Chương 65: The Harsh Reality Of Travelling At Sea

It took a while, but eventually, not even the desert island was in our sight anymore. What awaited us ahead was a vast expanse of blue nothingness; the open sea was the only thing in our path. The sky was devoid of any clouds, meaning we could see the setting sun clearly from our ship. And what a sight it was; it was something even more appealing and spellbinding than the sunset back home.

It painted the sky a dark orange colour like a colossal pumpkin pie, drawing our attention to how magnificent being on another planet felt. This was the true experience.

"I never thought a sunset could look so beautiful," Maya said.

"I've never seen anything like this on Earth."

"Me neither," Theo replied, smiling whilst staring at the distant sunset.

"Cherish the moment, because who knows when we might be dealing with mana beasts?" Maya averted her gaze from the sunset to Theo, using her face to ask, 'What do you mean?'

"We have to be ready at all times, remember? Mana beasts could ambush us at any time, just like what happened with Ben on his solo mission. You don't want that to happen to you."

"There's literally nothing around us," Maya replied, scanning her surroundings. Indeed, we were the only people in this expansive nothingness. We were in the middle of the sea, and the only way something could attack us was if they travelled on a boat. If that happened, we would immediately know and be on guard.

"Theo, you have to enjoy the moment. We might never get this kind of moment ever again. If you say to cherish the moment and then ramble on about mana beasts attacking us, that kind of defeats the purpose, right?" Theo sighed, then continued to stare at the dazzling sunset that we got front row seats to watch. The dappled sunlight fell across our faces, shining bright as it edged closer and closer towards the horizon. I then turned my gaze away from Theo and Maya, planning to look at the other side.

But there was someone there that almost gave me a heart attack. I literally jumped; my whole body was off the deck. This person literally had no presence, earning them the nickname 'silent killer'.

"Ellie, what the hell?" My mouth opened instinctively, and my brain completely forgot that I was socially awkward. Ellie had appeared from out of nowhere, just beaming and smiling at me.

"You scared me." She nodded lightly in response.

"Do you want to see the sunset as well?" She nodded again.

"Go on then. Go and enjoy the sunset to your heart's content." She was as silent as a ghost as she walked past me to join Theo and Maya; I swore I couldn't even hear her gentle footsteps. Was she even real? Was she a corpse in disguise? Probably not, since all corpses are dead. The waves were calm and gentle, there was a light breeze blowing on my face, and there was an alluring sunset to admire. All was going well.

The ship that we had built consisted of a deck, where there was one of those steering wheels you usually find on fantasy pirate ships, a cabin, and a chamber underneath the deck where we placed all of our bags. The ship was scrupulously built, with wooden planks neatly arranged to form a hull, deck and cabin. Taller logs had been used to build the mast, and the sail was made with something which I presumed was a large sheet of paper.

We were able to build it so quickly because of Ben's impetuousness, which saved our butts since Cayman had underestimated the amount of wood we needed significantly. His appalling excuse was that he didn't anticipate eight people to be on this mission, which I found extremely shocking. Nevertheless, we were still at sea, and that was the one thing I was most grateful for. As soon as the sun disappeared into the horizon, the door to the cabin opened, revealing another figure who seemed interested in the sunset.

It was Ben Oxley.

"Who said that there was a good sunset?" he asked, his voice loud and dominant in this ocean.

"It's gone," Theo replied.

"You were too late." Ben's face scrunched up instantly.

"Oh come on! I was talking to Devon about one thing, and now I can't even get to see the sunset that you guys are always talking about."

"It was very beautiful," Maya said in a dreamy, gentle voice, "and unfortunately, you missed it." Ellie simply smiled. Ben cursed under his breath, then joined Theo, Maya and Ellie on the side of the deck. However, it didn't take long for things to go awry.

"Oh my gosh… I've been walking and running around for too long, going back and forth… I think I might be sick." Instantly, all of our heads turned towards Ben, who had made that ugly statement. Theo's face contorted, Maya just stared at him in shock and Ellie displayed her usual emotionless, steadfast gaze as if she was unsure about how to respond.

"Water… water… I need something to wash it down."

"Call Cayman!" Theo yelled.

