"Really I-" Kol tried to speak up but it felt like something was stuck in her throat. She looked at the manual and scrolls with a strange expression. Looking up, he found Vayu smiling widely. The young boy simply couldn't hide his teeth. And he needed to brush more frequently!
"Come on! Choose the spirit skills you want to practice. We both will be sharing these until we master all of them!" Vayu urged again and he had already picked up the manual of Three Glazed Slash. On the other hand, Kol still couldn't believe her ears.
"Did Boss agree to it?" Kol finally inquired.
"Yeah!" Vayu flexed his arm, "Brother's just so-so when it comes to arguing with me."
"Ah, Boss!" Kol suddenly exclaimed and she saw the color leave from Vayu's face as he hurriedly turned towards the door.
"Low blow..." Vayu pouted as he found nobody, his words making Kol giggle.
"But he really grilled me for it, if that makes you feel any better," Vayu sighed as his shoulders slumped down.
However, he was suddenly pulled into a deep hug which suffocated him and pulled the life out of him.
"Really... thank you," Kol whispered.
"Ehehe," pulling back, Vayu cackled, "Just praise me more in front of Jeli and Ron. It would be worth it."
"Just this once," Kol smiled. She wasn't the one to suddenly become a saint and reject such a gesture. If Vayu had actually shared the skills then on some level, Boss must have agreed to. Since he didn't mind sharing it and he specifically left, indicating that he wouldn't be expecting anything in return, it was all upto Kol to return the gesture if she wished.
'This is the first time...' Kol smiled and looked at the skills.
"You're going to learn a sword skill? I thought Boss was skilled with staff."
"That's for discipline," Vayu crossed his arm, "But swords are cool. Swing it and cut things easily. When I adventure later, a sword is of utmost necessity."
"Er... healthy diet seems more appropriate since Ocean can be cruel to simple meat-eaters..." Kol instantly poked and burst apart Vayu's bubble as he shrugged and looked at other spirit skills.
"Umm... among spirit skills, I think... I can start with the easiest one. I'll take the Three Glazed Slash and Sphere Barrier for now. You can keep the rest sister. When I gain mastery of the two skills, I will exchange these two with others."
After a moment's thought, Kol nodded.
"Fine—"
*Drrr*
Suddenly, the whole ship trembled and for a moment, every member of the community felt weightless. Looking down, both Kol and Vayu found themselves afloat for a few seconds before they actually crashed on the ceiling of the room!
"Ugh..." they groaned. The lamp was still intact and fitted into the corner of the room, revealing the sheer sturdiness of the design however, the manual and scrolls were scrambled.
"Uh-oh..." Vayu rubbed his head and sat up.
"What?"
"Brother went to the toilet, right?"
Kol's expression stiffened, too.
"Well, that just means that we cannot let him enter the room. He made the first rule, after all," Kol coughed. Well, this was only for the extreme situation.
---
*A few minutes ago*
"What will it be?"
"What will it be? Hehehe?"
"Will it be one, or three?"
Galf's raspy voice became Jolly's nightmare as he grunted and took a sip out of his gourd before belting it once again. The sheer pressure of the rain, hail, and wind didn't seem to budge Jolly even a little as he steadily stood on the ship's railing despite the continuous tilts of the structure.
"I ain't drunk enough to handle two creatures," he barked back at Galf who continued to keep his mask on while swaying gently to the feel of the wind. The two strongest experts of the ship had already walked out of the command center of the ship and had made their way towards the spacious bow where the ceremonies are usually conducted.
"Just answer it, lord, simple it is," Galf guffawed from behind, making Jolly's expression severe. Before the old man could rebuke that neither would he kill his son first, nor his daughter, both of them felt an undulation of spiritual energy and they peered into the ocean. The previously darkened waters suddenly glowed up with an illuminating structure of a turtle appearing within.
Of course, the raging waves would make it harder for others to identify the shape of the light but Jolly could recognize the shell patterns and he gritted his jaws.
"Prepare for Impact!" He infused his spiritual energy into speech and roared, his voice spreading throughout the surface of the ship. Be it the team of five collecting resources, or the remaining six making short work of other enhanced sea creatures. All quickly held onto a piece of the ship. Even Jolly held the railings tightly.
*Swoosh*
A figure jumped past from behind him.
"Fuck!"
Stretching his arm forward, Jolly caught galf by the neck before he jumped into the ocean.
"Let me go chief, destiny awaits!" He gleefully shouted.
"Fucker, you'll die!" Jolly growled.
