The Synthesis Wizard

While Sunan was enjoying his seafood feast, Sheman and his group, who had recently arrived at Rainbow Bay, were already sailing into the Rainbow Sea. The vast expanse of the ocean stretched out before them.

A gigantic ship, towering ten meters high, moved slowly, parting the water and creating waves.

"So this is the Rainbow Sea," Adil exclaimed, her eyes shining as she gazed at the shimmering sea surface 500 meters away, where a beautiful violet light danced among the waves, creating an exceptionally beautiful scene.

Situated at the intersection of oceanic and terrestrial ley lines, the area occasionally exhibited spectacular phenomena, with the sea surface sometimes emitting strange glows of various colors, giving the Rainbow Sea its name.

Tagana stood at the edge of the deck, curiously observing her surroundings.

The underground world had no oceans, only lakes and swamps.

This was her first time seeing the vast ocean with her own eyes.

The shimmering, seemingly endless sea and the horizon where sea and sky met brought a sense of openness and exhilaration.

No land was visible within view, only a few seabirds, and the ocean seemed rich with fish.

However, these fish were bizarre and unfamiliar to her.

Elsewhere on the ship, Sheman, Corey, and Flaming were conversing with a woman.

The woman was strikingly beautiful, with a graceful figure, though her lower half was a thick snake's tail.

This marked her identity—as a noble among the Lamia.

During the unification of the underground world, the Star Alliance had conquered over ten Lamia city-states, and these Lamia groups were finally placed under Carolina's command.

This Lamia noble, Andrea, was the ruler of one such city-state.

Now, she governed one of the city-states in Rainbow Bay.

Upon hearing of their intent to explore the Rainbow Sea, she volunteered to accompany them, even thoughtfully bringing along some guides.

The so-called guides were actually a group of mermen.

They stood only waist-high to an adult human male, with indigo skin, fish-like heads, human-like torsos and limbs covered in fine scales, and webbing between their fingers and toes.

These mermen hailed from a coastal merman tribe near Rainbow Bay.

When the Star Alliance first arrived to build a city in the bay, they encountered this merman tribe attempting to raid them. The Star Alliance dispatched a golem unit, decisively defeating them.

The Star Alliance even pursued them to their lair, prompting the merman tribe to immediately surrender.

Although these mermen lived only in shallow waters, they had a fair understanding of the Rainbow Sea, so Andrea accepted them.

The mermen's leader, known as Bluefin, was eagerly sharing information about the Rainbow Sea with the group.

"The Rainbow Sea has many poisonous species; about one-fifth of the fish are poisonous, so you should be careful in distinguishing them before eating."

"However, most non-poisonous fish are very tasty. Whether boiled, grilled, or eaten raw, they're delicious. If you'd like to try some, just let me know. I'm quite a good cook, if I do say so myself."

The merman grinned in a fawning manner, eager to please.

He had heard that these people were even more important than Andrea, the city lord, and if he could win their favor, he might be promoted to chieftain.

Listening to a merman volunteer to cook fish, Sheman and Flaming exchanged amused glances.

"Ahem." Sheman cleared his throat, "No need for extra words. Tell me, what are the most formidable sea monsters here?"

The merman scratched his head awkwardly, "My lord, to us mermen, all sea monsters are formidable."

"…"

Sheman realized his mistake—asking mermen, who couldn't even defeat knights, about powerful sea monsters was indeed misguided.

He turned to Andrea, who pondered for a moment before answering, "There aren't many formidable sea monsters in the shallow areas, but there are plenty in the deep sea: sea dragons, dragon whales, megalodons, mosasaurs, squid kings, deep-sea jellyfish…"

Andrea listed dozens of sea monsters before solemnly adding:

"These sea monsters possess the power of second to third-ring legendary levels. If encountered, it's best to avoid fighting."

While second to third-ring legendary monsters on land might not be much, in the sea, they were a headache.

Without power a level or two higher, dealing with these sea monsters was impossible.

At that moment, a commotion arose on the other side of the deck.

Tagana had pulled a creature from the sea.

This bizarre creature resembled a giant, many-legged freshwater lobster, standing 1.5 meters tall and 3 meters long, with a blue-green shell, sturdy and powerful pincers, and robust lower legs.

Even though it was suspended mid-air by the Mage Hand, it continued to shout loudly, struggling and waving its pincers, clearly aggressive.

"This is a Lobster Man, quite unintelligent, akin to a pet dog."

Andrea approached Tagana and Adil, who were curiously examining the Lobster Man, explaining softly:

"They're aggressive but weak. An experienced squire could easily handle one."

Bluefin approached, eyeing the Lobster Man and swallowing, rubbing his hands with a sycophantic smile, "My lords, Lobster Man meat is quite delicious. Why not give it to me, and I'll prepare a meal for you?"

Sheman and the others exchanged glances, ultimately refusing.

Lobster Men were an intelligent species, and being humanoid, eating them felt morally uncomfortable.

However, Tagana was intrigued.

Dark elves didn't concern themselves with such matters; she was curious about how Lobster Man meat compared to regular lobster.

But seeing Adil and the others refuse, she reluctantly abandoned the idea.

Andrea noted, "Lobster Men usually inhabit the boundary between shallow and deep waters. Since we've encountered one, it means we're nearing the deep sea."

"We might encounter deep-sea nagas and sirens next, so we need to be cautious."

Hearing this, Sheman and the others set aside their playful attitudes, nodding solemnly.

Upon entering the deep sea, the number of sea monsters increased noticeably.

Along the way, they occasionally saw sea monsters battling each other, vast swathes of blood staining the nearby waters, attracting more predators and sparking large-scale conflicts.

Andrea mentioned that such battles were common in the deep sea.

