The sun hung above the golden beach as usual, making the salty air warr with each mont.
“We’ll have to leave soon,” Zyrus stated as he looked around from the mast of the warship. The red ship was gleaming under the golden light of the noon. It boasted a total height of 25 ters, flanked by three galleons which were a third shorter. As for the 50-plus Viking longboats that were placed behind, they barely reached 5 ters in height.
“The remaining monsters will be cleared today, so we’re ready.” Ria’s voice echoed from the galleon behind him. She too was looking at the far horizon.
“I see…Need my help?”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll make sure it's finished,” Ria’s tone was more solemn this ti. Zyrus hadn’t fought once since the battle against Camazotz. She realized the seriousness of this matter after hearing that he was willing to join today. Their ti of training was over.
Zyrus nodded at her and continued his inspection. The warship was 70 ters in length and 18 ters wide at the center. The diaters of the galleons and longboats were reduced by 30% and 60% respectively. This was the most he could do with the limited resources he bought from the shop.
‘If nothing unexpected happens, we should reach the next island after a month.’
Of course, even if sothing did happen, Zyrus was sure that he could reach the next island before monsoon season. He was only worried about the damage the ships would have to sustain.
Contrary to its beautiful appearance, the cyan ocean was the most horrible place in the second ring. Even he didn’t dare to tread its true depths before he surpassed lv 50.
Hours passed by as Zyrus inspected the ships for the last ti. He knew that the ships wouldn’t last long on the ocean, but still, it was fine as long as the integral parts weren’t lost.
Killing the sea monsters, plundering the resources, and repairing the ships. The sa cycle would repeat over and over until the ships beca invincible on the ocean.
But there was a condition for this way of progress: The ship’s core must remain intact. A core that had yet to exist.
‘It needs a na apart from my blood,’
It was Zyrus’s conclusion based on his recent knowledge of Izena. His Sylvarix blood possessed the trait of infinite evolution, but that alone wasn’t sufficient. Just like artifact spirits were born after years of usage, the sa applied to other inanimate objects. Giving a na was perhaps the most basic yet most powerful way to expedite that process.
“Say, did you rob the spirit kingdom’s treasury last ti?” Franken asked as if he was reading Zyrus's thoughts.
“No?”
“How co you know so much about their birth then?”
“There are no secrets for an arcanist,” Zyrus snorted proudly at Franken’s question. It was indeed a mystery for most as to how the original spirits were born.
There wasn’t much of a difference between the spirit race and humans in the second and third rings. They looked the sa and their way of 'reproduction' was the sa as well. The sole dividing factor between them was that the spirit race had innate traits/manifestations while humans didn’t. Swords, anvils, fire, and even unique traits like flowers and objects such as a Pot or a Stone, there was no limit to spirit race's innate traits.
They considered themselves to be superior because of these innate traits. It wasn’t unfounded as even now Zyrus was the only one who had a trait among the dozens of non-spirit kings.
Of course, the innate traits were a grade lower compared to traits recognized by the sanctuary. Even then, the advantage they gave to spirit race was apparent.
If not for the fact that their bloodlines diluted after each generation; the spirit race would've beco the ruler of the fifth ring of the sanctuary.
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The sun went down while Zyrus and Franken chatted about the spirit race. It was at this mont that a loud fanfare rang above the island’s sky.
All the players cheered after reading the golden words in the sky. Their surprises were just starting.
- Shipbuilding efficiency 10%
- Logging efficiency 10%
[Note: The buffs apply to all conquered territories]
- Tanner
- Butcher
- Lumberjack
[You have gained the Motif: Nature’s destroyer]
[Effect: 10% stamina regen, All stats 1 when destroying natural resources]
It was a long list of perks earned after their months of hard struggle. Zyrus curved his lips after looking at the nearby players who were hollering in excitent.
He looked forward to the day when they gained personal achievents after finishing his tasks over and over again. That would be their true reward for following him.
