Chapter 614 Arrival and Winsor

Winsor once held an immense reverence for this ocean.

Born into a family of fishermen and raised in the coastal town of Salt Rock Port, no one understood the ocean's temperamental nature better than he did.

It was the tragic lessons of other local fishing families, recounted countless times by his mother as she sat on a low stool by the door, soaking in the sun and mending nets—tales repeated so often that he could still recall them with vivid clarity.

It was the oppressive, almost suffocating tension in the air before his father set sail, contrasted with the festive, relieved atmosphere in their small cabin upon his safe return, regardless of how much fish he caught.

From his earliest childhood memories, Winsor had formed a shallow yet reliable understanding of this mysterious and dangerous ocean through his parents.

That was until he first set foot on a deck swaying gently from the washing waves, until he screamed himself hoarse helping his father secure the rigging in a storm, until he saw his mother waiting quietly on the pier with his little sister in her arms for who knew how long, her eyes turning red at the sight of him—

Only then did Winsor finally grasp a vague, firsthand understanding of both the ocean and himself.

Under normal circumstances, he should have grown up through these returns—some lucky, some mundane. He should have gradually learned fishing techniques from his father, used his earnings to buy his mother a few new clothes, and picked up his sister's favorite colorful shells on his way back.

But the ocean was just like that: temperamental and fickle. He had known this all along.

"Splash—"

A pair of rough, calloused hands skillfully hauled the dripping fishing net up from beneath the surface of the sea.

Damp seaweed tangled together like balls of yarn, while fish and shrimp thrashed in the net, desperate to escape the air.

Having repeated this motion countless times, Winsor was like a soulless machine, purely following muscle memory to haul the net and harvest the catch again and again.

No matter the size of the catch, nothing could bring a ripple of emotion to those rare, hollow, grayish-blue eyes.

The young man merely stared into the depths beneath the water ahead—a bottomless blackness he had once found profound and terrifying, but which now only offered a quiet sense of peace.

"Merciful Lord of the Broken, please forgive me—"

'Perhaps... ending it all here wouldn't be so bad?'

Splash—

Suddenly, a loud, unexpected rush of water jolted Winsor's sinking mind back to reality.

He subconsciously looked up, his gaze turning toward the source of the noise.

About thirty meters away from his small fishing boat, out on the surface of the sea...

It looked as if something was swimming rapidly just beneath the surface, the parted water colliding to kick up a spray of fine whitecaps.

He didn't see a shark's fin pierce the surface as he expected; Winsor guessed it might be a monster inhabiting these nearby waters.

Though the area near Salt Rock Port bore mostly traces of human activity and passing adventurers had cleared out the vast majority of dangerous monsters, stragglers still slipped through the net from time to time.

Being quite a distance from the coast, his battered little fishing boat obviously wouldn't withstand the impact of a dangerous monster.

He felt as though he could already smell the impending scent of death—something he simultaneously yearned for and feared.

At that moment, Winsor closed his eyes, completely giving up on resisting.

Yet, perhaps even the deity he worshiped took pity on the tragic past of this coastal youth.

The sound of rushing water drew closer and closer until it arrived right alongside the boat.

The pain and death he imagined never came.

All that rang in Winsor's ears was the crisp sound of something breaking the surface, the heavy, wet thud of soaked leather boots landing on the deck, and a rather polite young man's voice.

"Sorry to intrude on your boat."

"Could you tell me what the date is?"

"Splash—"

The oars cut through the water, stirring up ripples.

Drenched from head to toe, Xia Nan sat at the stern of the boat, wiping the water stains from the surface of his wooden sword, [Azure Pine].

His expression was completely calm. Paired with his fully armed, Fine-grade equipment, he looked like nothing more than an elite adventurer who happened to be passing by.

Internally, however, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of emotion.

As it turned out, he wasn't quite the genius he thought he was.

For the better part of a month—from the moment he set sail from Barracuda Bay aboard the Wave-Chasing Sea Fang until they encountered the octopus monster—the ocean's gentle calm had acted like a natural trap, subtly eroding his fear of the sea.

This had ultimately led him to make a decision that, in hindsight, was clearly questionable.

