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Santorini... or Thera, as it was known now, was... small.
Smaller than Alaric remembered from the island of his previous world's reality but it was slightly vast than the compressed version in the Odyssey simulation. The caldera was recognizable, but the settlements seemed fewer, smaller, clinging more desperately to the volcanic rock.
'It's understandable, I suppose,' Alaric thought, standing alone on the small stone quay after watching La Providencia weigh anchor and sail out of the caldera. 'I'm in the world of the game, adapted to its own history and scale.'
He gazed up at the white villages settled high above, then turned his head, looking back out at the now empty expanse of blue water where the galleon had been as a faint smile touched his lips.
'Heh... now I'm completely on my own,' The feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant, just... quiet.
Alaric closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the salty Aegean air, tinged with the faint smell of sulfur from the volcano.
He gathered his chakra, then sent it pulsing outwards, expanding rapidly across the island and the surrounding waters, his "Foresight Pulse" sensing ability, bought from the System years ago. It was incredibly useful for reconnaissance, passively alerting him to nearby life forms and actively mapping a vast area when focused.
'Hm... about eight hundred people currently on the main island,' he noted. 'Most concentrated up in that village on the cliff.'
His senses stretched further, across the caldera waters towards the smaller islands. 'Nothing significant on Nea Kameni or Palea Kameni... just some goats... but...'. His mental focus sharpened, probing the waters near the Nea Kameni.
'There.'
'One distinct, powerful life signature... Kassandra? Or Alexios?'
He chuckled softly. He already knew this world wasn't a perfect replica of the original Assassin's Creed lore.
His own family existing was the first major deviation. Caroline Scott having a sister named Aveline was another. Captain Oldgate bearing such a striking resemblance to the legendary Whitebeard from One Piece, complete with the "Gurarara" laugh, was certainly not standard history. And then there was Alaric himself, the biggest anomaly of all.
'Either way... Kassandra or Alexios... it'd be nice to meet one of the original Misthios,' he thought with genuine curiosity. He shook his head slightly, dismissing the philosophical ponderings for now. Time to investigate.
He started walking towards the edge of the stone quay as his boots were silent on the weathered rock. As his foot reached the edge, hovering just above the crystal-clear water, he focused his chakra, channeling it to the soles of his feet.
He stepped out onto the surface of the sea as the water held firm beneath him. Water walking was second nature now, practiced endlessly during his youth.
He took a few steps out onto the caldera bay. He looked across the water towards Nea Kameni, judging the distance. 'Bruh... I'm not that bored that I'm going to walk all the way over there. It's almost night time.'
With another internal chuckle, Alaric shifted his stance slightly and began to move. He wasn't running ninja-style across the water, nor was he sprinting like an Olympian.
He was, for all intents and purposes, speed walking. But his "walk" propelled him across the surface of the sea at an astonishing fifty kilometers per hour, leaving only the faintest ripple as he headed swiftly towards the distant island and the mysterious presence hidden beneath the waves. The islands here might be smaller than in his memory, but the distances across the water were still significant.
Alaric arrived swiftly at Nea Kameni, the larger of the two dark, volcanic islands squatting in the center of the caldera.
He leaped from the water onto the black, rocky shore, shaking off the few droplets that clung to his boots. He scanned the desolate landscape… jagged rocks, sparse, tough vegetation clinging to life as the smell of sulfur was stronger here.
He began to explore, moving quickly, his eyes searching for any sign of the hidden entrance he remembered from the game.
He circled the island, climbed its highest point, looking into crevices and small caves.
Nothing.
No carved doorway, no Isu symbols, no tell-tale shimmer of a hidden mechanism.
'Strange,' he thought. 'The game definitely had an entrance here... maybe this alternate reality changed things?' He focused his Foresight Pulse again, concentrating it downwards, deep beneath the island's crust. Yes, the presence was still there, deep underground, radiating that faint Isu energy signature, but there was absolutely no indication of a tunnel or passage leading down from Nea Kameni itself.
With a single, powerful chakra-boosted leap that carried him effortlessly across the waters, Alaric landed on the smaller, older island, Palea Kameni.
