The few who had returned to the rental cabin sat around the campfire to rest.
Though there had been no fighting today and no mana expenditure, it had greatly drained their strength.
It had also left their clothes filthy, their shoes feeling as if they were covered in mud.
After all, they had been toiling for over ten hours.
Lucille was examining the valuable items they had brought back.
Alka stared at the magic gathering stone in his hand, not rushing to activate it with his mana.
Rather, he simply stared at it.
After a moment's thought, he suddenly said, "Let's return to the ship tonight."
At Alka's sudden words, the surrounding companions shifted their attention.
Arka held up the magic gathering stone in his hand and said, "This thing, whether it's the name or the effect, seems to make quite a noise. Using it here would be too conspicuous."
After hearing this, everyone thought for a moment and nodded.
Indeed.
After all, this is someone else's territory.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Arka stood up and said, "Let's go. We'll rest on the boat today, change clothes, and clean up."
As he spoke, he stood up and shook off some dirt that fell off him. He didn't know where it came from. Then he walked out.
They followed the gravel path all the way to the harbor.
As they arrived, they saw the huge ship outside.
"What a huge ship!" Matriasa exclaimed in surprise.
It was the first time she had seen such a large ship. Even though she lived at the gateway to the vast sea, she had never seen a ship this large.
The few people who hadn't been to the port or seen a merchant ship in the past few days were also somewhat surprised.
Simon looked at the ship, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Juanlu, who was standing beside him, quickly pulled him aside: "That's someone else's ship."
"I know, I'll just take a look."
"You'd better just take a look," Jason said silently, glancing at him from the side.
After all, they had been with Simon for a while.
Simon was usually polite and honest, but when he encountered something that interested him, or when he was deeply researching it, he was different.
At this time, there were also some goods piled up around the port, but it was unclear whether they were shipped to or from the ship.
The few people took a look, but without slowing down, they boarded the Dawn Sound after a long absence.
As they boarded the ship, soft, melodious singing began.
Alka smiled and patted the mainmast.
"Sail the ship out of the island. We'll come back tomorrow morning."
The merchant ship anchored outside, as well as the people we had just seen at the harbor, might have noticed something.
Less trouble is worse than more trouble.
Following Alka's words, the Voice of Dawn slowly left the harbor, then settled on the side not far from it.
After checking that the distance was about right, Alka, on the deck, raised the Magic Gathering Stone in his hand.
Today's biggest gain.
From ancient times, before the world shattered.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
Under the curious gazes of the crowd, he channeled his magic power into it.
As magic power was injected, dense, complex, and perfectly regular patterns emerged on the stone's surface.
Alka, as if sensing something, gently released his grip.
The magic gathering stone floated before everyone, standing steadily in the air.
A strange message flooded Alka's mind: how to use this thing.
Is that how the instructions are placed?
How interesting.
The instructions were simple enough that Alka briefly reviewed them and memorized them.
He extended a finger and touched the magic stone. As his finger left the surface, a blue line of energy stretched out.
He swung the line out, controlling it, drawing a circle on the surrounding deck, enveloping everyone.
As the line connected, the magic stone instantly activated.
Incomprehensible spell patterns appeared on the circle on the ground, densely packed together to form a circular magic circle.
The surrounding magic power began to pour into the magic circle. The concentration of magic power around them increased at an alarming rate, even making them feel an inexplicable resistance in the air, as if the very air itself had become thicker.
Breathing became difficult, as the overwhelming influx of magic power squeezed the air out.
Just as everyone felt the air becoming thinner and suffocating, the magic stone suspended in the center began to spin.
This dense magic power began to follow the rotation, gathering around the magic stone.
Before everyone could see, as the magic stone spun, more and more magic power gathered, reaching a density so thick that it was visible to the naked eye.
It transformed into an object resembling a water ball, unexpectedly liquefying. Then, this water-like liquid magic power began to radiate its power.
A strange scene unfolded in the space where everyone was.
The magic power from above converged into the liquid magic sphere, which then shed its power, filling the space below.
Like an hourglass, the area where the liquid magic resided acted like a leak, absorbing the vast amount of magic from above, changing its form and increasing its concentration, allowing it to flow downward.
This was the deck where Alka and the others were staying.
"This magic power... is actually entering my body through my breath!" Sofia exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening.
Alka said, "Stop talking about this. Take this opportunity to meditate."
With that, he sat down beside the flower bed and closed his eyes, revealing the meditation rune within his body.
Everyone immediately took their seats, with Pororo and Jason sitting directly on the deck.
But everyone remained within the circle.
As they began to meditate, transparent spirals appeared around each of them. The magic power within the circular array rapidly poured into their bodies.