If he only considered the distance to Salt Rock Port and the sailing speed of a small wooden boat piloted by a Class Holder like himself...

Had things gone smoothly according to plan, his arrival at Salt Rock Port might have been slightly delayed compared to the original three days.

But he still would have reached his destination within the timeframe he had agreed upon with the Barbarian.

However, out at sea, accidents were inevitable.

Who could have predicted that, just three days' voyage from his final destination, the ocean—which had been dormant for nearly twenty days—would suddenly whip up a violent storm and massive waves without the slightest warning?

A terrifying, massive tempest ravaged the coastal waters for five whole days.

It was only because Xia Nan possessed a robust physique and a certain degree of underwater mobility that he could sit here now, completely unscathed.

Otherwise, an ordinary sailor or a low-level adventurer would have died in the sea ten thousand times over during that storm.

As the price for underestimating the ocean, his only shelter on the vast expanse of water—that incredibly fragile little boat—was completely torn apart by the ferocious waves.

This forced Xia Nan into the most classic oceanic survival scenario, something he had mentally rehearsed countless times since arriving at Barracuda Bay:

Crossing the ocean using nothing but his own physical body.

Well—looking on the bright side, at least his decision to have the sailors steer the Wave-Chasing Sea Fang to a nearby spot for repairs wasn't a huge mistake.

Given the ship's level of damage, it never would have survived a storm like this. The sailors on board would have been swallowed by the waves.

While he was certainly in a bit of a sorry state right now, at least the Wave-Chasing Sea Fang, the loot on board, and the crew he had paid for were all safe.

Strictly speaking, he hadn't even suffered any major losses.

In the end, it just cost him a little extra effort.

This was how Xia Nan had comforted himself over the past few days while swimming through the sea.

Surprisingly, after the boat broke apart and Xia Nan was forced into the water to swim to his destination under his own power...

His progress wasn't slow at all. In fact, he was moving even faster than when he was riding in the small boat.

His all-around development across his five attributes gave him an exaggerated physique that far surpassed Class Holders of the same level. Coupled with the burst of speed granted by [Fang Hunt], he performed like an absolute superhuman in the water.

Often, he only needed to take a single breath and activate [Fang Hunt] to surge forward for a long stretch.

When his stamina ran out, he used the [White Flask] pocket watch to store his metal equipment, letting the ocean's buoyancy lift him so he could float and rest on the surface.

He maintained two to three hours of intermittent sleep each day. If danger approached, his acute Perception attribute allowed him to notice it in advance.

His nutritional intake was perfectly maintained as well. Even without a way to cook on the spot, he consistently used several slots in the [White Flask] pocket watch to store food and drinking water. When he had a craving, he could even enjoy a fragrant, steaming bowl of seafood cream mushroom soup from the Three-Legged Sea Dog Tavern in Barracuda Bay.

Like this, he floated up to rest when tired, and once he recovered, he checked his compass before diving back down to sprint toward his target.

In just a few days, Xia Nan unexpectedly managed to make up for the time lost to the storm.

In the end, he reached Salt Rock Port right on schedule.

According to the date provided by the boy named Winsor before him, there were still three days left before the deadline he had agreed upon with the Barbarian, Forgan.

'I finally made it in time...'

Xia Nan mused.

Still tens of minutes away from the port, Xia Nan had plenty of time and allowed himself to relax a little.

Swimming in the ocean for so long and pushing himself to sprint near the end had left him physically and mentally exhausted. Figuring he would take a short break and use the opportunity to gather some advance intelligence on Salt Rock Port, he had boarded this small boat and paid a few silver coins, hoping the boy would give him a lift.

The lean boy, with his dry brown hair and grayish-blue eyes, was quite kind.

Although he looked listless and utterly devoid of energy, he was actually incredibly friendly.

He agreed to Xia Nan's request without a second thought and even refused to accept any money, simply pulling in his fishing net and rowing back toward shore.

Of course, Xia Nan had some self-awareness regarding this matter.

If it were any ordinary person in this world out for their daily fishing trip, surrounded by the open sea, and an elite adventurer with a fierce face and an icy aura inexplicably popped out of the water to ask for a ride back to the coast...

