Chapter 81: Full Boat

“Sea water?”

Yoo Se-rin was a Hunter specialized in ice magic skills. In the Demon Sealing Cave, she had previously frozen the ground, immobilizing the monsters summoned by the Lich.

“I just need to freeze enough to trap a few Sereins.”

Of course, freezing a thin layer of earth was on a completely different scale of difficulty from freezing a substantial portion of seawater. Even if it was possible, she would have to pour all her Mana into it.

“I’ll give it a try. No, I can do this.”

Yoo Se-rin nodded resolutely.

“If I adapt my Ice Chamber skill, it should be possible. Though I can only cast it one at a time.”

“Now, please cast the skill in the direction I specify. The Sirens are hiding there. Make the casting range about 1.5 times larger than average. A width of 2.5 meters should suffice.”

“Understood.”

Cheongyeon’s rookie nodded immediately.

I was curious about how he pinpointed their locations, but I didn’t question it.

I glanced back at the navigation screen.

The red dots representing the Sirens remained motionless.

This made sense, as they were likely ambushing us, lying in wait for our weakness.

Therefore…

“Southeast, 150 meters.”

It was incredibly convenient for me.

Yoo Se-rin extended her hand precisely in the direction I indicated.

And when her eyes began to emit pure white mana…

Krrrrrrk!

Skreeee!

A sound like something freezing came from ahead, followed by the mournful cry of a siren.

Nodding, I opened my mouth.

“Hunter Serine, release the mana barrier you’ve cast over the bottom of the boat. Captain, steer the ship in the direction I just indicated.”

“Understood!”

“N-now? It looks like the sirens are hiding beneath us!”

“Yes.”

“Yes… Damn it, I don’t know!” Captain Kim Yongsu spat out curses as he manipulated the instrument panel.

Shwaaaaah!

The fishing boat began to glide smoothly across the sea.

And then, even through the darkening fog, something was clearly visible.

Skreeeee!

A square ice cube, slightly smaller than a fishing boat, floated on the surface of the water. Inside, three sirens were trapped, clawing desperately at the icy walls.

I stared at the monster helplessly frozen within the ice and remarked, “That ice looks quite sturdy.”

Yoo Se-rin, still concentrating on maintaining the skill, replied, “Yes. My Ice Chamber skill has been refined over many years…”

“Well done.”

“Ah.”

Creating such a solid ice prison in seawater was an incredibly difficult feat. It required mastery of both the principles of freezing-type skills and the manipulation of mana.

“As expected of the rookie President Seo Yeon-hwa cherishes dearly,” I added with a smile.

Just as the fishing boat approached, I leaped and landed atop the ice prison.

Screech! I’m hungry, human! I’m going to eat you! I will definitely eat you!

Separated by thick ice, the sirens facing me clawed their nails and shrieked.

With those creatures beneath my feet…

Click.

I equipped the Dragon Spirit Iron Wire.

Kiiing!

An extraordinary golden light began to radiate from the gauntlets.

Screech?

The murderous glint in the sirens’ eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by a flicker of light.

At last, their survival instinct had overridden their hunger.

But…

“You shouldn’t let your appetite dictate your actions.”

I smiled faintly as I uttered these words.

Thud!

I slammed my golden gauntlet down onto the exact center of the ice cube I was standing on.

The sirens stared blankly at the golden gauntlet embedded in the ice above their heads.

Boom!

Except for the top surface of the ice cube I was standing on, the rest shattered explosively, as if a bomb had detonated inside.

The sirens, unable to even gasp for breath, were reduced to pulp by the shockwave of the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist and floated to the surface.

“Ugh.”

Standing on the shattered ice fragments, I gathered the floating corpses and hurled them onto the fishing boat.

Thud!

Captain Kim Yongsu, who had been glaring at me with weary frustration, let out a startled cry.

“Hey, you brat! I told you to stop loading! At this rate, the ship’s gonna sink!”

“Come on, Captain. It’s not that bad yet.”

“This ship wasn’t designed to carry monster carcasses in the first place!”

“I’ll pay you extra later for your hard work.”

With that, he turned away.

There was no time to rest.

Over 40 sirens still remained.

But the red dots on the navigation screen were moving strangely.

The sirens that had been rapidly closing in on the ship scattered immediately after their frozen comrades exploded.

This wasn’t a dispersal for an attack.

The reason soon became clear.

Through the cries of the Sirens flowing through the darkness:

The survival instinct had triumphed over hunger, and it seemed the recently annihilated Sirens weren’t the only ones.

Whether underwater or on the surface, they had no chance of victory.

Realizing this, the creatures finally began to flee.

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I just let them go?

Judging by their mention of the Necromancer, they seemed to have some knowledge about Go Geonho.

However, capturing a Siren to interrogate them was impossible.

Current Status Window version does not support two-way communication with monsters below a certain level of intelligence.

Judging by the small notification window that popped up in the corner of my vision, I knew what was coming.

And I didn’t hesitate for long.

“Serine Hunter, two creatures, 150 meters northwest.”

