CHAPTER 959: CHAPTER 953: BENEATH THE SURFACE

There’s still a day before the fleet makes its first stop.

Yet at this time, among the fleet sailing on the ocean, a sudden surge of fishing fever broke out.

Ordinary people wanted to fish on the massive steamship.

They faced a number of challenges, including but not limited to deck height, weather changes, water waves... All these factors were enough to completely deter the activity.

But for the Casters, such troubles could be overcome.

They could either use their own Spells to tackle the difficulties or simply use the auxiliary equipment provided by the investigation bureau to fish. In short, within just one night, it was easy to spot Casters leaning over the ship’s edge to fish on any one of the three steamships’ decks.

The reason was simple.

This was the impact brought about after Ronald reported the incident.

According to the person in charge of this plan on the second ship, and after discussion with Princess Claudia, they felt that ocean creatures beginning to show Magic Reactions was a matter worth paying close attention to.

As they were currently on a long voyage, why not take this opportunity to directly collect samples?

Indeed, to facilitate this, they had also provided various facilities for the Casters to fish at sea. They even promised—if any Caster caught such a creature and handed it over to Grid, they would be given a very enticing reward on the spot!

"..."

"Ronald, I’m so bored!"

In this environment, Il once again sought out the dazing Ronald lying on the bed.

"Yesterday, I could still host a fishing competition for everyone, but today everyone just went their own way to fish!"

"I’m really so bored—"

"Find me something to do, or maybe we could just have a child?"

Ronald remained unfazed by Il’s shameless remark.

He slapped down this strange creature whining about boredom onto the floor, then pulled his suitcase over through the air and harshly dropped it on Il.

"Stop it—"

"This beautiful afternoon, I must catch some sleep, no time to banter with you."

Il, pressed under the suitcase, immediately cooperated with a wail.

"Ah, boss, spare me!"

"I won’t dare again!"

On the other side, seeing this scene, Costate timely joined the conversation:

"Il, the gentleman really needs to rest now."

"Tomorrow morning the ship will dock for the first time, surely a person of the gentleman’s status will have plenty to do. To handle any potential problems, conserving his Spirit is necessary."

Costate clearly laid out the reasons, and Il was willing to accept this explanation.

But even so, he still reluctantly raised a hand and waved it around:

"I understand the reason, but it’s so boring on the ship!"

"The gambling facilities prepared on the ship are completely ineffective for Casters..." Il complained about the ship’s shortcomings, but halfway through being squashed under the suitcase, their expression changed, "Boss! Something’s off below!"

"Something’s off below?"

Il’s sudden change in attitude alerted Ronald to an emerging issue.

He sat up straight from the bed and without hesitation extended the range of his Reconnaissance Magic to encompass the entire steamship he was on.

"..."

Seconds passed, and Ronald’s expression became increasingly strange.

Through the master-servant contract with Il, he could be sure this creature wasn’t lying to deceive him. Yet simultaneously in his Reconnaissance Magic, the result was a tranquil cabin below, with nothing significant warranting Il’s alarm.

One shouldn’t be too arrogant when faced with sudden events.

Regarding safety, Ronald never had some inexplicable pride, so he pulled Il up from the ground and asked seriously:

"Il, tell me in detail what you discovered?"

"Boss, it’s not on the ship, it’s in the ocean." Il’s already grave expression conveyed Ronald’s confusion, so she immediately pointed downward, "My instinct tells me there’s something extremely dangerous approaching the ship..."

"It’s here!"

Il suddenly raised her voice.

A lurking crisis beneath the waves transcended even Il’s perception as a non-human entity. Facing such a crisis, only visible to herself and rapidly evolving, Il had entirely lost her previous playful demeanor.

—Danger coming from below!

—Escape to the skies immediately, or adapt to the underwater environment!

It was at this point that Ronald finally grew alert.

The "Instinct" spell from "Origin of Species" warned him that the steamship was indeed facing some upward oncoming danger that might even sink the vessel!

"Costate, Il, let’s move!"

In such scenarios, Ronald’s first reaction was, of course, to trust his Spell prompt. Thus, he kicked open the window before him, recited the incantation, and with Il and Costate, swiftly flew into the air.

Swish—

Ronald soared upwards, the cold sea winds whistling by his ears.

But compared to these minor nuisances, once reaching a certain altitude, his attention was fully drawn to the ocean surface.

Beneath the sea, a large shadow was rapidly expanding.

Something was rising from the water and was tracking directly underneath the three steamships!

Judging solely by the shadow’s coverage area,

Its owner possessed a volume capable of completely ramming and destroying the cruise ship.

Even though it might not compare to the Dust Behemoth Ronald had previously encountered,

It was certainly monstrous enough to star in a monster movie.

"There’s an enemy below!"

"Attack! Don’t let them damage the ship!"

"Annihilate them immediately!"

At this point, the Casters on the three steamships also raised their voices, closely followed by frequent bursts of Magic Fluctuation.

In the safe airspace where Ronald resided,

He could clearly see hundreds of Spells launched from the ships, shooting vertically into the sea and targeting the shadow’s owner.

The Casters weren’t really afraid.

Instead, amassing immense strength, they confidently confronted the sudden sea monster!

If it were an apocalyptic creature like a Dust Behemoth, naturally only characters of Queen Dantrian’s stature could handle it. But for something a size smaller, powerful beings wouldn’t rush to flee immediately.

"..."

"Sir, should we join the battle?"

Just then, Costate inquired of Ronald from mid-air.

Ronald understood his position within the fleet and promptly nodded to the maid:

"You two don’t need to act, I’ll handle it."

As the words fell, Ronald began chanting an incantation.

Taking only a brief moment to activate his Spell, Ronald pointed his palm downward toward the large shadow beneath his steamship.

"Dealing with it all might be overkill."

"Hmm... Let’s just take down one?"