After going into the sea, I met the witch.

His wandering clone is a "pirate," and although the fit is not high at the moment and the advancement is far away, and he has already obtained the second-tier advancement potion in the Whirlpool Islands, it is always good to prepare the third-tier advancement potion in advance.

"If I have the chance, I'd like to take a trip to Qingdao."

Ryan thought so.

After all, it's a swordsmanship competition. Who says a greatsword isn't a sword?

When it was Ryan's turn, "Red Kite," who was sitting at the head of the table, said, "Since 'Purple Wind' just joined today, there's no need to share information. Next, everyone can talk about their needs and exchange resources with each other."

Ryan sat quietly in his chair, watching the group exchange some materials. Through their exchange, he gradually learned the rules of "exchange".

During the exchange meeting, members can bring out their resources and make their requests. If someone can meet their needs, the transaction can be completed on the spot. Even if not, it will allow other members who are interested in the resource to take note of their requests.

As for the exchange of intelligence, the Palace Master "Red Kite" took charge, creating a "temporary private fog space" for the two parties exchanging intelligence to have a "private chat".

Overall, this is much faster than a person searching for resources and intelligence in the vast ocean.

After all, an individual's strength is always insignificant.

The "Hall of Collapse" allows for rapid resource exchange, and if used properly, it can significantly accelerate the growth of one's strength.

Especially when they are not yet bound by the "blood oath contract".

Ryan thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.

As the exchange was nearing its end, Ryan spoke up, "I want to know the core of the 'Pirate Path' [Tier 1 Pirate] role, and I'll offer this as payment."

A glittering, round bead appeared in his palm: "This is a strange object that I obtained by chance. After grinding it up, it can be applied to wounds to quickly heal them. It is also very effective when swallowed directly. In addition, it can also be used as the main ingredient for healing potions."

Ryan produced a "Pearl of Abundance".

The main reason is that he doesn't have anything suitable to exchange. With the acquisition of the "Gluttony Heart" skill, the "Abundance Pearl" has become dispensable to him. Using it to exchange for information is a good option right now.

Upon hearing Ryan's voice, everyone present showed interest.

Anything that can heal injuries is always in high demand.

But soon, regret showed in the eyes of No. 5 "Qingling" and No. 6 "Lanshan". Clearly, they did not know the information that Ryan wanted.

Although the number of people who take the "Pirate Path" is the largest on the sea, very few can advance to the second tier with 100% compatibility. The core of their role is top secret.

At this moment, "Red Kite," who was sitting at the head of the long table, smiled and said, "I do know this information. Let's talk about it privately."

The next second, the fog enveloped Ryan, and he and "Red Kite" entered the "temporary private fog room".

"Red Kite" caught the pearl that Ryan tossed to her, glanced at it briefly, put it away, and then said:

"The word 'playing' that you just used is indeed a very apt description."

"To 'play' a pirate well and achieve 100% authentic portrayal, the most crucial element is:"

"——A struggle against the 'rules'."

"The pirate group itself is a 'profession' that arose from dissatisfaction with the rules."

"They admire adventure, yearn for freedom, good wine, and beautiful women, but these are just superficial. Ultimately, their core element is dissatisfaction with the 'rules and regulations' that bind them."

"Adventure, freedom, and unrestrained enjoyment are all forms of their rebellion against the 'rules'."

"Therefore, if a [Tier 1 Pirate] wants to achieve 100% compatibility and 'perfect performance', they need to put up a strong fight against the 'rules'."

These words left Ryan stunned, and in an instant, he was enlightened.

He didn't come to his senses until the "fog room" disappeared.

"So that's how it is..."

……

With the exchange concluded, this "exchange meeting" of the Overturned Palace also came to an end.

Number 4 "Green Tide", number 5 "Azure Bell", and number 6 "Blue Mountain" left one after another, their bodies fading on the seats until they finally disappeared.

“Zifeng, I have adjusted the teleportation point for you. After you leave, you will be teleported to ten kilometers away from the entry point. As long as you do not remove your mask, the ‘Holy Eye’ will not be able to lock onto your whereabouts again.”

"I understand."

Ryan took a deep look at the first-ranked "Red Kite" and silently thought, "Leave."

Ten seconds later, the mist swirled before his eyes, and his vision gradually faded into darkness.

-

(I felt a bit better today, so I wrote a little more~ although it's only a little over 6,000 words... I'll try to make up for the missing words over the weekend~)

Chapter 114 The Most Romantic Greeting Between Knights! (Two-in-One)

When light returned, Ryan immediately gripped the hilt of the greatsword behind him. Although "Red Kite" said that he had moved his teleportation point to ten kilometers away from the entrance, who could guarantee that there were no Libra Holy Church members around?

It's always good to be careful.

Looking around, all I could see was a lush, green forest, but not a soul in sight.

After observing for a while, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that this is a forest on the outskirts of the island. It is almost impossible for people from the Libra Holy Church to appear in such a place."

He didn't linger there and quickly left.

after a while.

On the beach, inside a cave in the rock wall.

Ryan sat facing Freyne and Cecilia, with a crackling campfire between them.

"That's roughly how it happened..."

Ryan finished recounting the series of events he encountered after entering the city of Santos, including the "Temple of Collapse."