"Robert! Maya! Call Cayman!" I was about to turn around and get Cayman's attention when I heard the unfortunate sounds of retching and doubling over. The noise took over all of the senses in my brain, leaving me rooted to the spot, stationary.

"Fuck you, Ben!" Theo bellowed.

"Don't do it on the deck! Do it in the water!" I thought that would be the end of it, but unfortunately, after just a few more seconds, more was to come. Ben gagged, coughed, and then doubled over, delivering colossal amounts of vomit into the sea below us. The sea, which used to be crystal-clear, now showed the unmistakable signs of being discoloured.

"Get a bag! At least someone get a sick bag!" In response to Theo's call, Maya was about to turn around and rush to where Cayman was. However, it turns out that not even queens are safe from the wrath of the sea.

"No… Theo… I think I might also be sick." Theo's head fell into his hands.

"How?" he shouted.

"The waves aren't even that strong right now. We're simply bobbing lightly up and down. How is that enough to make two of you seasick?" Ellie shrugged her shoulders, surveying this harrowing event like a spectre.

"Theo…"

"Not you too." Suddenly Maya also retched, with unimaginable stuff escaping from her mouth and into the sea. The golden crown on her head seemed poised to fall into the sea and into the repulsive substances, which would most likely spell trouble involving the girl who literally cannot live without it. Maya had surrendered to the horrifying wrath of the sea and motion sickness. Even after Ben and Maya had vomited the food inside their stomachs, they still didn't stop; they then began to spit out stomach acid.

"Oh my gosh, when is this ever going to stop?" On cue, Ben and Maya continued to vomit inexorably, emptying out all the contents, down to the stomach acid, into the formerly alluring, clean, crystal-clear sea.

"Robert, go and get Cayman to deal with this mess," Theo said, utterly defeated.

"We need to at least garner some attention. I don't know how to deal with this. There's literally puke on the deck." Instantly, and with unwavering resolve, I turned around and dashed towards the cabin. I threw the door open, not paying attention to what Devon was doing inside the cabin, and, seeing that Cayman wasn't in the cabin, I hurriedly descended the stairs to reach the chamber inside the hull, where Cayman and Daniel were talking.

I didn't know how to address Cayman, but that problem was about to be thrown out of the window when Cayman looked up.

"Robert, call everyone down. We're going to discuss the plan." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I immediately turned around and left the chamber. Cayman seemed slightly agitated and in no mood to clean up someone's mess, and the aura of confidence that he usually manifested seemed to have dwindled. Maybe it was because Ben's skill had surprisingly worked out that he was acting like this.

Well, the person whose skill had miraculously worked perfectly was most likely still retching and emptying his contents outside at that moment. When I found Devon still talking in the cabin, I signalled for him to stop and go down to the chamber. I then saw the others outside. Theo was trying to reassure and support Maya and Ben, whose vomiting seemed to have ceased.

"Ugh, why now?" Maya shouted, utterly disgusted.

"Let me rest a bit more! I'm sick!"

"It must be something important," Theo replied, trying to soothe Maya and reduce her growing anger levels.

"Just go. I bet it's something to do with Cayman." Maya sighed and followed suit, hanging her head and letting her head drop, hiding her colourless face. The crown on her head almost fell, which would have surely created more unnecessary attention. Soon, all eight of us were in the chamber, forming a small circle. That was when Cayman started speaking.

"I debated long and hard about whether I should do this now or later," he began, casting tactful glares at us, "but I've ultimately decided to do this now. We're talking about the plan for this expedition." As if on cue, Ben yawned loudly as if his body wanted to openly contradict Cayman's words. However, Cayman didn't notice and pulled out something from his inventory. Like the plan of the ship, what he pulled out was another sheet of paper which he laid out on the floor, revealing its identity as a map.

Just like back on Planet 505 when Jake had given me a map of the town, Cayman had a map of this planet, or at least this ocean. At least that made things slightly easier for us. The map was very concise, unlike the one that Jake had given me, detailing every island near to us. It illustrated the topography of each island as well as what kind of treasure we would find.

"Unsurprisingly, this is a map of the planet," Cayman said boldly. He pointed to an area near the bottom of the map.

"This is where we are. We're heading in this direction." Initially, his finger was placed on an area near the bottom left of the map, where there was a diminutive yellow dot near the corner, which I could deduce belonged to the desert island housing the portal room. As he moved his finger slowly along the map, it traced a direction, which was presumably the direction we were heading, according to Cayman's words.

