Ten seconds, eleven seconds...
Until twelve seconds had passed.
The White Gull's eyes suddenly underwent a miraculous mutation. Like that large red eye, its originally round pupils instantly became long, needle-like vertical slits, then returned to normal in the next instant.
Flap, flap—
The White Gull flew onto Evan's arm. After examining it in detail through Data Vision and spiritual perception, Evan let out a soft breath.
"Success!"
Its appearance had not changed at all, but through their deeper connection, Evan had confirmed that this White Gull had gained the talent ability "Extraordinary Directional Sense." Or rather, its already strong sense of direction had been exponentially enhanced, completing a qualitative transformation.
"You did well!"
He gently stroked the gull's nape and back in encouragement, without feeling the slightest embarrassment over his earlier thought: There are plenty of White Gulls anyway. I won't feel bad if one or two fail!
With the first success, the rest naturally followed.
One seabird after another, large and small, flew down before the large red eye and met its gaze. Once the ability had been activated, it flapped away, making room for the next one.
However, depending on species, size, and innate talents, each seabird required a different amount of time and consumed a different amount of energy from the ritual array.
By the time dawn approached, only a thin layer of power remained in the ritual array, and the large red eye had become extremely illusory. Only then did the last and most special member of the flock silently drift down to the ground, wings beating.
It was not a seabird, however, but an adorable snow-white owl.
It was the subject Evan had planned to transform into a "Base Station."
Based on experience from his previous life, Evan knew that owls were actually almost