"The Libra Holy Church, the Witch Society, the Overturned Temple... With the theft of the 'sacred relic,' one power after another has emerged in Saint Tos City. Saint Tos City, and even the island, is gradually becoming the center of the vortex."

Ryan's story made Freya fall into deep thought. As for Cecilia, although she tried her best to maintain a thoughtful appearance, from Ryan's perspective, her slightly unfocused pale silver eyes seemed more like she was in a daze than thinking.

Maybe it's just my imagination.

Ryan thought to himself.

After a moment of silence, Freya said seriously, "I think we don't need to be in such a hurry to leave."

"Although the city of Santos is currently in complete chaos, the core issues still lie in the 'relic,' the 'sacred scales,' and the 'underground labyrinth.'"

"By a twist of fate, Mr. Ryan, you have become a member of the 'Hall of Overturning' and obtained a rare artifact that allows you to evade the 'Holy Eye's' tracking and locking, which is our advantage."

"Secondly, if the entrance to the underground labyrinth really does open on the 'Day of Abundant Stars,' it will also be a rare opportunity."

"The materials needed to advance to the third tier of potions are all extremely precious. If we were to search for them one by one on the sea, it would take far too long."

"Although the twelfth Black Knight is dead, the Black Knights' pursuit will not end. In the Inner Sea, it will take them longer to catch up with us, but they will eventually catch up. With the twelfth's defeat, the next Black Knight pursuit team will definitely not be so simple."

"We don't have as much time as we think, so we must become as strong as possible."

As she finished speaking, Freya's tone became heavy.

“Mr. Ryan, please don’t think that the Black Knights are nothing special just because they defeated the twelfth seat.”

"In reality, the last three seats of the Black Knights, the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth seats, are only positions established by the Black Knights to motivate the Black Knights. Their existence is more of an honor than a practical one."

“Starting from the tenth seat, the Black Knights, who have reached the third-tier hero profession, are the true high-end force of the Black Knights Order.”

"Third-tier hero professionals are far stronger than second-tier elites. Even though I have made great progress in my strength, I am not confident that I can contend with a third-tier hero professional."

Freyne's tone was very serious, and Ryan nodded in deep agreement upon hearing this—he had revealed two trump cards and only managed to barely injure "Iris Knight" Hansal by surprise. If they were to fight again, it was uncertain whether he could achieve the same result against a prepared Hansal.

In terms of raw power, he is still some distance from being a Tier 3 Hero professional.

but……

"If tonight's journey successfully defeats any [High-Rank] Special Species and levels up, then I'll be absolutely confident I can contend with a Tier 3!"

Ryan thought to himself.

Seeing Ryan's serious expression, Freya felt a little relieved. What she was most worried about was that Ryan would not take the Black Knights seriously because he had defeated the twelfth Black Knight. If he was careless, something terrible would happen.

At the same time, the witch secretly encouraged herself: she must do her best in tomorrow's "viewing" to earn more spirit essence and exchange it for the second-tier items on the list, which she had been eyeing for a long time.

This morning's "viewing" was delayed because of the absorption of holy blood. When she finally had time to enter the "viewing area," the "viewing platform" already displayed the message "Today's viewing has ended. Please come again tomorrow," which made Frey a little annoyed.

At the same time, this also made Freya realize one thing: the traveler's daily journey will not stop because of whether she views it or not. If she wants to invest and profit, she must view it every day at midnight.

To put it bluntly, that mysterious island is so dangerous that travelers are at risk of dying at any moment.

……

After deciding to stay on the island and observe the situation, Ryan left the cave and dug another small hole next to it.

This will be his temporary "home" for the next few days.

Today's trip to Santos City took him quite a while, and now the sun in the distance is beginning to set behind the mountains. He needs to adjust his state of mind in preparation for the challenges of his upcoming travels.

Although he was ambushed and killed by the [High Rank] Bloodclaw Dragon during his last journey, he also successfully defeated the Bone Armor Dragon before his death, allowing his travel clone to level up again.

Even so, he still wasn't very confident in defeating monsters at the [higher] level.

Currently, he has seen two [high-rank] monsters: a unicorn dragon and a bloodclaw dragon, both of which have demonstrated terrifying strength far surpassing that of lower-rank monsters.

Even the lowest-rank Rathalos leader would be utterly slaughtered before these two [high-rank] monsters; they were simply not on the same level.

Therefore, in order to successfully defeat the [high-ranking] monster, he must be fully alert and make thorough preparations.

"Crackling..."

Over the flickering campfire, the grill slowly rotated, causing the fat fish skewered on wooden sticks to sizzle and turn golden and crispy.

After simply sprinkling a few grains of sea salt, Ryan handed the grilled fish to Freyne and Cecilia across from him.

“Mr. Ryan, I didn’t expect you to have this trick up your sleeve.”

The fluffy hat swayed like bouncy jelly in the sea breeze. The witch took the grilled fish, her eyebrows curving like crescent moons, and said with a smile, "The aroma is wonderful, but I wonder how it tastes."

As she spoke, she opened her small mouth and took a small bite.

The girl's eyes lit up immediately: "It's delicious!"

The knight girl, whose long, silver-white hair shone even more brightly in the moonlight, also took a small bite. Although she didn't speak, the sudden brightness in her eyes and the slight nod showed that she approved of the grilled fish.

“Then eat more, I grabbed a lot.” Ryan smiled.

Watching the girl eating grilled fish, his heart gradually calmed down.