Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer-Chapter 756 - 335 Giant Wood Habitat

The night sky was a curtain of stars. Tonight, unusually, no strange celestial bodies appeared. Not even a few bright stars could be seen, plunging the world into a rare and profound darkness. Jason lit several Lighting Stones from his Pocket Ring and hung them around the ship.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve used these. I really do feel a bit nostalgic," Pororo said, swimming slowly beside the ship as he looked at the Lighting Stones hanging everywhere.

"Yeah." Julia sat on the edge of the ship, her beautiful tail gently swaying in the water.

The swamp was unusually quiet. There wasn’t even the slightest whisper of wind, and the chirping of insects was unlikely here. The endless expanse of swamp vines below and the silent night sky above created an exceptional quiet. It felt as if even a soft shout could carry for a great distance.

On the smoothly sailing Swallow, Alka sat at the bow. An invisible barrier of Magic Power surrounded him. An arrangement of several Crystal Stones and a Magic Gathering Stone floated above his head. Alka was performing his daily Meditation, feeling the pull of Magic Power in the surrounding air.

As the group chatted idly in the dead of night, Simon suddenly asked, "Is Alka about to break through?"

Chadite nodded. "It seems he’s about to break through to twenty-four Spirals."

"So fast," Jason’s voice came from behind them.

Although the crew was chatting at the stern, they could see a massive platform connected to the stern of the Swallow. The platform was concave and seamlessly embedded into the Swallow’s stern. Its construction, along with the submerged propeller at the rear, clearly marked it as Simon’s handiwork. The propulsion device, designed for the swamp, also served to expand their rest area on the water. The idea for the platform, which conveniently also served as a booster, primarily arose when they were designing a resting place for the Crystal Dragon. This allowed them to sail a little faster here. The large platform connected to the Swallow’s stern gave the ship greater buoyancy. Thus, with the booster, they could travel quickly across the water’s surface without worrying about the ship scraping against the submerged vines.

At this moment, the Crystal Dragon lay curled up on it. Jason leaned against the Crystal Dragon’s back. Ulu Liwus even covered Jason with one of its wings.

"Speaking of which, that was rather fast. It’s only been twenty days since his last breakthrough, right? Has it really been twenty days?" Juanlu asked, somewhat uncertain.

"Nineteen days. Not even twenty days yet," Lucilia answered.

Jason, leaning against the Crystal Dragon’s back, shook his head helplessly. "I can’t figure out why it’s so fast. Is he on some kind of special potion or something?"

The gap between them and Alka had widened. For most, it had grown to about five or six Spirals, and it would only continue to increase. Most of the crew were still around eighteen or nineteen Spirals. That was the minimum difference; for some, like Matilda and Juanlu, the gap to Alka already exceeded eight Spirals.

"I heard his strength in the Dream Realm has improved so much that it’s dragging his real-world strength along, accelerating it. They say this situation will ease considerably once he reaches the Fourth Stage," Chadite explained from the side.

"Ease? Is that really the right word?" Simon scoffed nearby. It sounds more like some kind of Curse, as if his body is weak. If this is some kind of weakening Curse, then bring it on me, don’t hold back!

"For Alka, it probably is a relief," Lucilia remarked. "After all, he mentioned before that the disconnect between reality and the Dream Realm was becoming too severe, potentially leading to irreparable accidents."

The group continued their idle chatter on the ship deep into the night, whiling away the boring hours.

Until someone finally piped up.

"Want to play cards?"

"Yes!"

"Count me in."

"Me too."

"Then I..."

"Too many people. Losers swap out, and we’re playing for money." The one who spoke glanced at Jason, who was laughing awkwardly nearby.

Everyone was wealthy now. Except for Jason, who was still poor; not only poor but also deeply in debt.

It’s all an investment in the future, Jason silently encouraged himself.

...

Sensing that his power had perfectly consolidated after the breakthrough, Alka ended his daily Meditation and slowly opened his eyes. The sounds of the group’s conversation reached his ears; their voices seemed somewhat excited.

It’s so late, aren’t they resting?

He listened more closely.

"King Bomb! You’re out of cards, right? Was your last one a two?"

"Haha, pay up, pay up! You can just keep adding it to your tab. That must be a whole Golden Sail you owe for today by now!"

Hearing their shouts, Alka shook his head with a helpless smile. He wiped away the sweat from his Meditation, then switched off and put away the Magic Gathering Stone and the device it formed. Just then, he noticed Lucilia at the helm, flipping through a thick book easily larger than she was.

"Not going to play?"

"Hmph, I’m not playing. It’s a boring game," Lucilia snorted softly, returning her gaze to the book before her.

Hearing this, Alka couldn’t help but smile. He remembered her previous card-playing skills. Apparently, she had lost too much and was no longer in the mood.

He said no more and, smiling, sat down beside her. He took a map from his Pocket Ring and, following the directions he sensed the Flower Fairy had given him, examined the distances on it.

"How long have we been sailing?" Alka asked.

Hearing Alka’s question, Lucilia answered without looking up from her book, "Six days."

"Six days already? Hmm, then we should be about here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "In another two days, we should reach this Island."