The awakeners flocked to the ship as the wharf ladder descended to the dock. While they queued to get on deck, the Rays of Hope party waited behind for the final turn.
Taking his time, Justin double-checked the gear of all party members, making sure everything was ready when an unexpected battle occurred during the sailing to the Bermuda Triangle, given the Wyverns flying around.
Klaus broke away from the others. He scanned the rows of ships lining the docks, comparing the actual size of the ships with the blueprints.
The ship used for sailing was a ferry. It had a length of 300 meters and could carry 300 passengers. The engine used monster cores fuel. Compared to petroleum, it was more efficient and environmentally friendly without causing the greenhouse effect.
The artificial arcana produced by Mors Industries was installed inside the engine. The "mana" conducting cables connected it to a device on the bridge and were controlled directly by the captain.
Like using arcana in general, the captain simply flowed mana on the device, and the artificial arcana on the engine would automatically activate.
In the world where Klaus lived before, the application of arcana like this was a common thing. It was not much different from the technology on Earth, except that it required different energy to activate.
Klaus wanted to see the effectiveness of his new artificial arcana. If it worked well, he would try applying it to other devices.
In a way, this project was a trial run before he expanded the scope of products produced by Mors Industries.
"Klaus!"
A familiar voice called his name. Klaus quickly turned his head from where it came and found the person he didn't want to see at the moment was drawing closer.
"I should have known, this bug would come too." A sigh escaped from his mouth.
It was Noah Liebert. That man came with the rest of his guild members. They wore silver armor and melee weapons with a modern twist. At first glance, Klaus immediately knew that the equipment they wore was a product of Morning Star.
Besides his party members, Noah brought along one of his mainstay awakeners, the German S-Class, Gavin Schneider.
The cousin not only ruined Klaus' mood, but also his men. They had not forgotten about Noah's arrogant behavior during the dungeon breaks in SoHo a few months ago. They were disgusted every time they remembered it.
"You and your little guild joined this quest too, huh." As usual, a condescending words were the first things out of Noah's mouth.
Justin and the guild members heard it. They looked annoyed, especially Joanna. She gritted her teeth and wrung her hands.
"I shouldn't have told Klaus to save that braindead back then. I really want to punch him in the face," Joanna muttered.
"Hold on, Joanna," Justin whispered. "I want to do it too but we can't screw thing up."
While they were furious, Klaus was not. Instead he wondered how this man could still be unchanged after nearly getting himself killed and all his men doomed in the dungeon. Klaus could not tell if it was due to the ability to recover from trauma or if Noah was just a fool.
"I just saw you. Where have you been?" asked Klaus pleasantly.
Noah sighed. "There was a slight interruption with my flight schedule, so I had to change my ticket. But it's lucky I wasn't late."
Then, Noah started complaining about the poor flight system. He cursed and cursed, pouring all the worst words on Earth into the airline he had chosen.
Nodding his head and saying "yes" a few times, Klaus pretended to pay attention to his cousin's nonsense.
Klaus chuckled. "You haven't changed a bit."
"What did you say?" Noah listened to Klaus' mutterings.
"Nah, nothing. I said you have great self-esteem," Klaus said in a sarcastic tone.
It was a subtle way of referring to Noah as narcissistic. But his cousin didn't understand and laughed instead. He laughs loudly, boasting about who he was.
"Alright, Klaus, I've already missed the plane, I don't want to miss the ship too. So my men and I are leaving first. Goodbye."
Noah left with a wave, and his men trailing behind. One of them, a tall man with long black hair glanced at Klaus as they left.
Klaus watched them go to the docks where thousands of awakeners were queuing to board the ship.
Suddenly, Joanna stood next to him.
"Damn that guy! He's so annoying, and he didn't say hello to me either!" Joanna raised her clenched fist into the air and uttered an expletive.
Klaus just looked at his sister with an astonished expression.
