Free Web NovelChapter 2050: Chapter 2050: The Unsinkable Ship
"Miss Teresa, open your mouth."
Shard guided the liquid from the bottle’s mouth, and the unconscious witch gradually regained consciousness, instinctively swallowing the liquid. For these high-rank witches, once they wake up, there are many ways to prevent further unconsciousness.
Her eyelids twitched, lips moved slightly, and she silently performed several sorceries that Shard couldn’t recognize to restore her body temperature to normal. Opening her eyes, she saw Shard half-crouching before her, worriedly looking at her. For a moment, the twenty-six-year-old Teresa Schultz thought that she was just in a tent by Lost Lake, under her aunt’s care, having a long dream.
"How do you feel? Can you hear me talk?"
Shard asked with concern, and the sound made the young blonde witch realize this wasn’t a dream.
Then, memories before the coma flooded into her mind. Looking at the surrounding terrifying environment, she completely remembered what the current situation was:
"Shard? Is it you?"
"Looks like you’re awake. Yes, it’s me. Long time no see. Is Miss Violetta well? Oh, don’t talk now, first sit up to warm by the fire. This place is even stranger than the lake where we last met."
He proactively extended his hand, and Miss Teresa felt herself involuntarily grabbing his wrist, confirming that the Shard before her was indeed the same person she knew.
The ten-rank purple-haired lady helped Miss Teresa sit up, though the latter’s level was higher than the former. And the twelve-rank middle-aged witch, upon waking up, went to check on the young ordinary girl’s condition.
She didn’t inquire about Shard’s identity but instead asked Shard for more holy water. Coupled with the witch’s secret arts for spiritual healing, she managed to fully awaken the girl.
The shaky floating platform wasn’t suitable for standing, so even Shard sat down. The five of them gathered around the metal fire basin, trying to absorb warmth, though their clothes were dried by steam power, the deep cold remained unshaken. The sea roared violently, and the sky, like the gaping mouth of an abyss, instinctively made everyone avoid looking up.
Listening to the sound of water, the seventeen or eighteen-year-old ordinary girl’s voice was somewhat hoarse:
"Are we dead already? Is this the fabled world after death?"
Though puzzled why their souls were normal while their bodies felt fake, Shard dismissed her thought:
"Certainly not."
"Why?"
The girl looked at him, seeing Shard’s serious expression:
"I’ve seen the world after death, it’s not like this. It’s beautiful, serene, and has a silver moon."
The shivering girl was stunned by this statement, but at least the fact she wasn’t dead brought her some relief.
And because Shard helped the group of four, and even knew Miss Teresa, the witches present, though still curious about Shard’s gender, refrained from directly asking the question.
Three years have passed since Lost Lake, the former thirteen-rank Witch Empress Miss Violetta had touched the edge of becoming a demigod. Thus, as her apprentice and distant niece, Miss Teresa commanded great respect anywhere in this world.
While resting, everyone introduced themselves. Shard’s guess was correct; they indeed had just encountered a shipwreck. The four had drifted onto the floating platform and fell unconscious, until Shard came and woke them.
"I am Sarah Evans, a geography professor at Zaras Literary Academy. I accepted the academy’s project, heading to the outer sea for research and data collection."
The slightly grey-haired twelve-rank witch first introduced herself, and Miss Teresa confirmed the identity, having met her before.
Wearing glasses, Miss Teresa greeted Professor Ivins, her body involuntarily trembling, as she introduced Shard’s identity to the professor:
"This is my aunt’s... friend, who has helped us greatly before."
She tried to avoid using any gendered pronoun for Shard but realized it was challenging:
"He’s skilled, professor. If you have doubts, my aunt will explain later."
The professor from Zaras Literary Academy held great respect for the Witch Empress, politely nodding at the flame-lit face of Shard wrapped in a blanket. Miss Teresa, cloaked and shivering, smiled at Shard and spoke of her situation:
"I’m on my graduation trip, I graduated successfully."
The smile on her face was unmistakable, and Shard softly congratulated:
"Congratulations on graduating successfully!"
During the Lost Lake times, Miss Teresa was still contemplating gaining wisdom from a subordinate god to complete her graduation thesis. Of course, she ultimately didn’t do so. Hence, she spent three more years, but considering the strength and vast knowledge of the witches in this era, completing a graduation thesis in three years wasn’t overly ambitious.
Teresa shook her head apologetically:
"I just barely graduated, and my teacher helped me a lot. My aunt said a witch can only graduate from the Academy once in her life. Afterward, I would follow her to study, leaving not much time for holidays, so she sponsored this trip for me."
She then looked at the Tenth Rank Witch who had helped her stand earlier:
"This is Miss Maxim, the maid sent by my aunt to take care of me. Thanks to her, I’ve always lived in the Academy or followed my aunt around, so I have very little life experience."
