"Cool!"
Jason couldn't help but exclaim as he watched the scene unfold.
The smooth mechanical surface, the incantations at the joints, the magical patterns scattered throughout.
The slowly extending, constructive hands struck Jason as incredibly handsome.
Hearing this, Simon, who was staring at his brand-new hands, looked up and smiled at him.
"Thank you."
"No need... Um, you speak our language?" Jason asked, somewhat surprised, realizing what he was saying.
He hadn't understood what he was saying just now.
Simon nodded and said, "Among the information and knowledge I've gained is your language."
Hearing this, Juanlu couldn't help but show envy on his face. "That's great."
He couldn't help but think of the necessary language knowledge he'd learned under Lucelia's strict instructions.
Learning that strange language was the most painful experience he'd ever had in his life.
Among everyone on the ship, he was only slightly better than Pororo at learning.
Alka watched Simon adapting to his new construct hands and asked, "So, what are you going to do next?"
"There's no going back from here. I can only continue the journey I took ten years ago to the Infinite Ocean. Until then, I'll trouble you all."
Simon looked at them and said apologetically.
He really had nowhere else to go except staying on this ship and heading out to the Infinite Ocean.
Alka nodded. "No problem. This ship is big enough to carry you alone."
"Thank you. Feel free to ask for anything you need while you're on board. I have some skills in forging and constructing objects."
Alka nodded at Simon's words.
Looking at his delicate hands combined with the artifacts strongly associated with constructs, Alka didn't think this was just a small skill.
Once the ritual is performed, the Hand of Precision will transform into a treasure.
"Since we'll be traveling together for a while, let me introduce you. This is the ship's First Mate, Sofia, and this is Jason..."
"Hello, my name is Simon."
Everyone briefly introduced themselves to each other, and after they were acquainted, they were finally acquainted.
Simon rolled over and got out of bed. Though he still looked a little thin and frail, all the injuries on his body had healed from the treasure he had just possessed.
Everyone was quite welcoming of this new, temporary member of the crew.
At lunch, Juanlu prepared some food specifically for him based on his physical condition.
Everyone chatted with him from time to time at the table, but the conversation focused on matters related to the Sea of Illumination and Delusion.
No one knew anything about this sea of wisdom.
And the unknown naturally engendered curiosity.
"So flying steel ships aren't uncommon in your area?" Jason asked, eyes wide with surprise.
Simon nodded and said, "Besides our ships, which can temporarily soar into the sky using the tail nozzles, there's also an airship that floats aloft on giant hot air balloons."
As he spoke, one of Simon's steel fingers detached and floated in the air, transforming into a model of an airship under his control.
"Can it fly continuously?" Lucelia asked curiously nearby.
"It should be no problem to fly for ten days or half a month."
"Wow, that's impressive."
Through his interactions with Simon, Alka also gained a general understanding of the Sea of Illumination. Thanks to the presence of the Church of the Wise, constructs and similar mechanical structures are common in this sea.
The research atmosphere is very strong, and even among ordinary people there are many scholars. This means that in their world, the Touchers aren't a hidden entity; everyone knows they exist.
The requirements for becoming a Toucher are publicly available, with positions available in research institutions and academies.
Perhaps due to the differences in their world, they don't have steam engines.
But relying on spells and the power of constructs, they live in a roughly steampunk-like society.
Steel, ships, airships, and the like all exist.
Sailless ships have even appeared, but these are essentially no different from spellships.
The only difference is their propulsion system.
However, they are said to have a deeper understanding of the Infinite Ocean, so all ships preparing to leave their own area for the Infinite Ocean are redesigned and equipped with sails.
The power generated by spell structures isn't sustainable, requiring the installation of sails to navigate even in adverse conditions. "So, are these apostates... common in your area?" Alka asked curiously.
This was something he was quite curious about, even if asking it out loud was a bit rude.
Mainly, whether in the Home Sea or the Sea of All Beings, betrayal of the Church of God was extremely rare. At least Alka hadn't heard of a single one in the Home Sea.
Mainly, in a place where gods actually existed, Alka couldn't imagine the price of betraying them; what kind of benefits would justify such a price?
Furthermore, those who joined the Church already had some faith, and those in high positions had even stronger faith. At the very least, their behavior and perspectives were aligned with the Church's teachings.
Becoming an apostate under such circumstances was truly unusual.
Simon didn't react much to Alka's words. He nodded in response, as if he were listening to a normal question.
"Yes, the Church of the Holy Machine has many apostates. According to some scholars, this is probably because its philosophy is too open.
This leads many believers and priests to inevitably stray into taboo areas during their research.
