It was almost noon.
Jason yawned and emerged from his room.
Since he usually kept watch, he slept late and was usually the last one to rise in the entire team.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Jason slowly descended the stairs.
Suddenly, his legs tripped, something tripping him, and he immediately rolled down, landing on the deck below.
Jason lay dazed on the deck.
What happened?
What tripped me?
Just then, a silvery laugh echoed from the side.
Jason immediately stood up and looked over. He saw the silver-haired Second sitting on the edge of the second floor, laughing heartily.
In his hand, he waved a thin silver thread.
That was the thing that had tripped him.
"Damn it, you again! You're getting more and more mischievous."
Looking at Er, who was laughing heartily, Jason said with a mixture of helplessness and anger.
Lately, Er's spirituality had grown stronger, but correspondingly, so had her mischievousness.
She had even begun playing pranks, to derive pleasure from teasing others.
Er, who was laughing heartily, suddenly flew up. Turning around, she saw Sofia, who was staring at her with a frown.
Looking at the somewhat angry Sofia, Er immediately lowered her head, her laughter fading.
"You're doing something bad again!" Sofia said angrily, then, somewhat helplessly, lifted her up and placed her on his shoulder.
"I don't know who you resemble or who you learned this from," Sofia said helplessly.
Julia, who happened to be passing by the side of the deck, heard this, looked up at her, then silently turned her head and left.
Jason, sitting on the deck, wanted to say something, but then silently closed his mouth.
In that instant, his mind was filled with thoughts of Jamie and some of the things Jamie had told them about Sofia's childhood.
He couldn't help but become even more convinced of Alka's recent theory.
The current Er was indeed Sofia's childhood self.
But he didn't dare say that now.
Because Er had recently shown signs of violence, who knew if Sofia still had that hidden streak.
If he spoke out and Sofia got angry, a punch would be unpleasant.
At this moment, Zero, wearing a slim-fitting maid outfit, suddenly emerged from the shadows in the corner.
"Er, the master is calling you."
Er nodded at this, his silver hair stretching out and swinging down from the cable.
Sofia watched Zero disappear into the shadows around the corner and couldn't help but say, "Her movements are becoming increasingly elusive."
Jason, standing across from him, nodded in agreement.
Because these dolls aren't real people, while they have the ability to conduct magic, they lack true souls, making it difficult for them to use spells.
So, Alka engraved specially crafted spells on each of them to enhance them.
At Zero's request, a full set of assassin spells was engraved on her.
Thinking of this, Sofia suddenly asked, "Is One's transformation complete?"
Jason shook his head.
"I don't know, but it should be soon. Wasn't it already being carved last night? And Simon's helping now."
Ever since Simon arrived on board, the crafting hall on the Voice of Dawn has had a new regular.
And out of gratitude for everyone's rescue, and also for their help in freeing the crew members who had once been on his ship, Simon wrote down all the spells he knew and placed them in the library.
These spells included some commonly used and highly popular spells.
There were also over 20 spells they had never seen before. The crew had been learning these spells for a while now.
Of course, not all of them, but rather some that they found most suitable for their combat system.
Simon knew almost all of these spells; the only question was his proficiency.
With him by their side, the crew didn't need much help with spell materials.
The two chatted as they moved to the small flower bed in the center of the open deck.
Standing by the flowerbed were the four puppets from the boat, along with three members of the Puppet Knights, all learning from Lusilia.
After long hours of practice, Lusilia had essentially developed a combat style suited to the puppets.
She had also equipped the three puppets with different weapons based on this combat style.
Of course, these weapons were the result of a collaboration between Alka and Simon.
"Yi has already strengthened," Sofia observed, observing Yi as she studied behind Lusilia.
Yi's bow, which she used to shoot short needles, had disappeared, replaced by a spear slung across her back, taller than her.
The spear was crafted from a single piece of transparent crystal, likely from the treasures she had previously acquired.
The spear evoked a familiar sensation for Sofia.
Then she realized where this sensation came from: it seemed to be a halo of light.
Now, she suddenly remembered what Alka had asked her for a few days ago: to help her carve a light-focusing spell into a piece of clear crystal.
Preferably with the aid of the Ring of Light, and if it could be strengthened, that would be even better.
It seemed that the crystal was used to craft this weapon.
Then this weapon must possess both long-range and short-range capabilities.
It should be able to focus light during the day, emitting scorching rays.
As for any other abilities, she had no idea.
