After a few seconds of quiet contemplation, Klein stepped forward, onto the stairs, and carefully descended them one by one.
The surrounding light gradually dimmed, and only a gray color enveloped this extremely quiet world. The further Klein went, the more he felt as if he were locked in a dark and silent room. He could slowly hear the gurgling of his blood and the powerful beating of his heart.
The latter grew faster and faster, gradually becoming tainted with uncontrollable anxiety and panic. Klein quickly composed himself, visualizing layers of light spheres to calm his emotions and regain his composure.
To his side, the gray-white cliff representing Groselle's subconscious realm stood coldly, silent as if dead, but a point of light would occasionally flash in the surrounding grayness.
Klein stared intently and saw, from one of the points of light, the Giant had torn open the human's mouth and the terrified Groselle. At that time, the latter was less than 3 meters tall and was clearly still a child.
A flash of light revealed a frozen Twilight scattering across the mountain peaks, where time itself seemed to slow down.
Just as Klein was searching for more valuable information in Groselle's subconscious, he suddenly heard a sound like the panting of a wild beast.
Suddenly, a gigantic hand emerged from the surrounding grayness. Its skin was grayish-blue, covered in signs of decay, and slick with a distinct yellowish-green liquid. It swiftly reached for Klein's ankle.
Amidst the sounds of "hohoho," from the steps below, the same hands reached up one after another, grabbing upwards as if trying to forcibly drag Klein's spirit into the deepest and most unfathomable part of the Mind World.
In an instant, these rotting hands appeared like a forest, densely packed, constantly struggling and stretching upwards, emitting terrifying gasps that made one's hair stand on end. Klein was so frightened that he instinctively leaped up, jumping three steps.
However, these countless hands, resembling the corpse of Giant, did not stop. They braced themselves on the surface of the steps, wriggling upwards like a tide, submerging every inch of space below.
Just as Klein was about to reach for the " Death Knell " in his right palm to Purification Bullets and use it in conjunction with " Slaughter " to deal with the countless " Monster," two questions suddenly flashed through his mind:
Where did these "hands" come from? Why did they appear in Groselle's subconscious?
As soon as the problem arose, Spirit Intuition struck. Klein vaguely understood something, immediately abandoned the use of " Death Knell," calmed his breathing, and visualized the sphere of light.
Taking advantage of the chaos, those enormous, rotting hands surged to his feet, grabbing at his ankles and calves!
Just then, they vanished without a sound, as if they had never been there at all.
"Sure enough, this is a hallucination caused by Groselle's subconscious influence. Here, minds not only 'face' each other directly, but also merge with each other. Without corresponding extraordinary abilities, the deeper one goes, the easier it is to experience an emotional breakdown, to be gradually eroded by the other party's subconscious, and eventually the ' Mental Body ' will be severely polluted, turning the person into a mentally ill patient who cannot recover their rationality, which may lead to loss of control... This is different from Spirit Channeling. It's not that you can avoid being polluted by staying awake and rational, because you are already inside the target's ' Mental Body '..." Klein muttered to himself, having gained some understanding.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then turned around and began climbing the steps, no longer delving into Groselle's Mind World, for he lacked the extraordinary ability to Placate his own soul, and forcing himself to descend would be tantamount to suicide.
"Once we've collected some of these wondrous items, we'll consider continuing our exploration." Klein made up his mind, quickening his pace until he finally leaped back into Groselle's dream, back to the residence of the " Giant King's Court " guards.
He was already feeling exhausted, so he immediately left the dream, passed through the wall and walked out of Groselle's blacksmith shop, and once again examined the strangeness of the world in the book.
"I've already met Groselle, Mobett, and Siatas, and while I was chatting with people around, I also heard about the devout priest Snowman and the ' Philosopher ' Longzel, but not Anderson Hood, not Edwina Edwards, not Danitz, and certainly not Gehrman Sparrow... So, is it the dead who get new characters in the book, or are it adventurers who stayed here for a long time and fully expressed themselves in their daily lives who have a certain subconscious copy?" Klein strolled along the edge of the street bathed in the glow of the setting sun, pondering this crucial question for him.
If the former speculation is true, and the deceased will be "reborn" into a new character, then Klein has nothing to worry about. But if it's the latter, he will have to reduce the frequency of exploring the world in the book and strictly control the time spent in each place.
"It's impossible to judge at the moment. Let's deal with the latter scenario for now. It's always good to be cautious..." Klein quickly made a decision and prepared to return to the Gray Fog.
Then, he saw a familiar figure again.
Longzel, with black hair and Blue Eyes, sat on a long wooden bench by the street, staring blankly at the sky that looked as if it had been burned by fire, as if deep in thought.
