After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Is this a Class 1 Scholar's job skill? No, it shouldn't be. It's more likely some kind of exclusive secret technique, or rather, a special ability of the "Sea Witch"?

With just one strike, she subdued the Ice Fang Saberfish. Freyne's strength was overwhelmingly powerful when facing a first-tier sea monster.

No wonder the gray text indicated that he was "outmatched" by Freyne.

Just as Ryan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Suddenly, the sea behind Freyne burst open, and two more Ice Fang Saberfish broke out of the water.

They hid beneath the deeper sea surface and launched a sudden attack while Freyne was distracted.

"not good!"

Ryan's heart tightened.

Just then, he felt something beside him.

"Ding--!"

Cecilia suddenly appeared behind Freyne, blocking the two Ice Fang Saberfish.

"so close!"

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, truly realizing the gap between himself and the two women.

He hadn't even seen how Cecilia had gotten so fast behind Freya; with such terrifying speed, killing him would have been incredibly easy.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the Black Rose shook violently.

Ryan's pupils contracted sharply, and he turned his head abruptly to look at the other side of the ship.

A swordfish with an ice tooth was seen with its front end deeply embedded in the hull of the boat.

The fourth Ice Fang Sabertooth!

It took advantage of its companions' attack to launch an attack on the Black Rose.

"Damn it!"

Ryan's expression changed drastically. The damage to the ship's hull would inevitably lead to water ingress. If the Ice Fang Saberfish was allowed to continue its attack and widen the water ingress, everyone would surely die.

Without hesitation, Ryan flipped off the deck, gripped the large wooden club tightly, and smashed it down on the Ice Fang Saberfish's head.

Chapter 35 That Touch of Dark Blue!

The biting sea breeze whistled past his cheeks, causing Ryan's hair to fly wildly backward.

His eyes were fixed on the Ice Fang Saberfish below, and as he got closer, its appearance became clearer and clearer in his pupils.

The fine, bluish-purple scales, reflected in the rippling water, created a neon-like sheen.

At this moment, more than half of the front end of the Icetooth Saberfish had pierced the hull, causing a hole with a radius of about three centimeters and a large area of ​​cracks around it. Fortunately, the hole was still blocked by the front end of the Icetooth Saberfish, and it did not cause a violent flood of seawater.

But this is not a good thing.

As the Ice Fang Saberfish struggled, the cracks in the wooden planks around the hole gradually widened, and by the time it completely shattered, it would be too late to salvage the situation.

"The front end of the ice tooth saber-toothed fish must be cut off to prevent seawater from entering!"

The thought that surged into his mind made Ryan's eyes freeze.

But soon, he thought of the weapon in his hand, and his lips twitched.

——Big wooden stick.

The lethality of this blunt weapon is undeniable, but it would be difficult to "cut" things in half. Unless one can use the first sword technique of the Storm Sword Art, [Severing Wave], plus the "Sharpness Level +1" added by the special skill [Craftsmanship Lv.1], there is only a slight chance.

No one could have predicted this situation, and it's too late to change weapons now.

Ryan took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all the jumbled thoughts and focusing his attention intently.

He only practiced the [Storm Sword Skill - Wave Breaker] for one day.

Thanks to his "Mastery" level Storm Sword Technique, he had a relatively good starting point, but after half a day of hard practice, he still wasn't very confident that he could use it 100%.

But the situation was critical at that moment, and there was no time to worry about that.

Fight!

When the distance between them was reduced to two meters, Ryan opened his mouth and roared.

"die!"

The spiritually charged sound waves spread out in an instant, and the Ice Fang Saberfish, which was struggling to turn its head, froze, and a blank look appeared in its eyes.

—【A triumphant battle cry】!

The morale boost surged through his body. Ryan took a deep breath, looked at the Ice Fang Saberfish beneath him, and couldn't help but recall the majestic and imposing figure in the "Crystal of Inheritance".

That seemingly slow and heavy strike, but in reality, as swift as a storm.

The experience gained from half a day of arduous practice and the foundation of "mastery" level Storm Sword Technique were combined at this moment.

Ryan gripped the large wooden club tightly with both hands, paused slightly, and then swung it down with all his might.

As the large wooden stick moved through the air, a faint white light appeared on its surface. The light vibrated at a high frequency, emitting a soft hissing sound, like a wind knife cutting through the sea.

"Pfft!"

The sound of flesh and blood being brutally torn apart rang out. The wooden stick, which was supposed to be "sharp" but was actually "sharp," smashed off the front end of the Ice Fang Saberfish.

Amidst the splattered bluish-green blood, the Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish let out a low, mournful cry, then, enduring excruciating pain, turned around and attempted to escape.

The front end is the strongest part of the Ice Fang Saberfish and its most powerful weapon, but once the front end is destroyed, it means that they are in their weakest state.