Swish!

White mana flowed once more through Yoo Se-rin’s eyes.

Kiiiiik!

The sound of sea water freezing.

As the Siren’s cry erupted, I climbed onto the deck and gestured to the old man.

”…Huh, right. I’ll have to tell Yeonha to double her share of the bounty this time.”

Captain Kim Yongsoo had suddenly become a member of a monster hunting party.

But he sighed and began steering the ship.

I turned my attention back to the navigation screen.

Nodding as I watched the scattered Sirens fleeing in all directions, I thought:

They’re just monsters who’ve invaded this land anyway.

And now they’re the main obstacle to communication on the Dialogue Channel.

To Go Geonho, they’re no different from cockroaches.

Since we’ve come this far, let’s nip this in the bud and move in.

Alright, while we’re at it…

“Let’s really rack up some points with the Nine Heavens Bone King.”

“Stupid bastard.”

The sun was setting over the coast of the Dialogue Sea, and the fog was thick. Go Geonho cursed under his breath as he pushed through the mist.

“Even if his soul were thrown into the Nine Heavens, he’d still crawl back out, stupid as he is.”

Unlike the heroes of the Great Change he had once known, Go Geonho was never one to mince words. Yet there was one person who always drew his ire: his nephew, Ko Youngmin. Whenever the young man did something deserving of a thorough tongue-lashing, Go Geonho couldn’t hold back his curses.

Tsking, he recalled what had happened just thirty minutes earlier.

Riiiiing!

His smartphone rang, startling him twice. First, because it was currently the spawning season of the sirens. The monsters’ power had grown so strong that communication should have been impossible, yet his phone rang anyway.

“U-Uncle! You finally answered your phone!”

The second surprising thing was that the call came from his nephew.

No.

“H-Hunter Taejun said he’ll visit you today, Uncle.”

Go Geonho was shocked by the words coming from his worthless nephew’s mouth.

“Hunter Lee Taejun said he’s coming to Dae Hwa-do today?”

“Yes.”

“When did he say that?”

“Y-Yesterday.”

“Why are you only telling me now?”

“Umm… because I couldn’t reach you, Uncle?”

Go Geonho was speechless for a moment before finally speaking.

“Didn’t I tell you long ago? Communication on Dae Hwa-do is spotty. If something urgent comes up, use the magic power sphere to contact me.”

“Ah.”

Indeed.

It had been three years since he last appeared, during his sparring match with Jo Yongtae.

He had given his nephew a mana-powered communication sphere.

This priceless item allowed for contact anywhere on Earth, except within dungeons.

R-right… I remember that…

Of course, that useless nephew had completely forgotten about it.

“You’ll get a proper scolding later, you fool.”

Go Geonho had issued a stern warning and stormed out of his residence thirty minutes ago.

There was no time for a lengthy lecture now.

If Taejun was heading to the Dialogue Road now, he needed to be protected immediately.

“To think he’d choose this timing to come here…”

Go Geonho had only one worry:

If those bastards catch wind of this, they won’t leave it alone.

The Sirens had settled in the waters around Fourth Island. After establishing their home on the island to escape the world’s gaze, Go Geonho had eliminated most of the monsters on the island, but he had deliberately spared the Sirens.

While the media in the Hunter World would relentlessly dig into anyone’s private life, it wasn’t enough to justify venturing into waters infested with monsters.

In other words, the Sirens served as a living breakwater, blocking out public attention. Additionally, they acted as his cleaning crew, dealing with the villains he brought back from his inland “excursions”—those who had committed the most heinous crimes.

But recently…

“I didn’t feed them…”

Originally, Jo Yongtae should have been the one to suffer this fate.

However, despite his ruined body and mind, his life was saved and he was handed over to Alliance Headquarters.

Since then, I had been staying here, preparing Taejun’s gift, without venturing inland.

Therefore, the Sirens now…

Overlapping their spawning season with starvation, they would have transformed into monsters that would charge at any moving thing.

I am well aware of Taejun’s ability.

But neither his non-standard Fireballs nor his mysterious Skeleton wielding Holy Attribute weapons…

…would be usable when surrounded by Sirens over the sea.

Of course, there is one more concern.

The ‘reason’ he had to establish a residence on this isolated desert island.

But…

‘The time for that has not yet come.’

Go Geonho shook off another wave of unease rising in his chest.

“We can’t be too late,” he thought.

As he hurried toward the makeshift pier where his essence boat was docked…

“Hmm?”

The Nine Heavens Bone King froze mid-step.

A weathered fishing boat was moored alongside his vessel at the pier.

“How…”

Through the hazy fog, the scene on the deck came into view, leaving the Nine Heavens Bone King speechless.

Captain Kim Yongsoo massaged Yoo Se-rin’s shoulders as she panted, her face pale. Mountains of Siren corpses littered the chaotic deck.

“Well done, Captain,” Taejun said proudly, surveying the fully loaded boat. “Dispose of the by-products and transfer the remaining fee to my account, not Hwiryong’s.”