Chapter 64: The Spirit World

Chapter 64: The Spirit World

After returning to the real world, Klein extinguished the candle, put away the remaining items, and carefully inspected the situation inside the warehouse.

What made him feel fortunate was that the seawater vortex Kalvetua had created had thoroughly cleaned the place once. All that remained were the rainwater sprayed later, some charred marks left by lightning, a small amount of ash, and the furrows Klein’s feet had plowed through the ground.

The traces are easy enough to handle. In a moment, I will have Danitz “wash” this place with fireballs and disguise it as infighting between pirates… Klein nodded almost imperceptibly. He took out one of his few remaining paper figurines and snapped his forearm, flicking his wrist.

The paper figurine flew out, ignited on its own, and turned into black ash.

After doing all this, Klein walked toward the door. The farther he went, the more deeply he frowned.

The soles of his leather boots were gone. The rest of them were tattered as well. His clothes and trousers were similarly covered in tears, wet stains, and scorched marks.

All of this had been unavoidable under the circumstances, and none of it was something a Paper Figurine Substitute could bear for him. The tearing had come from the vast suction of the seawater vortex. The soaked feeling came from Kalvetua’s rainstorm. The charred marks were signs that, in the gaps between Klein’s uses of Paper Figurine Substitute, a small amount of lightning had struck him. Even now, after everything had calmed down, faint spasms caused by the electric shock still lingered in his right forearm.

“This outfit cost me eight pounds and six soli… I will have to buy another full set… I divined danger and made preparations, but I did not expect Kalvetua to be stronger and more frenzied than I imagined… I hope there will be some harvest later.” Klein shook his head silently, restrained his expression, endured the pain, and arrived behind the door panel blocking the exit. He bent his finger and knocked three times.

Danitz had remained rather uneasy. Hearing the sound, he hesitated for two seconds before moving the door panel away.

Discovering that Gehrman Sparrow had returned to his cold and restrained state and no longer emanated hunger and madness that made one’s spirit tremble, Danitz quietly let out a breath. He peered inside and casually asked, “It’s over?”

“No.” Klein drew up the corners of his mouth into a refined smile.

Not over? Danitz was startled.

“What—what else are you going to do?”

Klein maintained the smile that hid madness within it.

“There is still cleaning to do.

“That is courtesy.”

Cleaning… Danitz froze, then lifted his right hand and pointed at himself.

“Me?”

Klein’s smile widened.

“Or me?”

Then I will be eaten by Creeping Hunger! Danitz laughed dryly twice.

“How should I clean?”

“Use fireballs,” Klein replied concisely.

As a part-time pirate, Danitz understood Gehrman Sparrow’s meaning without much effort. He moved past the other man and walked into the warehouse.

During this process, he muttered to himself in confusion.

“The captain said Creeping Hunger has to devour one living person every day. But Gehrman Sparrow satisfies it only after battles. Normally, he does not care about it at all. And—and what happened just now also counted as a battle. Gehrman Sparrow even used Steel Maviti’s ice power, but afterward he did not ‘feed’ it… Strange… What secret is hidden here?

“Some kind of seal? He—or rather, the organization behind him—can actually seal Creeping Hunger?”

While Danitz “cleaned” the warehouse, Klein stood outside and looked at the dark clouds layered heavily in the sky, naturally anticipating what would come next.

The iron cigarette case stained with the gray fog’s aura has already been sent over. Now I only need to wait for Kalvetua, this false Sea God, to collapse and die by himself… I hope the Beyonders from the Church of Storms and the kingdom’s military either have not had time to find that place, or have left behind a few items they do not value but which still possess some worth… Klein slowly inhaled, listening to the muffled booms rising behind him.

…

Inside an inn, Alger stood by the window, staring out at the gloomy sky.

Not long after the last Tarot Gathering ended, I obtained the Blood Clan anesthetic gas and was preparing to set sail to gather the materials. In the end, almost a week has passed, and I am still stranded in Bayam… The corner of his mouth moved slightly, and he shook his head.

First there had been The World’s hunt for Steel Maviti, which had earned him quite a lot. Then he had been forced to wait for the bounty. And just after the bounty arrived, he encountered the collapse of Kalvetua, that sea serpent, and was required to search for Leticia and the other adventurers and archaeologists.

I heard that during yesterday morning’s inspection, Leticia and the others were found. The Mandated Punishers and military seem to have grasped rather important clues, and many people went to Simim Island… Heh. Matters of that level will never be assigned to me… Alger withdrew his gaze, tugged at the short robe that did not reach his knees, and murmured in a low voice, “End quickly.”

Once Kalvetua completely died and the tsunami no longer lurked in the dark, he would be able to leave port, depart the City of Generosity, Bayam, and work toward advancing to Sequence 6, Wind-blessed.

As his thoughts turned, something stirred in Alger’s heart. He turned to look outside the window.

He saw the clouds high in the sky rapidly disperse, leaving the crimson moon hanging in silence.

…

In the middle of the night, Klein abruptly woke, faintly sensing something.

He turned out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled aside the curtains.

Crimson moonlight immediately spilled in, covering everything like frost, cold and dreamlike.

Klein looked out and discovered that the low-pressure cloud layers had already vanished. The red moon hung bright in the high sky, with only sparse stars beside it.