Just then, the two of them saw Alka and Simon emerging from the lower deck, seemingly engaged in conversation.
As they ascended, they spotted Shadaiti and Jason not far away, waving at them.
As they passed, Alka looked at Shadaiti and asked.
"What kind of weapon do you want?"
"Huh?" Shadaiti was a little confused by the sudden question.
"We have some materials left on the ship. I'm thinking of crafting a weapon suitable for you, but you don't have any suitable weapons right now," Alka repeated.
Sofia nodded. She certainly didn't have any suitable weapons.
Although she used her hands and legs to attack, and her legs had amplifiers that strengthened her leg attacks,
they couldn't be used as normal weapons.
In battle, she mainly targeted different enemies, applying different bandages engraved with targeted spells.
But these only provided a slight amplification effect, better than nothing.
Sofia thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with an idea. She replied, "Anything that can strengthen my attacks but doesn't affect my combat will be fine."
Hearing this, Alka thought for a moment and nodded.
"No problem. I'll discuss it with you in detail when I have a design."
Then Alka turned to look at Jason.
Seeing Jason's expectant eyes, he silently turned his head back.
"What about me? What about me? Didn't you ask me to come too?" Jason asked hurriedly.
"Huh? I mainly asked Sofia, and you came by yourself." Alka spread his hands and said helplessly.
The meaning was obvious; he had no intention of making a weapon for you.
"Tsk." Jason shook his hand and walked away with a look of disdain.
"I see you seem to be good at using firearms. I have some experience in this area."
Simon said with a smile as he watched Jason leave.
Hearing this, Jason immediately trotted over, put his hand on Simon's shoulder, and led him down to the manufacturing hall.
"Really? Actually, I want to modify these..."
Watching the two men walk away, Alka shook his head helplessly.
After they left, Sofia looked at Alka and whispered in his ear, "Don't forget Juanlu."
Alka patted his head, remembering what he had just done.
"I knew you'd forgotten," Sofia said helplessly.
"Haha, thank you," Alka said with a laugh.
Then he quickly ran towards the restaurant.
On the forward route, the concentration of magic power increased as they advanced.
This also led to Juanlu, who would normally take two or three months to reach the triple helix, successfully reaching it the night before.
Combined with the spells Simon had brought, Juanlu had already begun constructing his own offensive system.
Alka also planned to prepare some suitable spell equipment for him after he finished constructing it.
After entering, he saw Juanlu studying something on the dining table, seemingly some recipes.
Juanlu looked at Alka, who seemed to have come in specifically to see him, with a puzzled look.
Alka sat down next to him and asked, "Have you built your spell system yet?"
Juanlu nodded. "Almost. I just need to study and master these spells more deeply."
"Have you decided what kind of equipment you want?"
Hearing this, Juanlu thought for a moment, and the bat appeared in his hand.
"I really like this weapon. It can be used for both long-range and short-range attacks. How about modifying it?"
Alka looked at the bat in his hand and nodded.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Should I bring a shield?"
"A shield? Hmm... sure," Juanlu thought for a moment and nodded, then added, "Just an arm shield that can be worn on the arm, nothing too big."
Hearing this, Alka smiled.
"Then just go to the treasury and get it. We got a nice little round shield last time; it should suit your needs."
"Okay."
Alka then went to her room and quickly began drawing blueprints, designing equipment suitable for Sofia based on her current attack style.
Alka had briefly trained with her on the ship during the voyage a while ago, and had a general idea of her current fighting style.
With Simon on board, Alka could be more daring with his designs.
After he was ready, he took the blueprints to Sofia.
After all, this was a weapon custom-made for Sofia, so of course he had to let her take a look and get her opinion.
After a brief chat, they revised a few details based on the blueprints and finalized the plan.
They began casting with Simon in the manufacturing hall.
It had to be said that Simon, a true machinist, and one who had come from the Sea of Delusion, knew far more than Alka, a novice.
While working with him, Alka constantly learned from Simon.
As befitting a member of the Holy Machine Church, a believer in the Wise, his teaching methods were exceptionally high.
Alka's entire learning process was remarkably smooth.
He could even clearly feel his forging skills rapidly improving, constantly enriching his theoretical knowledge.
He also learned more about the techniques of constructing structures.
The only problem was that Simon didn't seem to have much experience with the methods of the engraver, nor did he have much talent.
…
A few days later.
