Mikael’s reasoning was straightforward. Although the locals didn’t provide a clear indicator of the sea beasts’ strength, the Records had stated that the enemies could reach up to Peak Tier 1. He cluded that a sea beast measuring 10 meters long would likely fall within that range. Of course, he aowledged the possibility of being wrong, but even if he uimated their power, he wasn’t afraid to face stronger oppos. heless, he resolved to remain cautious—after all, he now had someoo return to.

  The group tiheir walk while the middle-aged man introduced himself. He was the vice captain of the ship they would be proteg, Ruimis Cybuvius. He tio provide additional information, though not as critical as the initial details. Mikael made sure to take note of everything, though. Soon, the group arrived at a port.

  The port was unusually quiet, with only a small number of people present, each wearing a tense expression. Most of those around were dressed in simir sailor attire to the vice-captain, with flintlock muskets strapped to their backs. Despite the calm atmosphere, the sight of the rge ships docked at the port was striking. Each vessel appeared durable and of exceptional quality, but o the ter atention like no other.

  This t behemoth of wood and steel domihe se. Its reinforced hull gleamed faintly in the light, with iron bands interwoven with dark oak, giving it an aura of unmatched strength. Massive masts stretched high into the sky, their sails ly furled, while intricate carvings of mythical beasts adors bow. The ship dwarfed its neighbors, casting long shadows over the smaller vessels, which seemed almost insignifit in parison. It was the jewel of the port, a testament to power and craftsmanship.

  Peeking through small, evenly spaced openings along the sides of the ship were rows of ons, their dark barrels a sileament to the vessel's formidable firepower. Multiple tiers of these ons lihe ship, arranged iical rows that maximized their ce and efficy. These ons, poised and ready for a, emphasized both the ship’s defensive and offensive capabilities, imbuing it with the aura of an unassaible fortress upoer.

  The group approached the ship, which immediately drew the attention of the nearby sailors, who quickly reized the vice-captain.

  One sailor stepped forward and saluted. “Wele back, vice-captain… These are…?”

  “They will be proteg the ship during this dangerous trip,” Ruimis replied.

  At his words, the sailor’s expression turned uain, skepticism clearly etched on his face. After all, the only reliable means of proteg a ship were firearms and ons, and even those were often insuffit against the ferocious sea beasts. The notion that these young adults, some armor and other in weird clothes, could defend the vessel against such threats seemed highly improbable. Human strength alone appeared far too limited in the face of the sea beasts overwhelming ferocity.

  Ruimis added, “All of them are sorcerers.”

  At his words, the sailor’s eyes widened in fear. Eight sorcerers would be with them? If they were offended by his earlier doubt, they could curse him!

  He profusely bowed, sweat trailing down his brow. “Sorry for doubting you, my lord and dies.”

  The group waved it off; after all, he hadn’t said anything, and no one in the group was a true young master who would take offe a disbelieving look.

  Seeing his rea, Ruimis smiled and added, “Officer, I want you to pass the message to all the mates that these eight behind me are sorcerers and that they will be responsible for proteg us. I don’t want any misduct. Uood?” His tone became more serious.

  The offiodded and immediately left to carry out his task. The middle-aged man turo ahe unasked question. “I said you are sorcerers. It’s a rare profession in our world, oh a great deal of prestige. It will serve as your official identity with the on folk, as they don’t know about the existence of the Akashic Records.”

  As they approached the ship, Mikael was able to fully appreciate its immense size. It towered above him; he estimated that it was at least 30-40 meters high, and as for its length, he couldn’t be sure, but it appeared to be at least 150 meters long! This size was truly impressive, especially sidering that, from what he had seen, the teological level of this world seemed to be around the 18th tury.

  At this moment, some sailors on top of the ship noticed them and lowered a retractable dder. Mikael probably could have jumped the 30-40 meters to reach the ship, but it would have been difficult and would have required him to use the explosive style to boost his jumping power. Not wanting to deal with this hassle, he simply climbed the retractable dder like the others.

  Onboard, the group saw a bustling enviro, with sailors attending to their various tasks. Some were tending to the sails, while the majority were transp crates marked with fragile signs. The group of racted some attention, but with the vice captain among them, no one dared to bother them.

  They soon approached the ship's helm, where a middle-aged man in the same sailor uniform, though of higher rank, with a captain's hat, was behind the wheel, occasionally giving orders. Notig the group of eight oddly dressed individuals, the captain approached them, clearly curious.

  “They are…” he began, but the vice captain answered the unspokeion.

  “These lords and dies are indeed from the Akashic Records,” he replied.

  The captain, having expected this, gave a small bow. “It’s a pleasure to have you on our ship, my lord and dies.”

  He politely asked, “Would it be possible for you to stay here for a few minutes while I gather the rest of the crew so I introduce you to them and avoid any unnecessary problems?”

  The group agreed.

  Afterward, the captain's previously pleasant demeanor shifted. He walked toward the balustrade that overlooked the rest of the ship and, with a serious and authoritative tone, shouted, “Guys, e here!”

