Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When he heard the illusory pleas, Klein was attending a banquet at Portland Moment’s place due to the time difference.
The banquet began from half-past seven, and it continued all the way to half-past nine, and even ten. This was because the appetizers, soup, side dishes, main dishes, staple food, vegetables, fruits, and desserts had numbered a total of ten to twenty dishes. The footmen would serve the dishes one after the other, removing and changing dishes in unison to prevent the dining table from turning chaotic, and also providing an interval between the dishes in order to allow the guests to chat. Gentlemen would take the initiative to talk to the ladies to their right.
In short, it’s rather troublesome and exhausting. I even have to take note of which dish matches with which alcohol… However, it’s quite tasty… Taking the opportunity when the roasted lamb was being switched out, he said to Ma’am Willis to his right, “My apologies. I’ll need to use the washroom.”
He got up, pressing his right hand to his chest and bending over slightly as a gesture. Then, he left the dining hall and headed for one of the washrooms on the second story.
Upon entering, he locked the door and immediately took four steps counterclockwise to head above the gray fog.
…Mr. Hanged Man’s prayer. He wishes for me to help him in gaining the goodwill of an Obninsk, and he’s willing to find 15 pages of Roselle’s diary, or help me do something of equal value… His progress isn’t slow… Klein sat at The Fool’s seat as he emanated his spirituality and touched the constantly burgeoning and contracting crimson star.
After pondering for a few seconds, he said, “Investigate all Feysac captains who participated in the Konotop sea battle in 1338.”
As a historian, Klein immediately knew which sea battle it was when he learned that the Interrogator had died at the hands of a Feysacian in 1338.
In 1338, the relationship between Loen and Feysac was tense with occasional conflicts. However, there was only one battle that resulted in the death of someone that was at the level of a commander. It was a sea battle that happened in East Balam’s Konotop.
And on a Feysacian fleet, there were definitely not many captains!
…
In the deep, dark waters, Alger Wilson saw the endless grayish-white fog and heard Mr. Fool’s answer.
Investigate all the captains from the Feysac Empire that were involved in the Konotop sea battle in 1338… Why would Mr. Fool pay attention to such a trivial figure? Is there some immense secret hidden in this matter? Alger’s heart stirred. Without any hesitation, he directly agreed.
“Your wish is my wish.”
Such a mission was difficult and very complicated for him, but it wasn’t dangerous. It was something that the present him could accept.
After the response, Alger heard Mr. Fool’s deep voice once again:
“You can return to the target’s vicinity.”
That’s it? As expected of Mr. Fool! After he obtained the authority, “He” is more like a Sea God than Kalvetua. His might isn’t limited to the Rorsted Archipelago! Alger was delighted as he thanked The Fool solemnly. Then, bending his back and kicking his legs, he turned to head down, diving into the depths once more.
In just minutes, he returned beside the undersea volcano and saw a turbulent flow in the gigantic dark cave as the tentacles were flailing and had yet to calm down.
Although Alger trusted Mr. Fool in being sufficiently powerful and terrifying, an awakening ancient god, he instinctively became cautious when he saw that scene. He carefully inched forward.
He suspected that the Obninsk’s flailing of its countless tentacles was a sign of welcoming him.
And at this moment, above the gray fog, The Sea God Scepter-wielding Klein frowned slightly.
“It refuses to communicate with Sea God, and it even hates the feeling, making it unwilling to show its goodwill…” he muttered under his breath, exasperated.
His influence on the surrounding waters through the prayee had failed!
For some unknown reason, the Obninsk strongly resisted Beyonder powers that promoted an affinity with sea creatures.
Through the prayer scene, he could see the thick tentacles thrashing about, and he vaguely sensed that the target was infuriated. It was trying to rip apart all living beings that dared approach it.
Mr. Hanged Man has gone over… He’s going over… The corners of Klein’s mouth twitched as he decided to switch his approach.
He raised the Sea God Scepter a little higher, allowing the blue gems at the tip light up one after another, emitting a bright, blinding light!
Right on the heels of that, he directed the violent aura of Lightning Storm over, casting it on the Obninsk.
The thick tentacles that thrashed about at the bottom of the sea suddenly froze before falling down. They clung close to the seabed as countless green points of lights appeared in the dark cave.
Amidst a jarring rumbling sound, a terrifying monster that could devour a sailboat crawled out. Its patterned black body was massive and distorted. It had a total of three heads, and each head had more than a dozen eyes. All of them were emitting a green light!
The monster then prostrated, appearing as obedient as a trained hound.
“Indeed, tricks are needed in communication.” Klein nodded in satisfaction and once again used the Beyonder affinity powers to make the Obninsk open the mouths of its three heads via a psychic connection.
This made Alger instantly see three dark “caves,” each of them large enough to provide a sailboat passage inside.
Praise be to Mr. Fool… Alger looked at the “magnificent” scene before him as he couldn’t help but mutter inwardly.
