Alchemist

Ian was an alchemist of the Original Tree faction. Alchemists of this faction had few weaknesses, but few strengths as well—just one: stability. As long as they did not do anything reckless, losing control was practically impossible.

This was also one of the important reasons Ian's father had favored it.

The characteristics of this profession were not merely dissimilar to Veil of Secrets—they were completely unrelated.

Under normal circumstances, if a piece of Spiritual Equipment with Veil of Secrets traits merged into an alchemist's Spiritual World, whether they belonged to the Tree of Knowledge or Original Tree faction, it would be like a drop of water splashing into a pan of hot oil. Violent reactions would erupt, and even spiritual collapse was possible.

But at this moment, Ian's own spirituality showed no reaction whatsoever. Not only had the Veil of Secrets spirituality within the card not been worn away, but in Ian's perception, it was slowly and continuously growing stronger.

"Does this mean I can use the cards to release Extraordinary abilities from every Sequence in the future?!"

This scene, which defied Ian's understanding, made his thoughts begin to run wild.

The information conveyed by the Fate Card was simply too sparse. It seemed he would have to explore everything himself from now on.

"Time to get out."

Ian opened his eyes and swiftly surveyed the cabin.

His earlier experience in the Spiritual World had taken place within dreamlike thought. It had seemed to last a long time, but only an instant had passed outside.

The seawater flooding into the cabin had only reached ankle height. The wounded were already groaning weakly, while the terrified passengers had yet to recover from the shock. They huddled in several corners farthest from the breached side of the hull. The area by the cabin door was the most crowded, and several people were packed in front of Ian as well.

"Has the cannon fire weakened?"

Through the constantly swaying breach in the cabin, a pirate ship flying a black skull flag was rapidly approaching. There was also a huge bloody handprint on the pirate flag.

The two ships were now less than twenty meters apart. Ian could see scattered grappling hooks already catching on the railings as the vessels rapidly closed the distance.

It was a three-masted, single-decked galleon. More than a dozen cannons were crammed along each side of its deck. Judging by the cast-iron cannonballs that had struck them earlier, they were probably 12-pounder Cannons.

Judging by the caliber and number of its cannons, it barely met the threshold for a Sixth-rate Ship. But from the signs of modifications and patchwork repairs, its other aspects were probably inferior to a Sixth-rate Ship.

Ian knew a fair bit about warships. With just a hurried glance, he had gleaned a considerable amount of information.

The Calvinde Family also owned a Sailing Warship, and it was a genuine active-service Fourth-rate Ship of the Poldoria Kingdom.

"They're going to board us!"

Warships in the age of sail were basically made of wood. Without explosive shells, they could bombard each other for ages without sinking the opposing ship. Victory still depended on boarding actions.

Of course, the pirates probably did not want to lose too much loot either.

Ian carefully sensed the movements around him while considering his current situation.

This should be a merchant ship—more precisely, a Slave Ship.

The Age of Exploration lacked manpower everywhere: building ports, manufacturing seagoing vessels, plantations, estate servants, and more. Hunting ships, pirates, and armed merchant ships also bought slaves to serve as sailors.

Slaves came from all manner of sources: captured pirates, poor people seized in raids, island natives, Different Races, stranded adventurers, and so on.

To gamble on a chance in the Sea of Miracles, some free citizens who had lost their land on the continent even voluntarily sold themselves into slavery.

Of course, the lucky ones were always few and far between.

Ian could currently sense two spiritual fluctuations. One was relatively close and should belong to an Extraordinary individual aboard the merchant ship. The other flickered in and out of perception, drawing closer with every appearance. It should belong to an Extraordinary individual aboard the pirate ship.

The possibility of other hidden Extraordinary individuals could not be ruled out.

Spiritual fluctuations were difficult to conceal during battle. Based on their fluctuations, both should be low-Sequence Extraordinary individuals.

"I should be able to handle this. Besides, if I can't win, I can run!"

Because Ian's family had taken so long to obtain a mature Extraordinary Sequence, he had only entered the Extraordinary Sequence not long ago:

[Alchemist]: Order-side Extraordinary Sequence, Witchcraft Caster.

[Core Ability: Original Tree]: A tree of life that grew upward from the body as its foundation. Through meditative resonance, it could increase or restore spirituality and Mana.

Includes [Ability: Life Barrier]. The Original Tree integrated one's life, spirituality, and Mana into a unified, orderly whole, allowing them to coexist and flourish together while constructing a powerful Spiritual World. Improving any one of the three could drive the improvement of the other two.

[Ability: Alchemy Philosophy]: Perfectly controlled one's own body, spirituality, and Mana, maintaining spiritual stability and mental clarity at all times while guarding against spiritual contamination and chaos.

[Ability: Making the Most of Everything]: Unique, meticulous spirituality could help you accurately perceive the properties of matter.

[Ability: Precision]: Precisely controlled the delivery of matter or energy without the slightest deviation.

[Witchcraft: Alchemy Array I]: The foundational array of the seven great alchemical processes.

[Witchcraft: Emergency Guard]: Used spirituality and Mana to activate a shield over the surface of the body. Once activated, it remained concealed but continuously consumed a small amount of Mana. When attacked, it triggered the shield to protect the body.

Four abilities and two witchcraft spells, and almost none of them were combat-oriented.

Alchemists truly were not good at combat. Of course, that might also be one reason the Calvinde Family had been able to obtain this Sequence.

Alchemists were generally divided into two factions: the Tree of Knowledge and the Original Tree.

The Tree of Knowledge was an inverted tree. They believed spirituality was divinity, placing spirituality at the core and using the body and Mana to nourish it.

Alchemists of this faction were generally proficient in Potionology and Super Alchemy. This was the mainstream path for alchemists today, and they carried the banner of alchemy.

Its advantages were too numerous to list, but its flaws were also fatal: overly powerful spirituality was difficult to control, and the pursuit of knowledge itself was dangerous. It was easy to suffer all kinds of corruption and temptation, and easy to lose control.

The Original Tree was an upright-growing tree, using the body and the world as anchors. Its spirituality was delicate and stable.

Alchemists of this faction generally excelled at crafting Magic Equipment. It had once been the mainstream path for alchemists and was usually the choice of nobles.

Its advantages were stability, a long lifespan, no glaring weaknesses, and a certain degree of combat ability. Its disadvantage was that it had no particularly outstanding strengths.

"Maybe the Tree of Knowledge faction suits me better!"

Ian thought of the Veil of Fate that obscured everything within his Spiritual World, as well as the strange cards. I don't have to fear losing control at all.

Bang!

As Ian pondered, the cabin door shook violently, throwing back several people crowded around it.

"Everyone by the door, move away!"

The people near the door quickly retreated.

Bang! A few seconds later, the impact against the door came again.

The cabin door suddenly flew inward and slammed into one side of the bulkhead with a loud crash.

A burst of light and hurried footsteps entered the cabin.

Clang! It sounded like a pile of iron weapons had been thrown onto the floor.

"If you don't want to die, pick up your weapons and go kill the pirates! The Bloody Hand Pirates are outside, and they never leave survivors!"

"The captain promises that if we defeat the pirates, everyone who takes part in the battle will regain their freedom!"

"You'll also share the spoils just like the crewmen who fight!"