Today, the atmosphere was near perfection for setting sail on the Riviera Ocean. Subtle waves, not too much wind to blow away the sails, and the sun's light reflected off the water, shining like diamonds freshly cut by a primary gem-cutter.

The sight and the breeze were so alluring that people wanted to take a dip, swim, and relish the salty water. But the presence of 75% hostile sea monsters in this ocean made them steer away even from the waves landing on the shores.

The water near any land of Rivera had a green hue to it, like the color of decaying grass. But after a few kilometers, the water turned blue and would get darker and darker at the center of the ocean. Because of that, people called it the "Ink Ocean."

Sailors had a rule while traveling in Rivera. They never sailed in the blue region, always traveled in the green region only. When traveling to different regions, they took the green route, which took a longer time but meant safety.

Even if they had to go into the blue region, not for traveling but for exploration, they had a mage with excellent control over water and around five A-rankers with them. Even with that, the chances of coming back without any casualties were rarer than spotting a wyvern.

And if by any chance, some monsters, or any accident, even if nature pushed the ship or person to the black region, even if it's just the border, chances of survival… well, not a single elf, dwarf, or even a demon is alive to tell the tale.

But a single human did the impossible with his parrot companion, John. This never-done feat earned him the nickname "The Pirate of Rivera."

Now, again, ten years after John's last expedition, another ship was sailing towards the border that separated the blue region from the dark region.

Levi was on the deck, holding onto the helm. Rika sat on his left shoulder and the central eye on his right. It had been an hour since they had left Barl and were still in the green region.

Even though Levi had no experience controlling a ship before, having Rika helped a lot. She would just say how much he needed to turn the helm and in what direction.

"Move it more to the right," Rika ordered, and Levi just followed. If he made an excessive turn, Rika would peck him, and he would know when to stop. The other two lesser eyes, Levi always brought with him, were circling the ship, 200 meters away from it, in case anything attacked them.

Since this ship was meant to travel for a one-day journey, the supplies wouldn't be enough. Fortunately, Levi had bought a lot from John's shop, so much that it would last them probably half a year on the boat. And that much supply was stored in the new spatial ring, which he again borrowed from John, without his permission.

'Sailing a ship is a lot more tiring than I thought,' Levi thought to himself.

In fifteen minutes of controlling the helm, calluses formed on Levi's hand, just because he held it wrong. And the sunlight, though not hot and blocked by a cloth hung over a pole above his head, couldn't stop the blazing heat from getting to him.

The sea's aroma danced in his nose, a salty addictive smell but too strong for him. Dizziness took over him. He wasn't used to it. Also, since his taste buds were dead, the smelling power of his nose had doubled, making it even worse for him.

And the absolute worst was yet to welcome them. Once the ship touched the blue region, the monsters would 100% attack the ship.

The ship right now was protected by a magic scroll Rika and Levi had bought. It gave the illusion to the sea monsters that a stronger one was strolling about.

However, once the ship entered the blue region, they would have to take off the scroll. Sensing an unknown monster in their area, without their permission, would make them want to kill.

The gem hidden behind Rika's eye patch also attracted sea monsters. And each of those monsters was either B-rank or more. One attack, and the ship would obliterate into pieces or they could get swallowed whole.

Rika noticed Levi's predicament and pecked him.

"Take out that item."

Levi momentarily let go of the helm. He reached for the spatial ring, and once it was near, his hand seemed to be swallowed by the ring itself. Closing his eyes, he could see the items in a blank, white space floating in a line.

Nobody knew how such magic existed. The maker of this was already dead, and he only left a blueprint that anybody could follow to make the ring, just nobody understood it and deciphered it.

Except for the food and other supplies, Levi took out a single item, even though Rika didn't specify which, and placed it on the table.

A pair of metal hands, with magic circuits drawn all over it, and a small hole at the end of one hand. Rika then asked Levi to lay out a paper the size of a map and imbue mana into it. She then held a pencil with her beak and started drawing a line on it.

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Levi and the central eye just watched without doing or saying anything. They were admiring the masterpiece she was creating.

After ten minutes, Rika finished creating a route from the green region to almost the border of the blue region.

"Now, fold it in and put the paper into that hole. Then place them onto the helm."

As ordered, he picked the paper and looked at the map.

'How is her drawing better than mine when I draw with my hands? Was she a famous artist in her past life?'

He then did what Rika said, and once those metal hands touched the helm, without any order, they started controlling the ship, moving towards the path Rika just drew.

Since the hands were attached to each other and couldn't move properly, the fingers would detach, with a metal string tying them to the main body, and then those fingers steered the helm.

The central eye's wings flapped in excitement, but he hid it, knowing Rika would tease him for admiring her. Levi knew that would happen even so. Seeing magic and machine work together, even for the psycho, was exciting.

