"Open Water sighted!" The call went out over and over from the archers. They had seen the mouth of the river on the horizon just like that. It felt like the trip down the river had been simple and short but in reality, it had hidden challenges and taken days just to get there.


    But where there was some hardship in the journey, there would be benefits in the future. Genesis now had a dedicated water way through the river for ships, merchants, and the merfolk to move easily.


    It might not have been as close to the merfolk city that was much further down the coast, but it was a great ce to set up a small vige or port city that would be directly connected to Genesis. This wasn''t even mentioning the fact that it was creating a solid home for the merfolk who thrived in water.


    "Are youing to see it?" Alice''s voice was almost too soft to hear but eventually, Walker lifted his head. He hadn''t realized that he had fallen asleep after sitting down in a chair next to Alice''s bed.


    Alice had just woken up after hearing themotion and found Walker asleep next to her. His head leaned down on to the bed in the most ufortable but adorable way. "Go where…oh! Yes, let''s go see the ocean!"


    Since the shouts were muffled by the running and metal of the ship, Walker had needed a moment to understand what everyone was shouting about. It seemed that everyone was going to be up on top of the ship before he was.


    "I can''t believe we are already there. I thought we would get caught up with another monster or have to clear another blockage. This is perfect, we will have time to rest and maybe go ashore to check the beach for additional supplies. I''m just d you and I could rest a bit before now. I feel much better. How about you?"


    Turning around to look at Alice, Walker found that she was much closer than he expected. "You didn''t need to carry me back again. You''ve done it before…" to Walker, it seemed that Alice felt bad that he had been forced to carry her back to her room after exhausting herself. It only proved she was not yet matching his strength.


    "Do you really think I would ever make you get back up and go to rest alone? I''m not that kind of terrible person to the people I love." Walker had long decided his feelings about everyone around him. They were family and he had every right to protect them.


    "Then I''ll carry you too." The promise made Walker a little confused because Alice didn''t look happy about it. However, if he had better intuition, he would realize she was just nervous.


    Because in one swift motion, Alice grabbed Walker''s wrist and pulled him to her. Walker had kissed Alice before but it was still a rare urrence. Therefore, Alice took her own feelings and used them to her advantage. Naturally, the sudden kiss was enough to throw Walker''s heart in to turmoil.


    "Now we can go up top." Alice walked briskly out of the room first leaving Walker to let his heart settle down.


    "Wait! Don''t run away so fast!" His bright smile could have rivaled the sun''s light if the sun was not rising in a shade of purple that made everyone''s breath hold for a moment.


    " How are you up here before Alice? Did you get slower?" Remey elbowed Walker in the side while teasing him as soon as she caught the twoing up the stairs.


    "And how are you so awake? Shouldn''t you be still knocked out after using so much mana? I''m issued to you sleeping in the alchemyb because you''re too tired toe home."


    "Pfftt, the alchemyb here doesn''t have enough space for me to sleepfortably. The whole ship is too small. It would take ten ships to make enough room for a perfect alchemyb." Remey''s little rant made Walker wonder just what a perfect alchemyb would demand for size and equipment.


    "Are you two alright? You didn''t exhaust yourselves forging yesterday? Did you? Your faces are all red." Since Su had heard Remey, she had caught Walker and Alice in her eye. She worried that they may have tired themselves out so much that they got sick.


    "No No no, it''s just warmer on the lower decks then we ran here to see the sun rising. How about you? Do you feel better resistances to dark, light, and fire elemental mana? Your training was tough."


    From what it appeared, Su had used some potions to recover any damage she had suffered. The skin on her hands and neck looked to be shiner which proved this point. It also meant that her body had been forced to heal and learn to resist the elemental mana condensed while forging.


    "It was tough but worth it. I already have resistance skills that rte to every elemental mana. But I know I can strengthen them by training like this. My fire elemental resistance is pretty high. I can try to touch fire for a short while if I want without damage."


    It was very rare for Su to brag. Yet, this was a good reason to brag. She had made her resistance to one elemental mana tough enough that she could rival those that were naturally resistant or even trained in resisting it for years. Furthermore, that made it easier for Su to fight alongside anyone that used fire elemental skills.


    "By the way, did any of you see Gil leave the forge? I think he was there all night." Su made a good point. Where Midnight would enjoy the heat and most likely ended up remaining there all night because it wasfortable, Gil would have left the forge so that he could properly rest. There was no way he would willingly sleep in the heat there.


    "Brother Gil was and still is in the forge. He seems to have hit a stride in inspiration with the dwarven cksmiths. They are very happy to be trying something new that was learned from their very own people." Onyx had slithered from the edge of the ship''s top deck. He had been enjoying the cool night air after spending so much time in the forge himself.


    "Well, I did hear that crossbowmen had be more popr after they did so much to help clear the slimes from the dwarven city. I bet the cksmiths here want to be able to show off their skills when we get back from another continent." Remey could see that this was a power move. The cksmiths would be much more famous after learning and refining a new technique. Add on the new materials from another continent, and they would be miles ahead of others in their field.


    "So Gil already made friends with the elves and now he is working on the dwarves. I feel like I should put a lot more focus on charisma statuses than I have been." Walker knew that Gil had the extra edge when it came to perception. He had always done so but Walker had never worried about it. He would just ept it as he naturally was.


    "There''s not much point in that. Mine is not that high either and I have plenty of friends. Let your actions speak for you." Su took it a little too seriously and offered her advice. But before they could keep going on, Scy and Leon seemed to be gathering everyones'' attention.


    "Listen closely, we will be in the mouth of the river soon. This means there will be more danger. Leon''s merfolk will be scouting ahead. His team will be absolute within the water. If you hear an issue you believe it and follow it. That is an order!" Scy knew that Leon had expertise in the water and would be letting him take the lead there.


    "Scy will be preparing the shift rotation. We will be waiting for the other ships and need to remain in one ce. If anyone is not prepared for their shift they are leaving the entity of this ship and every single life on it up to fate. Therger monsters out in the ocean maye here to feed on whatever the river spits out!"


    This important information was why rivers were always so dangerous. The river carried many things, even prey for the ocean dwelling monsters. Land monsters woulde here to catch what they could from the shore while the ocean brought its own monsters. It was overall, a very dangerous ce to be, and the ship would be there for a day or two as other ships arrived.


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