CHAPTER 224: CHAPTER 158 RETURNING HOME

Looking at the map in his hand, Alka couldn’t help but pat Chadite, who was in front of him, and said, "Chadite, take a look. Are these two places the same?"

Hearing Alka’s question, Chadite took the regional map and the ancient map from Alka’s hand.

The ancient map depicted the Volcano Island where the treasure was buried.

Chadite carefully compared them, then nodded seriously and said, "The shapes are very similar. These sea charts are meticulously crafted; cartographers usually don’t draw the boundaries of these islands arbitrarily."

"Wait a minute, let me compare it with the world map again."

Saying this, Chadite began to check the overall map of the Homeland Sea.

Finally, he nodded with certainty.

From the detailed map, it was clear this was a Volcano Island. Such islands were rarely named, unless by locals. These volcanic islands would be simply marked on an overall map, while regional maps might not include them.

On the map of the Homeland Sea, sure enough, there was a pictorial representation of a volcano in that area.

The similar island shapes, combined with the fact that they were both volcanic islands, almost certainly confirmed that the two were the same island.

Hearing Chadite’s definite answer, Alka couldn’t help but smile.

Could it really be right here?

Thinking about it now, it’s not really that surprising. After all, Sad was born in the Blood Gold Alliance; how far could he have sailed when he was young?

If it had been a regular voyage without a Spellbound Ship, it would have taken at least half a year to sail from the Blood Gold Alliance to the Extreme Cold Triangle Region, not to mention enduring various tsunamis and storms.

It looks like this is a place I must visit after completing the task.

Alka thought with a smile.

Once again, it was the tedious time of a sea voyage.

This seemed to be something that could never be avoided.

At sea, one had to endure endless monotony.

Seeing a few people playing poker in the captain’s cabin, Alka sat beside them, utterly bored, flipping through a book.

He could also see Lucilia’s two-headed doll, likewise fiercely battling in the game.

The poker games Alka knew were all novel to them.

But for Alka, these games had long since become tiresome. Playing occasionally was fine, but using them to pass long periods was not.

"HAHA! Joker bomb, I win—"

Lucilia’s childlike voice had barely uttered the words when it cut off abruptly.

The two-headed doll immediately slumped over, motionless on the table.

Seeing this, Jason silently took the last card from Lucilia’s grasp. The others tacitly threw in their hands, and the cards were shuffled together.

Pororo, who had been watching, very consciously took her place.

Looking at the doll that had fallen onto the hardwood table, Alka helplessly shook his head and reached out to pick it up.

Lucilia’s soul emerged.

"Oh no! I was clearly winning! Why did my energy run out at such a critical moment?"

The soul’s face looked weary as she mumbled a few complaints before diving into the Magic Mirror on Alka’s chest.

Although Alka had modified the doll, there was still a time limit for each play session. However, Lucilia could at least rest and play in segments. This segmented approach to rest meant she was no longer restricted to the previous troublesome limit of only one hour of activity per day. Now, she could spend up to one-third of the day active in the doll’s body.

But if she wasn’t constantly careful, she could get too excited and the doll would stop functioning, just like what happened earlier.

Looking at the doll in his hand, now devoid of any color or decoration, Alka thought for a moment. Then, carrying it, he left the captain’s cabin and headed to the workshop he had specially built for himself below.

The Hand of Precision had already formed around his hand, seemingly out of nowhere.

He decided to continue his research on the Soul-Host Puppet, aiming to create a more useful and practical body for Lucilia.

The tentative goal was to achieve a human-like body—not in terms of strength, but in its shape and sensory experiences, similar to those of a human.

Otherwise, if she continued to use the doll’s body without receiving feedback akin to that of a human body, Lucilia’s soul might become distorted.

This was because the soul and body influence each other.

The doll’s body needed to at least approach the tactile sensations of a humanoid form, simulating them as closely as possible.

Alka found it hard to tell Lucilia, for her own safety, to use the doll’s body less.

That would be too cruel for the soul girl.

Anyway, the time on the ship was tedious, which made it perfect for research. It would also allow him to enhance his skills as an Artifact Forger.

No sooner thought than done.

And with the cooperation of Lucilia, the Soul Body, the research speed would be greatly accelerated.

Half a month passed since they set sail.

The "Treasure Harvest" slowly sailed into the narrow dock of Golden Wheat Island.

Alka waved to the others and then jumped off the ship alone.

Temporarily deviating from their route, Alka had returned to Golden Wheat Island.

It was somewhat on their way, so it wouldn’t take much time.

The arrival of an unfamiliar ship attracted the attention of some fishermen and dockworkers at the port.

When they saw who jumped off the ship, they were somewhat surprised.

"Alka? You’re back?"

A former acquaintance greeted Alka. Alka smiled politely, exchanged a few pleasantries, then walked through the small town.