The water swirled into a thread, began to recycle, and was drawn back into the bottle.
Matthias said, "But it can only control the water in the bottle, not all water."
"Although we haven't been to the sea yet, it should be able to calm the surface. For example, if we encounter a tsunami or a whirlpool, we can suppress it with this treasure, or use the water balls to create a protective barrier for the ship."
In short, this treasure is an absolutely rare and very practical item for those who sail the sea year-round.
The two of them each displayed their own treasure. Alka looked at Simon and said, "Now you can show me yours. You've been so secretive all this time."
Simon's treasure was the most mysterious, as he had constructed it entirely by himself and kept it hidden.
Looking at the expressions on everyone's faces, Simon smiled.
"Hmph, I'm very satisfied with this treasure."
With that, he walked directly to the open space ahead. Everyone tacitly stepped back slightly, giving him enough space. It looked like he was going to give them a real blast.
Simon struck a pose and began to dance.
The women of Sofia frowned, momentarily puzzled.
But watching this, Alka's eyes lit up, and she slapped Jason on the shoulder.
The slap was incredibly loud, but Jason paid it no mind.
They stared at each other, their eyes wide open, their eyes pointing at each other, their strange yet strangely handsome gesture bringing to mind something.
"Oh! That's it!" Juanlu couldn't help but exclaim.
They stared wide-eyed in Simon's direction.
Then Simon's elaborate movements were complete, and as if the ritual had succeeded, he revealed a ferocious grin.
"Transform!"
"Ohhhhhhhh!"
Alka exclaimed excitedly.
Simon, in the center of the arena, layers of mechanical structures began to spread and adhere to his body, starting from his arms.
The layers of mechanical structures clung to his body like soft metal, completely enveloping him.
A structure similar to a thin crystal surface appeared around his eyes, giving him an unusually stylish look.
Streamlined lines and patterns spread across his body, like a form-fitting leather armor.
Some structures, whose meanings were unclear but looked very cool, also appeared on his body.
"Isn't it handsome?" Simon exclaimed as he looked at it.
"He's handsome!"
Several people gathered around Simon, circling him and examining the treasure he wore.
Julia stood there with a frown, facing the excited Alka and the others.
"Hmm... I don't understand."
"Yes."
But some of the puppet girls also thought it was very cool and gathered around Simon, clinging to him.
"So does it have any function?" Sofia couldn't help but ask nearby.
Alka waved his hand: "No, the function is no longer important."
"No, quite the opposite!"
Hearing Sofia's question, Simon seemed to have been waiting for a long time. He spoke impatiently, then jumped back a step.
"The function is very important!"
Hearing the excited voice, Alka and the others knew he had something new up his sleeve.
He quickly grabbed the puppet girls and retreated, clearing the area.
"Hurry, start your show."
"Watch this!"
Simon said, and his magic began to flow. Then, the mechanical parts on his body began to extend into a dense network of mechanical structures.
These mechanical structures formed a frame-like structure, enveloping him.
Then, Simon was lifted up.
The mechanical frame instantly assembled, followed by the outer shell. In just a second or two, a four- to five-meter-tall mechanical mecha stood before everyone.
Simon's voice rang out from within the mecha: "So, is the function important?"
"It is!"
Alka and the others' eyes were filled with envy.
Alka had already seen that the function displayed by this treasure was identical to that of the divine essence.
It was extremely strong and tough.
Simon hadn't chosen this artifact solely for its so-called appearance and handsome structure; he had truly considered its practicality in combat.
A massive mecha was constructed, retaining its sturdiness. Its enormous size and the mechanical magic within it would also provide it with formidable combat power.
Adding to this, Simon's own treasured index finger would further enhance this construct.
It was as if Simon had used his own knowledge and abilities to force the two treasures to become compatible and capable of combining.
It could only be described as perfect.
The sound of mechanical operation could be heard, and with it, the massive mecha trudged through the library.
The arms and shoulders continued to hum with mechanical sounds, and windows opened, revealing weapons.
The fists could be configured into drills and heavy iron fists, and the back and shoulders were equipped with long-range weapons.
Every attack method in combat had been considered.
Alka also saw that his back had a power backpack, allowing the heavy mechanical body to move swiftly in battle.
After a careful examination, Simon also put the treasure away.
Everyone gathered in the center. "Are we ready to leave?" Sofia asked Alka nodded.
