STGB Episode 524

Giant Island 3

On the sixth floor, there is a place called the Windless Zone.

It’s an area where the wind doesn’t blow and currents are nearly absent, requiring the use of magical propulsion devices to get through…

However, this propulsion device isn’t just useful in the Windless Zone; it also works on other floors where speeding up is necessary.

Like this.

Whiiiiirrrrr-!!

As soon as the mana stones were poured into the propulsion device, the motor attached to the bottom of the ship roared to life, emitting a deafening noise.

At the same time—

Swoooooosh—!

The ship surged forward at a speed that was impossible to achieve with normal sailing.

‘Fold the sails!’

We retracted the sails, and the ship’s speed increased even further. With the propulsion system active, sails are often more of a hindrance than a help.

“Ugh—wooaaah!!”

“Everyone, grab onto something!”

The deck shook violently from the ship’s speed. Everyone clung to the sails or railings, crouching low to avoid being thrown.

And after some time had passed—

“Mister, I can’t see them anymore!”

The giants’ heads gradually disappeared from view. At first, it seemed like they were relentlessly chasing us, but they must have realized that they couldn’t keep up with us and gave up.

‘Did we lose them…?’

While it was a relief, it was still too early to relax.

“Captain, what should we do with the propulsion device?”

“Keep it running. We might still be in their territory. Let’s get out of here as fast as possible.”

“Understood.”

This Silver Sea is home to different monsters depending on the region.

The route from the Rock Islands to the Library Island was inhabited by Macguri, while the path to the Human Island had Tentaculans.

Given these patterns, the area we’re in now is probably in the territory of the Hipramagents.

‘This floor really doesn’t let you relax for a second.’

In some places, Level 7 monsters appear, while in others, Level
4.

Of course, up to this point, that’s manageable.

But seven monsters at Level 2?

At this point, it might as well be called the Sea of Death.

‘Come to think of it, there are even level 1 monsters floating around…’

For a moment, I wondered if I’d been too hasty in descending to the Basement Floor 1, but I quickly dismissed the thought.

My expeditions have always been like this, after all.

As long as I survive and return, there will be a significant reward.

Just selling the essences I’ve collected so far would bring me a fortune.

‘…Let’s prioritise finding a way back. We can go back, upgrade our equipment, and then come back down again.’

“Auyen, where are we now?”

“Due to the sudden increase in speed, I can’t say for certain. But according to my calculations… we’re likely near our destination.”

Near the destination?

So we covered a six-hour distance in just two hours?

While I was impressed by the propulsion device’s performance, I couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned.

The cost-effectiveness of this device is notoriously poor.

“How many mana stones did we use?”

“Over 90% of what you gave me was used.”

In other words, we burned through a quarter of the magic stones we’d collected on this expedition in just two hours.

‘That’s roughly 20 million stones in monetary terms…’

Just thinking about the exact number made my stomach churn. However, thinking that I bought my life with 20 million stones made it feel somewhat better.

Mana stones can always be mined more.

“Since I need to recalculate our route, I’ll need to focus for a while—would that be alright?”

“Ah, sorry for disturbing you.”

After that, Auyen took out his navigation tools and fiddled with them as he steered the ship. True to his calculations, it wasn’t long before he spotted an island.

Watching from the side, Myul Armin couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“That person… Auyen Roklov, was it?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s an incredible sailor. It’s surprising that someone of his skill isn’t more well-known in the city.”

Myul kept praising me for having such a skilled sailor as an ally, and it didn’t seem like empty flattery.

“…What makes you say that?”

“Our expedition team doesn’t have a dedicated sailor. I handle that role myself. That’s why I can tell. Navigating properly after increasing speed like that in a place with no sun or stars is incredibly difficult.”

“Ah… is that so…?”

“Yes. The nautical charts he’s drawn so far are also remarkably precise. If given the chance, I’d love to learn from him.”

His sincere praise made me chuckle awkwardly.

I didn’t know how to respond.

“They say heroes attract talented people. It seems the old saying holds true.”

“Ahem….”

I just happened to spare him because he seemed useful when I was beating up some plunderers…

***

We finally reached our destination.

Instead of docking immediately, we circled around the island for scouting. Finally, we decided to land on the southern shore instead of the northern cliffs.

“What do you think, Myul? Does this place match the descriptions?”

“Yes. Everything aligns with what was described.”

The island appeared to be about ten times the size of Human Island.

Its biggest feature was the giant trees that came into view as soon as we landed on the shore.

“When I saw them from the ship, I thought they were big, but…”

“They’re incredibly huge.”

“Whoa… my neck hurts just looking up!”

Each tree was taller than anything we had seen in the labyrinth—roughly the height of a ten-story apartment building.

“Um…”

As we prepared to leave after scouting the area, someone approached me.

It was one of the mages from the Armin Expedition Team.

“Uh… well…”

“If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“Would it be alright if I collected a small sample from these trees? I’ve never seen anything like them before…”
The mage seemed nervous, but couldn’t hide the excitement in her eyes.
Mages, huh.

