A gentle breeze blew past.
Mushroom Man had curled into a ball, returning to his earlier mushroom form. Ruger blinked and put him away.
He glanced at the neighboring Ruined Island, then turned to look in another direction. That was where Trade Island lay, and where the waters once used by the Three-Flame Divine Palace to cultivate its followers were located.
Just as Barry Danton had said, this thing left among the ruins pointed toward a particular location in that direction.
Supposedly, the answer lay at the point where more than fifty of these things all pointed. Ruger believed those fifty-odd objects would include both real and fake ones. Even if someone had managed to catch those people at the time, the location they ultimately indicated would still be off. That was more in keeping with Barry's style.
But the one beside him should be genuine. Ruger looked toward Ruined Island again. Their conversation just now was evidence that there was at least a ninety percent chance this was the real thing. Otherwise, across this vast sea, Barry Danton could never have sustained a conversation over such a distance through Mushroom Man alone.
And that so-called seed of an invasion from another world had arrived with the fallen world. In theory, it had landed in the Three-Flame Divine Palace's territory, but nothing said it would remain at the world's original landing site as it grew. After all, from an invader's perspective, taking root there would not be a wise choice. Even if there were special restrictions or rules involved, Ruger believed it should still be possible to move a little way off. It would not need to stray far, either. Instead, it could use the commotion caused by the fallen world as cover.
Barry Danton had several peculiar oddities at