Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

”It seems it needs some improvement,” he said, leaving with the tray.

”How did you manage to get a good one?” Alka remarked from the side.

Pororo, standing nearby, also wore a look of discontent.

Seeing their expressions, Jason chuckled smugly. ”Can’t help it, just lucky.”

During this period, Juanlu often used all sorts of bizarre, even nauseating, ingredients to create dishes. He had everyone on the ship taste them to gather feedback. At the time, unaware of what awaited them, everyone readily agreed. After all, Juanlu’s culinary skills were well-known; even if they were experimental trial dishes, how bad could they possibly be?

Later, they all regretted it.

This was because these trial dishes weren’t just occasionally bad-tasting; they could inflict a double torment, both mental and visual. Sometimes, they even delivered a triple assault, proving unbearable to one’s sight, spirit, and sense of taste.

If, on a rare occasion, a dish actually tasted good, it was considered hitting the jackpot, because at least in that case, the flavor was decent.

Watching Juanlu busying himself in the kitchen, Alka sighed and said, ”Perhaps this is the cost of ambition.”

The Juanlu of old loathed strange foods and would only use conventional ingredients to prepare his delicacies. For instance, if Alka occasionally suggested that Juanlu experiment with some peculiar ingredients to see if they were edible, Juanlu would invariably refuse. But the Juanlu of today would undoubtedly be keenly interested in starting such preparations.

Now, however, Alka wouldn’t dare to casually bring up any strange ideas, because then it would be the others on the ship who would end up suffering.

I wonder if this counts as progress.

...

”Based on our earlier time estimation, we should be arriving soon,” Chadite said, looking at the Guiding Banner fluttering on the ship’s helm.

According to what Nova had said when Alka first received the Guiding Banner, the so-called Gemini Island they were heading to was supposedly less than twenty days and nights’ travel from Trial Island. In terms of maritime travel, this was considered relatively close.

”We should be; haven’t we been seeing ships pass by recently?” Alka said.

On the vast Endless Sea, encountering other ships during a normal voyage was an incredible stroke of luck, unless one was near some islands. And given that they had encountered other vessels numerous times over the past few days, it strongly suggested the presence of a Landmark Island nearby in this sea area. Only a Landmark Island, along with its surrounding linked islands forming a distinct sea region, would lead to such frequent encounters. This was because such a region would naturally have a higher concentration of people active in it, all navigating these same waters. Moreover, in just the past few days, they had seen over a dozen ships. This suggested that the nearby Landmark Island was quite well-known.

”Look ahead! Look at that ship!” Jason’s voice, clearly excited, rang out from above.

Only a short while later, a ship sailed into view ahead. Alka squinted for a closer look.

It was a colossal, three-masted sailing ship, adorned in gold and green, measuring over sixty meters in length. This color scheme instantly evoked a sense of familiarity, as the Holy Mother Church frequently used ships of such colors.

Sure enough, as the vessel drew nearer, they saw the emblem of the Holy Mother Church emblazoned on the large sails.

How long had it been?

It had been several years since they left the Homeland Sea.

Seeing the Holy Mother Church’s emblem again was truly heartwarming.

As the Sound of Dawn sailed past this vessel, only a few hundred meters away, a mysterious glow suddenly enveloped its hull. The entire ship instantly accelerated, and a cheerful melody began to play from the Sound of Dawn.

Feeling the familiar sensation within this glow, Alka and the others on board couldn’t help but smile.

It was obvious that the nearby Holy Mother Church ship had just given them a buff. It was highly unlikely that the Holy Mother Church’s ships would do this for every vessel they encountered. This meant either Alka and his companions were simply lucky, or someone on that ship had noticed certain features of the Sound of Dawn, leading them to conclude that there were followers of the Holy Mother—or perhaps even Apostles—on board.

”Looks like we’re not far from Gemini Island now,” Alka said, looking ahead, his mood visibly brightening.

Not long after, just as dusk was settling, they finally spotted an island in the distance. The number of surrounding ships had also increased significantly. They sailed to and fro, though all maintained a safe distance from one another.

Observing the surrounding ships, Chadite couldn’t help but exclaim, ”Ah, this place is so bustling!”

She had put on her glasses designed for data reconnaissance. These glasses were exceedingly discreet; they primarily detected Magic Power fluctuations rather than prying into individuals. Therefore, it was generally very difficult for anyone to realize they were being observed. Looking at the surrounding ships through these glasses, she discovered that not a single one was an ordinary vessel; they were all Spell Ships. Most astonishingly, amidst the comings and goings of the vessels, she had already identified over a dozen Ghost Ships. Through the glasses, the Energy signatures from the Ghost Ships were far more abundant than those from the Spell Ships, making them very easy to differentiate.

As they sailed progressively closer, everyone finally got an unobstructed view of Gemini Island. The island was indeed vast; its connected landmasses stretched out, extending to the very edge of their vision.

The sky suddenly darkened, a black starry canopy veiling the blue sky and white clouds.