Lord of the Mysteries

The grayish-black hand grabbed the side of the ship and quickly hoisted it up, revealing the submerged parts, inch by inch.

Through the blue water waves, Klein saw a huge grayish-black shadow. Following that, squirming flesh occupied his entire vision.

The monster seemed to be an amalgamation of countless blackening or graying corpses. Attached to the two gigantic palms were withered-looking arms that resembled dry timber. The arms stemmed from a corpse that was suspected to be from a giant. This giant’s single eye was shut tightly as a few heads were stuck to its neck. And further down these heads were incomplete scaly fish, lizard bodies, or warped human corpses. Layer after layer, they formed flesh that appeared like a floating island.

From the different corpses and the connections of the crevices, a yellowish-green gas was emanated and spread to its surroundings as though it was enveloping the entire area.

Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!

Just the smell of it had made many sailors on deck cough violently. It was so bad that they couldn’t even straighten their backs.

Upon seeing this scene, Frank Lee didn’t hesitate to take out the materials inside a hidden pouch on his belt. He showcased his corresponding Beyonder powers, but to his surprise, Cattleya’s voice rang in his ears.

“Frank, stop!

“Help Nina command the sailors to get them to adjust the sails!”

“Why?” Frank Lee subconsciously asked in return.

“In this area, the supernatural matters within the authority of Mother Earth will mutate, including your powers.” As Cattleya spoke, she extended both her palms forward and pressed down on a particular spot on her desk.

The symbols and the magical labels on the Future immediately became more pronounced as they lit up one after another, converting the entire ship into a resplendent sea of stars. They seemed to correspond to each and every point of starlight that swirled around Cattleya’s body.

The spreading yellowish-green gas was kept out as Klein began floating towards the window of his room from the closest wall.

The coughing pirates felt alleviated, and under the lead of Boatswain Nina and First Mate Frank, as well as the instructions of Ottolov, they quickly adjusted the sails and attempted to make the Future escape from the nearby waters in order to escape the influence of the mutation effects.

However, the grayish-black colossal monster had held back the front of the ship, and the body beneath the water had connected to unknown parts of the ship in order to hold the Future, preventing it from advancing forward.

At the same time, formless tall mountains seemed to appear around them, blocking out the sea winds that blew from afar, preventing the Future from using its strength no matter how it adjusted its sails.

Faced with such a situation, there’s a need to use a backup steam engine system. Unfortunately, the Future lacks it…

Yes… It can still fly with the help of the starlight, but that seems to be extremely draining on Ma’am Hermit. Besides, it will be difficult to grasp the direction and distance it will bring us. To make such a flight in such waters, there’s a high chance of entering a more dangerous zone without being blessed with good luck. Heh, there’s still the extremely unlucky Anderson on board… Klein floated by the window in his room as he took in the situation.

He wasn’t nervous, as neither Admiral of Stars Cattleya nor the Strongest Hunter Anderson had showcased their true strength.

Of course, that includes me as well… Klein added inwardly.

He planned on first returning to his room and wearing Tinder. Without any “food” around, using such a mystical item was more suitable than Creeping Hunger. The latter was to be reserved for him when facing more dangerous and complicated situations before throwing it above the gray fog for it to cool down.

As for the negative effect of losing items on him, Klein already had a plan. He decided to put in his wallet, Azik’s copper whistle, the adventurer’s harmonica, and other items into his suitcase when changing his inventory, leaving Creeping Hunger, Murloc Cufflink, and the charms from the Sea God domain. He would keep a close watch on the latter two to prevent them from being lost.

And from a probability standpoint, the most likely item to be lost by Tinder would be the charms since they were the greatest in number.

Klein wasn’t worried about this. He had created charms with different effects. They were highly disposable!

Besides, the corresponding metal in the Storm domain is tin. It’s very cheap and worth nothing. The Beyonder effects are bestowed by the Sea God Scepter, so I don’t have to spend any additional money… As Klein mumbled, he reached out to push open the window to his room.

At this moment, the colossal grayish-black monster, which was a combination of flesh, climbed higher again. With its approach, the busy sailors had their hair grow wildly, to the point of exceeding their waists.

This wasn’t the most terrifying outcome. It was more harrowing that the blob of flaxen-colored hair seemed to have a life of its own. They would interweave and bind themselves to their owners.

As the hair began to produce similar changes, the lustrous sea of stars on the surface of the Future could no longer hold back this influence.

To a number of pirates who had shaved themselves bald, their uniqueness didn’t bring them luck either. Their nose hair would rapidly grow at a discernible pace, blocking their nasal passageways.

