Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

[Attention: You are approaching the entrance to the ”Unknown Island” region. This is a solo exploration area; multiple people cannot enter. Please make the necessary preparations before entering.]

[Passing through the Gray Mist will grant you entry to this region. The Spirit Candle will provide you with guidance.]

As his body touched the Gray Mist, Faraway keenly felt his consciousness blur for a moment.

His brow furrowed slightly.

A moment later, the Gray Mist receded.

The scene before him changed abruptly.

A long, narrow sea channel stretched straight ahead. Beyond it lay an indistinct, inky blackness, just like the waters around Candle Island before they were unlocked.

At the end of his line of sight, a towering, mountainous island blocked the last of the setting sun. All that greeted him was its shadow...

In the sky, blood-red clouds mingled with the fading sun of dusk, a grim mixture of crimson and gloom.

The waves grew turbulent, and the Spirit Fire Raft began to rock violently.

Everything seemed so dangerous and terrifying.

Faraway remained unfazed, guiding the Spirit Fire Raft slowly forward, staying calm even amidst the violently rocking waves.

Within his vision, an ethereal, azure Firelight pointed toward the island ahead.

The Spirit Candle was guiding his way.

Faraway didn’t stop for a moment. The distance between the Spirit Fire Raft and the island gradually closed.

”WOO—”

However, the blast of a horn suddenly cut through his thoughts.

His brow furrowed sharply as he looked toward the source of the sound.

From the shadows behind him, a large galleon, more than half-ruined, suddenly appeared. It was sailing straight for him, and the horn’s blast came from it!

Faraway narrowed his eyes.

After a moment of observation, he lowered the Devil Fish Tail Staff in his hand.

The horn blasts continued, one after another.

But the galleon’s speed seemed incredibly slow, almost on par with his Spirit Fire Raft.

This was why Faraway paid it no mind.

’Looks intimidating, but it’s useless.’

Nevertheless, Faraway got a clear look at the galleon’s general appearance and the creatures aboard it.

What he saw made his brow crease once more.

The wooden galleon looked dilapidated, its black sails more than half-destroyed.

But that wasn’t the main point.

The crucial part was the massive, gaping hole in its port bow, which even exposed the cobweb-covered hold within.

But strangely, despite this, it hadn’t sunk into the Ocean. Instead, it sailed on defiantly.

On the ruined deck stood several humanoid monsters, their strange postures like those of desiccated corpses. Their blood-red eyes stared intently at him, and one of them held a horn...

Perhaps because the distance was too great, Faraway couldn’t make out the information on the monsters on the deck.

Having failed to get any useful information, Faraway looked away.

The dilapidated galleon didn’t seem to be giving up, continuing to follow behind him.

The island grew larger.

Faraway could now see the island’s features more clearly.

It was an island surrounded by reefs. There was no sign of life on it—mostly just bare, rocky mountains, with a few withered trees as the only semblance of vitality.

The faint clanging of mining could be heard from within the island.

After a quick scan, Faraway followed the Spirit Candle’s guidance and came ashore at a relatively flat area.

The dilapidated galleon behind him now seemed to have lost interest, gradually turning to sail in another direction.

CRUNCH...

A soft sound came from underfoot. Faraway moved his foot and looked down, only to see shattered bone fragments.

But he quickly realized they were fragments of a human skull.

Beside this part of the shore were many more shattered skulls, all made extremely fragile by the passage of time, crumbling at the slightest touch.

In addition, on the slope ahead, there were a few mangled, desiccated corpses.

’This place seems to be a body dumping ground...’

Faraway averted his gaze and looked at a stone stele bearing some weathered markings and a few characters.

As he approached, information appeared.

[Exile Island]

”Exile Island...”

After repeating the name to himself, Faraway began to survey his surroundings.

After a quick scan, Faraway saw three paths.

One went to the right, extending to the edge of the island, which was obscured by reefs. It was likely a path that circled the island.

One led straight ahead into a mine shaft. It was pitch-black inside, and the clanging of mining came from within.

The last was a set of steps covered in dust and rock debris, winding up the side of the mountain, seemingly leading to the island’s highest point.

Faraway withdrew his gaze. He didn’t make a choice immediately but instead walked to the center of the shore.

He saw that the Spirit Candle’s guidance stopped here, where an ethereal Milestone Spirit Candle flickered in and out of existence.

As he drew closer and closer, a familiar figure suddenly materialized.

He held a Spirit Candle and bowed slightly, and the candle descended with his movement.

After a dreamlike ripple of azure flame bloomed outward, the Spirit Candle gradually solidified. Its Wax Oil hardened, forming a white base that settled onto the shore.

The Candlekeeper gave him a slight nod before his figure gradually faded away...

[Milestone Candlefire Lit]

[Respawn Point Recorded]

With that, the Spirit Candle’s guidance ended, no longer pointing in any specific direction. It seemed it was now up to him to explore freely.

After a moment of thought, Faraway took out his weapons: the Devil Fish Tail Staff in his left hand and a Dagger in his right.

However, he didn’t choose any of the three paths. Instead, he stepped back onto his Spirit Fire Raft and headed back out toward the Ocean behind him.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Brother Mangzi had already boarded the dilapidated galleon, Wolf Fang Club in hand.

The horn blasts from above were incessant, and the sound of hasty, chaotic footsteps grew ever closer.

”Pfft!”

”So many damn cobwebs! How annoying!”

Looking slightly irritated, Brother Mangzi brushed aside the cobwebs, cracked his neck, and sneered, ”Blowing that horn so loud... Let’s see what kind of monsters and ghouls you’ve got on this ship!”

”Hghh...”

Just as Brother Mangzi finished speaking, a tattered, corpse-like monster carrying a Bloodstained Great Axe reached his level of the hold, its blood-red eyes quickly locking onto him.

[Blood Axe Living Corpse]

[Tier: Residual Ash]

[Level: 8]

[Talent: Unknown (will be updated as exploration progresses)]

[Skill: Unknown]

[Explanation: A Living Corpse wielding a two-handed Great Axe. It will cleave any enemy before it in two.]

After locking onto its enemy, the Blood Axe Living Corpse opened its great maw. Its dry, bark-like skin cracked as it prepared to let out a roar.

”ROA—”

”Die!”

BAM!

Its roar wasn’t even fully out before Brother Mangzi let out a bellow of his own. The Wolf Fang Club in his hand swung down mercilessly on its head, the immense Power instantly twisting its face out of shape!

With a loud THUD, the Blood Axe Living Corpse was sent flying backward, crashing into a large cluster of jars in the hold. It collapsed, unable to get up, and dissolved into Ashes.

[You have killed a Blood Axe Living Corpse]

”You think you’re worthy of wielding an axe that big?”

”What a waste!”

Brother Mangzi snorted, watching with great regret as the giant axe also dissolved into Ashes.

”ROAR—”

After dealing with one, more Living Corpses began to flood in madly from the hold’s entrance. Brother Mangzi heard splashes from behind him as well; the terrifying offensive drive of these mindless Living Corpses made it seem like they wanted to swallow him whole.

But Brother Mangzi was fearless. Instead, his knotted muscles began to twitch... Warfire raged within him!

’The Spirit Candle’s guidance? A Milestone Spirit Candle?’

’Heh, who knows!’

’Wherever I go, that’s where I’ll fight!’

”Come on...”

”FIGHT!!!”

He roared, the Warfire burning fiercely in his eyes. His Wolf Fang Club swung wide, each blow incomparably heavy and powerful!

The dilapidated galleon swayed ceaselessly. The constant sounds of impact joined the horn blasts to form a new battle hymn!