The ground trembled slightly, and a figure nearly three meters tall appeared at the edge of the island's primeval forest.
Its entire body is grayish-white, seemingly composed of large rocks, with a pitted and uneven face, and no obvious eyes, nose, mouth, or ears.
" Stone Giant... Admiral of Stars," Cattleya whispered, identifying the type of Monster.
Neither Klein nor Anderson knew anything about this Monster.
However, none of them cast questioning glances at Cattleya; they stared intently at the Monster, looking as if they were experts.
Cattleya turned around to face the " Future," which was parked to the side, raised her right hand slightly, and said in a louder voice:
"Aim!"
The pirates on duty immediately adjusted the orientation of dozens of cannons on the port side, aiming them all at the approaching, heavily armed Stone Giant.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One cannonball after another flew out, landing around the Stone Giant, instantly raising dust and obscuring a large area.
Amidst the palpable tremors of the earth, flames flickered and fragments scattered, seemingly capable of destroying everything.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The tall, greyish-white figure emerged from the smoke and dust, surprisingly unharmed, with only a few cracks on its surface.
" Admiral of Stars," Cattleya said without changing her expression:
"This is not a type of Giant; it belongs to the category of Stone Monster."
"Its core is the main material of Guardian ' God of Combat ' pathway Sequence 5, so its defensive power is extremely high."
Amidst the echoing cannon fire, Klein almost doubted his hearing.
"Since you know the Stone Giant's strengths, why did you launch a volley of cannon fire? Isn't that a waste of cannonballs?" he thought, half puzzled and half inwardly grumbling.
Perhaps having heard his thoughts, Cattleya looked at the approaching Stone Giant and said:
"I've never encountered such an extraordinary creature before, so I wanted to conduct a test."
I agree with that reason... Klein was speechless.
At this moment, Anderson Hood, who had been observing the Stone Giant, raised his hand and said:
"Which of you possesses extraordinary abilities in the Frost Domain?"
"I am the Admiral of Stars," Cattleya replied calmly.
Seeing that the " The Hermit " lady had a solution, Klein swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
For him, it wasn't necessary, and he really didn't want to activate " Creeping Hunger," even though " Living Corpse " did indeed have the ability to control frost.
He figured he wouldn't find suitable food on this island!
Cattleya took a gray-black scroll from a hidden pocket in her Wizard's robe and whispered an Ancient Hermes word:
" Freezing!"
Without a sound, the scroll was engulfed by the icy blue flames, and then streaks of crystal-clear light descended from the sky.
They swiftly landed on the Stone Giant, freezing it inside and attaching it with icicles.
With a sickening cracking sound, the ice shattered one after another, and the Stone Giant slowly walked out of the area. However, its grayish-white color was a little darker, and its movements were much stiffer than the earliest ones.
At this moment, Anderson raised his hands, as if a conductor were signaling to the Spectator to applaud.
Orange-yellow flames instantly erupted from beneath the Stone Giant's feet, as if it had stepped into a trap.
A burst of water vapor quickly rose from its surface, then it cracked open, revealing deep fissures.
Anderson pulled his right arm back, and a blazing white spear materialized in his palm.
The flame at the tip of the spear shrank to a single point, bursting forth with dazzling light.
The spear flew out and accurately struck the crack in the Stone Giant's abdomen, melting a large hole there.
Anderson Hood, who was originally on the beach, seemed to have merged with the blazing white spear, and appeared eerily behind the Stone Giant as the flames blazed brightly.
He clenched his left fist, bulged his arm, and with a hook, pierced the Stone Giant's heart through the large hole.
This seemingly simple attack produced an exaggerated effect; the Stone Giant immediately froze in place, cracking sounds emanating from within, and within seconds it collapsed into a pile of rubble.
An absolutely Fatal Attack... Klein's eyes narrowed slightly.
" Admiral of Stars," Cattleya stood calmly in place and said without any surprise:
" Sequence 5 of the ' Hunter ' pathway is called ' The Reaper '."
"Moreover, they are adept at finding the weaknesses of their prey."
" The Reaper "... reaping lives? No wonder... Klein nodded slightly.
At this moment, Anderson crouched down and rummaged through the remains of the Stone Giant for a while.
Then, he turned his head and smiled bitterly:
"This is not a real Monster."
In other words, there was no gain!
As Anderson described the situation, the pile of rubble disappeared at a visible speed.
"... You unlucky guy shouldn't be opening boxes and looting corpses..." Klein couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Anderson returned dejectedly, muttering incessantly:
"That's the biggest problem with this sea area: not every Monster can bring you wealth!"
Because this manifested Monster belongs to a higher-level, more powerful Monster, or it could be influenced by residual power and aura... Klein had already made this judgment.
After this period of sailing, he discovered extraordinary traces of the " The Sun," " Evernight," " Storm," and " Spectator " pathways, leading to more concrete speculations about some of his previous ideas.
