Lord of the Mysteries

Frank Lee sensed the Gehrman Sparrow’s abnormality as he added with a chuckle, “I had planned on providing you some help by throwing some seeds over. Unfortunately, I have no way to throw that far.”

Throw some seeds at the Black Tulip? These waters have the remnant auras of Mother Earth. Beyonder matters in the corresponding domain would mutate and would attack everyone, without identifying friend from foe… I was on the Black Tulip at that moment… Thankfully, you didn’t throw them… Klein suddenly recalled the tragic state the Future had been placed in moments ago and how the dead pirate had grown a watermelon on his head.

Just as he was about to give a minced answer to match Gehrman Sparrow’s persona, he suddenly saw Heath Doyle appear from the shadows, bending his back to vomit.

This Bloodless retched first before his knees went limp as he knelt on the deck.

Ugh! Ugh!

He finally vomited a pool of yellowish-green liquid. Amidst it was a piece of half-rotten grayish-black flesh which was still squirming a little.

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

Heath Doyle continued vomiting similar items.

Upon seeing this, other than feeling somewhat disgusted, Klein felt significantly relieved. He was originally worried that Rose Bishop Heath Doyle had been corrupted from randomly eating things. But from the looks of it, he had likely isolated what he had eaten without truly digesting it.

As expected of a Rose Bishop who isn’t mad… Klein silently sighed.

Just as he was planning to look away from the vomit, thoughts suddenly flashed in his mind.

Creeping Hunger has already been activated. It needs to be “fed” once within a day. And there aren’t any outsiders here. There’s also no ideal scum… The pirate who died won’t do. Although his partners might not put too much weight on his corpse, Creeping Hunger devours the soul…

I wonder if these pieces of flesh can be treated as “food.” At the very least, it contains a tremendous amount of vitality, a corpse that has been influenced by Mother Earth’s aura…

With this in mind, Klein took two steps forward and came beside Heath Doyle.

He couldn’t bear to look at the puddle of vomit as he instinctively cast his gaze aside towards the grand sea which reflected the sunlight beyond the shipboard.

Then, he reached out to a piece of grayish-black flesh with his left hand.

Creeping Hunger didn’t react as it didn’t crack open a mouth.

Looks like it doesn’t wish to eat it… For now, I can only barely use it to deal with any latent dangers. If I’m still unable to find any suitable food when the day is almost up, I’ll throw it above the gray fog… Klein helplessly retracted his hand as he looked up at the captain’s cabin.

The golden brooch in front of Cattleya bloomed with light once again, materializing a Sun Wraith that cleansed the pieces of grayish-black flesh from Heath Doyle.

This pirate admiral’s expression didn’t seem to change. She only looked slightly tired as the purple hue in her eyes became increasingly obvious.

After confirming that the ship had set sail again, Klein didn’t stay any longer as he prepared to return to his room to change out of his drenched clothes.

Anderson glanced at him and curiously opened his mouth.

“Shut up!” Klein spoke out before he could.

The turn of events had made him lose his Murloc Cufflink; therefore, he progressively found the person plagued with bad luck as a sore sight. He was just short of defining him as food for Creeping Hunger.

“… Alright.” Anderson raised his arms. “I’ll just drink in silence.”

Klein ignored him and entered the cabin before returning to his room.

Inside his bathroom, he picked up a Water Creation charm and activated it with ancient Hermes. With a tub of clean water, he took off all his clothes and slid in.

The ice-cold sensation and the warm sunshine significantly soothed him. He picked up a pen and paper he brought from his desk and wrote down a divination statement: “The location of the Murloc Cufflink.”

After reciting it seven times, Klein completely leaned down, using the front of the bathtub as a pillow before entering a dream.

Amidst a grayish blur and a disconnected illusory world, he saw a zombie rotting in several parts of the deck. The blue Murloc Cufflink was embedded in the flesh of the zombie’s left waist.

Apart from the deck, it was pitch-black. It was impossible to tell where the ship was.

It really is on the Black Tulip… Klein opened his eyes and came to the conclusion.

I hope Admiral Hell wouldn’t discover it. This way, I can use this cufflink to lock onto the Black Tulip’s location…

It’s not a big problem, even if he discovers it. As long as Ludwell doesn’t throw the cufflink away, and there isn’t too much of a delay in time, I can use it to locate his ship. However, the place to do the divination will have to be above the gray fog instead of the real world.

Also, I need to perform divination disruption later to prevent Admiral Hell from locking onto me with the cufflink or even being able to curse me.

That ring really seems like an item left behind by the ancient Death. Yes, I should write to Mr. Azik and inform him of this. Klein quickly rinsed his body and walked out of the bathtub.

After wiping himself dry, he switched into the Loen gentleman suit from before. He first adjusted his inventory and washed his clothes before unfolding a piece of paper, taking out Azik’s copper whistle.

