After carefully sensing the changes within his body, Aiven slowly opened his eyes.

"Ah, what are you doing?!"

A face leaned in close, startling him.

"Hehehe..." Milan grinned ingratiatingly, rubbing his hands while staring directly at the fruit in Aiven's hand.

"Who was it that said at first they didn't want to eat it? Alright, alright!

There are a total of thirty, twelve each should be about the limit, eating more in a short period would be wasteful. I have a big use for the remaining six."

If Milan hadn't secretly brought the Alchemy Bomb onto the ship tonight, there would have been no good way to handle this 'Mirage Sea Star.' Even if we wanted to slowly wear it down with the Alchemy Firearm, it wouldn't be realistic for a sea monster of such massive size with the vast ocean as its domain.

Dividing the spoils according to merit, Aiven could only endure the heartache and hand over half to Milan.

"Enough, enough!" Milan smiled broadly, cradling his share of the fruit.

Common practice resources usually include just a few types: artificially concocted Magic Potions, blood and meat of demonized creatures rich in mysterious factors, and rare natural herbs.

But this kind of artificial 'Essence Fruit' was something Milan had never seen before.

Although, as a School Wizard, he wasn't lacking in heritage, and could obtain some corresponding Magic Potions and resources. But something like this, which has no medicinal side effects and tastes extraordinarily delicious (most importantly), is naturally never too much.

"By the way, what are you planning to do with the rest? Substances of this level can't be handled by anyone below Official Knight Level; you aren't planning on using them to feed the birds, are you?!"

Carefully putting away his own portion of the fruit, Milan was actually quite curious about the purpose of the remaining six fruits.

"Don't you think given the nature of these fruits, the most suitable use isn't practice aid, but to help Official Knights quickly get through their weak periods during advancement?"

Aiven didn't beat around the bush, straightforwardly revealing his plan.

"You mean...?"

Very soon.

Under the strong sea breeze, the fog that had lost its source dissipated completely.

The two of them splashed cold seawater to easily awaken the officers on the ship.

Splash! Splash!

"Hiss—"

Looking at the officers lined up before him, still dripping with water, Aiven remained expressionless as he concisely told them of the 'crisis' that had just occurred.

"Sea monster?!"

Although it seemed unbelievable, when they saw the two massive tentacles on the deck, they couldn't help but believe that they had all just experienced a thrilling journey called the 'Sea Monster's Half-Day Tour.'

Subsequently, for the first time in their naval careers, they recorded this magical experience in their respective nautical logs, preserving it as evidence of the ship's perilous encounter. It could be foreseen that as long as they were on this ship, there would be a second, a third time...

He instructed the officers to wake up the crew. Although the sky was still quite dark, the time was already nearing dawn. Once bitten by a snake, it's wise to be a bit more cautious next time.

"Our position is already very close to the open sea, although the 'Conch' is only a Level 6 Battleship, under special circumstances, some of the sea's secrets can already be limitedly revealed to the crew.

I authorize informing the crew about the existence of sea monsters. We've gained quite a lot of sea monster meat, so the soldiers can have an added meal tomorrow!"

"Yes, Captain!"

At this moment, the officers realized that during the time when the entire crew was unconscious, it was the Captain, with the assistance of the Chief Navigator, who single-handedly dealt with what seemed to ordinary people like a terrifying sea monster disaster.

The previous glorious victory against the Pirates, along with Aiven's now displayed superhuman strength, made the officers even more in awe of him. Every one of them was genuinely inspired, thinking that by following the Captain, perhaps their own and their descendants' futures might truly hold promise...

With this mindset, every word of the Captain's was regarded as ironclad law, followed through without the slightest deviation!

"Gary, come with me!"

In the captain's cabin.

"Gary, you need to make your own choice...."

Aiven communicated his idea to Gary; unsurprisingly, Gary immediately agreed, even showing some eagerness.

'This is an opportunity for an Extraordinary Transformation! Who knows if there would be a next time if missed here?'

After so long of training and growth, Gary was no longer the countryside boy of the past, with a strong physique hiding an equally strong heart.

Moreover, the boss took out a top-grade extraordinary trait worth thousands of Golden Lions for his use. Just for the sake of this invaluable extraordinary trait, there was absolutely no reason for him to fail!

"Originally, I planned to wait until after this mission, when conditions on land are better, to have you breakthrough.

However, today we have new gains, perfectly solving the issue of the weak period.

I'll ask you one last time, have you made up your mind?"

Aiven confirmed for the last time.

"No problem! I feel great right now, we can start immediately." Gary nodded heavily, having no resistance to the "Mirage Sea Star," it was as if he had undergone a deep sleep and now felt surprisingly good.

"Good!"

