"The Umiana Trench eh?" A bartender glanced at the two of them skeptically. "That place is not safe for normal humans, forget about it."
Rui did not bother denying the obvious misunderstanding about who they were, he actually welcomed it. The two of them had been hiding their auras as Martial Artists using their respective techniques and were posing as normal human beings for a reason.
"I heard that Martial Artists train there," Rui continued.
"That, they do," The man sighed as he poured Rui and Kane a drink. "Martial Artists flock from all over, trying to join in on the training. The coastal nations decided to keep it open for that reason, but at what cost eh?"
He snorted, shaking his head helplessly.
Rui could sympathize with the man's frustration. The people of the town depended on the sea significantly, which is why it was probably really scary knowing that the only reason the ocean didn't recede was that a bunch of Martial Artists kept smacking away at it continuously. That would be scary if his entire life and livelihood were centered around the ocean which was so volatile.
If the ocean receded, it would definitely be bad for the town, but Rui knew that it would probably give them peace of mind in the long run.
"This whole problem was caused by a Martial Artist in the first place," His eyes narrowed as his mouth curled with contempt. "Do you have any idea how many people died? The few Martial Squires in the old town struggled to hold back just the tiny portion of the wave hitting the old to allow as many people to escape. Yet it wasn't enough."
Rui could sense that he held a great deal of resentment towards the one who had caused the natural disaster in the first place, and understandably so. He could only imagine how horrendous the disaster really was, and how much suffering it had caused to the locals. He didn't expect them to look at the Umiana Trench in a positive light.
"If you really want to go, then you need to find a fisherman willing to give you a ride most of the way," The bartender snorted, seeing that Rui wasn't dissuaded. "Martial Artists just go over there through the air, normal humans ain't got a way to get there safely. It's dangerous to even try. Even the sea life knows to stay far away from the Umiana Trench. You're going to have to pay the fisherman a whole lot of money up-front. They won't get their money afterward if you die, after all."
"I see," Rui nodded, relieved. "What about being able to actually train there? I heard that just reaching that place isn't enough."
"Yeah, you got that right," The man nodded. "I ain't ever been there to see it myself, but there's actually an entire office setup belonging to the Trench Surveillance Force that was set up by the coastal nations to make sure that the ocean level never receded or fluctuated too much. Martial Artists gotta purchase tickets for slots, it's actually a complicated matter, or so I hear."
"I see," Rui narrowed his eyes as he grew deep in thought himself.
It was convenient that all of the matters could be handled in the trench itself. It meant that they didn't need to reveal their Martial Artist status in this town, which reduced the probability of Chairman Deacon coming across them by chance.
"Appreciate the information," Rui dropped a gold coin on the table.
"Woah, that's too much!" The man's eyes widened at the gold coin. "I don't have change for a gold coin!"
Rui cursed as he felt stares at him from around the bar. His titanic success in the Shionel Confederation had warped his sense of wealth, and value of it. A single gold coin was insignificant, but to the average person, even a single amount of gold coin could significantly make their lives easier. To people living a simpler life, a gold coin was more than the entirety of their life savings!
"Keep the change, appreciate the information," Rui dragged Kane out of the bar.
"You wanna head there immediately?" Kane asked.
Rui nodded. "I don't want to reveal our identities as Martial Artists, so use Void Step to obscure our departure."
"Gotcha,"
The two of them took off from a remote location where nobody could see them from. Kane immediately activated Void Step, misdirecting the attention and awareness of everyone whose gaze fell upon their figures away.
The two of them speedily sky-walked across the ocean.
"You know the direction that we're headed in?" Kane asked.
"Yeah," Rui glanced at the Sun. "I memorized the maps that Guildmaster Bradt sold me. You can undo the technique now, I don't want anybody realizing we have this ability when we get there."
The two of them traveled across the ocean speedily, Kane was unperturbed in his speed, while Rui sky-walked with Outer Convergence and Gale Force Breathing while he paid attention to the seal life that he was able to sense with his Riemannian Echo. He definitely felt there were some oddities that probably weren't normally the case, although he was no oceanologist.
The sea life seemed to grow scarcer the closer they got to their destination. In fact, it was far more dense closer to the coastal areas despite the strong human presence than it was in the direction of the Uminana Trench.
The closer he got, the more his sharp sense could pick up the general energy radiating from the direction of the Umiana Trench. Not even the powerful aquatic monsters were willing to stray anywhere near it, from the looks of it.
It wasn't long before the view over the horizon changed.
"Is that…?" Kane squinted his eyes as he noticed something at the edge of the horizon.
"Yeah…" Rui's eyes widened as his senses began touching the edge of the trench. "Truly unbelievable. To actually see it with my own two eyes is completely different from just learning about it."