The Sage urged them to remain curious about the unknown, but also to maintain reverence. However, as they delve deeper, their curiosity becomes less awe.
The more reasonable ones still believe in the Sage, but no longer follow its teachings. They develop a unique... well, understanding of its teachings.
The more extreme ones consider the Sage's philosophy too pedantic, even believing him to be an evil deity, creating a new cult with his own set of ideologies.
These apostates are the main force heading to the Vast Sea. They will try every means to slip out once the gate opens; the place is too tempting for them.
In fact, the Vast Sea holds a great allure for the likes of us as well."
Is it still possible to research something like this?
It's indeed quite open.
Alka silently grumbled inwardly.
Julia frowned at Simon's words, then asked curiously, "So, for your church, this should be a good thing, right?"
After all, these apostates are the root of trouble. Staying in the sea would disrupt local order. It would be better to let them all leave, to a chaotic place like the Infinite Sea. Out of sight, out of mind.
A very reasonable assumption.
Simon nodded and said, "That's reasonable, but the problem is that most of these apostates capable of establishing a cult hold important positions within the Church."
"They're powerful and possess treasures. If they were just ordinary treasures, it wouldn't be a problem. If a group of apostates with such treasures wanted to leave for the Infinite Sea, the Church would generally acquiesce.
The problem is that those in high positions, many wise men, possess treasures that are of great importance to the Church, some even sacred artifacts."
"So, for apostates who possess treasures important to the Church, we generally pursue them relentlessly to recover the treasures."
He raised his right hand, replacing his right arm with the Hand of Precision and a special index finger.
"For example, this index finger, [Divine Enlightenment], is a very important treasure."
Looking at the treasure in his hand, it was actually called Divine Enlightenment. It didn't seem right at all.
He had already inquired about it before, and it was this treasure that was responsible for the strange phenomena on the island. It's a purposefully amplified, targeted effect.
This thing is actually called [Holy Enlightenment].
How could it be holy if it were replaced with a mechanical organ?
However, Alka had some strange thoughts about Simon's words and asked, "What constitutes an important treasure?"
Simon still answered this question readily, "Those that aid the Church's education, such as those that make it easier to learn forging or carving.
Those that enlighten wisdom and accelerate learning are considered important treasures for the Church."
Simply put, these are treasures whose functions are strongly related to the development of the Holy Machine Church, its educational philosophy, and its combat methods.
For example, [Precision Hands], which allows for rapid forging and enhances fine crafting.
[Holy Enlightenment], which directly enhances the creation of constructs.
These are all examples of this.
"So, for the Holy Machine Church, any treasure that doesn't fall into this category isn't of much concern, isn't it?" Alka thought for a moment and asked.
Simon nodded. "That's what I understand."
Hearing this, Alka rubbed his chin, thinking.
"What's wrong? Did you think of something?" Sofia asked from the side.
Alka nodded. "I thought of the Holy Mother Church."
Because the Holy Mother Church seems to have a similar attitude toward treasures. For example, they're very generous with inappropriate treasures like the [Bloody Flag].
Basically, they give it away whenever they're asked to, and whenever they can.
Take the [Mirror] for example. It's fine if they're willing to trade it, but when Alka received it, only a few slots had been used.
It gives the impression that this treasure has been neglected.
For a church as large as the Holy Mother Church, this seems a bit off. He had previously chatted with the Archbishop.
The ship had carried two treasures, hoping that Alka, who was undergoing the touching ceremony, would choose the wheat ear headband.
Because that piece of equipment was used by those within the inner circle during their initiation.
Alka was a natural-born member of the inner circle.
The magic within Jason, who had touched the treasure, was closer to the Holy Light, within the realm of the Virgin Mary's power.
According to Alka's understanding within the Home Sea, any treasure related to the Virgin Mary's teachings was essentially invisible from the outside; it was all in the hands of church officials.
"Burp!"
A burp sounded from the side.
Everyone turned to see the now-satisfied Pororo.
He looked at everyone curiously and asked, "You've been chatting here for so long, aren't you hungry?"
Hearing this, everyone quietly began to eat.
They chatted so much that they almost forgot what they were doing.
...
Day 2
When Simon suggested going to the island, Alka brought Jason and Pororo with him.
He had a rough idea of what Simon was up to.
When Simon saw the wreckage of the steel ship, broken and twisted in half, he froze in his tracks.
The three of them stood behind him, not interrupting him.
After a long moment, Simon managed to calm himself down and turned to the others, saying, "Please wait for me."
Everyone nodded.
Jason said, "If you need any help, you're welcome."
"Thank you," Simon said with a thankful nod.
