Then Stephanie sent another message: "Good morning, my dear sister. This is my breakfast today. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m doing very well."

"Bitch!" Bella shouted, cursing Stephanie. "Shameless."

As sisters, the two of them were always scheming against each other.

Bella could tell at a glance that Stephanie was trying to show off in front of her.

She gritted her teeth and forced down the anger in her heart, then sent Stephanie a message: "You fought that monster last night. Were any of you hurt? I’m really worried about you all. Can you say hello to Kevin for me? I miss him so much."

Inside the dining room of the Two-Masted Sloop, Stephanie saw Bella’s message and broke into a grin.

Of course, she would not help Bella get close to Kevin.

So she refused on her own. "Bella, you know it too. Kevin has a bad opinion of you right now. I’m afraid if I bring you up, he’ll get angry. Let’s wait a little longer. Don’t worry, he’s fine. I’ll take good care of him. Also, Kevin is very strong now. I’m very satisfied."

"You’re very satisfied?" Bella clenched her teeth and read Stephanie’s message word by word. She completely lost it.

"Stephanie, don’t think you can get in the way of me and Kevin. What Kevin feels for me is true love. You wouldn’t understand."

After saying that, Bella went straight to Keston and got Keston’s coordinates.

When she learned that Keston was less than two nautical miles away from Kevin’s Two-Masted Sloop, Bella smiled.

"Heh, Stephanie, just you wait. I’m looking forward to the day you and I meet."

After saying that, Bella turned to look at the helm and said softly, "Kevin, I’m coming."

Inside the dining room of the Two-Masted Sloop, Kevin and the girls were enjoying breakfast in a relaxed mood.

Nova and Luna sat on both sides of Kevin. One was feeding Kevin pizza, while the other was cutting steak for him.

Kevin happily enjoyed the two girls taking care of him, feeling especially relaxed.

"Nova, were you tired last night? How about letting Amelia help you?" Luna asked with a wicked smile, teasing Nova on purpose, making Nova’s face turn bright red.

"N-No need. I’m not tired." As Nova refused, she secretly reached out, pinched the soft flesh at Kevin’s waist, and twisted it.

Kevin grinned and pretended nothing had happened.

But Luna had no plan to stop there. She stared at Nova’s throat on purpose and asked with concern, "Nova, why is your voice so hoarse?"

When the girls heard Luna’s words, they all looked over.

Aside from Celula and Monchhichi, who looked totally confused and had no idea what was going on, the other girls all looked at Nova with sly grins.

Nova rolled her eyes at Kevin and changed the topic on her own. "Alright, I know you’re all waiting for the loot to be handed out, so stop making fun of me."

Sure enough, once the loot was mentioned, the girls all sat up straight one by one, waiting for Kevin to divide it up.

Celula looked at Kevin with even more curiosity. "Dear Captain, Monchhichi and I worked for a very long time without stopping. You can’t treat us badly."

Monchhichi also nodded and said with a smile, "This is the first time we’re splitting loot, Captain. You can’t be stingy."

Kevin picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. Then he took a round badge out of his system backpack and placed it in the center of the table.

[Eldritch Merchant Summoning Talisman: A-Tier Eldritch Artifact. After crushing it, you can summon an Eldritch Merchant wandering the Sea of Terror to trade with you. This item is one-time use. It costs 10,000 Ghost Banknotes to use.]

"Ten thousand Ghost Banknotes!" The girls all gasped at the same time after reading the description.

Celula opened her system backpack immediately.

After all these days, the Ghost Banknotes she had saved were only a few hundred.

Monchhichi checked her system backpack too. She frowned and spoke softly, "Between Celula and me, we only have a little over a thousand Ghost Banknotes."

Nova raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Kevin. "I guess only you here can afford to use this Summoning Talisman. What, are you going to split it up as loot for us?"

Kevin shook his head and smiled. "Where are you getting that idea? I showed you this because I want you to truly get stronger."

Looking at the confused faces around him, Kevin smiled and explained. "We’ve collected a lot of loot and got many rewards these past few days. But those items might not be the best fit for every single one of you."

"Now that we have an Eldritch Merchant, we can trade in any weapons, armor, potions, or even Eldritch Artifacts we aren’t using. That way, we can get items that are actually useful for you."

With that, Kevin crushed the [Eldritch Merchant Summoning Talisman] right in front of everyone.

Immediately after, a cold draft swept into the cabin.

Pitch-black smoke drifted in from the window and quickly formed a six-pointed star portal.

An Eldritch Entity in a black robe stepped out of the portal, its face gaunt and withered.

