Following Lucelia's instructions, the girl below nodded in agreement, and then, at Lucelia's signal, she was allowed to come up. The girl immediately leaped from the water and landed steadily on the deck. The moment she appeared, both watching were stunned. This was a race they had never seen before. She had a human body and a snake's tail, with a pair of arms beneath her armpits. Her skin was a pale blue, with fins on her back and elbows. She also had delicate, lightly colored scales on both sides of her cheeks. Her ears were long and pointed, even more pointed than Lucelia's, and even had structures resembling fins on them. Her upper body was clad in a simple garment made of shells, and around her neck hung a shell and pearl ornament. Compared to a normal human... The girl's race clearly leaned towards a marine species, more like a merman or mermaid.
The two men, having regained their composure, exchanged glances, each with a look of wonder in their eyes.
The girl was slightly puzzled by their surprise.
Because time was pressing, Alka completely suppressed the surprise and curiosity in her eyes.
According to Lucelia's questions, she politely nodded to the two, then tilted her head and gazed directly towards the area leading to the deck below.
She pointed there.
Alka had already emerged from her dreamlike death state, but the mirror still adorned her face, and a faint pink mist shrouded her feet, though it didn't spread outward.
Although Alka had agreed to allow this strange girl of a strange race to come aboard her ship to rescue Pororo due to his critical condition,
But this didn't mean Alka would relax; instead, she became even more vigilant.
Lucille, beside her, felt the same way.
At this moment, Jason came up the stairs leading down, seemingly wanting to see how Alka and the others were doing.
However, upon reaching the top, he saw the girl with a human body and a snake tail. Shock flashed across his eyes, and he immediately raised his left hand.
Looking at the haloed glove, Alka quickly waved her hand away.
"Don't get excited. She doesn't mean any harm yet."
Hearing this, Jason lowered his left hand cautiously, but the halo still lingered around the glove, ready to fire at any moment.
He also drew the pistol from his thigh.
"Tell her we're taking her, but she must not do anything dangerous."
Lucille turned and relayed Alka's words.
The girl looked unusually calm and nodded, meaninglessly.
She could understand the people's wariness towards her; she was a stranger, after all, and judging by their expressions, they seemed to have never seen a race like her.
Hearing this, Jason remained alert and slowly continued downstairs, though he didn't understand the situation.
Alka followed the girl of this strange race, heading downstairs.
They soon arrived at the infirmary.
The people at the infirmary door and inside heard the footsteps and turned to look at the girl of this strange race. Their first thought was to draw their weapons.
Everyone on the boat was somewhat nervous at this moment.
However, when Jason, who was walking in front, and Alka, who was walking behind, waved at them, they lowered their weapons slightly and became more alert.
The girl also quickened her pace, quickly entering the infirmary, ignoring the others, and coming directly to Pororo's side.
Fortunately, she was smart enough not to get too close to Pororo, observing him carefully from a distance.
Everyone gathered around.
If the girl made any unusual moves, they could immediately stop her.
The girl observed Pororo's condition for a moment, then opened her mouth to speak.
Hearing what she said, Alka turned to look at Lucelia on her shoulder.
Lucelia relayed, "She said Pororo's condition is okay now, and treatment isn't as difficult as we'd imagined. She said she's going to start treatment, and asked us not to be too nervous."
Everyone turned to Alka, awaiting his decision.
Alka looked at Pororo on the boat.
Although Pororo wasn't in immediate danger, his condition was definitely critical. Without treatment, he would likely suffer irreversible side effects.
They had no means of healing Pororo, and when danger arose, they could only freeze his state.
A pink mist began to spread beneath their feet, circling the girl's snake-like form.
If the girl took any dangerous action, this pink mist could instantly drag her into a dream.
After this, Alka nodded.
Lucelia explained.
Hearing this, the girl stretched out her hands, her lower arms falling naturally.
Her hands showed no trace of magical energy, save for a faint flicker of light at her fingertips.
Following this light, she gently tapped Pororo's carbonized skin.
The light quickly merged into Pororo's body.
Then her hands danced above his torso, a strange light constantly changing color as it poured into Pororo's body.
Beads of sweat began to form on the young woman's forehead, and she frowned.
It seemed the treatment wasn't as easy as she'd promised.
After a while, she exhaled heavily.
A soft, cracking sound echoed.
