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King Bradley gently lowered his raised right leg and scanned the crowd that had formed a circle.
"Gulp..."
Someone swallowed hard. The scene was momentarily silent.
Seeing that no one else came forward to provoke, he turned and returned to Illumi's side, resuming his role as a guard.
"Shua!"
A lifebuoy was thrown into the sea, steadily landing around the green-bandanaed man.
"Kid, you're on your own now."
The captain pressed down on his hat, looked at the green-bandanaed man struggling in the seawater, and said.
"Hey, aren't you going to go down and save him?"
"He's a passenger!"
A young man with shoulder-length short hair stepped forward and asked the captain and three sailors standing on the ship's railing.
"Don't be naive, kid."
Behind the captain, a bald, burly man turned his head and looked at him with an arrogant smile.
"The Hunter Exam started the moment you boarded this ship."
"On this ship, any failure will directly lead to your disqualification."
"You'd better take care of yourself, don't get targeted by others."
The young man's expression stiffened. He scanned his surroundings and immediately felt many malicious gazes lingering on him. Gritting his teeth, he retreated.
The incident ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
Many people, having understood the rules on this ship, secretly began to search for their prey to eliminate.
The captain, however, looked towards Illumi and his companion standing at the bow, his eyes narrowed, a hint of anticipation rising in his heart.
"It seems this year, there will be an unexpected harvest."
...
Daytime quickly ended, and night fell.
A crescent moon hung high in the sky, with specks of starlight dotting the night.
The bright moonlight Sprinkled upon the sea, illuminating the dark ocean, reflecting the crescent moon on the water's surface as if it were a mirror.
While people were sleeping in their cabins, Illumi remained at the bow, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, his entire body's aura like a sphere, expanding outwards.
King Bradley constantly guarded him by his side, never leaving.
Because En encompassed three application techniques, practicing En was also simultaneously practicing Ten and Ren.
He didn't want to waste any time. He maintained Ren while walking, and also maintained it while resting. Except for sleeping, he could not break off his training at any time.
"One-meter range."
Illumi felt the distance his aura had spread. Everything within a one-meter radius around him could be clearly captured by his aura.
Even when the sea breeze blew past his body, he could imagine it in his mind; the sea breeze was like a wide yet gentle river, slowly flowing past.
"Tap... tap..."
Slightly heavy footsteps sounded from below deck. Bradley turned sideways and looked back, only to see the captain holding a bottle of white wine, walking out from the cabin.
Leaning against the wall with one hand, he tilted his head back and "glug, glug" gulped down a large amount of wine.
"Hmm?"
The captain, who was drinking, noticed the two at the bow. His movements paused, and he put down the wine bottle.
"Hoo..."
At that moment, a moist, salty sea breeze blew past.
The captain's Tophus nose twitched slightly. He glanced at Illumi and his companion at the bow, a strange smile on his face, then turned and entered the cabin.
"It seems something is about to happen."
King Bradley reminded him. Although he couldn't see the captain's face clearly in the night, with the help of the bright moonlight, he could still vaguely perceive the change in the contours of the captain's face.
Illumi suddenly opened his eyes, slowly rose, looked at the sea surface ahead where waves were rising layer upon layer, then looked up at the dark sky. A patch of dark clouds "brushed past" the crescent moon.
"A storm is coming."
Accompanied by a gust of slightly moist sea breeze, Illumi turned and walked towards the cabin, Bradley following closely behind.
"Creak~"
The captain, who was leisurely drinking in the ship's corridor, heard the sound. He turned his head and saw Illumi and his companion pushing open the door and entering. The corner of his mouth quirked up, and he swayed as he entered the control room.
Illumi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then looked away and directly sat down on the floor in the ship's corridor.
A storm was coming. He didn't want to stay in the passenger cabins because they would soon turn into a hell filled with all sorts of vomit.
"Hey, you lot, stop slacking off over there."
After the captain entered the control room, he kicked a sailor in the butt and shouted.
"A storm is coming soon, hurry up and furl the sails!"
"Aye!"
The sailors immediately got up and rushed outside, quickly climbing the masts, pulling the ropes, and furling the sails amidst a strong gust of wind.
"Rumble~"
The sky turned pitch black. Large dark clouds completely obscured the starlight and the moon. The air became oppressive, clouds roiled, and silver snakes danced wildly.
"Crack~"
From the dark clouds in the sky, a bolt of lightning struck down, illuminating the raging sea.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Suddenly, the wind became violent. A bolt of lightning tore through the night sky, and the world was Suddenly lit up.
"Boom, crack!"
Immediately after, a deafening thunderclap, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart, resounded through the clouds, and a torrential downpour fell from the sky. Large raindrops fell on the sailors, getting heavier and heavier, the drops becoming denser and denser.
"Crash~ Rumble!"
Countless giant waves rose in the sea, wave after wave surging and falling.
The three-masted sailing ship was like a green leaf, drifting in this violent wind and huge waves, in danger of being swept into the abyss at any moment if not careful.
"Hmm?"
In the ship's corridor, Illumi, who was sitting on the floor, opened his eyes. He felt the ship seem to lift up.
"Shua!"
Just as this thought arose, his vision flipped, and the entire ship's corridor suddenly turned upside down.
No, it wasn't the ship's corridor that had turned upside down, but his body.
"Thump!"
Illumi and King Bradley spread their legs wide, bracing themselves in two corners on either side of the corridor, to prevent themselves from being thrown around in this violent tossing.
"Waaahhh..."
In the passenger cabins, over a hundred examinees rolled around in the enclosed space, hitting the walls and deck with "thump, thump" sounds.
After a long time, the three-masted sailing ship passed through the stormy sea area, and the violent tossing of the ship stopped.
"Ugh~"
Someone was leaning over a wine barrel, vomiting continuously. The disgusting smell of various yellow and green vomit spread throughout the enclosed cabin.
"Ugh... I'm going to die..."
Someone else looked completely exhausted, stretching out an arm, hoping someone could help him.
"Creak~"
The captain pulled open the cabin door, covered his nose, and looked inside. A group of people lay exhausted on the deck, tears and snot streaming down their faces, looking as if they were about to die.
Shaking his head, he slammed the cabin door shut with a "thump."
"A bunch of trash."
The captain strolled onto the deck, only to find that those two individuals had reappeared at the bow.
"You two, not bad."
The captain slowly walked towards the two, a smile on his face.
"This year, the only ones worth looking at are you two."
Illumi and his companion slowly turned to face the captain.