Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

As they began their return voyage, they entered the most tedious yet unavoidable part of the journey: sailing in the dark sea.

Alka hurried out of the cabin carrying Gami and quickly took him to the medical room next to the captain's quarters, where Vanessa was treating Gami.

Just a moment ago, Alka had been in the cabin with Gami, learning some forging techniques. Together, they were researching and improving the Soul-Host Puppet. They had been researching together for some time, as one always needed to find something to do during the boring hours at sea.

Then, Gami heard whispers. Coupled with his already weak constitution, Alka had to carry him to the medical room.

"We've been in the Realm of Pitch Darkness too long; everyone has been affected to varying degrees."

Jason also hurried over and stood by Alka, saying this.

He had heard the whispers for the second time yesterday. Luckily, Vanessa was nearby and quickly treated him.

But this also meant they couldn't stay in the Realm of Pitch Darkness much longer and had to leave soon.

Alka nodded and said, "Fortunately, we're already on our return voyage, so it shouldn't be long before we can get out."

If Lucilia hadn't been able to enter his Soul Space to help him resist the darkness's erosion, and if his soul wasn't inherently strong, he would have been the first to be mentally shattered.

"Our luck is quite good. Under normal circumstances, given our time in the Realm of Pitch Darkness, we should have heard the whispers more than three times on average," Vanessa said while treating Gami.

"Is that so? Then our luck is pretty good," Jason couldn't help but say, relieved.

It's not because they're lucky, but because they have a target standing right next to them, Alka thought helplessly.

According to Lucilia, the stronger the soul, the more it attracted these Dark Elements intent on invading it. He was a typical example.

This caused the surrounding Dark Elements to prioritize Alka over others. Thus, the others naturally had a lower chance of being assailed.

"Alka, once you break through to Two Spirals, you won't have to fear the Spiritual Invasion here."

He heard Lucilia's voice.

Alka waved to the others, exited the medical room, and headed toward his own room.

Back in his room, he asked, "Why do you say that? Didn't Andre just hear the whispers for the first time a few days ago?"

"There's a Spell called Spiritual Shield that can strengthen one's spiritual defense. According to textual records, even after learning it, you might still be exposed to dark invasions, but you won't suffer significant damage."

So Lucilia knows such a Spell, Alka realized.

However, he curiously asked, "Why specifically Two Spirals?" After all, he had never heard of any Spell requiring a certain level of power to learn.

"Learning Spells doesn't have a power requirement, but sometimes, to fully utilize their normal effects, you need adequate power."

"With your current power, even if you learn this Spell, it can only temporarily protect your spirit and will consume your Magic Power. But once you reach Two Spirals, this Spell can offer constant protection for your spirit."

Hearing this, Alka understood.

He went directly to the bed and sat cross-legged. Runes appeared in his mind, then descended into his body. His Magic Power began to circulate rapidly.

With the rapid circulation of Magic Power, the Magic Circuits seemed to vibrate excessively. The Runes glowed faintly, and all the magical feedback seemed to be supported by a framework, sustaining the high-speed circulation of Magic Power.

As Alka meditated, large beads of sweat began to fall from his head, quickly soaking his clothes.

This was a minor, acceptable side effect of the Meditation Method, negligible compared to its other benefits.

The Magic Power circulation formed a clear, circular Circuit within Alka's body, appearing as if engraved on both his body and soul.

The formation of this circular Circuit caused this Magic Circuit to begin spiraling on its own, automatically absorbing the surrounding Magic Power.

No longer requiring Alka's control, the Magic Power in the air slowly began to gather around him, flowing into the Circuit as it operated.

Alka opened his eyes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and breathed deeply.

"Did you reach One Spiral?" Lucilia, seeming to notice Alka's change from within the mirror, stuck her head out to ask.

Alka looked at the head protruding from his chest and touched his own head, a strange sensation. The position was rather peculiar and distorted, but it didn't matter since no one could see it anyway.

He nodded.

Lucilia's whole body emerged, and she sat beside him, beginning to think and make calculations in her mind.

"You reached One Spiral in two months, which is considerably faster than average. That's good. It seems your strong soul gives you a certain advantage."

Generally, using the Meditation Method, reaching One Spiral takes about two to five months, with the average being around three and a half months.

Alka is among the talented ones, Lucilia thought, probably due to his soul being noticeably stronger than average.

