Chapter 101

"You fought alongside the warriors of the Golden Fleet, but the warships of the Golden Fleet sank one after another. Some sank into the oceans of the mortal world, while others sank silently into the rivers of the wasteland."

"Before the flagship of the Golden Fleet sank, it awarded you the rank of 'Ensign'. You were left alone with the sunken Golden Fleet."

"You have become the last guardian of the Golden Fleet, the last veteran of this legendary fleet."

"Even at the end of your life, you remained depressed. If you had been stronger, could you have reversed the fate of the Golden Fleet?"

"Carrying this regret, you plunged into the Sea of Silence, becoming yet another name to be remembered in the writings of the Duke of Sighs."

"You only remember what you gained in the dream when your spirit crosses the dream gate again."

"Acquired: Path - Return to the World-Encircling River - The World-Encircling River is a body of water connecting the various plots of the wasteland. It originates from the pure white snow mountain, the sacred land called Shangri-La, and eventually flows into the Sea of Silence. Through this coordinate, you can begin a new rebirth from the World-Encircling River the next time you enter a dream."

Similarly, you now possess knowledge of some secret sea routes, which, at the right time, may allow you to directly visit the river depicted in the painting. The closest route to you departs from Blanckug...

Hermit King – You will possess exceptional leadership qualities, attracting like-minded individuals to work with you.

Living Compass —you can always determine your direction in various ways, and you won't get lost.

Veteran – Even if you suffer a fatal injury, you will not die immediately and will be able to continue moving for a period of time.

Hebe's eyes widened, and she exclaimed repeatedly, "Holy crap, Combat Continuation!"

154 Then let me ask you.

No two marks in the world are exactly the same. Even if they are given the same name, there will be some differences.

This is because the essence of the mark is based on the many great deeds an apprentice accomplishes in the process of growing into a hero.

For example, Cú Chulainn, the Child of Light of Ireland, and Nero Claudius, the emperor of the Roman Empire, both suffered inhuman torment during their lifetimes.

— Cú Chulainn was deceived by an illusion and also cursed. Even with his body pierced by his opponent, he asked to go to the river to drink some water. He even washed his protruding internal organs with water. Finally, he tied himself to a stone pillar before he truly died.

—Nero was besieged by the Senate, so she chose to slit her own throat with a dagger. She woke up every sunset for three days and did not die until the third day.

For them, the mark of "Combat Continuation" is a medal symbolizing suffering and struggle.

But Cú Chulainn's Combat Continuation procrastination and combat; in other words, his Combat Continuation is "essentially dying, yet still able to drive his body to fight with all his might."

Nero's Combat Continuation is described as "essentially dead, yet still able to act through sheer willpower, and repeating this process repeatedly."

Hebe was unable to test which aspect of his "Combat Continuation" leaned towards.

However, having Combat Continuation means she can perform more actions in the simulation.

Her soft, fluffy tail wrapped around her back to her knees, and Hebe instinctively reached out and pinched the tip of her tail.

The index finger and thumb pinched and rubbed the tip of the pillow as if caressing the soft corner of the pillow.

This is a unique habit she has when she's thinking; another habit is that she unconsciously bites her nails.

"Is, Atlantis, Agor ..." The girl frowned. "Why are these apprentices so certain that something exists in this city that can help them break through the ruling blockade?"

In Hebe's view, this was more like a bait thrown out by Eris.

Hebe casually clicked on the Woodland Whisper.

The Woodland Whisper demand that one secret be given in exchange for another.

Of course, the value of a secret is limitless.

Hebe casually remarked, "When I was in high school, I once got the lowest score in physics in the entire grade, with only nineteen points."

This is true.

Hebe hid the report card and it went unnoticed by her parents for a whole week.

So how was she eventually exposed? The answer is that when her parents were picking her up from her tutoring class, the parents of the students next door casually mentioned in a conversation, "Our student who got the lowest score in physics this semester only got nineteen points..."

The card [Someone's Secret] reappears on the dark green tabletop, slowly burning away as a new card emerges.

As Hebe tapped on the newly appeared card, a voice full of doubt came through the earpiece.

