In this world, while most people had heard tales of magic, few had actually witnessed it. To them, magic seemed as distant and fantastical as the ancient myths of divine creation.
The original owner of this body attended Siria Magic Academy after receiving a recommendation letter and funding from the "Lady Knight". Yet she died never knowing the true reason for this help, simply believing she had encountered a kind soul.
Had she not met Lilith and received the recommendation to Siria Magic Academy, she would likely have become a swordsman like these mercenaries after discovering her magical talent later in life.
Among the six magical professions, swordsmen were the most numerous, as royalty and nobility required many for protection.
Furthermore, learning swordsmanship required minimal investment - just a sword would suffice. This was the only magical training common folk could afford.
However, the life of a swordsman drained one's purse like water. Their swords needed frequent enchantments and regular replacement due to their fragility.
Swordsmen spent their entire lives searching for a blade that wouldn't easily break.
Sadly, such swords cost a fortune, and most people could never achieve this dream in their lifetime.
"If I make it back alive from Demon Island," Samuel said hopefully, "I'm going to have a weaponsmith forge me a custom sword, and have a magic array master enchant it."
Cleveland removed his longsword and gently wiped it with soft linen cloth. "This sword has been with me for fifteen years. I'm getting old too. After this job, I'll take my old friend home and retire it for good!"
Once swords became the topic, everyone had endless stories to share.
They dreamed about where they would buy swords with their hundred gold coins after returning from Demon Island, and how they would spend the remainder.
Yet deep down, they all knew they probably wouldn't return.
Merely surviving the Demon Sea would be fortunate enough.
With magical runes accelerating their journey, the sailboat took only four hours to reach the outer edges of the Demon Sea.
A stark boundary divided the waters of the Demon Sea from the regular ocean, visible even from afar - the outer waters remained blue, while the inner waters were pitch black.
The captain ordered the sails turned, adamantly refusing to proceed further.
The mercenaries had no choice but to untie the small boats. Ten people divided into two groups, boarded the boats, and rowed into the Demon Sea.
Upon entering the black waters, the waves suddenly grew fiercer.
The small boats drifted on the deep black surface like fallen leaves, tossed about by the waves.
The deeper they ventured into the Demon Sea, the more hostile the environment became. The sky turned murky grey, white ash floated through the air, and an acrid smoke drifted on the wind.
Luo Wei detected a faint smell of sulfides.
When she heard a mercenary accidentally strike his oar against the boat's hull, she immediately looked over.
Alex was gesturing to Samuel: What are you doing?
Samuel pointed excitedly at the sea surface ahead, his mouth clamped shut, his brown eyes rolling in their sockets, revealing his terror.
Everyone looked where he pointed. Suddenly, with several "boom boom" sounds, jet-black waves shot up hundreds of feet high. The sea surface began to bubble like boiling water, accompanied by the sizzling sound of water droplets hitting hot oil.
Seconds later, thick white mist rose from that area, and the turbid seawater rolled outward in all directions.
Samuel waved his hands frantically: Demons, there are demons under the sea!
However, Luo Wei knew this was an underwater volcanic eruption, and a new islet was about to form in that area.
She turned to gaze at Demon Island under the gloomy sky, with its countless mysterious legends. From its shape, it was clearly an enormous active volcano.
Dense smoke billowed from the island's peak, rising into the atmosphere and turning Demon Island into an uninhabited isle perpetually shrouded in dark clouds.
Luo Wei also saw red light flickering on the western cliff face, where torrents of scorching lava cascaded down the steep cliffs into the sea, creating rising clouds of white steam.
Her original intention in exploring Demon Island was to assess its suitability for human habitation and potential as her territory. Now it seemed this idea would have to be abandoned.
If lava rivers covered the island, then Demon Island held no value for occupation.
Fortunately, after the small boats drifted several kilometers east, Luo Wei spotted lush forests on the island.
Where life existed, there was still potential for use.
The eastern side of Demon Island featured a wide black beach, where tides pushed cooled volcanic sand from below the sea onto the shore, expanding the beach's area day by day.
The waves were relatively calmer here, and the sea surface more peaceful.
Gentle waters pushed the boats toward shore, waves rhythmically lapping at the beach with a soothing cadence.
As the small boats approached the tidal flats, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, they could reach land!
Unconsciously, everyone had lowered their guard against their surroundings.
With a "clang", the oars collided, and the boats suddenly capsized as if hitting something underneath, throwing everyone into the water.
As Luo Wei sank into the seawater, her limbs went limp and powerless.
As the light dimmed above her head, her first thought was that volcanic gases contained lethal hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen fluoride - even inhaling trace amounts could cause nerve paralysis and weakness.
She had been careless.
Luo Wei wearily closed her eyes. Through the haze, she heard beautiful music like celestial melodies in her ears, involuntarily pulling her consciousness deeper into oblivion.
...
"We lost so many brothers rescuing you, and now you're telling me you can't do it?"
"Metal hydrogen was my advisor's research topic. I really can't do it. You've got the wrong person."
"If you can't do it, then die! Would you rather feel a bullet through your brain, or be killed in the red-light district? Say it, you worthless thing!"
"I can do it, but I need research equipment - at least a thousand-ton pressure machine, or strong magnetic field equipment. I also need a laboratory and assistants. You don't expect me to make it with bare hands, do you? Sorry, I don't know magic."
"Damn! Where am I supposed to get all that stuff!"
"Mexico, you can take me to Mexico..."
Memory fragments buried deep in her subconscious began floating up. There lay a sea of filthy blood, bullets from silenced guns flying through blood-splattered corridors, and a woman in a blood-soaked lab coat, like a demon crawling out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Her undergraduate major had been Polymer Materials and Engineering, and after graduation she had chosen to pursue a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and Physics. All her dreams had been based on successfully completing her studies, but in the end, it had all come to nothing.
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