The glowing fins slowly folded back in as the ship descended toward the island, skimming over the calm sea like a falling feather. The protective do faded out, and the vessel landed softly near the beach, its wooden hull groaning but intact.
The guards jumped down first, checking the area for danger. It was quiet. No signs of humans or beasts—only chirping insects and the sound of distant waves.
The surrounding land on the edge of the sea was filled with sand and pebbles. It was only tens of ters away from the sea that the green plantations could be seen.
It was from the constant flow of the water that even if so plant wanted to grow in the sandy area, it would be swept away from the sheer force of the tide, but then again, the sand on the edge barely had any nutrients to grow a plant.
The island was dense with trees and not small at all.
It was big enough to house a small city without any need to cramp the space. It was uplifted in the middle, but only slightly, leaving the rest of the land flat.
Sylvheriel stepped onto the sand and looked around. "A deserted island in the middle of nowhere… how convenient."
Noah glanced around before looking at Wuhan, whom he caught glancing at the elven priestess. This was the nth ti he had noticed him doing that.
Ever since they had encountered the Kraken, he had noticed Wuhan had been secretly paying attention to the woman.
Captain Black Sword removed his hat and dropped onto the sand with a loud sigh. "A perfect place for a nap.
Wuhan ignored him and took his eyes away from the woman. He walked to the ship's edge, examining the cracked wood and faded runes. "The ship took a beating. We'll need at least a full day to recharge the spiritual core and repair the damage."
"Then we will take a break here," Noah said simply. "Everyone could use a decent rest without any dangers hovering over their heads."
Wuhan nodded and gathered the soldiers before giving them so orders.
Then he took a place for them and placed a makeshift tent they took out from their storage ring on the sand land.
Everyone got their personal tents and did not have to share them with anyone.
Noah did not imdiately enter his tent and built a campfire with a wave of his hand, chopping the wood from a nearby tree and conjuring flas from thin air.
Since the sun was setting down, he knew the darkness would arrive inevitably, and along with it would co the chilling coldness.
He had gathered enough wood to last them through the night without wasting qi and focus on resting properly.
Once done with that, Noah sat down on a faraway boulder and entered a ditative posture.
He kept ignoring it, but he could feel the gaze of the elf woman on the team following him around like a red dot.
'Why not focus on comprehending the water and wind laws tonight?' Noah thought about closing his eyes and allowing himself to beco one with his surroundings. Feeling the crash of the waves on the island and the calm breeze brushing past his face, flickering his hair.
"You realize you are staring…" Captain Black Sword's sudden remark from behind startled Sylvheriel. She snapped back to look at him only to see him looking at her with the sa bored, sleepy look on his face.
Her words made the woman blush like an innocent woman getting caught while stalking her crush.
After a mont of embarrassnt, she tried to mask it with a sharp glare, which the captain ignored. "Why are you so keen on getting him to talk to you? He does not seem to be keen on talking to you."
Just as the priestess was about to throw sharp words at the captain, his words silenced her for a mont.
With a complicated look, she turned back to look at Noah and spoke lightly, "You may not realize this, but we elves have a lot of reverence and respect for the world tree."
She briefly explained to him what a world tree was and continued, "And those who are marked by the world tree's grace or favor… they are treated with the sa respect and honor as the emperor himself. If he wants, under the right conditions, they can take control of the throne and lead the elves."
The weight behind her words left the lazy man speechless for a mont. He also turned to look at Noah in shock. He knew Noah as the Emperor's friend, but to think he had such a high background in an unknown empire.
While he was still lost in thought, the heartbroken woman continued to lay out her heart, "But for so reason he seems to detest us elves. He does not even want to look at , and when he does, the disgust in his eyes pains ."
Even though the captain wanted to comfort the woman, he lacked the words that could help her get through the pain.
So he simply stayed silent and kept listening to her speak.
While they were talking, Noah had already distanced himself from the presence of those around him and focused solely on the sensation of the changes in the currents of water and wind around him.
He had been a mage for years and wielded elents like they were born out of him, but never had he worked so hard to understand them, their nature, and their behavior, like he was observing a person, not an elent.
This wasn't cultivation in the usual sense. He wasn't gathering qi or practicing a technique.
His world had narrowed down to the elental flow around him. The scent of sea salt. The dance of moisture in the air. The gentle tug of the breeze as it shifted, curved, and rolled over the landscape.
It wasn't magic he was using now. This was far deeper than casting spells or channeling energy.
This was understanding.
Bit by bit, he reached toward the greater laws that governed the sea and the sky—toward the ancient forces that existed long before humans or elves had nas for them.
The Law of Water whispered to him first; the concept of the basic elents had already been comprehended by him over the past years.
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