“Gather around in an hour, we’ll hold a feast to celebrate our conquest!”
Zyrus’s raised voice reverberated across the island. He wasn't idle in these months either. He had learned a lot of tricks after completely digesting the knowledge in Oroszlan’s journal. Spreading his voice via the Ophidian warriors was one such example.
“A useful tactic, your opponents will be annoyed to death when you use this with all your minions.”
“Tch, even I didn’t think of a shaless idea like this.”
“What shaless? It’s called being resourceful.”
It wasn’t certain whose personality was rubbing off the other’s, but both Zyrus and Franken were getting along quite well. One could only pity their future enemies.
Zyrus jumped down and saw Ria, Kyle, Lauren, and all the leaders were rushing towards the southern beach from the forest.
Well, forr forest to be exact.
Forget about a jewel on the cyan ocean, the current island looked like a bald man’s head from above.
“Didn’t expect you to hold a feast,” Lauren spoke the others' thoughts as she approached the duo.
“We need to pack the at and fruits before heading out tomorrow.”
“As expected of his majesty! Always with ulterior motives,”
“Wait, we’re leaving tomorrow?” Shi kun asked with confusion. He knew that they had to leave before monsoon, but wasn’t this too fast?
“The ranking rewards will co every six months. While it’s guaranteed that we’ll be the first, the more land we conquer, the better.”
“I see…”
Of course, this wasn’t the only reason Zyrus was eager to go to the ocean. His intuition was telling him that he’d get the cube’s second mission when he went to the ocean.
“Enough about that, let’s just enjoy the evening!” Lauren jumped and almost dragged Ria forward. She was, as always, the one who was most energetic.
“Sure sure, but we have a small task to complete before that,” Zyrus called them over to the galleons.
“Kyle and Lauren will be captains of the first galleon, Shi kun for the second, while Strongfist, Jacob, and Druv will lead the third.”
Everyone digested his words. Such an arrangent wasn’t unexpected, but who wouldn’t be thrilled after getting a whole galleon under their command?
“Shi kun, you’ll lead most of the humans with your galleon and the longboats. Of course, Ria will stay on the second one to help you and the others,” Zyrus continued and told Kyle and Lauren to lead the candidates for his knights. Apart from them, the ones they deed lacking in loyalty and those who had ulterior motives were also on the first galleon.
Zyrus was more than satisfied with the duo’s work. In just four months’ ti they had weeded out more than 200 players who didn’t truly acknowledge Zyrus as their leader.
Not everything was white and black. This was a limitation of ‘Crown’s fealty’ as well. Thus, he needed soone like Kyle and Lauren to deal with the gray areas.
Lastly, Zyrus arranged the 12 divisions of beasts along with the ogres and trolls in the third galleon and the longboats that’d follow it.
“I’ll explain the rest when we’re on the ocean, but for now, please na your vessels.”
Zyrus’s words lit up a spark of excitent as everyone started talking about various nas. From myths to famous historical ships, everyone shared their knowledge on the matter.
Of course, compared to the flurry of discussions about the first two galleons, the third group’s conversation was rather ‘unique’.
“Anything works for ,”
“How…about…Iron…sailed….bea…”
“Strongboat.”
In the end, the nas of three galleons were decided after an hour of nonstop chattering. Ria took pity on the poor third galleon and nad it on behalf of its captains.
In the end the three were nad Tiamat, Phorcys, and Sedna. Even Zyrus felt like his earthbound knowledge was enriched after hearing their analysis of various myths.
“Great nas, we’ll officially carve them in the early hours of tomorrow.”
“Haha.. it’s more exciting than the feast,” Shi kun chuckled at his words. With faint shades of red on his face, it was clear just how happy the middle-aged man was about becoming a captain.
“By the way, what did you na your warship?” Ria asked all of a sudden when they were walking towards the other players.
Zyrus looked behind at the group and pointed at the largest ship,
“Dragon of War.”
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