life ends. Hehehe!”
The drivers, Mitch and Pelzelton, who gave me a ride at Kaibuen’s request, smiled and said with a look that only they knew.
“Well, everyone has their own lives, so I can’t stop you from going. At least get on a proper boat. “Did you say Oranite?”
“yes. “For now, what?”
“Then it’s a bit better. As I said, the sea is so rough that it happens frequently that passengers have to jump out and be hung by guns and harpoons. That’s why even sailors like the dog car squad are kind to passengers who put in a bit of effort. Because it helps. “You can get on a better boat even under the same conditions.”
“Ah~”
“If you haven’t found a boat yet, please tell me. Since I am also involved in smuggling, I know quite a few captains. “I won’t lose face if I introduce Oranite at least, so I’ll tell you well.”
“Hahaha, I’ll just accept your heart. “I bought the ticket from that friend in Kaibu.”
“Tsk! Anyway, goblins don’t have anything they don’t have.”
“The bonus went over the water.”
As expected, the train drivers looked very disappointed, as if they were trying to get money for rice cakes by introducing Oranite passengers.
‘This is normal.’
If you get angry at that level of manipulation, you are disqualified for wandering. Because it is a world where movement is limited, most groups tend to be closed, selfish, and self-centered.
For those people, an outsider is the perfect person to rip off and rip off. Because it is difficult to leave the city, people from the same city get along well with each other without any problems, but since outsiders are the ones who will leave anyway, they are full of the desire to scam and rob them.
Because the Magic Train is also a closed group. If I had boarded the ship recommended by these engineers, I would have either been rolled to death as an Oranite and reached Roderick while doused in salt, or I would have been robbed and thrown into the sea.
Rather than being disappointed that they couldn’t deceive, there was a greater feeling of acceptance, with a feeling of ‘Okay, I’ll have to do this at least to let you go’.
A kind of rite of passage for nerds. These are cute scammers you see everywhere you go.
If you fall victim to a trick like this, you should blame yourself for coming to a soft land with insufficient skills.
“sleep. There’s definitely a boat ticket here, right? I’ve saved a separate boat, so let’s call it a day. “Let’s have a good time, okay?”
In times like this, it is much more effective to show that I am prepared rather than getting angry. In some cases, they are recognized as ‘useful people’ and connect them with their acquaintances.
The reason the two train drivers looked at my ticket was probably related to personal gain. If I were a famous Oranite, the navigational safety of that ship would increase. They are probably planning to sell this information through routes they know or to make a small fortune by coaxing other people to introduce them.
“Fuuuuup!”
“Cluck cluck kek!”
But didn’t the two people who were looking at the tickets suddenly open their eyes and get scared?
“why. “Is there a problem?”
“Uh uhh… then. There’s no problem. “Who did you say you bought this from?”
“Kaibuen is the owner of the goblin workshop where you left the contraband two days ago.”
Wow!
“This is why I don’t trust the dwarf race! Sell this for 30 million? “Hey, you cheater!”
“Young fella… pass… finder? Anyway, I’m being serious. Try to sell this ticket in the port city and find another boat. “I won’t joke around and will seriously introduce you to a proper boat!”
“…What are you saying?”
He pretended to look at the ticket and glanced at the two people, but this time his expression seemed quite sincere.
Hmm, how do I explain that expression?
‘Rather than saying he’s particularly worried about me… should I say it’s an instinctive behavior like catching someone throwing themselves into a poop bucket?’
I don’t know what it is, but it’s a face that has seen something quite bad.
The two train drivers, Mitch and Pelzelton, said as they dodged my ticket as if it were a scroll filled with black magic.
“That’s a salvage boat ticket!”
“Salvage ship?”
“okay! Of all the crazies on the sea, this is the ship that only the craziest and the craziest of them all ride! Deep Blue Line Salvage Ship!”
“That ship crosses the sea, but it chooses the most dangerous route! It doesn’t even just go straight, it stops frequently! They’re throwing people into that crazy sea! Are you saying you’re not riding in your right mind? If you bought a ticket to cross the ocean… you’re screwed! To that goblin guy!”
“Ah~ Salvage ship?”
I shook my head as I watched the two people shaking their hands and feet and trying hard to explain.
Now that I think about it, Kaibuen said that the boat fare includes an ‘introduction fee’. This is what it was about.
“Good for you.”
“Hey hey. Did you hear us correctly? “It’s not just a boat-”
“I also happened to have some business to do under the sea. “You found the right one.”
“…So, the first person on the ocean will start by diving in the ocean for the first time?”
“This is a friend who came into existence in a haphazard way and the contents are a mess. “It came full circle.”
The two drivers took turns looking at my smiling face and the rough sea surging as if it were exploding after colliding with the breakwater next to the ticket train, then turned around, shaking their heads with a sigh.
“It was short, but it was fun, young man.”
“The sea has betrayed another person.”
“It’s a shame.”
『Puuuuu-!』
The train stops with a short whistle sound.
