A ominous premonition echoed strongly in his mind, as if giving a warning. Having experienced this premonition several times before, Kang Sihyun carefully observed the sea, but there was no sign of the turbulent sea that usually accompanied such premonitions. Time passed without any unusual incidents. Finally, a sense of calm descended.
Looks like it's really over.
Sihyun, feeling assured of safety, relaxed his tense body. The nightmare seemed nothing more than a guise of a premonition. It was at that moment the serene atmosphere was shattered.
Aaaaaah-
A melodic voice echoed from somewhere.
"What's suddenly...!"
Like rolling jade beads, a clear voice sang a beautiful song. The teachers frowned as the melodious voice seemed to resonate throughout the entire sea. "It's a Siren!" one teacher belatedly identified the source of the singing. Only then did everyone hear the urgent advice to plug their ears, but it wasn't as simple as just blocking their ears.
Aaaaaah-
The Siren's song was more mature and beautiful than the one heard during the end-of-month evaluation. Listening to the conversation among the teachers about the Siren being in an adult form, Sihyun realized that the Siren they faced during the evaluation was not in its adult form. Despite blocking his ears, the continuous song pierced through.
"Where on earth is it coming from!"
"Block it! Is there anyone with sensory blocking ability?"
"No!"
"Even among the reserves?"
A tense voice reached Sihyun. A teacher mentioned that a student with such ability was expelled. The ship began to move when the teacher mentioned that.
Boooooom!
The sound of the ship's engine echoed, and a massive cruise ship began to move. With wide-eyed amazement, the teachers and awakened individuals watched as a teacher, in a panic, ran to the control room.
"Goodness, the navigator's possessed!"
"Get him out!"
"Headmaster, the students...!"
One by one, those influenced by the Siren began to appear. The navigator started the voyage without any restraint, and some students tried to jump into the sea towards the area where Kraken escaped. Even though some students tried to stop them, the current situation couldn't last forever.
"Mom...."
A small cry was heard. Thud! Awakened individuals forcibly pulled out of the control room were sprawled on the floor. Teachers, with a bewildered expression, managed to put the students back into the cabin. Even that was challenging due to the resistance of the newly influenced students.
"Suhyunah! Don't!"
The reaction of the student possessed by the adult Siren was significantly different from that during the end-of-month evaluation. Eyes rolled like a madman, and without hesitation, they tried to jump into the sea, disregarding the scratches and bruises inflicted by their friends who tried to stop them. At that moment, when the ship became chaotic again, Sihyun closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.
"I can use blocking."
"...Student Sihyun?"
All eyes turned to Sihyun's confession. Amidst the chaotic situation, a clear voice that could be the key to resolving the crisis resonated. Sihyun nodded in response to the skeptical reactions. He had seen a student with that skill who was expelled.
"Can you tell us about the usage limit...?"
"Since it's a copy, there's no limit if I use it within 10 minutes. Mana should be sufficient with what I have."
Mana wasn't used from the beginning, so it didn't matter. However, in unpredictable situations, it was better to hide some information about Copy. After that, discussions proceeded rapidly with clear voices, ensuring that the situation progressed swiftly. Once Sihyun blocked the hearing of the influenced students, he quickly moved around, blocking the hearing of teachers and awakened individuals from both the school and the association. Those who needed to deal with the situation promptly were in a precarious situation if they were influenced.
After blocking their senses, Sihyun approached other students. Blocking five meant one would be influenced. Yearning for the pink staff that assisted in using long-range skills for the first time, Sihyun felt its absence.
Feeling only a stuffy sensation in his ears, with nothing audible in the static silence, Sihyun quickly completed the blocking of the hearing of those who were on the deck, precariously exposed. Now, the problem was the staff who were inside the ship.
Starting from the chef, all staff rushed out. Some struggled to jump into the sea, while others came out with knives, trying to harm people. Although teachers tried to stop them, dealing with more than 50 staff members was a daunting task for just five individuals.
In the end, one staff member who broke through the barricade of awakened individuals fell into the sea. The current sea belonged to Kraken. The moment they tried to save him, they would vividly feel the power of a quasi-disaster level.
"..."
No one said a word. Teachers, with closed eyes and struggling, did their best to subdue the staff. Awakened individuals couldn't use their abilities on ordinary people. Even the teachers and awakened individuals from the association specialized in combat. Facing more than 50 staff members, five were clearly insufficient.
While teachers and awakened individuals were suppressing the people, the tour guide wrote on paper and communicated to the navigator to leave the area.
When the navigator grabbed the steering wheel, the previously stationary ship started to move. Unable to hear anything, it was unclear whether they had left the Siren's territory or not.
Feeling the sensation of having one sense blocked for the first time, Sihyun narrowed his eyes. Losing hearing made him focus solely on his vision. Subduing the staff who were confined in the cabin, Sihyun noticed a person leaning against the door.