This magic power was all released from the liquid magic power formed by the central magic gathering stone. It entered their bodies with remarkable smoothness, without the slightest resistance.
Aside from the three puppet girls, Zero One Twelve, whose strength had been enhanced by the treasure, the rest of the group was meditating.
The three puppet girls stood outside the formation, keeping watch for the others.
However, with so many people meditating simultaneously, coupled with the inexplicably rapid pace, the amount of magic power entering their bodies was also exorbitant, leaving the entire space somewhat insufficient.
The spinning liquid magic ball in the center was dispensing magic power at a rate that couldn't keep up with the speed at which the group was absorbing it.
But at least it maintained a certain balance.
After half an hour, the magic gathering stone began to shake, and the circular formation beneath their feet also began to flicker.
It seemed as if the magic gathering stone had reached its limit. It suddenly extinguished and vanished.
Then the liquid magic lost control and quickly merged into the surrounding air.
The massive influx of magic caused the surrounding magic concentration to rise instantly, and the air was instantly squeezed out.
The sudden influx of magic also threw everyone off their feet.
Fortunately, it was just a simple impact and had no effect on them.
After a while, the surrounding magic concentration decreased, and air began to fill in.
Arka breathed heavily, his head and body already drenched with sweat.
The same was true for everyone else.
The sweat of everyone formed a puddle on the deck beneath their feet.
"This is the first time... the first time I've been so exhausted from meditation..." Simon said, panting as he lay on the deck.
He had never imagined that he would meditate to such exhaustion.
It's much more tiring than digging pits during the day.
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding magic power suddenly began to fluctuate again.
Forcing himself to sit up, he looked at the source of the turbulence.
Xadaiti, Jason, and Lucilia advanced to the second stage at the same time.
Thankfully, the surrounding magic power concentration was high, so the three people's advancement to the second stage had no effect.
Watching the three people's advancement, Alka turned to look at the panting Juanlu.
At Jason's gaze, Juanlu waved his hand in understanding: "Almost there, just a little bit more."
Now he was the only one left on the ship, still stuck at the triple helix.
It couldn't be helped, especially since they had only been in the Infinite Sea for a few days.
After a while, the three of them completed their advancement.
"Advancing at the same time, it's quite a spectacular sight," Julia said with a smile.
He lifted Lucilia, who had collapsed on the deck, onto his shoulders, then helped Sofia sit beside him.
Jason, lying on the deck, looked at the people around him.
"Pull me up."
Hearing this, Alka glanced at him and said, "What? You think the deck of the Dawn's Voice is dirty? I'm a nice, clean girl."
Hearing this, Jason looked at the rope dangling above his head and silently shut his mouth.
I won't pull it, I won't pull it, he said so righteously.
Then he felt like he was flying. Pororo grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
Alka had already retrieved the magic gathering stone that had fallen to the floor. It had returned to its unusually dim state.
It looked more like a stone than a crystal.
"Is this thing broken?" Simon asked from the side.
Alka shook his head. "Don't worry, it hasn't. It's just overloaded."
After all, it was his first time using it, so he had no experience.
"We were just meditating together, and we consumed too much magic power, causing its conversion to be a bit overloaded. Also, the area I drew was too large, so I haven't had time to adjust a lot of the data yet."
This thing was just finished, after all, and I didn't know if the maker had properly adjusted it.
But it was new, so it wouldn't break down easily.
Xadaiti, who had recovered, looked at the magic gathering stone in Alka's hand and asked, "What was that magic power just now? It felt like my own magic power. I just drew it in gently, and it melted right in."
The others were also very curious. The magic power produced by the magic gathering stones just now was clearly very different from the magic in the surrounding air.
It was like it was tailor-made for them, very easy to absorb.
"Well, this magic gathering stone itself is used to generate magic that's easily absorbed by humans.
So, besides gathering magic, it also transforms external magic into magic that's easily absorbed by living beings."
In short, it's a meditation accelerator, a full-scale meditation accelerator.
Their meditation speed just now was practically full throttle, frantically absorbing magic, which put a heavy strain on their bodies.
This caused a significant loss of stamina, which is why they appeared so exhausted.
Thankfully, meditation speed can only reach a certain limit, not exceed it. It's still determined by your physical condition.
No matter how hard you meditate, your speed can't exceed your physical condition.
This also ensures that meditation won't harm your body.
However, maintaining maximum absorption is still very physically demanding.
But it also saves time and is extremely efficient.
How could one absorb to the maximum under normal circumstances? A large portion of the magic power normally absorbed is unusable by the human body.
This thing in his hand perfectly solves this problem.
Alka hadn't just absorbed it mindlessly; he'd briefly checked the absorbed magic power at first.
