Reincarnated Hero System

Chapter 1239: Arrival at Zeraxes [Bonus 11]

Twelve days after the attempt on Princess Sharon's life, the Voyager finally arrived at the Zeraxes Archipelago, situated roughly in the centre of the Divider Ocean between the Alpha and Beta continents.

The trip had taken fifteen days in total, with the ship maintaining a speed of about 12 knots, slightly below the typical pace for an average leisure cruise ship, but still normal.

The plan for the Voyager was to spend seven days in the archipelago, giving the guests ample opportunity to tour as many of the islands as possible.

Then, after a one-day grace period for everyone to return to the ship, it would continue on its route to the Beta Continent.

When the ship arrived, it did not head directly to the central island, Zera, but stopped at one of the western outer islands of the archipelago, Ashkel.

It was one of the 10 major islands of the archipelago, and at its largest harbour were several of the Legendary Level Pirate Lords subordinated to the Pirate Queen, Zara, waiting not to receive the ship itself, but to welcome the high-profile guests aboard.

Aboard the Voyager were royalty from minor Beta Continental nations, royalty from major nations like Princess Sharon, several high-ranking nobles, wealthy merchants, and others of similar standing.

For the Zeraxes Archipelago, part of maintaining good relations with outsiders involved acknowledging the status of visiting guests appropriately.

Once the ship arrived and all the docking procedures were completed, it was time for those aboard to begin disembarking.

The Pirate Lords at the harbour were surprised when they suddenly sensed the aura of their Boss, Zara, approaching at near top speed.

Within seconds, she crossed several islands between Zera and Ashkel, arriving at the harbour where the Voyager was docked.

The Pirate Lords immediately turned to her in surprise, with the most senior of them stepping forward.

"Boss! What's wrong? Is there a problem?" he asked, going on full alert.

One of them even drew his weapon and went into battle mode, anticipating some kind of threat.

However, Zara walked past them, pushing the drawn sword back into its sheath, and said, "Stand back. The lot of you are not suitable to deal with the ones coming out first."

At her words, the Pirate Lords and their subordinates turned to look at the Voyager, their eyes widening in shock as they caught sight of the two figures stepping down the gangway.

Before the ship's captains, crew, or any other guests, the first to disembark were two men, one older and one younger.

"Is that… the Stone Protector?" one of the Lords muttered.

Glancing at the young man beside him, he added with narrowed eyes, "And the Irregular Hero of the Alpha Continent."

Indeed, Evan and Leoniel were the first to step off the Voyager.

They had been on the deck chatting, and when the ship docked and the gangway was connected, they stepped out first. On Evan's suggestion, of course.

As the two descended, Leoniel scanned the decorated harbour, a small smile forming on his face.

"This is quite the lavish welcome," he said, then turned to the Pirate Queen, who had moved to the forefront of the harbour officials and Pirate Lords gathered there.

Spreading his arms lightly, he said, "Nice to see you again, Zara."

The tall, blue-eyed woman responded to his greeting with a hug, pulling away before speaking. "It has been a while, Leoniel."

She then cast her gaze towards Evan, who was looking around the harbour, and, feeling her gaze, Evan looked towards her, slipping one hand from his pockets and waving lightly.

"Hi there, Miss Zara. Name's Evan. Nice to meet you," he said casually.

Some of the Pirate Lords frowned at his nonchalance, but Evan ignored them, continuing to look around.

Zara, however, studied him silently, her eyes narrowing slightly.

She had already received reports of what had occurred on the third day of the Voyager's journey across the Divider Ocean—the assassination attempt on Princess Sharon and the interventions by Leoniel and Evan.

Naturally, she had also seen the part of the report that emphasised Evan had crushed the wrist of a Level 700+, an existence durable enough to survive a blast capable of sinking the island they were standing on, with his bare hands, and casually at that.

Based on that, it was estimated that Evan was at least a Level 700 now, regardless of how absurd that sounded.

Meeting him in person, Zara felt like smacking the person who said 'at least Level 700'.

She couldn't determine Evan's exact Level, nor his exact Existence Level, but her instincts were telling her his Level was closer to 800 than 700, roughly matching Sharon's Lady-in-Waiting's assessment.

Zara also sensed the light pressure Evan was releasing along with the magic power he naturally radiated, which made those below Legendary level feel slightly stifled. She could also tell that it wasn't a passive effect.

'The Intimidation Skill,' she thought.

Zara realised Evan was currently using his Intimidation skill, which was natural since she possessed such a Skill herself.

She was about to speak up when a faint wave of magic power spread from the eastern side of the archipelago.

Evan's eyes instantly turned in that direction, and Leoniel followed, narrowing his eyes.

Zara's expression remained unchanged, but internally, she was clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"That's not the underwater dungeon, is it?" Leoniel asked.

"It sure as hell better not be," Evan immediately replied. "That's the only reason I came here, and I don't want any nonsense interrupting my plans."

Hearing his words, Zara immediately snapped her gaze towards him.

"That's the reason you came here?" she asked.

Evan nodded. "Yeah. I have plans for repeated underwater trips, and while I may be fine, my companions aren't exactly built for long-term underwater movement, so I wanted to get them equipment to aid them.

One of the materials required is sourced from krakens, and rather than scouring the oceans trying to find a kraken, I decided to come where finding krakens is practically guaranteed—the Solen Underwater Dungeon in your archipelago."

Solen was one of the ten major islands of Zeraxes, the adventurer hub of the archipelago, and some distance off its coast was the entrance to an underwater dungeon with aquatic-type enemies.

When Evan said the reason he came to Zeraxes, Zara silently analysed him, thinking, 'The krakens on the last floor of the dungeon are all above Level 800. Unless he has some ground-breaking trump card, he doesn't seem like he'd be able to defeat them…'

She glanced at Leoniel, who raised an eyebrow in question, before concluding that Leoniel was likely be the one handling the krakens.

After making a mental note to question Leoniel about Evan later, she looked back to the younger man and asked, "And when exactly do you plan to head to the dungeon?"

Evan raised his right hand, counting on his fingers as he responded.

"We've got seven days here, right? I was thinking of spending the first three sightseeing, and maybe on the fourth day, I'll head to the dungeon with my fiancée."

He then turned his gaze to the Voyager and telepathically spoke to Kayla.

'Help me call Liz over, will you? Thanks.'

Returning his attention to Zara, he asked, "Where is your Adventurers Guild located? I want to update my rank and all that. And, uh, there's no issue with the dungeon, right?

That wave of magic clearly came from it, and it's… well, let's just say it's a type of magic emission that brings back bad memories."

Looking toward Leoniel, Evan added, "Reminds me of Lacertilia."

Leoniel, aware of Evan's previous dungeon visits, understood the reference and what Evan implied by that, but he made no comment.

Evan didn't really mind, returning his gaze to Zara as he addressed her again.

"Is there any registration procedure we need to handle before leaving the harbour, or can we just go? It's my first time on a cruise like this, so I'm not entirely sure what comes next."

"There are registrations. The ticketing office is on the left wing. Go there and have your tickets stamped before you leave," Zara responded.

"Ah, thank you very much," Evan said.

Then, noticing Eliza just descending from the Voyager, he walked up to her.

"Liz, seems we just need to stamp our tickets and we can go check out their seafood collection."

"Is that so?" Eliza said, moving her gaze to Zara and offering a polite greeting, before being dragged off by Evan.

Evan waved goodbye to Leoniel and left him alone with the Pirate Queen, and the moment Evan stepped out of view, Zara turned to Leoniel.

"What's with the kid?" she asked.