When he first arrived at this small area, he hadn't paid much attention.
But after entering one of the people's dreams and taking a tour around it, he noticed the difference between this place and the surroundings.
In such an environment, this area was surprisingly... quiet.
The difference between here and the surroundings was too stark.
Outside the dream bubbles of the islanders outside, almost every one of them teemed with various dream creatures trying to burst them and absorb the energy within.
Though the creatures that could actually break a bubble, or even create a breach, were few and far between, the number of creatures striving to do so was immense.
Even if there was only one outside a bubble, it was already considered rare.
However, this circle was clearly not the case.
The dream bubbles formed by the merchant ship crew, who had just arrived on the island, stood out from the surroundings.
Not a single dream creature attempted to approach.
After a quick tour around the island, Alka discovered that the problem stemmed from the largest dream bubble in the center. This must be the leader of this team, or perhaps the captain.
The bubble was roughly the same size as Alka's current dream bubble, meaning it must have been at least a peak Stage 2 or even Stage 3.
Thinking of this, he turned his head and gazed into the distance. There, there were other dream bubbles similar in appearance to this one, perhaps even larger.
Those dream bubbles were the strongest individuals on this island.
As for the specific one, Alka only knew it was the town's mayor.
But even with them, dream creatures still tried to destroy their dream bubbles.
Clearly, this wasn't a matter of strength.
Rather, it was something else.
After a brief moment of reflection, Alka grabbed a nearby dream creature and slowly floated it toward the central sphere.
From the moment they began moving in that direction, the dream creature in his hand began to struggle.
It acted somewhat... reluctantly.
When Alka held it, almost reaching the central dream bubble, the dream creature ceased its struggle.
It simply curled up into a ball, completely unwilling to face the situation.
Looking at the ball of light and shadow in his hand, Alka thought for a moment and loosened his grip.
The moment his grip loosened, the light and shadow immediately transformed into an arrow-like object, swiftly escaping into the distance.
"Sure enough, there's something in this dream bubble that's intimidating the surrounding creatures."
Thinking of this, Alka turned around.
To be honest, he was half tempted to enter the bubble and explore.
But that was clearly impossible right now.
The owner of this dream bubble must have some ability or item that could protect his dream.
Not to mention his immense power.
Thinking for a moment, a reflection appeared on Alka's face.
Then, in the mirror above his face, the figure of the Dream Death appeared.
A round ball appeared at his waist, and light and shadow spread out, a cloak of light and shadow covering Alka's body.
A black sickle condensed in his hand, and without hesitation, he slashed at the dream bubble before him.
"Dang!"
It was like striking metal.
The bubble resounded with a resilient sound.
As expected, even his own dream was so well protected.
Alka could sense a strange energy coating the bubble, protecting its strength.
A pink mist drifted out, drifting towards the membrane of the bubble before him.
However, all the mist was blocked out.
The dream bubble was repelling.
Repelling everything that did not belong within it. In other words, even if Alka wanted to enter the dream bubble, he would still be blocked.
After a moment's thought, he reached out his hand.
However, his hand felt like it had hit a solid stone wall; it couldn't penetrate.
Looking at the bubble before him, Alka marked it, then left.
There was nothing left to test. It was certain that someone, or some force within the vast ocean, had mastered the ability to protect their dream bubble.
However, this was only true for this one person's bubble.
The surrounding bubbles showed no such changes.
But the deterrent power emanating from this one bubble was enough to dispel a large area of dreamland.
And the resting place for his crew, in the dream, was so precisely located within the deterrent range.
The captain in the middle must have known of his ability, and he had deliberately arranged his crew's resting areas within a certain radius.
Since he couldn't obtain any intelligence, he would gather it from the surrounding bubbles.
Alka chose one and slipped inside.
Alka spent the entire night wandering through these bubbles, though due to his limited stamina, he still made some choices.
Entering too many dream bubbles in one night was too draining on his stamina and magic.
Even so, he still reaped a rich harvest.
...
As the sky brightened once more.
Alka and his team had already split into two teams and began their final day's operation.
Jason's team continued gathering intelligence.
Alka and his team had already arrived at the gate to explore the final area with Bai Shi.
"Today's exploration area is very dangerous. You must stay close to me and be prepared for battle," Bai Shi said after walking for a while.
Everyone nodded.
Then, Bai Shi continued his rambling explanation.
"The final area we explored today is actually larger than what we explored yesterday and the other two days combined.
It's just that many of the areas are dangerous, so we have to circumvent them, so we don't need to explore too much."
