Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 87 - 84: The 66th-Ranked S-Rank Skill
The Da Yun Ding Lan sailed for nearly a day, finally reaching the edge of the European Sea Region on the morning of the second day.
This area was once one of the most prosperous regions of the old world, home to countless developed nations. But when the Wandering Era arrived, its geographical location and loose continental plates caused it to sink, making its countries the first to suffer disaster.
Numerous nations united, forming an alliance called the Twelve Stars. They pooled their collective strength to build a King-level Wandering Ship and named it after their alliance.
The Twelve Stars also had four general-level and eleven Gold-level wandering ships, surpassing even the Lighthouse in sheer numbers.
But numbers didn’t equate to power. It was merely a loose alliance, far inferior to the Lighthouse in terms of cohesion and actual strength. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
...
"Ah! This sea region is quite different from the Lost Sea. It’s much colder."
Shi Ming brought the Da Yun Ding Lan to a stop on a vast expanse of sea.
During his time sailing the ocean, he had only encountered two vessels that looked like Silver-level or Bronze-level ships. He never even got the chance to hail them, as they all gave him a wide berth, showing no intention of communicating. They were extremely cautious.
Shi Ming didn’t try to force contact, either.
He had stopped some distance from the B-grade sea beast’s location, as he needed to make some preparations beforehand.
The crew had been at the helm for a long time and needed to rest to avoid fatigue.
While they were recovering, he used the Eye of Intelligence.
"Eye of Intelligence, acquire intelligence!"
[BEEP~ BEEP~]
[Compiling intelligence...]
[Searching... Confirming host’s detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing intelligence... Intelligence generated.]
[A-Grade Intelligence: European Sea Region - Selected Specialties.]
Shi Ming’s eyebrows shot up, and his interest was piqued.
’My luck’s not bad. I rolled another A-grade intelligence report.’
’European Sea Region - Selected Specialties?’
’Sounds a lot like that *Compendium of Wonders from the Endless Ocean*!’
He blinked and continued to read the report.
There were four entries in total, listed in reverse order.
[28. Gailande Salt Flower: A "flower" that blooms in the abyssal depths of salt seas. It is extremely salty. Consuming a single petal can remove all negative status effects.]
[24. Sea Amber: An item said to bring good luck.]
[17. Tear of the Earth Sea: A purple, teardrop-shaped diamond that is actually the gland of a Murex sea beast. Applying it to the face can temporarily alter one’s appearance.]
[...]
These were all excellent treasures. Most importantly, the report didn’t just list them; it also described their appearance and general effects. This gave Shi Ming a clear idea of what to look for. If he came across them, he could specifically target them for collection and wouldn’t miss out on a treasure simply by not recognizing it.
It was just like those few items he’d gotten from the safe on the *Huangshi*. Because they couldn’t be upgraded, the Eye of Creation couldn’t show him what they were. To this day, they were still sitting in his warehouse, and he had no idea how to use them.
He continued reading the report.
[3. The S-grade sea beast lurking in the Olympus Ruins: Deep Sea Titan.]
[Bathing in its blood grants the S-grade skill ranked #66: "Titan’s Descent."]
[Using "Titan’s Descent" allows you to randomly draw and unleash one of twelve Titan skills!]
Shi Ming’s eyes lit up.
’This skill is insane!’
’Deep Sea Titan...’
The Titans... in mythology, they were the former rulers of the earth.
In Greek mythology, there were twelve Titan gods in total, each with their own domain.
’Myths are ephemeral, but legends have roots in reality. Could this number 66-ranked skill, "Titan’s Descent," really allow one to borrow the power of the twelve Titans?’
’It’s not just one skill, it’s twelve!’
’The only drawback is the extreme randomness. Besides, I have no idea what the twelve Titan skills even are. For all I know, some could involve self-harm or even self-destruction.’
’And everyone knows the Titans were a wild bunch; there might even be a self-castration skill...’
’But even so, I can’t help but covet it!’