"... The question now is whether the one who makes this statement belongs to the second sex or the first sex?"

"If this was said by an Orthodox Church nun, then I would have to repeatedly question her with admiration whether her skull has Inca features or is more like that of the indigenous people of the Sargon region?"

Did she smear the hair tip with orpiment, or soak it in blood? Or, to go further, was the hair she wore on her head a fake?

"Even if these words were spoken by a Scar Father warrior, I would still ask in return: when you point out the sharpness on my head, has your head already been dead and silent as winter, with only the brilliance of Mr. Day shining upon it?... My head is always sharp, my crown is always keen, my horns are already prominent, and I cannot tolerate the disdain of others."

The voice full of doubt gradually faded from Hebe's headphones, and the girl silently reached out and touched the top of her head.

"Thank goodness my head didn't turn pointy..." Hebe muttered.

Still shaken, Hebe pulled a can of Coke from her pocket and saw that it was lemon-flavored.

Lemon-flavored cola has a denser, more bubbly texture, which is quite nice in terms of taste, but unfortunately the flavor is just average, like cola mixed with Sprite.

However, compared to the flavors that were previously enjoyed by many, lemon-flavored cola is already quite good.

After Hebe a can of Coke, Herbe was full of energy again.

She threw the empty Coke can into the trash bag—which was already piled high with aluminum cans.

These can all be used as raw materials for activating forging furnaces.

The activated forging furnace has been placed by Hebe in the forging room on the lowest floor of the Silent Bookstore.

The temperature in the forging room is always exceptionally high. Several generations of administrators have conducted experiments here, attempting to synthesize products with unique powers.

Silent Bookstore is, after all, a branch of the Atlas Institute, whose proudest achievement is classical alchemy.

Some of their efforts were successful: nickel-iron bullets capable of hunting wild beasts; calcite communion used exclusively in rituals; and some wines containing trace amounts of poison.

These recipes were all recorded by them, becoming part of the accumulated knowledge wealth of the Silent Bookstore.

However, while the administrators of each generation appeared composed on the surface, they secretly expressed their despair in the manuscripts.

"Both London and Egypt sent a batch of supplies. I learned the method of synthesizing calcite communion from ancient documents. Theoretically, I can use the secondary recipe, but since I have a choice, I have to try this top-of-the-line version today..."

This is an administrator known as "Lady Frivolous" from a certain generation. You can see that she was full of vigor when she wrote this page, but if you turn to the next page...

"... Damn it, it's still six months until the next supply arrives. But what I lack even more than supplies are the raw materials for making medicinal wine. Perhaps I could try using cockroaches as a substitute?"

"Wait a minute! If the cockroaches can meet my raw material needs for the experiment, why not try using them to fill our stomachs? I can raise these cockroaches in Blanckug village—"

Hebe didn't know whether the "Lady Frivolous" ended up eating cockroaches, but she did know that summer was indeed the season when cockroaches would emerge in the town of Blanckug.

To the left of the foundry is the activated forging furnace installed by Hebe, where the flames are now burning and expanding at a lukewarm pace.

Hebe poured the cans into the opening on the right side of the activated furnace. The flames inside the furnace instantly grew vigorously, like a small tree that kept growing branches in all directions. However, the furnace firmly contained the flames, allowing them to surge violently inside, with only intense light emerging from them.

The flames gradually turned pure white, but just as they were about to become pure white, they began to emit a deep purple hue.

Immediately afterwards, the foundry was bathed in a purple light.

Hebe gripped her wrist to suppress her excitement.

"In other words, the more raw materials there are, the higher the quality, and the higher the probability of producing high-quality products..." Hebe thought to himself that although this was also a card pool, it was much more generous than those opened by other governments.

If Hebe goes all out, he can collect 24 cans of Coke a day and gamble on a purple light every two days.

The purple light gradually cooled, and the flames began to wane again.

A cup fell out of the groove on the left side of the furnace.

It's still a thermos.

155 On that rainy night

Regardless of why Hebe threw a metal aluminum can into the stove, what fell out was likely a thermos.

This thermos has a frosted texture all over, and even when the firelight shines on it, it only reflects a deep black color.

