The facts proved that the tempering and metamorphosis brought about by the birth of a world within him truly was extraordinary.
Even while carrying Escoffier, and even in that cramped, dim environment, he had easily run at a speed far beyond his previous limits, and done so with perfect stability—
Which meant he still had plenty of room to push himself even further.
Unfortunately, before he could test that out any more, he had already seen the light at the upper end of the corridor inside the hold. That was the door leading to the deck.
In the next instant, Lynn rushed out through it together with Escoffier and saw the bright night sky, and...
"Faster! Hurry up! Hurry!"
The Captain's anxious roar rang out as he urged his men to crank the ballista into firing position.
Following the direction it was aimed in, Lynn also saw the giant sea beast they had set as their target—
"Now that really is something to look at."
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was focused on dealing with the sea beast, Lynn quietly brought Escoffier to a relatively rearward spot and calmly started watching the show.
"Beidou's feat of cutting down that 'Haishan' was probably about on this level too, huh? I really can't imagine what that slash must have looked like..."
After setting Escoffier down, Lynn sighed softly in admiration.
It was not that he was inexperienced or easily shocked. Even setting aside everything he had gone through in the game before transmigrating, during this past year and more, with that bad luck buff hanging over his head, he had seen plenty.
Especially in Natlan, the monsters that emerged now and then from the randomly appearing Abyssal realm gates all over the place were far more numerous than what the game showed, their varieties were nowhere near as limited, and their actual combat performance was nowhere near as pathetic as they looked in-game.
It was just that Lynn's state of mind had changed. Since transmigrating, not once had he ever felt as relaxed and refreshed as he did right now.
"Captain Beidou of the Crux Fleet?"
"I heard about her slaying the giant beast 'Haishan' too while I was traveling around in search of culinary arts. From the descriptions, that 'Haishan' should have been much larger than this sea beast."
Escoffier was in a good mood as well. Hearing Lynn's remark, she casually joined the discussion.
"Oh? Then isn't that perfect? Maybe our dear Captain-san here can recreate a similar feat. If he does, he'll become famous."
Lynn suddenly said it in a serious tone, sounding as though he were sincerely offering his blessing.
But Escoffier could tell at once that he was being sarcastic, so she could not help letting out a soft laugh and lightly smacking his shoulder.
"Stop that."
So Lynn laughed too—
Could the captain of this ship compare to Beidou?
Could this ship compare to the Alcor?
There was no comparison at all. The idea itself was a joke.
But then...
"Lynn, is this ship going to sink?"
Escoffier remembered the earlier details.
She had naturally noticed the change in Lynn, and there was no doubt that it was a good thing.
But precisely because it was a good thing, based on what she knew about him, he should not have acted in such a hurry, waking up and immediately dragging her out here. That only made it feel as though there was some much bigger problem still waiting behind them.
And what bigger problem could there still be right now?
Escoffier thought for a moment and felt that the only answer was the ship beneath their feet.
Especially since, right before leaving, Lynn had thrown down a bomb without the slightest hesitation—
And that was no ordinary explosive. It had been made from his signature solidified Phlogiston, specially processed through a unique technique. Once detonated, at the very least it would blast a hole in the hull too large to plug.
If conditions were right, this thing splitting the whole ship clean in two would not even be difficult.
And they were still at sea. As someone from Fontaine, Escoffier knew a little about sailing. Even if all the original sailors were wiped out, she was confident that, with Lynn's cooperation, she could still steer the ship wherever they wanted to go.
Yet Lynn had shown absolutely no intention of continuing to use this ship, as though he did not care about it in the slightest and had no desire to preserve it.
Escoffier did not believe Lynn was the sort of person who would willingly choose the harder road for no reason—
Which left only one possibility: he was certain that this ship was doomed to sink.
"That's right."
Sure enough, Lynn gave her a positive answer, and even added more.
"Don't bother counting on those two lifeboats either. They've got problems too."
He recalled what he had sensed the instant he woke up, and a trace of helplessness flashed through his eyes.
At first glance, the current situation still looked manageable. The Captain was leading his men in a desperate battle, and with the help of the ballistae and the ship's other escort equipment, they had stabilized the situation despite looking rather battered.
But in reality, every time the sea beast attacked the ship, it caused tremors. And what only Lynn could sense was that those tremors just happened—perfectly, absurdly—to strike certain specific structural points on the vessel at just the right intensity, just the right frequency, and just the right timing to inflict damage.
Each bit of damage, viewed on its own, was not much. But linked together, they caused a qualitative change. By the time Lynn woke up, the ship's keel had already suffered irreversible damage. Even if the sea beast stopped attacking right now, within less than an hour the situation would probably deteriorate even further...
The ship's two lifeboats were more or less the same. Maybe they would not sink the instant they touched the water, but they would not fare much better.
He explained it briefly to Escoffier, and she immediately found it absurd.
"How could there be such a coincidence? Don't tell me the ship already had old damage and they just never found it when they set sail?"
Lynn merely spread his hands.
"It probably really is just that coincidental."
But was it really only coincidence?
'Yes,' Lynn silently said to himself.
'But... it's also inevitable.'
What did "inevitable" mean?
Don't forget where that sea beast had come from—
It had been drawn in by his "bad luck constitution." It was a manifestation of the instinctive rejection generated by the operation of the universe itself.
Only, under normal circumstances, the power of the World Seed would resist it, which meant Lynn would have some room to maneuver and push the outcome away from the worst possibilities.
But this time, the World Seed had absorbed enough nourishment and had been busy being born and sprouting, so it had not interfered or fought back.
As a result, the malice of the world had been displayed in full, producing this whole chain of "inevitable coincidences."
No better comparison for it than death itself arriving.
If no intervention was made, then the ship sinking would only be the beginning. All sorts of chaotic things lurking in the sea would probably count as nothing more than the appetizer...
But it did not matter.
Everything was about to change.
The world had already been born. It might now seem larger, more conspicuous, and more likely to draw an even greater rejection response, but just as a person, once no longer ignorant, gained the ability to communicate—
"Escoffier, keep watch for me. I'm going to have a chat with 'someone.'"
Have a chat with someone?
With who?
There was no one there.
Escoffier was somewhat baffled. She thought that even if he wanted to go talk to those smugglers, he ought to either get up and walk over to them or call them over. So what kind of situation was this, leaning against a corner and closing his eyes?
But she still held to her trust in Lynn. Silently, she drew out her spear. The Cryo stored within her Vision entered an active state once more, ready to be unleashed at any moment...
(End of Chapter)
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