Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 357: Chapter 202 Strange Little Island_2

Normally, it should be very difficult for trees to grow on the periphery of an island, let alone a dense forest like this one. The lush leaves indicated just how well they thrived here. The very presence of such a scene was enough to suggest that something was amiss on this island.

As they were speaking, Julia walked to the side of the ship and gently raised her hands. A strange song drifted over, refreshing everyone like a spring breeze. An aura materialized behind her, from which four ribbons shot out, emitting a faint glow as they headed towards the dense forest.

The Sound of Dawn continued its voyage around the island. Julia, meanwhile, had closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating on something. A short while later, she opened them again.

”The Magic Power concentration on this island is high,” Julia informed the others about what she had sensed, ”but it doesn’t possess the conditions for such a dense forest to appear. Something is influencing it, and these trees are very unnatural.” The others nodded, their brows furrowing slightly as they grew warier. All these signs indicated that the island was not as calm or simple as they might have imagined.

Pororo leaned closer to Jason, bending slightly. ”So, you jinxed it, huh?” he said.

”Damn it, what a time for this,” Jason muttered, a mix of helplessness and anger in his voice. If only I hadn’t said anything earlier, he thought.

Pororo grinned widely, revealing sharp, bone-white teeth as he let out an eerie laugh, then shrugged.

Finally, the Sound of Dawn rounded to the front of the island, revealing a low-lying beach. They could anchor the Sound of Dawn offshore and use a small boat to land. Alka had already made his way to the cabin. With the activation of the internal machinery, he slowly maneuvered the Swallow out from the bow of the main ship. Once the retracted mast of the Swallow was raised, everyone jumped down onto it. Ling and Yi, whom Lucilia called the Puppet Knight Order, remained on the Sound of Dawn, while Er followed Chadite, leaping down as well.

The Swallow soon reached the shore. They pulled the boat onto the beach and secured it with a silver bell. Only then did they step onto the sand, taking in their surroundings. Ahead, the dense forest still blocked their view.

The group fanned out slightly on the beach, beginning to investigate the area. With a sweep of her silver energy wave, Chadite started to record the island’s topography. Suddenly, she noticed something. She kicked forcefully at a spot in the sand, unearthing a black tip, then reached down and pulled it out with some effort.

It was an irregularly shaped, twisted metal fragment. Despite being buried in the sand, it hadn’t rusted, indicating it wasn’t iron but some kind of alloy. Alka walked over, turned the fragment over a few times, and examined it carefully. The piece of metal had clear Spell inscriptions on it, though it was only a small section. Other areas were completely fractured and had lost their function.

”This is a fragment from some large metal device,” Alka explained, holding a corner of the piece. ”It was infused with a type of Spell metal for Magic Power conduction.” As he spoke, he gently infused Magic Power into the fragment. The Magic Power conducted well through it, briefly illuminating the damaged Spell markings before they faded.

Jason approached, and after hearing Alka’s explanation, he looked at the broken metal fragment. ”Can you tell how old it is?” he asked. ”It doesn’t look too old.”

Alka nodded. ”Very new. Less than ten years.”

Compared to the ruins and remnants on Shipwreck Island, this was indeed very new.

”Could this be another island similar to Shipwreck Island?” Julia asked as she walked over. This island still possessed high Magic Power. Although the dense forest was unusual, the high Magic Power level was a consistent factor. It shared a basic characteristic with the Shipwreck Island they had encountered before: high Magic Power often meant more strange occurrences. Magic Power affects all things.

Alka didn’t answer Julia. Instead, he looked up at Chadite and asked, ”Can you sense any more of these fragments nearby?”

”Yes,” Chadite replied. ”Most are buried in the sand. They’re very new, and there’s one particularly large piece.” With that, she led a few of them to the side of the beach and pointed downwards.

Pororo looked at the spot Chadite indicated, bent down, and plunged his entire hand into the sand. With a powerful heave, he flung a large pile of sand to the side, revealing a moderately sized pit. The surrounding sand immediately began to trickle into it. Within the pit, a huge metal object was now exposed. Pororo gripped one corner with both hands and, with immense effort, yanked it out of the sand.

As the entire object was pulled free, sand and gravel from the surrounding beach continued to slide into the deep pit. It was an enormous metal fragment, two to three times Pororo’s size. Its metallic luster was identical to the smaller piece they’d found earlier. Like the first one, it bore Spell inscriptions and was similarly dented and fractured. Alka examined the shape of the metal, tilting his head in thought. ”This thing looks... very much like a fragment from some kind of vehicle or vessel,” he mused. ”Look, there are even burn marks on it.” He pointed to a corner where the metal appeared to have melted slightly and then resolidified.

Jason stared at the giant metal piece. After hearing Alka’s assessment, he asked, ”A ship made of metal?”