Chapter 298: Less
The timing couldn't have been worse. At least those were Sylas' initial thoughts until he realized that this might actually help him more than hurt. He didn't know much about marine life, but he did know that they tended to dive deeper into the water when storms hit. This
could help him out.
The storm was only just starting, and the creatures should have sensed it even before he had. So maybe he would get lucky and lay eyes on the island before they did.
Sylas didn't often get so lucky, so he was hoping that maybe there really was a first time for everything. The boat swayed beneath him and the waves began to kick up as the skies darkened, but it was still more than manageable for the Basilisk King.
As the storm over the horizon came closer, the swaying of the water became more evident and Sylas' expression had long since become serious. He wasn't helpless in the middle of the water considering he could use his Aether to walk on it. But it definitely wouldn't be ideal if his boat capsized right now.
'It'll still take another several hours to follow the water like this and reach the island. I'll just have to take things one step at a time.'
Sylas let his patience win over his thoughts, but the storm didn't seem to be nearly as patient with him. In fact, the situation was only growing worse. The good news was that no beasts had come to bother him. The bad news was that it wouldn't matter if a current suddenly came and knocked him over and into their territory.
Sylas looked off to the side, locking eyes with the coast. He would say that they were about seven kilometers out at sea, and following the coast was how he had maintained his bearings all this time. Worse come to worst, he would just have to make a beeline toward it and deal with whatever came afterward.
From here, he couldn't see any obvious signs of patrols, and that wasn't too surprising. After all, after the underwater portal appeared, the ocean was basically a no-go zone. If it hadn't been, Cassarae, or whoever the City Lord was, would have already been overrun and captured, while their city would have become the property of the government.
The boat suddenly rocked and shook, a wave of water rising over the sides and splashing Sylas.
'Not good.'
Getting wet was one thing, but the boat...
Sylas grabbed for a bucket nearby and began unloading the water that had just formed. The process was too slow, so he tried to use his telekinesis, but it was difficult. The first time he used his telekinesis was actually on water, he remembered that vividly. But those had been calm waters, and these waters... well, not only were they far more aggressive, but water in large quantities could very easily become very heavy. There was only so much that he could do to stop it or unload it.
However, after a few minutes, Sylas got the hang of it. He separated the water into bowls of 30 pounds or so, which was as much as 13 to 14 liters at a time. When he got the hang of it, the amount he moved increased exponentially.
Sylas was able to keep the boat afloat just like this without slowing down the Basilisk King for another hour, and by this point, they had made great progress. But it unfortunately seemed like something would always go wrong when Sylas was involved.
...
The Basilisk King continued to move. Sylas could no longer see it clearly through the waters, but through their connection, he could feel that it was doing just fine. It was near enough to the surface that it had to deal with the rampaging currents as well. But its stats were so robust that this was hardly an issue. It pierced through the waves like a blade.
A clap of thunder rang through the skies after a flash of lightning. The skies had darkened considerably by now, but the flash made it feel as bright as day and the booming thunder nearly ruptured Sylas' eardrums.
He couldn't help but frown. Had thunder always been this loud? That didn't seem to be the case. He had a fleeting thought about whether Aether might make the storms of Earth more dangerous and violent before his heart shook. Off in the distance toward his right, opposite the coastline he was following, a wave was beginning to form.
Sylas' jaw clenched. He realized that there was no amount of telekinesis that was going to help him this time. He made a quick decision and communicated with the Basilisk King. With a touch, he had already sent it into the Hibernation Realm.
The boat tipped off to the side and Sylas could already feel a harsh swaying coming from it. He lost his footing and nearly fell off before he crouched down and stabilized himself. He grabbed the side of the boat and jumped off just as the wave was about to consume him. With just a second to spare, he managed to store the boat in the Madness Key before the wave, as tall as five meters, consumed him.
Despite the situation, Sylas didn't panic. With his current Constitution, holding his breath for several minutes shouldn't be an issue. It was just a question of if he was a strong enough swimmer to make it out.
'I weigh less in the water...'
Sylas immediately had this thought the moment that he was swallowed up. He stamped a foot and pushed with his telekinesis. He pulled on the gluttony seed at the same time and swam upward with a strong stroke.
Almost immediately, Sylas found himself piercing out of the water. In fact, he had pushed too hard, causing him to appear as much as two meters above the surface. He landed heavily on the surface of the water, his Aether keeping him upright.
Unfortunately, he didn't even get a chance to celebrate before a 20-meter tall wave appeared above him.