’But this thing sounds tough from its name alone. It’s not some sleeping Black Tortoise.’
’Besides, my "Death’s Door" skill is still on cooldown.’
’No matter how badly I want it, I have to stay clear for now. First, I’ll hunt some B-grade and A-grade beasts and farm some points.’
...
After resting for a moment, Shi Ming was in high spirits. He checked the coordinates on the Map of the Endless Sea and brought the Da Yun Ding Lan to a stop. Then, he personally cut off a large chunk of leg meat from an Eight-armed Hunter, attached it to a steel cable, and cast it into the deep sea.
Powerful sea beasts mostly lurked in the depths, only surfacing when they wanted to hunt humans.
Therefore, bait was needed to lure them to the surface.
If an ordinary, unaffiliated ship or a Bronze-level or Silver-level Wandering Ship were to face a B-grade sea beast, they’d be doomed nine times out of ten if they weren’t fast enough to escape.
But the Da Yun Ding Lan had already been upgraded to Gold-level. Even Shi Ming himself would find it difficult to slice it in two now, let alone some B-grade sea beast. The ship could easily defend against them, so there was no fear of it being torn apart.
As for the crew, they didn’t need to expose themselves to any danger.
Their only job would be to handle the salvage operations afterward.
After dropping the bait, Shi Ming waited patiently, just like an old angler.
One hour passed, then two.
Finally, he noticed a strange red glow emanating from the surrounding water. The light deepened, gradually staining the sea blood-red until, as far as he could see, even the waves were crimson.
’It’s here?’
’What kind of sea beast is this?’
Shi Ming tightened his right hand around King Slayer and his left around the steel cable holding the Eight-armed Hunter meat.
He could feel some force tugging at the severed limb, testing it like a cunning fish nibbling at bait.
A pull.
A jerk.
’Heh, not so fast!’
He swiftly pulled up the Eight-armed Hunter’s severed limb.
Beneath the waves, the sea beast’s confusion quickly turned to rage.
The surrounding tide grew turbulent.
’Based on its abilities, it looks a bit like a Tide-Calling Whale, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as the one Edward can summon. The red water isn’t toxic, but it seems to contain some kind of parasite... What in the world is this thing?’
’Still not surfacing?’
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a huge mass of red kelp erupted from the depths. The strands coalesced on the surface, intertwining like vines. The stench of rust and blood permeated the air!
Shells from the submachine guns and close-in weapon systems were already peppering it.
The kelp vines scattered and reformed, taking little damage. Instead, they condensed further, forming a giant, three-meter-diameter ball of vines.
But compared to the Da Yun Ding Lan, a ball that size was tiny.
"Ram it!"
The crew in the control room received the order. The Da Yun Ding Lan, having already built up momentum, charged like a ten-thousand-ton truck. With unstoppable force, it smashed into the furious ball of vines.
’Perfect chance!’
Shi Ming’s breathing was calm. He stomped down, the deck groaning under the force. Tremendous power shot up from his legs, through his hips and waist, and up his spine vertebra by vertebra. The energy surged into his right arm and channeled perfectly into the King Slayer.
’Break technique with pure force!’
With a sound of tearing air, a visible rift in space plummeted from above, slashing straight down at the vine ball’s exposed core.
BOOM!
A crimson tide surged upward, but Shi Ming, still airborne, dodged it perfectly.
The vine core cracked open, spewing out clumps of red algae.
They were all parasites.
’But it didn’t matter.’
’Black Tortoise Shield!’
’Three seconds is more than enough!’
Shi Ming tanked the bloody tide. None of the parasites could gain a foothold on him. King Slayer slashed toward the source of the crimson surge—a black eyeball that burst open, spewing an intensely red slurry. But the moment the substance touched Shi Ming’s right arm, it was devoured and absorbed, not a single drop wasted.
The vines scattered like rootless plants, but not a trace of the sea beast’s corpse was left behind.
SPLASH.
Shi Ming leaped out of the water and landed back on the deck.
Two seconds. Hunt successful.
