My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 190 The Unceasing Spirit of Exploration
As everyone on deck looked toward the distant mist, an old-fashioned sailing ship, faintly visible, drifted in the fog.

But soon, the ship disappeared into the fog before everyone's eyes, as if it had never been there at all.

Roland activated Origin Tracking almost instantly, and the spell quickly transformed into a rapidly spreading thread of magic that flew into the mist.

Clearly, the Iris... no, it was Ms. Natalia who was on that ship.

But the line broke very quickly.

But soon the broken lines condensed into new branches and flew towards the distant sea.

Finally, a familiar scene appeared once again.

An old-fashioned sailing ship, almost impossible to find nowadays, is now suspended tightly on the foggy sea.

The floating ice floes on the sea indicate that this area is extremely close to the North.

Only there would you find such low temperatures.

As it should be.

But Roland's spell told him that the place was not far from here.

"Ms. Flam... what phenomenon could cause low temperatures, or... freezing?"

Frum rolled her eyes: "So many reasons, which one do you want to know?"

"Wait...you mean, this ship is actually not far from us now?"

Roland nodded: "That's what the spell told me."

"Although there is still some distance... it is not as far as the icy and snowy lands of the North."

Götze laughed at Roland's words: "I have a better idea, would you like to hear it?"

"Please speak, Chairman Götze." Roland nodded, signaling for Götze to speak.

Götze laughed and said, "I think we'd better get out of this area as soon as possible."

"If nothing unexpected happens, an unprecedented magical storm is about to form."

"The boundary line has shifted outward, strange phenomena have appeared, shadows are eating people... all the conditions for the occurrence of a giant storm have been met."

"My suggestion is to go full speed ahead to the original destination, that abandoned transit base from the Great Exploration Era. There are docks where ships can hide, and they are also equipped with appropriate protective measures."

"If we don't dodge, we'll just be adrift at sea."

Götze's proposal was quickly approved unanimously.

No one on board would question a captain's weather predictions.

This is especially true for those who know the mechanism of magic storm generation.

Such a serious change has occurred even before we have approached the traditional dividing line.

Small sea creatures that suddenly appear on the ship and monsters that crawl out of the shadows can even kill a seventh-ring transcendent.

Even with a team of several extraordinary individuals, they still managed to kill their opponent.

Such a level of mutation certainly warrants a large-scale, high-intensity disinfection campaign.

Those who could still move went to help drive the boat and increase its speed.

The wounded have all regained their mobility thanks to the healing spells cast by the judges and Flam.

Although the inquisitors only know some low-level healing spells, that's enough for the current situation.

After treating the wounded, they also took the opportunity to bring them back into the cabin.

Although the cabin is now littered with the corpses of various sea creatures and reeks of blood, it's unlikely that the people on board will complain about it.

After confirming that everyone had entered the building, the senior personnel went to the captain's cabin.

Fortunately, the captain's cabin was large enough to accommodate so many people.

When Suren was in a bad mood, her face would show the expression that a girl her age should have.

Delan wasn't in a good mood, but as a professional soldier, his years of experience had made him used to everything he was doing.

He only took a few breaths before silently standing beside Roland as his security guard.

Cellina, holding Nash who had turned back into a cat, found a chair and sat down.

"Captain Götz, how long will it take to reach that base?" Roland asked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make it in time.” Götze explained, “We’re currently thirty nautical miles outside the traditional dividing line.”

"And that base is located ten nautical miles inside the dividing line."

"Forty nautical miles, at full speed, it would only take this ship a little over an hour to reach that destination!"

"Moreover, the larger the magic storm, the slower it forms."

"This is why large magic storms pose less of a threat than small magic storms at sea."

"After all, compared to small storms that might suddenly appear over your head without warning, large storms that tell you 'I'm about to start' before they arrive are obviously much friendlier, hahaha."

As Götze told nautical jokes that perhaps only sailors could understand, those who hadn't grasped the humor felt a little awkward.

Götze, who had been telling jokes, was also somewhat embarrassed. After coughing twice, he silently increased the speed and headed towards the open sea. However, Roland had taken some precautions this time to prevent the anomaly from recurring.

He carved several more World Tree runes on the ship.

The effect of the rune that was first carved has not disappeared; the emerald green shadows of the trees still shroud the deck.

If we were to summarize the appearance of the Pomegranate Flower now, it would be that it is glowing green.

