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Syl: Chapter 328
🕑 Added 2025-10-22 06:15:02 +0000 UTCChapter 328: Volcano Isle
Due to the sheer size of our boat, it had to be anchored in deeper waters, and we, along with our cargo, were ferried to Volcano Isle's rudimentary dock. The first thing I did before leaving was rescinding my attack order for my [Sub-Cores], as I didn't want to accidentally depopulate everything surrounding this island.
My initial impressions were that this must be a relatively new outpost, as it appeared quite barebones compared to Grafgeo Islet that Vee had described for me. It wasn't shanties or shacks, but there would definitely be no five-star accommodation, and even Stantondale put this place to shame.
Weird… wasn't this supposed to be a town for elites?
"So is there a guild branch here, or…?" I asked, leaving the question hanging.
"There isn't a branch, but there is an official liaison," the captain answered. "I suppose that's where you'll get your orders. I just transport goods and people."
Personally speaking, I didn't really care too much, as my go-to living conditions were underground holes or hollowed-out trees. Vee, on the other hand, might complain, as she'd grown used to living a life of luxury.
And she calls me the princess.
When we arrived, there was a warm welcome from the inhabitants. I did a quick level check and found the average was around ten to fifteen levels higher than Saltport. Not only that, but I even spotted a few mages near the dock. Evidently, they did poach spellcasters, bringing them straight here, as I couldn't recall seeing any until now.
As I was getting my bearings, a woman seemed to be approaching with a dazzling smile on her face. She had long, dark brown, wavy hair that reached the small of her back and strikingly violet eyes. She was wearing a sleeveless blue dress under a deeper blue corset.
"Oh boy… looks like Vanessa has her eyes on the new blood already," one of the crewmen joked.
"Best of luck, Sylvain. You'll need it to not be chewed up and left on the side," another chuckled.
I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this, as I wasn't quite catching their meaning. Still, Sylvain needed to be cocky and confident, so I just shrugged, pretending it was no big deal.
"Sylvain, I've heard so much about you," Vanessa said as she arrived, looking straight at me.
"Hello there, I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage since I haven't heard about you," I replied.
The woman giggled. "Vanessa, and I hope to change that as soon as possible. I imagine we will be spending quite some time together."
A few of the crew and dockworkers whistled in response, causing Vanessa to blush. Others chuckled to their comrades, joking about whether I'll survive or not, while the remaining seemed to curse my name in envy.
While Sylvain was appearing nonchalant about this interaction, I was feeling paranoid. I threw out an [Identify] and the result helped ease my mind.
<Vanessa; Human LV 12; Clerk LV 26. Elemental Affinity: Water.>
She's a bit low level to be out here, isn't she? Then again, I guess it doesn't matter if she's a non-combatant.
"Great. I don't suppose you can point me in the direction of my liaison then?" I asked.
"That's a simple task, you're looking right at her," Vanessa answered.
I shot a glance at the captain, who seemed to have almost abandoned me. He noticed and gave me a nod, confirming the situation. I let out a hearty laugh, feeling like it was the Sylvain thing to do.
"Well, that makes life easier. I suppose I have you to thank for my transfer?"
Vanessa nodded. "You'd be correct. I heard all about how you effortlessly accomplished every task you'd been assigned to, and yet they continued wasting your talents. Everyone knows how we need every big, strong, and powerful mage here to support the efforts."
A few people coughed, but Vanessa seemed to ignore it.
"And judging by how fast you arrived here, I can only imagine they severely downplayed your abilities."
"Well, thanks for saving me from boredom. I'm hoping I'll get to show my full capabilities out here."
"Oh, definitely," Vanessa replied. "Why don't I show you around, and we can get to know each other some more?"
"Gladly," I agreed.
I gave a quick farewell to the captain and his crew, who seemed a bit reluctant to let me go. I could imagine that their peaceful and expedited trip had drastically changed their opinion of Sylvain.
[Roleplay] was working overtime for this, which was good because I didn't have much choice in the matter. If she were the only liaison, my options would be extremely limited in this situation. Hopefully, if I kept Vanessa happy, then I could get her to assign me to some missions where I could finally encounter these elusive mermen.
As we walked around the settlement, eyes seemed magnetically drawn to us. I wasn't the best at reading emotions, but it seemed like I was either the subject of pity or jealousy from the residents, with not much wiggle room between.
Vanessa seemed to ignore all of it, so naturally, I ensured Sylvain followed suit. The tour was relatively brief because Volcano Isle wasn't exactly the peak of civilization and seemed to offer only a few amenities, with an emphasis on communal benefits.
Only a tiny selection of people had their own homes, most of which they had built themselves, and it seemed most living conditions were barracks. Thankfully, there was something resembling an inn, so I would at least have my own private room during my stay here.
Throughout the tour, Vanessa was extremely chatty and very touchy. She kept brushing up against my arm, and when I glanced, she would flutter her eyelids like she was trying to get dust out of her eyes. In response, [Roleplay] had me simply smile in return, keeping up a calm facade.
I can't believe how clumsy she is; she can't even walk in a straight line without swaying into me.
Since it was getting late, we ate dinner together, where I brought up the topic of deepstone refining.
