After silently observing it for a few seconds, Klein took a step forward and stepped onto the staircase. He carefully walked down one step at a time.
The light around him gradually dimmed, leaving only a gray blur that enveloped the extremely quiet World. The further Klein went down, the more he felt like he had been locked in a dark and silent room. He could slowly hear his blood flowing and his heart beating vigorously.
The latter was getting faster and faster, slowly tainting him with uncontrollable anxiety and panic. Klein hurriedly converged his psyche and visualized the stacked balls of light to stabilize his emotions and recover.
To his side, the grayish-white cliff that represented Rosell's subconscious stood tall and cold. It was silent as though it was dead, but a point of light would flash in the surrounding gray from time to time.
Klein focused his gaze and saw the giant who had stuffed a human into its mouth and the horrified Ge Rosell. Back then, the latter wasn't even three meters tall and was clearly still in his infancy.
As the light flashed, the frozen dusk that scattered across the mountain appeared. Time seemed to slow down here.
Klein was just about to search for more valuable information in Rosell's subconscious when he suddenly heard a beast-like panting sound.
With a swoosh, a gigantic palm reached out from the surrounding grayness. Its skin was grayish-blue, and it was covered in signs of decay. There was an obvious yellowish-green liquid on it as it quickly grabbed at Klein's ankle.
Amidst the panting sounds, the same palms grabbed upwards one after another from the staircase below, as though they wanted to forcefully drag Klein's Spirit Body into the deepest and most unfathomable place in the World of his mind.
Instantly, the rotting palms were like a forest or a sea. They were densely packed as they constantly struggled to stretch upwards, letting out terrifying panting sounds that made one's hair stand on end. It gave Klein such a fright that he instinctively jumped up three steps.
However, the countless palms that resembled a giant's corpse didn't stop. They held onto the surface of the staircase and squirmed upwards like a tidal wave, drowning every inch of space beneath them.
Klein was just about to extend his right palm to take out Death Knell and use Cleansing Bullets and Carnage to finish off the countless "monsters" when two questions suddenly flashed in his mind.
Where did these "palms" come from? Why did it appear in Rosell's subconscious?
The moment the problem appeared, inspiration struck. Klein vaguely understood something and immediately gave up on using Death Knell. He calmed his breathing and visualized the ball of light.
The huge rotten palms took the opportunity to rush to his feet, grabbing at his ankles and calves!
At this moment, they disappeared without a sound, as if they had never appeared.
Indeed, this is an illusion produced by Rosell's subconscious. Here, not only does the mind and mind face each other directly, but they also fuse with each other. If one doesn't have the corresponding Beyonder powers, the deeper one goes, the easier it is for one's emotions to collapse. One will be slowly eroded by the other party's subconscious, and finally, the Body of Heart and Mind will be severely corrupted. One will become a mentally ill patient who can't recover their rationality, and this might very well lead to losing control … This is different from mediumship. It's not possible to avoid being corrupted just by maintaining lucidity and rationality, because one is already inside the target's Body of Heart and Mind … Klein muttered silently as he came to a realization.
He hesitated for a few seconds before turning around and climbing up the staircase. He didn't delve deeper into Rosell's mind World because he lacked the Beyonder powers to calm his mind. Forcefully continuing down was equivalent to suicide.
I'll consider the problem of continuing my exploration after I gather the mystical items in this regard. Klein confirmed his thoughts as he walked faster and faster. Finally, with a leap, he returned to Rosell's dream and returned to the place where the guards of the Giant King's Court lived.
He was already exhausted, so he immediately left the dream and walked out of Rosell's blacksmith shop through the wall. He once again observed the strangeness of the World in the book.
I've already encountered Rosell, Mobet, and Siatas. And while I was chatting with people, I've also heard of the pious priest, Snowman, and Philosopher, Frunziar. However, there's no Anderson Hood, Edwina Edwards, Dhaniz, or German Sparrow … Therefore, will the dead have brand new characters in the book, or will the adventurers who have stayed here for extended periods of time and fully displayed themselves in their daily lives have a certain subconscious replicated? Klein strolled along the edge of the street illuminated by the setting sun as he pondered over this rather critical question.
If it was the previous guess, that the dead would be "revived" and become new characters, then Klein didn't need to worry. But if it was the latter, he had no choice but to reduce the frequency at which he explored the World in the book and strictly control the amount of time he spent there.
I can't make a judgment at the moment. I'll deal with it according to the later situation. It's never wrong to be cautious … Klein quickly made up his mind and was about to return above the gray fog.
At this moment, he saw another familiar figure.
The black-haired, blue-eyed Frunziar sat on a long wooden bench by the street. He stared blankly at the sky that seemed to have been burned by fire as though he was deep in thought.
Thinking of how the former Rouen soldier's urn was in his hands and was prepared to be sent back to the Church of the Storm Cemetery in Baekeland, Klein sighed silently. He walked over and sat beside Frunziar.