"Go down and take some rest. Once we enter the blue region, I doubt you will get any," Rika said. Levi, tired, didn't say anything and was heading down from the dock to the small bedroom compartment.

"Eye, you stay with me," Rika ordered the central eye, trying to sneak away from Rika. In the eye, though it couldn't speak, Levi felt a sigh coming out from it, as it flew towards Rika.

Rika spanned one of her wings to the central eye and pulled it closer.

"So, how did you like my mapping skills?" she asked.

[Not impressive], the eye replied, though telepathic, sounding cold.

"Really? And here I thought you were impressed because your tiny wings flapped."

[You.]

The psycho headed down, shaking his head at seeing those two start again. The moment he put his head on the pillow and.

his body felt the soft touch of the mattress, the tiredness in his body started vanishing, and the land of dreams called to him.

"Isn't dad back yet? And why are my clothes?" Levi's thought was interrupted by his mother's voice.

"The trip this time will be a few days longer," she replied.

That explained why Levi felt wet and cold the moment he woke up. At first, he thought he peed on his bed, but his lower half was dry and only one person in the family would wake him up this way.

He went back to his room upstairs, changed his clothes, and wondered why his father was going to Urn every once a week. All he knew about that place was the Lionheart Family looked over the land. He didn't know what connection his father had with the family. His father and mother never spoke about it.

But now, as an eight-year-old, he had grown enough brain cells to make some guesses of his own. His father's strength and prowess weren't of a normal human being, though he hadn't met many. But what his father did wasn't ordinary either. A single light swing of an axe from him and he could cut off three trees in an alignment.

Once he stumbled upon a chest plate in the storage hut next to their house. The beautiful, silver piece of armor had an engraving of a lion and its mane lit on flames. Those flames felt alive, hot, and even when he touched it, the heat on it was different compared to the rest of the armor.

"Maybe dad was a knight or maybe someone of high rank, but he definitely wasn't just an acquaintance with them. And maybe mother too."

His mother's identity was even more of a mystery to him than his father's. She also often visited Urn. And never had he seen her use magic or any powers, ever. And even if he asked her, she would smile and ignore his curiosity or distract him by making cheesecake just for him.

Levi also had visited the Duke Lionheart's mansion a few times, only with his father. The mansion was too big for him to scale, and often he would get lost. After all, the size of his house was equal to a guest room in that mansion.

Every time he was there, his father would ask him to be friends with the Duke's eldest daughter, but the girl always shouted, beat, and shooed him away as if he was a cow grazing in her grassland.

Technically, it was her land, but he wasn't a cow.

"I'm glad I didn't have to go this time. Her voice and face annoy me to death. And why do I have to be her friend? A rich brat can get anything they want. Also, what kind of loser doesn't have friends at her age?"

Said the kid, who still didn't have a single friend. Levi changed into a simple pair of black tracksuits. He walked down the creaky wooden staircases, careful not to hit his head on the ceiling.

He entered the kitchen. The smell of spices and freshly cooked chicken sent gluttonous desire to his mouth and stomach. But the person behind the tapestry of flavors was missing.

"Mom?" he called out, receiving no answer.

"Mom?" he tried again. There was no reply.

"Did she go out but the door's locked from the inside? Is she in her room?"

Wondering why she wasn't saying anything, he walked to his parents' bedroom. The door wasn't fully closed, and he peeked through the gap.

"Why aren't you answering-"

His sentence was cut short.

On the red carpeted floor was his mother, looking at the white orb placed on the bed, glowing gold, almost blinding his vision.

'What is that?' he wondered.

He had never seen it, nor did mother ever mention it. A face was in the orb, but the light in front of the orb and the angle from where he looked made distinguishing the person hard.

His mother stared at the orb, the pupils of her eyes shaking, trying to stop the tears about to fall. She put her hand on her mouth and stopped herself. But her eyes never once left the orb, even after the golden light vanished, saying one word.

"Sorry."

Levi didn't know what to do. Seeing his ever-confident and smiling mother, broken and vulnerable, glued him to this place. He couldn't muster up the courage, enter the room and ask her what the heck had just happened.

Tears started flowing out. She clutched the orb to her chest, trying to forget… change the information she received.

In the middle of her agony, Levi hugged her, tight but filled with warmth. He couldn't see her like this and did nothing. After all, he was her only child.

Taken aback by Levi's sudden intrusion, she wondered how much of what he just heard and saw.

"It's fine, mom," Levi didn't let her speak. At this moment, he didn't need to hear any excuses. There was no shame in tears.

"Everything will be fine, mom. I don't know what that glowing ball is, but I promise the three of us will get through this together."

Such mature words from her son relieved her. But his shaky hands and muffled voice couldn't be hidden from her. After all, he was just eight, and witnessing his mother on the floor crying must have been quite a shock for him.

With every ounce of strength she could muster, she hugged Levi back and patted his head.

"You are right. Like always, the two—no, the three—of us can do anything."