The best course of action was to steer clear, lest they be dragged into the fray.

Occasionally, sea monsters would attack the ship, but Sheman and the others quickly dealt with them.

With two third-level wizard apprentices on board, they weren't too worried unless a third-ring legendary sea monster appeared.

Considering the mission's danger, Sheman and Corey had brought numerous high-level rune gemstones.

Even if something unexpected occurred, escaping wouldn't be difficult.

Andrea praised, "Having you here makes this voyage much easier."

"How did you deal with sea monsters before?" Flaming curiously asked.

"We used golems enchanted with levitation spells," Andrea replied with some frustration. "But golems are heavy and require continuous lightness spells to be carried on board. Even so, a ship can only carry a limited number of golems."

Sheman and the others nodded in understanding.

Golems weighed tens of tons and were massive, and ordinary ships couldn't house more than a few.

Even if they were all adamantine golems, the ship's combat power was limited, and encountering even a slightly larger group of sea monsters meant fleeing was the only option.

Sometimes, even escaping wasn't possible.

It's no wonder the exploration and expansion efforts in the Rainbow Sea had seen little progress.

"Rest assured, City Lord Andrea," Sheman smiled slightly, "The academy has developed more robust and larger magical ships, as well as specialized underwater puppets. They will soon be mass-produced and deployed here. Then, we'll have the power to advance into the deep sea."

Andrea's face lit up with joy, "That's wonderful!"

Heavens above, she'd endured enough from the deep-sea nagas and sirens in recent years and had long wanted to deal with those cursed creatures!

Just then, a warning sounded from the lookout above the deck.

"About two kilometers ahead, deep-sea nagas and sirens spotted!"

Andrea's expression shifted as she hurried to the deck's edge, taking a spyglass from one of her subordinates and gazing into the distance.

Sheman and his group activated the Keen Eye Earrings on their ears, a flash of blue light passing through their vision, bringing the distant scene into sharp focus—two kilometers away, on the sea surface.

A fierce battle raged on the wide sea.

On one side were humanoid creatures with snake-like lower bodies covered in scales, somewhat resembling Lamia nobles but with sea-blue scales and webbed hands and feet.

"Deep-sea Nagas!"

Though he'd never seen them in person, Flaming instantly recognized the humanoid creatures from their depictions in books.

He then turned his gaze to the other side of the battle.

There was a group of strong sea monsters riding hammerhead sharks, humanoid creatures with slender snake tails.

These were sirens.

To those unfamiliar with the two races, they could easily be confused.

But in reality, there were significant differences between them.

Deep-sea Nagas' bodies had evolved fish-like characteristics, whereas the sirens retained a mostly human-like upper body.

Additionally, deep-sea Nagas had both male and female members, but sirens were solely female, belonging to the banshee race.

They were semi-undead beings haunting the sea, given new bodies by the ocean.

Siren numbers were limited, but their strength was formidable.

They excelled in illusions, possessed alluring beauty, had deadly and captivating voices, and could control other marine species, making them quite dangerous.

Interestingly, sirens weren't birthed through reproduction but were instead conceived by the ocean, loosely classifying them as a type of nature spirit, albeit representing the sea's malevolent side.

In the ongoing battle, the deep-sea Nagas held a numerical advantage, nearly twice the number of sirens, yet the sirens were prevailing.

Armed with tridents, the sirens showcased exquisite combat skills, taking on multiple opponents at once, occasionally singing to cast illusions.

Even from two kilometers away, the enchanting, melodious songs could faintly be heard.

Bluefin, standing nearby, was already in a daze, subconsciously stepping toward the sea before Flaming slapped him back to reality. He then scrambled into the cabin, covering his ears to block out the songs.

"How peculiar," Adil remarked with surprise, "The combat skills those sirens are using resemble knight skills."

She turned to Corey.

Among the group, Corey was the most skilled in knight combat techniques.

Aside from being a third-level wizard apprentice, he was also a junior grand knight.

"Indeed, there's a resemblance to knight skills, and they're quite refined—not the common techniques, likely from a master," Corey observed with a frown.

While sirens also engaged in melee combat, their civilizational constraints meant they couldn't possess the refined knight skills of humans, often resorting to straightforward battle tactics.

What they witnessed contradicted the intelligence on sirens they had read.

"Not only that, but have you noticed something else?" Sheman suddenly asked, "Isn't the power of the sirens' songs unusually strong?"

The group paused, then thoughtful expressions appeared.

Prompted by Sheman, they realized that despite being two kilometers away, the sirens' songs still affected them, putting Bluefin in a trance—far more potent than they expected.

Either the intelligence in their wizard tomes was incorrect, or these sirens themselves were different.

Sheman asked Andrea, "Are all sirens like this?"

Andrea shook her head, "We've noticed this issue too. Before entering the deep sea, we captured some shallow-water marine tribes to inquire about the sirens, but the information we obtained didn't match the sirens we encountered. We suspect sirens have gradually evolved into this form over the past few decades."

"In the past, in the deep sea, deep-sea Nagas were the dominant intelligent species, always suppressing the sirens. But in recent decades, the sirens have gradually overtaken the deep-sea Nagas."

"From what I understand, in recent major battles, the deep-sea Nagas have suffered crushing defeats at the hands of the sirens."

As if to confirm Andrea's words, the distant battle had reached its conclusion.

Under the sirens' fierce assault, the deep-sea Nagas were routed, scattering in retreat, only to be caught and speared by sirens riding hammerhead sharks.

In the end, only a few deep-sea Nagas escaped.

Yet, after the battle ended, the sirens weren't finished.

With a low horn sound, the sirens changed course, riding their hammerhead sharks toward the ship.

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