CHAPTER 528: CHAPTER 477: THE STRANGE DESERTED ISLAND

kilometers south of the Agulhas Cape in the Southern Continent is an unknown sea area that has never been marked on human nautical charts.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh...

Outside a circular island, a large area of whirlpool belt is composed of high-speed vortices. At least a hundred vortices of various sizes stretch out for dozens of kilometers, creating a breathtaking spectacle.

The center of the largest whirlpool is nearly ten meters wide; even a warship arriving here might be swallowed directly.

Although the sizable island has lush vegetation and clear streams, it is uninhabited, with no birds in sight, as if it has maintained its original form since its creation.

Suddenly.

A slightly warped suddenly opened in mid-air.

It was like a normal carriage had crashed, and two figures were violently thrown out by a tremendous force, hitting the continuous whirlpool belt outside the island with two "thud thud" sounds.

The intense current, varying in direction, flow rate, and temperature, acted on them, pulling them sharply toward the dark seabed.

"Where is this place?"

Aiven, resisting the dizziness akin to riding a roller coaster 80 times after being hit in the head with a "Shadow Jump," removed his and placed it on Olivia’s chest, who had fainted, whether from a headache or heartache.

Then he held her tightly to his chest, using the powerful Tier 3 Extraordinary strength to break free from the clutches of the current, jumping onto the water’s surface, carefully avoiding each vortex, and finally onto the circular island.

Without time to consider the unexpected breakdown, he immediately took off his water-repellent and laid it on the beach, gently placing the thoroughly soaked girl, her curves highlighted, onto it.

Snap—

He snapped his fingers.

Before he could use the Activated Spiritual Light to dry their clothes, Aiven was surprised to find the activity of the "Magic Element" here exceedingly sluggish.

Although the Activated Spiritual Light was almost summoned by instinct, the difficulty of using it increased geometrically.

In such a situation, a Tier 2 Wild Mage, without relying on equipment, might not even defeat a fully armed ordinary soldier.

"Magic suppression?"

The term instantly appeared in his mind, and its effect was far stronger than the Word Spirit used on the "Red Maple."

Switching to to sense the environment, after confirming that there weren’t even any mice here and that there seemed to be no immediate danger,

he exerted every effort to strip the salt and water from their clothes, confirming Olivia’s condition was fine.

Only then did Aiven sit down on the beach beside the girl.

Only then did he vaguely feel a sharp pain in his arms, and upon inspecting his torn sleeves, he found multiple minor fractures in his arms. Evidently, even if he only blocked a Peak Grand Knight for a minute, it was still too much at his current level.

Even though he used a lightning rod to block Griffith’s final , the Extraordinary Longsword also paid the price of a nearly shattered spine.

However, the problem is not significant; with the constitution of a Tier 3 Demon, enough rest for half a day should suffice for recovery.

After confirming the battle damage, he had time to consider the current situation.

"First of all, it’s certain that there was an accident with the Shadow Jump, and it didn’t reach the predetermined area."

After discovering the magic suppression effect and conducting consecutive experiments, Aiven had already reached a conclusion:

"It’s not just magic suppression; even the ’Magic Pocket’ can’t be opened. Additionally, there are no-fly zones and Spiritual Isolation Barriers, making it impossible to contact the Mind Network or enter the Spirit Realm."

Looking back at Kaka, who also couldn’t maintain Shadow Transformation and had already arrived in the Material World.

"Even the Shadow Realm has been isolated, along with other Anti-Divination, Concealment, Direction Confusion... settings similar to the Maze Lock at Hatrafa Port. Although not yet tested, it seems likely that these are not lacking either.

So, what’s the secret on this desolate island that appears to have no mice?"

Aiven furrowed his brows, already certain that the Shadow Jump collided headlong into Isolation Barriers here, causing this accident. And considering the peculiarities of this island, it’s certainly more than just an ordinary desolate island.

"Most importantly..."

He had already confirmed their latitude position through the angle of the sun and current time—it wasn’t to the north as expected, but southward, diving headfirst into the turbulent and wave-laden southern waters of Agulhas Cape.

The direction was completely reversed!

Aiven picked up the Shadow Sub-dragon shrinking beside him, oblivious and struggling with a little stone, grabbing its tail to lift it with a smile like a not-so-kind father:

"Kaka, can you explain to your father what’s going on here?"

"Kaka... Kaka..."

Having been incubated by Aiven for just over a year, Kaka’s intelligence couldn’t yet compare with Bess and would only snap its jaws clumsily.

It was the girl who had just woken up and opened her eyes, who coldly spoke:

"It seems someone thought Kaka didn’t jump far enough and used a ’Shadow School’ Witchcraft Tool, probably dazzled Kaka, and their abilities interfered with each other."

The Witchcraft Tool from the Shadow School acquired from the Magic Pocket of the Poison Plague School’s Living Corpse, advanced in technology with an extremely far jump distance.

Effect: A Witchcraft Creature from the Shadow School that allows the target covered by the cloak to enter the fissure of the Shadow Realm, entirely shielding the sight from the Material World.

Effect: By imprisoning the soul of a Shadow Realm creature, using the soul as lamp oil to illuminate the way in the Shadow Realm.

Strategic retreat should be as fast as possible. After entering the , Aiven wanted to add wings to the tiger. Yet, the "Shadow Realm" clearly wasn’t within their domain of knowledge, and operational errors weren’t impossible.

