"Sofia, you can't hurt Alka. Be careful!"
Er, sitting on the poop, waved his fist and shouted a warning.
"That's right, don't hurt Daddy!"
Lily, who was being held from behind by Er, his head resting on Er's chin, echoed the sentiment.
Because the puppet girls were always clinging to each other like this, Er really enjoyed being clinging to Lily.
The poop was now filled with all sorts of puppet girls, watching the battle.
"Who will win this battle?"
"I think it's the Captain!"
"Nonsense, it must be Sofia!"
"Captain!"
"Sofia!"
Out of nowhere, a quarrel erupted.
Zero, the vice-captain, stood quietly on the poop, dressed in a maid outfit, like a lady.
He said softly, "They're just training, not fighting, so there's no clear winner."
"Really?"
"Even if it's training, the captain is the better one!"
"You're talking nonsense again!"
A commotion could be heard from the back.
Zero silently held his forehead.
The new sisters' personalities have been increasingly different lately, a positive change.
But it's also becoming a bit troublesome.
Zero, the vice-captain, pondered silently.
A doll girl in brown overalls, with a compass eye on her chest, was watching the battle on deck through her goggles.
She also had a construct-like device on her back, extending four tentacles. These tentacles were made of metal rings attached to a long energy belt.
This would help them with more complex tasks and more detailed production.
"Wuyi, write this down quickly! This is invaluable data."
The similarly dressed doll girl next to him nodded, writing quickly with a pen in her hand.
Jason, already startled, peered down from the observation room above.
Looking at the two people below, he shook his head silently.
"Emotional exchanges so early in the morning, huh?"
"Boogie!"
"Right. Aren't you afraid of disturbing others?"
"Boogie!"
"Well said!"
Now, wherever Jason went, Urulius would follow him.
Yi, who was sitting by the glass platform, watching the situation outside, silently turned his head to watch the two beings communicating in encrypted form.
Resignedly, he turned his head away.
The battle on the deck below had subsided.
Sofia, who had been using the Ring of Light to accelerate her offensive, was already panting and sitting on the deck, breathing heavily.
Her clothes were practically soaked with sweat.
Alka was also somewhat tired, but having reached the third stage, he possessed far greater stamina than Sofia.
So, he simply stood there and took a few deep breaths to soothe his fatigue.
Besides, it was primarily a defensive move, draining more of his energy and mana.
He waved his hand.
The mirror sank from his face, and the mirror in the sky shattered, vanishing into a shimmering, glass-like starlight.
A white towel appeared in Alka's hand.
She squatted beside Sofia.
Using her own towel, she gently wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Alka's sudden, intimate gesture left Sofia frozen in place, her body stiffening.
But he acted perfectly natural.
So Sofia could only endure it, not reacting at all, as if he didn't care.
After all, Alka hadn't shown anything, so he couldn't overdo it.
Be more natural.
But her slightly shifted eyes betrayed her uneasy heart.
"Er, I think you can go," Ling suddenly said from the poop.
Er was about to rush over and fight.
But Lily pulled him back, pulling him into his arms. "Whose side are you on?"
"Of course I'm on my own side!" Er shouted, clenching his fists.
Then he received disdainful glances from the captains.
"I'm definitely on the captain's side."
"Don't forget who made your clothes."
"Well... well, let's put it this way. How can these two things be compared?"
Regarding the captains' quarrel...
Zero watched calmly.
Three and Four raised their heads slightly, gazing at the sky.
Below, Alka had already wiped the sweat off Sofia's exposed skin with a towel.
She also wiped the sweat off her silver hair with the towel.
"Miss Sofia, my service was quite good, wasn't it? Is the compensation appropriate?" Alka whispered in Sofia's ear.
"Not... not bad," Sofia could feel the warmth on her face, suppressing her inner shyness.
Alka had been growing bolder lately.
Fortunately, she had just finished a strenuous workout, and the slight blush on her face matched that of her skin, giving her away.
However, having spent so much time with Sofia, how could Alka not notice?
A delighted smile crossed her face.
She gently leaned her head over Sofia's left side.
"Sniff~"
She sniffed softly, a sound emitting a warm blast against Sofia's collarbone.
Her skin was unusually sensitive after exercise, and Sofia's heartbeat raced wildly.
She felt her heart was about to burst.
She could no longer hear the outside world; her head was empty, filled only by the pounding of her own heartbeat.
"Hmm~ It smells good, but it still has a bit of a stench~" Alka said with a smile beside her.
She didn't withdraw her face, but instead moved closer. Sofia stared blankly ahead, completely unable to think.
Alka could already feel the heat on her cheeks.
"Want to go wash up? I..."
"No... no need!"
Xadaiti stood up abruptly and walked stiffly forward.
