"How long have we been drifting?"

Luo Wei staggered to her feet and looked around, only to find no trace of land in sight.

The distant horizon merged with the sea, and the sky and ocean seemed like two enormous bowls, enclosing them within.

She turned to look at the small island behind her. The ground was a single, continuous slab of black rock, with deep, curved fissures appearing every two to three hundred yards.

These cracks crisscrossed the entire island, forming a seemingly deliberate and symmetrical pattern.

On the other side of the island stood a towering peak, also made of massive black rock.

Luo Wei felt a pang of unease at the sight of the rock formation. She pointed toward it and asked Theodore and Hol Felix, "Did you carefully check this place before coming ashore? Could this be another giant beast?"

Once bitten by a snake, twice shy. She now deeply understood the sentiment.

"Hahaha, you’ve been scared silly by the Behemoth, haven’t you? There aren’t that many giant beasts in the world!" Theodore’s octopus-shaped head let out a laugh that sounded like a bellows.

Hol Felix was busy drying his magic plants soaked by seawater. "It’s impossible. The Behemoth is already the largest magical beast in the world."

"Before you woke up, we dove into the water to investigate. This seems to be a ridge in the ocean. We swam seven or eight nautical miles along it without finding the end. This island is sturdy."

"Alright." Luo Wei patted her racing heart, forcing herself to relax.

She glanced at the sun above and then at the shadow beneath her feet. The shadow stretched long, indicating it was either shortly after sunrise or near sunset.

If it was just after sunrise, the direction her shadow pointed to would be northwest.

If it was near sunset, then her shadow would indicate the northeast.

"Hol, how long have you been awake?"

"Not sure, maybe a few hours?" Hol replied uncertainly.

"Was the sun bright when you woke up? Where was it? Higher or lower than it is now?"

Hol blinked his light blue eyes. "I don’t remember. I woke up late. You’d better ask Theodore."

Theodore’s frog-like eyes bulged as he said, "Huh? Me? I don’t know either. When I woke up, I didn’t pay attention to the sky. It was just bright, that’s all."

Luo Wei massaged her temples in frustration. "Then we’ll wait. Once the sun sets, we can determine the direction and use the stars to guide us back to the continent tonight."

"Alright." Hol agreed wholeheartedly.

Theodore glanced at the two of them and slid into the water. "Wait here. I’ll catch some fish for you!"

The island was barren with no food in sight, so the only source of sustenance was the fish in the sea.

Theodore had already eaten his fill on the way to the island, swallowing every small fish and shrimp that swam near him without fear of bones. But Luo Wei and Hol probably wouldn’t enjoy eating raw seafood and hadn’t eaten anything yet.

The giant octopus slid into the water, his gray-blue body blending seamlessly with the sea, disappearing quickly.

Luo Wei frowned. Wait a minute, doesn’t an octopus have eight legs?

"Theodore, are you injured?"

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"Oh, just a little," Hol replied without looking up, focused on his magic plants. "Lost a few legs. It's no big deal. He’ll grow them back if he eats enough."

Though transforming into human form might mean missing an arm or a leg, it would regenerate within a year or so. The recovery ability of giant monsters was indeed impressive.

Luo Wei was stunned by Hol's casual tone, as if losing a few legs was as trivial as losing a few strands of hair. Was this the toughness of the monster race?

After a while, a pile of fish, shrimp, crabs, and clams flew out of the water, landing at their feet.

Theodore popped his large head out from under a reef. "Is this enough? If not, I’ll catch more."

Luo Wei looked at the pile of seafood, roughly estimating it to weigh about fifty pounds. If this wasn’t enough, she might as well consider herself a pig.

"It’s enough. Come up and rest for a while."

Catching fish while injured—it was rather pitiful.

Hol finished drying his magic plants and came over to help process the seafood.

With no branches on the island, they chiseled a few stone slabs from the reef, cleaned them, and placed the prepared seafood on top.

Hol took out his magic wand and chanted a fire spell: "Arorova Silisi!"

After the incantation, the wand remained unresponsive.

Hol inspected his wand. "Could it have been damaged by seawater?"

That shouldn’t be the case—it was made of Spiritwood!

"Arorova Silisi!" He tried again, but not even a wisp of smoke emerged.

Hol began to doubt his magical abilities.

"Hahaha, Hol, and you call yourself a lich? You can’t even cast a basic fire spell," Theodore teased.

Theodore pulled out a magic wand with one of his appendages and confidently aimed it at the seafood. "Flame Spell!"

Three seconds later, nothing happened.

Theodore’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Flame Spell! Flame Spell!"

An awkward silence hung in the air.

"Don’t bother. Magic doesn’t work here," Hol said, putting away his wand. "We must have entered a magic-restricted zone."

"A magic-restricted zone?!" Theodore shrieked. "Isn’t that supposed to be in the Misty Belt? No one who enters ever comes out alive! Hol, you must be joking!"

"I’m not joking. Just feel the air—you’ll notice there’s no magical energy."

Theodore flailed his tentacles in frustration. "I don’t believe it!"

He turned to Luo Wei. "Luo Wei, you try! Maybe you can do it!"

Luo Wei’s lips twitched. "I think I’ll pass. I trust Hol."

Her magic wand had long since been split in two and couldn’t be used even if she wanted to.

The three of them fell silent for a while.

"Why don’t you eat it raw?" Theodore suggested.

"I can," Hol said, looking at Luo Wei.

Luo Wei cried inwardly. "I can too."

What else could she do? Starve? She just hoped there weren’t too many parasites in the seafood—her stomach wasn’t as strong as a lich’s or a giant monster’s.

Fortunately, despite being in a magic-restricted zone, there was no mist. Once the stars lit up, they could follow Venus back to the Western Continent.

Luo Wei reluctantly chewed on the fishy raw seafood, regretting her decision to leave all her belongings with Troy. That bag had so many small loaves of bread, crispy biscuits, and even barbecue spices she had prepared. If only she had carried it herself, she wouldn’t be in this mess, gnawing on raw fish!

After eating, the three of them sat on the reef, staring blankly.

The sea breeze was damp and cold, sapping the last bit of warmth from the reef.

Luo Wei hugged her knees, shivering. Theodore and Hol stood in front of her, shielding her from the wind, which helped a little.

The sun sank below the horizon, and the light over the sea grew dimmer.

The three of them watched the setting sun, finally determining where west was.

But they couldn’t leave just yet. With no landmarks at sea, they could easily go in circles. They would wait until the stars filled the sky and then follow Venus back to the mainland.

"Look, the moon is rising!" Theodore said excitedly.

He had watched the moon from the sea for over a decade but had never been so thrilled as he was today.

Luo Wei sighed as she gazed at the faint, almost indistinct moon. "It’s a pity we can’t hear the beautiful songs of sea sirens."

According to legend, mermaids would surface during moonrise, singing on the reefs. In Eastern myths, merfolk would shed tears that turned into pearls or weave delicate, wave-like fabrics under the moonlight.

If she could hear a sea siren’s song tonight, this wilderness survival experience would almost be worth it.

"Sea sirens? Hah!" Theodore scoffed. "They’re nothing. Even us giant monsters can sing!"

Luo Wei: …

Give me a break. With your raspy voice, you’d scare people to death if you started singing!