That's alright then.
A moment later, the three fragments, washed by the seawater of the Sea of Consciousness, lost their original color spectrum and turned grayish, presenting a simple texture.
Qiji looked at the three fragments again. From the System Perspective, these three fragments had changed from [Echo Fragment] to --
[Building Materials (General)]
That's right, Echoer hunt down Remnant in the Sea of Consciousness in order to obtain Echo Fragment of their corresponding lineage, which depends heavily on luck.
Therefore, most Echoer will use the seawater of the Sea of Consciousness to "wash" away the fragments they hunt that are unsuitable for their absorption, removing the imprint of their specific lineage and transforming them into attribute-free, pure "building materials".
The primary purpose of these building materials is to construct the "Mental Image Palace," which can only be built after Echoer.
Of course, all of this happens after you become a third-order Echoer.
Fortunately, Qiji currently has somewhere to use his building materials—
That was his "Miracle" boat.
Qiji immediately switched to the "Transportation" page and fed all three building material fragments into it.
[Miracle Lv1]
[Required to upgrade to Lv2: 3/100]
"Still need 97 more fragments? It doesn't seem too difficult."
Qiji is quite looking forward to seeing what the Miracle will look like after the upgrade.
After all, this little boat is a bit too small, especially for two people; it's a bit too crowded.
He can't even lie down anymore.
Furthermore, the upgraded boat's increased speed also improves Qiji's efficiency in sourcing goods in the Sea of Consciousness.
Overall, it's a significant improvement.
After waiting a while longer, Suyo finally finished absorbing the Echo Fragment.
The girl opened her eyes, and the flickering, phantom-like flames in them vanished in an instant.
Suyo sensed it briefly and immediately understood—
After she absorbs this fragment of the Flame Lineage, the Heart Essence consumption will be reduced by five percent when she uses Fire Echo in the future!
Don't underestimate this five percent, because this is only her first enhancement!
After losing to Qiji, Suyo kept thinking about how he could beat that bastard.
The opponent possesses an almost shameless "instantaneous blur" and ridiculously fast movement and speed...
The answer that Suyo arrived at after careful consideration was—
To defeat your opponent, you must master a sustained, wide-range, high-damage killing move!
If her fire rain had lasted longer, and if she had unleashed more waves...
So even if we can't win, we can at least cause him trouble!
Unfortunately, the Fire Rain drained her Heart Essence too much, so she could only tough it out and unleash a burst of attacks...
Therefore, before absorbing this fragment, what she had always hoped for was that the fragment could provide her with the "reduction" attribute she needed most.
Unexpectedly, it came true!
Today is absolutely her lucky day!
She finally saw her long-awaited brother and obtained the perfect fragment...
If things continue like this, beating that guy in next month's Academy Grand Tournament isn't impossible!
Moreover, after absorbing this fragment, Suyo also clearly sensed that she had taken another step closer to the third tier!
It's like a stroke of good luck!
Everything is starting to go according to plan!
It feels like I've been smuggled from hell to heaven!
Suyo originally thought that entering the Sea of Consciousness would be a certain death for her.
The reason he agreed to the family's offer was partly due to a "what's the use" mentality.
So, you're really trying to force me to my death, aren't you?
Fine! Then I'll die right here in front of you!
However, things have now developed in a way that completely exceeded her expectations!
Not only did she not die, but she also absorbed a "superior" quality fragment of the Flame Lineage when she first entered the Sea of Consciousness!
This is something that even many third-tier Echoer would find difficult to do easily!
It's important to understand that the Sea of Consciousness is mysterious and vast. For a novice who enters for the first time, being able to survive and safely evacuate is already a one-in-a-hundred feat.
Even obtaining a single absorbable, ordinary white fragment would be a cause for celebration!
Calling them exceptionally gifted and incredibly lucky wouldn't be an exaggeration at all!
Therefore, Suyo truly never expected that her first time would go so smoothly...
Of course, all of the above pales in comparison to "Brother".
For Suyo, the greatest gain from this trip to the Sea of Consciousness was undoubtedly that she was finally able to see her brother again!
Qiji Suyo, immediately stepped forward:
"So, are we ready to go?"
Suyo nodded, but then shook his head.