He didn’t waste any time, and he chose the middle head by quickly swimming towards it.
A spiraled and warped passage quickly appeared in Alger’s vision as the walls were made of flesh. The width was comparable to the bow of the Blue Avenger.
Whoosh. Water flowed into the passage, heading right for the deep depths. Alger took the opportunity to let his body go with the flow.
Suddenly, he felt as though he was back as a Sailor, engaging in combat amidst waves, groggy from being tossed around. It couldn’t be sustained.
By the time Alger used his Beyonder powers and got a hold of himself, he had already left the tunnel of flesh. He was in a dark, spacious world, with a sticky sensation by his feet. There was a putrid stench everywhere around him.
In just a second, Alger realized that the liquid inside was corroding him. He hurriedly produced a water membrane as he made it swell into a transparent sphere.
He knew that he was already inside the Obninsk’s stomach. Without any hesitation, he took out all the bottles he had long prepared and began concocting the potion.
As the supplementary ingredients were thrown into the wide-mouthed metal bottle, they mixed into a dark blue liquid. Following that, Alger carefully threw in a “jellyfish” that enveloped azure-blue seawater in its translucent membrane.
The distant and ethereal singing grew in intensity before calming down. In the bottle, there wasn’t any ripples or bubbles. The liquid was dark, just like the ocean before a storm.
Alger calmed his mind, entered Cogitation, and picked up the metal bottle before cleanly downing the Ocean Songster potion inside.
The liquid was cold as it brought about a numbness that slid down his gullet and into his stomach. It then spread throughout his body cells at an unimaginable speed.
At that instant, Alger vaguely heard countless voices. They came from all life at sea, but the Obninsk’s body blocked most of it, leaving a relatively screened out version.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
Alger felt his heart beating violently as it spewed blood outwards. His spirituality and the sound waves began to remold his voice and soul.
He couldn’t help it as he opened his mouth, letting out a loud sigh.
Amidst the sigh, Alger felt his Spirit Body being ripped slightly. As the sound waves spread outwards, they first turned into mottled scales on his skin before pulling out long flesh tendrils that appeared like flailing tentacles.
The sound wave continued spreading outwards with his Spirit Body fragments, making contact with the sticky liquid within the Obninsk’s stomach, and they magically bounced back, infusing Alger’s body once again.
Alger, who was on the brink of losing control, instantly felt better as he seized the opportunity. Without any fear of embarrassing himself, he began singing loudly in a bid to vent the invisible sound waves that would blast his body apart.
Rough, messy, off-tune singing filled with a metallic quality spread outwards, wave after wave, mixing with the numerous Spirit Body fragments before bouncing back on the Obninsk’s sticky stomach walls.
In this process, Alger was like an ingredient being baked in sound waves as he was molded into form.
Finally, he regained control of his body, and he grasped his spreading spirituality.
At last… Alger closed his eyes as a smile couldn’t help but appear on his face.
He had completed the first goal he had for all these years—to advance to Ocean Songster!
I’ve gained superficial control of lightning, gaining a more all-rounded underwater mobility, as well as the ability to use singing to affect targets… The latter ability is different because of every person’s uniqueness, producing different branching paths. One of them is to use beautiful singing to disrupt an enemy’s Spirit Body, causing him to turn adrift and fall into a daze; another is to raise one’s explosive strength; another is to simulate a thunderous boom to leave others in awe; and another is to use chaotic and unpleasant singing to leave the enemy frustrated, causing them to lose their rationality… Alger inspected himself as his expression turned a little odd.
He soon put these thoughts away, picked up his items, and swam towards the Obninsk’s mouth before gently tapping on the already closed mouth.
The mouth slowly opened as it roared suddenly, spewing out everything in its mouth.
Alger instantly felt as though he was in midair as he nearly collided with a shark.
After a series of actions, he surfaced and swam towards the Blue Avenger.
Only after the ghost ship’s outline was reflected in his eyes did he truly heave a sigh of relief.
Alger was only worried that something out of the ordinary would happen to the Blue Avenger while he was advancing.
Although an hour or two wasn’t a huge problem, there were always all kinds of surprises in this world.
…
After receiving Mr. Hanged Man’s gratitude again, Klein returned to the real world, washed, and dried his hands before leaving the washroom and walking towards the dining hall.
As the fragrance of food inundated his olfactory senses once again, he slowly drew a breath as he returned to his seat with a smile. As he gestured to the guests, he sat down.
At this point, it was already time for dessert.
From the looks of it, I stayed too long in the washroom… I hope that after today there wouldn’t be talks about Dwayne Dantès having constipation… Klein silently muttered to himself as he smiled at Ma’am Willis to his right and said, “When I was young, I ate all kinds of strange food in the Southern Continent. One of them was called Tenet Tree plums. They taste like bland butter, just like these desserts.”
He euphemistically explained the reason for his delay by implying that he had weakened his stomach from his younger days.
