Bora looked at the massive wooden boat resting inside the cave before speaking in his usual firm tone.
"We take this boat. Push it to water."
Without wasting any time, all four of us moved toward the sides of the boat and began pushing it out of the cave.
The boat was far heavier than I had expected. Even with the four of us using our strength together, moving it was not easy. The rough underside of the wood scraped loudly against the rocky ground as we slowly forced it forward toward the shore.
Fortunately, Bora possessed a strengthening ability similar to physical enhancement.
The moment he activated his ability, the veins along his arms tightened slightly, and the massive boat suddenly became noticeably easier to move. Most of the force pushing the ship forward clearly came from him.
Under Bora's lead, the four of us gradually pushed the enormous boat out from the cave and into the water. Once the bottom of the ship finally touched the sea and began floating properly, all of us quietly let out small breaths of relief.
Bora climbed aboard first once the boat settled properly on the water, and the rest of us followed after him one by one.
The moment I stepped onto the wooden deck, my eyes immediately began moving around curiously, taking in everything around me.
It looks very spacious. The inside of the boat was simple and plain, clearly built for practicality rather than comfort or luxury. Most of the interior was left completely open, creating a large empty space that allowed enough room to store supplies and move around freely during travel.
Aside from that, there were only three ordinary rooms built into the ship along with a few small storage sections.
Nothing about the boat looked luxurious, yet its sheer size alone made it impressive to me.
Still, despite its simplicity, I could not help feeling excited.
A strange mixture of happiness and anxiety settled inside me as I stood there quietly observing the ship and the endless sea surrounding us. Everything about this journey still felt unfamiliar and new.
This would be my first time traveling across the sea by boat. Even back when I was a noble, I had never traveled to another nation by crossing the sea.
Bora looked at us seriously before speaking.
"I remind you all. Sea not safe. Many sea beasts live here. Do not think journey easy from now."
I listened quietly.
Sea beasts…
The term sounded familiar somehow. Then I suddenly remembered.
Mother once mentioned that there were beasts living in the sea whenever we visited the beach before.
So it was true.
Bora continued speaking after a brief pause.
"I tell mission details after we reach destination."
I listened quietly for a moment before finally deciding to ask the question that had been on my mind ever since we left the village.
"May I know where our destination is?" I asked.
Bora looked at me silently for a second before giving a slow nod.
"Elysis."
Elysis…
The name immediately felt familiar the moment I heard it.
I looked at him again, slightly surprised. "The Elysis Federation?"
Bora nodded once more. "Yes."
Then he calmly added, "It take around two months to reach there."
Two months…
Crossing the forest alone had already taken nearly a week, yet that was only the beginning. And now we still had two full months of sea travel ahead of us.
Soon afterward, the journey officially began.
At first, I expected Bora or someone else to manually control the ship once we departed. But to my surprise, shortly after everything was prepared, the boat slowly began moving forward on its own across the sea.
The large wooden ship cut smoothly through the water without anyone rowing or steering it directly. I looked around in confusion, trying to understand what was happening.
Tara quickly noticed my reaction and gave a faint smile before explaining,
"An artifact attached to boat. Bora activated it. Artifact makes boat move."
I looked toward Bora instinctively, only to see him standing calmly near the front of the ship as if there was nothing unusual about it.
There are even artifacts like that? The thought genuinely surprised me.
Back in the village, I had rarely seen anything related to artifacts outside of a few rare items.
Quietly, I walked toward the edge of the boat and rested my hands against the wooden side as I looked out across the vast sea.
The endless water stretched endlessly into the distance beneath the open sky, the waves rising and falling gently as the ship moved forward.
It is beautiful.
Bora quickly assigned the rooms... one room was given to Charlie and me, another to himself, and the last room to Tara.
Without wasting time, Charlie and I carried our things into the room assigned to us.
The inside was just as simple as the rest of the boat. There was almost nothing there besides a plain wooden platform built for sleeping and a small corner where belongings could be placed. The room felt empty, but after spending an entire week traveling through the dangerous forest, even something this simple felt comfortable enough.
Charlie quietly placed our things aside in an organized manner before turning toward me.
"Young master, are you hungry?" he asked.
I shook my head tiredly as I sat down on the wooden bed.
"No. Let me sleep," I replied while exhaling slowly. "I have not slept properly for an entire week inside that forest."
Charlie smiled faintly after hearing that, clearly understanding how exhausted I was.
"As you wish, young master."
The moment I lay down on the wooden platform, my body immediately relaxed. The exhaustion that had slowly built up over the past week finally caught up to me, and before long, I drifted into sleep while Charlie quietly stepped outside the room.
---
As the days passed, life aboard the boat gradually settled into a steady routine.
The endless sea around us rarely changed, and after spending enough time on the boat, even the constant sound of waves and the gentle rocking beneath our feet slowly became familiar.
Every day, all of us spent time cultivating and practicing our abilities while being careful not to damage the ship itself. The space aboard the boat was large enough for training, but everyone remained cautious during practice since a serious mistake in the middle of the sea could become dangerous very quickly.
Charlie and I continued training together regularly, just as we had back in the village. But over time, I also began practicing frequently with Tara.
Her ability was surprisingly unique.
She could create bubbles capable of trapping opponents inside them. At first glance, the ability looked harmless and almost simple compared to direct combat abilities. But once I experienced it personally, I quickly realized how troublesome it truly was.
Once trapped inside one of her bubbles, escaping became extremely difficult. The bubble looked soft and fragile from the outside, yet from within, it felt incredibly durable, almost like being trapped inside a transparent prison that resisted force from every direction.
I learned how troublesome her ability was the hard way many times during training.
Whenever Tara trapped me inside one of her bubbles, I had to use everything I could just to break free. No matter how fragile the bubble appeared from the outside, once trapped within it, the pressure surrounding me became incredibly difficult to overcome.
Since I was still only a low level controller while Tara had already reached the moderate level. Her ability remained stable and difficult to disrupt even when I attacked it directly.
More than once, I found myself completely trapped while Tara calmly watched me struggle from outside the bubble with an amused smile.
Still, the training helped me greatly.
Ever since the strange dream of that endless void, I had genuinely felt my control over my ability improve. The energy responded more smoothly than before, and shaping my ability required less effort.
Practicing repeatedly with Tara made that improvement even clearer.
Not only was my control becoming smoother and more precise, but my battle sense and overall strategy were improving as well. Fighting against Tara's unusual ability forced me to think more carefully instead of relying only on direct attacks or strength.
Meanwhile, Bora rarely interacted with any of us outside of what was necessary for the journey.
Most of the time, he only spoke when giving instructions, warnings, or orders related to the mission. Aside from that, he spent nearly all his attention focused on navigating the ship and observing the sea around us.