The purple-haired lady respectfully said to Shard:
"Hello, Mr. Hamilton. The adventure by the lake, Miss didn’t let me accompany her, but I later heard her mention you. You are indeed... as handsome as she said."
Miss Maxim extended her hand from under the blanket and quickly shook hands with Shard, who felt she was still trying to confirm his identity.
Miss Teresa and Maid Miss Maxim were travel companions, while Professor Sarah Evans traveled alone, hence they all didn’t know the ordinary young girl.
However, the sunken "Radiant Messenger" cruise ship was very large, with many tourists. Additionally, the witches stayed in first class, so it was normal not to know ordinary young girls.
She gave the last introduction, biting her lip as she gazed at the flames in front of her, trembling and with reddened eyes as she tried to hold back tears:
"I am Maggie Malone. I... traveled with my sister, originally planning to vacation at Silver Beach Island."
According to their description, the "Radiant Messenger" cruise ship departed from the Western Continent port, carrying 2,224 passengers and 892 crew members, heading to the famous tourist island "Silver Beach Island" in the sea area known as the "Outer Sea" on the west side of the Western Continent. After the two-week holiday, it was supposed to bring them back to the Western Continent.
The "Radiant Messenger" cruise ship was the largest and most luxuriously equipped non-alchemical ship of this era, and this journey was its maiden voyage. It had the most advanced steam power system, the best crew, and the most experienced captain and first mate. At its launch, it had earned the nickname "The Unsinkable Ship." But just three days after departing the port, the number of survivors was down to the four people trembling in front of Shard.
So Shard asked the most crucial question:
"But what exactly turned this ship into such a state? Did you encounter a storm, or did you hit an iceberg? What did the witches on board do?"
Miss Teresa, knowing Shard was unfamiliar with the affairs of this era, trembled as she explained:
"This was just a cruise ship built by ordinary people. There weren’t many witches on board."
In the Fifth Era, although ordinary people could also know and engage in mysticism, the number of witches compared to the total population was not very large. Moreover, witches generally did not rely on ordinary people’s ships when going to sea, as they each had different secret techniques and alchemical ships or flying carpets, even if they didn’t have their own magical creature mounts.
"The incident occurred at night. When I felt the ship vibrating, everything around us had already turned to chaos. In less than five minutes, this lightless sea had swallowed the ship and most of the people. I am not very sure what exactly happened."
She pursed her lips, still somewhat afraid of the situation back then:
"It was as if the entire world was spinning. Miss Maxim and I fell into the water together, and we swam desperately. Everything around us was sinking rapidly, and I even felt there was something enormous under the sea watching me."
The purple-haired Miss Maxim nodded with a pale face:
"All powers for Water Walking were not usable, although Underwater Breathing could be used, soaking in the water created a strange sense of heaviness and panic. Fortunately, we saw a light over here and climbed up together, then we all fainted shortly after. This water quickly absorbs stamina and spirit, and it is not possible to stay in the water for long periods."
While speaking, the ladies all stared at the campfire in front of them, unwilling to look at the dark, turbulent sea. It was indeed too terrifying, for darkness has been a primal human fear since the dawn of time, and in this eerie sea, darkness represented even more danger.
Miss Maxim and Miss Teresa shared accommodations, so they stayed together. The ordinary Miss Malone’s story was similar to theirs, albeit with better fortune:
"I realized the ship was sinking, and the door to my room was blocked by debris outside, so I had to jump out of the window into the lake. Fortunately, I am decent at swimming, and the glimmer here was close to me. I desperately tried to grasp onto something, but everything was sinking, and I was left struggling with the waves. Luckily, the surf pushed me over here. By the time I arrived, the two witch ladies were already here, and I fainted by the fire."
She shivered more violently than the witches, and a seventeen or eighteen-year-old ordinary person indeed had a hard time coping with this situation.
Miss Teresa and the three had little memory of the ship’s sinking process. Fortunately, Professor Sarah Evans could offer some clues. The middled-aged witch recalled what happened before she fainted, her face equally pale:
"The ship most likely encountered an unstable space storm. Before it happened, I sensed abnormal spatial power vibrations. This surely isn’t a normal sea area. I’m sure that in a position just two days’ voyage from the Western Continent coast, there wouldn’t be such an odd zone. We probably experienced a low-probability event, but a disappearance of this scale would soon be noticed, and Miss Teresa’s aunt will certainly come searching for her."
She said this mainly to comfort the ordinary young girl. Miss Malone nodded and, somewhat dispirited, gazed at the campfire before her, her mood still somber.
"Miss Maxim is right. Water Walking is prohibited here. I could only swim towards the light. By the time I arrived here, these three girls were already here. I tried hard to check on them, but soon I also passed out."
In short, entering this strange sea area was not the ladies’ own volition. Likewise, their understanding of this place was no more than Shard, who just arrived.
Shard discerned something extremely odd from their description:
"Wait a minute, Professor, are you saying you arrived last? The flame before us, wasn’t lit by you?"
