As he passed by the sailors, he attracted their attention, but none dared approach him, knowing that he was a 'sorcerer,' and coupled with his indifferent expression they didn’t dare approach.

  He reached the dder attached to the main mast, leading to the crow’s , and with a couple of quick jumps, he reached the top, using the dder as a support.

  Excmations of surprise echoed as the nearby sailors stood frozen, mouths agape, some even falling to their knees and beginning to pray.

  The vice captain, who was nearby, quickly calmed the crew, expining once again that Mikael was a sorcerer, not a god. After settling the situation, Ruimis thought to himself, ‘If I didn’t know about the Akashic Records, I might have taken them fods too. pared to them, what are sorcerers? A bunch of chartans only capable of dark magic?’ He recalled the awe he had felt when he had first witnessed a simir se.

  Meanwhile, at the top of the main crow's , the sailor who saw Mikael suddenly appear was terrified and stammered, “W-what c- I do for y-you, Lord?”

  Mikael saw the sailor's rea but ig. Instead, he asked, “If I stay here for the duration of the trip, and you go to another of the crow’s s, will it affect the ship’s navigation?”

  “I will do whatever your lordship asks!” the sailor responded, his voice shaking.

  Mikael, irritated by the answer, kept his voice calm but firm. “I don’t want fttery. I want the truth!”

  The sailor, sensing his irritation, nearly panicked but mao calm himself with a deep breath before replying truthfully, “If I go to another crow’s , it won’t make a real difference as long as there’s someoing as the navigator in one of the three s.”

  Mikael thought for a moment. “Alright, you go to another crow’s , but if at any point all three s are occupied by another ‘sorcerer,’ you’ll returo fulfill your duties as the navigator. Uood?” His tone was authoritative, the same one he had used to trol his gang what felt like a lifetime ago.

  The sailor instinctively saluted, much as he did when the captain addressed him. “Uood,” he said before following Mikael’s orders, inwardly surprised by his automatic response. He looked at the sorcerer with even more respect.

  Mikael ignored him as he began to climb down the dder. Taking out the advanced trol puzzle, he started practig his aura and mana trol. At the same time, he used his elevated position to observe the ship’s surroundings. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he could see into the dark water.

  This was his pn: to train his trol while keeping wat the waters surrounding the ship for any suspiovements. In the absence of a dete spell or a simir alternative, this was the best approach avaible. While his enhanced vision owerful, it was not particurly effit as a deteethod.

  Time tio pass as the other Earth natives moved about, busy with various tasks. Mikael noticed someone dressed in mage robes occasionally casting peared to be a dete spell, but he paid them no mind, keeping his focus oer.

  His attention was drawn to a disturban the dark waters below. He kept his gaze fixed on the area for a few seds, but nothing else moved. Then, another ripple caught his eye. This time, it was clearer, and he could dis the outline of a creature.

  ‘There,’ he thought, reizing the movement as some kind of beast. Without hesitation, he leaped over the railing of the crow's , plunging straight toward the water below.

  “He jumped!” an astonished sailor excimed.

  The wind rushed past him as he fell, a sharp “swish” apanying his dest. As he he surface, his two E rank swords from the Dirarnia world materialized in his hands. He waited a moment longer befniting small fmes beh his feet, signifitly slowing his fall. He ehe water with a trolled spsh.

  All eyes on the ship were drawn to the supernatural dispy, but Mikael disappeared into the dark waters, now hidden from view.

  In the cold depths, he felt the chill of the sea pressing against him, though it was far from enough to hinder him. For an ordinary person, the water might have been unbearable, but to Mikael, it was a mere sensation. Ign the cold, he sed his surroundings for the sea beast he had spotted earlier.

  Not far away, a dark shape moved through the murky waters. To lure it closer, Mikael created a brilliant light with his fmes. Though their power was dampened by the water, they still burned brightly, their supernatural nature defying the enviro.

  The light illumihe creature—a sea serpent approximately five meters long. Its head turoward the glow and locked onto Mikael. Its jaws opened, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and it surged forward in a predatory rush.

  Mikael evaded by swimming to the side, but even with his superior stats, his mobility was hindered ier, making the maneuver close. ‘This isn’t going to work,’ he thought, deg to ge his approach.

  The serpent, uerred, adjusted its trajectory and lunged again. This time, Mikael didn’t rely on swimming to escape. Instead, he created small, trolled explosions using his explosive style, propelling himself out of the serpent's path. As the creature passed, Mikael infused his swords with aura and sshed.

  A burst of blood staihe water as the serpent's tail was severed. Writhing in pain, the creature tried to retreat, but Mikael wasn’t about to let it escape. He threw one of his swords, guiding it with aura threads. The panicked serpent saw the gleaming bde ing and tried to dodge, but it was too slow. The sword pierced through its head, killing it instantly.

  The water turned red as the serpent’s blood spread through the area. Mikael sed his surroundings. ‘That’s it?’ he thought, finding no additional threats. After a final look around, he shrugged inwardly and used a small explosioh his feet to propel himself out of the water.

