Trivial Matters

After several months, Ethan returned to Stat Island.

Compared to his last visit, the changes in him during this time could be described as earth-shattering. He had grown from a scrawny fisherman's son into a Sorcerer's Apprentice who had touched upon the mysterious powers. His equipment was now sufficient to ensure he could move freely in this sea area without worrying about his safety.

"Is this Stat Island?"

Arthur stood at the highest point of the Poop Deck, looking around the port, while Ethan was negotiating with the management staff stationed there.

He had brought two ships back this time. The slightly smaller one, he planned to sell back to the Adventurer's Guild. The larger one he intended to thoroughly repair and rename it the Goddess of Dawn, his registered ship name, for his own use in the future.

This time, it should last a bit longer, right?

In fact, even if he wanted to leave Stat Island early this time, it wouldn't be possible.

Unloading, counting, and selling the cargo on the ship would take a considerable amount of time. The ship also needed significant repairs and maintenance – he had no idea how long that Angus had been sailing this ship at sea, or when its last maintenance was.

He didn't want to be sailing at sea and suddenly discover all sorts of problems that put him in danger. The safest bet was to not worry about the cost and give the ship a major overhaul.

"Also, clean off the name on the side of the bow."

"So what should the ship be renamed? And where should it be carved?"

Ship names are usually carved on a separate wooden board and then nailed onto a specific spot on the ship, without damaging the hull itself, and making renaming easier.

Stat Island had only one shipyard, which handled all shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance work for the Sea of Tranquility. Although they had a complete monopoly, the prices were fair, and the craftsmanship was trustworthy – ships in the Sea of Tranquility were basically all built by them, so where would so many adventurers get their craftsmanship?

With the help of the port staff, the shipyard directly sent a young man of about twenty over to receive Ethan. Besides confirming and registering which ship needed maintenance and upkeep, he also had to record all of the employer's additional requests to avoid discrepancies and conflicts when the work was finally delivered.

From this perspective, this shipyard, which didn't even have a name, was quite conscientious.

"Goddess of Dawn." Ethan rubbed his chin. After thinking for a moment, he decided to put the name on the stern. "If possible, add a figurehead for me. I want a statue of a praying goddess."

Figureheads weren't rare, but they were purely decorative, and few people requested them – these extra additions incurred additional costs.

Something useless to others was different for Ethan. He had learned a lot of things and practiced at sea for so long. This time, he was going to use a larger prop to practice on. Experimenting directly on the hull was a bit risky, but a figurehead was fine; even if it was damaged, it wouldn't harm the ship itself.

If successful, he could improve some of his ship's capabilities! That's right, he wanted to inscribe some Magic Arrays on the figurehead to make his ship a Magic Warship.

The young man sent by the shipyard was named Margo. Hearing that Ethan actually wanted to install a figurehead, his routine expression finally showed some change.

In fact, he was already a bit surprised when he saw this ship – Angus the Mad Dog's Mad Dog was somewhat famous on Stat Island, not to mention their shipyard was responsible for the maintenance of almost all ships in this sea area, and they had seen this ship countless times.

Of course, although the Mad Dog's reputation wasn't small, his strength was just so-so in the eyes of these 'experienced' people. It wasn't surprising if he accidentally kicked a steel plate or was killed by someone due to bad luck.

He just didn't expect this young man not only wanted to keep the Mad Dog for himself but also wanted to make significant modifications – it seemed this young man was not only powerful but also wealthy.

"Besides the figurehead and routine maintenance, is there anything else you want done?"

Margo turned his head to look. The ship had many scars, clearly having been through a battle, but the marks were shallow and didn't require major repairs; appropriate patching would suffice. However, after confirming that Ethan seemed quite wealthy, he decided to develop this major client properly.

"What kind of modification projects do you have?"

"Oh, there are many. It's probably hard to explain everything here. If you're interested, I suggest you find some time to visit the shipyard yourself. Not only is there a detailed catalog, but there are also actual samples so you can understand the specific effects of those modifications more directly."

Ethan didn't expect the shipyard's service to be so thorough. He nodded and agreed, "I'll go take a look myself after the cargo is unloaded."