Then everyone saw Simon walk into the wreckage of the ship and watch him pack up one body after another and carry them out to place outside.
Alka saw that the orange sacks containing the remains were labeled with each person's name.
"He can actually recognize his former teammates by looking at the remains?" Jason asked in surprise.
"Shouldn't we help him?" Pororo asked, arms folded, as he watched Simon, who was carrying the remains alone.
Alka shook his head.
"Leave him alone. He'd want that."
Just as Alka had said, Simon did exactly that.
He wanted to be the only one still alive on the ship, to give the remaining remains a final farewell.
He worked tirelessly from morning until noon, finally packing up the remains and placing them outside.
Then, led by Alka and the others, they headed to various locations where the corpses of the walking dead lay.
Due to the sheer number of bodies, Alka hadn't processed them all, causing some to completely decay over time.
Simon simply sorted each corpse and took the bodies of his teammates and packed them up.
Finally, he bagged a pile of black ashes.
The ashes were the six-spiral walking corpse Alka had fought the previous day, Simon's former captain.
It was said that the captain had once possessed nine spirals, and even the combined strength of his undead body and the components of his constructs couldn't restore his power.
Only after this was complete did he place the remains on the ship's deck.
Then, he reached into a metal box at his waist, and various structural components appeared.
He placed these components around the abandoned steel ship.
He raised his right hand, the Precision Hand, and the finger-like treasure, and touched the ruins of the steel ship.
Through the strange transmission of magical power and the unique ripples, it seemed to affect the structures installed on the ruined ship.
These unknown structures began to transform the entire steel ship, carrying it with them.
In Alka's view, the entire surface of the ship began to boil, then melted, turning into liquid metal.
It began to wrap upwards, enveloping the corpses on the deck within the metal sphere.
After only ten minutes, a round, solid iron sphere appeared where the ship had previously rested.
"That's impressive," Jason exclaimed as he watched.
Alka nodded. He could roughly tell that the Caster's [Melt] spell was being used.
However, melting such a large steel ship into a single iron sphere was beyond Alka's control.
That's a bit exaggerated.
Is it his own ability or a treasure enhancement?
On the solid steel ball, row after row of names appeared.
Densely packed with characters, they were arranged on the iron ball.
These were the names of the corpses.
And the names of the crew members whose remains could not be found, all of which he had carved into the iron ball.
Then everyone saw him produce something resembling sticks.
One by one, he thrust them into a circle around the iron ball.
He raised his right hand and gently tapped it.
The iron sticks underwent a strange transformation, then suddenly burrowed into the ground. The small pieces that remained were connected by lines of magical power.
Instantly, a violent cloud of dust rose.
The iron ball sank directly into the ground, creating a huge pit just big enough to bury it.
The dust didn't spread outward, but instead floated upwards to a certain height before falling back down.
By the time everyone could see clearly, a mound had formed.
Then they saw Simon make a triangle on his chest, a gesture resembling a prayer.
He softly chanted something in a language they couldn't understand.
"I originally said I'd bring you two to help collect his body, but the three of us have been sitting here watching for ages," Alka couldn't help but say.
After a while, Simon finished his prayer and returned.
"Okay, it's over. We can go back now."
Everyone nodded.
The four of them returned in silence, returning to the Voice of Dawn.
Simon had said his final goodbye.
Arka came onto the deck and waved.
"Set sail!"
As the words fell, a bright song rang out.
The sails dropped, and the ship gradually sailed away from the island.
Simon stood at the stern, gazing at the islands receding in the distance, a gray-black metal plate clutched in his hand.
Arka came to his side.
"Iron Melody, huh?"
Simon nodded, then raised the metal plate in his hand, the treasure in his Hand of Precision pointing at it with his index finger.
Magic energy infused the metal plate, and it began to melt and boil, rapidly taking shape.
The entire process took less than two minutes.
And two minutes later, the metal plate had transformed into a scaled-down ship.
This ship was so familiar.
Arka had seen it before in his dreams. After a moment's thought, a piece of canvas materialized in his hand.
He handed it to Simon.
"A sailboat without canvas is incomplete."
Hearing this, Simon smiled and nodded.
The canvas was neatly cut and attached to the mast of the model sailboat.
Unknown words appeared on the side of the steel sailboat model.
Steel Melody.
This was a scaled-down model of the ship Simon had once sailed on.
This would become Simon's memory.
The last rays of dusk fell across the sea, the dim sunlight illuminating the receding island.
Until the island was reduced to a single black dot, no longer visible.
A gentle breeze ruffled the sails of the Sound of Dawn.
The ever-moving current pushed the ship forward, toward the unknown.