Increased strength is a function of increasing the number of spirals.
With increased total mana, your use of that mana becomes more refined and you can cope with increased consumption.
It also brings improvements to your physical fitness. Because the total amount of mana in your body increases, it feeds back into your body, strengthening your physical frame.
These are the only two areas of improvement brought about by the increase in strength spirals.
It doesn't seem that dramatic, and such points can likely be compensated for through natural talent, race, and other factors.
This is also why some special races are more powerful than others at the same level.
To bridge the gap between different strengths,
Spells are a good option. While some spells have strength requirements, the vast majority do not.
Throughout the entire second stage, you can learn almost all spells; all you need is understanding and using the spells.
Combining spells is also crucial.
If mana is like ammunition, spells are the weapons that fire the ammunition. You can't just have a large amount of ammunition without a good weapon.
‐‐There's a simpler, more brute-force method that can quickly close the gap in power.
‐‐That's treasure.
‐‐ A single treasure combines the effects of many powerful spells combined together.
‐‐It's also low mana, low cost, and easy to control. Its abilities can sometimes be illogical, giving it a higher priority than spells.
‐‐The Detection Glasses are a magical item Alka obtained while excavating ruins. They can detect precise circuits within a certain power level.
‐‐Based on Alka and his companions' use, the third stage wouldn't be the item's limit.
‐‐The glasses' detection had already revealed that the pirate captain harboring ill intentions towards them was only at the 11th spiral.
‐‐Although at the third stage, he had only just stabilized his power at this level.
‐‐He hadn't begun to progress upwards from this stage.
With the full power of the second-stage Nine Spirals and two Holy Grail artifacts, Alka could easily close the gap between the two.
A black sickle emerged from the mirror, its blade edged with white.
The sudden attack dealt a heavy blow to the already unsteady pirate captain.
The blade flashed, leaving a black trail.
A wisp of flesh and a large amount of blood gushed out.
A deep wound appeared on his waist, revealing his internal organs; something resembling intestines seemed about to slip out.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out.
The pirate captain clutched his wound and struck back with his backhand.
An invisible attack flew out.
The mirror where Alka had just emerged shattered, but his figure was long gone.
Once again, he hid within the maze of mirrors.
Although the treasure could bridge the gap, Alka had no intention of taking the enemy's attacks head-on.
The dream double Alka had used during the day wasn't just a decoy to buy time.
It was also a way to gather more intelligence.
In a situation where the enemy was clearly visible and we were in the dark, this was the best strategy.
Facing the enemy's invisible attack, Alka never considered confronting it head-on.
This attack was invisible and colorless, lacking even the wind pressure of the air—truly invisible.
In the instant it struck you, it was difficult to sense the direction of the attack.
At least, Alka couldn't sense it at all right now.
To avoid being attacked, Alka directly constructed a maze of mirrors, concealing himself within it.
For an enemy at the third level of strength, one he had never fought before,
This couldn't be the limit of his strength, otherwise he wouldn't be worthy of being a pirate in the vast ocean.
"You bastard, rat-like creature."
The pirate captain stumbled around, looking around, his hand on guard, clutching the massive wound.
The blood continued to flow, his hand unable to stop it.
A faint light streamed into his left hand, and he dragged the wound all the way to his thigh and buttocks.
The wound on his waist and abdomen disappeared.
The wound appeared on his buttocks. For that location, this injury wasn't considered serious.
Watching this scene from afar through the mirror, Alka frowned.
Sure enough, it couldn't be underestimated.
This skill was a life-saving trick.
The pirate captain continued to curse in the middle, but he was already thinking about his escape.
Faced with this situation, he knew he had little chance of victory. The enemy's methods were far beyond his current level of strength.
He must have possessed a treasure. He didn't think a Stage 2 cultivator could perform the mirror-making spell so smoothly.
It was sturdy yet capable of creating such a large spectacle, and could be instantly repaired after destruction.
A true mirror maze.
This massive mana consumption was clearly beyond the reach of a spell, nor was it within the reach of a Stage 2 cultivator.
He couldn't help but feel jealous.
He had survived until now thanks to [Wound Transfer] and [Invisible Blade], not only because these two spells were useful, but also because he had no better options.
He had decided on a retreat.
He shut his mouth and resolutely thrust in one direction, slashing wildly with his sword.
The Invisible Blade swung swiftly, mingling with a flood of mana.
Even the sturdy mirror couldn't withstand the constant cracking.
The enemy had already rushed out before it could be repaired.
