CHAPTER 475: CHAPTER 241 BROKEN ISLAND CHAIN/SOUTHERN CROSS_3

This might be their first step in understanding the Endless Sea.

"Let’s go back and see. Lucilia and the others are probably already waiting impatiently," one of them suggested.

Hearing this, they all nodded and quickened their pace toward the port.

Before long, they arrived at the port and saw Jason waiting by the shore.

Seeing them approach, Jason smiled and waved. After looking them up and down to make sure they were all right, he jumped on deck with the others.

"So, what did that person want, inviting you over?" Jason asked.

"He noticed we were newcomers to the Endless Sea and wanted to take this opportunity to make our acquaintance," Alka explained. "It’s like they say, helping in adverse circumstances is better than adding icing on the cake."

These words surprised the others.

"How did we give ourselves away?"

Alka and his companions briefly recounted their conversation at the banquet.

"So that’s how it was. I never thought such small details would reveal us," Julia murmured to herself. The way their newcomer status had been exposed was something she hadn’t anticipated.

"You said the book contains information about the outside world. Go on, tell us!" Lucilia urged, jumping onto Alka’s shoulder.

Hearing this, Alka looked at the others. Curiosity gleamed in their eyes too.

After all, although they had been in the Sea of No Silver for some time, they knew very little about the specific conditions of the Endless Sea. Now that they had a way to learn more, how could they not be curious?

"No problem. Let me see."

Alka opened the book and began to read it carefully. Upon closer inspection, he realized the information he had previously gleaned from his dreams was indeed rather fragmented and incomplete. Even what was written here only covered the surrounding area and some characteristics of this particular marine region.

Alka began to explain, "In the Endless Sea, maps are completely useless. Because of the chaos, the ocean here is constantly changing, including the positions of islands."

"This also makes it very difficult to determine the correct direction. Even the ocean itself, and islands you’ve previously visited, will shift to different locations shortly after you leave them."

"However, islands that don’t deviate due to spatial changes or ocean currents are called Landmark Islands. They are always there, permanently fixed in place."

"The so-called island chain consists of several islands tethered, in a sense, to a Landmark Island. These islands also shift, but they reappear around their Landmark Island at specific intervals."

"The book doesn’t explain the exact mechanism, merely offering a simple description."

"For instance, the island chain pulled by Southern Cross Island—which is a Landmark Island—is called the Broken Island Chain. The island we’re currently on is part of this Broken Island Chain."

"It returns to the vicinity of Southern Cross Island every thirty to sixty days and nights. This is also why merchant ships arrive during this window."

"They must also depart before it deviates again. Otherwise, they’ll have to wait until its next return to leave."

"If they don’t, they could end up very far from Southern Cross Island, requiring a great deal of time and effort to get back."

After briefly relaying some of the important information from the book, Alka took out the flag that was among the items Balazs had given him.

"Although the positions of the Landmark Islands don’t change, the people of the Endless Sea have still created tools to navigate to them—the Guiding Banner."

"This banner points to Southern Cross Island. You just need to hang it, and its tail will always flutter in the direction of the island."

After listening to Alka’s summary, everyone had varied expressions, but all were undeniably surprised. Even though they had tried to prepare themselves mentally, the sheer extent of the chaos here still left them somewhat bewildered.

"So, unless an island is part of an island chain, once you leave it, you might never find it again?" Chadite asked from the side.

Alka nodded. "That’s what the book says, assuming it’s accurate."

"’An eternally unknown journey?’" Julia murmured to herself, then asked with a hint of helplessness, "So, does the Seed of Life really exist here?"

The so-called Seed of Life is an organization essentially similar to the Holy Mother Church and the Holy Machine Church. It is formed by believers of the Divine within the Sea of All Beings—followers of life. One of its doctrines is to ensure the balance of nature and to bring order to the world’s chaos. The Merfolk are the ones who embody this doctrine to its fullest extent.