He repeated his search here, quickly covering the smaller landmass.
Again, nothing.
Just volcanic rock, hardy shrubs, and the occasional goat.
'Damn it... am I really going to have to dive for this? Find some underwater entrance like Layla Hassan?' He wasn't particularly keen on a long swim in the cold Aegean depths.
Alaric sighed, then had an idea. 'Maybe I missed something subtle.'
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, the familiar patterns of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan blazing to life, overlaying his normal vision with enhanced perception. Simultaneously, he activated his Eagle Vision, bathing the world in hues of blue and gold, highlighting points of interest. He decided to give the islands one more sweep.
He leaped back across the water to Nea Kameni, landing silently. Then he began to run, circling the island at high speed. Something unique about his Eagle Vision was that it didn't turn off if runs. His Sharingan pierced through the mundane surface details, analyzing textures, densities, energy flows, while his Eagle Vision highlighted anything unusual, anything significant, painting potential clues in shimmering gold.
He ran around the entire perimeter, then crisscrossed the interior. Nothing on Palea Kameni had stood out, and Nea Kameni seemed just as barren... until he reached a specific point on the western slope, near the caldera edge.
At face value, it was just another sheer rock face, indistinguishable from the surrounding volcanic terrain. But to Alaric's enhanced sight, something was off.
The Sharingan detected minute inconsistencies in the rock density, almost invisible seams tracing a large, rectangular shape. The Eagle Vision confirmed it, outlining the same rectangle in a faint gold, indicating an object of significance, something artificial hidden within the natural landscape.
'There you are,' Alaric thought, stopping before the disguised section of cliff face. He whistled softly in appreciation. 'Seamless. Blends right in with the rock. The Isu are very good at their camouflage technology...'.
He walked closer, running his hand over the cool, rough surface. He examined the edges, looking for any sign of a switch, a pressure plate, a hidden keyhole, anything that might activate the entrance.
Nothing. Not a single clue.
'Damn,' he sighed internally. 'No obvious mechanism. I think this kind of entrance needs a Piece of Eden to open it... the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, most likely, judging by the Odyssey game... and I really don't want to go swimming to find an alternative entrance...'
He chuckled wryly. Well, if technology failed, there was always brute force. He gathered a small, almost negligible amount of chakra into his right fist.
"Hup!"
He pulled his hand back slightly and delivered a quick, testing punch to the center of the disguised door.
Thwack!
The impact echoed slightly. A tiny network of hairline cracks appeared on the rock face around his knuckles, and a small dent formed, but the massive stone door remained firmly shut.
Alaric flexed his fingers, then chuckled again. 'Right. Guess I shouldn't be stingy with my strength when dealing with Isu engineering.'
He took a firmer stance, drawing a much more significant amount of chakra… maybe thirty percent of his readily available pool into his fist, making it pulse with power. He pulled his arm back further this time and then unleashed the punch with explosive force.
*KRA-BOOOOM!*
The sound was deafening. The seemingly solid rock face shattered inwards, exploding into fragments and dust. The force of the blow traveled through the island, causing the entire landmass of Nea Kameni to shudder violently for several seconds. Dust and pebbles rained down from the cliff face around the newly revealed dark opening.
Alaric lowered his fist, dusting off his knuckles nonchalantly as the tremor subsided. He stared into the dark tunnel he had just created.
'Heh,' he thought with amusement. 'Whoever's underground, if they're awake, will definitely be confused about that little earthquake.'
Alaric stepped through the opening he'd created, the dust still settling around him. He found himself in a short, rough-hewn tunnel that quickly opened up into a smoother, clearly artificial corridor made of the strange Isu metal.
Just ahead, blocking the path, was another entrance, the one he recognized instantly from the game. A massive, triangular stone door, intricately carved with Isu patterns.
'Damn...', Alaric thought, running a hand over the cool surface of the triangular door. 'I really should've just waited until I arrived here before selling that Apple of Eden back in Rome. This door certainly only opens with a Piece of Eden... probably the Staff, but maybe an Apple would have worked too.'
He sighed, looking at the imposing stone barrier. He briefly considered punching his way through this one as well, flexing his fist, but then stopped himself.
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