She seemed to feel Alka's gaze from behind her.
She walked quietly, seemingly calmly, if only she hadn't moved like a machine.
Reaching the corner of the aft deck, she was out of Alka's sight.
At that moment, Julia and Mathilda were watching quietly from the corner of the first floor of the aft deck.
Xadaiti turned the corner and saw the two. Although a little surprised, she suddenly relaxed and collapsed.
The two quickly supported her.
"My...my legs are weak..." Sofia said, her voice as thin as a mosquito's.
Hearing this, Matresha quickly leaned over: "I'll treat you."
Julia quickly stopped her: "There's nothing wrong with her body, just her heart."
"Huh?" Matresha was a little surprised, then clenched her fist and said seriously: "I'll do my best to treat her!"
"No...ah, whatever."
Julia helped Sofia up completely, looking at her current state, then at Er, who was shouting and making crazy declarations on the rooftop.
Is this really growth?
Why does it feel like I've regressed?
At this moment, Sofia's sensitivity to her surroundings had dropped dramatically.
Looking at Julia, who was supporting her.
"What's wrong?"
"Am I... really a little smelly?"
Sigh~
A heavy slap landed on her forehead, and Julia's heart sank.
She handed Sofia, whom she was supporting, over to Matresha.
"Take her to the bathhouse. She'll definitely want a good bath right now."
"Okay." Matresha didn't quite understand, but she still helped Sofia up the stairs.
Julia stood there and casually waved her hand. A gust of cold air flew out, shattering the mirror next to her.
Then she turned the corner and looked at Alka, who was smiling not far away.
She stared at Alka with a look of disdain, as if she were a scumbag.
"Tui!"
She uttered a disdainful sound, turned around, and followed the two who were leaving.
Alka stood there, watching Julia leave, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
Hey, that seems a bit too much.
At this moment, Juanlu and Simon poked their heads out of the first-floor restaurant entrance.
Juanlu reached out and rang the bell.
Signaling that dinner was served.
Simon slowly extended his right hand and gestured.
His index finger suddenly vanished, then shifted its shape to become his thumb.
Simon gave Alka a serious thumbs-up.
Complete brotherly affirmation.
As a cable swung down, Jason descended with the crystal dragon.
"Are you really not afraid of getting your head knocked off?"
Jason looked at Alka and shook his head in confusion.
Isn't a gentle little sister charming?
Why push the limits?
Hmm, I don't understand.
"You mustn't be a violent girl in the future," Jason said, patting Crystal Dragon's head.
Crystal Dragon tilted her head: "Boogie!"
"No, no, no, that's not cool!"
"You should be a lady. That was just Sofia's disguise. You can see from her that that's her true nature."
Jason lectured Crystal Dragon with a look of complete insight.
Alka followed silently behind.
He rolled his eyes as he listened to the conversation between the man and the dragon.
How could he really become a daughter slave?
However, he could understand Jason's point of view. After all, a few years ago, when he had just become a Toucher, Sofia, who wasn't very sensitive to advancement techniques, had been badly beaten during training.
It had left him with a psychological trauma for a while, and coupled with the negative childhood stories Jamie had revealed, the image of violence had become deeply ingrained in him.
The sea surface broke open with a splash, and Pororo leaped out, clutching a giant sea fish, heading towards the dining room.
"Haha, big catch!"
Upstairs on the poop.
"What are you all doing here?"
Lucelia, awakened by the ringing of a bell, emerged from her room and asked curiously at the puppet girls standing around.
"What do you mean by those strange looks?"
Although her mind had only recently matured as a puppet girl, she seemed to think it was best to keep quiet for now.
...
"You've also reached the third stage?" Alka observed Simon's unstable magic fluctuations.
Everyone had already taken their seats at the table.
Even Shadaiti had returned to normal, her hair slightly damp.
Hearing Alka's words, Simon nodded.
"I was just promoted last night, so I can't let you get left behind."
Hearing Simon's promotion, Alka pulled out the notebook he'd kept for the previous night.
Simon took it and examined it curiously.
He frowned as he looked at the records. "Really? Do you have the same standards for your own detection?"
"Of course I do. I use the Soul Detection Ring."
Alka handed the ring to Simon.
"Check it out too, and see if it matches my conclusion."
Simon nodded, picked up the detection ring, and immediately began meditating.
A few people nearby ate their meals while listening to the two's incomprehensible conversation.
But no one interrupted them, each chatting away.
Isn't it normal not to understand what the technicians are saying?
Only Matriasa looked intently at the records in the notebook.
She was considered a technician on the ship, and normally, she was the one using the Soul Detection Ring. She understood the human body far better than the other two.
This magical item, capable of precisely detecting and providing data on the body and even the soul, was arguably her favorite.