"Now that you've reached One Spiral, your Magic Power capacity will increase, and its recovery rate will accelerate greatly. Even if you don't meditate, your power will now start to grow slowly over time."

The so-called One Spiral is when the Magic Circuits within the body form a circle, completing a "Circuit." Such a Circuit can then operate on its own.

Besides what Lucilia mentioned, reaching One Spiral could also enhance the power of some of Alka's Spells. And with an established Circuit, controlling Magic Power became easier and more intuitive.

Alka opened his palm, and a swirl of Magic Power appeared there. A palm-sized mirror emerged.

Looking at the mirror in his hand, now that his strength had reached One Spiral, Alka gained a new understanding of the [Mirror] Spell.

"Have you gained a new understanding of this Spell you know?" Lucilia asked curiously from beside him.

Alka nodded, then curiously turned his head to look at Lucilia. "Why do you think so?" he asked.

"For Spells comprehended from Treasures, generally, as one's strength grows, they gradually begin to manifest more powerful abilities."

"However, this involves a degree of randomness. It specifically depends on whether the Spell you comprehended is the core ability of that [Treasure]."

Hearing this, Alka's face showed a thirst for knowledge; this was something he hadn't heard before. "Tell me in detail," he urged.

Lucilia nodded, not stingy with her explanation.

"I don't know what [Treasure] you touched, nor its specific abilities. But generally, Spells comprehended when touching a Treasure are closely related to it. If you're lucky, you might comprehend Spells related to the Treasure's core ability. If not... well, you understand, it's not much different from ordinary Spells."

"If it's a Spell related to a core ability, then it has strong plasticity. Typically, it will exhibit different characteristics as the user's strength changes. It would be great if we knew what abilities the Treasure you touched possesses."

Upon hearing this, Alka shook his head.

"No way. Let alone me, even Andre can't know such secrets."

[Treasures] are always the most precious items within any faction. No matter how tightly they are protected, it's not surprising.

Hearing this, Lucilia could only shake her head helplessly. If the original abilities of the Treasure are unknown, then such inherent Spells can only be explored slowly by oneself.

If they were known, one could use some of the Treasure's abilities for thought and deduction, making it easier to guide one's Spell and predict what functions it might acquire as strength increases, or even develop the Spell in that direction.

"I'll just explore it myself." Saying this, Magic Power surged from Alka's palm, and he began creating mirrors in the room.

He mainly wanted to test how many mirrors he could create using only his internal Magic Power, without any assistance.

These mirrors were two meters high and one meter wide rectangular constructs. If they needed to be elongated, more Magic Power would be consumed.

Before reaching One Spiral, the maximum number he could create was twelve. Using cards to assist, he could reach thirty-six.

He only needed to spend Magic Power to control them. Therefore, when creating a maze, Alka had to use cards to make the mirror surfaces. Otherwise, the mere creation of the mirrors would overwhelm him, let alone using them in battle.

Having achieved One Spiral, Alka directly created seventy mirrors in the room, densely arranged.

And this was without using cards. If he did use cards, it would greatly reduce his Magic Power consumption.

However, these were just ordinary mirrors he had manufactured. Achieving such an effect at only One Spiral was quite normal.

Based on the number of card-assisted mirrors he could previously control, he should now be able to control 210 of them.

Of course, this was just a simple theoretical calculation; the actual number would depend on making the cards.

He dispelled the densely packed mirrors in the room.

Alka looked at the palm-sized mirror in his hand and began to study it. The Spell's plasticity has become stronger, but in what aspect?

The changes brought by his increase in strength left Alka a bit puzzled.

He first controlled the mirror, changing it into a circular structure made of triangular lenses. Controlling the mirror was indeed more intuitive now, and the shapes it could take became more exaggerated.

But Alka felt this was more like an enhancement of his control abilities rather than a change in the Spell itself.

Inscribe other Spells on the mirror? Thinking of this, Alka decided to give it a try.

A trace of blue light appeared on his hand as he began etching on the mirror. Soon, the [Screw Vortex Water Chain] Spell was inscribed upon it.

However, the mirror couldn't bear it. If a Spell inscribed on it had to be used immediately, wouldn't that be no different from drawing the Spell in the air from a distance?

It seems this direction won't work. Then what could it be?

Alka scratched his head and pondered deeply. It seemed he would have to test things out one by one.