"I've already spent quite a bit of time here. Taking into account the journey, we should be nearly strong enough by the time we reach Trial Island." Alka couldn't help but point to himself.
"Maybe I'll have to suppress my strength a bit to prevent myself from breaking through to the fifth stage." He smiled as he spoke.
Alka was only a dozen spirals away from reaching the fourth stage of perfection.
They estimated the journey would take about a year. In that time, Alka might very well reach perfection.
Perhaps even sooner, in which case he would need to suppress his strength a bit and absorb all his recent gains.
Everyone nodded It was indeed time to act. ...
Before leaving, they all spent time in the library copying whatever books they could.
Although texts written on special media like stone tablets, crystals, and bark couldn't be copied,
The text in ordinary books could be copied.
Alka used the mirror to record the images of many books, books that everyone hadn't had time to read or wanted to read.
After finishing,
They arrived at the hall they had been in.
The crystals in this hall had long since dissipated, leaving it as it had been when they first arrived. An empty hall, a vast, lonely throne.
Urulius stared blankly at this.
"It won't be long before we come and take everything away. Don't worry."
Alka said, leading everyone to the edge and jumping towards the sea below.
Soon, everyone landed precisely on the long-awaited Voice of the Dawn below.
"Do we need to cast a spell to hide this place again?" Jason asked, gazing at the ruins of the building in the sky.
Urulius shook his head.
"No, this place has always been hidden."
Arka patted the mast upon hearing this.
The Voice of the Dawn began to move, pushing through the waves and heading into the distance.
This journey was destined to take them an extremely long time.
This was the vastness of the Infinite Ocean.
The vastness of the Infinite Ocean and its sparse population meant that they would not encounter any passing ships for nearly a year.
...
Under the starry night sky, Arka jumped from the observation deck onto the deck.
He was a little tired.
Through the surrounding magical fluctuations, he could sense a massive magical spiral.
Arka felt the three spirals within his body.
Each spiral consisted of 27 densely packed spirals.
This meant that Arka had officially reached the fourth stage of perfection. With just one more spiral, the three groups of 81 spirals would condense together, forming a brand new set.
That extra spiral would allow Arka to break through to the fifth stage.
However, from today on, Arka would temporarily forgo meditation to consolidate his magical power.
He would focus more on other things.
It had only been a short while since dark.
Sofia looked at Alka as he jumped down. "Congratulations! You'll soon be able to break through to the fifth stage."
Alka waved his hand. "It's still early. How long will it take to reach the Trial Island? I have to pass the trials and obtain the treasures to break through to the fifth stage."
Alka couldn't help but think back to two years ago.
Back then, they had just gotten their revenge, and they expected to stay on the Trial Island for quite some time.
In reality, they needed to get to the Trial Island even more urgently.
Not only Alka, but Sofia and the others, thanks to the previous treasure replenishment, each possessed multiple treasures.
This enhanced their meditation efficiency.
This also resulted in a small difference in their strength, at most only six or seven spirals.
In the past, six or seven spirals would have been a huge difference. But now, six or seven spirals is a very small difference. Even if they fought each other, they wouldn't necessarily notice much difference.
The fastest was Sofia.
Sofia currently possessed only one less Holy Grail-level treasure than Alka.
Her enhanced meditation speed had allowed her to reach 72 spirals.
She was only nine spirals away from reaching the fourth stage.
The rest of the group hovered between 65 and 70.
It could be said that they were all on the verge of breaking through to the fifth stage.
After hearing Alka's words, Sofia did a quick calculation and said,
"It'll probably take another one to two months."
"That's good. It's not far off."
"By the way, how old am I?" Alka suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Sofia turned and looked at him with a strange look: "Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
Arka smiled and said, "I'm just lamenting how time-consuming sea voyages really are."
"It seems like we haven't done much since arriving in the Infinite Sea. Just crisscrossing between islands, and yet so much time has already passed."
"Yes," Sofia said, gazing at the dark sea.
Have they been living together on the boat for so long?
"According to Home Sea time, we're probably thirty years old, right?" Sofia suddenly asked.
Then his eyes widened: "I'm almost thirty already?"
After all, time is chaotic in the Infinite Sea.
An average day and night is about 40 hours.
A full ten hours longer than Home Sea.
They had already spent nearly ten years in the Infinite Sea, judging by the daytime and nighttime here.
Even if it wasn't ten, it was probably more than eight.
By the time they left their home sea, crossed the forward passage, and arrived at the Infinite Sea, they seemed to be in their twenties.
