While waiting their turn, she and Chard began chatting.
Because of their previous encounter, their relationship had become a bit closer, and Sules now learned that the young master’s name was Aiden Alvis, the youngest son of a powerful fleet captain.
Their understanding went no further than that, as they were, after all, mere acquaintances.
Although Chard had a good impression of Sules, he wouldn’t say much more.
A little while later, the two completed their procedures and went their separate ways.
Sules walked over to Claire and handed her the room key, “Keep this; it’s easy for me to lose it. I just asked, there’s a market nearby. Let’s go to the market, sell these seafood items, and then come back to rest.”
Claire nodded, and the two of them carried the pile of goods out of the inn.
The market on land was like an Earthly vegetable market – chaotic, with the pervasive smell of seafood.
Perhaps because the Awakening Day was approaching, it was incredibly crowded and difficult to navigate.
The two attractive young women skillfully wove through the bustling market, attracting considerable attention.
Sules had worn her captain’s hat for this outing.
Her captain’s hat was red and black, quite eye-catching.
A captain’s hat had always been the best symbol of a captain’s identity.
As soon as people saw her wearing it, the gazes around them immediately became much more subdued.
For ordinary people, a captain was a very powerful profession. In fact, most people in this world relied on captains for their livelihoods.
Those who bought things in this common market were usually ordinary people, so they naturally showed Sules a great deal of respect.
Sules and Claire finally found a fish stall and set down their goods.
Wealthy people lived on land, and most of them no longer needed to go out to sea to fish.
These fish were supplied specifically to them.
The vendor quickly weighed the goods and paid Sules according to the market price, “That’s eighty-six copper shells in total, please take it.”
Sules took the money and put it into her small bag.
***
She had brought fifty copper shells with her this time.
After deducting three copper shells for one day’s stay on land, five copper shells for the carriage ride, and five copper shells for one day’s stay at the inn, she now had one hundred and twenty-three copper shells left.
The money felt heavy in her purse, clinking with every movement.
Sules turned to Claire, “Is there anything missing from our ship? Let’s take this opportunity to replenish our supplies. That way, we won’t have to look for a trading ship to buy things when we get back.”
Trading ships were like floating markets at sea, with large vessels specifically for trade.
For a small fee, one could board and conduct business.
Moreover, during rainy nights, trading ships could also serve as safe harbors, which was very convenient.
Claire nodded, “I’ve kept the food and some usable supplies we needed from the last batch of seafood we caught. What we’re lacking now is timber and such; we can buy some to take back.”
Most timber came from sea-trees in the ocean, but areas with sea-tree forests were usually fenced off by guilds, so ordinary people could only buy what the guilds released in the market.
The two spent twenty copper shells on a few kilograms of timber.
Sules also spent ten copper shells on rattan needed for upgrades.
She hadn’t forgotten about upgrading her ship.
Claire didn’t understand why she bought the rattan, but Sules brushed her off with a vague explanation.
However, while Browse, Sules stumbled upon some interesting items.
After understanding their purpose, she decisively bought some.
Claire was quite puzzled by this, “Sules, why are you buying these? Even though we just earned a lot of money, we shouldn’t be squandering it like this, right?”
Sules snapped her fingers, “A mountain person… a fisher has their own clever plans; you don’t need to worry. Don’t worry, I won’t waste money.”
After buying the items, they paid an additional two copper shells for the seller to deliver them to the pier at 9 AM the next morning.
Awakening time was 8 AM, and at 9 AM, they would be heading back.
The timing was perfect.
***
Returning to the inn, the two quickly rested, preparing to face the upcoming Awakening Day with ample energy.
Awakening Day fell on the first of April each year, a time when many captains who had just turned eighteen came to the Sea God Temple to awaken their talents.
At 7 AM the next day, Sules and Claire woke up on time, washed up, and then hired a carriage to go to the Temple.
The appearance of the Sea God Temple was somewhat similar to a medieval European cathedral.
However, the difference from a church was its overall sea-blue color, which stood out and was very eye-catching.
This location at the pier wasn’t the main Sea God Temple but a branch temple built for convenience, so it wasn’t particularly luxurious or extravagant.
The entire temple consisted of only one palace, not a complex of palaces.
Nonetheless, it was still very grand.
The sea-blue temple stood under the sky-blue sky, exuding a sense of sanctity and nobility.
Claire, as a native of Mercury, held great reverence for the Sea God.
After all, there was only one main god in this world, and everyone was a believer.
This was Claire’s first time visiting the Sea God Temple in her memory, so she was incredibly excited.
“Sules! The Sea God Temple! May the Sea God be praised, I finally have the chance to behold the glory of the Sea God Temple!”
Sules patted her shoulder, signaling her to calm down, “It’s fine. Next time you want to come, we’ll just come again. It’s not far from the pier, so it’s easy to visit.”
Claire nodded vigorously, determined to visit again if she ever had the chance.
Because of Awakening Day, there was a long queue at the Temple entrance.
These were all people about to awaken.
The area around the queue was also packed with people.
Sules stood at the end of the line, observing them in her leisure, and quickly noticed they were divided into three groups.
