It was almost noon. Ed and Hamo stood on the deck, leaning against the ship's rail as they watched their destination begin to materialize faintly on the horizon.
"That is Meister Island, the most beautiful island among all the islands in the Blood Gold Alliance," Hamo said, gazing into the distance.
By this time, the surrounding waters were busy with ships coming and going. Suddenly, footsteps sounded on the deck behind them.
They both turned to see a skinny, muscular old man in his fifties emerge from the cabin. He had messy gray hair, a clean-shaven face, and a pair of goggles resting on his forehead. He wore work clothes and pants full of pockets, each stuffed with various tools. The moment he came up, he shielded his eyes with his hands, reacting as if he were a vampire.
"Damn it, why is the sun so blinding? Danny? Elon? How long until we arrive?"
Hearing his shout, Hamo shook his head and said weakly, "Mr. Bobby, the two of them are still on vacation on the island, enjoying themselves."
"Those two bastards are so young and don't have much work to do, yet they never miss a single chance to take a break. Those idiots will never succeed in life. Little Hamo, my dear hard-working boy, come over here and give me a back massage. This old man's back is about to break."
Hearing this, Hamo sighed even more wearily, his shoulders slumping in a display of helplessness. Still, he walked over, reached out, and began tapping Old Man Bobby's back gently. Only then did Bobby stretch and look at Ed with a face full of question marks.
"Who are you? Why are you on the ship? Are you a shipwreck survivor? If so, you're lucky, this sea area is relatively safe and doesn't have many sharks..."
Hamo, tapping his back with more force, suddenly interrupted. "He is a new trainee member. He's the one the leader came to pick up this time."
Hearing this, Bobby promptly closed his mouth and nodded in sudden realization.
Seeing that both parties had fallen silent, Ed, as a well-mannered junior, quickly introduced himself before his senior had to ask. "Hello, my name is Edward Darkmore."
"Bobby, Bobby Jindel, a craftsman on the ship. I can also help you identify some magical items you might not know about. If you have any questions about forging and production in the future, you can come to me. If you're interested in this field and want to learn, that would be even better."
Upon hearing this, Ed's eyes immediately lit up. As a magician, he needed to find ways to make and improve all kinds of magical props himself, especially his special cards, and he couldn't always rely on others to make them.
It seems I'll have to build a good relationship with this old man, Ed thought. Suddenly, he reached to his thigh, pulled out a locker he carried for formalities, so no one would doubt his inventory, and handed it to Old Man Bobby.
"This is a gun I acquired a while ago, but I haven't awakened my magic powers yet, so I don't know what it's really capable of."
Bobby took the gun directly and looked it over. Then he tilted his head and looked at Ed with a strange expression.
"This should be the work of Alando Toure, a one-handed shotgun. The paddle at the back can switch between condensation and diffusion modes."
As he said this, a circle of pale white runes appeared on one of his fingers, and he pointed it at the gun. He then nodded and said, "When you have magic power in the future, you can pour it into the gun as you shoot. It can add the power of Holy Flame to the bullets. In fact, firing it this way also increases the bullets' power and penetration."
After the identification, he handed the gun back to Ed. Once Ed took it, a blue crystal block he had acquired in the secret room appeared in his hand again.
However, before he could say anything, Bobby just glanced at it casually and said, "A crystal rich in magic power, generally used to craft magical items or as an energy source. It's nothing special; you can buy it easily on the market."
Hearing this, Ed immediately asked, "Can this be used to power this gun or other magic props that require magic power?"
"This gun won't work; it doesn't have the function of automatically drawing power from objects. For others, it depends on what they are," Old Man Bobby replied without hesitation, seeming very professional in his field.
Ed then waved his hand, and a card appeared in his palm. Old Man Bobby glanced at it lazily as well and replied casually.
"This is a consumable item that carries a spell. You can activate the crystal with it. You just need to slide the crystal over it firmly."
He then took the crystal in his hand and examined it. "But if you use the crystal like this, it can only be used once. It's a consumable, and you can't control it. Once activated, the energy will dissipate continuously. It will probably ignite in about three seconds."
After hearing Bobby's answer, Ed nodded with an understanding look and replied with a satisfied smile. "Thanks."
Bobby waved his hand, then turned to Hamo and asked, "Which island are we going to?"
Hamo, who seemed amazed by Bobby's appraisal skills, sighed again and answered, "Meister Island."
"I don't like this island. I'm going back to my room to rest. Tell Andre that I'll guard the ship this time."
Having said that, he walked straight toward the stern deck. Watching Bobby leave, Hamo could only spread his hands helplessly. "The old man doesn't like noisy environments. He prefers the quiet atmosphere on the ship."
The ship was about to enter the port. Andre also emerged at this time. After Hamo conveyed Bobby's words, Uncle Matt came up as well. By now, Matt had changed into his normal attire, no longer wearing his chef's uniform and apron.
As the ship slowly entered the port, the sails were automatically retracted, and as the capstan turned, the anchor fell to the sea floor.
"Lipoca isn't coming down?" Ed asked as he followed Hamo off the ship, noticing the book lover was missing.
"You rarely see her outside the library."
So she's a nerd? No wonder, Ed thought, nodding. Hamo thinks she's going to die single. If she never leaves the library, it would be a miracle if she found a boyfriend.
After disembarking, Ed observed the island's environment. The harbor was finely constructed, and most ships at the berths were large and sophisticated.
In addition to dockworkers, there were many people in the port who had just left their ships or were about to board. Judging by their clothes, most were either wealthy or noble. Each was accompanied by beautiful female companions who wore surprisingly short outfits, giving passersby a certain visual pleasure, along with other family members.
This was clearly a tourist island. However, unlike the previous island where many people advertised their products at the port, here there was no such thing; the port was extremely clean and well-maintained.
The salty, humid sea breeze carried a fresh fragrance. There was only a small town in front of the port, but it had carriages of all sizes parked about, as well as a wide carriage road that extended all the way into the island's interior.
Andre led the three of them to a hotel in the small town. A plump, middle-aged woman in casual house clothes, who had been dozing at the counter, immediately smiled when she saw Andre, a smile that wasn't normal, but the kind that gave people plenty of room for imagination.
"My Lord, you are finally back."