He asked in a casual manner, "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about who I am, where I came from, and where I should return …" Frunziar didn't retract his gaze as he spoke as though he was in a dream.
Without waiting for Klein to ask again, he shook his head and chuckled.
"I've always felt that I don't belong here, that I'm not my present self. There's a place waiting for me to return.
"They mock me for always thinking about such useless questions, so they gave me the nickname of 'Philosopher' …"
As he spoke, he looked at the setting sun and fell into silence once again as he fell into a daze.
Klein didn't say a word as he sat there in silence. He accompanied Frunziar as he watched the setting sun before silently disappearing.
Frunziar didn't notice that the person beside him had left. He was like a marble statue as he stared into the distance, motionless for a long time.
...
After resupplying, Alger Wilson commanded the Blue Avenger to leave the Resistance's private harbor. He didn't stay in the Rorsted Archipelago for long.
He had to return to Pasu Island to report on his duties within the stipulated time limit.
At that moment, in the captain's cabin, he was looking at the illusory door formed from spirituality and expanding candlelight on the altar with great anticipation.
It was the Door of Sacrifice, as well as the Door of Bestowment!
Amidst an illusory creaking sound, the mysterious door slowly opened, revealing the endless depths and darkness inside.
Light burst out from within before converging. By the time everything calmed down, two items had appeared on the altar at some point in time, and the door covered in all sorts of strange symbols had vanished.
Alger was very composed as he seriously thanked Mr. Fool and ended the ritual according to the procedure. Only then did he reach out to pick up the two items on the altar.
One of them was a neatly folded piece of paper, and the other was a transparent "jellyfish" that was wrapped in azure seawater.
Alger first examined the latter and discovered that there would occasionally be whirlpools in the wind, and at other times, there would be flashes of silver lightning. At other times, there would be melodious singing coming from afar.
This voice has a feminine feel … From the looks of it, the owner of this characteristic is a lady. Alger couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, because this meant that it wasn't a quasi-high-ranking member of the Church of the Storm who had been killed.
The Church of the Storm didn't have any female quasi-high-ranking members or high-ranking members!
After putting away the Ocean Songster's Beyonder characteristic, Alger unfurled the piece of paper, skipped the main ingredient column, and quickly scanned the supplementary ingredients. Finally, his gaze stopped on the ritual.
To him, since he already had a Beyonder characteristic, it didn't matter what the main ingredient was. He could look at it later. As for the supplementary ingredients, they were relatively easy to gather, so he didn't need to pay too much attention to them. Only the ritual was of utmost importance.
Consume the potion in the stomach of an Obninsk … Alger silently read the contents of the ritual as the corresponding information quickly surfaced in his mind.
An Obninsk was an ancient sea monster that could directly devour a sailboat. It had a massive, twisted body, as many as three heads, and many tentacles that were entangled together. It was the main character of many legends at sea.
Most of these sea monsters had been tamed by the Church of the Storm. They had a fixed area of activity, but it was unknown if they had intelligence close to that of a human.
It's no wonder the Church wants to control an Obninsk and not other sea monsters … It's no wonder there are so many Beyonders of the Sailor pathway among the pirates, but only a few can reach Sequence 5. They either directly inherit it, or they're subordinates of the King of the Five Seas and Queen Mystic … Then, where should I find an Obninsk that doesn't belong to the Church … Alger frowned slightly as he considered how to bypass the Church of the Storm for his advancement.
His first reaction was to find Queen Mystic Bernadette through Admiral of Stars Cattleya and find out where an Obninsk that didn't belong to the Church of the Storm was. His second reaction was that there was a risk of exposing himself. This was because the corresponding Obninsk might very well be a servant of Queen Mystic. It would report everything it saw to its master.
Yes, I'll use this as a last resort. Alger's thoughts raced as he quickly came up with another idea.
That was to pray to Mr. Fool!
This awakened existence had secretly grasped the original authority of Sea God Cavituis. He could control underwater creatures, and it was possible that he knew where to find an Obninsk that didn't belong to any faction!
There's no rush. If I were to advance now, there's no way to hide the uncontrollable dispersal of spirituality from the eyes of others. Once I'm done with my report and leave Pasu Island, I'll attempt to pray … Alger calmed down and memorized the Ocean Songster formula. Then, he moved the piece of paper towards the flame at the top of the candle.
As he watched the flame devour the formula at an increasing speed, Alger's gaze turned darker.
After he finished dealing with the remaining traces, his gaze landed on a sea map and locked onto a spot.
Bansy!
Alger had previously planned on making a trip to Bansy on his way back to Pasu Island to take a look at the current situation of the harbor.
He had already informed his sailors of this idea, and no one had any objections. This was because they were similarly curious as to why Bansy Harbor had suddenly been destroyed and what it had become.
PS: Updated at midnight.
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