Chapter 855
Misty and Machi both turned their gaze toward Ponzu.
Ponzu lowered her head.
"Your strength also needs improvement," Ron said, "but the method you'll use will be different from Misty's and Machi's."
Misty and Machi were standard Nen users.
Ponzu, however, was not. Her potential ceiling hadn't been that high to begin with.
The reason she could reach an S-rank ceiling at all was entirely due to the effects of the potion she had taken.
Because of that, her path for growth would naturally differ from the others.
.........
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At the port, there were still many people, but none of them held boarding passes anymore.
The ones gathered here now were either friends and family come to see passengers off—or people who had tried to get a ticket but failed.
All they could do now was watch as the Black Whale departed.
Boom—boom—boom...
The sound of ceremonial cannon fire rang out.
One, two, three...
Ninety-nine rounds in total.
Ron suspected this number had something to do with Kakin tradition—or perhaps it was just that Nasubi liked it.
Regardless, with the Black Whale setting off, everything related to it would become a topic of interest for a long time. Every aspect would be examined and analyzed.
It was like a reading comprehension exercise. The author might have just written something offhand, but readers would interpret, expand, and derive all sorts of meaning from it. In fact, if you asked the original author to do the analysis, they might not even pass.
As the final cannon blast echoed, the Black Whale officially began its journey.
Its massive body moved slowly at first, but once it picked up speed, it would improve.
Moving something this large took immense force. The inertia alone was staggering. Only nations with the power of the V5 could pull this off.
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A banquet was underway on the first floor, attended by all the princes.
Wine, beauty, and extravagant food flowed freely...
Even on the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors, the mood was celebratory. Everyone was immersed in joy, imagining and anticipating the future—completely unaware of the fate that awaited them.
Beyond all that, Beyond was being held in a corner somewhere, under the supervision of the Hunter Association.
Though technically imprisoned, he was staying there willingly.
Ron watched the progress of the crystal orb.
Gradually, the sky began to darken.
One by one, maids stepped out and approached the princes.
"Your Highness, the King has summoned you."
Fourteen princes, one after another, entered the secret chamber.
An old man walked in, holding a strange-looking vessel. He stood before the princes.
"Your Highnesses, please place a single drop of blood into the vessel."
The odd shape of the urn, coupled with the ritual itself, made the princes uneasy. But this was Nasubi's command. Even with doubts in their hearts, they obeyed.
Drip.
A drop of blood fell into the urn.
In the next moment, a tiny creature emerged.
It looked human, but had insect-like wings.
It flitted through the air toward each prince, holding a small egg in its hands. One by one, it delivered the eggs into the mouths of the princes.
They melted instantly—no chewing necessary.
As soon as the eggs entered, they transformed into some kind of energy.
Each prince entered the room, and each prince came back out.
Ron looked up.
"The Black Whale… it feels different somehow."
"The Egg Ceremony has already begun, then."
"As I expected, the Egg Ceremony isn't just to provide the princes with Spirit Beasts. It has another purpose—one tied to the entire Black Whale."
"There will likely be many deaths."
The Chimera Ant experiments had ushered in a new era for humanity.
But that era came from the emergence of Chimera Ants.
Those with human souls in ant bodies—their hearts were human, but their strength surpassed that of normal humans.
They could mass-produce powerful individuals.
Even on the Dark Continent, such beings could survive.
And yet, Kakin had brought a huge number of ordinary people aboard the Black Whale.
People who were essentially useless.
That could only mean their purpose wasn't tied to the Dark Continent at all.
Helping out there would be nearly impossible for them.
So, their inclusion was likely for something else—the Succession War.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A sudden knock at the door.
Ron opened it. Standing there was Ponzu.
"Captain."
"Come in."
She stepped in and naturally sat on the edge of the bed.
"Captain, you said I needed to get stronger. How do I do that?"
"By pushing your limits."
"My limits?"
Ron nodded. "After you took the potion, your upper ceiling already reached S-rank. That energy is inside you now."
"The reason you haven't reached that level yet is simply because you haven't drawn it out."
"If you want to improve quickly, there's one method."
"Put yourself in danger."
"The greater the danger, the more your body's potential will be forced out."
"But first, Ponzu, you need to be mentally prepared."
Ponzu fell silent.
Ron smiled gently, the serious tone fading from his face.
"There's no rush. This voyage is going to take a long time. The distance from the human world to the Dark Continent is even greater than the longest stretch across the human continent."
"Even crossing the human continent in an airship takes over ten days. The Black Whale is slower than an airship, not faster—and it's bound to face complications along the way."
"Storms and giant waves are common at sea."
"If it takes more than a month or two, that's normal."
Ponzu nodded.
"Captain, I'll give it my all."
"Good. It's getting late—get some rest."
"Okay."
Ron turned off the light.
Not long after, Ponzu slipped under the covers.
A soft rustling sound followed, like a hamster moving in a box full of wood shavings, suddenly startled into a squeak.
It wasn't loud—but in the stillness of night, it was noticeable.
To Ron, though, it was nothing.
The real extravagance was happening among the celebrities, wealthy elite, and certain princes.
At this point, the Black Whale had officially left the human continent.
And now that it had, it was no longer under the governance of human laws.
It was just like in Ron's previous life—many people conducted their business in international waters.
The next morning, shortly after Ron woke up, a figure approached him.
They were dressed in the attire of Kakin royalty—and from the look of it, they held no low position.