Through Shiraishi's earlier explanations and the graffiti-like map in his hand, they already had a rough idea of the island's general shape.
It's a long, narrow strip, tapering at the top and widening at the bottom. Above the strip is a crescent-shaped gap, marking the bay where they landed.
If you split it in half, the town and the bay port are both located above the island.
They began exploring this final area, circumventing it more and more.
They often took long detours.
Because they needed to check the map, Alka and the others instructed Shiraishi to circle around the most dangerous areas, even when circumventing them.
Shiraishi also explained why these dangerous areas were dangerous and what caused them to exist. It truly served as a tour guide.
It rapidly enhanced Alka and his companions' understanding of the island.
Thus, they arrived at a crucial location.
Before them lay a valley.
On either side were two mountains of varying sizes.
At the valley's entrance, a stone tablet was thoughtfully erected. It was inscribed with words Alka and his companions couldn't understand.
However, it was clearly the language used by the islanders.
"This stone tablet says 'Broken Town.'"
"About 600 years ago, we can't remember exactly how long ago, but we were still living in this valley.
However, due to the eruption of a ruin, the entire valley became an extremely dangerous area, so we were forced to move the town to its current location."
Shiraishi acted nonchalant at this point, shrugging, "It's because of that ruin's eruption that the entire island becomes incredibly dangerous at night."
Hearing this, Alka asked, somewhat puzzled, "I've always heard you say the night is dangerous. So, what happens on the island at night compared to during the day that makes it so dangerous?"
"Don't you know?" Shiraishi asked, somewhat surprised.
He'd thought Alka and the others had been in this town for several days, yet they still didn't know why it was so dangerous at night?
Alka felt a little embarrassed. This was information they should have known long ago, but until now, they hadn't bothered to ask.
Even Alka himself spent most of his nights in dreams.
Aside from asking about it in other people's dream bubbles before arriving on the island, he hadn't specifically inquired about the nighttime situation since arriving.
Knowing the dangers of nighttime, escaping at night hadn't occurred to them.
However, Bai Shi didn't care. He explained, "I don't know why, but after the ruins were opened, a broken dimensional rift appeared on the island. If you were accidentally pulled in, you might never see it again."
"Some of those dangerous areas previously had fixed dimensional rifts. But at night, these rifts will appear all over the island. You never know when they'll appear right under your feet or behind you. Get it, right?"
Everyone listening nodded in agreement. From that perspective, it was indeed very dangerous.
Getting sucked into a dimensional rift without any care was a near-death experience.
At this point, Bai Shi's tone suddenly became amused. He smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, I'll tell you, my grandfather survived the rift."
As he spoke, Bai Shi continued forward, the others following behind him.
As he walked, Bai Shi said, "My grandfather is something of a legend on this island. When he was young, he was accidentally sucked into a rift and was considered a dead man on the island.
But he survived."
At this point, Bai Shi's tone was filled with clear pride; he seemed to admire his grandfather greatly.
"He said that after being sucked in, he appeared on a very faraway island. He returned at the age of 55. By the time he returned, my grandmother was already dead, and I was already born. It truly became a legend."
Hearing this, Pororo asked from the side, "Does that mean those spatial rifts are actually portals to other places?"
"I don't know," Bai Shi shook his head.
"Because my grandfather was the only one who was sucked in who's still alive."
Okay, let's quench our curiosity.
They didn't think their luck would be so good.
Everyone pondered silently.
"Have you ever been outside?" Alka suddenly asked, looking at him.
Shiraishi, walking ahead, glanced at the situation ahead before saying, "Yes, I have. After all, my grandfather always talked to me about this since I was a child, so I've been interested in the outside world since a long time and went out to sea early on.
But it wasn't until I went out on my own that I realized what I experienced was very different from what my grandfather had told me. So after a few years of seeing the world, I came back."
"Home is still the best place."
Shiraishi sighed.
Hearing this, Alka began to recall the information about the outside world he had gained in his dream last night.
After a moment's thought, he formulated his words and asked, "So, what do you think? What islands have you visited?"
"I went to a landmark island called the Southern Cross. I don't know if you know it, but it's not very big, but it's definitely the best island I've ever seen.
I also went to two drifting islands. Later, while sailing, I happened to pass close to them, so I returned."
Bai Shi gave a brief answer, without further discussion.
Based on the information he had obtained last night.
A so-called landmark island is one that never moves in the ocean due to environmental factors; it remains there forever.
It's like a signpost pointing the way in a fixed location, hence the name.
Drifting islands, as their name suggests, are random and move, but it's not the islands that move.
