When the last barrel of fine wine was moved into the Wavebreaker's warehouse, the Captain gestured, and the Sailors quickly retracted the gangplank fixed to the ship's side, allowing the Intis merchant ship to depart.
This merchant ship, which had set sail from Intis and was bound for Bayam, was loaded entirely with fine wines produced in Intis, mostly red wine.
At Sea, all kinds of wine were welcome. Therefore, when the Captain announced that this batch of wine would be kept for the Wavebreaker's crew to enjoy themselves, it was met with cheers from the Sailors.
Next, Ken called Lex and the others into the Captain's Cabin.
This was Ken Angus's office, with a carpet covering the wooden floor, and a table where nautical charts and compasses were casually placed.
"You all did well today, successfully hijacking a merchant ship and accumulating valuable experience for future pirate activities," the Captain said, leaning against the table, delivering his opening remarks.
Quincy looked towards the window and whispered, "We could do without this kind of experience."
Ken pretended not to hear and continued, "Although the other party gave up very quickly, making your process of controlling the ship too easy, surprisingly easy, in fact."
"However, since I said that if you successfully hijack a ship, you pass the assessment. Then, congratulations, you now have the rank of Lieutenant in the Navy's archives."
"Since you have officially become members of the Wavebreaker, it is necessary for me to understand you more deeply. Tell me about your mastery of your potions."
Quincy was the first to say, "I have completely mastered the current stage of the potion. If I had a Sequence 7 potion, I could advance immediately."
Is this a baseline check? I could take this opportunity to mention it and become a 'Pyromaniac' openly sooner. That way, today I wouldn't have to Provoke Raditz, and could just end the battle with a single 'Fire Fist'.
"My situation is similar. I should be able to fully master the potion in about ten days to half a month."
However, to be safe, Lex still made a slight lead-up to his 'advancement'.
The Captain glanced at him, "Mr. Lex, if I recall correctly, your file indicates that you only became a 'Provoker' not long ago. How could you have mastered the potion so quickly?"
"This probably has something to do with me often 'Provoking' others."
Lex cleared his throat and looked around, saying, "After I became a 'Provoker', during an argument, I inadvertently used words and actions to provoke my opponent, making him very angry and causing him to act recklessly."
"After that incident, I found that my potion had undergone some changes during such behavior, becoming easier to master. So I tried it, and found that each Provocation could consolidate it a bit. So I suspected that perhaps the key to mastering the potion lies in the name of the potion itself."
Edward looked at him and said sincerely, "You must be very resistant to beatings, right?"
Lex gave an awkward laugh and did not respond.
He looked at the Captain: "So, in every battle I encountered afterwards, I intentionally provoked my opponents. I found that if the opponent was a Beyonder, the feedback they provided allowed me to consolidate my potion faster."
"Therefore."
"Yes, I have almost completely mastered my potion, which I also find incredible."
Ken nodded, "Alright, what about the others? What's your situation?"
Edward smiled, "My situation is similar to Lex's, but I might need a bit more time to digest it. However, Lex's words just now gave me an idea; maybe if I recite a few more poems every day, I can completely master the potion."
After a round of checking the baseline.
Basically, the Captain had grasped the progress of these individuals' potion digestion.
Quincy had fully mastered it, Lex and Edward were close, while Frank and Natalie still needed some time.
"I will report your situations to my superiors. If there are no surprises, Quincy's next Sequence potion should arrive soon, followed by Lex's Pyromaniac, and Edward's Nightmare. As for Natalie and Frank, I will apply to my superiors when you show clear signs of mastery."
"However."
"The potions you receive need to be offset by your future contributions. If it weren't to quickly enhance your strength, it wouldn't be so easy for you."
"So, if you want to obtain higher Sequence potions, you'll need to work harder."
After speaking, Ken waved his hand, "Nothing for now, you all go have dinner. Although you've already missed dinner time."
After Lex and the others left, the Boatswain arrived. Roger closed the door and said, "I've already written the report. Oh, Captain, why does your expression look a bit strange?"
"Is that so? That's probably because I just found out that Mr. Lex independently figured out the Acting," Ken Angus said, rubbing his cheeks, "What a lucky kid, figuring out the Acting at only Sequence 8. And now that he's at Sea and has joined our 'Black Sail', it saves a lot of trouble."
Roger said in surprise, "Then, wouldn't everyone else know about it too?"
The Captain nodded, taking a box of cigars from a drawer, "That's fine too. Anyway, it didn't spread from us; they just drew on Mr. Lex's experience. In short, their quick growth can only benefit us, not harm us."
"At least, at this stage, that's certainly true."
Roger laughed, "I see. Then I'll keep this matter to myself."
Ken chuckled and tossed the cigar in his hand to the Boatswain.
After lunch, he returned to his room.
"I should have used the Seer coin again to confirm the formula, but even though the Captain has already confirmed it, I'm worried that summoning a spirit world treasure chest on the ship would attract attention, so I'll just skip it."
Lex thought of another problem: "What if I drink another 'Pyromaniac' potion, would something go wrong?"
"If something goes wrong, I estimate it wouldn't be as simple as an upset stomach. I should ask the Watchers; they should know about these kinds of issues."
Lex closed the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and stood in the center of the small room, extending both hands horizontally.
"Eye that sees everything."
"God that Oversees All Things."
A moment later, the room's colors became vivid and rich, the sound of waves that had been constantly crashing outside the window disappeared, and a faintly glowing ethereal tome landed in Lex's hands, automatically flipping to the 'Artisan of Mysteries' page.
"There are 979 dimensional crystals again?"
Lex looked down at the records.
'The Untraceable Book read your adventure biography with relish and rewarded you with 10,000 dimensional coins again, which have been automatically converted into 100 dimensional crystals.'
'Osmanthus Wine was slightly tipsy and, inspired, rewarded you with 8500 dimensional coins again.'
'Oak shouted that it wasn't enough and threw 500 dimensional coins at you.'
In addition, there were also rewards from Watchers such as 'CartMan', 'Ting', and 'Overclocked Pile Driver'.