Witch, I'm really not the Deep Sea Ancient God!

The small boat slowly approached the shore.

"Disembark!"

Chen Qi jumped from the boat onto the dock.

He looked around but did not see the figure of the mechanical arm 'Iron Hand.'

However, in the midst of the crowd, the likelihood of Iron Hand making a move was low.

The mayor of Maro Town, upon hearing An's voice, looked up, curiously gazing in Chen Qi's direction.

He was very curious about what Chen Qi had gone out to sea to do.

Behind Chen Qi was his disappointing son, Little Maro.

The mayor of Maro Town felt a surge of anger; he had a lot to scold his son about.

But as the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back, turning them into a simple four-word phrase:

"You're back now."

The mayor of Maro Town exchanged a few words of greeting with his son, and then his gaze carefully swept over Chen Qi.

He didn't see any serious injuries on him.

An, after putting away her work documents, walked over:

"Welcome back, Qi, I actually have some good news for you today."

"What good news?"

Chen Qi asked curiously.

"Do you know, in Maro Town, there is a mine crack with a zero mutation rate? However, in yesterday's wind, they revived again."

Crack revival...

Crack Tides could cause some cracks with a zero mutation rate to revive again, turning them into challengeable dungeons.

The mine crack in Maro Town should also be an E-tier crack, though even among E-tiers, there were differences.

In the mine crack, there should be some skeleton monsters.

Having one more crack to obtain spiritual points from wasn't a bad thing.

"And then?"

Chen Qi asked.

An nodded lightly:

"Although it revived, the monsters inside are even weaker than those in a typical E-tier crack.

You're planning to head to the Monster Kitchen crack, but you obviously lack experience. If you rush in, you might encounter peril.

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So, I thought of organizing some newcomers from Maro Town to go to the mine crack with you."

Simply put, An wanted him to train in the safer mine crack first.

Chen Qi continued to ask:

"So what happened?"

"I wanted to gauge the strength of the mine crack for you."

At this point, An rubbed her hands together guiltily:

"But during the process of gauging the mine crack, I accidentally killed all the monsters and cleared it.

The plan I had prepared for you was ruined."

"..."

Accidentally, Chen Qi swallowed a gulp, imagining An wiping out all the creatures in the mine crack with a single ordinary attack.

Aside from being nicknamed "An Mom" on the game forum, An Aotian's strength far exceeded that of a typical third-tier Transcendent.

From his observations, even the combined strength of Little Crow and Black-eyed Captain, both third-tiers, couldn't match An.

At this moment, the mayor of Maro Town, having just lit a cigarette, keenly sensed something!

Chen Qi planned to go to the Monster Kitchen crack!

Could he have gone there this morning?

But he had no visible injuries. The mayor of Maro Town broke into a cold sweat, curiously asking:

"Wait a minute, Qi, the place you went to this morning, could it have been that Monster Kitchen?"

"Hm?"

Hearing the mayor's words, An suddenly realized something too.

Immediately, like a curious white cat, she pranced lightly around Chen Qi, sniffing here and there.

"It's blood, monster blood, and a hint of fragrance, spices?

Wait a minute!

The Spirit Power Field has also changed!"

After completing a circle, she stopped in front of Chen Qi, her pupils slightly contracting in confusion:

"Have you already cleared the Monster Kitchen... and advanced to First Order Transcendent?"

Chen Qi smiled helplessly.

He had been thoroughly seen through; he couldn't hide anything.

Once someone became a Transcendent, it was nearly impossible to conceal that aura without special secrets.

Moreover, An's observational skills were far beyond his expectations; he even suspected she could see right through his clothes to his organs.

Chen Qi nodded:

"Yes, I went out to sea today, got lucky, and obtained a Transcendent Occupation Card, becoming a chef."

That quickly, a First Order Transcendent? The mayor of Maro Town was stunned, subconsciously stroking his mustache.

