The feeling of hunger continued to torment Xia De, and even the scent of Miss Princess's perfume beside him could arouse his appetite at this moment.
But this strong desire to eat also masked other sensations caused by venturing too deep into the ship's cabin. He had never felt such hunger before; if it weren't for the fact that eating anything would only intensify the hunger, Xia De would have eaten his clothes by now.
"So, why are these crew members, who are clearly not from our era, speaking in standard delarion common language?"
As they continued forward, Xia De even had the presence of mind to ask this. Miss Princess was very worried about his condition and quietly answered his question:
"In fact, most relics that can communicate with us can use contemporary languages. relics are related to the whisper element, which is the darkness of civilization; they can also draw power from civilization. Xia De, you..."
She bit her lip, not knowing how to thank Xia De for risking everything to let her accompany him.
After leaving the doorway of the room with the black pot, the two continued deeper into the ship's cabin. More and more skeletons appeared underfoot, and the human remains integrated with the fungal growth on the walls became increasingly grotesque and terrifying. Eventually, the bloodstains on the walls merged into patterns, forming nauseating, strange runes that, along with the ship, affected the souls of the living.
Seeing that Xia De was in a bad state, Miss Princess walked ahead to lead the way. To guard against accidents, she also summoned her Destiny Ring, allowing Xia De to see Miss Princess's core Ling Rune.
Her core runes were three: The Writer, Princess, and Acting, very similar to a certain friend of Xia De's. This Five-Ring Sorceress also quietly explained her low Four Ring Sublimation Words to Xia De, which were: "The Princess in Slumber gains Peace in Reality and Illusion."
"Stop."
After walking about thirty steps from the chef's cabin, Miss Princess stopped. Looking forward, in the center of the corridor, there was a brightly glowing wooden box, as if all the nearby light was concentrated on the box, tempting people to investigate what it was.
If possible, they absolutely did not want to touch something that clearly looked like a trap. But that large box was placed in the center of the corridor, and because of the thick fungal growth on the walls, the already narrow ship's corridor was completely blocked.
"Watch me."
The Golden-haired girl said, pulling out a rolled-up piece of parchment from her dress pocket. After throwing the parchment into the air, it spontaneously combusted. She took a deep breath, and green light points flew from her hair, slowly condensing beside her into a very blurry figure carrying a bow and arrows.
Miss Princess was also a Ring Warlock proficient in the Enlightenment Element, skilled at drawing power from fairy tales and stories. And the casting materials for such Miracles were usually stories written by the caster herself.
The extremely blurry archer bowed slightly to Miss Princess, then walked towards the glowing treasure chest.
The moment he reached out to open the box, the box immediately "sprang up." This description isn't quite right; it should be said that two slender legs beneath the box supported it as it stood upright.
Slender arms also extended from both sides of the box, and at the same time, the lid opened, revealing sharp teeth and a thick, bright red tongue inside. With the two slender legs as its own, and the treasure chest itself as its body and teeth, this humanoid creature opened its mouth, intending to swallow the archer.
Miss Princess, from a distance, clenched her fist abruptly, the cancellation of the Miracle causing the archer to dissipate back into green light points and vanish. At the same time, she took out a new scroll of parchment, and after throwing it into the air, what appeared after it burned was a solid figure identical in appearance to Miss Princess.
This figure wore a blue Princess dress and a silver crown on her head.
For the archer's Miracle just now, she likely only utilized one Ling Rune, which is why the archer's figure was blurry. The second story, however, was constructed based on the low Four Ring Sublimation, making it as real as Miss Louisa's "the little match girl," which was nearing completion.
The Princess who stepped out of the story, holding a golden spindle, approached the already charging Mimic with a hazy and ethereal smile.
"Delay it for a moment."
Miss Princess said.
"Alright."
A silver arc of light, like a sharp blade, flew past the Princess's cheek. Even the monster dared not take it head-on and could only crouch down, reverting to its treasure chest form.
With a clang, the Silver Moon Slash struck the treasure chest, but it only left an inconspicuous mark.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Princess holding the spindle had already approached the treasure chest. As the treasure chest reverted to a monster, she directly stabbed the spindle into the monster's bright red tongue.
Puff~
The Princess and the spindle vanished together, and the monster collapsed to the ground. With the slight opening and closing of the treasure chest emitting faint breaths, it fell into slumber.
This was even more powerful than Dr. Schneider's hypnosis; the doctor's hypnosis, when used on Ring術士, required direct contact and would absolutely not have this effect on non-human creatures.