By the window of the captain’s cabin, Cattleya had raised her arms at some point in time. In her hand was a scroll made of smooth fish skin.

“Numb!”

As the incantation in ancient Hermes resounded while the scroll burned in silence, a light green luster shot out from within, striking the monster’s gigantic palm that appeared by the side of the ship.

The squirming flesh formed from countless corpses didn’t pause at all. It slammed down on the lustrous sea of stars, sending sparks flying while the ship trembled.

The dark purple color in the depths of Cattleya’s eyes deepened. She didn’t take out a new scroll, and she instead directly pushed her right palm forward.

“Imprison!”

When the mysterious incantation came out of the pirate admiral’s mouth, the resplendent starlight that swirled around her flew out, descending upon the terrifying monster.

The starlight instantly converged, creating a gigantic, transparent amber. It enclosed all of the squirming flesh and bound it to where it was.

At this moment, a pitch-black and lusterless short sword appeared in the Strongest Hunter Anderson’s right hand. On the surface of it was layers of diabolical patterns, but they were only an illusion.

Seizing the opportunity of having the terrifying monster trapped in the starlight cage, Anderson’s body produced a layer of blinding white flames.

The flames flew forward, leaped out of the ship, and landed on the grayish-black flesh which was formed from countless corpses.

Following that, the blinding white light rapidly flowed across the monster’s surface as if it was engaged in painting an extreme piece of artwork.

With a boom, the flames surged into the sky as Anderson jumped back onto the deck with his pitch-black sword.

The colossal monster remained frozen in place, as though it had lost all its vitality.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Deep wounds appeared on its surface, shattering into countless pieces of flesh in just a second.

A Reaper’s offensive strength is truly exaggerated… Klein, who had redone his inventory, returned to the side of the window to see this scene.

Suddenly, he frowned indiscernibly.

At this moment, something unexpected happened. The fractured pieces of flesh spread out their “limbs,” shooting towards the deck in a barrage of attacks.

This colossal attacher seemed impossible to kill no matter how many pieces it was divided into—the number of pieces determined the number of monsters!

Silently, a piece of grayish-black flesh facing the captain’s cabin jumped up from the deck, heading straight for Admiral of Stars in a bid to wrap around her head.

A figure surfaced from the darkness and shielded Cattleya. It was none other than Bloodless Heath Doyle.

He opened his mouth as they cracked open, all the way from his nose to his chest. Soon, he formed a squirming vortex of flesh and blood.

The vortex sucked at the grayish-black flesh and rapidly swirled inwardly, pulling it inside.

Heath Doyle landed on the deck like a shadow. After wavering a little, he finally recovered. As for the grayish-black flesh that had splintered off from the monster, it had completely disappeared.

The most terrifying part of the monster is its ridiculous vitality. If only this trait can be stolen… Having used another Floating charm, Klein floated out the window. He reached out his black-gloved right hand and spread his fingers.

The scene before him changed as a result. Blobs of different, gorgeous colors replaced the corresponding people and items.

These colors kept changing as they rapidly twinkled, making it difficult for anyone to grasp the rules it followed.

With the help of this vision, Klein discovered that the grayish-black flesh shared some of this luster. Although it was splintered, it was actually one.

Calmly, he clenched his right fist, grabbed a blob of the light, and turned his wrist to the right.

Suddenly, Klein saw the yellowish-green luster being drawn away, fusing into his right palm.

This was the corresponding trait of the Fog of Poison.

He had stolen the grayish-black monster’s Fog of Poison!

This was Tinder’s effect!

At the same time, Klein discovered that his Damage Transfer Beyonder power was lost. He no longer had it!

I can only steal from the same target once every twelve hours… With some level of realization, Klein looked at the surrounded Future. The yellowish-green fog which was corroding the resplendent sea of stars rapidly thinned and no longer looked obvious. The grayish-black flesh that scattered everywhere also showed signs of desiccating and darkening.

With that, the pirates found a chance to catch their breath. As for Cattleya, she wore a golden brooch on the front of her classic robe.

The brooch seemed to be made of gold, and it was shaped like a bird with a long feather tail.

The surrounding atmosphere suddenly turned staid and serene. All the chaos and anxiety vanished in a baffling manner. Even Klein sensed the indescribable influence and felt like he had become an emotionless zombie.

Seeing how the critical moment was at hand, a ship came cruising over.

It was also a sailboat and was equally large. Its color was mainly dark with a ghostly green to it.

Its ghastly pale main sail drew a blooming pitch-black tulip.

It was the flagship of Admiral Hell Ludwell, the Black Tulip!

It was a ship that frequently plied these waters!