  Once airborne, he noticed that the ship had drifted some distance away. This didn’t him—he had expected it. C the soles of his feet with aura, he ran across the surface of the water as if it were solid ground.

  Reag the ship, Mikael leaped tens of meters into the air. A silent explosion under his feet gave him a mid-air boost, mimig a low-grade flying teique. He nded ba the crow’s , passing over the astonished crew. Eveher members of his group, participating in the military mission, were visibly surprised by his dispy of strength.

  Back at his inal position, Mikael cast a quick ing spell to dry himself and his clothes. With the water gone, he resumed his watch.

  For Mikael, there wasn’t much to refle—he found the sea beast pathetically weak, as it had taken him less than a mio kill it aurn to the crow's . That included the entire enter, from the moment he spotted it to the moment he resumed his position. If he sidered only the actual fighting time, it was over in an instant!

  The sailors below, however, experienced somethiirely different. Sea beasts were renowned for their strength, far surpassing that of ordinary humans. They were massive, powerful, swift, and incredibly durable—bullets usually had little effe them. Seeing the sorcerer leap from the crow's , dive into the water, aurn moments ter, with the water below stained red, was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

  The crew’s morale soared. The temosphere that had lingered, only partially alleviated by the presence of the eight sorcerers on board, dissipated entirely. If one sorcerer was capable of sucredible feats, what could all eight aplish together?

  Of course, the sailors had no way of knowing that Mikael’s strength far outcssed that of the other seven sorcerers. What mattered was the renewed fidence surging through the crew. Over the following hours, they occasionally witnessed Mikael diving from the crow's into the water, only to resurfaents ter aurn to his perch. Each time, cheers erupted from the sailors. Even the captain and vice-captai relieved by Mikael’s presence.

  Not everyone shared the crew's enthusiasm. The seven other partits in the military mission were far less pleased. They gathered in a secluded er of the ship to discuss the situation.

  “This ’t go on! We o do something, or rades will be abysmal!” excimed a bearded man gripping a spear.

  “He's right!” another chimed in.

  “But what we do?” a third asked, frustration evident in their voice.

  The group fell silent, deep in thought, until a woman in mage robes spoke up. “Why don’t we ask him to stop h all the sea beasts for himself a us kill some?”

  The heavily armored man who had been the first to appear in the waiting room with Mikael scoffed. “Do you hear yourselves? He isn’t ‘h’ anything. He’s just faster aer than us. g about it won’t ge that,” he said with a dismissive shrug.

  His words sparked a heated debate. Most of the group supported the idea of fronting Mikael, but two dissidents—a petite woman white armor and the heavily armored man—refused to agree. They saw no reason to provoke a flict with someone who had dohing against them and was, in a way, simply doing his ‘job’.

  Ultimately, the group split into two fas. The two dissidents decided to leave Mikael alone, while the remaining five, led by Tristan, resolved to front him and demaop “selfishly h” the sea beasts.

  Tristan’s group left their meeting spot and made their way to the main deck. They arrived just as Mikael emerged from the water, having sin another sea beast. At that moment, Mikael was thinking, ‘The frequency of these sea beast appearances is increasing.’

  “Mikael!” Tristan called out.

  Mikael turned, spotting the group of five. He stopped mid-jump, letting himself nd gracefully on the deck, and regarded them with an inquisitive look.

  Tristan stepped forward, speaking in a self-righteous tone. “You’ve been killing all the sea beasts sihe beginning. Why don’t you leave some for the rest of us instead of h them all? It would be better to share the workload.”

  Mikael instantly uood their iions. ‘So that’s their angle,’ he thought, notig how the nearby sailors were watg the iion. They were clearly trying to use peer pressure to force him into pliance. Unfortunately for them, he never cared about other opinions.

  He cast a disdainful g the group, his expression was as if he were looking at is. “If you’re not getting any sea beasts to kill, it’s not because I’m ‘h’ them. It’s because you’re too weak to reach them before I do. It’s as simple as that—a skill issue.”

  “So no, I won’t stop killing them. If you want your share, get better and kill them faster,” he cluded before preparing to leap away, sidering the versation over.

  At that moment, the bearded man with the spear, his face red with anger, she humiliation of being rebuked in front of dozens of people, bined with the frustration he felt at the failure of their strategy, was too much. He gripped his spear tightly and, with a furious scream, charged at Mikael.

  “Jason!?” his panions shouted, stunned by his sudden and ued attack.

  At that moment, Mikael, who was about to leave, shifted his focus back to the charging Jason. With effortless precisioepped to the side, allowing the spear to graze past his right. In the same fluid motion, his sword fshed.

  “Thud.”

  Jason’s spear-wielding arm hit the ground with a dull sound. He stared at the empty space where his arm had been, his mind struggling to process the reality. The pain struck seds ter, a out an agonized scream. “AAHHHHH! My arm!” he howled hysterically, clutg at the stump with his remaining hand.