Cry~ Cry~
Atop the vast, azure ocean.
White seabirds circled above the sapphire-like sea surface, not far from them was a three-masted sailing ship.
Perhaps tired from flying, one bird with white feathers and a black bill landed on the central mast of the sailing ship to rest for a while.
From its perspective looking down, a group of short-sleeved crew members gathered on the deck below.
Among them was a dark-skinned, strong-built middle-aged man who was addressing the gathered sailors.
"As you can see, Blackstone Island has been occupied by the Evil God!"
The second mate surveyed the crew, slowly speaking with a deep voice.
"The captain, the first mate, and a few sailors were lured and corrupted by the Evil God and have been slain by the honourable wizard!"
"Because of this, we were fortunate to escape Blackstone Island."
"Otherwise... we might now have fallen, just like the captain and the others."
"Thank the respected wizard!"
At this, he raised his voice, giving the crew a cue with his eyes.
"Thank the respected wizard!"
The crew caught on and shouted in unison.
The second mate cast a subtle glance backward, then turned his head and continued:
"Our next destination is Bananka Island..."
In the captain's quarters,
Colin listened to the shouts coming from outside, paused slightly, and did not pay any mind.
It had been about an hour since Berkeley and the others had left.
The original second mate, now the captain, had just come to ask for the destination of their voyage.
As for Murray, he had stayed in the cabin since Berkeley and others left and had not appeared.
Colin gathered his thoughts, continuing to examine the costly sea chart spread out on the table.
According to the information provided by Erica,
The Holy Flame Kingdom was situated on the edge of the Siya Continent.
According to the scale on the sea chart, Blackstone Island was about 10,000 nautical miles away from the Siya Continent.
With the current speed of this sailing ship, it would take about half a year to arrive.
Colin stroked the sea chart and sighed.
To cross such a vast distance with just the small three-masted sailing ship beneath him...
The risk was extraordinarily high.
It wasn't just a question of the sailing ship's quality, but also because all the crew members aboard, including himself, had no experience with ocean voyages.
The ship wasn't good enough, and the people lacked experience.
He wasn't so arrogant as to think that with the amplification of the Foolishness Scepter, he could traverse the sea horizontally.
Therefore, after careful consideration,
He had decided to make for the nearest bustling large island—Bananka Island.
After reaching there, he would make new plans.
'Maybe I should buy a better ship.'
For some reason, this thought inexplicably emerged in his mind.
After all, at sea, having a ship undoubtedly meant having an additional way out.
He continued to ponder.
If he were to buy a ship, the best would be to get a steam-driven steel ship like the ones from the Black Pearl Trading Company.
It did not need to be very big, since the internal space of the storage ring Erica had given him was approximately a rectangle, with the longest side around fifty meters and the shortest around ten meters.
Moreover, the things left behind by McIntosh Wizard Tower were not many, only occupying a small corner of it.
He still had plenty of space to store materials for long ocean voyages.
This could greatly save space on the ship, meaning he did not need to buy too big a vessel.
Generally speaking, the larger the ship, the safer it is for ocean voyages.
The reason is that larger ships are less likely to capsize in storms, conversely smaller ones more so.
But in this world with witchcraft, the drawback of small ships capsizing easily was clearly not an issue.
It was merely a matter of how many Magic Stones would be used.
Although Erica didn't leave him much, she did leave quite a few Magic Stones, about more than a thousand.
They made up more than half of all the items.
... Upon reflection, it felt like Erica left even less.
Colin sighed slightly and put the Magic Stone he had just taken out back into the Storage Ring.
He then took out the White Crystal Pendant hanging in front of his chest, ready to study it carefully.
He had obtained the White Crystal Pendant some time ago but hadn't yet found the time to examine it closely.
The White Crystal Pendant looked very ordinary, just a metal chain linked to a hollowed metal-wrapped white crystal.
Inside was the most common white crystal… At most, it was only purer than the white crystals he usually saw.
Colin didn't rush to probe the white crystal with Magic Power or spirit.
Instead, he carefully turned it over and inspected it.
Objects with such power are usually categorized as Witch Tools, except for rarities.
And if it were Witch Tools.
Such tools that touched upon the Spirit Fog, humanity, and Knowledge Spiritual Light were clearly not ordinary ones.
So… perhaps the maker's name was left on it.
Colin brought the White Crystal Pendant close to himself and inspected it carefully.
Before long, he indeed found a diamond-shaped eyeball symbol at one corner of the white crystal.
The symbol was not etched on the surface of the crystal but formed inside it, completely integrated.
'Diamond-shaped eyeball.', Colin thought strenuously back on the related knowledge he had learned.
But it all came to no avail.
He opened his Storage Ring and took out the Knowledge Crystal Ball inscribed with knowledge by Erica, and began to search within it for related information.
The Crystal Ball was akin to an electronic book from his past life, systematically storing all kinds of knowledge and with a simple search function Erica thoughtfully solidified within it.
However, even after searching, he couldn't find any related information on Witch Tools or rare items with diamond-shaped eyeballs.
Colin had no choice but to give up and put away the Knowledge Crystal Ball.
Holding the White Crystal Pendant, he started to cautiously release Magic Power.
Hum—
The White Crystal Pendant emitted a faint glow upon the infusion of Magic Power.
Colin closed his eyes slightly, sensing the White Crystal Pendant.
Not long after, he opened his eyes.
Controlling the White Crystal Pendant was easier than he had imagined.
He effortlessly removed the soul imprint of the former owner at its core and then stamped on his own mark.
At this moment, he finally understood the true effect of the White Crystal Pendant.
Whoosh!
With a single thought, he activated the White Crystal Pendant.
He then raised his hand and looked around.
Under Supersensitive Vision, the Spirit Fog on his body became more realistic, and what had been previously a bit stiff was now much more lively and flexible.
Next, he slightly adjusted the White Crystal Pendant.
A layer of humanity and Knowledge Spiritual Light, much more profound than that of an Advanced Apprentice, emerged around him.
Colin looked pleased.
The White Crystal Pendant had no special function, just as it had appeared when he received it.
Its primary ability was to disguise the precise realm of a wizard!
Previously, when he hadn't truly controlled it, he could only passively disguise himself as an Advanced Apprentice level Spirit Fog or lower.
But now, after gaining control, he could imitate many different levels of Spiritual Light according to his thoughts.
It's just that, the further the imitated level of Spiritual Light deviated from the original, the less effective it was.
Having done all this.
The captain's quarters had already darkened.
Colin pushed the door open and walked to the raised bow to look into the distance.
At the end of his gaze, a golden-red sun was slowly sinking into the heavy, dim sea.
"Take in the sails!"
"It's going to be night soon! Be quick about it!"
The new captain's shouts and commands kept coming from not far away.
The sailors efficiently dropped the anchor and lowered the sails, their expressions somewhat anxious.
The night sea was known to be eerie and dangerous, common knowledge they all had since childhood.
Though they had been part of the ship's crew for a long time.
Of them, only the former first mate, now captain, had actually spent a night at sea.
Colin remained silent, but his heartbeat slightly quickened.
Night was about to fall.