The archer reappeared beside Miss Princess, drawing his bow and notching an arrow, but the arrow he shot could not pierce the monster's head.
Miss Princess looked at Xia De, who nodded. He reached his right hand into the air, then slowly pulled out the holy silver two-handed greatsword.
He came before the Mimic, raised the sword with both hands, and then thrust it sharply into the crack of the treasure chest. No strangely colored blood flowed out; the slender limbs and the treasure chest itself turned stone-gray, then crumbled into a pile of dust like a sand sculpture.
However, as the monster died, a black light actually shot into Xia De's body along the holy silver greatsword.
"Hmm?"
Those who are greedy will pay the price; when greed accumulates in the heart, it will itself become a part of what people crave.
relic - Mimic, has given you a new power.
Outsider, you have gained some insight into 'greed.'
"What does that mean? It's not a Miracle or a spell, nor is it a Ling Rune?"
The creature you killed is extremely special; it can be seen as a creature born purely of greed. By killing it, you inherited its greed. This is both inspiration and whisper, but it is not yet enough to form a Ling Rune.
"Understood, so if I gain further insight, the probability of obtaining the 'greed' Ling Rune will greatly increase."
Xia De summarized, then clutched his stomach again. With the battle over, his attention returned, and the sensation of hunger surged, making him long for the feeling of being full again.
"Are you alright? I saw black light just now; was that a curse?"
Miss Princess also walked over. She directed the archer beside her to carefully push away the dust on the ground, ensuring it wouldn't revert to its original state.
"I'm fine, it wasn't a curse. The Mimic just now wasn't from this ship either; it was a relic itself. I just touched its power."
Xia De suddenly twitched his nose, then looked at Miss Princess. After she blushed slightly, he said:
"Let's keep going. I really want to leave here as soon as possible. Any restaurant in Coldwater Port or Tobesk will do, I'm starving."
"When we leave, I'll treat you to a late-night snack."
Perhaps due to the nature of this dilapidated pirate ship, the length of the straight cabin corridor was actually longer than the ship itself.
Before reaching the staircase leading to the next deck, Xia De and the girl beside him encountered two accessible cabin rooms. Inside were fish-headed, human-bodied sailors playing cards, and a small Boy standing in the darkness with his back to the cabin door, crying.
The two chose to trust the chef's words and ignored the crew members in both rooms. And when the fungal growth underfoot was so thick that they couldn't feel the floor when stepping on it, a downward staircase finally appeared in the darkness illuminated by the silver light from his fingertips.
However, as the two gradually approached, they both saw a figure sitting on the third step of the staircase with its back to them. Cautiously slowing their steps, they saw that, at least from the back, it appeared to be a curly-haired man wearing a short-sleeved sailor shirt.
But what he looked like from the front, Xia De and Miss Princess couldn't guess.
Water was dripping from his entire body; the dripping sound could only be heard upon closer approach. A chilling sensation emanated from him. The interior of this ship, located in a strange, dark sea, was already not warm, but upon approaching the staircase, the temperature suddenly dropped below freezing.
The most direct manifestation was that Xia De's and Miss Princess's breaths could now form white mist in the air.
The figure with its back to them was sitting in the middle of the staircase, making it impossible to go around. Looking at the unguarded back, Xia De, who was already terribly hungry, felt a strong urge to swing his sword and cut through, but fortunately, he still had his sanity, and Miss Princess again indicated that she would handle the problem:
"Don't underestimate a Five-Ring Sorcerer. Although I don't have your strong mental resistance, I won't lose in a head-on confrontation."
The girl, whose hair was mostly red, told Xia De to wait where he was. She then deliberately made her footsteps louder and continued forward, stopping five steps away from the staircase.
"I..."
The figure sitting on the stairs spoke at this moment, with a slow and hoarse voice, like an elderly gentleman:
"I fell into the sea."
The sound of dripping water grew louder and louder. Xia De made the light from his fingertips brighter to help Miss Princess illuminate the front.
"Then, the sea swallowed me, swallowed my body and soul. Even though the captain took me in, a part of my soul and body will forever remain in the sea."
The Sorceress looked down at her feet; water stains were spreading towards them, reflecting the Moonlight from Xia De's fingertips. Only then did the two realize that the fungal growth covering the corridor had not extended to the staircase, and the floor was now visible ahead. These water stains seemed to be spreading because of the constant dripping from the person sitting on the staircase. But the person with their back to them was sitting on the third step, so there was no logical reason for the water to spread so high.