Margo made a note in his notebook. Since Ethan agreed to go in person, he didn't need to waste time here. He was only here today to record the services the other party needed; the ship would be sent to the shipyard by someone else after the cargo was unloaded.

"Well then, goodbye, Ethan of the Goddess of Dawn."

"Goodbye."

Watching Margo leave, Ethan returned to the ship. The workers hired by the port administrator had already begun to take the Ore out of the ship's hold and load it onto cart after cart.

It was only then that he learned the Ore he found was a raw Ore containing multiple metals, from which common metals like iron and copper could be refined. It was the most common and highest-demand Ore in this world.

Even though it was very common, due to the huge demand, even the lives of island residents who didn't go to sea required large amounts of copper and iron, so the 'price' of this Ore was not low.

"If all this Ore is sold, I can live comfortably for a long time without worrying about food and clothing."

Even the shipyard was willing to use Ore to pay for his maintenance, repairs, and modifications. Although the specific price would depend on how he wanted to modify the ship, it wouldn't cost much in the end.

"Is it all being transported to the Guild?"

"Yes, and then directly stored in the Guild."

The Guild had already sent a dedicated clerk to handle this matter; such a large amount of Ore was enough to attract their attention.

"Do you need a slightly larger place to stay this time?"

This clerk was very observant, and besides, the Guild usually arranged for people from the same ship to stay together when arranging accommodation.

"Being close is fine... By the way, does the Guild have a place where people can train?"

"There's a dedicated training ground, and it's completely free. However, it's a public space, so there will be many people, and some unpleasant things might happen."

The words were veiled, but the meaning was conveyed clearly. Ethan nodded to show he understood. "That's fine. Arrange our accommodation together, preferably close to the training ground."

"Okay, no problem."

Someone else would handle the statistics and such; all the clerk had to do was record all the compiled 'property data' under Ethan's personal name and then back it up at the Guild. After that, Ethan could use the property stored in the Guild to enjoy some 'paid' services and also 'buy' what he needed directly from the Guild's store.

Unfortunately, the Guild in the Sea of Tranquility still used the simplest form of bartering, without a universally accepted currency to facilitate transactions.

Forget it, it's better than having to carry a large pile of things myself.

Now he was very glad that he had joined the Guild directly instead of wandering around alone. Not to mention storing supplies, just collecting various information would waste a lot of time.

As a large amount of 'property' was deposited into Ethan's 'account', much of the Guild's information began to open up to him. The clerk even told him some information very directly: for adventurers who could bring in a large amount of supplies, the Guild would not only provide various information but also offer a certain degree of support.

For example, they might prioritize offering information and new ships; or if you're in distress, they'll call on other idle adventurers to come to your rescue; and if you face the trouble of 'bankruptcy', the guild will provide some basic ships and supplies so that the adventurer has a chance to get back on their feet.

These benefits will improve as the adventurer brings more wealth to the guild.

"Oh, there are so many advantages?"

"Of course, there are many benefits to joining the guild." At this point, the clerk suddenly leaned in and lowered his voice: "Also, information about the Sea of Storms and the areas beyond the Sea of Storms can also be looked up in the guild."

"Oh?"

Ethan became even more interested now. He had been planning to gather some relevant information during this time, and he didn't expect someone to bring him a pillow when he was sleepy.

However, what benefit was there for these clerks to tell him these things?

He remembered when he first joined the guild, the person who helped him with his membership was also like this, always secretly seeming to reveal all sorts of information. Yet, all this information was beneficial to him and didn't seem like a deliberate attempt to trick him.

What exactly are they after? Are these clerks just naturally helpful?

He really couldn't figure it out. By this time, all the goods had been processed, including the Ore from both ships which had been transported to the guild. The remaining food and water on the ships would be used as payment for the laborers, and the rest would also be handed over to the guild for processing – these things would quickly be sold on the market and exchanged for other items that could be stored long-term, which would then be deposited into Ethan's account.

After finishing all this, Ethan didn't have time to visit the guild's database. He could only go to the assigned room with Arthur to rest.

"Let's go check out the data room tomorrow."

After a simple wash, Ethan planned to cultivate his Mental Power briefly and then rest, so he could directly resolve Arthur's language problem tomorrow.

I didn't expect Merlin to leave me a test even in this matter.