Seeing the pirate captain's unstoppable momentum, Alka knew he was trying to escape.
He smashed another mirror.
The shattering mirror sent a massive splash of water, and five water chains, each as thick as an arm, shot out, tightly binding the captain.
The sudden attack made the pirate captain's eyes widen with rage.
He had been very cautious, fully activating his senses to avoid these harassing cards.
Why was the mirror doing this too?
He couldn't figure it out.
This guy was truly insidious. He had never used this trick before, and yet he showed it now.
He was already regretting choosing this team.
His body was struggling frantically.
A flash of silver-white light flashed, and the silver plate, shimmering with silver light, slashed across his neck.
The approach of death sent him floundering frantically. Magical energy surged through his upper body, and the physical strengthening brought by the third stage still allowed him to forcefully break free from the restraints in a split second.
Just as the silver plate was about to slice his neck, he tilted his head.
"Ah!"
Blood splattered.
His extreme dodging saved him from death, but his left eye and half his face were covered in blood.
The wound left him blind in one eye.
"You bastard!" he cursed.
Rage was already welling up in his mind.
As soon as he finished speaking, he froze in his spot, his eyes suddenly closing.
The pink mist swirling around him suddenly exerted force, dragging him into a dream.
When he opened his eyes, pain had already awakened him.
Why would I fall asleep at this hour? His heart was filled with fear.
The pain startled him awake, forcing him to lower his head and look towards the source of the pain.
He lowered his head to look at his chest, where the black blade had pierced through like a hook.
Two aqua-blue cards appeared beside his hands, firmly securing them.
"You...you..."
He didn't finish his words as blood continued to pour from his mouth. He coughed a few times, then closed his eyes, his entire body limp, suspended in the air.
This pink mist...wasn't poison.
How sinister.
This was his last thought.
The blood in his body flowed from the wound, dripping like a stream of water to his feet.
Alka stood behind him, watching quietly.
Only after watching his life drain completely away did he remove the water chains from his body.
The body slammed heavily into the pool of blood, motionless.
"This man doesn't even have a wide-range attack. It's baffling," he muttered to himself, looking at the corpse.
In the mirror maze, the best way to break through is to use a wide-range attack to directly destroy the mirrors.
Mirrors have limited durability, and a wide-range attack can destroy them in large pieces. Taking advantage of this opportunity, whether to attack or leave the maze, is a good option.
But this pirate simply lacked such abilities.
From beginning to end, besides a few common spells, he only had two special moves:
Invisible attack and damage transfer.
Furthermore, that kind of damage transfer required manual manipulation. When his eyes were attacked, he didn't immediately transfer it, instead attempting to free his arm.
In that situation, it was practically impossible to conceal his trump card.
So, without hesitation, Alka used the pink mist that permeated the surroundings, dragging him into a dream.
Using this extremely brief moment, he controlled his hands and killed him.
Looking at the corpse, Alka squatted down and began to search it. As a captain, he must have some loot.
He found a bracelet and the knife in his hand.
Looking at the two objects in his hands, Alka looked at the corpse with a hint of disdain.
"You're so poor... Do you really have a third stage?"
Incomprehensible, so incredibly poor.
Alka suddenly understood why this person didn't have many tricks up his sleeve.
From the shadows, a puppet girl leaped out and landed on Alka's shoulder. "How are they doing?" Alka asked.
After all, apart from the leading pirate captain, the rest of the enemy force was unlikely to pose much of a threat.
Especially at night.
With this in mind, Alka began to walk towards the direction of the noise.
It seemed that a battle was taking place there.
In the distance, a pitch-black sphere enveloped a large area. It was pitch black inside, the darkness incredibly pure.
Except for the occasional screams emanating from within the sphere.
The hearts of all the pirates within were filled with fear and despair.
"How are we supposed to get out?"
"How do I know? How could I possibly know!"
"It's over. We're done."
The pirates within the sphere were already beginning to collapse.
"Ah!" screams rang out.
The pirate who had just been talking nearby was silent.
"False eye, false eye?"
There was no response to his cries.
"Ahhhhh!" He finally collapsed, screaming as he ran through the darkness.
Until a sudden headache and a silence.
In the darkness, only screams and cries of fear filled the air.
When the darkness dissipated and the light of the starry sky shone down once again,
The place was filled with corpses.
Bodies lay everywhere, and the smell of blood filled the air.
All the pirates were wiped out in the darkness.
