It's been a few hours since Kirou and his group, along with the recent additions, returned to the <Phantom Palace>. Kirou only left some instructions with the girls and Mistaken Fox for the former bandits while he invited both Jackson and Cain to follow him to the underground pier.   The trio was currently sitting around a small table, Kirou drinking some tea while both Jackson and Cain stared at him in confusion. This went on for a few minutes before Jackson spoke up.   "Young Master, would you mind explaining why you've brought both of us down here?"   Cain maintained his silence, but he gave a slight nod in agreement to Jackson's words.   Kirou only glanced at the duo for a few moments before turning his eyes to the waters of his underground port. As soon as he finished his tea, Kirou spoke, "I'll be leaving for the <Beast Continent> within the next two weeks."   T

After leaving the village, Kirou has been heading northwest for roughly two hours. During this trip, he made multiple adjustments to his heading after using his skill to investigate his surroundings. The downside of this was that he had to chug down multiple potions to replenish his quickly spent [MP] after each trip. It was at this time that Kirou slowed and silenced his steps. This is because the stronghold for those human traffickers was within his sights. Having stopped behind a tree, Kirou calmed his breathing and steadied his heart rate. After doing so, he peered from behind the tree, gazing at his targets going about their business in the large base. The base itself was an abandoned seaside village that seemed to have been occupied initially by dwarfs. Along with a few lodging houses, there were a few paths dug into the hill directly behind the houses. The houses themselves were spread out and made in a style similar to inns, but the size of the windows

Kirou was currently making his way back to the Seaside Village via the ships used by the pirates. He needed a secure way to transport all the women and children that were captured back to the village without injury and in a timely manner, and .... it's not like the previous owners had much use for these ships anymore. As for controlling and navigating the ships themselves, Kirou had no part in that as he lacked the necessary experience and skill needed to do so. Instead, this job was taken over by the captured women that were previously held captive in the resting area of the camp by those pirates. Apparently, they were part of a crew of sailors that got captured at sea. Their ship had recently gone through a bad storm and most of the crew got injured in the process. Those that survived the storm thought that things would be fine when another ship passed by in their time of need. Sadly, their hopes were dashed as this ship was filled with pirates. When the pirates found and boarded

The Garuda player and his squad from the guild have finally returned to the Seaside Village. Unlike the trip to the pirate hideout that took 5 hours, the return trip only needed half that time. The Garuda player mainly returned here instead of continuing his hunt or returning to his guild as he was curious to see the results of that quest he never got the chance to finish. He was also interested in seeing if he would be able to meet that strange Lycan player he had initially pursued. Unfortunately, his second wish would go unanswered for quite a time. Upon entering the location of the Seaside Village, what greeted the Garuda player and his squad was essentially a ghost town. The village lacked any sign of life and it looked like its inhabitants were in quite the rush to leave. At this point, one squad member, a Lycan, spoke up, "Looks like these guys wasted no time in making themselves scarce as if wanting to avoid us like the plague. What say you now, Boss?" The G