"Of course, tomorrow I can show you the magma forges. Trust me, it's an enchanting sight," Vanessa said with a wink.
I also asked a bit about the island, and she explained that the conditions were due to a lack of manpower. Because of the location, not many came out here except to handle the shipments of deepstone, making growth difficult.
The other issue was the dangerous nature of the area, as she said most expeditions to conquer the surrounding area didn't return. That and, according to Vanessa, a lot of people would abandon them after staying for a few weeks.
I tried to press for more details, but Vanessa seemed to avoid answering directly, instead focusing on me and declaring that a mighty mage like myself would have no trouble conquering these waters.
After our dinner, Vanessa unexpectedly asked me if I'd like to stay at her home instead of the inn. [Roleplay] seemed like it wanted me to go, but I turned the skill off and politely declined, saying that I was too tired to walk further than my bed in the inn.
"That's a shame…" Vanessa pouted. "I hope tomorrow you'll have more vigor."
"I'm sure a good night's rest will do me wonders," I replied.
Thankfully, she didn't press further, and eventually we said our farewells and departed. Almost immediately, some of the other patrons muttered that I was an idiot, but I ignored them and instead moved quickly to my room as I could sense a presence getting closer.
I locked the door behind me and collapsed backwards on the bed, the only piece of furniture in the entire room. With its small size, it might as well have been a broom closet.
I wonder if this is why Vanessa wanted me to stay over? If she knew the inn rooms were this barebones, she must have felt bad about leaving me here.
I lay on my bed and used the unsupervised time to lay the groundwork for recreating [Terra Step]. [Ignition Step] would have been easier, especially since I had experience thanks to [Thunder Step], but I was concerned about accidentally setting my tiny room on fire.
As it was getting a bit late, I eventually felt Vee right above me, and a few moments later, the spider blurred into existence. I immediately established a telepathic connection between us.
"Wow, even with you as my GPS, this place was hard to find," Vee said upon arrival.
"Glad to see you again," I replied.
"Glad to be back, hopefully tonight I can actually get a good night's sleep."
"I thought sleeping was your specialty?" I asked teasingly.
"Yeah, but being alone… It was a pretty restless night," Vee admitted. "I thought someone might enter the room, even though I bolted the door with webs. Knowing Alpha and the gang are on nightwatch apparently really helps me sleep at night."
"Well, while the bed isn't big enough to share, what space you can find is all yours," I said, pointing at the relatively low-hanging ceiling.
"Yeah, this place is kind of a dump; it's a good thing I'm a tiny spider," Vee joked.
We spent some time catching up, and I told Vee all about my trip. Admittedly, it wasn't that exciting if you ignored my [Skill Deconstruct] progress, but I did at least tell her I had some successful hunting time and gained another level.
"Did you know this island is actually hidden?" Vee asked.
"No, what do you mean?"
"If you're a distance away, this island is actually cloaked. When I got closer, it suddenly popped into existence," Vee answered.
"Huh… was that why I didn't notice it when we first arrived? I thought I was just lost in making magic."
Vee shrugged. "Probably. Although now I might need to change up my searching strategy to be closer to the water…"
"It might just be for this island to make sure it isn't attacked since it's the deepstone forging location. I can try asking Vanessa about it tomorrow?" I offered.
"Who's Vanessa?" Vee asked.
I gave Vee the rundown, and in response, the damn spider fell into a giggling fit of laughter.
"Wow, looks like Sylvain is quite the heart-throb," Vee snickered. "I can't believe you turned the fair maiden down."
"Well, I needed to wait for you. I was worried we wouldn't have a private place to meet up."
"Oh, so now I'm the secret mistress on the side?" Vee asked, trying to hold back her laughter.
"Huh?"
"Damn it, Syl, you're ruining my joke!" Vee whined.
I stared at her, not really understanding what she was trying to say or accomplish.
Vee sighed. "Bloody hell, I can't tell if you're serious or if you're pulling my leg."
I shrugged. "I'm just being me. She's Sylvain's liaison, so I've just been letting [Roleplay] keep up appearances."
"Well then, tomorrow's check-in might be especially entertaining."
"Why?" I asked.
"I don't want to ruin the surprise," Vee replied, now snickering again.
Now it was my turn to sigh. It seemed everyone around me liked to dodge answering my questions. I had enough trouble pulling answers from Trixie, but now Vee and Vanessa were both doing the same thing.
Perhaps sensing my discomfort, Vee moved on to tell me about her travels. She actually managed to find some islands in our time apart, but wrote them off for varying reasons. Either they were too small for vision, or they were too close to the mainland, which she said was "practically inviting someone to find our secret base."
I thought Vee was being a bit too picky with locations, but it wasn't like we were in too much of a rush. I did, however, point out that I could probably use magic to expand the island, so as long as it was big enough for our initial setup, we had plenty of room to grow.
"Well then, you'd better get way more levels in [Magma Magic]!" Vee responded.
"Don't you mean [Earth Magic]?"
"Most islands are formed because of volcanic activity," Vee replied.
I stared at Vee, dumbfounded, which led her to give me a brief geography lesson on this topic. I was always surprised by all the random bits of trivia that were polluting her mind.