"Would you mind if I could examine the changes in your bodies later?"
Her tone shifted from its usual softness.
They both nodded.
With Simon's changes, Alka's speculation from last night, confirmed by the detection and recordings, was likely correct.
After dinner, the three of them went to the manufacturing hall.
Due to expansion, the hall had long been divided into four areas.
The three had their own work areas, and a mixed area in the middle.
Alka's work area was mostly filled with materials, blueprints, books, and some manual blacksmithing equipment.
The other construction equipment and the spell-carving table were placed in the middle area, as both Simon and Matresa would use them.
Simon's place felt futuristic, with all sorts of robotic arms and stacked circuit machines.
Mattha, on the other hand, stood out from the crowd, with all sorts of bottles and jars, plants and leaves, and of course, some flesh and blood in jars.
This place didn't look like a normal person's place at all.
Many of the facilities here exuded an ancient air, incompatible with the style of the other facilities.
This was because many of these facilities were moved from some of the overlapping dimensions in Vastva.
The research atmosphere in Vastva was excellent, and they could use some of the sophisticated equipment in the overlapping dimensions.
Even if they didn't know how to use it, they would still bring it here.
But the ones they did use were truly useful.
Some of the technology on it was completely incomprehensible to them.
But that didn't stop them from using it.
This seemed to be a characteristic of Simon's index finger.
The two men stripped off their shirts, one standing at the base of the middle workbench.
Matlisa inserted probes into their bodies, with various spell arrays nearby connecting them.
Matlisa's attire was different now, wearing the white lab coat Alka had suggested and a pair of glasses.
She adjusted her glasses, her left hand holding a device as she probed something at Simon on the workbench.
Her hands were recording the data below.
After the probe was complete, it was Alka's turn.
"Your soul is truly resilient. The readings and density are much higher than ours," Matlisa said with some surprise, looking at Alka's soul data.
She had heard from the people on the ship about Alka's soul's strength.
But she hadn't expected it to be this strong.
Simply put, it was like double the strength of a normal person.
A soul twice as strong was an extremely exaggerated strength.
The soul is the most secretive area of research, the most difficult to reach, the most elusive to understand.
However, Alka has so many unique qualities that, by comparison, a powerful soul seems nothing special.
Matthia thought strangely and turned the page.
She began to compare the two's physical qualities.
"In other words, when a person advances to the third stage, both their magic circuits and physical strength reach a limit."
Matlisa pushed up her glasses, speaking in a slightly louder and more serious voice.
"In other words, the third stage should be the limit of a normal life form. Within this limit, every bit of progress is difficult."
"The most convincing proof is that the absorption conversion rate and absorption speed of one's own magic power have dropped to 1/5 of their original level, just like a person who has eaten enough and can no longer eat."
Arka and Simon nodded in understanding. Matlisa's explanation was quite clear and understandable.
"That treasure..."
"That's right. The treasure isn't one of those things. Its existence breaks the limit. According to data feedback and speculation, without the treasure, one might remain stuck at the third stage for life."
"The treasure is the key to further advancement to the fourth stage of life. Without it, the door to that 'new world' cannot be opened."
The data and test readings all prove this.
"In other words, at this stage, without the treasure, the differences between races will lead to significant differences," Alka said, thinking of Porro's powerful physical fitness.
Matlisa nodded. This point was indeed undeniable.
At this point, the three of them seemed to understand why the fourth stage was called the Staff Bearer. It seemed that it wasn't just because they could control the [Scepter] treasure at this stage.
It was likely related to this breakthrough.
Perhaps the fourth stage was a stage that could reflect a huge gap.
As things stand now, it's not easy to reach, requiring some harsh conditions.
For example, possessing a treasure.
‐‐ Perhaps it was because of this fundamental improvement that he was able to control a [Scepter]-level treasure.
‐‐Then he filed away the conclusions and data from the test.
‐‐Simon hurried back to his room.
‐‐After his promotion, he hadn't yet properly examined the changes brought about by his increased strength.
‐‐And he had already begun to lose control of his power during dinner.
‐‐He needed to rest and recover.
‐‐Alka also disembarked.
‐‐He had to find Balazs. Balazs had already sent a signal, and his situation was fully understood.
‐‐Now he had enough time to proceed.
‐‐It was time to discuss the next steps.
‐‐Both people on board had reached the third stage of strength, more than enough to protect themselves under normal circumstances.
As long as they don't actively cause trouble and remain vigilant and cautious, they can remain safe.
The potential for exposure has been largely eliminated.
It's time to begin exploring the vast ocean further and deeper, to truly understand this chaotic and marvelous place.
Let's begin with the treasure on this human-skin map.
Pulling the brim of his hat slightly lower, he walked along the gravel path of the harbor.