Standing beside the desk and looking at the objects on it, Klein hesitated when he extended his right hand.

The light in his eyes flickered before he put away Azik’s copper whistle and placed it into a small metallic box. He then isolated its aura with a wall of spirituality.

He planned on summoning the messenger only after he left these waters and the Future.

I suffered quite a huge loss this time. Thankfully, I finished digesting the Faceless potion. I can now just wait for the appearance of mermaids…

Yes… The actual situation of this battlefield of gods is different from what I imagined. It actually has the aura of Mother Earth…

It must’ve been left behind later; otherwise, it’s impossible that a deity can’t control “Her” own aura.

None of the eight ancient gods in the Second Epoch wielded the authority of the Earth domain…

There are some suspects among “Their” subsidiary gods, such as Giant Queen, Goddess of Harvest Omebella, or Goddess of Life who’s subsidiary to Vampire Ancestor Lilith.

This is a battle with subsidiary gods participating, or it really wasn’t something from the Second Epoch? Klein knew too little about the battlefield of the gods, so he could only mainly guess and have some fanciful thoughts.

He focused again as he began cutting some paper figurines and drew The Fool’s secret symbol of change on them.

Pa!

Klein raised the paper figurine and shook it.

Flames appeared out of thin air as the paper figurine burnt to a crisp.

By doing this, he could obtain the desired effects to a certain extent. If he wished for better effects, he had to go above the gray fog to respond. He could use the Black Emperor’s card to stir the powers of the mysterious space, coupled with the paper angel to provide protection.

With Azik’s copper whistle and Will Auceptin’s paper crane interfering with a suspected existence’s spying, Klein returned to the bathroom and methodically finished what he needed to do.

After tidying up the room, he put on Creeping Hunger and Tinder, and he slowly walked to the deck, prepared to seriously observe his surroundings, so as to not miss any clues of mermaids.

Just as he left the cabin, he saw a seated Anderson Hood leaning against a wooden alcohol barrel. He had a gloomy expression as his aura was converged. It was as though he was in thought or feeling melancholic.

He really kept to his promise and has been silently drinking? Klein mumbled to himself as he passed by Anderson.

Anderson slowly looked up and asked as though he was in a reverie, “Is the alcohol here problematic?”

Klein was taken aback as he seriously replied, “Yes.”

“…” Anderson fell speechless.

This fellow is just too unlucky. His Beyonder powers had even failed him to the point of him not detecting the problem with the alcohol? The corners of Klein’s lips twitched as he continued forward.

On the deck, many sailors were gathered together, watching Nina take on the duty as a Lord of Storms priest. She was holding a wake for the recently deceased pirate.

After a simple prayer, Nina looked around and said, “Revere’s wish was to be buried on the mountain at his port hometown after his death. There’s the most beautiful sunset there.

“He wishes to be cremated so that he wouldn’t be disturbed after his death.

“Holy Lord of Storms, bless him with eternal peace.” Many of the sailors believed in the Lord of Storms as they struck their left breast with their right fists.

Klein didn’t approach as he silently watched this scene from a distance.

After the wake was over, the corpse of the pirate, Revere, was reduced to ashes with the help of a scroll. Klein silently sighed as he inwardly drew a crimson moon.

For the rest of the day, the sunlight remained brilliant as it continued being midday. The Future circled around several ruins as it ventured deeper into those waters.

At some point in time, Anderson had recovered and arrived beside Klein.

He shot him a glance and pointed to the buildings that were submerged ahead.

“After passing this ruin and heading about ten nautical miles with a left turn, there will be a chance of encountering mermaids.”

Finally… Klein was just about to answer when the sky suddenly darkened. The sunlight subsequently vanished.

Night had fallen again.

Without another word, he returned to his room and got into bed.

Soon, he found himself awake in his dream. Clean floor-to-ceiling windows stood before him. There were also neatly arranged tables and chairs, as well as bookshelves filled with books.

He had returned to the spot from where he had previously left the dream. He was back in the library.

As the glow of the sunset shot in, it cloaked every object with a faint layer of gold. Klein walked forward in puzzlement and came before the bookshelf he previously browsed.

Unsurprisingly, he saw Book of Charms and other books on mysticism.

Klein planned on taking out the book again and quickly read through it when his gaze suddenly swept across a bookshelf opposite him. He saw a black-covered book with the title: Roselle’s Notebook 3!

The emperor’s diary? An entire diary? Klein subconsciously wanted to extend his hand.

At this moment, the pair of mysterious eyes that observed the deck and himself flashed in his mind, along with the individual who opened the door in the hall of murals that Anderson Hood had mentioned, as well as how he was abnormally moved about in the dream.

Klein retracted his gaze and took out the Book of Charms again.

He came to a long table, sat down, and began quickly browsing through it.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from the depths of the library.

Klein instantly tensed up as he slowly lifted his head.

The first thing that he saw was a pair of black leather boots.