The absorption efficiency reached a staggering 80%, even reaching around 85% in the middle stages.
You should know that in the Home Sea, the magic power absorption efficiency of meditation might only be around 10%, sometimes even less.
On the forward route, the absorption efficiency increased to around 30%-40%, and it continued to increase as he advanced.
This is because the surrounding magic power concentration increased, so the same amount of absorption would yield greater results.
After reaching the Infinite Sea, the absorption efficiency stabilized at 50%. It would increase slightly if he reached the island, but never exceeded 60%.
This was essentially the limit of magic power absorption through meditation.
The Magic Concentration Stone nearly doubled the efficiency of meditation, and that's just the absorption rate.
The amount absorbed will be greater than before, after all, the magic concentration is higher, and since the absorption rate is faster, the amount will naturally be greater.
Overall, the speed at which meditation increases strength is about 2.5 to 3 times faster than without the Magic Concentration Stone.
Much more than expected.
This is a relatively accurate value Alka has calculated.
Furthermore, the meditation time is directly halved, to less than half an hour per day, though this half hour is very physically demanding.
Thinking of this, Alka wrote down the data.
Then he said to everyone, "I'll tweak it tonight and make it a single-person device. We can take turns meditating each day, and the efficiency will be greatly increased."
Everyone nodded at Alka's words. This item can boost everyone's strength. While the initial impact may not be noticeable, it's a long-term, steady improvement.
Over time, their strength will improve much faster than others at the same stage.
This will help them gain a firm foothold in the Infinite Sea more quickly.
After all, as people from the Four Seas, the gap in strength between them and those who have lived in the Infinite Sea their entire lives is quite significant.
For example, Bai Shi is only in his twenties. Without the aid of a treasure, his strength is estimated to be at least 7-8 spirals.
The strongest members of their team, Simon and Julia, are obviously much older than Bai Shi.
However, their strength is still not on par with him.
"I'll go cook for you. I haven't been in the ship's kitchen for a few days. Let's make a feast tonight!" Juanlu said after a good rest.
"Great!"
"I want that roasted beef leg from last time."
"Then I'll have the grilled fish."
Everyone ordered their favorite dish.
Juanlu smiled and nodded, taking note.
The warehouse was already filled with the game they'd killed on the island, as well as some foraged ingredients.
There was no need to worry about running out of food or it being stale.
"Oh, and here's something." Lucilia seemed to have a thought, and a small booklet appeared in her arms.
This was the book they had found earlier in the temple's interior. It was made of some unknown material, yet it hadn't decayed with the passage of time like the surrounding objects.
Lucelia flipped through the booklet in her arms.
"What's written on it?" Alka asked curiously.
Hoping the information contained therein could reveal more about the Vaswa city-state.
"These are the research notes of a man named Vita. They record some of his research ideas and some extremely disjointed records."
Hearing this, Alka and Simon both stood up and quickly sat down next to Lucelia.
"Tell me, what's written on it?"
"Does it say how that thing was made?"
The two began to interrogate her.
"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Lucelia waved her hand helplessly.
Then, she jumped onto Sofia's shoulder and said to the two of them, "Don't worry. A lot of the text here is a little difficult to translate. I need to look it over carefully to figure out how to translate it perfectly. There are also some things I can't seem to remember."
Hearing this, the two men, who had been a little anxious, calmed down and nodded in their seats.
After all, the booklet wouldn't slip away from their hands.
After flipping through it for a while, Lucilia said, "Alka woke me up from a dream tonight, so I need to dig through the knowledge deep in my memory."
"No problem."
Soon, everyone else returned to the bathhouse and cleaned off the dirt they had on.
After a day of digging, they were covered in a lot of dirt.
After finishing, Alka began adjusting the magic gathering stone in his hand. It wasn't complicated, and with the instruction manual, it was manageable.
At least it wouldn't make Alka think he'd damaged it by tinkering with it.
It wasn't until dinner was about to start that Alka finally finished adjusting it.
"I've already adjusted it. It's best to activate it every two to three hours, each time for half an hour. It will then automatically form a circular magic gathering circle underneath, just enough for one person."
He added, "Including Pororo."
With that, a rope flew in, bound the magic gathering stone, and pulled it out.
"I'll put it in the observation room. When each of us is on guard duty, we can take half an hour to meditate."
Alka said, and everyone nodded.
This was indeed a good idea.
Normal hours meant the observation room was always occupied, and each shift lasted about three hours, just right.
Plus, with Yi helping with the guard duty, taking half an hour off was no problem.
After saying this, Alka said, "Tomorrow we'll go to another, more dangerous ruin."
Then everyone began to eat the delicious food on the table to replenish their energy.
They quietly waited for daylight to arrive.