Arriving at the Sea of Clouds, the boundless world of pure white before them left everyone briefly speechless, followed by a sky-shaking cheer.
"Clouds! They're really clouds!"
"Are we really sailing on top of clouds?!"
Several Crew Members rushed to the gunwale and reached out, cautiously touching the dense, sea-like water below, only to find a strange texture that was moist and soft to the touch.
More people crowded around excitedly; some even found oars and wooden sticks to tentatively poke at the Sea of Clouds.
The stick sank in easily with almost no resistance, as if inserted into a liquid, and the cloud layer flowed with it.
"Hey! These clouds... actually have a feel to them? It feels just like water?"
"Let me try!" Aldo pushed through the crowd, grabbed a harpoon, and threw it hard into the Sea of Clouds. The harpoon spun and vanished silently into the cloud layer, without even a splash being kicked up.
"Not even a 'plop'! This stuff seems a bit different from water..."
"Can this stuff... actually support a ship?"
Even the usually steady Marcus couldn't help but be curious. He drew ranzakura and lightly sliced the tip of the blade across the cloud surface.
The blade sank in without any obstruction. When he pulled it back, the blade was covered in wet dew, but the cloud surface left no trace at all, as if it had never been touched.
"It's amazing... Even common sense on Sky Island is different from down below."
On the deck, the Crew Members ran around shouting and yelling. Some even lay on the gunwale trying to scoop up a handful of cloud water, while others shouted into the distance, listening to their echoes dissipate in the boundless world of pure white.
Sammy also walked to the bow and took a deep breath. Air with a strange freshness flooded his lungs as he gazed at this world that transcended imagination.
However, the high spirits did not last long.
The movements of several Crew Members who were shouting and jumping suddenly slowed down. Their faces turned pale, and they clutched their chests as they slowly sat down.
It was like the first domino falling. One after another, more people began to feel difficulty breathing, as if a giant rock were pressing on their chests.
Aldo shook his head, feeling that the pure white world before him was swaying slightly.
Even Sammy felt a sudden surge of heart palpitations, and a slight throbbing pain came from his temples.
Thump, thump... A few Crew Members with weaker stamina collapsed directly onto the deck, gasping for air.
"What's happening?! Enemy attack?!"
Hans and Leon, who had just been in the wheelhouse, saw this scene and their expressions changed drastically as they rushed out immediately.
Aldo managed to raise a hand and wave it. "No... no enemy... just... chest is tight... can't... can't catch my breath..."
Sammy knelt on one knee, enduring the dizziness. He began to adjust his breathing, feeling the subtle changes as his body gradually adapted.
"The altitude is too high, and the air is too thin. Don't panic, everyone. Adjust your breathing slowly and give your bodies some time to adapt."
Under his comfort, everyone gradually calmed down and followed the instructions to take slow, deep breaths.
Sure enough, the feeling of suffocation slowly eased over time.
Aldo recovered the fastest, and his reckless energy returned. He yanked open the buttons of his shirt.
"I was suffocating! I'm fine now! This Sea of Clouds looks interesting. Anyone want to go down for a few laps? A Sky Island pool—this might be the only chance in our lives!"
With him taking the lead, several energetic Crew Members were also eager to try and began taking off their coats.
"Hey! You guys!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sammy flashed forward and unceremoniously gave Aldo and the others who were about to undress a sharp, clean flick to the forehead.
"Ow!"
"That hurts!"
"What do you mean, swimming?!" Sammy glared at them irritably. "Use your brains! This is the Sea of Clouds; there's no seabed below! If you swim too far or dive too deep, what will happen if you fall? All of you, behave yourselves!"
"S-sorry Boss, I was wrong..."
Aldo clutched his head and withered, and the others quickly put their clothes back on.
Sammy stopped paying attention to these clowns and turned to Hans.
"Hans, check the log pose. Has it captured the magnetic force of Sky Island?"
Hans looked down at the log pose on his wrist and saw that the needle was trembling slightly, pointing toward a certain direction deep within the Sea of Clouds.
"Boss! Yes! The pointer is reacting!"
"Very good!" Sammy's spirits lifted. "Adjust the course immediately and proceed at full speed in the direction of the pointer! We..."
Sammy looked around. "Where's Old Barry? Where is the old man?"
"Captain! Old Barry is here!" A Crew Member's voice came from the cabin entrance. "His condition isn't right! He's not responding no matter how we call him!"
Sammy's expression changed, and he immediately rushed into the cabin.
He saw Old Barry curled up on a mat in the corner, his face flushed and his breathing weak, already in a semi-conscious state.
"Hiriluk!"
"Coming!" The Ship Doctor arrived carrying his medical kit. He quickly checked Old Barry's pupils, pulse, and temperature, and his expression turned solemn.
"He has a high fever. It should be acute altitude sickness, and the symptoms are very severe. He's old, his bodily functions have declined, and his tolerance for low pressure and oxygen-deprived environments is much worse than ours."
"Is there a way?"
"Before we set out, I specifically studied high-altitude illnesses and prepared medications and plans." Hiriluk opened his medical kit without hesitation, taking out several specialized medicine bottles and a simple infusion set. "We need to give him medicine immediately. I hope it can stabilize him."
He nimbly performed disinfection and prepared the medicine. The light blue liquid flowed drop by drop into Old Barry's blood vessel through a transparent flexible tube.
"Hans, don't slow down. Head toward Sky Island at full speed!"
Sammy ordered Hans, who had followed him in, his gaze returning to Old Barry. "We need to find Sky Island as soon as possible."
Under Hiriluk's careful treatment and the effect of the medicine, about half an hour later, Old Barry's rapid breathing gradually leveled out, and the flush on his face faded somewhat.
His eyelashes flickered a few times, and he slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurred for a moment before focusing on the faces of Hiriluk, who was adjusting the drip rate, and Sammy and the others who were gathered around.
He felt the cold, strange sensation on his arm and saw the tube that was delivering the medicine.
"Heh... cough cough..." He smiled weakly. "Truly... this old man is useless... in the end... I still... caused trouble for everyone..."
"Don't talk, old man." Sammy pressed down on his shoulder as he tried to lift it. "Rest well. The medicine is very effective. Hiriluk said you'll be fine after you stabilize for a bit longer. We are proceeding at full speed and will reach Sky Island soon."
"Sky Island... are we reaching Sky Island?"
A faint spark lit up in Old Barry's cloudy eyes as he tried to recall.
"If... the location of Sky Island... hasn't changed too much... according to the records... after passing through this Sea of Clouds, the next island... should be called... Alamuk Island..."