It has a large capacity, enough to hold 600 milliliters of water.

"This is definitely not an ordinary thermos," Hebe thought with certainty.

Because the previous white light products were all ordinary things of good quality and did not have any special functions.

But shouldn't products made of violet light have some special features?

Sure enough, as Hebe poured cold water into it, wisps of steam rose from it, and a few goji berries floated and sank in the hot water...

"Isn't this a bit too health-conscious?" Hebe was speechless.

[Unusual Item: Goji Berry Warm Water Thermos]

[Sexual aspect: Cup]

Pour at least 300 ml of water into a thermos, and the water temperature will automatically be maintained between 45 and 55 degrees Celsius. It will also automatically produce 10 to 15 goji berries. The effect of goji berry water is equivalent to an equivalent amount of an energy-boosting and fatigue-relieving sports drink.

A cup of goji berry water, if not drunk completely, can maintain its effects for 24 hours.

Hebe silently leaned to the rim of the cup and took a sip of the goji berry water.

The crisp, stimulating sensation shot straight to her head, and the intense excitement made her feel like a fox constantly diving in the snow.

Forcibly suppressing the urge to pry something off, Hebe tightened the lid.

This is really useful.

"Wait a minute." Hebe seemed to have thought of something, her expression turning somewhat strange. "Then I'll have a can of cola in one hand and goji berry tea in the other..."

She hesitated, unable to think of a suitable adjective for a moment.

Just then, a rumble of thunder sounded outside the foundry.

Hebe stepped out of the room and looked outside. The sky was a gloomy, dark color, and then a torrential downpour began.

It's raining heavily, and it looks like it'll last a long time, with a constant pattering sound. The rain is continuous, as if it's growing from the ground towards the sky. In the darkness, glass trees and pale white wormwood grow everywhere; it's a rain forest.

Just a few minutes later, heaven and earth were no longer separated. The river in the sky fell down, and the water on the ground flowed horizontally, becoming a dark and dim water world that was sometimes clear and bright.

Hebe, with one hand in her pocket holding a thermos, sighed softly.

"It's raining so hard."

Everything before our eyes was disrupted by the torrential rain.

It was a damp spring evening, and everything in Blanckug was blurred by the downpour. She could only see the dim light flickering behind the glass window, like ice cubes floating in a wine glass.

She coughed softly twice and walked forward.

The depth of the water on the road was unknown; sometimes a step would only submerge the ankles, while other times it would reach above the knees.

Which way should we go?

Everything in the world was spinning, and the raging wind and rain seemed to be leading her to a more distant place.

She opened her mouth as if she was about to vomit something.

A rusty substance welled up in her throat, but she swallowed it down in an instant.

In the midst of a torrential downpour, an apprentice approached her with malicious intent.

The white-haired woman seemed oblivious, but the apprentice was secretly delighted.

Just as they were about ten meters apart, the apprentice saw those light-colored pupils looking at him.

"I mean no harm, I'm here to help you..." The apprentice tried to explain with an awkward smile, but no sound came out when he opened his mouth.

What happened? Gradually, this doubt also disappeared in the downpour, turning into a pool of clear water.

The woman glared at the apprentice until he was dead, then coughed softly.

The rusty color in her throat became even more prominent, and for a moment she clenched her teeth tightly, focusing only on walking forward.

The storm intensified, Morgan stumbled across the iron bridge, crashing into the locked doors of the Silent Bookstore.

Hebe's heart grew increasingly uneasy.

She gazed at the torrential rain pouring down from the sky, knowing that it was mostly due to the battle between Royal Sister and the Burning Witch a few days earlier.

But Blanckug is a place of dual power, and such extreme celestial phenomena rarely—not that they never—occur.

"If Dusk does not use its powers, but only uses its position to activate the symbolic mark and release the aftereffects of the spell, it will be impossible to break through the sea fog around Blanckug."

"Because of this, although the power surpasses that of daytime, the impact is not significant." Hebe unconsciously tightened her grip on the thermos. "Arthur used her powers at the time, but she was on the border, so she was not Skyflint's Excommunication."