Does this mean the confrontation between Sea God and Sea King is over? Klein pondered for two seconds, then withdrew his gaze, closed the curtains, walked four steps counterclockwise, and entered the world above the gray fog.

He sat at the very head of the mottled long table, materialized a gold coin, and softly recited the divination statement.

“Kalvetua has completely died.”

…

After seven repetitions, he flicked the coin upward with a clang and watched it leap into the air, then tumble back down.

Pa. The coin landed in Klein’s palm with the king’s portrait facing up.

That indicated affirmation.

That indicated that Sea God Kalvetua had completely died!

As expected, the ancient elven ruins on Simim Island were closely connected to the hiding place Kalvetua relied on to maintain his existence… It has only been a little more than a day since the Mandated Punishers and military personnel obtained the Book of Calamity and learned of the ruins’ information, yet Kalvetua can no longer hold on… I originally thought he could stubbornly survive for another two or three days… Klein sighed with emotion and tried to divine whether the official Beyonders had already entered Kalvetua’s hiding place.

Unfortunately, because he lacked corresponding information, his divination failed and provided no revelation.

After thinking for a moment, Klein changed his approach. He removed his pendulum and divined whether it would be dangerous for him to explore Kalvetua’s hiding place now.

Since this involved himself, the result appeared quickly.

The citrine pendant turned counterclockwise, but not too quickly, and with a moderate amplitude.

There is danger, but it is bearable… It is even lower than the danger from the previous sacrificial ritual… Klein gently nodded, returned to the real world, and began preparations for the operation.

First, he locked the bedroom door. Then he arranged a ritual and summoned himself.

Reentering the world above the gray fog, Klein directly picked up the Black Emperor card and placed it into his spirit body.

In an instant, he became as solid as if he possessed flesh and blood. The dark, heavy fog spreading around him clung to his surface, forming an awe-inspiring, nearly material suit of full-body armor. Upon his head was a gorgeous pitch-black crown.

He glanced at the human-skin glove on the table, hesitating over whether to put it on.

Above the gray fog, Creeping Hunger was almost sealed and dared not show any abnormality. But as soon as it left this place, the hunger that bordered on losing control would make it harm its carrier—whether that carrier was a living person or a spirit body.

What Klein was considering was whether the high status of the Black Emperor card could suppress Creeping Hunger within his spirit body and keep it normal.

I will try it. If it does not work, I will immediately end the summoning and return here… That takes almost no time and contains no danger… Klein picked up Creeping Hunger and put it over the iron-black armored gauntlet.

No longer hesitating, he stepped through the door of summoning and, with the help of the swelling candle flame, arrived in the real world.

Without the slightest carelessness, Klein’s first reaction was to inspect Creeping Hunger’s condition. He discovered that it was quiet and peaceful, submitting beneath the high status of the Black Emperor card.

Not bad… Klein breathed out in relief and placed Azik’s copper whistle, the Biological Poison Bottle, the Sun Brooch, and other mystical items into his body one after another.

At last, he picked up his black hardwood cane, preparing to use it to search for the “lost” iron cigarette case stained with the aura of the gray fog.

Of course, to find Kalvetua’s hiding place, he first had to enter the spirit world and locate it from there. Otherwise, he would only fail.

As for the matter of how to enter the spirit world, Klein did not consider the three methods Mr. Azik had provided. As a spirit body with intelligence and thinking ability, how could he possibly be unable to find the spirit world and enter it?

He calmed himself slightly and visualized countless spheres of light gathering together. His body and mind swiftly grew tranquil, his thoughts gradually emptied, and his spirituality extended and unfolded bit by bit.

Very soon, he discovered that the surroundings were filled with illusory, transparent things whose forms were difficult to describe. All colors became vivid and distinct while overlapping with one another, while grayish fog, faint to the point of nonexistence, spread out and enveloped everything.

Deep in the distance, high in the air, seven clear lights of different colors drifted slowly. They seemed alive, containing endless knowledge.

This was the spirit world—completely overlapping with reality, omnipresent.

If I happen to run into Mandated Punishers or military personnel, I will directly end the summoning and return above the gray fog… Klein stepped forward, entering the spirit world as simply as that, and immediately felt his own body become illusory.

The black cloak behind him fluttered lightly. The hardwood cane in his palm stood upright.

With innate majesty, he spoke in a deep voice.

“The location of the iron cigarette case that belongs exclusively to me.”

…

Amid the low repetition, Klein inexplicably grew somewhat tense. Within the rich and distinct colors around him, one pair of indifferent, strange eyes after another turned toward him.

After seven repetitions, Klein released his hand and awaited the revelation.

The black hardwood cane floated upward and drifted forward at a moderate pace.

Klein followed it, flying through the spirit world that was both real and illusory, both bizarre and mysterious.

Here, without a fixed location, it was easy to become completely lost and never emerge again.

Of course, for Klein, that problem did not exist. If he truly lost his way, he could end the summoning and return directly above the gray fog.

Klein chased the black cane as it sometimes floated upward and sometimes dropped down, shuttling through vivid, overlapping colors, passing one half-hidden spirit-world creature after another that could not be accurately described. He had no way of knowing how far the destination remained.

Suddenly, he saw an eye.

A round eye. A black-and-white eye.

It stared at him without blinking. It had no corresponding head and no corresponding body.