He glanced at Kevin, green ghost fires flickering in his eyes. "Generous Survivor, trade whatever I have. Just remember to pay your tax in Ghost Banknotes."

Kevin nodded and asked, "Can I bring my companions to trade with you?"

The black-robed Eldritch Entity let out a few cackling laughs, its voice deeply eerie.

Hearing that laugh, Stephanie, who stood a few feet away, felt her Sanity drop sharply.

[Sanity -3]

[Sanity -3]

[Sanity -3]

The intense fear and tension made Stephanie tremble so hard she couldn’t say a word.

She glanced at Nova, then looked over at Celula and Monchhichi.

Their faces were pale too, but they kept their composure unlike Stephanie.

It was clear that after days of fighting, the other girls had grown stronger both in mind and body.

They had become tough enough to stop fearing the horrors, and their minds were more resistant to Eldritch Entities.

But Stephanie had always lived under Kevin’s protection. She hadn’t grown at all and wasn’t any stronger. She couldn’t even bring herself to step close to an Eldritch Merchant that meant no harm.

Realizing this, Stephanie backed away a few steps, looking completely defeated. She took a deep, shaky breath and panicked, "I’m going to clean the deck."

With that, Stephanie turned and hurried toward the stairs, fleeing the room.

At that moment, the black-robed Eldritch Entity stopped laughing.

He looked over the girls in the cabin and gave a satisfied nod. "One extra ten thousand Ghost Banknotes for each trader."

Hearing that, Kevin paid fifty thousand Ghost Banknotes right away and smiled. "Alright, let’s begin. My five companions and I want to see what good deals you have."

"Of course, my honored guests. You’ll be completely satisfied." The black-robed Entity opened its wide, fanged mouth.

Books bound with bones and dripping veins flew out from his mouth, floating in the air right in front of each girl.

"Survivor, you have one hour to look." The Entity said, then slowly closed its eyes.

The temperature in the cabin dropped instantly, turning as cold as winter.

Celula shivered and spread the book in front of her.

To her surprise, the book acted like a browser with endless pages. The items inside were packed with everything, from weapons and armor to potions and Eldritch Artifacts, from Talents to contract pets. It had it all.

Even more surprisingly, Celula found that the book even had slaves of different races to trade.

Legendary beings like elves, merfolk, winged humans, trolls, and goblins could all be bought from this book.

Monchhichi finally shook off her shock and turned to look at Kevin. "I finally get why you wanted us to trade with this guy," she said, impressed.

"The trade list actually has A-Tier weapons and gear and potions, and you can even buy A-Tier Talents from him."

Following Monchhichi, everyone flipped to the first page of the book.

As expected, a row of A-Tier items marked as "Limited Supply" popped up in front of them.

They were exactly one A-Tier Talent Chest, one A-Tier Gear Chest, one A-Tier Weapon Chest, one A-Tier Eldritch Artifact Chest, one A-Tier Slave Chest, and one A-Tier Pet Chest.

Under every item, a red tag read "Limited to one per 30 days."

Kevin glanced at the group, and his eyes went straight to the A-Tier Talent Chest.

[Item: A-Tier Random Talent Chest]

[Effect: Upon opening, it guarantees the awakening of one A-Tier Talent. The specific Talent depends on the Survivor’s overall traits.]

[Price: 9 B-Tier equivalent items + 81 C-Tier equivalent items]

[Tax: 1,000,000 Ghost Banknotes]

"Oh my god! That’s way too expensive," Celula gasped. She stared at the price and tax in total shock, her lips trembling.

Monchhichi sighed next. "Way too expensive. We can’t afford it right now. Let’s just look at other stuff."

Saying that, Monchhichi went to turn the pages to the next section.

Before she could, Kevin reached out and stopped her. "Like I said, we’re splitting the loot today. Each of you is getting one A-Tier item."

With that, Kevin pulled out all the gear in his system bag, exactly enough to cover the price of the A-Tier Random Talent Chest.

At that moment, the Eldritch merchant, who had kept his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up. "Survivor, it seems you’ve already made your choice."

Kevin nodded and turned to Nova. "Buy one A-Tier Random Talent Chest for my companion Nova," he said out loud.

The Eldritch merchant’s eyes flashed with bright green light upon hearing Kevin. "Honored guest, I didn’t think you could actually afford this. I apologize for my earlier disrespect."

As he spoke, the merchant’s body began to twist and change. The pale, rotting flesh hidden under his robe started to grow fast. It writhed and reshaped itself, forming real muscle and living tissue.

In no time, a stunning Succubus with a fiery figure and a captivating look stepped out in front of Kevin. "My most honored guest, you deserve to be met with this face."