Oceanic Secret Treasure

After the sound of a bubble popping, Evan found himself back on the deck, kneeling on the ground with his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. It took him a while to recover from the suffocating sensation that had just gripped him.

He shook his head and stood up, only then realizing that only an instant had passed. The sailors beside him, who were cleaning up the aftermath, had not noticed anything unusual about him at all.

"Thump!"

Evan sat down right there on the deck. Strange, incomprehensible whispers churned through his mind—the information that had somehow been transmitted to him when he touched the statue.

"Extraordinary path: Shipwreck Wailer (cost: forever unable to set foot on land)."

"Level One: Water Ghost. Ritual: 1. Personally sink at least one hundred humans representing the side of order..."

"Level Two: Ship-Bound Spirit. Ritual: 1. Personally command the sinking of at least three warships representing the side of order, sacrificing all crew members..."

"Level Three: Shipwreck Wailer. Ritual:..."

"Oceanic Secret Treasure: Shipwreck Lament. For every warship of the side of order sunk, one's own vessel will receive a bonus. The degree of enhancement is determined by the strength of the destroyed enemy vessel."

Several minutes later, Evan had finally digested the information in his head. He also understood why One-Eyed Beck had openly attacked a warship without the slightest concern for provoking the navy.

If he had been an ordinary person who had never encountered Extraordinary Power, Evan admitted that he would not have been able to resist the temptation of this Oceanic Secret Treasure either.

After all, it required neither talent nor hard work. As long as one completed the required rituals, one could successfully become a powerful Extraordinary person. It was practically Pie Falling From the Sky!

But Evan was already at the peak of Apprentice Knight, and with Uncle Gell protecting him in the navy, he had a bright future ahead of him. He had no interest in such a bizarre path that could very likely turn him into a monster.

Just looking at One-Eyed Beck, who had already advanced to the Level Two Ship-Bound Spirit, was enough to make Evan's skin crawl at that neither-human-nor-ghost appearance. Never mind becoming like that himself!

"Unless I've gone mad..."

Perhaps he could gain considerable power at the price of never being able to go ashore, but "Power only lasts for a while; being handsome lasts a lifetime!"

Evan deeply agreed with that profound saying.

Most importantly, this path was incomplete. It could only reach Level Three at most, making it pale in comparison to the Knight's Path, which could lead directly to Level Four.

Though he found it strange that something which should have belonged to One-Eyed Beck had ended up in the witch doctor's hands, Evan did not dwell on it. He simply did not dare touch the weird stone sculpture again. Finding a wooden box, he packed it inside with straw.

When he turned around, he saw that the sailors on both ships had already cleaned up the battlefield. Not a single pirate prisoner had been left alive, and almost no pirates at sea would surrender anyway.

Though the nations of the continent differed in how vigorously they pursued maritime expansion, their attitude toward pirates was the same. Well, at least their public stance was the same under pressure from the Church.

As long as it could be proven that someone was a pirate or had engaged in piracy, they would be hanged without trial—those with legal privateering licenses excepted, of course.

To Evan, they were no different from financial oligarchs who held monopolies and crushed their competitors.

There was nothing left for him to do, so Evan simply sat down and waited for Gell to return.

Gurgle... Gurgle...

Ever since he and One-Eyed Beck had entered the water, the seawater beneath the ship had seemed to be boiling. Dull booms sounded from time to time, sending enormous splashes into the air.

But Evan had complete confidence in Uncle Gell. Especially after receiving information from the stone sculpture about the Shipwreck Wailer Extraordinary path, he learned that it was a path that could only unleash its full strength through coordination with one's own ship.

The Silver Wing had arrived just in time. Although One-Eyed Beck had fulfilled the conditions to unlock it, his pirate ship had not yet undergone sacrificial transformation. Relying solely on his own strength, he could never be a match for Uncle Gell, who stood at the peak of knighthood.

The battle ended even faster than Evan had imagined!

By the time Evan finished dealing with that weird stone sculpture,

the rumbling beneath the water had already become increasingly urgent. The screams and roars of various aquatic creatures were mixed in as well. Yet after only a short while, everything fell silent.

"Bang!"

A humanoid creature with twisted, battered limbs burst from the water and crashed heavily onto the deck beside Evan like a torn rag, producing a deafening boom.

Another figure followed close behind, but landed lightly.

Seeing Evan and the wooden box beside him, Gell asked with great interest, "Little Evan, is this the loot you collected?"

Gell's tone was exceedingly relaxed. It seemed that One-Eyed Beck had not caused him much trouble earlier. As he spoke, thick white steam rose from his body, and his soaked uniform became dry in an instant.

"Respected Captain, you should take a look at this. I think this thing needs to be handled properly." Evan was far less relaxed than Gell. He had nearly stumbled over this cursed thing and urgently wanted to toss this hot potato away.

Of course, it would be even better if, once the potato had cooled down, he could still take a bite out of it.

Fortunately, he had someone to back him up! He was fully qualified to take a bite.

Gell knew that Evan was not some reckless young fool. Hearing this, his expression turned serious as well.

"After collecting the spoils, hand them over to the first mate for tallying. Then remain on standby!"

"Yes, sir!"

After turning to instruct the Silver Wing's crew, who had gathered around, to search for spoils on their own, Gell personally picked up the wooden box and headed into the pirate ship's lower deck cabins.

Something Evan treated with such gravity was clearly unsuitable for examination out on the completely exposed deck.

Evan followed closely behind.

Inside the cabin.

Watching Gell casually release the stone sculpture he had been holding, Evan let out a soft breath. Once again, he felt the gap between himself and someone at the true Extraordinary Level. The weird stone sculpture that had nearly caused him trouble was as docile as a pet dog in Gell's hands.

"It truly is an Oceanic Secret Treasure!" Gell opened his eyes, and even the normally stern man could not help showing delight.

Though it carried a serious flaw, an Oceanic Secret Treasure was still an Oceanic Secret Treasure. Its value was beyond estimation. As for the Extraordinary path that Evan had carefully considered before, Gell cast it aside like a worn-out shoe without even sparing it a glance.

"Uncle Gell, I received the information it transmitted earlier too, but what exactly is an Oceanic Secret Treasure?" With no outsiders around, Evan returned to his private form of address. Without hesitation, he asked his question directly.

Gell first glared at Evan. Only after personally touching it had he discovered what was unusual about the thing, so he could not blame Evan for warning him to be careful earlier. With lingering fear, he said:

"Don't casually touch strange things like this in the future. Wait for me to handle them. This is not simply an Oceanic Secret Treasure. An evil spirit is actually dwelling inside it.

"If you had not broken free from the evil spirit's illusion in time earlier, you might have drowned outright. You were lucky this time, but can you be lucky every time?"

"An evil spirit?"

Only then did Evan truly realize how dangerous the situation had been. If Data Vision had not been monitoring his physical and mental state at all times, this time would have ended in tragedy for him.

He also knew that Gell was acting for his own good, so he repeatedly promised that he would not recklessly touch strange things again.

"Though it did not reveal itself directly, its presence still cannot deceive a true Extraordinary person."

Seeing Evan's good attitude, Gell's expression finally eased. He began to tell him about the legends surrounding Oceanic Secret Treasures.

"According to legend..."