In the night sky above Iyeta Harbor, a massive airship sailed slowly towards the open sea, concealed by the darkness.
"By the way, Nos, will hunting the 'Eye of Death' have any impact on the protection of this sea area?" Eva impatiently inquired.
"What do you think it is? A sea creature raised by the Council? A watchdog guarding our home?" Nos scoffed.
"Don't joke around. These terrifying monsters cause massive whirlpools to devour creatures in the nearby waters, consuming their souls. In their eyes, both church members and us wizards are merely food, no different from the fish in the sea, perhaps with a better taste..."
"Instead of worrying about the 'Eye of Death,' you better pray that we get lucky this time and don't encounter overly powerful individuals," Nos said with a serious expression.
Lynn gazed at the misty sky. The range of this legendary magic was larger than he had imagined. He wondered how high they needed to ascend to escape the shroud of mist.
Five thousand meters? Ten thousand meters?
"This altitude must be over a thousand meters, right?" Hank remarked as the sea breeze continued to brush against him. Looking into the distance, he could even make out the city of the Iyeta Harbor below.
"About that. At this height, no one should be able to spot us," Nos replied, his expression relaxing.
Since the airship they were on used magical steam power to drive the bottom propellers, combined with wind-resistant enhancements and a stable alchemical array, its speed was incredibly swift. By the time the full moon hung high in the sky, they had entered the area of the Misty Sea.
The thick mist engulfed them, soon occupying everyone's field of vision. Hank, Eva, Barbara, and 'Radak', all born in the land of the wizards, had heard various stories about the Misty Sea, but this was their first time facing it for real.
Lynn turned to Nos, curious about how he intended to locate the so-called 'Eye of Death.'
At sea, Nos no longer kept secrets and immediately pulled out a wooden compass.
Lynn recognized it at a glance; it was a compass similar to the one Laut had used to locate the Wizard's Land before they ventured into the Misty Sea.
Hank and the others, however, looked puzzled and in need of an explanation. Nos quickly clarified.
"This compass can pinpoint things with substantial magical power nearby. If we extend its detection range to the maximum, it will continuously point towards the Sun Crown Tower in the Wizard's City."
"So, all we need to do is adjust the range to locate the 'Eye of Death.'" Nos explained while turning the top needle of the compass to its minimum range.
The compass's pointer immediately started to spin, eventually pointing at Lynn.
"Didn't expect you, Ladek, to be the one among us with the most magical power..." Barbara said, quite surprised.
Lynn hadn't considered this; he wasn't even a formal wizard yet. However, he soon realized that the magical power stored in the smart chip/brain (AI) was likely taken into account.
Under the watchful eyes of the group, Lynn smirked and said, "That's because these days, I've just developed some interesting little gadgets. If this operation doesn't go smoothly, you might get a chance to see their power..."
Lynn's words immediately shifted everyone's attention. Since the compass's magical detection could locate the Sun Crown Tower, it clearly wasn't limited to detecting personal magical power. It might also include the total magical power of alchemical items carried by an individual.
With this in mind, the group couldn't help but wonder what powerful alchemical devices Lynn had come up with during this time.
Nos continued to increase the compass's detection range. Once the range extended to fifty kilometers, the compass pointer finally moved away from Lynn, pointing towards the depths of the Misty Sea.
Lynn heaved a sigh of relief inwardly; he had been most worried that the pointer would keep pointing at him, making it difficult for him to explain.
Fortunately, the smart brain's energy had received a replenishment, increasing to about thirty percent. This still wouldn't make it stronger than the 'Eye of Death.'
Having located their target, Nos immediately instructed the apprentices who were controlling the airship to adjust their course and head in the direction indicated by the compass.
Fifty kilometers might not be a great distance for an airship's speed, but the problem was that the 'Eye of Death' seemed to be constantly moving. So, even after sailing for most of the day, they hadn't caught up to it.
Barbara and the others' patience was gradually wearing thin. In the Misty Sea, all they could see was thick fog in every direction. They couldn't even discern their current altitude and had to rely on the light to determine whether it was day or night.
As time passed, Lynn felt the vast and terrifying nature of the Misty Sea. He had a hunch that their target was getting closer.
The sound of rushing water came from below, prompting Nos to command the apprentices to lower the airship's altitude.
Soon, the sound of churning seawater grew louder, echoing in their ears.
"Altitude is too low, quickly ascend!" Lynn suddenly shouted.
Hank and the others immediately looked down below the airship. The fog was as thick as ever, like a bottomless abyss. However, a few seconds later, the sharp-eyed Barbara saw faintly splashing waves...
It was only then that the group realized, due to the low visibility, the airship had unintentionally descended to a mere few meters above the sea's surface.
"Did you hear that? Go up now!" Nos also panicked, looking at the apprentice controlling the airship, urgently shouting.
At that moment, a fleeting and echoing voice, like a resounding bell, entered their minds. Lynn, Barbara, Hank, and the others immediately felt their thoughts being affected.
The apprentices controlling the airship, on the other hand, stood frozen in place, unmoving, constantly muttering something.
Amidst a violent jolt, the airship had already landed on the water's surface, resembling a massive vessel. It was being dragged towards the center of a whirlpool with the swirling waters constantly hitting the sides of the cabin, causing the airship to sway from side to side.
"Damn it!" Nos gritted his teeth and, despite the discomfort in his head, cursed. He angrily kicked the apprentices standing motionless and then grasped a conduit, wildly converting the magical power in his body into hydrogen to replenish the airship's gas bags.
Lynn held onto the edge of the cabin, stabilizing his stance. An apprentice beside him was flung out during the violent shaking.
It wasn't until the turbulent water covered his mouth and nose that the apprentice seemed to wake up from his daze. He cried out and struggled, but was carried away by the rushing water, disappearing into the depths.