The known hopes and calamities of humanity all stem from the [New World Travelogue: East] written by Don Fulish, while the other volume, [West], has remained missing.
Now-
Moses and his group had encountered Don Freecss, who was still alive.
This was enough to prove that [New World Travelogue: West] wasn't missing but was still being written, or perhaps Don Freecss hadn't yet finished exploring the other coastline of the Dark Continent.
So when Don Freecss said, 'You're heading in the wrong direction.' Moses's heart sank.
After all, this was the outcome he had least wanted to see.
But the sentence that followed brought a glimmer of hope to his eyes.
An Ancient Pipeline that leads directly to the Swamplands where Nitro Rice was located...
This meant they wouldn't have to waste too much time on a long and arduous journey.
Don Freecss, with his back to the group, carefully collected the glowing particles that had fallen from the remains of the pendulum clock creature into a small, delicate glass bottle.
This glass bottle wasn't man-made, but a natural crystalline object.
The glowing particles settled at the bottom of the bottle, and Don Freecss immediately took out the cork and sealed it tightly.
As the cork sealed the bottle, the sand at the bottom began to move slowly, floating within the bottle.
Don Freecss held the bottle between his thumb and forefinger, and stared at the faintly glowing particles inside the bottle from a close distance.
When he had regained consciousness after his headfirst landing, he had already understood what had happened.
Now, seeing the remains of the pendulum clock and the glowing sand in the bottle, he couldn't help but feel curious...
How had the young man who came to the Dark Continent in search of Nitro Rice managed to resist the mind control ability of the [Pathless Clock]?
After all-
Although the threat level of the Pathless Clock wasn't high, it had one undeniable trait: its 'hit rate' was extremely high.
Once the sound of the Pathless Clock reached one's ears, it was already too late to avoid it.
At that point, all they could do was wait in a 'state of unconsciousness' for the Pathless Clock to move away.
The clock's sound could manipulate living beings into performing monotonous... even comical acts of self-harm.
But for ordinary people, being hit by it would result in serious injury, if not death.
However, Nen Users are protected by their Aura and basically wouldn't be injured, let alone die.
So Don Freecss was very curious about how Moses had managed to resist it.
"Your spoils."
As he thought about it, Don Freecss tossed the bottle to Moses.
Moses instinctively caught the bottle, with a look of confusion in his eyes.
He had seen Don Freecss collecting the glowing particles, but he had no idea what they were used for.
Seeing the doubt in Moses's eyes, Don Freecss calmly explained:
"That is the essence extracted from the Pathless Clock. I call it Time Sand. It has the effect of reshaping the body, beautifying, and restoring youth. However, these effects are only superficial and can't truly improve bodily functions."
"Oh?"
Moses looked at the glowing particles in the bottle with surprise. There weren't many, just seven or eight grains.
'Although it is just a strange thing that focuses on appearance, if it were taken back to the Six Continents, I'm afraid it would cause a frenzy among the wealthy elites.'
"Aahhh!"
Just as Moses was pondering this, a sharp scream reached his ears.
Before Moses could react, he felt a gust of fragrant wind passing by his nose, and then the bottle in his hand was suddenly gone.
It was Biscuit who had suddenly snatched the bottle.
At this moment, her eyes were shining, and she looked at, touched, and licked the bottle, and even strand of saliva with a crystal luster flowed from the corners of her mouth.
It wasn't surprising that she was so excited...
After all, according to Don Freecss, this so-called [Time Sand] could help her transform her bulky muscles.
Most importantly, it would only change her appearance without altering her body's original functions and foundation.
This meant that… By using the Time Sand, Biscuit could permanently enjoy her original physical strength and abilities while maintaining her loli form.
Moses hadn't realized the importance of the "Time Sand" to Biscuit. Seeing her act like a nympho with the bottle, he couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated.
Don Freecss didn't pay attention to Biscuit's strange reaction. After tossing the Time Sand, he took out another bottle containing a dark, sticky liquid and threw it to Moses.
Moses caught the bottle with a raised eyebrow.
"I found this in the Shadowwing's territory. I call it Black Clay. Its main effect is physical regeneration, and it's quite practical. And this..."
As Don Freecss spoke, he suddenly pulled out a handful of dark, thin flakes.
When Moses saw the dark flakes, Moses immediately understood what Don Freecss meant by Shadowwing.
Don Freecss tossed the handful of dark flakes toward Moses.
As if using some kind of technique, the black flakes traced a graceful arc in the air before landing neatly and steadily in Moses's hand.
"These are simply processed remains of the Shadowwings. Place one over your nose, and it will perfectly conceal your Aura at night."
Don Freecss briefly explained the function of the Shadowwing's remains and then added: "These are your spoils."
"Thank you."
There was a hint of surprise in Moses's eyes. He had already guessed that these so-called spoils were collected by Don Freecss on his way to meet them.
Don Freecss accepted Moses's thanks without hesitation, then turned to look in a certain direction and said calmly: "Time is precious. I'll take you to the Ancient Pipeline now, and we can talk as we go."
"Alright."
Moses nodded, seeing no room for refusal or alternative suggestions.
Except for Biscuit, who was still engrossed in the effects of the Time Sand, the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
They had unexpectedly encountered the living legend Don Freecss, and after just a brief interaction, they were now setting off together.
Truly, life was full of surprises.
The group immediately set off, with Don Freecss leading the way.
Along the journey, he asked Moses many questions, including how he had resisted the Pathless Clock's ability.
Faced with this question, Moses didn't hide the truth but slightly embellished the details about his mental resilience.
After hearing Moses's answer, Don Freecss immediately showed his envy without hiding it.
In the Dark Continent, there are too many calamities that specialize in the mental attacks, such as the Pathless Clock, Hellbell, Zobae, and Pap.
In terms of characteristics, these Manipulation-Type Abilities, when combined with their unreasonable nature, were incredibly difficult to defend against and extremely troublesome.
Therefore, in Don Freecss's eyes, Moses's mental resilience, which could even resist the Pathless Clock, was an invaluable treasure in the Dark Continent.
Listening to Don Freecss recount the various unreasonable mental-control calamities he had encountered over the centuries, Moses also realized the rarity of mental resilience.
As he listened to these bizarre and fantastical tales, he suddenly felt the urge to ask Don Freecss if he knew about Perception.
But in the end, he held back.
And so-
Under Don Freecss's guidance, the group changed their direction, heading toward the Ancient Pipeline that would take them directly to the Swamplands where Nitro Rice was located.
They had thought it wouldn't take long to reach their destination.
However, this journey ended up lasting three months...