The charred skin on Pororo's body began to peel away like plaster on a wall.
A fresh, new body was revealed.
Alka was certain that, as they had just examined the inside, there was indeed severely injured flesh beneath the skin.
How could a layer of skin have grown back so quickly?
After confirming the underlying skin, the young woman began to gently pick at it with the slightly sharp nails of her slender fingers.
Pieces of skin fell away one after another.
A clear smile and a look of relief crossed the young woman's face.
Beneath the charred skin fragments, Pororo's former gray shark skin was revealed.
As all the skin fragments were stripped away, Pororo's skin was revealed to everyone.
It was no longer the same as before, but had changed.
Lightning-like lines appeared on his skin, spreading from his back to his sides.
This seemed to be a side effect of Pororo's lightning trial.
What was the unknown girl still saying at this moment? After he finished, Lucelia translated, "She said Pororo successfully passed the final test and gained the power of the storm.
Even without her treatment, Pororo would slowly grow new skin over the next few days, returning to his full strength.
She simply accelerated the process, sparing Pororo the need to endure this painful experience."
Hearing this, Alka nodded and said, "Thank her for us. Thank her for her help. We don't know why she did it, but if you need any help, please let us know. If you need anything, please let us know.
By the way, I apologize for our rude attitude just now."
Lucelia nodded, relayed Alka's words verbatim, and then bowed in apology.
The girl waved her hands nervously, mumbling something in a panic.
Lucelia was also communicating with her.
After a while, Pororo, lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight.
The violent movement seemed to stretch some of the remaining wounds on his body, causing a flicker of pain to appear on his face, but it quickly faded.
Pororo then raised his hands, looking at the lightning-like patterns on his arms, a smile on his face.
"Hahaha, I finally passed all the trials!"
Then he looked at the dust on his body and some black lumps that had fallen off nearby, picked them up and sniffed them.
"What the hell is this? Don't you guys clean the infirmary? It's disgusting!"
Pororo, who had almost never been to the infirmary, said with a hint of disgust.
Hearing this, the veins in the heads of the people who had been worried about him jumped.
Before they could say anything, Pororo turned around and was startled by the girl of a strange race standing next to him.
He instantly fell to the ground nearby, alert.
"Alright, Pororo, you have to thank her. She saved you," Alka said from the side.
"Saved me?" Pororo pointed at himself, puzzled, then looked over his body. He found no scars or signs of treatment.
"What's wrong with me?"
Alka glanced at him helplessly and said, "You underwent the so-called final test in that storm, a baptism of lightning. Your entire body was scorched by lightning, and you're seriously injured."
"Really?" Pororo asked doubtfully. He hadn't actually made it to the end. He'd lost consciousness before leaving the storm, but his body was still holding on.
Alka pointed to the black crust on the ground and said, "These are your skin that was completely scorched."
"So this is my skin?"
He said casually, unconcerned.
Then he turned to look at the strange girl of an unknown race, bowed, and said, "Thank you, thank you for healing me."
Though the girl didn't know what Pororo was saying, she looked like he was thanking her, and quickly waved.
"What is she saying? I don't understand," Pororo said with a slight tilt of his head.
"Don't worry, I don't understand either."
Then the girl said something to Lucelia and swam out of the infirmary door. Lucelia hurriedly chased after her, and everyone followed.
The girl with a slender tail reached the deck, said something to Lucelia, then waved to everyone and leaped into the sea, disappearing.
"Hey! Why is she gone? We haven't even thanked her yet," Jason said from behind.
For the girl's kindness in healing Pororo, verbal thanks were barely enough to truly count.
They were still wondering how to offer the girl some kind of thanks, at least to have her stay for a meal and get to know her better.
"We finally have a doctor. It would be great if we could keep her on board," Sofia said, watching the departing girl.
Arka only remembered this when he heard this.
"She said she had to go back, or her people would worry," Lucilia said from the side.
"People?" Arka asked, puzzled.
Only then did he finally calm down, his mind clear, and begin to reflect on what had happened in just the past hour or two.
"Her people mean she lives here. There are other intelligent life forms here... living here?"
Arka said with some disbelief.
This is the forward channel. The current is always moving forward, and it's so desolate that even islands are hard to spot.
In such a situation, the existence of an intelligent species is somewhat strange.
Thinking of this, Alka asked himself, "I see the girl's anatomy suggests she's an aquatic species like the Pororo."