Anyone with even a slight understanding of adventurers—or even just relying on stereotypes—would be too terrified to refuse.

Since he was interfering with the boy's fishing business and wasn't exactly strapped for cash, Xia Nan took advantage of the moment the boy turned to row. He slipped a few silver coins between the floorboards next to him—in a not-so-hidden spot where they would be easily found—as compensation for the trip.

"A powerful adventurer? A Barbarian with a Winter Wolf?"

Winsor frowned slightly after hearing Xia Nan's inquiry, trying hard to recall.

After a long while, he slowly shook his head with an apologetic look.

"I am truly sorry, Mr. Xia Nan. Lately, I've mostly just been going back and forth between my house and the docks. I have no impression of this Barbarian you're looking for."

Living his days in a daze, repeating the routine of sailing out to haul nets and returning home, while deep down wishing for the end to come, he didn't even bother haggling over the price when offloading his catch to the fishmongers anymore. How could he possibly pay attention to random passersby?

For the same reason, when Xia Nan subsequently asked if anything strange had happened in town recently, Winsor answered very honestly that he didn't know.

Sensing the boy's pessimistic and passive mental state, Xia Nan stopped asking questions about the recent situation in the town and instead steered the conversation toward the port itself.

Salt Rock Port was nothing more than a tiny speck on the eastern coast of the Servia Kingdom's map.

Its geographical location could hardly be called advantageous, nor were there any monster gathering sites nearby like the Misty Forest.

The only notable things about it were the nearby salt mines and its special position as the port closest to the kingdom's eastern border.

Xia Nan gained a clear understanding of this fact when he rode Winsor's small boat into Salt Rock Port's docks.

Unlike the bustling prosperity of Barracuda Bay, the docks at Salt Rock Port were noticeably more desolate.

Most of the people coming and going were ordinary commoners or poorly dressed, low-tier adventurers.

Those wearing Fine-grade equipment like himself were exceedingly rare.

This made the fully armed Xia Nan look especially conspicuous. The moment his feet left the fishing boat and touched the pier, he keenly felt the stares from his surroundings.

Resting on the small boat for tens of minutes had slightly restored Xia Nan's stamina. He didn't have much interest in the city itself.

He had already asked Winsor which taverns in town were most frequently visited by adventurers, planning to go there to gather intelligence and ask about Forgan the Barbarian's whereabouts.

Since they had an agreement, Forgan certainly wouldn't hide his identity on purpose. The presence of a Transcendent Tier adventurer was so overwhelming that, unless actively concealed, it would be difficult for fellow adventurers not to notice him even if he were just passing through.

He figured it shouldn't be too hard to find him.

Xia Nan briefly got his bearings and was just about to leave.

Suddenly, he heard a burst of footsteps behind him.

It was Winsor, the lean boy with the grayish-blue eyes, who had just finished docking the fishing boat. He called out and hurried over.

"Mr. Xia Nan, your sil—your things dropped," Winsor said.

The boy was very meticulous. Even knowing the person in front of him was a rather powerful adventurer who likely wasn't afraid of trouble, he remained vigilant in a place with too many prying eyes like this port. He didn't directly say the word "silver," opting to use "things" instead.

He had even found a slightly worn pouch to hold the silver coins Xia Nan had deliberately left on the boat, handing them over.

This gesture gave Xia Nan a good impression of the boy.

"Just treat it as compensation for heading back early," he said directly. "Don't overthink it, just keep it."

Unexpectedly, Winsor's attitude was exceptionally stubborn, as if he wouldn't have a chance to use the money in the future anyway.

"Mr. Xia Nan, I only need enough to feed myself," Winsor insisted. "I go out to fish every day. It's an easy living."

"You should spend these—things in a place that needs them more."

Noticing the growing number of gazes turning their way, Xia Nan realized that forcing the money onto the boy would easily cause trouble for him. Plus, the boy was incredibly stubborn.

After a moment of thought, Xia Nan finally took the coin pouch back.

"Alright, then. See you around if we get the chance," he said.

"I wish you safety, Mr. Xia Nan."

Taking one last, deep look at Winsor's listless, tanned face...

Xia Nan turned around and walked in the direction of the taverns.