In other words, they were probably already over thirty.
"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be this long?"
Alka said, taking a slight step forward and embracing Sofia from behind. He rested his chin on her shoulder, their cheeks pressed together.
Facing such intimate contact, Sofia didn't resist, her cheeks even warming slightly as she quietly leaned against the side of the boat.
"So annoying, so should I get off now?" Jason grumbled, folding his arms as he watched the scene under the night light.
Juanlu glanced at him from the side. "You can go down and try. I don't think Alka needs to do anything; Sofia can beat you to a pulp."
"Tsk!" Jason winked at this. Despite his outward disdain, his feet remained planted firmly on the ground, showing no sign of leaving.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he said with a smile, "What do you think would happen if I went to inform Lucilia now?"
Juanlu looked up at the stars in the sky and the bright moonlight.
"I don't think you'll see the scenarios you envision. You'll only see, like last time, a scenario you can't accept.
Sometimes I really admire Alka. How on earth does this guy do it?"
Juanlu said, somewhat puzzled.
"If he can handle a hidden violent maniac like Sofia, what can't he do?" Jason grumbled softly.
The melodious sound of a harp string carried across the night sea.
Along with the melodious melody, the Voice of Dawn began to sing in unison.
The soothing, bright rhythm seemed to convey a romantic, poetic quality.
Under the moonlight and waves,
Julia played alongside the Voice of Dawn at the bow.
Sofia's cheeks flushed slightly as she swayed.
"Let go! Everyone's seen you."
"What are you afraid of? They've seen you more than once! You've got to get used to it."
Alka smiled, pressing her cheek against Sofia's.
But she still released her arms.
Sofia turned and kissed Alka on the cheek, then walked toward the bow.
Alka turned to look up at Jason and the other man.
The figure vanished from the spot and reappeared beside the two men.
"Is it pretty?"
"What the hell? You're so oblivious to the world around you," Jason said, watching Alka bump into him.
Alka looked at Jason and suddenly smiled. "How long will it take you to reach Stage Five?"
Jason thought for a moment. "Maybe more than a year? Maybe not that long. I'm not sure."
"What about Ulurius? If she advances from Stage Four to Stage Five, will she need to slumber?"
Jason nodded at Alka's question. He had already done his research. "Of course she will. According to the theory I read in the library, it's like Ulurius transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, so of course she'll need to slumber."
"According to my inference, she'll probably slumber when she's nearing Consummation. When she wakes up, it should be the time for me to advance to Stage Five."
Alka nodded at this, and then
Then he smiled strangely and patted Jason.
"What are you laughing at?"
But seeing that Alka didn't seem to be responding, Jason rolled his eyes and walked away.
Alka placed his hand on Juanlu's shoulder and watched Jason's departure.
"So what were you laughing about just now?" Juanlu asked quietly from the side.
He felt it must be something good.
Of course, it wouldn't be good for Jason.
"I tell you, if you keep this secret deep in your heart, it will definitely be very interesting. It's a pity you won't see it until a year later."
As he spoke, Alka took out a mirror, which reflected a book.
"The Journey of the Prismatic Dragon"
"This book is what Lucilia told me about when we were reading it." The book began to turn pages, then turned to a particular page.
Written on this page was a description of the Crystal Dragon's performance at the Young Dragon stage, along with its physical stats and abilities.
Juanlu perused the pages carefully.
But he didn't seem to notice anything particularly unusual, leaving him puzzled.
"Have you finished reading?"
"You've finished, so what's wrong? I don't see anything unusual there?"
Hearing Juanlu's puzzled tone, Alka smiled.
"And then I found this one."
As he spoke, the book on the mirror shifted.
"Dragon and Warrior, Deep Link Contract"
Then the book on the mirror flipped, stopping at a single page.
Juanlu carefully examined the text.
Finally, as if seeing something, his eyes lit up, and a smile as eerie as Alka's appeared on his face.
"Hahahaha!"
His voice was filled with a strange, vulgar tone.
"When did you see it?"
"Lucelia told me a few months ago, and I did some research.
Then I found this one. The girls must have known about it before us. How is it? Interesting?"
"Very interesting. I'm already looking forward to it.
What do you think Jason's expression will be?"
"Whatever his expression, we'll just have to wait and see. I've prepared a mirror to preserve that image forever in stone."
Alka said, taking out a mirror that looked like a card and handing it to Juanlu.
"I'll give you one too."