Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 596: Relics

Night fell. Charles was alone in his bedroom within the confines of the Colossal Hole Fortress. He was buck naked as he deftly manipulated his invisible tentacles to type on the brass keys of the Soul Printer.

He was in the middle of a workout session; it wasn't a workout to improve his physical abilities but to improve his control over his special abilities granted to him by his relics. Charles had discovered that the special abilities of implanted relics could become even stronger through exercise as if they were one's muscles.

After typing out an entire sheet of paper with his invisible tentacles, Charles reached out and pulled the paper out before putting it on top of seven or eight other sheets of paper on the table.

Then, he wiped away the sweat on his forehead. The Tentacle Ring was the first relic he had implanted into himself, and he had basically mastered the use of it.

Now, he needed more relics to assimilate and master. Charles swept his gaze across the relics on the table before him. The crystal-clear die that allowed him to teleport, the Flesh Revolver, the Invisibility Ring, and the Purple Pyramid.

The Purple Pyramid didn't actually belong to him, but Anna had insisted that he always carry it on him; she said it could come in handy at critical junctures. He couldn't really refuse her concern, so he decided to bring it with him on his journey.

His destination on this journey was the darkness, and it was unknown whether the entity that had taken away the darkness was still there or not. In other words, it was imperative that he do everything that would increase his strength.

However, Charles was a bit worried. The recent research results of the Relic Research Institute said that the implanted relics could be used more effectively through daily practice of the relic's special ability.

However, the side effects of those relics could manifest in those unlucky. For example, Charles could obtain an extremely powerful and towering physique by implanting the purple pyramid in himself, but his intelligence could also regress to zero.

It had to be known that once implanted, the relics would fuse into oneself, which meant that there would be no turning back at that point. The potential side effects made Charles hesitate about whether he should go through with his plan or not.

Knock, knock, knock. Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

There was knocking on the door of the Captain's Quarters.

"Come in," Charles said without taking his eyes off the relics on the table.

The ship's doctor, Linda, walked in with a medical kit. "Captain, what's wrong?"

"I want you to check if my mind is stable enough to assimilate more relics," Charles said.

Linda said nothing and immediately got to work using her medical kit to run tests.

"Captain, do you still hear those whispers in your ears?"

The end of the world was nigh, and the fact that an explorer's expenses in the Colossal Hole Fortress were fully subsidized meant that no one really needed any money here.

In other words, the Subterranean Sea's currency was worth nothing here, and everyone had regressed to the primitive method of goods exchange—bartering.

"Captain, did you also come here for the relics?" Sailor Norton said, appearing next to Charles. Norton usually stood with impeccable posture as proof of his training, but his posture seemed a bit relaxed today.

Charles glanced at the black rock in Norton's hand and said, "So you found some good stuff?"

Norton handed over the black stone to Charles and said, "I discovered that our enemies are usually immune to hot weapons, so I came here to find relics that will boost my offensive."

Charles looked down at the black stone in his hand before returning it to Norton.

"Do the others come here, too?"

"Yes, but the sellers reign supreme over this market. No one has gotten any useful relics, as the sellers of the useful ones have specific requirements that we haven't been able to fulfill."

Charles looked around and saw that the stalls had some writings on the side, which explicitly said what the seller wanted in exchange for their relics. The requests were diverse, to say the least, and some were even confusing.

[Looking for a non-lethal relic capable of inflicting pain beyond the pain tolerance threshold.]

Charles crouched and stared at the one-eyed explorer before him. "What's up with the strange request?"

The one-eyed explorer didn't even bother to look at Charles as he nonchalantly replied, "You don't need to know that. The only thing that you need to know is that if you want our captain's relic, you must give us what our captain needs."

The one-eyed explorer glanced at Charles' prosthetic left hand and found the sight a bit odd. He examined Charles from top to bottom and was astonished.

"G-Governor Charles? I'm sorry for being so rude. I had no idea that you were standing before me," the one-eyed explorer's expression became extremely solemn. The nearby explorers had heard him, too, so the nearby din became slightly less noisy.

Charles didn't really mind the one-eyed explorer's attitude earlier. He pointed out the writings and asked, "Why is your captain requesting such a strange relic?"

"Well, he has a special relic. The stronger the pain coursing through him, the stronger he becomes, so he wants a relic capable of inflicting a ton of pain on him but will not kill him."

The synergy of relics... Charles pondered, rubbing his chin in deep thought.