Unfortunately, I still didn't agree with her and thought I could accomplish this with [Earth Magic]. However, I decided to let it go and hoped that Vee would just find her dream island while I was busy searching for the mermen.
After she crafted her web hammock, we wished each other goodnight.
I hope the visit to the magma forge doesn't take too long. I want to get my next assignment as soon as possible!
Comments
Roombot
Makes sense tbh, he has ZERO knowledge or experience with reproduction
Zorgdub
At first, I didn't think Syl was catching ANY of the innuendo. And then it became obvious he was completely unaware. I wonder how long it'll take for someone to notice.
Jamie Mann
Thank you for the chapter!
Enif
I think you mean geology not geography.
Peter Smith
If it was just a refusal to teach her, that would make sense, but i think vee doesn't realize that Syl doesn't know what that is. A common trope in some stories is the oblivious ML however if vee doesn't know that syl has no clue what sex is, then she could be assuming that syl is simply oblivious to the flirting. And seeing as to how syl was trained by the elves in court proceedings, vee could assume that syl knows about sex, seeing as to how she knows about relationships, but if syls only introduction to relationships is her get engaged to her alchemist fiancee... Then she would doubly have no clue whats going on.
mmarkgraf212
I'm imagining Vee finding the most remote place she can and Syl creating a volcano on the ocean floor that just continues to expand until it turns into an actual island.
Jason Hardman
To be honest, Vee not giving Syl a birds and the bees talk, and instead treating the misunderstanding as entertainment, is more like bullying than something I'd find funny. In this context Syl is essentially a child, and she should know that and have a little decency and care for her friend.
jonathan
You know? I'm sure that syl wouldn't really mind it..... I mean, there would have to be quite a bit of micromanaging every little detail, but I'm sure Syl could make an excellent sex fiend... Yeah... imagine the commands given to the subcores... "increase temperature gradually. remove elasticity. eject special salt water pheromone mixture over the whole body. eject special fishy tasting mayo at the right moment." Sure, there wouldn't be any pleasure for Syl... until the gods add a skill for it... maybe the transformation skill eventually allows syl to fully embody what they are mimicking, sensations included. But Syl would probably be like "Wait... humans do that? Why? Pleasure and reproduction? For pleasure, have they tried leveling up? And who needs to reproduce when you can just become immortal by leveling up?"
Hayden Leech
Does syl even know about how humans reproduce lol?
jonathan
Exactly my thoughts.
enderman
At some point this is going to cause a big crack in the character possibly needing to ditch the identity.
Oliver
Oh Vanessa, syl doesn’t want to have sex with you.
matias bancalari
Thanks for the chapter.
Garnet of Flame
Vee, for the love of the gods, not explaining romance to the aroace blob is magical goo because it’s funny is going to backfire spectacularly. She is right about Syl being a heartthrob though, so far we’ve got the merchant noble, Whitney, Ansem, maybe the fairy elf kid, and now miss carnivorous Vanessa. I hope Vee will actually explain what’s happening to syl before anything too bad happens, but I do not trust the spider’s maturity. Which is a shame because syl deserves to know the effect they have on the silly humanoids.
OriHarpy
A very relatable chapter, as someone who is aroace, though frustrating in that Vee chooses not to explain to Syl something that could blow their cover and/or potentially get them in a horrible situation.
Engineer4God
Tank oo fur da chap!
Hayden Leech
Honestly syl plans to throw away the disguise soon anyway. Might as well try her hand at a human fling. If for no other reason than her not being blindsided like this in the future
Hayden Leech
And she is going To try to recruit human Sylvain.
Hayden Leech
Hmm. Mysterious resource rich island, controlled By a nation state and not the guild. Author has specifically not mentioned any flags or colors or anything. Yup totally in the outeatus kingdom. That will be fun! Bet this Vanessa lass is a high ranking officer.
Hayden Leech
It’s hilarious that Syl is a totally oblivious heartbreaker. I hope this Vanessa try’s hard to make something happen. Syl will be appalled. “Oh god this human is trying to mate with me” Or would Syl treat that as simply one more aspect of the sylvain disguise? They could probably be charming if they wanted to be. Vee: “BWAHAHAHA”
Lionheart Copperhead
TFTC!
CataFlan
TFTC!
Michael Zinkstein
Thanks for the chapter
Plateworm
Tftc
JW Saxby
Tftc 🍻
JAndy
> Either they were too small for vision, or they were too close to the mainland for vision -> for our/her/my/the vision
W
Normally I'm not a big fan either but in this context, it makes sense tbh. Syl is a genderless slime who has literally no history of being flirted with and has limited socialization and cultural knowledge. Not knowing that Vanessa was flirting and the obliviousness makes a lot of sense here.
crazybot
Ah, so it's finally come time to address it.
CringeWorthyStudios
… gods damn it. I hate the oblivious protagonist vs flirting trope so much. That said, I mostly feel bad for Vanessa and Syl since Vee is a jerk for deliberately causing problems like this. Thanks for the chapter!
Kasamuri
Thanks for the chapter!
Shai182
TFTC!
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