"Cough cough..."

With a bit of embarrassment, he coughed twice, quietly put Kaka down, and patted its head.

Calmly changing the topic, he first explained their current situation to the girl, then asked Olivia with concern:

"Hesi, are you sure your body is okay?"

The girl was clearly still troubled by her action of throwing away tens of thousands of gold just now. Hearing this, even if she knew they might be trapped on the deserted island, she couldn’t muster the spirit to resolve the predicament.

Taking a few deep breaths to ease the pain in her chest, she drooped her eyelids and listlessly waved her hand:

"My wallet is seriously injured; I’m fine. I just lost my casting ability for now; let me rest a bit."

Saying anything else might be doubtful, but Olivia had absolute confidence in Aiven’s reliability, telling him her situation without any hesitation and trusting him completely with her life and all her possessions.

In the prolonged time flow of the Material World and Spirit Realm at 36 times the normal speed, the two had become the most familiar people to each other, currently in a state described as "more than friends, not yet lovers."

Perhaps all it needed was a catalyst...

All this time, Aiven had never seen Olivia like this; her long hair lost its luster, the starlit glow in her eyes was no longer shining, and even her originally snowy smooth face had dulled.

He finally understood it was the heartbreak of losing a "Gem Star." His heart stirred, and he couldn’t help but put a hand on her head, speaking lightly before the girl could protest:

"Give me the bill, I’ll cover it for you."

The girl’s body stiffened instantly. She suddenly lifted her head, the sapphire-like eyes emitting a radiance that seemed it could burn the face of a Tier 3 Extraordinary.

Question: When is a man most handsome?

Answer: When he’s pulling out his wallet.

At least Olivia, lying on the beach, looking at Aiven, who was squatting beside her, tall and bordered with a golden edge by the sun, couldn’t help but cover her exquisite face with both hands, her heart fluttering wildly:

’How... can someone... be so handsome?!’

The next moment.

The girl jumped up from the ground, pulling Aiven’s hand and rushing toward the sea.

"Full recovery, go! Go! Go! The battlefield is still waiting for us; we can’t waste time here!"

...

However, they ultimately couldn’t rush into the sea.

Because while both magic and flying were forbidden, the first barrier was the vast Great Vortex as far as the eye could see, and beyond that were the imaginable towering Beheading Waves.

Though even without her casting ability, Olivia, who also held the official Knight Tier, was not exactly a weak and feeble little lamb.

But both agreed that the most practical method at present was to find the origin of these "forbidden abilities," resolve them, and then leisurely leave the island.

In half a day, they had identified the types of forbidden abilities on the island using various means:

[Magic Forbidden Barrier], [Immune Divination], [Conceal Traces], [Direction Confusion], [Existence Concealment], [No-fly Zone], [Spiritual Isolation], [Shadow Realm Ban].

Somewhat similar to the "Maze Lock" of Hatrafa Port, yet countless times more brilliant.

They also gained a certain understanding of the island’s geographical environment, with the north side extending to Agulhas Cape likely being a shallow sea area, while the southern side’s gigantic underwater cliff extended to a deep-sea plain thousands of meters deep.

They then started examining the surrounding area of the island, hoping to find the sources of these restrictions.

Aiven maintained the most intact combat strength and also had the [Low-pressure Pulse] that could be used to sense the environment, becoming the main force in exploration.

Although they hadn’t discovered any other anomalies for a while, on the slope of the underwater cliff, in a place completely devoid of sunlight, he surprisingly discovered a legendary "whale fall."

The huge "whale fall" clearly came from a giant whale no smaller than a Sea Monster.

When a whale dies in the ocean, its body slowly sinks to the seabed, forming a unique ecosystem during this process. A whale fall can sustain a cycle of decomposers for up to a hundred years, being the whale’s last gentle gift to the sea.

Having gained nothing for the time, upon returning to the surface, Aiven recounted the "whale fall" story to Olivia, who was waiting on the shore.

The girl’s blue eyes gazed at the vast sea, the sea breeze teasing her long hair. For a moment, she seemed deeply moved, and slightly tilting her head, she asked Aiven beside her:

"Drawing nutrients from nature and then giving back to the world at the end of its own existence, is this the ideology of your Vitalist School?"

Hearing this question from the girl and seeing her beautiful profile, Aiven thought that if he were to answer this question honestly, he would surely regret it for life.

So, he also turned his head to gaze into Olivia’s sapphire-like beautiful eyes and said very seriously:

"No, actually, I want to be immortal... with you!"

Holding her crystal shoes and the hem of her long dress’s skirt, standing in the waves with bare snowy feet, Olivia was momentarily stunned, then hesitantly said:

"You’re... not trying to avoid paying the bill, are you?"

Aiven hastily waved his hands:

"How could that be? How could that be?"

Yet he saw the corners of the girl’s lips bloom into a captivating smile like the blossoming of a hundred flowers, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, as she suddenly leaned her head over.

Smooch—

Feeling the coolness lingering on his lips, Aiven, whose mind went blank and who could no longer tell east from west, had an old saying from his homeland echoing in his heart:

"Don’t guess a girl’s mind; if you guess, you’ll never keep up with how fast they change.

But this time, the change is truly wonderful!!"

The two, as if floating on clouds, didn’t notice a short distance away from them on the surface of the sea, a huge white shed snakeskin was tumbling with the waves.