Rattling-
Wow!
After a short communication, the gates opened, revealing a port city filled with the smell of steam.
“It was a good ride! See you next time!”
“I absolutely hate it.”
“If we want to meet you, we’ll have to be buried at the bottom of the sea.”
The two train drivers and others had already treated me like I was dead, but what could they do?
“There is no rule that a relationship must end well.”
As the train was about to enter the stop, I quickly took advantage of the shadows to get out.
This time, passengers cannot use the station because they have not officially purchased a ticket.
“Let’s see. Salvage ship Salvage ship ‘Whale’… Is this this way?”
Since it was annoying to get caught shooting around for no reason, I followed the instructions written on the back of the ticket and started heading towards the dock of the salvage ship ‘Whale’.
Semayren, a fishy city where nothing is damp, from the fish stalls outside the alleys to the street carts and people.
“Water is coming in!”
Shoot!
Snap!
“…Are the waves reaching into the city?”
Unlike most people in the city who wore shorts and waterproof shoes, I was soaked up to my ankles.
“It’s the port city of Semayren…”
Although I became a smuggled immigrant, I couldn’t help but feel excited by the unfamiliar sight.
As I rolled up the hem of my wet pants and headed toward the city’s cobbled streets where the sea water had receded like the low tide, I was filled with interest in a new world.
****
Port city of Semayren.
It is a different city in many ways.
“Hey foreigner! “You’re not crossing there!”
“….me?”
“Yes you! Long pants! “There are other outsiders here besides you!”
Busy, rough and noisy people.
I’ve only been in the city for less than an hour, and my ears are already hurting.
Of course, the sound of the waves pounding the castle walls all day long as if they had been hit by cannons was to blame, but the main reason was the voices of the people here, whose voices were as loud as boat horns to cut through the noise.
Shoot aaaaa-
“Water is coming in~”
“Those who haven’t put out their boats yet, load them up quickly and put them out! The next breakwater opening is in three hours! “An impatient fish will taste simple by then!”
The introduction of water into the city was also a major feature.
Of course, Wiggen and other cities also diligently provide water to their cities, but the water here in Semayren was a bit different from the water there.
“Long pants! Don’t stand in the water! I’m getting swept away by the outsiders. It’s none of my business. If a boat gets knocked over for no reason, who’s going to compensate for it? go away!”
“A piece of pear?”
Shoot!
The answer to the question was solved with the rapidly rising water.
‘It’s sea water.’
Sea water began to rush in from the coast at high speed.
While the knee-high planks prepared in advance prevented water from entering the building, the incoming waves began to fill the city streets at a rapid pace.
– Fluffy.
And the large and small boats brought out by people began to run through the city on the sea water.
It is a small boat that is small enough for a person to ride on, but large enough to carry one or two boxes.
“Oh oh.”
“How amazing is that? Thanks to those waves, we don’t have to use porters in Semairen!”
“So… that boat?”
“Once every three hours, the city opens the coastal gate a little and we travel around the city riding the waves that come in. A small boat that travels around the city on its own like that – Sigh!”
Rattling!
“This is how I look at the sign hanging from a pre-arranged business partner and take it out. I move items without leaving my store or carrying heavy loads. “If necessary, take people with you.”
“It’s convenient.”
‘So everyone was wearing short bottoms like shorts. Knee-high water floods the city once every three hours.’
Maybe that’s why outsiders are classified by the name “long pants” and why there are barnacle-like things growing in every corner of the city.
The water that comes in due to the force of the waves sweeps across the city and flows out like an ebb tide. This is a story that cannot be dreamed of unless it is a city that is usually elaborately built. A level of perfection that would not have been possible without the dwarves’ touch. A city that is understandable even though the construction cost was several times more than that of a regular city.
“…If the reason for flooding the city was for convenience reasons, wouldn’t that be doing more harm than good? Things can be moved if you use some handyman skills. “If someone has a bad mind, they can just grab something floating like that.”
“Save the small boat? under! This guy is talking more and more like an outsider. This is a port city, man. Did you know that a lot of goods come into the port city? “This is where a lot of things come and go, so much so that even if you work as a handyman, your pockets will be strained.”
“hmm.”
“And what is the most common product coming into the port city? “It’s something worth moving from one continent to the other, even if it costs expensive continental freight.”
“….Fragments?”
“Yeah, that’s what nobles are crazy about. Most of the items worth boarding a ship are magical engineering equipment made by artisan-level engineers, or precious gems and fragments that cannot be found on this continent. “With such items circulating around, the punishment for illegal seizure of cargo is beyond imagination.”
“Do you think the level of security is good?”
“Anyone who violates this will be sent to the sea. Isn’t that what someone else said? If you were standing in the middle of the waterway and collided with a boat, you would be sentenced to at least 5 years of hard labor. “And that too, being shackled on a fishing boat where people are said to be being separated.”
At that point, I couldn’t help but buy the grilled fish sold by the pot-bellied street vendor. He even saved me from a situation where I could have been bothered by information about the city.