He had long suspected that this sea area was a battlefield left behind by the ancient gods of the Second Age: " Storm " belonged to the Elf King Soniathrym, " The Spectator " belonged to the Dragon King Ankewelt, and " Evernight " belonged to the Demonic Wolf of Destruction Flegrea. As the little " The Sun " provided the mythological records of the City of Silver time and time again, Klein had begun to grasp the respective powers of the eight ancient gods of the Second Age.
However, the constant midday sun and the golden " The Sun Chariot" caused Klein to waver in his judgment, since none of the eight ancient gods had mastered the " The Sun " pathway.
Soon, Klein thought of Amon and Adam's father, the Creator City of Silver who also held the title of the Ancient The Sun God.
After the Creator awoke, he fought fierce battles and reclaimed the authority of the ancient gods!
So this is what remains of the ruins of a divine war? Klein's mind immediately conjured up the fragmented mural he had seen within the ancient Elf ruins:
Elf King Soniathrym is fighting against the Creator the City of Silver, who is also the Ancient The Sun God!
While he was lost in thought, Anderson had already regained his cheerful demeanor and looked at him, saying:
What is your name?
" Gehrman Sparrow," Klein simply stated his name.
" Gehrman Sparrow?" Anderson was taken aback at first, then returned to normal. "I've heard of you. The adventurer who almost hunted down ' Vice Admiral Ailment,' you're known as the Craziest Hunter! Last month, when I was sailing through the Rorsted Archipelago and Oravi Island, I planned to ask you out for a drink and get to know you, but I don't know where you've gone."
Last month? I was volunteering at the hospital... Klein nodded and said:
"We know each other now."
"Also, try not to speak."
"..." Anderson forced a smile, "I know my Misfortune will make my bad words come true. Okay, stop looking at me, I won't say anymore, you can put down your spell."
Because of the appearance of the Stone Giant Monster, the pirates' relaxation time was shortened, and the " Future " quickly set sail again, heading into the depths of the ocean.
Throughout the journey, Klein remained on the deck, leaning against the ship's railing, observing the surroundings, while Anderson wandered around the ship, skillfully communicating with the pirates.
"Impressive! He figured out the situation on the ship so easily..." Klein glanced at Anderson, who was drinking with several pirates in the shadows of the cabin, and exclaimed sincerely.
Of course, this " Strongest Hunter " probably didn't know that his drink contained some kind of tranquilizer... Klein suppressed a laugh and thought mischievously.
With Anderson's help, the " Future " successfully bypassed two hidden whirlpools and a palace ruin Levitation on the sea, and continued along the safe route.
About three hours later, Evernight fell once again.
Klein quickly regained his senses and rationality in the dream, and opened his eyes to look around.
His field of vision was completely black; there was nothing there.
"... Am I going blind...?" Klein had this thought as a reflex, then reached into his pocket with his right hand and took out a box of matches.
These are essential spellcasting materials for " Magician ".
With practiced ease, he took out a match, struck it, and lit it. A faint flame immediately appeared before Klein's eyes.
The flames struggled to grow a little larger, blurring the surrounding scenery.
This is a prison cell, a prison cell with its iron gate ajar!
How did I get here? I'm neither next to " Admiral of Stars " nor in the mural hall where Anderson is... Is it a random occurrence within a certain range? As his thoughts raced, Klein flicked his hand, extinguishing the match that had almost burned his finger.
His left palm was quickly bathed in a layer of pure, brilliant sunlight, and his eyes seemed to contain two miniature " The Sun."
With the help of the soul of the " Light Priest," he gained night vision, which belongs to the " Holy Light."
Klein looked around and saw that his cell wasn't too cramped, but the floor was dirty and messy, with many footprints, and he wondered what had happened there.
"Most of them are human footprints, a few are rather exaggerated, perhaps belonging to Giant... The single bed is broken in the corner, and there's a key near the door... Who managed to escape?" Klein arrived at the half-open iron gate and cautiously peered out.
Outside the cell, darkness reigned, shrouding a stone-paved passageway. Opposite were cold, hard walls, stretching out to the left and right, seemingly with more cells appearing.
Klein looked away, picked up the key from the ground, and closed the iron gate a little tighter.
He did not try to Door Opening and go out; he remained in his cell.
He clearly remembered that Will Auceptin, the " Snake of Fate," had warned him never to explore the dream world, so he decided to wait here for noon to arrive!
"A cell is a cell, I'm not going out anyway..." Klein shrank into a corner and sat on one half of the single bed, seemingly blending into the surrounding darkness.
In this extreme silence, Klein's head suddenly tilted to the side, because he vaguely heard faint footsteps!
The footsteps echoed from a distant, empty space, slow and drawn closer.
P. S.: Updates will be at the normal time on Mondays. Requesting votes!