Later, Justin and Sylvia also came.
"Why did you let him, Klaus? People like him need to get a punch in the mouth to stop making them." Justin sighed.
"I know he's your cousin, Klaus. But you can't let him get away with it," Sylvia chimed in.
Klaus gave no reply and just smiled.
An asshole is an asshole no matter how much you try to change him. No matter how Klaus taught Noah a lesson, this man would still behave the same way.
The sea breeze began to blow strongly. Most of the awakeners had already boarded their respective ships.
Seeing that the docks were starting to clear, Klaus and Justin led their men to one of the ships.
The turbines spun and created waves of water, pushing the ferry away from the harbor.
The sailing to the Bermuda Triangle began.
The decks of the ship were spacious even though there were only a few meters left on the sides of the ship. Passengers rested in their rooms, and some chose to spend time on the deck, enjoying the breeze from the sea.
Most of the parties that joined this voyage consisted of five or ten people. As there is little space on the ship, they have to share a room with two or three other members.
Apart from providing room facilities, the ferry has several places for the passengers. Among them are five lounges, restrooms, a mini bar, and a deck space for viewing the scenery.
It takes 18 hours for the ship to reach the border of the Bermuda Triangle.
During that time, Klaus spent time in his room. Since he was a "VVIP" passenger, he was the only one living here. Of course, Klaus wasn't the only one with this privilege. Some influential people like Vincent and Elizabeth had their own private room just like Klaus.
During that time, Klaus spent time reading books. He hadn't had one for himself in a long time. Work was piling up and the industry's fierce competition kept Klaus working.
So, he would not waste these precious 18 hours.
Meanwhile, his men treated the cruise like a picnic. Olivia spent the time enjoying the sea view. Sylvia and Joanna enjoyed the chef's meal in the lounge. Akio flirts with some ladies at the minibar. Michael and a few other members busied themselves practicing at the stern of the ship even though dozens were watching them. Justin was just like Klaus, confined to his room but with seasickness.
While they were enjoying the moments before the battle, the sun had gone down and the stars were scattered across the night sky.
"What's wrong with the temperature of this room? Why is it so hot all of a sudden?"
Klaus began to feel the temperature rise in the room. The air became stale and sweat soaked his body. Feeling uncomfortable staying any longer, Klas then decided to go outside, breathing for some fresh air.
The deck seemed quiet even though this ship carried three hundred people. He looked around, there were no visible human sightings other than empty air.
"There's no one here."
When Klaus decided to return to the room, he accidentally saw a woman standing at the end of the bow. Under the night sky, she was wearing a negligee with a floral print and her long black hair was waving like a fluttering flag.
At first glance, he immediately knew who she was.
"Olivia?"
Then, he remembered having something to give Olivia. Klaus felt the need to give it to her alone, but since there were many people around, he didn't have time to do so.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" asked Klaus as he made to next Olivia.
The exotic-skinned woman looked a little surprised to see him. "Oh, you." She then turned her face back to the sea after saying so.
From the expression on her face, Klaus could tell that Olivia harbored feelings of resentment towards him. She still couldn't forget how Klaus treated her unfairly, giving her nothing when other members got arcana.
However, Klaus would fix it.
He was going to give Olivia an arcana.
After he saw how Olivia practiced late into the night, his heart moved a little. He was quite skeptical of Olivia, considering the girl's very bad temper. But in the end he changed his mind.
Klaus realized, to make someone better, he needed to give a little motivation.
"I thought you didn't like people who had nothing to contribute to the guild," Olivia quipped.
"Yeah, that's true."
Olivia snorted, laughing a little bitterly. "You're pretty amazing." Her words sounded sarcasm.
Klaus pursed his lips.
As Klaus was about to take out the arcana gift to Olivia, he suddenly felt a large surge of mana. He looked around, looking for the source of where it came from. However, before he could find it, a white mist appeared and enveloped the entire ship.
