Broken and the combat-ready players stood at the ship's deck, fully prepared for the hunt.
Most of them wore specialized helts or diving devices to extend their underwater survival ti, ensuring they could stay below the surface long enough for an effective grinding session.
Because on a voyage like this, maintaining experience points was crucial—falling behind in levels was not an option.
For that reason, they continued this hunt, targeting small sea monsters near the ocean's surface.
Of course, calling them "small" was a bit misleading.
In reality, even the average ones were still larger than the players themselves. But compared to the true giants of the deep, the creatures they were hunting were relatively minor.
As always, Ronan took the lead.
With his usual confidence, he raised a hand to the air, his voice booming over the waves.
"Let's hunt as many as we can before the Tide Serpent rises to the surface!"
With that, he leaped into the ocean—
And the others followed imdiately, diving in one after another.
Standing between SexyGrill and SexyBloom, Broken could still tell that SexyBloom hadn't fully recovered from the horror story earlier.
SexyGrill, of course, wasn't letting her off the hook. With a smirk, she grabbed SexyBloom's wrist and jumped in, dragging her down into the water with her.
Now, it was Broken's turn.
Unlike the others, he didn't need any diving equipnt—his Underwater Breath ability let him survive indefinitely without running out of oxygen.
So, without hesitation, he jumped.
And the mont he entered the water—
He was t with a sight that never ceased to amaze him.
The ocean was alive with glowing specks of light, bioluminescent creatures scattered throughout the upper waters.
Even though it was nightti, the sea was vibrant, illuminated in a way that made it feel almost surreal—as if the depths themselves were breathing with energy.
The players quickly spread out, their bodies moving effortlessly through the water.
They launched into action—swimming, diving, and striking.
So thrust their spears forward, piercing through fast-moving fish-like monsters.
Others fired arrows and magic projectiles, sending bursts of energy through the water, leaving streaks of light in their wake.
But, as expected—
Not all the monsters went down easily.
The larger creatures, disturbed by the sudden attack, imdiately turned aggressive, swarming toward the players to fight back.
Yet, this was the crew of the Vensalor Outriders. For them, the ocean wasn't just a battlefield—it was ho.
They moved seamlessly, their swimming fluid, their maneuvers precise—every dodge, every attack flowing with the currents.
Unlike land combat, where ground positioning was key—
Underwater combat required a completely different skillset.
How to swim efficiently—
How to hold your ground despite the currents—
How to strike while maintaining balance—
It was an entirely different experience, one that felt both thrilling and uniquely challenging.
Of course—
So players had advantages.
SexyBloom, for example. Her flight ability, which she often used on land, turned out to be just as effective underwater.
She could dive, swerve, and accelerate effortlessly, cutting through the water with ease, while the others had to actively swim.
"That's kinda cheating, don't you think?" Broken muttered as he watched her.
Because unlike the rest—
She didn't even have to try.
And so, this hunting activity added much-needed variety to their long voyage, making the journey far less monotonous!
***
A full night was spent hunting, pushing their limits as long as the weather remained stable and no high-level monsters were detected nearby.
As long as the conditions were good, they continued—only stopping when their stamina finally ran low.
Then, at one mont, Ronan raised his hand, signaling to everyone.
"We're going back up!" he called.
Imdiately, every player reacted in sync—
With disciplined efficiency, they stopped their fights, turned, and swiftly made their way back to the surface.
By the ti Broken reached the deck, he stood beside Ronan and Mizuki, observing the shifting atmosphere around them.
Sothing was off.
The wind had suddenly picked up, growing stronger with every passing second.
Even Aego, their usually stable ship, was beginning to rock uneasily.
The waves were rising. The ocean's rhythm had changed.
A bad sign.
"Another storm?" Broken muttered, glancing at Ronan and Mizuki.
Mizuki didn't answer imdiately. Instead, she had already summoned Zepy, the flying golem, which soared overhead before landing beside her.
Even though it was almost morning, there was still no sign of daylight.
Not because it was too early—
But because the sky itself had turned dark.
Above them, thick storm clouds were gathering, consuming the horizon in an ominous black veil.
"Looks like it, yeah…" Mizuki finally responded, her voice more serious than usual.
This wasn't her typical playful tone.
This was a real concern.
"And it's not just any storm. This one's going to be big."
Ronan stood with sharp focus, scanning the surroundings with unwavering vigilance.
And then—
From the distance, they finally saw it.
A massive darkness on the horizon—
The wind howled louder, the waves rose higher, and the air itself seed to shudder with the approaching force.
A storm unlike any before.
Broken stepped closer to the railing, gripping it tightly as the ship lurched up and down, swayed by the force of the rising waves.
The wind howled, pushing against them with such strength that even standing still beca difficult.
Then, Ronan pointed toward the horizon.
"We need to move—there's a massive tornado forming over there!" he shouted.
But before anyone could react, Mizuki turned in the opposite direction, her expression growing even more serious.
"No, Ronan." Her voice was sharp. "The tornado isn't just in one place… I think we've sailed into a Maelstrom Vortex."
The mont she said it, Ronan's face twisted in frustration, and he clicked his tongue.
"Damn it. Let's go—everyone back inside! We can only hope we survive this storm."
Broken, lacking any real experience in extre open-sea conditions, didn't question it. He simply followed the others, stepping back inside the ship.
The rest of the crew rushed in as well, knowing there was no fighting against nature in a storm this massive.
Now inside the control room, they could only brace themselves, watching from the reinforced glass as the storm descended upon them.
And then—
The full force of the Maelstrom Vortex hit.
The winds roared, slamming into the ship like an unstoppable beast, causing the entire vessel to shake violently.
The ocean churned, waves rising into towering walls of water, crashing down around them with explosive force.
The ship was thrown up, lifted by an enormous wave, only to plumt down the other side with a sickening drop, the impact sending a deep tremor through the entire hull.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the night sky in blinding bursts, revealing the true horror of their surroundings—
Multiple tornadoes of wind and water swirling in the distance, like massive pillars of destruction, spinning with terrifying speed.
The crew worked frantically, adjusting the ship's stabilization chanisms, using mana-infused controls to counteract the brutal forces tearing at the vessel.
But even with Aego's advanced systems, it was like trying to steady a leaf in a hurricane.
The ship tilted hard to the side, forcing everyone to grab onto anything stable to avoid being thrown across the room.
"We're losing control of the rudder!" one of the crew shouted.
"Redirecting power to stabilizers—hold on!" another called back.
The wind scread around them, the ship groaning under the pressure, every second feeling like a fight for survival.
Broken's fingers tightened around the edge of the control panel, his mind racing.
This was beyond anything he had ever faced. And the storm wasn't letting up anyti soon.
At this point, all they could do was hope—hope that the ship could withstand the storm.
Because if it couldn't…
Then this would turn into a disaster.
The winds raged, the waves crashed, and the ship shuddered violently, struggling against the forces trying to tear it apart.
And then—
A sudden, brutal impact.
Sothing slamd into the ship with a force so powerful, it felt like the entire vessel was about to flip over.
The ship lurched dangerously, tilting to one side as if sothing was gripping it from below.
"What was that?!" Broken asked, his voice tense.
For a mont, nobody responded.
Then, Ronan's eyes widened, and his expression turned grim.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
His voice wasn't just frustrated—there was real urgency in it.
"This is bad. Really bad. I think… we've got a guest."
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