The short-haired, black-haired man was someone he had never seen before. That meant he was a staff member who hadn't been influenced by his blocking skill. Despite that, he calmly watched the situation unfold. When Sihyun began to question that sight, students from Class A gathered around him.
Tap, tap.
A hand tapping on his shoulder made Sihyun's gaze shift away from the man. A boy slightly taller than him appeared. It was Haru. When their eyes met, he spoke.
"Are you okay?"
Sihyun, who read the atmosphere, nodded. Haru seemed fine as usual, Daun and Ji-hye, who he hadn't seen in a while, also looked fine. Haewoon, who seemed to have joined recently, was also smiling brightly. Despite the situation, Sihyun couldn't help but smile at the seemingly untouched group.
Even in this situation, Sihyun, who found it strange to be smiling, rolled his blue eyes to observe the entire ship.
Teachers were cautiously monitoring the surroundings for any potential dangers. Students were trembling, huddling together, and the staff inside the cabin still seemed to be knocking on the door, seemingly enchanted. Sihyun, inferring the situation from the shaking door, sighed. It seemed like they still couldn't escape the area under the influence of the Sirens.
When will this end?
His blue eyes sank awkwardly. Sihyun grabbed Haru's hand. Haru's head tilted, seemingly unaware of the chaos. Sihyun held the hand of the boy on his first school trip, much like Haru did to him.
It was regrettable that his own school trip turned out like this, but it was even more disappointing that Haru's school trip turned out this way. Although it looked like Haewoon was causing the most trouble on the surface, in Sihyun's eyes, Haru seemed to be the most excited.
Sihyun, who had unknowingly become excited on his first school trip, had an impression that Haru's eyes were sparkling even more than when he faced the regular chaos.
Sihyun with a furrowed expression stared at the chaotic scene caused by the Sirens. He didn't expect to encounter irregulars not once but twice. At the same time, he realized that the school was a reasonably safe zone.
Despite the occasional chaos during monthly evaluations, experiencing the actual situation made him understand why the school conducted evaluations with high difficulty levels so thoroughly.
Nonchalantly, they couldn't handle emergencies quickly. Especially in cases like today, where they encountered a near-disaster-level situation, it was even more challenging. Being A-ranked wouldn't be of any use if someone froze in front of an irregular.
He became frighteningly aware of this fact as he left the school.
Maybe the situation here was a bit more serious than he had thought. Sihyun, who had always thought of peacefully graduating, protecting his people, was now locked in contemplation, the first deep reflection on irregulars.
The copied skill 'Block' took some time to wear off. During that time, Sihyun couldn't hear the chilling song anymore, indicating that they had left the Sirens' area. Everyone on the deck breathed a sigh of relief.
Some students, their legs giving in, sat down. More than the two monthly evaluations and the placement test they had undergone, this school trip felt like a more significant training.
Teacher's headcount resumed, and Sihyun, leaning on the railing, looked at the cabin. The male staff member he had seen earlier was nowhere to be found.
"Thank goodness everyone is safe."
The relieved teacher gathered the kids and announced important matters.
"Due to the two incidents, you and the ship's staff are likely in a mentally unstable state. Parts of the ship are damaged, making normal cabin use difficult. Considering various factors, it's regrettable, but for your safety, we've decided to end this school trip here."
In the end, the school trip was canceled. However, there were no students opposing that decision. No one who had experienced this situation would want to cross the sea to go to Germany.
Well, no recreation then.
Even in the midst of this, Sihyun, who remembered that, was swallowing his relief when the teacher discussed the future schedule. There was nothing to discuss; it was just returning to school and taking a break. The 3-day, 4-night school trip ended anticlimactically.
Or so he thought.
Boom-
As the teacher finished speaking, the familiar sound of the ship's engine resonated. Now, just hearing that sound made Sihyun shudder.
Not a phone signal. If only the ship's engine sound was heard, something had happened. Anxious, Sihyun followed the guide into the cabin. The ship had a slight shake that had not been there for a while.
"Kyaaaah!"
With a more intense shake than during the previous Kraken incident, the kids screamed and hesitated. Sihyun, who had nothing to hold onto, lost his balance as the ship tilted to the side. Clang! As he fell, his body slid towards the tilted side. Haru and the kids, who had been watching, tried to grab Sihyun, but it was already too late.
Thud!
Sihyun's body hit the wall and slid outside the still-open door. Rolling as he fell, Sihyun felt pain when he hit the ground. He wanted to get up, but he couldn't.
In the end, Sihyun, who had nothing to hold onto like the kids who had fallen with him, quickly reached out to grab the railing as he rolled towards it. When he turned his head, he could see the sea and the considerable distance between him and it. The blue-eyed, murky sea reflected in his eyes. The depth was so profound that it was impossible to know.
A loud thumping sound.
Dark sea.
And lightning.
Everything in the current situation reminded him of one thing.
Nightmare.
As Sihyun thought about it, staring at the sea in disbelief,
Splash-!
A gigantic hand shot up from the sea.
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- You get access to Digital art.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).
For $20
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