"Southern Cross? I haven't been there, but I think I've heard of it somewhere," Alka replied.
Upon hearing this, Sofia and the others remained expressionless. Only Pororo couldn't help but turn and glance at him.
Noticing that no one else seemed to be showing any emotion, he silently turned his head away again.
He pursed his lips, swallowing the question he was about to ask.
Why could these people lie so confidently?
"It's normal to have never heard of it. After all, that island seems quite remote."
No one could clearly say how far the Infinite Sea extended.
In such a sea, there were naturally many landmark islands.
The conversation about the outside world abruptly ended there.
After a while, Bai Shi stopped and climbed onto a giant tree.
After landing, he said to the group, "Wait here for a while. I'll go check the situation ahead and see if we need to take a detour."
With that, he disappeared into the grove.
Alka and the others also stopped and waited.
Pororo saw Bai Shi leave and finally couldn't help asking, "What did he just say?"
The others around him also looked at Alka curiously.
They had no idea when Alka had sailed on the Vast Sea.
I had only discussed last night's intelligence with Jason, who happened to be sitting by the campfire that morning.
I hadn't yet shared it with the others.
"Last night in my dream, I visited the merchant ship crew's bubbles and gathered some information about the outside world."
Alka then briefly explained the intelligence he had obtained the previous night.
Everyone nodded in understanding, gaining a certain understanding of the Vast Sea.
It was not until Bai Shi returned that they resumed their operations.
…
As the daylight was once again covered by the curtain.
Night fell.
Several figures could be seen running quickly in the distance.
The hunter in the watchtower noticed this and nocked his arrow.
At this moment, Alka and the others finally saw the first watchtower.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo!" Shiraishi panted, hands supporting his knees.
The hunter in the watchtower noticed them and said something incomprehensible to Baishi, as if lecturing him.
Baishi chuckled, muttered something, and slowly led Alka and the others towards the town.
"Finally, we're back before nightfall. I was almost scared to death," Shiraishi said with lingering fear.
Alka and the others knew there was danger, but they had never experienced the dangers of night.
So, they didn't show any excessive fear.
However, judging by Shiraishi's expression, the dangers at night seemed even more exaggerated than they had imagined.
Simon asked curiously from behind, "Have you ever been out at night?"
Bai Shi nodded, then replied after a long pause, his voice a bit dull.
"Yes, the situation back then was similar to today, with the monsters slowing us down. Our action team consisted of four people.
In the end, only two people returned, one of whom had a broken hand.
Clearly, the only person who wasn't seriously injured was Bai Shi, who still stood before them.
There was no need to continue discussing this topic, and everyone fell silent.
At the door, Jason, Juanlu, and Lucelia appeared, seemingly arguing with the guard.
"We want to leave. Don't you understand what we mean? What? You're still going to lock us up?"
"Friends, you're not allowed to leave at night, even if you're guests. It's dangerous outside. This is for your safety."
"You..."
Just as Jason was about to continue, he saw Alka walking towards them, and a smile of surprise crossed their faces.
He hurried over with Lucelia and the others, saying, "What's going on? Why are you back so late? If you were any slower, we might have been rushed out." "
When night fell, Alka and the others hadn't returned, leaving Jason and the others extremely worried.
They took advantage of this opportunity to let Jason and the others know why it was so dangerous outside at night.
They couldn't help but go outside to look for Alka.
Alka had just arrived when he received the blue-lined bird.
"We encountered a bit of an unexpected situation, but thankfully, we reached the border tower by nightfall."
Alka said, placing a hand on Jason's shoulder, reassuring him not to worry too much.
Then the guard by the river apologized, and everyone said goodbye to Bai Shi and took Jason and the others back to their rented cabin.
Looking at the delicious food still simmering on the small stove, it was clear they had left in a hurry.
They dispersed and sat around the campfire.
"So the first stage objective has been accomplished. How's that? Is the record complete?" "Alka asked, sitting by the campfire, looking at Sofia before him.
Sofia nodded: "Although many dangerous areas weren't fully explored today, it doesn't detract from the overall mapping."
Many of the dangerous areas today covered too much space, and even after a thorough detour, they couldn't fully explore them.
But there was no need to put them in danger just for such a small area.
Hearing Sofia's answer, Alka nodded.
"That's good. Once the map is complete, we'll begin planning our next course of action."
Everyone nodded in agreement; after all, this was their agreed-upon plan.
Simon and Matresa, who had just joined, naturally didn't object to this action, but instead quietly studied it.
Although they didn't know why.
Then Alka said to Jason: "Collate the information you have."
"Okay, no problem."