Without the power to resist the pure darkness, they were just lambs to be slaughtered.
"I wonder what's become of Alka?" Sofia asked worriedly.
He wiped the blood from his hands.
"Arka sent word that the situation has been resolved there," Er suddenly said.
"That's good. Let's clean up the battlefield and return to the ship."
The puppet girl, hidden in the shadows, began to clean up the battlefield, cleaning the blood off herself and searching the pirates for any valuables.
After their search, they began to wander around the island.
This was to avoid the spatial rifts that appeared at night.
As for the dangerous beasts in the darkness, they had long been attracted by the bloody smell of the battlefield.
A new battle would begin, unmanned.
When Sofia and the others returned to the Voice of Dawn, they discovered that it was towing a somewhat dilapidated ship.
However, judging by its overall appearance, it was still in very good condition.
On the deck, Arka had returned.
"Did the operation go smoothly? Was anyone injured?"
Sofia smiled and waved his hand. Although his body was covered in blood, it was clearly all enemy blood.
"What about you? How strong is that third-stage individual? Why do you appear unharmed?" Jason asked, approaching Alka.
Although they knew the pirate captain's strength, they were somewhat surprised that Alka didn't seem injured.
Hearing Jason's words, Alka turned and looked at him, smiling. "What's so surprising about me having a Stand? Besides, while that person's strength is impressive, his methods aren't great."
His methods were too weak, especially his offensive methods.
It's not easy to achieve one trick over all.
Alka discovered another very useful use for his dream double: sending it into battle first to gather more complete information about the enemy's battles.
If he hadn't used his dream form to absorb so many of the enemy's attacks, he wouldn't have been aware of the enemy's invisible attacks, which were extremely concealed.
If he had used his physical body to fight the enemy, he certainly wouldn't have been as unscathed as he was now.
"Alright, everyone, go clean up. It's not good to be covered in blood."
Everyone quickly cleaned up their messes and piled the spoils from the pirate corpses on the table.
Alka was most concerned about the bracelet he had taken from the pirate captain.
It looked very much like a pocket item, and it must contain something valuable.
The problem was, he didn't know how to open it; such items were often equipped with certain anti-theft measures.
"How is it? Can you open it?" Alka handed the item to Simon.
Simon examined it carefully for a long time, then reluctantly extended his index finger and tapped the treasure.
The treasure on his index finger flickered slightly, and the contents of the ring fell out.
All sorts of items were dumped out, looking like a garbage dump.
You can't expect a pirate's belongings to look clean.
"Wow, using a skull as a bowl? I thought it was just a joke, you know?" Juanlu said with a hint of disgust, picking up a skull bowl.
He hadn't expected pirates to actually do that; it was truly disgusting.
"Look at this," Jason said, holding up a yellowed bone cup.
"A small wine glass made from a thigh bone. Oh my god, I'm going to throw up."
"A pickled, shrunken head with a special purpose? Is this human skin?"
All sorts of incomprehensible things.
Cruel and disgusting things were piled together.
Everyone could only suppress their nausea as they sorted through the items.
Only the human skin remained.
Because the skin was tattooed with unknown patterns, it looked like a map, but only half was cut.
Of course, there were also some valuable gold coins and jewelry.
But it was too little, and Alka and the others were more or less dismissive.
Their attention was completely drawn to the human skin map.
"It's only half a human skin map. Is it a map?" Alka, still a little unsure, showed it to Sofia.
Sofia suppressed his nausea, examined it carefully, and nodded.
"It's indeed a map, but it uses ancient techniques, and it's only half."
"That's good. This thing looks like it might contain a treasure." Alka carefully put the human skin map away.
It didn't matter what material it was made of, as long as it was a map.
"[Invisible Blade] [Wound Transfer]." Julia muttered softly, looking at two spells written in a small booklet.
"These two spells are very good. I suggest you learn [Wound Transfer]. You don't have to master it, but at least learn it."
Alka spoke, briefly recounting his previous battle with the pirate captain.
Compared to [Invisible Blade], [Wound Transfer] was actually the spell Alka desired more. It was incredibly useful in emergencies.
Everyone looked at this with curiosity.
Juanlu also smiled and waved, leaving the captain's cabin and heading towards his kitchen. He needed to get everyone dinner.
It was getting late.
"Come to think of it, I didn't see Baraz's boat in town today. He should have arrived in the next few days," Jason said, somewhat surprised.
It's been a long time.
We're almost past the limit.
If he doesn't come now, we'll have to wait until next time.