The air by the seashore was scorching hot.
Gabriel, Albert, and Liliana rested inside a cave, while Ash rested on a tree outside the cave, shirtless.
He found a hollow on the tree, likely a nest for some animal before, and laid there.
Jagu, not keen on climbing trees, chose a rock nearby to sleep on, close to where Ash lay.
Ash collapsed into sleep almost immediately, exhausted from the day's toil.
***
The next morning, Ash woke up early, just as the sun rose over the calm, rippling sea.
He reached into his inventory, pulling out a few sandwiches he bought from Beth, a packed coffee drink, and a bottle of mineral water.
As he chewed on his sandwich, he glanced through his inventory:
[Inventory:
⇒ Food: 45
⇒ Drinks: 92
⇒ Gemstones: 50
⇒ Gold Coins: 100
⇒ Tenebris Sword: 1
⇒ Beastmaster Amulet: 1
⇒ The Heart of The Jaguar: 1
⇒ The Captain's Diary:1
⇒ The Captain's Map: 1
⇒ The Supreme Magus Grimoire: 1
⇒ The Magic Ring: 1
⇒ Miscellaneous Items: 136]
'Hmm. The list's getting long,' he thought. 'Good thing clothes and the like fall under Miscellaneous Items—if not….'
Shaking his head, he took out The Captain's Diary.
Munching on his sandwich, he flipped through the pages of the yellowed book.
Suddenly, his eyes stopped at a page:
Day Eight Hundred Ninety-One
You know, that was the day when my string of misfortunes, ever since getting trapped in this world, repeated itself yet again.
Three weeks ago, I spotted a woman sneaking out in the middle of the night, leaving Sassi.
At that time, I was sleeping on the top floor of the outer wall tower and immediately felt something off about the young woman.
So, I grabbed my telescope—and do you know what I saw?
She was heading down to a shallow hollow beneath the hill, where someone was already waiting for her.
Still curious, I kept watching through the telescope, wondering if they were a secretive couple trying to meet without anyone noticing.
Who knows, maybe there'd be some erotic scene unfolding…
Don't blame me, I've been bored here.
But what I saw wasn't what I expected. The woman handed over what looked like a stack of papers to the other person.
Then, that person disappeared into the night.
The woman sneaked back into Sassi, acting suspiciously, constantly checking her surroundings as if scared of being seen.
I couldn't shake off the feeling—what was up with her behavior?
Ash turned to the next page with growing curiosity, eager to uncover more of the mystery.
I followed her in secret, and it turned out that this woman was giving away information about the Sassi Hunters to another group!
She was a spy!
She had been leaking information to Drogo's group.
But why? Drogo's group already has control of a massive castle in the northeast of Sassi.
After three more weeks of secretly tailing her, I decided it was time to let someone else know.
I went straight to John—we talk often, so I figured he'd hear me out.
But unlucky me, that woman already knew I was onto her.
She had set a trap for me!
The result? I got kicked out of Sassi.
John apologized before I left, but what's the point if he didn't believe me?
And that girl, if I ever see her again, I swear to God, I'll kill her!
Because not only did she get me expelled, but she also tipped off Drogo's group, who are now hunting me down to kill me!
Absolutely a cursed woman!
I'll end her life myself!
Note: The girl has brown eyes and brown hair, likely in her twenties. Her name is Liliana!
Ash slammed the diary shut with a loud thud.
"What does this mean? Liliana's a spy?"
He quickly turned to glance at the cave, where the rest of the team was probably still asleep. His mind raced, trying to process the new, shocking information.
Forgetting all about his coffee and leftover sandwich, Ash scrambled down the tree and sprinted toward the cave.
As he reached the entrance, he accidentally bumped into Albert, who was stretching.
"Hey!" Albert shouted, startled, waking up Gabriel and Liliana, who were still asleep.
"U-uh, sorry about that," Ash stammered, stealing a glance at Liliana, who was now sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
'The others look fine, so maybe I'm just being paranoid because of that diary…' Ash thought.
Albert casually threw his arm around Ash's shoulders and gave him a gentle punch on the arm. "I won't accept your apology unless you treat me to breakfast," he joked with a laugh.
"Hahaha, alright. I'll prepare breakfast for everyone," Ash replied with an awkward laugh.
He glanced back at Liliana, thinking, 'I hope what I read in that diary isn't true.'
***
After breakfast, the team set off along a white sandy beach. The shoreline was flanked by towering green mountains, creating a breathtaking contrast.
Along the coast, rows of coconut trees stood in perfect formation, as if planted by human hands.
By midday, when the sun was directly overhead, Albert shot down a few coconuts. The whole team happily enjoyed the refreshing fruit while discussing the settlement of another group they'd encounter after crossing the beach.
This group, although mostly made up of hunters and finders, focused on magic due to their exceptionally high magic stats when they were first pulled into this game.
The group was smaller than Sassi's—only four members now. Gabriel, having passed through this settlement before, assured everyone that they wouldn't be attacked and would be allowed safe passage.
Ash grew curious, eager to witness magic with his own eyes. He'd read about it in The Supreme Magus Grimoire but had never seen anyone perform it in real life.
By late afternoon, they reached the settlement.
All the buildings were made of earth, their brownish tones blending with the natural surroundings, seemingly created with earth elemental magic.
Men and women moved about the village, tending to food laid out to dry or caring for young children.
They didn't look much different from the people of Sassi, except for one thing—all of them wore clothing in varying shades of brown.
Seeing children in the settlement made Ash's heart sink.
'Is it so hard to reach level 100 and escape this game that many people just settle down here and start families?' he wondered, watching a woman nursing her baby.