Having spent a lot of time with Versil, a player mage, this felt oddly nostalgic.

“It might turn out to be a very valuable material. And if so, it would be of great benefit to you, the Baron…”

“It would take a long time given their size.”

“…Just a little bit would suffice.”

“Well, in that case.”

I ended up asking Aynar to help the mage collect a sample of the tree.

Unlike Versil, she was a real mage, and I thought she might discover something during the exploration.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

The mage, now holding a chunk of bark and some logs, beamed as if she had received a precious treasure, and proudly returned to her colleagues mages, who began to chatter eagerly.

“You really brought it!”

“I wish it were night already. I can’t wait to research it.”

“Hehehe… Don’t forget, everyone. We agreed to co-author any research we do here.”

Were they really that excited over some wood?

Anyway, after taking care of the mages’ needs, we organized our formation and headed inland.

And as we proceeded with the exploration, cautious of what might appear.

“Jandel, something’s coming towards us.”

Just thirty minutes after entering the island, Amelia detected the presence of monsters. Everyone tensed up and switched to combat mode.

But…

“…?”

The moment the monster revealed itself, we all froze.

Even in my [Gigantification] state, it barely reached my shins.

Green skin and a gaping mouth.

And in its fern-like hand, a tightly gripped carving knife.

[Gruk?!]

“…A goblin?”

I never expected to see a goblin here.

A strange sense of relief washed over me, but I forced myself to stay alert and shouted to the group.

“Don’t let your guard down! It might be a variant with shapeshifting abilities—!”

「The goblin has activated [Trap Creation].」

“…Huh?”

The goblin just created a trap in front of us and placed it on the ground.

And then…

“…….”

[…….]

An awkward silence filled the air as we stared at each other.

“That thing…”

“Is it seriously waiting for us to step on it?”

I focused again.

“Everyone, stay sharp… Goblins aren’t usually this stupid. There’s definitely a chance this one is different from the ones we know—.”

Just then, an arrow flew out and struck the goblin in the head.

And—

Whoooosh—!

The goblin instantly died, its body turning into light and scattering.

“…….”

“……?”

…Wait, was that really just a normal goblin?

What was I even worried about?

Just as a wave of self-doubt began to rise from the pit of my stomach—

[Gruk!!]

[Grrruk!! Gruk! Kreeeuk!!]

The other goblins, sensing their comrade’s death, began screeching in agitation.

And at the same time—

Hwooooom—!

Their tiny bodies began to swell.

“…Huh?”

Now they reached up to my shins.

Their muscles also seemed more defined…

「The goblin has activated [Gigantification].」

…What the hell?

***

Dealing with the goblins wasn’t difficult.

Even after growing 1.5 times larger, they were still bound by the limitations of their species.

If anything, the fight was laughably easy.

But the shock of what we’d witnessed still lingered.

“What we just saw…”

“Could it be…?”

Ignoring the mana stones left behind, everyone turned to me for answers. As the one with [Gigantification], they trusted my judgment.

“…I can’t say for sure yet.”

“Oh… right.”

My curt reply made them hesitate.

Except for Amelia.

“Whether you’re certain or not doesn’t matter. We just want your opinion. Did that look like [Gigantification] to you?”

“…Yes.”

“Fascinating. It’s unlikely that all of them were high-tier mutants.”

Certainly, these goblins defied common sense.

They weren’t even a new species of monster.

‘But copying another creature’s skill…’

Was this unique to the goblins we just saw?

Or could others do it too?

The answer came sooner than expected.

[The troll has cast[Gigantification]

[The werewolf has cast [Gigantification]

[The iron has cast [Gigantification]…

“…”

Every monster we encountered along the way had one thing in common—they all used [Gigantification] as an additional ability on top of their base skills.

I don’t know exactly how it works.

But…….

There must be something special about this island.

The monsters we met on other islands didn’t behave like this.

‘Is it some kind of field effect unique to this island?’

That was the first theory that came to mind, but I couldn’t be sure.

So I decided to ask a mage for help.

“How about the essence?”

“All wavelength values and patterns match those of regular essences.”

“So there’s no difference between these and the goblin essence from the 1st floor?”

“Yes… At least in terms of the readings. It’s highly unlikely that consuming them would grant [Gigantification]. If you want… we can find a volunteer to test it, but ……”

“No need. It’s not worth it.”

We then resumed our exploration.

This exploration had two objectives.

First, to gather information about this new island.

And second, to locate and rescue any explorers trapped here.

The first goal was still vague, but fortunately, we found a lead for the second one sooner than expected.

“Footprints. Human, not monster.”

During our search, we discovered shoe prints left by someone.

According to one of the Armin’s Expedition members, the shoes were crafted by a high-end shop in Raphdonia…

“He used to work for the royal investigation bureau, so you can trust his judgment.”

“Sounds like an impressive guy. Can he estimate how old these tracks are?”

“About… five hours or so.”

Good. I had been worried that they might all be dead by now.

At least there are survivors.

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