On a vast, undulating sea, inside an old, dimly lit sailboat.
Alger Wilson was standing at the window, pondering what he should pay attention to during his upcoming trip to Passo Island, when an endless Gray Fog appeared before him and a figure towering above everything.
He immediately saw a deep red light, a blurry figure that resembled "the world," and heard the other party's calm and indifferent words.
After listening attentively, Alger's eyes widened little by little, his heart filled with both uncontrollable joy and intense surprise and astonishment.
He remembered clearly that during the last Tarot Club, "The World" only promised to help " The Sun " obtain the " Notary " Potion recipe within three days, without mentioning anything about " Ocean Songster." Yet, only a few days had passed, and this gentleman had obtained the rarely circulated Sequence 5 recipe, and even acquired the main ingredient!
"What exactly did he do?" Alger muttered to himself, his mind involuntarily recalling Gehrman Sparrow's cold and unyielding demeanor, feeling increasingly unable to see through the man.
Is this the benefit of becoming Blessed? Hmm, I just received news yesterday that Gehrman Sparrow boarded the " Future " in Nass last week. This indicates that the " Admiral of Stars " is indeed a " The Hermit," but does it also suggest that what the "World" did last week was very important, such as entering that dangerous sea area in the east to obtain some item, which is why they had to seek the " The Hermit's" help? Did he get promoted as a result, becoming Sequence 5 powerhouse?
This explains how he obtained the " Ocean Songster " Potion recipe and main ingredients in just a few days... But what exactly did he do? Could he have killed a high-ranking member of the church? Alger couldn't help but frown.
He quickly calmed himself down and shifted his focus to other things:
Although receiving the formula and main ingredients immediately brought him immense joy and excitement, and he genuinely felt that becoming a member of the " Tarot Club " was a turning point in his life, he also had to pay a corresponding price!
"What can I give to the 'world'..." Alger fell into deep thought, sadly realizing that he had no equivalent goods or money.
He paced back and forth unconsciously, circling the window repeatedly.
Above the Gray Fog, the bustling "world" vanished, and Klein turned his gaze to the " Groselle's Travels " that he had just brought into the Gray Fog.
This book, bound in brown parchment, sat quietly at the head of the long bronze table. It had nothing unusual about it; it was so ordinary that only those who enjoyed studying history would pay attention to it.
Klein conjured paper and pen and carefully wrote down the first Divination statement:
"This is the Uniqueness of the ' Spectator ' approach."
This was his biggest worry, because it meant that he couldn't seal the "travelogue" in the Gray Fog, which could lead to unforeseen accidents. And if he carried it with him, Klein might get sucked into the book again at any time, which would be very troublesome.
After removing the pendulum from his left sleeve, Klein calmed himself and attempted Divination.
When he opened his eyes, the citrine pendant was rotating counterclockwise.
This means negation.
"It seems this strange book isn't Uniqueness to the ' Spectator ' pathway, so I don't need to be too afraid..." Klein pondered for a few seconds, then tried to Divination whether " The Groselle's Travels " corresponded to Sequence 1 or Sequence 2 of the " Spectator " pathway, but to his dismay, he failed.
Hmm... He pondered for a long time, then wrote down a new Divination statement:
Its origin.
Klein dared to make such Divination because he knew very well that Sequence 0 of the " Spectator " pathway had long since perished, and its Uniqueness was most likely in the hands of the " Hermits of Fate," so the possibility of having a corresponding true god at present was almost negligible.
Putting down his pen, grasping the paper and books, Klein leaned back in his chair, muttering phrases to himself as he entered a dream through Cogitation.
The gray sky suddenly split open, and the high sky became extremely dark, as if a gale was whipping up dark clouds and making them dance wildly.
In this dim environment, a point of light first appeared on the horizon, then grew larger and clearer.
It was a Levitation continent!
A continent large enough to accommodate several normal cities!
The outer edge of this continent is grayish-white, with huge rocks revealing their outlines. Above these rocks stand magnificent stone pillars, some tens or even hundreds of meters high, some standing alone, and others supporting ancient and imposing palaces.
Dragon, some gray and white, some crimson, some cast in brass, and some formed from ice crystals, danced across this continent, above this strange city. Sometimes they would land on the top of a stone pillar to rest and look down on everything, and sometimes they would enter the tall and magnificent palace and disappear from Klein's sight.
Among them, the smallest is comparable to " King of the North " Yurizan, while the largest reaches 100 meters.
The camera zoomed in rapidly, and a palace, possibly over two hundred meters tall, began to fill Klein's field of vision.
