The little cabin boat slowly pulled up to the dock.

“Land!”

Chen Qi jumped from the boat and landed on the pier.

He glanced around, but saw no sign of the mechanical-armed “Iron Hand.”

Still, being among the crowd now, it was unlikely Iron Hand would make a move.

Mayor of Damarro heard An’s voice and looked up curiously toward Chen Qi’s direction.

He was very curious about what Chen Qi had been doing out at sea.

And behind Chen Qi was none other than his own troublesome son, Little Damarro.

The mayor’s blood pressure shot up immediately. He had a long speech ready to scold his son.

But when the words reached his lips, they turned into just four:

“You’re back, huh.”

He exchanged a few words with his son, then turned his eyes to Chen Qi, scanning him closely.

There were no serious injuries on him.

An finished putting away her work files and walked over:

“Welcome back, Qi. I actually had good news to tell you all today.”

“What good news?”

Chen Qi asked curiously.

“You know that mining crack in Damarro Town? Its distortion was at zero.

But yesterday, in the wind, it came back to life again.”

Crack revival...

During a crack tide, even distortion-zero cracks could revive and become challengeable again.

The mining crack in Damarro should also be an E-rank one, though E-ranks could vary in difficulty.

The monsters inside were likely skeleton types.

One more crack to farm Vision Points wasn’t a bad thing.

“And then?”

Chen Qi asked.

An nodded slightly:

“Though it revived, the monsters inside were even weaker than those in normal E-rank cracks.

You were planning to go to the Monster Kitchen crack, right? But you clearly lack experience.

If you rushed in, you could’ve run into trouble.

So I was thinking of organizing the rookies of Damarro Town to challenge the mining crack together.”

In other words, An wanted him to gain some experience in a safer environment.

Chen Qi asked again:

“So what happened?”

“I was planning to scout the mining crack’s strength for you all.”

At this point, An scratched her hands guiltily:

“But during the scouting... I accidentally killed all the monsters and cleared the crack.”

The whole training plan fell apart.

“...”

Accidentally... Chen Qi swallowed.

He could already imagine An wiping out all the monsters with a single casual attack.

On the game forums, she wasn’t just called Mama An — she was also known as An Ao-tian.

Her strength surpassed that of most Tier 3 Transcendents.

From his observations, even combining Little Crow and Captain Blackeye wouldn’t be enough to beat An.

Right then, Mayor of Damarro lit a cigarette and suddenly realized something.

Chen Qi had gone to the Monster Kitchen crack!

Could he have gone there just this morning?

But he didn’t seem injured at all. A bead of cold sweat slid down the mayor’s face. He asked with interest:

“Wait, Qi, don’t tell me the crack you went to today was the Monster Kitchen?”

“Hmm?”

Hearing that, An also suddenly caught on.

She stepped lightly like a curious white cat, circling around Chen Qi a few times, sniffing.

“Blood — monster blood. Hmm… and a scent — spices?

Wait!

Even your spiritual field has changed!”

After making a full circle, she stopped in front of Chen Qi, her pupils contracting slightly as she asked with surprise:

“You already cleared the Monster Kitchen crack… and advanced to a Tier 1 Transcendent?”

Chen Qi gave a helpless smile.

She saw right through him.

He couldn’t hide anything — once someone became Transcendent, unless they used a special technique, their aura couldn’t be hidden.

And An’s perception was sharper than he expected — it felt like she could see through his skin to his guts.

Chen Qi nodded:

“Yes, I went out to sea today, got lucky, obtained a Transcendent Profession Card, and became a chef.”

You already became a Tier 1 Transcendent?!

Mayor of Damarro’s body stiffened. He subconsciously stroked his mustache.

Didn’t he go out alone?

Did he have teammates? Why didn’t he inform them?

Or... did he clear the crack solo?!

The mayor looked at the young man, thoughts swirling, his cigarette hand trembling slightly.

Little Damarro was stunned, scratching his head.

Was the Monster Kitchen they were talking about the same one he was about to go to?

Unlike the two Damarros, An didn’t show much surprise. To her, this was Chen Qi’s natural talent.

Clearing a monster crack was expected.

From the first time she met Chen Qi, she’d smelled faint traces of blood — monster blood.

It meant he might’ve killed a monster even before awakening.

The only thing that surprised her was his speed.

An smiled warmly:

“Congratulations. Now, our Damarro Town has a fine chef.”

Then, she suddenly shifted tone:

“Qi, your talent is impressive. Also — the path of a Book Apprentice is still open to you.”

Tier 1 Transcendent was like a student learning at home before officially enrolling in school.

During this phase, a student could study whatever they wanted.

But from Tier 2 onward, they had to choose a learning direction.

Tier 2 Transcendents had to align with a specific Aspect.

Which meant, as long as Chen Qi hadn’t reached Tier 2, he could still become an apprentice — her apprentice.

“Mm.”

Chen Qi nodded.

At that moment, the sound of waves accompanied a massive merchant ship slowly docking.

Dozens of dockworkers disembarked, unloading large cargo crates onto Damarro Town.

From the markings on the boxes — they were all weapon crates!

Chen Qi blinked in surprise and asked An:

“What’s this?”

“Yeah, Mentor An, why would a merchant ship be delivering so many weapons to us?”

Seeing the situation, the mayor wiped cold sweat from his brow. As mayor, he’d never heard anything about weapon shipments!

Could it be… pirates?

An stepped forward and looked up at the large ship in the distance:

“I only learned yesterday. According to the Goldenfinch Kingdom’s Meteorological Bureau…

The recent storms aren’t as simple as we thought.

So the authorities are setting up early defense systems on every coastal island to repel sea beasts and pirates.”

The mayor asked:

“No matter how bad the storm, do we really need this many weapons?”

An paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

“This could very well be a long-dormant event — a Crack… Tide!”

As soon as the words landed, the mayor’s cigarette fell from his fingers.

The once-bustling dock went silent.

Little Damarro’s eyes widened. Even the hunters watching from afar held their breath.

“Whoa…”

Chen Qi played along, his mouth slightly agape like he’d just learned the news.

“A Crack Tide… really…”

The mayor muttered.

Centuries ago, a Crack Tide nearly destroyed every coastal city — and the Witch Profession Card was born from it.

A hundred years ago, a ten-day Crack Tide caused a naval war — and created monsters on the level of the Deep Sea Hunter.

Its aftershocks led to today’s four tyrannical sea emperors.

Every Crack Tide gives birth to legends!

“If a Crack Tide comes… won’t the entire Moonstone Archipelago…”

The mayor bowed his head. Even with his age and experience, he couldn’t fathom the scale of such a disaster.

No one could predict what would follow such a tide.

An stepped forward, her gaze stretching far across the sea toward the darkened horizon:

“Yes. A Crack Tide that could engulf the entire Witch Sea.

Of course, it’s just an early prediction — the bureau hasn’t issued a confirmed report yet.

And this Crack Tide might not be as ferocious as the one twenty years ago.”

As she spoke, the sea breeze carried whispers from the distant dark world.

“But no matter what the result will be.”

An stood on the pier, arms wide open:

“Everyone — a new era for our Witch Sea is about to begin.”