My Heart Essence has only recovered to 30%.
Brother, let's stay here a little longer.
I still have so much to tell you.
For Suyo, exploring the Sea of Consciousness was nothing compared to spending time with her brother, talking and chatting.
She wanted to convey all the longing she had felt over the years to her brother in one go!
Oh, and I also need to tell my brother!
There's a really, really bad jerk out there who imitates my brother every day!
Upon hearing this, Qiji spoke up:
"It's alright, you can recover on the way. Let's go, we'll go to the next island."
"Huh? The road has been reopened?"
Does this mean recovering Heart Essence while swimming?
How could such a thing possibly be done?
Just as Suyo was filled with doubt, Qiji grabbed her by the collar, pulled her along, and nimbly leaped back to the small boat moored on the shore.
No, it was that gesture of grabbing my collar...
Why does this look so familiar?
The thought flashed through Suyo's mind, but then her attention was immediately drawn to the small boat beneath her feet.
It was only then that she suddenly remembered—
When my brother first appeared, he arrived on a small boat, braving the wind and waves!
So, what exactly is going on with this little boat?
The Thousand Faces Family has a history spanning thousands of years, so they naturally have a deep understanding of the Sea of Consciousness.
She had been well-versed in her family's classic texts since childhood, but she had never heard of anyone being able to navigate a ship in the Sea of Consciousness...
Fortunately, Suyo was quick-witted and immediately figured it out herself.
Got it!
It must be because my brother is a "Guardian Spirit"!
Unlike those ordinary Echoer!
If we round it up, my brother could be considered a "local" in the Sea of Consciousness!
Therefore, it's perfectly reasonable for them to have certain privileges!
Suyo then stopped dwelling on these matters.
Instead, she hugged Qiji's arm, rested her little head on it, tilted her face up, and stared intently at Qiji's profile without blinking.
It was as if they were afraid the other person would disappear in the blink of an eye.
"Brother, where are we going next?"
Qiji glanced at the map, then at the remaining time.
Because this was Suyo's first time absorbing Echo Fragment, he wasn't very skilled, which caused him to waste some time.
They only have about an hour and forty minutes left to remain in the Sea of Consciousness.
It's important to know that there's a time limit for each Echoer to enter the Sea of Consciousness.
If they cannot find the "evacuation point" and return to reality within the specified time, their spirits will be noticed by the Sea of Consciousness due to "timeout" and subsequently erased.
Of course, Echoer of the third rank and above already possess the most basic "immortality" characteristic in their spirit bodies.
Therefore, even if one is "erased" and returns to reality, they can gradually recover after a long period of rest.
But not below the third order.
The erasure of a spirit means death in the real world.
Of course, since Qiji had the [Thousand Faces] card to take the damage for him, he didn't care.
However, he clearly still had to consider the case of Suyo.
This is also part of what he needs to consider to play the role of the "older brother" well and improve the fit of the Thousand Faces character.
Qiji planned the route briefly, and estimated the time based on the speed of the small boat and the distance to the nearest evacuation point.
"We'll explore two more islands, then we'll leave."
"Huh? But we still don't know where the evacuation point is... By the way, brother, we didn't explore that island properly enough; maybe there's an evacuation point on it."
Based on the experience passed down through the ages by the Thousand Faces Family—
Once you enter the Sea of Consciousness, the first thing to do is get ashore, and then find an evacuation point.
The most prudent approach is to wait until the exact location of the evacuation point is known before planning the exploration area based on the remaining time.
"That island is a deserted island; there's nothing on it."
Based on the information he saw on the system map, Qiji replied casually.
"Huh?"
Suyo was stunned for a moment, and was about to ask her brother how he knew, but then she quickly understood.
My brother is my brother!
As an all-powerful older brother, isn't it normal for him to know these things?
The subsequent exploration went very smoothly.
Most of the time was spent traveling.
Qiji led Suyo straight to the island marked with a treasure chest icon.
For the sake of efficiency, Qiji skipped all the scattered monsters along the way, avoiding them whenever possible.
After all, the drop rate had already been tested, and the returns were too low.
Qiji led Suyo straight to the core area of the island.
This is the location of the so-called treasure chest.