In nature, an animal's first reaction after being severely injured is not to fight to the death, but to turn and run away.

This is a life instinct, and even sea monsters are no exception.

With a "plop," Ryan's entire body fell into the seawater.

The [Naval Combat Specialization] skill takes effect immediately, and with the talent [Descendant of the Vikings], he, who was not very good at swimming in his previous life, is now not worried at all about sinking to the bottom of the sea.

However, watching the Ice Fang Saberfish gradually disappear into the distance, Ryan could only sigh.

No matter how skilled humans are at water, how can they possibly compare to sea monsters?

Having repelled the Ice Fang Saberfish and with the Black Rose's hull not suffering extensive damage, this is already the best possible outcome.

He is still too weak.

Just as Ryan was about to climb back onto the deck, several thin, dark blue threads rapidly spread across the sea surface, sweeping past him and arriving before him. They tightly wrapped around the fleeing Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish, and the threads took shape, transforming into a hollow, dark blue giant hand that grabbed the Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish from the sea.

This scene brought a glimmer of joy to Ryan's eyes.

Such a distinctive attack method.

It's Frey!

Within the azure giant hand, the Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish's body gradually developed patterns of the same color, signs of erosion. In just two seconds, the struggling Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish stiffened, went limp, and the light in its eyes went out completely.

It's dead.

"So strong!"

As Ryan stared at the corpse of the Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish held in the grip of the giant blue hand, he felt a chill run down his spine.

At this moment, he realized even more deeply the gap in strength between himself and Freya.

A beautiful figure suddenly appeared on the edge of the deck on Ryan's side.

The girl's eyes were radiating a strong, eerie blue light, and the fluorescent glow beneath them spread out, covering a quarter of her face, making her look mysterious and strange.

As the girl raised her hand in a clenched fist, the corpse of the Ice Fang Saberfish was dragged toward the deck.

Frey lowered her head, looking at Ryan who was soaking in the seawater, and said in a clear, slightly trembling voice, "Mr. Ryan, let me help you up."

After saying that, Ryan in the seawater felt a force beneath him, and a small solid platform formed by a dark blue light lifted him up.

Back on deck, Ryan, without even taking a closer look at Freyne's strange condition, anxiously said, "Lady Freyne, the damage to the hull caused by the Ice Fang Saberfish needs to be repaired immediately, otherwise, with a large influx of seawater, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The eerie blue light in her eyes gradually faded until it disappeared completely. Freyne gently shook her head: "It's alright, here you go."

Her voice returned to its former crispness, and at the same time, Freya tossed her a ring.

Ryan caught it instinctively.

Freyne's voice continued to echo in his ears.

"This is a low-level artifact, the [Ship Hull Repair Ring]. It is a specially crafted artifact for ship hull repair. As long as you bring enough planks, it can quickly repair the damaged hull."

Ryan looked at the ring in his hand, and the description in gray font quietly appeared.

[Low-Tier Artifact - Ship Repair Ring: A man-made artifact, imbued with the soul of a living person during its creation, granting it extremely basic intelligence. It can perform simple repairs to the ship's hull (damaged areas not exceeding one square meter) according to the user's requests. The user must provide the necessary materials for repair. Using this artifact only consumes spiritual energy. Please note that this artifact is difficult to repair critical structural parts of the ship, such as the keel.]

This rare item contains a faint essence of spiritual energy; absorbing it can improve the repair progress of the [Nameless Ship Sculpture].

Chapter 36 Materials for a Greatsword

[Black Rose], deck area.

It was half an hour later when Ryan finished repairing the damage to the ship.

It must be said that the [Low-Tier Rare Item - Ship Repair Ring] is quite amazing.

During repairs, Ryan only needs to touch the wooden planks with one hand and place the other hand on the edge of the damaged hull. Under the power of the artifact, the damaged area will quickly be restored to its original condition.

After returning the ring to Freyne, Ryan turned his gaze to the four enormous creatures on the deck.

Those were four dead Tier 1 sea monsters, Ice Fang Saber-toothed Fish.

At this moment, almost all the pirates on the deck were gathered around the corpse of the Ice Fang Saberfish, curiously examining it.

This was the first time they had ever seen a sea monster so close to its near-perfect state (except for the one Ryan had dealt with).

Freyne and Cecilia stood not far from Ryan. Compared to Ryan, who was soaking wet, the two women's clothes showed no signs of getting wet.

Noticing the curiosity in Ryan's eyes about the Icefang Saberfish, Freyne said softly:

“Mr. Ryan, you just used the [Storm Sword Technique - Wave Breaker]? You've mastered its essence in just half a day. That's truly remarkable. It seems you have a high degree of compatibility with the Storm Sword Technique.”

Ryan shook his head somewhat awkwardly: "I've only learned the basics; I can't say I've grasped the essence."