Hadn't he gone out to sea alone?

Had he gone with companions? Why hadn't they been informed?

Or had he cleared the crack by himself?

The mayor looked at this young man, his mind racing, the hand holding the cigarette trembling slightly.

Little Maro was bewildered, scratching his head; was the Monster Kitchen they mentioned the same one he was heading to?

Compared to the mayor and Little Maro, An wasn't overly surprised; in her eyes, this was simply Chen Qi's inherent talent.

Clearing a monster-infested crack was an expected feat.

From the first time she met Chen Qi, she had caught the faint scent of blood, monster blood.

This indicated that he might have already killed monsters back when he awakened his Spiritual Power.

The only surprising thing was Chen Qi's speed.

An revealed a gratified smile:

"Congratulations, now, our Maro Town has an excellent chef."

Then, she suddenly changed her tone:

"Qi, you have good potential. By the way, the path of the Book's Apprentice is still open for you."

A First Order Transcendent occupation was akin to a student who hadn't formally entered school, still in a self-study phase at home.

At this stage, the student could learn whatever they fancied, pursue whatever interested them.

But once reaching the Second Order, it signified formal school admission and necessitated choosing a study direction.

Second-order Transcendent required selecting a corresponding Nature Form.

In other words, as long as Chen Qi hadn't formally entered the Second Order, he could still become an apprentice, one personally trained by her.

"Mm."

Chen Qi nodded.

At that moment, amidst the sound of waves, a massive merchant ship slowly stopped.

Many stevedores disembarked from it, unloading large cargo crates one after another and transporting them to Maro Town.

Judging by the markings on the crates, they were all weapon crates!

Chen Qi was slightly surprised and curiously asked An:

"What's this?"

"Yeah, Mentor An, why are these merchant ships bringing so many weapons here?"

Seeing the situation, the mayor of Maro Town wiped his cold sweat, puzzled as he hadn't heard of merchant ships carrying weapon crates!

Could there be pirates attacking?

An walked a few steps forward, looking up at the large ship in the distance:

"I found out just yesterday. According to observations by the Bei Country Meteorological Bureau,

the recent storm isn't as simple as we thought, so Shell Country's government is preparing to set up defensive measures on all coastal islands, to fend off sea beasts and pirates."

The mayor of Maro Town asked:

"Even if the storm isn't simple, is there a need to transport so many weapons?"

An paused for a moment, then spoke word by word:

"It's very likely to be an event we haven't seen in a long time, a Crack Tide!"

As the words left her mouth, the cigarette dropped from the mayor's hand to the ground.

The bustling dock instantly fell silent.

Little Maro's eyes widened, and even the distant watching hunters held their breath.

"Wow…"

Chen Qi also played along, opening his mouth slightly, indicating he just found out.

"It's a Crack Tide…"

The mayor of Maro Town muttered.

Hundreds of years ago, Crack Tides nearly destroyed all coastal towns, and the Witch Occupation Card was born from it.

A hundred years ago, a ten-day Crack Tide not only led to sea warfare but also birthed the Deep Sea Hunter class monster!

The subsequent impacts created today's four most domineering emperors of the sea.

Every Crack Tide event gave rise to legends!

"If a Crack Tide comes, won't it affect our entire Moonstone Islands…"

The mayor of Maro Town looked down, unable to fathom the scenario post-Crack Tide with his age and experience.

No one could predict the aftermath of the tide.

An walked forward, her gaze extending far to the horizon:

"Yes, a tide capable of sweeping across the entire Witch Sea.

Of course, this is just a preliminary prediction; the Meteorological Bureau hasn't given a definitive answer yet.

This Crack Tide might not be as tumultuous as the one seventy years ago."

At this point, the sea breeze carried the whispers from the distant dark world, blowing hard.

"But regardless of the outcome,"

An stood on the dock, spreading her arms wide:

"Everyone, a new era for the Witch Sea is upon us."