In the dead of night, when dark clouds obscure the sun, and the moonlight and starlight are swallowed by darkness.

The Pomegranate Flower is like a beacon bursting with dazzling green light.

It is eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

Although its appearance is eye-catching, the effect is still remarkable.

Not only are everyone's mental and physical strength rapidly recovering under the influence of the World Tree's power.

Even some sea creatures that were originally trying to approach the ship from the sea chose to linger instead of launching an attack after seeing the green light.

Roland, standing in the captain's cabin, witnessed a giant octopus monster at least a hundred meters long. Upon noticing the green light on the ship, he stopped using his tentacles, which he had originally intended to use to attack the vessel.

Then, the unfortunate octopus was instantly put to rest by Flam using a spell called "Hellfire Descent." Not even ashes were left behind.

The voyage went smoothly.

Soon, just as Götze had said, the ship, the Pomegranate, arrived at a forward base established on a small island.

This base, now covered in moss and vines, and with its exterior rusted, still stands, telling the people on the ship about the miracles created by humanity under the guidance of the Society during the Great Age of Exploration, when they unleashed a terrifying thirst for exploration and knowledge.

Götze took out the certification item that headquarters had given him in advance, and after injecting magic into it to activate it, a large opening suddenly appeared in the rock wall of the island in front of him!

Looking from the outside in, you can see the lights that are starting to come on inside the cave and the walls that gleam with a silver metallic sheen.

Clearly, this seemingly abandoned base is still in good working order.

Götze noticed the surprise of the others around him and explained with a smile, "Actually, the original intention of the Academy was to build a large-scale spatial teleportation array here."

"The initial plan was to be able to send ships or large equipment directly to this base, just like we did with the exploration ship that was sent to Riskan this time, or even use space teleportation for ocean transport."

"This would be much faster than transporting by ship, and could allow for the rapid transport of critical equipment or vessels in emergencies."

"However, due to the great distance and the extremely complex magical environment of the Storm Ocean, the plan ultimately failed to materialize."

"But the teleportation array was left behind."

"Although we can't transport large equipment, sending a small team here every year to maintain key equipment and facilities is still no problem."

"That's why the Society felt comfortable letting us use this base... Although there are people at headquarters who maintain this base via the teleportation array, I only found out about it before we set off."

“Teleporting from headquarters to here… that’s quite expensive, not to mention the maintenance supplies that need to be transported. It turns out that the Academy has never given up on this base all these years.”

After listening to Götze's account, Roland laughed: "It seems the Academy hasn't given up on its desire to continue exploring the world."

"To sacrifice oneself for truth and freedom, anonymously—that is the creed of the Society." Götze laughed. "Although I'm now more like a sailor than a scholar, I think that phrase applies to sailors just as well."

The ship quickly entered the dock, and the open rock wall closed after the ship entered.

The next moment, a terrifying thunderclap pierced through all obstacles and reached the ears of everyone on the ship.

Cellina, whose hearing was clearly superior to that of humans, covered her head uncomfortably, on the spot where her actual ears were located.

Götze breathed a sigh of relief: "The storm has started, but thankfully we're at least temporarily ashore now."

Let's rest for the night.

"Furthermore, I have some thoughts on the upcoming actions. Could you please share them with me?"

Roland nodded, indicating that there was no problem, and the same went for Fram.

Roland and Fram are fine, as are Nadran and Celinina.

Seeing that everyone else was fine, Suren also chose to follow suit.

Clearly, the captain had won the trust of everyone present with his assessment of the storm.

"Excuse my bluntness... but it's no longer appropriate to use this ocean exploration vessel for the upcoming operations."

"Or rather, this ship cannot actually get close to the target vessel."

After listening, Roland asked, "May I hear the reason?"

“Of course, reasonable requests.” Götze paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully: “First, based on my personal feelings and experience.”

"Personnel below the seventh ring level are not suitable to continue participating in the next mission."

"The changes in the Storm Ocean are much more serious than I thought."

"The death of that judge further convinced me of this."

Even those with extraordinary abilities cannot guarantee their own safety.

Flam understood Götze's idea: "You mean, to prevent further casualties, only those at the seventh ring or higher can take action next? What about Roland? He's only a fifth ring... Wait, how come he's suddenly a sixth ring?!"

(End of this chapter)