Compared to a recovery period of several weeks, the time needed for a breakthrough is not long. The result, of whether there is a breakthrough or not, will come in at most a night's time.

The person who knows oneself best is the person themselves, so since Gary feels in good shape, all Aiven needs to do at this moment is give him ample support.

As a wizard in the "Magic Potion Branch," he naturally lacks no equipment for potion-making. Skillfully, he prepared the "Black Sea Potion" using the extraordinary trait of the "Gun Stabbing Split-tooth Fish" as the main ingredient.

However, as the "Gun Stabbing Split-tooth Fish" is not one of the sharks required by the "Black Sea Potion," Aiven made small adjustments to the existing formula. This idiot-proof potion recipe, which even laymen can prepare, presents no difficulty to Aiven now.

Sizzle!

Like Aiven once did, a blue-green "small fish" was poured into the ice water conjured with witchcraft.

With a long sigh, it transformed into a bowl of deep blue potion.

Gary solemnly took it and drank it all in one go.

There's nothing more anyone can do, now it relies on him alone. Aiven took a deep glance at Gary, who had closed his eyes and sat back in the chair, and walked out of the captain's cabin.

The sailors had all been called up, each performing their duties according to their posts, while some were cutting the two sea monster tentacles lying on the deck.

"The Captain is just incredible, even a monster like this can be defeated!"

"Don't speak of the monster itself, just looking at its tentacles makes my legs go weak. When will we be as strong as the Captain one day?"

Although the new recruits were a bit amazed by the overlap between sea legends and reality, due to the officers having informed them of the situation in advance, the exhilarating feeling of witnessing a powerful enemy being slain outweighed the fear.

Scaredy-cats can't become sailors, and naturally, they weren't either.

Aiven found Milan again. Because they had been dragged by the sea monster for an unknown distance during the night, deviating from the predetermined course was certain, and Aiven urgently needed to know their position.

"Can you pinpoint our location?"

During normal sailing, determining one's position in the vast ocean requires a combination of celestial navigation, sextant, and nautical charts by experienced professionals.

But as a wizard from the Prophetic School, Milan's methods were naturally not limited to that. Even with overcast skies void of any starlight, he wasn't in the least troubled, and would, in fact, be more precise and efficient.

"To be honest, the situation is not so optimistic.

We have actually deviated past the critical line, thoroughly entering the dangerous open sea. We are now over three days' journey from the original destination, Saint Martin Island, which could be extended to four if the wind is unfavorable.

Darn sea monster, it sure ran fast!"

As he spoke, Milan felt a bit dejected. Now, they weren't moving closer to the planned Navy Base; instead, they were much farther away.

"For now, let's keep it this way and giddy up as much as we can. Even if we lack ammunition reserves, it's not much of a problem unless we are unlucky enough to run into pirates again in the meantime."

No other way around, that's how it goes with sea navigation, especially with sailing battleships which purely rely on wind, making journeys particularly elongated.

Aiven had long been accustomed to it, yet his heart grew more fervent with a longing to own a legendary battleship one day.

Disregard harsh sea conditions, turn the entire sea into one's garden. Hunt sea monsters that are terrifying to others with ease, embark on journeys to any desired destinations freely, roving the boundless sea, with nothing to restrain your steps anymore!

No captain in this world should be averse to the prospect of owning their very own legendary battleship, should they?!

"Alright, got it." Milan nodded and went off with Aiven's command to find the helmsman and the sailor.

The time slowly reached six o'clock in the morning.

According to the usual seasonal pattern, by this time the sun should have already risen.

But now, all was still pitch black as far as the eyes could see, with layer after layer of dark clouds pressed low on the horizon without the need to even look up. Even the seabirds patrolling the perimeter seemed weighed down by the clouds, dropping down to sea level, staying close and circling the "Conch".

Ever since the Owl Bass became the "Base Station," the link for the seabirds had always been with it, a job Bass had been doing remarkably well. But unexpectedly this time, after Bass was put to sleep, the surveillance network directly crashed.

However, Aiven didn't have the time to attend to it for now, as the situation at sea grew increasingly dire.

The air felt exceptionally oppressive, the pitch-black sea unsettlingly calm without a hint of breeze or ripple. All signs indicated an epic storm was brewing!

And the "Conch" this time found no place to hide, no way to escape.

Within at least twenty nautical miles, there wasn't a single anchorage or harbor to take refuge in, even if there were, the windless "Conch" couldn't make it there in time.

Even the "Ship's Figurehead: Seasonal Wind Goddess" required either a tailwind or headwind to take effect; without any wind, it was no more than an ordinary piece of wood.

"All hands on deck, everyone to their posts, prepare for the storm!"

An immediate tension enveloped the entire ship...

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