One group consisted of the awakeners’ relatives, who stood closest to the line, whispering to the awakeners, telling them not to be nervous.
Then there were captains looking for employers.
They were also very obvious, dressed in various ways, mostly like sailors, with an occasional rare mechanic or ship doctor.
These were scarce resources, usually snatched up by other captains long ago, rarely found alone.
Awakening Day often produced captains of extraordinary potential, and if one could follow these captains, their own value would skyrocket.
This was why they were here.
Captains and crew had always been a process of mutual selection.
The last group consisted of teams from various guilds, scouting for talent.
If any captain with useful talent appeared, they would definitely go all out to recruit them into their guild.
This was also the time when most guilds replenished their personnel.
And in this group, the most eye-catching members were clearly from the Albatross Guild.
There were ten of them, all dressed in white uniforms, somewhat resembling naval attire.
On their chests was embroidered a golden pattern, looking like some kind of bird.
Sules knew it was an albatross.
As the largest guild in the East Sea, she, as an East Sea native, had naturally learned about them in detail in the game.
The symbol of the Albatross Guild was the albatross – the largest bird at sea.
However, East Sea people valued freedom and didn’t believe in “heaven”.
So, when the first guild master named the guild back then, he removed the character (meaning “believe” or “faith” and only kept the characters Tian Weng – a traditional term for albatross, but literally “heavenly old man”.
Sules remembered sighing with emotion when she first saw this description, thinking how thoughtful the developers were to come up with such a meaningful name for a guild.
But now Sules couldn’t help but wonder if the producer had already known about this world and merely copied everything.
The members of the Albatross Guild looked very proud.
The ten of them stood in a line, not trying to get close to the captains awaiting awakening, just standing there dryly.
But they indeed had the capital to be proud, being the largest guild in the East Sea. \
Only new captains with strong talents were worth their effort to compete for.
Even though they were the largest guild, they still needed to compete for people.
Because many captains simply didn’t intend to join a guild and would go straight to sea.
It’s the East Sea, freedom is paramount.
Joining a guild meant restricting one’s freedom, so naturally, many people were unwilling.
In fact, this was also why the Albatross Guild became the largest guild.
Because there were very few guilds in the East Sea to begin with, and each guild had very few members.
The Albatross Guild was essentially the best among a poor lot.
This was different from other sea areas.
As far as Sules knew, the most rampant guild influence was definitely in the Sicily Sea.
It was said that almost the entire sea area there was controlled by various guilds; without guild protection, you could only go to the Mysterious Sea.
And that place was almost a place where no one returned.
Even Sules, in the original “Return to Navigation” game, could only survive for three days when freely exploring the depths of the Mysterious Sea.
***
One by one, young captains emerged from the Sea God Temple, some arrogant and elated, others dejected and disheartened.
The people surrounding them were also very shrewd, specifically targeting those captains who clearly had a good awakening to promote themselves.
Those who obviously failed, however, were left unnoticed.
Sules’ mind wandered with these thoughts, and time passed quickly.
Before long, she was standing at the Temple entrance.
Walking into the Temple, the interior was magnificently decorated.
Still composed of blue, the walls were adorned with many fish bones, sea beast models, and various marine creatures painted with pigments.
It was both dreamy and sacred.
At the very back, in the center, stood a tall statue of a man.
The man had no face, wore an Athenian robe, and had curly hair.
His exposed muscles were depicted very realistically, immediately conveying a sense of power.
The Bishop and a group of clergy stood on either side of the statue.
They were uniformly dressed in blue robes that covered their entire bodies, revealing only their faces.
Sules walked forward with some trepidation; as an outsider from another world, she still felt some reverence for things related to gods.
The Bishop smiled at her reassuringly and guided her, “Captain Sules Sulia, please pray towards the Sea God statue. When the Sea God emits light, the awakening can be successful.”
Sules nodded, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed to the Sea God.
Although she was praying, she didn’t really know how to do it, so she just thought haphazardly, “Oh, Great Sea God, please give me a good talent, considering I innocently stumbled into this world and am quite pitiful and innocent. Please!”
Suddenly, the Sea God statue burst forth with dazzling light, and Sules felt something brush over her head.
The next second, her captain’s talent appeared in her mind—
The owner can control seawater.
The range of control changes with the level.
At Level 1, they can control seawater within 1 cubic meter centered around the owner.
Sules opened her eyes in slight shock, blinked, and then the surprise in her eyes faded.
How should she describe this ability?
It was… too good!
In fact, Sules had known one thing before: in this world, if anything had “Sea God” in its name, it was bound to be a good thing.
Especially for a captain’s talent.
This talent, aside from being a growth-type talent that could be upgraded, was not to be underestimated even at Level 1.
Certainly, one cubic meter of seawater might not do much, especially since it had to be centered around her.
But this ability was almost equivalent to making Sules invincible in close combat in the sea!
If someone approached her in the water, she could immediately transform the surrounding seawater into various shapes, like whirlpools, to restrain them.
In the sea, as long as she wished, almost no one could get close to her.
“It seems you’ve awakened a good talent.”
The Bishop said with a smile, “Congratulations, Captain Sulia. Now, please follow the staff to the ‘Sea God’s Sincere Stone’ for registration.”