So that's why it's called the 'Locking Compass.' That makes sense, Ed thought, observing the disc seriously.

Magic flowed down his arm and into the compass. Its material seemed to be some kind of magic-friendly alloy, easily accepting the infusion. The patterns and spells on its surface glowed faintly, and a pointer floated up out of thin air, its tip pointing steadfastly in one direction. No matter how Ed turned or rearranged the compass, it always pointed there.

"It seems the [Pointer] has been locked," Lucilia said, hugging him from behind. Her ample bosom rested against his head as she leaned her face in front of his to observe the compass carefully. The pointer faded as Ed severed the magic connection, but its intended destination remained unclear.

He placed the compass on the book. The heavy tome was like a brick, its cover blank save for the symbol of "Isolation." It seemed to be a precious volume.

Ed opened it. He couldn't understand the writing at all; he had never seen it before. It wasn't the Vensa language he currently used.

"White Crocodile Script?"

Thankfully, he had a cheat code with him, a walking... well, floating historical biological computer: Miss Know-It-All.

"You recognize it?" Ed turned to look at her, though he wasn't surprised. In the past month, she had already given him more than his fair share of surprises with the mind-blowing knowledge stored in her head. God only knew how many books she had memorized.

Lucilia nodded, her voice tinged with surprise. "Even in my time, this script was considered ancient."

But you still know it. Just how free were you to learn an ancient language? Ed complained inwardly. As a poor student in his previous life, he felt a twinge of jealousy and envy.

"Legend has it that White Crocodile Script possesses hidden power; information written in it is protected," She explained seriously.

"Then, can you read what's written here?"

Ed couldn't help but ask, his curiosity now piqued. Hearing her explanation reminded him of another magical language called Runes that appeared in almost all fantasy literature; even Odin, a kind of god in Norse mythology, used them as his main source of power.

Lucilia nodded, equally intrigued. A book written in White Crocodile Script must contain incredibly valuable, hidden knowledge.

"The Land of Dreams. Unsigned. Dedicated to those who yearn to reach the legendary land."

"At the cost of no return, I journeyed here. 'The Mystic Conch' seems to love this place."

"'The Mystic Conch' is a ghost ship, and also my most important friend."

"What's a ghost ship?" Ed, standing beside her, couldn't help but ask curiously. In his memory, a ghost ship was where many people died unexpectedly, their souls trapped aboard, granting the vessel mysterious power to wander the seas and attack any ship it encountered, killing all living beings. But he doubted the ghost ship Lucilia mentioned was that kind of haunted vessel.

"A high-level spellcasting ship, used year-round and baptized by the sea, may develop its own consciousness. That is a ghost ship."

Hearing Lucilia's words, Ed nodded, immediately recalling a ship with a white goat's head from an anime he'd watched that gained its own consciousness but was damaged beyond repair and died early in the story, a memory that had made him cry quite hard. Pushing the sad thought aside, he signaled for her to continue.

"Upon arriving here, we encountered unbelievable sea conditions. The seawater was like a tornado, yet also like water snakes, swirling and weaving between the sea and the sky."

"Countless such 'sea snakes' swam freely; once you were touched by one, survival was entirely up to fate."

"Fortunately, the 'Mystic Conch' could submerge; otherwise, it would have been too tragic to sink after paying such a high price to get here."

Is this really not some fantasy novel? Why do I have the feeling of being scammed?

Ed suppressed the urge to voice his thought and continued listening.

"...Halchi is dead. He wasn't a powerful Toucher; he visibly weakened and died during a normal voyage."

"This place is filled with some strange power; ordinary life cannot survive without sufficient strength."

Lucilia read a few more pages before falling silent.

"...This is a travelogue, presented from the author's perspective on a bizarre and fantastical sea or... world."

Ed, who had been listening the whole time, nodded in agreement; it was indeed quite bizarre.

"Let's look at the other things first," Ed said, taking the nautical logbook.

...

"Why is it all incomprehensible writing again? It looks familiar, yet I don't recognize it at all."

Ed couldn't help but turn to look at Lucilia beside him, his super biological computer.

"Don't worry, I can understand it. It's ancient Rosa, an archaic version of the language you're using now."

He placed the logbook in front of Lucilia and turned the pages as she read. It was Thaad's nautical log from his youth, though this thin booklet recorded only the final two years of his voyage.

"After years of study, I finally mastered that script, and I can finally decipher that ancient book."

"The world in the book is truly captivating. My adventurous spirit is boiling. I want to go there, to see that wondrous world."

...

I've found a way to get there, hahaha."

"I need to possess a [Treasure]. Without it, I simply can't get through."

"Finally, I've found a clue."

"No, my physical disability prevents me from possessing the [Treasure]. It will only lead to my death."

...

"Perhaps, I should go back."

Through Lucilia's translation, Ed had virtually heard the entire logbook.

"Does the world described in that book exist? Do you think it's real?" Ed couldn't help but ask Lucilia. This was what concerned him most.

Lucilia nodded, her delicate eyebrows furrowed in thought. "It should exist. There are records in my family that warriors went to a place to seek the true meaning of life and never returned."

"Every time such a warrior departed, we would hold a grand and sorrowful ceremony and prepare a tombstone for him well in advance. Perhaps, this is the place they went to, but my elders wouldn't let me know this information. Those who lack the courage to go are not worthy of knowing."

Hearing this, Ed looked at the book. "Is that so? Then it should exist. Where there's smoke, there's fire... Maybe it's just too early for us to know all of this."

Seemingly lost in thought, Ed picked up the scroll. Unfurled, it was indeed a map. However, from the log, he already knew this map marked the location where the [Treasure] was buried. And the pointer was pointing to this very island.

He blinked. A total of five points of light appeared: four blue and one gold.

All the blue dots indicated "[Magic Treasure]" with no known information. He reached out and tapped the golden dot, a completely new sight for him, as he had never seen a gold dot before.

[Hidden Treasure

Difficulty: Lava Tolerant, Powerful (Triple Spiral)

Fame: 56

Treasure Information: None]

As expected, there was no information. In the logbook, Thaad hadn't written anything concrete about the treasure itself, only his own feelings and emotions.

Who wanted to read that nonsense? This bastard was actually writing a diary like a little girl... Wait, it seems I'm also writing a diary, Ed sighed helplessly as he wrapped the treasure up again and carefully put it away.

So, a golden dot equaled a "[Treasure]." And he already knew the specific location of one. As for the difficulty… it was best not to worry too much about that; this wasn't an area he could explore right now.

"My own [Treasure]?" He wondered how long it would take to gain enough strength to touch it.

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