Su Ye paced back and forth a few times in his new room, taking in the clean windows and tidy, refreshing space.
The mid-deck cabins for official crew members weren't much larger, but the overall comfort was a clear step up.
"Ah, this is nice..."
Su Ye lay on the comfortable new bed, staring at the ceiling.
He recalled Miss Luo's words and let out a wry laugh.
'Whew... It seems that no matter where you go, being a local has its perks...'
Su Ye knew that his promotion to an official crew member and the bestowal of a Magical Artifact today was largely because he was a native of Donglong Island—a local.
Excluding the management like the captain and first mate, as well as the Luo Family technicians who operated and maintained Spirit Ship Formations like the Reversing Confusion Array and the Ice Crystal Pod, the crew of the Flying Serpent consisted of about forty ordinary crew members, who were divided into two categories.
The first category consisted of people like Su Ye and Zhao Li—natives of Donglong Island who were discovered and cultivated by the Luo Family, but did not share their surname.
The other category was made up of desperate Loose Cultivators recruited from the public—men who lived dangerously and came aboard to risk their lives for a chance at fortune.
Although the former didn't share the Luo name, their status was still higher than that of the Loose Cultivators.
In the eyes of the Luo Family, members from other families like him still had some potential worth cultivating and room for advancement.
'If I were a Loose Cultivator, no matter how well I performed, I'd never have been promoted. Getting a Magical Artifact would have been out of the question...' Su Ye thought.
Still, being a Loose Cultivator had its advantages.
Namely, the freedom to come and go as they pleased.
When a demon hunting voyage ended and the ship returned to port, they could just take their Spirit Stones and leave without a word to anyone.
Members from other families, however, had to serve on the Demon Hunting Ship for ten long years, and the risks and hardships involved went without saying.
Risks...
At this thought, Su Ye sat up.
The joy from his promotion and new treasure vanished from his eyes, replaced by a flicker of dread.
'Another man died on the ship today...'
Recalling the sheer speed and power of the Long-beaked Swordfish's charge still filled Su Ye with apprehension.
'Even with the stat boosts from my panel, demon hunting is still far from easy for me...'
Su Ye took a deep breath.
Witnessing a crewmate die so horribly had been a significant shock, and once again, Su Ye felt a profound lack of security.
'The next promotion for my Seaman level will take several months at least, and advancing my Cultivation Realm is measured in years...'
'The easiest way to increase my combat power right now...'
Su Ye's gaze fell upon the Blood-Drinking Spear.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and placed the Blood-Drinking Spear across his lap. Reaching out with his Magical Power and Spiritual Sense, he delved into the weapon.
Refining an ownerless, Tier 1 low-grade Magical Artifact was not a difficult task.
About ten minutes later, Su Ye opened his eyes.
The refinement was a success!
With a mere thought, the Blood-Drinking Spear rose from his lap and flew about the room, directed by his will.
'The very first Magical Artifact I've ever owned...' Su Ye thought with a surge of emotion.
And just then, information from the panel suddenly appeared before his eyes!
[Class Change Item Detected]
[...Analyzing...]
[Class Change Item: Blood-Drinking Spear. Available Class: Tide Hunter]
"Class change? Tide Hunter?" Su Ye's eyes lit up.
According to his memories, class changing was a vital method for increasing one's personal strength in the sailing game from his past life.
Low-level classes had a level cap.
By Su Ye's estimation, a starting class like "Seaman" could only level up three to five times before hitting a wall.
At that point, one had to change classes to break through the limit!
Not only that, but every class change also came with significant attribute boosts and powerful, exclusive class skills!
The gap between pro players and casuals largely stemmed from their class changes!
And in this real world, as the only 'player' with a panel, class changing would undoubtedly give Su Ye an even greater advantage!
'Let's see... Tide Hunter...' Su Ye thought.
[Tide Hunter. Class Change Conditions: Seaman Lv. 3, Second Level of Qi Refining, possess a harpoon/spear-type weapon of a certain quality or higher.]
He had already reached the second level of Qi Refining.
And the Blood-Drinking Spear obviously met the weapon requirement.
So... apart from needing to be a Lv. 3 Seaman, he had already fulfilled the other two requirements!
'So, I just have to keep grinding EXP!'
A gleam flashed in Su Ye's eyes as he looked at his virtual panel.
[Class: Seaman Lv. 2 (30/300)]
At his current rate of gaining experience, he could fill the bar in three months at most!
"Whale-Hunting Spear!"
Su Ye's eyes lit up with excitement as he read the [Exclusive Skill] section.
Whales, with their immense bodies and astonishing size, had always been the epitome of oceanic behemoths in the human imagination.
For a skill to be named after 'whale hunting'...
It was undoubtedly an extremely powerful offensive skill!
And...
'Whale hunting...' A ripple of excitement went through Su Ye.
The Luo Family's demon hunting primer had specifically emphasized the enormous profits that could be made from hunting whale demons.
Whale meat was edible, delicious, and rich in Spiritual Qi, making it a form of cultivation medicine without the toxic side effects of pills.
Whale blubber could be rendered into oil, a raw material for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and lighting.
Then there were rare treasures like Whale Brain Oil and Dragon Saliva Fragrance, which were beneficial to high-level cultivators, commanded exorbitant prices, and were always in short supply...
As he recalled, a single voyage for one of the Luo Family's Demon Hunting Ships typically brought in a profit of two to three thousand Spirit Stones.
But the profit from hunting just one whale demon could equal, or even exceed, that entire amount!
The profits were truly immense!
'Still... it's probably best if we don't encounter a whale demon on this trip...'
Su Ye calmly reined in his imagination.
Greed clouds judgment.
The prospect of great profit often made people ignore the dangers of a whale demon.
When hunting such a behemoth of the sea, it wasn't unheard of for casualties to reach double digits...
...
「Dinner time.」
「The dining hall.」
Su Ye stared at his tray.
A bed of fragrant rice was topped with a large, tender, and juicy piece of demon fish, garnished with a few yellow-green bean sprouts.
This was a reward for those who had participated in the day's successful demon hunt.
In a small bowl to the side sat another piece of demon fish, though it was only a third of the size of the main portion.
But as Zhao Li, who sat opposite Su Ye, gazed at that small bowl, his eyes filled with envy.
"Mr. Su, did the first mate promote you to an official crew member?!"
Official crew members received a small, fixed portion of demon fish every day.
"Yes." Su Ye nodded with a smile.
There was no need to hide the fact that he'd become an official crew member, nor was it possible to.
The strict hierarchy on the Demon Hunting Ship wasn't necessarily a bad thing; under such a rigid system, any small improvement had immediately visible results.
Magical Artifact, room, food...
"You're amazing, Mr. Su..." Zhao Li said, his eyes full of admiration as he showered him with praise.
Ever since Su Ye had saved his life from the Long-beaked Swordfish, Zhao Li's admiration for Mr. Su had only grown, and he now looked to him for everything.
Su Ye felt a sense of ease as he chewed on the demon fish.
He had a pretty good impression of the younger man.
Zhao Li was simple and earnest; being around him didn't require much vigilance, which was a relief.
Humans are social animals, after all.
Having a friend to chat with on this vast, endless sea was a good thing.