After the sound of the bubble being punctured, Alvin found himself back on deck, kneeling on the ground and breathing rapidly. It took him a few moments to recover from the choking sensation he had just experienced.
Shaking his head and standing up, he realized that only an instant had passed and the sailors who were cleaning up the mess next to him had not noticed anything unusual about him.
Plop!
Alvin sat on the deck, his head swirling with strange ramblings. They were messages that had been inexplicably transmitted to him when he touched the sculpture.
“Extraordinary path: Shipwreck Mourner (Price to pay: unable to go back to land).”
“Level One: Water Ghost. Ritual: 1. Sink at least 100 humans personally…”
“Level Two: Ship Binding Spirits. Ritual: 1. Direct the sinking of at least three ships, sacrificing all the crew members…”
“Level Three: Shipwreck Mourner. Ritual:…”
“Secret of the Seas: The Mourning Song of the Sinking Ship. For every ship sunk, one’s own ship will receive a bonus and the bonus is determined by the extent of destruction of the enemy ship.”
It took Alvin a few minutes to absorb all the information in his head. Meanwhile, he also understood why One-Eyed Bech was openly attacking ships without any thought of upsetting the navy.
If he was an ordinary person who had not been exposed to any Extraordinary power, Alvin would not have been able to resist the temptation of this secret treasure of the sea either.
After all, no qualification or effort was required. As long as one could complete the rituals required by it, one could successfully transform into a powerful Extraordinary being. It was like having something fall into one’s lap!
However, Alvin, who was already an apprentice knight at the peak of his career and had a promising future in the navy with Uncle Gull as his escort, did not like this strange path that might turn him into a monster.
He took a look at the terrible state of One-Eyed Bech, who had turned into a level two Ship Binding Spirit, and felt extremely uncomfortable. He could not imagine himself in that state!
“Unless I were crazy…”
It might be possible to gain some power by surrendering the ability to go on land. However, “strength was only temporary and looks were forever!”
Alvin was deeply impressed with this wise saying.
Most importantly, the path was defective. The highest level was level three, which could not be compared to the four levels of a knight’s path.
Although Alvin wondered why something that should have belonged to One-Eyed Bech was in the hands of the warlock, he did not dwell on it. He did not dare to touch the strange sculpture again. He found a wooden box, stuffed it with straw, and put it inside.
When he looked back, the sailors on both ships had cleared the battlefield, leaving no pirate captives behind, and almost no pirates at sea would surrender.
That was because the continental countries, although they had different extents of ocean exploration, had similar attitudes towards pirates. Well, at least in the church, under pressure from the higher-ups, their attitudes were the same.
As long as it could be proven that one was a pirate, or had engaged in piracy, one could be hanged without trial (except, of course, if one had a legitimate reason).
Alvin felt that it was no different than a financial oligarchy that held a monopoly and fought off competitors.
With nothing more to do, Alvin sat down and waited for Gull to return.
Rumble… Rumble…
From the moment he entered the water with One-Eyed Bech, the water under the boat seemed to be boiling, making a muffled sound and bursting into a huge splash from time to time.
However, Alvin had great confidence in Uncle Gull, especially after getting the information on the stone carving about the Extraordinary path of the Shipwreck Mourner, which was a path that could only be used to its full power if one cooperated with his ship.
The Silver Wing came in time. Although One-Eyed Bech had met the condition to unlock the next level, his ship had not been sacrificed and transformed. It was impossible for him to be a match for Uncle Gull, who was a knight at the peak of his power.
The battle ended faster than Alvin had imagined!
It took the time Alvin needed to deal with the strange stone sculpture.
The roars from underwater became more and more rapid, mixed with the screams of various aquatic creatures. However, this phenomenon only lasted a short time before everything fell silent.
Bamp!
A twisted and tattered human-like creature burst out of the water and hit the deck beside Alvin with a loud crash.
Then another figure followed, but landed very gently.
Seeing Alvin and the wooden crate beside him, Gull asked, “Alvin, is this your loot?”
Gull sounded very relaxed. It seemed that the trouble that One-Eyed Bech had created was nothing much. As he spoke, white vapor exuded from his body and his wet uniform dried up in no time.
“Captain, you should take a look at this. I think it should be disposed of properly.” Alvin, however, was not as relaxed as Gull, who was eager to get rid of the hot potato.
Of course, it would be great if he could take a bit of the potato after it cooled down.
Fortunately, he had someone to fall back on! He was fully qualified to take a bite.
Gull knew that Alvin was no longer the rash brat, so his face became serious at the news.
“Everyone, gather the loot and hand it over to the first mate for tallying. Afterward, stay put and wait for instructions!”
“Yes, Captain!”
After turning around and instructing the crew of the Silver Wing to look for their own loot, Gull personally lifted the wooden crate and walked into the lower cabin of the pirate ship.
Obviously, something that could be treated so seriously by Alvin was not suitable for study on the exposed deck.
Alvin followed closely.
…
In the cabin, Alvin heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Gull release his hand from the stone sculpture. This made Alvin feel the difference between himself and a real Extraordinary. The bizarre stone sculpture that almost made him fall was like a docile dog to Gull.
“It really is a secret treasure of the ocean!” When he opened his eyes, the usually serious Gull could not help but show his joy.
Although it had serious flaws, a secret treasure of the ocean was a secret treasure of the ocean, and its value could not be estimated. As for the transcendental path which Alvin had thought about, Gull directly discarded it without even looking at it.
“Uncle Gull, I also received the message it transmitted before, but what exactly is a secret treasure of the ocean?” Alvin did not waste time and raised his concern directly.
Gull glared at Alvin and realized the strangeness of the sculpture he had just touched. No wonder Alvin had reminded him to be careful earlier.
He said, “From now on, don’t touch such weird things, wait for me to deal with them. This is not just a secret treasure of the ocean, there is actually an evil spirit inside.
“If you had been unable to break free from the evil spirit’s illusion in time, you could have drowned. You got lucky this time, but will you get lucky every time?”
“Evil spirit?”
Alvin realized the dangerous situation he was in earlier. If not for his Data Vision, which monitored his state of mind, he would have suffered terrible consequences.
He knew Gull meant good for him and promised to never touch strange objects in the future.
“Although it was not directly exposed, its presence cannot bluff a real Extraordinary.”
Gull calmed down as he saw Alvin’s good attitude and began to share the legends of the secret treasures of the ocean.
“The legend says…”