"We're going to reach this island," he continued, pointing to an island near the top right of the map.

"This island is where the item that I need is. Coincidentally, it also happens to be the item you need to collect to claim the planet. Therefore, what we need to do is to grab the item, claim the planet and leave."

"Is it that simple?" Ben asked, the unmistakable pungent smell of his breath being prominent and lingering in the chamber.

"Then why did you say we might need a few days?" Cayman sighed, covered his nose with disgust and said, "Look around. Currently, it's night time. The distance between the desert island where the portal room is located and the island we're heading to is very great, and it'll possibly take a few days for us to reach it. That's why we might need a few days." Ben went silent as if the response Cayman had just given was the one he was looking for.

"Where are we now then?" Maya inquired, her breath also reeking of the unequivocal stench of fresh vomit. In response, Cayman's finger landed on an area of the ocean almost touching the desert island, just a few centimetres away from the yellow dot. He didn't open his mouth; he just pointed. Abruptly, Maya's head fell.

"We're there?" she screamed when she lifted her head up without warning.

"We can't see the island anymore! We're like thirty miles away from the island now, and you're saying that we are still very close to it? This is insanity!"

"I did say that the distance between islands is very great," Cayman replied, his voice devoid of any emotion or even life.

"And also, how about you stop talking, because the horrifying smell of your breath is gonna make me sick. Anyway, what happened to you guys out there?" Maya pouted and sighed.

"It's a long story," she muttered gloomily, threatening to be the first one to leave the circle.

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we've arrived at the island."

"Not yet." Cayman's stern statement caused Maya to have second thoughts about her decision.

"Do you really think it'll be an easy ride all the way to the cave? Is that what's going through your brain right now? I'll tell you right now, little missy, that there will be no more easy paths from here. Every path will be as thorny as the largest blackberry bush out there, and obstacles will be lethal and out to get your head. Don't you dare say that this ride will be easy." Markedly, Maya flinched and almost squealed. She put both of her hands on her crown.

"This is a message for all of you here. This mission is not going to be easy. Missions are only going to get harder from here. So don't you dare say to me that this mission is easy, because I'm going to make it the most gruelling ordeal you've suffered in your entire life. If you take the easy path in life, you're not going to go anywhere, and the only place you'll end up is on the streets. Life is challenging. Obstacles are going to be thrown at you from all different directions.

Life is about how you deal with these obstacles and bounce back." An eerie silence ensued; there was a palpable sense of suspense lingering around the room. Cayman's voice was strangely chilling and domineering, enough to instill fear into our fragile bodies.

"The more thorny the path, the more happiness and rewards you'll get out of it. Stick to it, because if you give up, it's tantamount to saying you're taking the easy route. Charge head-on into what obstacles life gives you. Don't be afraid of failing, because you can always try again. There will always be a way to overcome these obstacles. Just think like that, and you'll succeed in life." Silence.

"In short, that just means we will encounter mana beasts on the way to the island." Our faces instantly hardened in confusion, with Ben pulling the most obnoxious face out of all of us. Cayman said all of that, all of those motivational lines, just for that? Just to say that there might be mana beasts ready to ambush us? Sometimes I can never understand what goes on in that enigmatic brain of his.

"You just wanted to say that there are beasts in the water, right?" Ben asked, feeling the most puzzled, perplexed and flummoxed out of all of us.

"They're not going to be in the water," Cayman replied with unwavering confidence.

"They're going to be on boats. The mana beasts are going to be on ships like these."

"How come?"

"Use your fucking brain!" Cayman spat.

"We might be dealing with pirates! Pirates! That's why they're on boats!"

"Pirates?" Ben was still not on the right page as us.

"The mana beasts we're gonna have to defeat are pirates?" he asked, displaying an overt baffled expression.

"Pirates?"

"Yes!" Cayman boomed.

"Pirates! The Hoppers who have failed and managed to return have all been attacked by pirates! That's why they've coined the name 'Pirate Planet'! This planet is colloquially known as the Pirate Planet!"

"Oh."

