The captain of the ship reached out.

Chapter 29, Tier 3! The Advancement Path of the Unified Body?

[Rank: Three (Lv29→Lv30)!]

[Shadow Bolt Lv1 → Lv2!]

After a new batch of familiars equipped with Shadow Arrow returned from the hunt, Horn finally leveled up.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time!

You can choose from the following three talents:

[Chaotic Regeneration - Severed limbs can regenerate through the infusion of magical power;]

[Magic Vision - A keen sense of the concentration of magic energy within one's field of vision;]

[Aphrodisiac – stimulates sexual desire in organisms.]

???

No, what the heck is this last option?

I'm a legitimate tentacle!

Let's not get involved in those messy things.

Horn might be interested in hypnosis, but aphrodisiacs are out of the question.

After eliminating that option, he hesitated for a long time between [Chaos Regeneration] and [Magic Vision].

Both of these talents seem quite good and practical.

It seems like you can't lose money no matter which one you choose.

But Horn ultimately chose [Magic Vision].

The main reason is that talents and skills are different and cannot be assigned to servants.

Horn rarely fights with his main body anymore; he usually sends his familiars to the battlefield, so taking them wouldn't be of much use.

Furthermore, Horn had already seen the [Regeneration] ability on Tahm Kench.

This suggests that there are definitely many monsters on [Mysterious Island] who possess this ability, and they will eventually acquire it through [Gene Integration].

In comparison, [Magic Vision] seems to be even rarer.

After making the decision, Horn immediately felt a subtle shift in his perspective.

It's as if perception has been divided into two layers.

The first floor presents a realistic scene.

The other layer is a visual landscape composed of many colorful blocks.

Different colored blocks represent different kinds of magic.

The darker the color, the more concentrated the magic.

It is somewhat similar to a thermal imager.

Moreover, Horn discovered that not only the perception of the main body and the clones, but also the "vision" extended by the familiars presented this scene.

Oh my god, there's a bug!

Horn made a guess.

Perhaps this talent causes him to perceive the senses of his followers as his own.

In any case, a large range of [Magic Vision] is always a good thing!

[Current number of divisible bodies: 2 → 3!]

Upon seeing the last line of the prompt, Horn remembered that the number of his clones would increase with each level he advanced.

However, it seems he doesn't really need the new split now. Could it be that he's going to release the split into the deep sea?

With my current strength, going to the deep sea would be like sending myself to my doom, wouldn't it?

We should wait until a suitable opportunity arises before discussing it further.

……

……

Golden Sun

As the sun sets, the dim sunlight paints the sea a deep crimson.

In the middle deck, the crew lined up to receive their meals from the cook, David.

"It's mushroom stewed fish again..."

Seeing the fish soup in the large pot, one of the sailors couldn't help but mutter, "There's only so little black bread; it's not enough to fill us up."

"What are you saying!"

David, with his sharp ears, glared at the man with annoyance.

"You should be grateful to have anything to eat, instead of being so picky. Why don't you just eat the mushrooms raw!"

"Can't I even say a few words...?"

These days, the quality of food on the Golden Sun has visibly declined.

The main reason is that the ships have been away from the city-state for too long and have not been able to receive supplies for an extended period.

Ingredients like fish and shrimp, which can be caught from the sea, are fine, but staple foods like flour and bread are becoming increasingly scarce.

Only nine goats remained on the boat.

Fortunately, the mushrooms on the ship have been growing rapidly and in large quantities recently.

Otherwise, if even freshwater reserves run out, there will be a big problem!

"David, why don't you persuade the captain to go to a nearby small city-state for supplies?"

One of the sailors suggested, "If this continues, the brothers won't be able to hold on!"

"Tch, I know you too well. You're just thinking about the girls in the island's tavern, aren't you!"

David pursed his lips in annoyance.

"I'm just a cook, I can't persuade the captain."

Based on David's understanding of Bazel, it's highly likely that the other party will not agree to this proposal.

Going to small city-states won't get you the "goods" off the ship, and it'll just be a waste of time.

For Bazell, it's equivalent to losing money!

The captain wouldn't do a single deal that would lose money.

Mike listened to the crew's conversation while sipping the fish soup in his bowl.

chirp-

A chopped mushroom slid into my mouth along with the soup; it was bouncy, tender, and had a hint of umami flavor.

The mushroom flavor is pretty good?

Although Mike knew that these mushrooms were not Horn's original form, he always felt something was off whenever he ate them.

We should rephrase it.

This is a gift from Brother Mushroom!

Thinking of this, Mike's lips curled up slightly.

But suddenly, a gust of wind swept past him, and his shoulder was hit hard.

The soup bowl in his hand flew out of control and spilled all over the ground.

"……you!"

Mike looked up angrily and saw Hansen, with a scar on his left cheek, looking at him with a mocking expression.

"What, you're not convinced?"

Upon hearing this, Mike immediately realized that he was doing this on purpose!

In fact, this is not the first time Hansen has deliberately picked a fight.

Ever since Bazel broke the contract and learned that Mike had lost his chance to become a Secret Pathfinder, Hansen has reverted to his old ways, bullying Mike from time to time.

In fact, with Bazell's tacit approval, Hansen's behavior became even more excessive than before.

Faced with Hansen's provocation, Mike said nothing, but silently bent down, picked up the bowl, and walked to the side.

This was clearly not the reaction Hansen wanted.

"Mike! I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me?"

Hansen stepped forward, grabbed Mike by the collar, and lifted him up.

Even though his face was red from being strangled, Mike remained silent.

He simply stared at Hansen silently and coldly, as if he were looking at a dead man.

That look completely enraged Hansen.

Just as he was about to slap him, David walked over with a plate of food.

"First Mate, calm down. This is your dinner. I gave you an extra treat, so eat it while it's hot!"

Hansen glanced at the other crew members and noticed a hint of fear in their eyes, realizing he had gone a bit too far.

Then he put Mike down and threatened him in his ear.

"Hmph! You're lucky today. Next time... don't run into me alone!"

Mike gave David a grateful look and quickly walked out of the cabin.

He touched his neck, where several red marks remained, and a slight stinging sensation emanated from it.

"Mike, I'm sorry to have put you through this."

Horn's voice echoed in his heart.

"It's alright, Brother Mushroom."

Mike smiled shyly: "I'm used to this kind of thing."

Having been a beggar in the city of Aran since childhood, he had long suffered far worse treatment than this.

Endure it for a while.

Horn was somewhat annoyed.

Mike was bullied like this before he became his underling, and he's still being bullied like this now that he's one.

Then wouldn't I have been the eldest brother for nothing?

No.

Mike can tolerate it, but Tentacles can't!

Horn thought for a moment and quickly made a decision: "Hansen has been going too far lately."

"In that case, let's find a suitable day and get rid of him!"