Thinking of the former Loen soldier's ashes in his hands, which he was preparing to return to the Church of Storms Cemetery in Backlund, Klein sighed silently, walked over, sat down next to Longzel, and asked casually:
"What's on your mind?"
"I'm thinking, who am I, where did I come from, and where should I go back to..." Longzel said dreamily without looking away.
Before Klein could ask any more questions, he shook his head and chuckled softly:
"I've always felt that I don't belong here, that I'm not who I am now, and that there's a place waiting for me to go back to."
"They mocked me for always pondering these useless questions, so they nicknamed me ' the Philosopher '..."
As he spoke, he gazed at the setting sun and fell silent once more, lost in thought.
Klein didn't say anything, just sat there quietly, watching the sunset with Longzel for a while, and then disappeared without a sound.
Longzel was unaware that the people around him had left. Like a marble statue, he stared into the distance, motionless for a long time.
After resupplying, Alger Wilson commanded the " Blue Avenger " to leave the rebel private port without lingering in the Rorsted Archipelago.
He must return to Passo Island within the stipulated time to report on his duties.
At this very moment, in the captain's cabin, he was gazing expectantly at the illusory gate on the altar, formed by Spirituality entities and expanding candlelight.
That is the Gate of Sacrifice, and also the gate of receiving blessings!
Amidst creaking, ethereal sounds, the mysterious door slowly opened, revealing endless depths and darkness within.
A burst of light erupted from within, then quickly subsided. Once everything had calmed down, two more items had appeared on the altar, while the gate covered with various strange symbols had vanished.
Alger remained remarkably calm, earnestly thanked Mr. The Fool, and completed the ceremony according to procedure before reaching for the two items on the altar.
One was a neatly folded piece of paper, and the other was a transparent "jellyfish" encasing azure seawater.
Alger examined the latter first and found that sometimes the wind would stir up whirlpools, sometimes silvery lightning would flash, and sometimes a melodious song would come out.
"That voice has a feminine quality... it seems the owner of this characteristic is a woman." Alger couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, because this meant that it wasn't one of the Church of Storms's high-ranking members who had been murdered.
The Church of Storms has no female associates or senior members!
Putting aside the Beyonder Characteristic of the " Ocean Songster," Alger unfolded the paper, skipped the main materials section, quickly glanced at the auxiliary materials, and finally fixed his gaze on the ritual section.
For him, the Beyonder Characteristic of the main ingredient was already irrelevant; that could be addressed later. The auxiliary materials were relatively easy to collect and didn't require much attention. Only the ritual itself was of paramount importance.
"Consume Potion inside the belly of an Obninsk..." Alger silently read the instructions of the ritual, the corresponding information rapidly flashing through his mind:
Obninsk is an ancient sea monster capable of swallowing a sailboat whole. It has a massive, Distortion body, up to three heads, and tangled tentacles, and is the protagonist of many sea legends.
Most of these sea monsters have been tamed by the Church of Storms and have fixed areas of activity, but it is unknown whether they possess Wisdom close to that of humans.
"No wonder the Church wants to control Obninsk instead of other sea monsters... No wonder there are so many Beyonder among the pirates who follow the ' Sailor ' pathway, but only a few who can reach Sequence 5. They either directly inherited it or are subordinates of the ' King of the Five Seas ' and the ' Mystery Queen '... So where should I look for Obninsk who doesn't belong to the Church...?" Alger frowned slightly, thinking about how to bypass the Church of Storms to advance.
His first reaction was to contact " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya and find out from " Mystery Queen " Bernadette where Obninsk, who did not belong to the Church of Storms, was. His second reaction was that this would risk exposing himself, because the corresponding Obninsk Sea Monster was likely a servant of " Mystery Queen " and would report everything it saw to its master.
"Hmm, this is a last resort, as there's no other option." Alger's mind raced, and he quickly came up with another idea.
That is to pray to Mr. The Fool!
This resurrected being has Concealment seized the original authority of " Sea God " Kavithua, can command sea creatures, and may know where Obninsk, who does not belong to any faction, can be found!
"No need to rush. If you get promoted now, your uncontrolled, scattered Spirituality won't be able to hide from others. Wait until you finish your report and leave Passo Island before trying to pray again..." Alger calmed down, wrote down the " Ocean Songster " recipe, and then held the paper up to the flame at the top of the candle.
As the flames devoured the recipe faster and faster, Alger's gaze grew increasingly profound.
After dealing with the remaining traces, his gaze fell on a nautical chart, locking onto a location:
Bansy!
Alger had planned to stop by Bansy on his way back to Passo Island to check on the current state of the port.
He had already shared this idea with the Sailor, and no one objected, because they were equally curious about why Bansy Harbor had been suddenly destroyed and what it looked like now.
P. S.: Extra update at the usual time in the early morning.