When Louis opened his eyes, he was back in his cold cabin on the ship.
He pulled a small silver watch from his coat pocket and looked at it. He was surprised to see it was already 5:00 AM — the same time the Tower of the Multiverse closed each day.
This confirmed one of the Tower's rules: no matter when you enter the Tower space or how long you stay inside, you always leave at the same time — 5:00 AM.
Louis remembered hearing about groups who tested this. They found that even if you enter the Tower at midnight for only a few seconds, you still return when everyone else leaves.
In other words, time inside the Tower does not match real-world time.
If you try to stay longer inside the Tower, the system will force you out when the time is up — unless you are in the middle of clearing a stage.
As he thought about this, the ship suddenly shook violently. Louis almost fell to the floor from the impact.
He recovered quickly and ran up to the deck.
The weather was wild. Waves hit the ship hard. But in the noisy storm, Louis saw something he would never forget.
A kraken — a huge sea monster with many long arms — rose from the water and tried to pull the fleet down into the sea. Louis's knights fought with all their strength.
After a fierce battle, the kraken retreated — but only after it had destroyed at least half the ships and pulled many of the beginner knights under the waves.
Louis looked at the scene with a blank face.
All the ships full of grain and food — supplies meant to last him and his knights for months — were destroyed. Most knights survived, but they were badly hurt and weak.
He went to his companion knight, Robert, the man who had followed him since childhood. Robert was fixing a cracked piece of armor.
"What happened?" Louis asked. "Wasn't this route supposed to be safe?"
Robert looked up at Louis for a few seconds, then replied, "That was a raging monster."
"A raging monster?" Louis repeated.
"Raging monsters are very smart. From many fights, they learned that humans and other intelligent races are weakest between midnight and 5:00 AM. So they usually attack during those hours."
Louis was shocked. Did those monsters learn about the Tower's schedule? he thought. They don't have Tower access, so how could they know?
Robert looked at Louis like he could read his thoughts. He had the same questions, but no one had answers now.
The other watching knights were silent. Their faces showed mixed emotions. They all looked at Louis.
They wanted to go back to the main land. They did not want to be stuck and die in this far, stormy sea.
Everyone knew what it meant to be sent to the sea for exploration — exile, with the highest death rates.
No one volunteered. No one wanted to stay.
Louis looked at them and stepped forward. "Anyone who wants to leave can go now," he said.
Everyone was surprised and looked up at him.
"I will write to the family myself and try to excuse you from punishment," Louis said, his eyes moving over their faces. "You can use the surviving ships to return by the safe route. Monsters won't attack then."
No one spoke. No one moved.
They were not stupid. Even with Louis's letter, the family might still punish them for abandoning the mission. The punishments could be worse.
Staying in the sea was dangerous, but returning might not save them.
Louis looked at the silent knights and gave a small laugh. "You think following me to the sea is a death sentence. But you know why you were sent here: because you have no power in your families. You can be thrown away like trash at any time." He slowly scanned the group. For the first time, doubt appeared in their eyes.
"Have you ever thought there might be a chance to survive in this wild sea? To use the Tower to build power here?" he asked.
Louis took two papers from his coat. "This is the contract that ties you to the family." He tore it into pieces and threw the pieces into the stormy wind.
"And this is my contract. If you sign it, you will become my personal followers. We will share good times and bad."
"Of course, you can keep sinking under fate's plans, or you can join me in this wild sea and take your future into your own hands."
"We have ten days left to reach our destination. But I don't want to see anyone who did not sign the contract when we arrive."
Louis handed out his contract and returned to his cabin.
The knights looked at each other. For a while, the ship was filled with a deadly silence — only wind and waves echoed in everyone's ears.