Alka stood on deck, a Sailor's Long Saber at his waist. One hand rested on its hilt, while the other he placed on the ship's rail, feeling the sea wind. He observed everything on the ship.
His eyes were filled with curiosity; everything here felt novel to him. After all, whether in his past life or as his current self, this was his first time on such a large sailing ship.
The ship's design didn't quite resemble those Alka had seen in films. It didn't seem like the style of a galleon; rather, it looked more like an earlier carrack. The ship's forecastle and sterncastle were noticeably higher than the deck in the middle, forming a rather elongated concave shape. Nearby, ropes as thick as a man's forearm stretched tautly upward, extending all the way to the rigging on the masts. Countless ropes threaded above the ship, chaotic yet orderly.
From bottom to top, three immense square sails, decreasing in size from bottom to top, hung on the main mast in the middle of the deck, billowing in the sea breeze. Aft, there was also a mizzenmast, nearly identical to the main mast but slightly shorter, with somewhat smaller sails.
However, the arrangement of the masts and sails seemed more akin to those of a galleon. It was a bit strange.
He watched a sailor in the crow's nest—a round lookout platform several stories high on the main mast—peering out. With the ship's gentle sway, Alka could already imagine what it felt like in the crow's nest.
The nearby sailors watched Alka, who found everything novel, and shook their heads with amused smiles. They seemed to see a reflection of their former selves.
"How's the first time boarding a ship? Very interesting, right?" Siegert walked over and stood beside Alka. The Sailor's Saber he had been holding was now tucked into his belt.
Alka watched the snow-white waves breaking at the ship's bow and nodded. "It's indeed very novel. I've never boarded such a large sailing ship before."
Upon hearing this, Siegert smiled and patted Alka before leaving. Before walking away, he said, "There are still two or three days to reach the destination. When you rest at night, it'll be in the room I showed you earlier."
Alka waved, then continued to experience the novelties of life onboard, looking at the boundless sea.
"Really interesting!"
「...」
"Still interesting?"
"Not anymore."
Alka leaned against the ship's sterncastle, speaking with boredom. On his first day aboard, the novelty of ship life—the endless sea and sky, the fish swimming in the ocean—had piqued his curiosity.
By the second day, he had become less interested; there was only the sea and sky, nothing else. Now, it was already the third day. He'd heard the wind wasn't favorable, so they might be a day late reaching their destination.
He no longer felt the initial thrill of being on the ship. The only variation was occasionally passing other ships several hundred meters away.
Everything on the vast sea remained unchanged. A day or two was tolerable, but any longer and life onboard indeed became exceedingly dull.
It was far duller than Alka had imagined. For Alka, who had experienced modern life, the sailors' pastimes were too uninteresting.
He now spent most of his time practicing Magic in his room, as well as some techniques applicable in combat.
Tofu, who had been listening to their conversation, walked over with a smile. "Haha, that's the sea for you! True men of the sea must withstand this mental trial. This monotony is just the world preparing you for the excitement that can arrive at any moment."
Alka didn't react much to this, but Siegert seemed to recall something. "Hasn't this sea area been unsafe lately?" he asked.
Tofu nodded, his expression serious. "Pirates have appeared on this route again recently, and a few members from Home Island were killed not long ago."
Hearing this, Siegert's expression also turned grave, and he nodded. Home Island?
Once Tofu left, Alka quickly asked, "Pirates in this sea area?"
"What sea area doesn't have pirates? They're like rats of the sea—everywhere, impossible to eliminate completely."
"And what does 'members from Home Island' mean?" Alka was more interested in this question.
Upon hearing this, Siegert looked at Alka with a strange expression. Then he pointed at Alka, then at himself, and said, "That's us. We're people from Home Island."
Hearing this, Alka finally remembered that Golden Wheat Island was also called Home Island. But why was it called Home Island? What a strange name.
At this moment, Siegert patted Alka's shoulder and said, "The matter you asked for my help with yesterday is settled. Let's go."
"Really? Let's go, quickly!" Alka hurriedly urged.
Saying this, the two entered the sterncastle. The captain's office was located here. They knocked on the door.
"Come in." A rough, strong voice sounded. It was the voice of Captain Hawls.
The two pushed the door and entered. This was Alka's first time entering the captain's cabin on a sailing ship. It wasn't as extravagant as he had imagined.
It was just an ordinary room, quite spacious, with simple furniture arranged around. A painting hung on the left wall of the captain's cabin. Very simple decor.
Beside it were three rows of simple bookshelves, with wooden battens across the middle of each shelf to prevent books from falling out when the ship rocked. Most of the furniture and items were secured in place.
The most conspicuous item was a large, solid wood table situated towards the back of the room. It looked somewhat cluttered, covered with various parchment scrolls and navigational tools.
Alka only recognized a Compass; the other instruments were unfamiliar to him. A huge map hung on the back wall.
These maps were his purpose for coming here. The previous day, Alka had asked Siegert to help him get into the captain's cabin to look at some detailed maps. He was very interested in maps. Such things were generally only found in the captain's cabin.
Hawls looked at the visitors, smiled at Alka, and said, "Ah, the Treasure Hunter is here! Come in, come in. You can look at all these maps. If you have any questions, just ask me. We mustn't hold you up.
"Otherwise, Macy might just twist my head off, hahaha!"
Siegert shot him a sidelong glance. "Is she really that fearsome?"
Upon hearing this, Hawls stepped over and sympathetically patted his shoulder. "You're her son. Shouldn't you know?"
Upon hearing this, Siegert had no choice but to remain silent.
Alka, completely ignoring their banter, already felt a sense of anticipation. He walked directly to the huge map on the back wall. "Is this a world map?"
Upon hearing this, Hawls quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, no. This is the Muhalat Home Island map, also known as the North Homeland Sea.
"We are currently here," he said, pointing. "This is Golden Wheat Island, and here is our destination."
He pointed to a spot on the lower right of the map. The distance between the two points on the map was less than two or three centimeters; they were almost touching. "What is the Blood Gold Alliance?"
The large area they were in on the map was labeled the "Blood Gold Alliance." "The Blood Gold Alliance is an alliance formed by several important islands. Golden Wheat Island is also a member."
Alka nodded in understanding. So, it's like the governing body for this region? An alliance... a coalition government?
He wasn't particularly interested in further details after that. He had come to see the maps to test his golden finger.
His Treasure Hunting System required maps as a medium. He wanted to see how his golden finger would react to such a large-scale map covering an extensive area. Surely, it wouldn't just fill the entire map with densely packed points of light, would it? A small place like Golden Wheat Island alone had four points of light. With such a vast expanse of sea, countless islands, not to mention all the treasures from sunken ships and the like...
Thinking of this, Alka focused on the entire huge map and blinked.
The map immediately showed clear changes. Hawls and Siegert, however, noticed nothing. They couldn't see anything unusual and continued their conversation.