"Perhaps for them, the eternal flow of the water isn't a difficult problem to overcome. Food shortages and the scarcity of islands aren't a problem either."
Now that he thought about it, the so-called forward route was truly unfriendly only to land-based creatures like them.
For the Pororo, it was hardly a problem. They could often be seen leaving the boat and swimming in these waters, occasionally catching a large fish or two to provide a snack for everyone.
"Don't forget, when we just passed through the Storm Sea, we happened to encounter people from the Southern Storm Sea passing through the gate," Sofia reminded him.
"I suspect the intensity of this storm might be related to this situation," Alka remarked. "When we left the Home Sea, the storm coincided with the gate's opening, and its intensity was very high.
In the Sea of All Beings, the storm's intensity decreased, but we don't know the exact time of their last opening. We estimate it must have been several years.
In the Sea of Illumination, the storm's intensity was extremely weak, and we can determine that the gate last opened about ten years ago.
This time, the storm is strongest, and we happened to encounter it just before the gate opened."
Everyone nodded at this. This suggests that the intensity of the storm is indeed related to the time of the gate's opening.
The timing and intensity of the gate's opening should follow a circular pattern, a cycle.
The storm is strongest just before and at the moment of the opening, and gradually weakens over time.
"Forget it, let's not think about it," Alka said.
After all, they had already experienced this final stormy sea. Their next goal would be to completely cross the forward channel and truly enter the Infinite Ocean.
He turned to look at Pororo, who was sitting idle beside him.
"Pororo, tell me about yourself. You risked your life to face that final test. What did you gain?"
After all, when the girl first approached their ship, she'd said she sensed Pororo needed help, or that the sea was guiding her.
Even in this situation, Alka wouldn't believe that Pororo hadn't gained anything.
He nearly lost his life. If that wasn't worth it, Alka felt truly sorry for him.
Hearing this, Pororo smiled, revealing his sharp, deep white teeth.
He raised his sturdy hands, showing everyone the lightning patterns on his hands and back.
"These are the powers I've gained. I'm no longer a warrior of the sea, but a champion of the storm!"
He stepped onto the deck and raised his hands high. Blue lightning flashed in his eyes, and bolts of lightning struck from the sky, landing in the nearby sea.
The lightning patterns on Pororo's body also glowed purple, with purple lightning entwined around them.
"I have mastered lightning, and will also master the power of storms. This is a gift from the sea."
Seeing Pororo's transformation, everyone couldn't help but smile.
I was genuinely happy for him.
He deserved it.
Julia looked at Pororo, thinking of his past deeds, and couldn't help but ask, "The Will of the Sea refers to that Sea God, right? Otherwise, we wouldn't have encountered the final storm trial just after arriving at the Southern Storm Sea, where the Sea God resides."
Hearing Julia's words, Pororo nodded. "Yes, the Will of the Sea is the Sea God. He just cast his gaze upon me."
Hearing this, Simon, a devout believer in the Church of the Holy Machine, cast an envious glance.
Jason, standing next to him, observed the scene, smiled, and patted his shoulder.
"Why are you envious of him? Have you ever considered that your survival is all because of the gods watching over you and blessing you?"
As he spoke, he tapped his metal arm.
"Think about it, isn't this a gift from the gods?"
Hearing this, Simon smiled.
"That's true."
But then, Jason turned to look at Pororo and circled around him.
"So, we were all just being watched by a god?"
"You could say that."
"I hope the sea god's gaze will bring me good luck, so I won't be unlucky next time I go fishing."
Jason looked sincere, staring at the sky, closing his eyes and praying.
Hearing this, Alka helplessly held his forehead. "That's all you can do."
"Everyone's tired. Let's get some rest."
Alka said, then looked at Juanlu and nodded.
Juanlu smiled and said to the crowd, "Looks like I'll have to prepare a feast for everyone."
With that, he trotted into the dining room.
Jason leaned his hands against the side of the boat, staring ahead.
"We're on the final stretch of our route, aren't we?"
"Yes."
"Finally, we're leaving this desolate waterway," Jason said, a look of relief on his face.
This place is truly desolate.
Hearing this, Alka said quietly, "When we finally reach the truly boundless ocean, our journey will have only just begun."
The people standing around, listening to Alka's words, were silent.
They stared at the sea ahead.