"Also, stop talking. The smell of you and Maya's breaths is too much for me to handle. Maya, you mentioned going to sleep, so go to sleep or something, since you're both not in the right minds. I'll permit it. Go. And sleep in the cabin upstairs." Ben and Maya left the circle utterly defeated and trudged towards their bags at the far side of the chamber. However, it wasn't long before things went south.

"Cayman… I need a sick bag!"

"Fucking hell, Ben!" Cayman boomed.

"You're making me do extra work! Even if we do have sick bags, how the hell are we gonna dispose of them once there's actual stuff inside of it? It will make the whole ship smell like shit!"

"Cayman… please!" Cayman sighed, and then frantically reached into his bag, trying his best to pull out the intended items. However, the sickness bug was not going to wait for anyone before it struck. And all of a sudden, Ben and Maya were back to leaking out their stomach contents, but this time, it was all over the floor of the chamber, right next to where Cayman was standing.

"Oh, these idiots," Cayman mouthed. Then he yelled, "This is where you guys are gonna sleep tonight! Now who's going to get a good night's sleep! And when the mana beasts come, you're all gonna be sloths on the battlefield, swinging your swords like deranged monkeys! Why did this have to happen…" But soon, Cayman's words trailed off, because suddenly, he was on the floor, gagging uncontrollably. His face, which previously held its normal colour, had turned pallid, emphasising his ghostly, cadaverous features.

Ellie and Devon ran to support him, whilst me, Theo and Daniel were glued to the spot, unsure of how to rectify this gruesome situation. This might be even worse than fighting mana beasts, because soon, Cayman's digestive system gave in, ready to emulate Maya and Ben's uncontrollable vomiting to perfection.

"Let's get out of here," Daniel said quietly to me and Theo.

"Let them deal with their own mess." And as Cayman's vomiting intensified, Theo and I acquiesced and left the chamber alongside him. What greeted us outside was a clear night sky laden with stars that shone brightly despite radiating very little light on the surface of the sea. We were staring at a child's haphazard painting. A navy blue background, white dots and a large circle representing a moon. Stars that were clumsily drawn on with the thinnest brushes.

All so eloquently conveyed to the point where every feature of what we were looking at captivated us, forcing us to gaze at its sheer beauty.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Daniel muttered.

"Welcome to Pirate Planet."

"All that it's missing are the pirates," Theo replied.

"Let's see some real pirates in action. Then our mission is complete." Daniel nodded, gazing up at the shining moon high up in the sky. He then turned to face me, opening his mouth and changing the subject.

"Robert, have you ever felt motion sickness before?"

"Huh? Me?" Daniel nodded lightly with a beaming smile.

"N-No, I haven't. But that's probably because I've never been on a boat, a plane or a coach before. I can only remember being on a train once, and that was years ago. And I didn't get sick."

"How are you holding up now then?"

"Fine, I guess." Daniel then turned to face Theo, whose face was blinded by the darkness.

"What about you, Theo?" he asked.

"I don't really have any issues with travel sickness," he replied with unwavering confidence. He stood squarely on the ship despite it rocking back and forth. The waves were picking up, the sound of it being music to my ears.

"I don't even want to talk about it. They say talking about travel sickness induces a response for it in your brain. If what you say ends up making me sick, I'm never gonna forgive you for the rest of my life." Daniel fell silent at Theo's sharp remark. There was truth in Theo's words, and unfortunately, it was a horrifying truth that people had to live with. Suddenly, I saw something in the distance. Initially, I had to squint to catch a glimpse of it, but eventually, it became clearer.

I could finally ascertain that it was another ship. Instinctively, I turned to face Theo and Daniel. I pointed at the ship in the distance.

"What?" Daniel didn't seem to get the memo, but Theo read my hand gestures perfectly.

"It's a ship," he said to Daniel.

"It's another ship. It's either got Hoppers on it or mana beasts. Both of them are not good."

"Tell Cayman," Daniel said to me.

"If what you're seeing is a ship, tell Cayman immediately. We have to get ready fast." But then I thought back to the incident where Cayman threw up in the chamber. The unpleasant smell would be prominent down there, which could lead to my brain eliciting a contagious vomiting response. Before I had a chance to run into the cabin and tell Cayman, however, a system message abruptly opened, temporarily blinding me due to the significant change in light. And that was the first sign of trouble on Pirate Planet.

You have a new mission! Mission 2/3: defeat the beasts