Musketeer Milta

"Hahaha..."

Seeing Ian laugh without any pretense, Lia shot him an annoyed glare.

Ian had of course intentionally spoken unclearly, wanting to tease her.

"You don't think I'm joking, do you?"

Ian looked at Lia, whose expression had returned to calm, a smile on his lips.

"I'm serious! I am now formally inviting Ms. Lia to become my crew member, with the position of First Mate."

Lia froze for a moment, pursing her lips and staring at Ian somewhat blankly, as if to confirm the truth of his words.

Ian knew their relationship was far from being able to trust each other unconditionally. He continued, "Paradise Island is small, and the Sea of Miracles is vast. Don't you want to see it?"

Lia snapped back to attention, the corner of her mouth curling up. "Do you have your own ship, Mr. Trist?"

"Follow me--"

Ian suddenly stood up and quickly ran up the spiral staircase towards the rooftop. Lia had no choice but to hurry after him.

The observation deck, missing its spire, was covered in rubble. Lia didn't bother to ask about it and followed Ian's pointed finger. Down by the sea at the foot of the cliff, a small Galleon was docked.

A moving rope was sorting supplies by category. It even untied knots that Milta had tied and retied them.

"This is my ship. Don't let its size fool you, it's propeller-driven. Ordinary sailing ships can't catch up to it."

Ian said confidently, looking at Lia.

But from Lia's expression, he knew this invitation had gone nowhere.

After all, there wasn't much of a foundation between them, and Ian was truly not good at poaching.

As expected, Lia said softly with an unreadable expression, "I can't leave."

The sea had once been her home, but after she was injured, the ocean had become her forbidden territory.

The whistling wind tore their words to shreds, but Ian still heard them.

A sentence formed on Ian's lips but ultimately didn't come out. Was it unwillingness, reluctance, or inability?

Even if he found out, what right did he have to interfere in someone else's life?

Both of them remained silent, a tacit understanding passing between them, leaving only the howling sea wind on the top floor.

"I should go."

Lia turned and walked downstairs. Ian walked her to the main entrance.

A hand holding something suddenly reached out in front of Lia.

"Here, take this as a parting gift. You can't refuse this time, or I'll be too embarrassed. Perhaps we'll meet again in the future, so remember to return the favor then."

Lia froze, then smiled brightly. She released the reins in her hand and clasped her hands together under Ian's large one.

Ian loosened his grip, and a small crystal bottle fell into Lia's palm.

A drop of red liquid floated within the crystal bottle. Even through the barrier sealing the bottle, it still emitted a special Spirituality fluctuation.

Looking at the liquid, a faint desire arose in Lia's heart.

"I obtained this during an adventure before. It can heal injuries and alleviate Curse. It should be useful to you."

Ian said with a relaxed expression.

Lia had searched desperately for years to remove her Curse, not without some success, but the price was too high for her to pay. Today, the thing she had longed for appeared before her in such a simple way.

Lia suppressed the desire in her heart and tightly gripped the crystal bottle, handing it back to Ian. "I can't accept this."

Ian took a step back, avoiding her action. "This thing isn't useful to me."

How could Lia believe that? Anything that could save a life was a treasure to anyone who possessed it.

Lia's expression tensed, and she stepped closer, raising the hand holding the crystal bottle. "I didn't agree to become your crew member. Perhaps your future First Mate will need it more."

Ian smiled slightly. "Your choice doesn't affect my decision."

Since he had already decided to give it away, anyone could say pretty words.

Lia was stunned, momentarily frozen in place.

"Bang--" Ian took the opportunity to close the large door. "I'm going to meditate. See you again if there's a chance."

Lia rushed to the door, raising her hand but ultimately not knocking.

Ian had specifically asked the tavern to send up several extra dinners. In his memory, after awakening Spirituality, one would feel extremely hungry.

Milta's Spirituality fluctuation had gone from nothing to something, growing stronger, and was now stabilizing. Ian guessed he should be waking up soon.

Milta's Spirituality awakening and the process of taking on an extraordinary profession could be described as calm and uneventful, so smooth it was unbelievable.

Everyone's Spirituality awakening was fraught with danger. The temptations of the spirit world and the contamination of the shadow realm were everywhere. Only by mastering the core abilities of an extraordinary profession could the Spirituality world stabilize, and the Spirituality world's barrier could block the dangers lurking in the shadows.

The incredible nature of the Fate Card revealed another corner of its mystery.

Milta seemed to have had an incredibly vivid dream. In the dream, he was Mr. Trist's Attendant, following Mr. Trist's arrangements for Musketeer training.

Day after day, year after year, Mr. Trist was both stern and kind.

Until the day of the final assessment, Mr. Trist showed a satisfied smile and softly told him he had passed. He was ecstatic and woke up from his dream.

As soon as Milta opened his eyes, he saw Mr. Trist sitting at the dining table, smiling at him.

At this moment, dream and reality seemed to intertwine.

Milta stood up with a gentle push, his nascent but already quite stable Spirituality surging in the room.

"I've become extraordinary?!" Milta looked down at his unchanged body, disbelief etched on his face.

The feeling in his body told him it was real. Milta felt as if he had trained for years, with no discomfort whatsoever. His Spirituality and body were completely under his control.

Milta strode towards Ian, his expression solemn. He knelt on one knee and performed a slightly imperfect Knight's Salute, solemnly declaring, "Your will is my mission!"

Ian watched him with a smile. Only after he finished his salute did he softly say, "This is just the beginning. The path of the extraordinary is long. Continue to maintain reverence and effort."

After Milta stood up, the two began to eat.

While eating, Milta eagerly shared his dream, feelings, and new abilities. This behavior actually put Ian's mind at ease. It seemed the cards wouldn't forcibly alter a person's personality or Spirituality traits.

Milta's Spirituality firearm was usually hidden in the Spirituality world and brought out when needed. It fired Spirituality Bullets.

It was powerful and almost impossible to dodge. Ian's reinforced emergency protection could only withstand five shots, and an ordinary Extraordinary Sequence 9 would likely not survive three.

The drawbacks were also obvious. One was the short firing range, currently less than a hundred meters. The other was the high consumption; the more powerful the Spirituality Bullet fired, the greater the consumption. Currently, he only had ten regular shots before his Spirituality was nearly depleted.

As Milta continued to improve, his power and endurance would surely grow stronger.

Initially, Ian planned to prepare an Alchemy Flintlock for him, which would maximize his strength.

Moreover, Milta had mastered various Gunpowder Formulas, including two alchemical powders, so they wouldn't need to buy as much gunpowder.