Sofia, standing at the bow, calculating something with some instruments, suddenly felt a light lift on his shoulder.
He waved his hand backward, and a rope of light, condensed from a beam of light, shot out, bounding an object and dragging it back.
"Ah, let me go!"
The bound Er struggled in the air.
"Are you going out to do bad things again?" Sofia asked without looking up.
"No, I just... I just want to train. Yes, train."
Er waved his fist, thought for a moment, and then argued.
Sofia still didn't look up, still calculating.
She had already labeled Er the same as her childhood self.
She herself didn't know what she was like as a child, so she knew exactly what Er wanted to do day by day.
After a while, he said, "Really? Well, I'll be done in a little while. I'll go with you and train you myself."
"Huh?"
"Hmm?!"
"...Okay."
Finally, Er agreed dejectedly, sitting on Sofia's shoulder.
Julia, watching the two of them exchange, covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
As if inspired, she began to hum softly.
She kept changing the pitch of her humming, beginning to match it with appropriate lyrics.
Hearing this voice, Er, who had been feeling dejected, was distracted and looked at Julia, swinging his legs.
After a while, Sofia finished his work and looked up.
Julia stopped humming and asked, "Have you figured it out?"
Sofia nodded. "The final sea area is about two days away."
"That doesn't leave much time."
"Yes, we should start preparing."
Footsteps sounded from behind.
The two turned to see Alka approaching, holding something in his hands.
A smile crossed his face as he saw Alka approaching. He stood up and prepared to leap over.
Instead, Sofia grabbed his clothes by the back of his neck and pulled him back in mid-air.
Alka smiled, handed the item to Sofia, and said, "Try it out. The finished product has been modified to suit the original drawing. See if it fits and if there's anything else that needs revising."
On his hands were two arm guards with fingerless gloves and two leg guards.
The armor plates on the front of the arm guards and shin guards were silver, with a long strip of transparent crystal approximately two centimeters wide in the center.
In addition, the patterns on the armor plates formed a sun shape, radiating light outward.
The fingerless gloves also had a row of crystals, but they were encased in a transparent material.
Xadaiti donned the equipment, and the arm guards automatically snapped onto her hands without the need for a rope.
She heard Alka explain, "Both the arm guards and shin guards are extremely strong and flexible, and have excellent magical conductivity. They are engraved with spells that increase attack speed and impact force."
"See the horizontal crystal strips on them? They have a special structure that can store sunlight.
Even in a dark place, you can control the sunlight inside to perform operations."
This function was specifically designed for Sofia's Ring of Light.
If this technology proves to be highly useful, it will be crafted into crystals specifically designed to store various types of light for Sofia's use.
Looking at the arm guards and shin guards, Sofia smiled. After briefly pumping his fist twice, he said, "Very nice. I like them. Does the equipment have a name?"
"Yes, it's called the Solar Armor."
"Nice name."
"Well, don't you want to give it a try? See if it fits?"
"Yes." Sofia nodded, carrying the weapon in his hand and heading out onto the deck.
Alka also found Juanlu and gave him the newly reinforced bat.
"The newly enhanced bat has three modes, and you can customize it based on the situation."
"The heavy ball mode adds weight, and the ball you hit deals even more damage, like a giant hammer hitting you."
"The enchanted mode increases magical conductivity, allowing you to adjust the damage based on the spells you enchant it with."
"The skill mode reduces weight, allowing it to fly faster and perform deflection and spin shots. Using these modes is up to you, and they're a bit difficult to control, so you'd better practice more."
Then he tapped the bat in Juanlu's hand and said, "This bat is engraved with the [Strike] spell, and the material is incredibly strong."
After listening to Alka's introduction, Juanlu looked at the brand new bat with a satisfied smile on his face.
Gripping the bat with both hands, he couldn't help but swing it back and forth.
"I guess I need to practice my strength, or I won't be able to fully utilize it," Juanlu said.
Hearing this, Alka couldn't help but laugh, jokingly saying, "Isn't it easy for you to increase your strength?"
"Haha, not that much, but I need to eat more these days," Juanlu said with a smile.
Due to Juanlu's family background, he improved his physical fitness at an exceptional rate.
The physical enhancement brought about by his increased magic power was greater than that of others, and because he could quickly eat and replenish lost energy,
A large portion of his pocket ring was filled with various ready-to-eat, high-calorie foods.
This also allowed him to recover more easily from regular exercise, improving the effectiveness of his training.