Inside, stone pillars stand tall, supporting the dome, and the space is large enough for any Dragon to move freely.
The "lens" kept zooming in, and Klein soon saw a book bound with yellowish-brown parchment. Its cover was blank, and it floated in mid-air, incredibly small compared to its surroundings.
Behind the book, a huge shadow loomed.
The moment the shadow began to take shape, Klein's mind exploded with thoughts and ideas!
Blood spurted from his eyes, leaving only two black holes where his ears should have been. A milky substance stained with bright red was continuously gushing from his mouth and nostrils.
The mysterious space above the Gray Fog trembled slightly, smoothing everything over. Klein quickly returned to normal, grimacing as he raised a hand to rub his head.
"Ouch! It fucking hurts!"
"This is no worse than the ' Eternal Blazing Sun,' yet I didn't even get a clear look at its appearance and gained no knowledge from it..."
"Is He the ' Dragon of Imagination ' Ankewelt? According to the little ' The Sun's' records, He perished at the end of the Second Era. I've been separated by several eras, two or three thousand years, and I only glimpsed Him, yet He has become so wretched. If it weren't for the Gray Fog's isolation and assistance, He would surely have died on the spot... This mark is too powerful!"
"It's impossible to make a specific comparison because the damage wasn't as severe as that of ' Eternal Blazing Sun,' but one is already dead while the other is still alive, which makes one wonder if the Ancient God is stronger than the current True God..."
After recovering from the pain for nearly a minute, Klein turned his gaze back to " The Groselle's Travels," tapping his fingers lightly on the edge of the mottled long table, and muttered to himself:
Is the "author" of this book " The Dragon of Imagination " Ankewelt?
"A storybook written by an ancient god, capable of automatically unfolding its ending?"
"What was His purpose? When this book was completed, the ' Dragon of Imagination ' should not have encountered the Ancient The Sun God and should not have encountered any problems. After all, it would take a considerable amount of time for the book to spread from the ' City of Miracles ' Liveseyd to the ' Giant King's Court,' and the Giant King was clearly still alive before Groselle was swallowed by the book."
"A pure prank? A toy to kill time? Or did the ancient god ' Dragon of Imagination ' foresee a certain future and create this book specifically to leave himself or the Dragon race a way to revive, but because he misjudged the power and terror of the Ancient The Sun God, he perished completely, leaving the book to remain unused for thousands of years, merely naturally absorbing characters and unfolding stories?"
Klein made some guesses, but couldn't get any further confirmation. He could only consider finding another opportunity to enter the book and collect clues little by little.
"Afterwards, you can enter the Gray Fog in spirit form. If you encounter any accidents, you can return immediately... Hmm, let's try again after we separate from Edwina and Anderson. We must be extremely careful and cautious..." Klein nodded, attempting to Divination whether " The Groselle's Travels " would bring any negative changes to this mysterious space above the Gray Fog, but he failed again.
As for the reason, he actually understood it somewhat: the essence of this place was higher than that of the Spirit World, and matters concerning this place naturally could not be revealed to the Spirit World through Divination.
Deciding to frequently check above the Gray Fog over the next few days to prevent any accidents, Klein tossed " The Groselle's Travels " into the pile of junk and waved to summon a partially flattened golden goblet.
The wine glass has intricate and delicate patterns and is engraved with the Elvish words " Calamity, Cohinem," but there is nothing particularly special about it.
Holding it, Klein quietly stroked it for a few seconds.
Knock knock knock!
Klein politely knocked on the door of the captain's cabin.
"Is there something you need?" Edwina, who had let her hair down, asked Gehrman Sparrow outside.
Klein handed over the Elf King's golden goblet and said:
"Place it in Siatas's tomb."
"... Okay." Edwina paused for two seconds before nodding and accepting the item.
She habitually studied the inscriptions and symbols on the golden goblet, then somewhat embarrassedly looked away, turning her head to gaze out the window and saying:
They're having a bonfire party, are you going?
"No." Klein shook his head.
"I understand, and I won't go either. Not everyone is like Anderson, able to quickly shake off their low mood," Edwina said, pursing her lips.
Actually, this might not be a bad thing... Klein didn't know how to respond for a moment, and Edwina, apart from "attending classes," wasn't good at communicating either, so the two of them were speechless for a moment.
After a dozen seconds, Klein silently took a breath, breaking the silence:
"Will you still sell that Giant's Key?"
"For sale." Edwina thought for a moment, glanced in the direction of the collection room, and added, "I can lend it to you for research first, and you can decide whether to buy it before you leave the ship."