-Right!
Except that the taste is different from regular mushrooms, it would be crazy to pay money to buy them.
“Wow.”
“Hehehe. A little tough, right? All the fish caught in Deep Blue are a bit tough. So, you have to spend a long time making very tight cuts, then seasoning it with plenty of spices and grilling it.”
Jwaaaak-
“Then- why are you selling this like this?”
“Of course, if you put it in your stomach, it will give you strength the same way. Do people like us eat without worrying about taste? “If you eat and are full, that’s food.”
“Keueuung.”
“Anyway, there are many reasons to flood the city other than transportation issues. There is a device that filters out dangerous carnivorous moss at the entrance to the water gate and performs various other treatments. This means that by the time the water surrounding the city drains, it is not ‘terrifying deep blue, man-eating sea water’ but ‘just salt water.’ They distill it, use it as drinking water in the city, use it as washing water, and sell the water. “It’s just that sea water is difficult for even the most skilled coastal people to handle.” “
Ugh,
that’s right.” Dangerous sea um. “I heard you well.”
In the end, a port is necessary, but the sea is so dangerous that even touching it can cause your skin to peel off like a burn, so a city with such sophisticated facilities was built.
“fun.”
I’ve visited many cities, but this was my first time seeing such a unique city. As
I
was eating the food, I felt like the spicy scent suited my taste.
Shoot,
it’s easy for an outsider like me to find the way.
“I’m sure you said the boat goes around the city for transportation purposes, right?”
If the purpose of small boats is to transport goods, the place where most small boats are headed is the port where goods are loaded and unloaded.
As I walked along the waterway, wading through water that was up to my ankles (my legs felt a little stinging with my pants rolled up), I eventually arrived at what appeared to be a port.
Quaaaang!
Fuuuuuuu!
“Uh-”
A large port built inside the breakwater where the sound of waves crashing is enough to make your body cry.
“Oh, there it is.”
The salvage ship ‘Whale’ was located in the farthest corner, isolated as if other ships were avoiding it.
A port with a named anchorage as if it is a designated place for ships to land, and even a small building.
Knock knock –
“Are you there~”
“….”
The building with the sign “Whale, Mystery of the Sea” was quiet even when I knocked on the door.
‘There’s definitely something popular inside, right?’
Six people. Men who breathe heavily and seem to be large in stature.
Knock knock-
“Are you there~”
Knock knock-knock-
“There you are~”
Knock knock knock knock knock knock!
“Is no one there-”
Quang!
“What kind of bastard! “You don’t know what sailors do at this hour!”
“-peel….?”
Just as the hinges of the solid wooden door began to shake precariously, a man came out of the door with an angry look on his face.
Before the fist that was already halfway up was stuck in my face, I took out the ticket I had prepared in advance.
“I came here after being introduced! “I came here because I had to dive in Deep Blue on my way to the old Rodrik area, right?”
….Palak.
“Do you want to be introduced?”
The man with thick sideburns said as he glanced inside the building.
A few small candlesticks and a water-soaked scripture. The smell of incense from the temple was familiar to me and the men had red eyes.
“You said you were introduced to a ride on a salvage ship?”
….Hiccup!
This time I couldn’t answer easily either.
Because, as far as I know, the scene inside was a makeshift funeral.
[Dave. 1st week on board. I hope you live better in that sea than here.]
[Desin Batur. 2nd week on board. I hope you live better in that sea than here.]
[Eva. 12th week on board. I hope you live better in that sea than here.]
[Cory]
[Menders]
[Egil]
.
.
.
.
.
Also a joint funeral. Most of the people were drowned less than a month after boarding the ship.
“…I don’t know what you’re here for, but if you don’t want to get screwed, go back. “I will definitely kill the guy who introduced me.”
The man ordered me to congratulate the guests and closed the door.
Wow!
No, I tried to close the door.
“ha ha ha. Good for you.”
“…Are you deaf?”
“I also came from a temple orphanage, so I’ve been to the memorial service for a while. Would you like to read the congratulatory message? “The denomination doesn’t really matter, right?”
This time it was the other way around and the other side was dumbfounded.
“….under! Hahaha! “It’s the crazy guy who ran away from home again.”
“Hehe, let me do it.”
Shake!
“If you want to die that much, come in. “I stopped you once, so I guess the sea won’t blame me!”
The man looked me up and down, smiled brightly, and opened the door.
Seueueueu-
Haaa.
“hmm. “I hope this trip will be fun!”
I thought about this as I looked at the eyes of the large people gathered in the middle of the funeral and inhaled the smell of sour sweat and fishy smell.
Damn it, it won’t be that easy this time.
‘First of all, let it seep in.’
Nodding roughly, I squeezed in between them, picked up the wet cardboard from the podium, and unfolded it with a solemn expression.
“Eh, Gwangmyeong said-”
Day 1 of life on a fishing boat.
To the people on the salvage ship, I was known as a priest who wanted to die in a unique way.
****