"Death is not in my veins. My Destiny is immortal!" Galf screeched.
"No shit! You ain't dead cause I held you back, maniacal fucker! After this, I'll kill you myself!" Jolly growled and gazed at the rapidly approaching shape of light.
*Thuck*
Before the figure could even crash against the ship, a large burst of wave instantly impacted the ship and finally tilted the structure over its balance as the ship was pushed off the water slightly before it rolled and sunk back. This time, deck first.
"Wheeeeee!"
Galf cheered as everyone on top of the ship was instantly forced into the water.
Much to Jolly's appreciation, the moment they drowned into the ocean with the ship's surface right above their head, Galf's voice came to a halt and their visions turned slightly blurry before they adjusted their state.
"Go, you wanted to fight the monster, you have my blessing," Jolly's lips didn't move as he gently moved his legs while Galf saluted and his body was instantly covered in the spiritual construct of a goldfish. His body adjusted to the water and with the sway of the fins of the fish, Galf instantly followed the light phantom of the turtle which seemed to have left a considerable distance to return with an even greater force.
'I thought that breaking into Spiritual Summoner realm would finally rid the man off of his madness...' Jolly narrowed his gaze. His slick grey hair now gently swayed to the water currents while he had to forcefully keep his beard from floating up and impede his vision.
Thinking for a moment, Jolly's gaze flashed muddy brown and a strange creature appeared in front of him. It had the body of the palm-sized sparrow but instead of wings and feathers, the beaked creature was covered in brown fish scales. The wings were replaced by giant, curtain-like pectoral fins and from top and bottom of the sparrow's neck, curving dorsal and pelvic fins grew out. The tail fin of the sparrow seemed like a loose ribbon under the water and it shook its head the moment it was summoned. Swimming around Jolly, the sparrow perched on top of his head.
'Go, assist that fool and buy me some time. I'll return to your side once I return the ship to its previous state.'
While saying so, Jolly pulled out the gourd and drained its viscous contents into the water. With a delighted chirp that only rung within Jolly's mind, the sparrow quickly absorbed every drop of alcohol before swimming towards the phantom of the giant turtle.
On the other hand, Jolly activated his own swimming skill. His legs were wrapped by a spiritual construct that seemed like giant pectoral fins and his arms grew out spiritual dorsal fins and Jolly instantly swam towards the command center of the ship. The steering wheel simply needed a command and the ship would return to its upright position once again.
---
"— Impact!"
The loud roar stirred Jenc and the others to instantly move and latch onto the railings with their dear life and the ship flew up almost at the same time. Everybody's eyes widened as the enormous wave finally tilted the ship and the hearts of the five cultivators grew cold.
"Speed into the water!" Before the ship made an impact, Roa hissed and without even looking back, he let go of the railings and jumped into the ocean. His shout wasn't completed and the others did the same.
The moment ship made an impact with the ocean, they would be severely dazed due to the pressure if they continued to latch onto the railings. The Chief might be fine, they thought, but not them. And who can say for sure that a sea creature will not attack them while they are trying to regain their composure?
Any experienced fisher would always keep a sense of fear for the ocean in their heart and that is the key to survival!
The moment the group of five shot into the water, they simultaneously activated their swimming skills! Jenc, Roa, and Dhira's limbs were covered in fins and then dove further. On the other hand, Nhil and Vitski were covered in the construct of a fish as they swam agilely.
*Crash*
Giant waves rose the moment Community Ship slammed into the ocean and almost all the stores, houses, and additional structures of ports were ripped out! The wooden structure floated within the ocean, creating a dense forest of broken boards, planks, and various appliances while the five of them watched with their hearts turning bitter.
'Father will have to commission an overall restructure of the ship after this,' Roa pursed his lips and floated within the ocean. His arms were spread apart and his legs would sway gently to keep him afloat.
'Ready yourself for battles,' Roa communicated with the remaining four fishers using lingering whisper as he observed a school of grass fish making its way towards them. The yellow-patterned, green fishes were extremely agile and they avoided wooden obstacles within an issue. Their green fins resembled blades of grass and their tail fin looked like a bunch of blades of grass bound together.
As the remaining men and women observed the sea creatures, various changes appeared on their physiques. Jenc's nails grew out and resembled a claw once again. Vitski's eyes turned neon blue and glazed like a lamp in the dark. Nhil's teeth looked razor-sharp. And Dhira's overall size seemed to have grown slightly.
As for Roa, his skin turned more grainy and as he continued to wave his hands and legs, his clothes began to wear out quickly.
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