  Hearing the captain’s and, no one dared to dey, and soon the crew gathered below him. The crowd fell silent, waiting for him to speak. He waited a few moments longer for the teers to arrive.

  When a signifit portion of the crew had assembled, he began speaking loudly. “I have an important annou! As you know, the journey ahead is extremely dangerous, which is why we have received some help.” He made a haure signaling the ‘sorcerers’ to step forward.

  They advanced and became visible to the crew below. “These eight will be responsible for helping us protect the ship from attack,” the captain tinued. He quickly crushed any doubt. “All of them are powerful sorcerers, and because of them, the difficulty of this journey has been reduced. So, I expect you to be on your best behavior with them. Treat them like you would treat me. Uood?”

  “Yes, Captain!” The crew responded in unison, more out of habit than true uanding. But as the seds passed, their excitement grew. The journey, which had previously seemed almost hopeless, now felt much safer with eight sorcerers on their side. The temosphere that had dominated earlier began to dissipate, repced with a sense of relief. After all, who wouldn’t be happy about an increased ce of survival?

  The crew’s once curious gazes toward the eight oddly dressed individuals were now filled with respect.

  The captain, satisfied with the crew’s response, said, “That will be all for now. You return to your duties.” At his and, the assembled crew began to disperse.

  Turning to the group, the captain spoke again. “I want to thank you sincerely. For you, it’s probably just another mission, but for us, it’s the differeween life ah. If we were to make this trip alone, our ces of survival would be less than 50%. But with you here, we have a much higher ce of returning. For that, I’m truly grateful.” He finished by giving a deep bow, which the vice captain beside him also mirrored.

  Tristan stepped forward. “Don’t worry. It’s our duty to protect you.”

  “Yeah,” the rest of the group agreed.

  Mikael merely nodded with a “Hmm,” the group. Using a mix of his observation skills and instincts, he cluded that Tristan wasn’t as gentle as he seemed. He was simply pying a role to improve his image. While Mikael could have dohe same, he found it too bothersome to bother with. heless, he aowledged that it was a good strategy.

  The two middle-aged men stayed in position for a few more seds before they both stood up from their bows.

  The captain tinued, “repared luxurious rooms especially for you, knowing you would e. If you would please follow me.”

  The group of ten desded from the helm to the main deck. The nearby sailors wao steal g the sorcerers but dared not and instead focused ily oasks.

  The captaihem he captain’s quarters, where several unused s were located. “These ten s are unoccupied and the most luxurious aboard. You may choose whichever you like. We will remain in port for a couple of hours before departure, so you rest during this time. Afterward we will t on you for the defense.” With those words, the captain and vice-captai.

  Mikael chose a random and stepped inside, prompting the other seven to follow suit, each seleg a aering.

  The interior of the was a luxurious bedroom, its furniture exuding an old-world charm that would have been sidered antique oh but was regarded as modern in this world. A small bathroom adjoihe , but Mikael paid it no mind. Without hesitation, he moved straight to the bed and began training his trol.

  ‘Five days of proteg this ship... I ’t afford to waste all that time,’ he thought. Training his trol seemed like the best use of his time, so he focused on that.

  Hours passed ufully as he practiced. His enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of sailors moving about on the deck. Eventually, the activity intensified, and he felt the ship begin to move.

  At that moment, he stored his advanced trol puzzle in his iory ahe . As he stepped out, he noticed other members of the group exiting their rooms, having also sehe ship’s motion. Mikael ighem and made his way to the main deck, heading toward the helm where the captain stood.

  The captain shot him a questioning look, but Mikael simply nodded and made his way to the rear of the ship. There, he positioned his arms on the railing of the quarterdeck. From this vantage point, he could see the ship's back, as well as its left and right sides, though the front remained out of view.

  The ship was now steadily moving away from the port, which gradually shrank on the horizon. Mikael stayed vigint for a possible sea beast attack but quickly realized a limitation even with his enhaats.

  ‘I see far and cover three sides of the ship, but spotting sea beasts uer is a different challenge,’ he mused. ‘My visios me see several meters into the water’s darkness, but it’s impractical. I ’t monitor all sides of the ship from this position.’

  He sighed internally before cluding, ‘When I return to the Dirarnia world, I o prioritize my mage studies. Right now, I don’t have any “dete” spells or anything simir. I’m essentially blind to when an attack might happen. Worse, if the ship gets damaged, I don’t have any repair spells either.’

  Determined not to remain pletely helpless, he sidered his options and devised an a pn.

  He moved away from the railing and passed by the captain, who was occasionally giving orders while keeping an eye on Mikael from the er of his eye. Of course, Mikael could feel the captain's gaze, but he ig and desded to the main deck.

  A/N: Just a quick update to let you know that I’m increasing the release schedule from 3 chapters per week to 5! Writing has bee easier for me with experience, so I’ve decided to speed up the pace.

  The new release days will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the usual time of 14:00 EST.

  That’s all for now! Thanks for reading my novel—I really appreciate your support!