Feeling the deep chill and numerous shadowy figures around Daly, Leonard coughed, congratulating her with a hint of nervousness, "Congratulations on your advancement to Gatekeeper. If you can gain the Holy Item's recognition, perhaps it won't be long before you're promoted to Senior Deacon."
Daly pouted, put away the tin box in her hand, and then shifted her gaze, self-deprecatingly saying in a flat tone, "What's the use of that?"
"The Eye of the Goddess had received intelligence earlier that Ince Zangwill had already left the Southern Continent, and that anomaly in the Berserk Sea seems to be related to him."
"It's been so long since I left Backlund, chasing him from the Northern Continent to the Southern Continent, and the mission to eliminate that rebel still has made no progress…"
Daly paused, seemingly realizing her words were somewhat inappropriate. She didn't continue on this topic, glancing at Leonard, who had suddenly fallen silent, and then added, "The Merits required for advancement to Spirit Warlock is far more than you imagine. Soest stayed in Soul Assurer for a full five years."
"So, for you, this is a rare opportunity."
"At least obeying the Church's orders to eliminate these rats in the gutter will earn you far more Merits than staying in Backlund!"
-----------------
On a secluded small island in the Fog Sea, waves crashed against the Black Tulip, yet the ghost ship didn't sway in the slightest.
The most striking black tulip sails had been furled. Pirates dressed as crew members moved about the deck, laughing and cursing. If one could ignore the grotesque mushrooms growing from various parts of their bodies, they looked like an ordinary pirate ship in the middle of dividing loot.
Fine, numerous illusory black lines spread from the pirates, converging into the Black Tulip's captain's cabin.
As the Spirit Body Threads trembled lightly, the captain's cabin door slowly opened, and Klein walked out, a smile gracing his usually stern face.
Just now, he had used "The World" persona to exchange the Sequence 4 Prophet potion, which he had obtained by peeking at the White Tower with his true vision in Sefirah Castle last time, with Aaron, who was using "The Emperor" persona, for the Bizzaro Sorcerer potion.
Throwing the headache-inducing advancement ritual to the back of his mind, at least now he had a clear direction for advancement. The smile on Klein's lips didn't last long as he saw Frank, through his puppet's perspective, walking up from the ship's cabin.
This Druid had rolled up his sleeves, his extremely thick arms embracing a strangely shaped mushroom.
The red and white color blocks made one frown. The mushroom, dragged onto the deck, including its cap, was almost as tall as Frank.
Spore bumps protruded from its translucent trunk, and thick, powerful, tentacle-like, semi-illusory, semi-real white mycelia emerged from it, not spreading towards the ship but instead disappearing into the void.
"Good afternoon, Gehrman!"
Ignoring his puppets, who all retreated in unison, fleeing from him, Frank happily hugged the large mushroom in his arms, greeting Klein as he strode towards him.
The smile still lingering on his face instantly froze. Klein decisively swapped places with his puppet, moving away from this guy whose thought process was not quite normal.
"Gehrman, my experiment has finally succeeded. Uh, to be precise, the first step has succeeded."
"Haha, thanks to your reminder last time, it really is easier to realize my ideas with mushrooms."
"Although there are still some immature aspects and it cannot freely reproduce and grow in the Spirit World like true Spirit World creatures, it can already absorb necessary nutrients from the Spirit World through its mycelia."
"Hmm, I also gave it a new name, Spirit-Devouring Mushroom…"
With his view blocked by the huge cap, the chattering Frank hadn't noticed that the "Gehrman Sparrow" in front of him had already become a puppet. It wasn't until a steady voice came from the other end of the deck that he heard, "So, can this thing be eaten?"
Turning his head in surprise to look at Klein, who had run to the other side of the deck, Frank thought seriously for a few seconds, then suddenly opened his mouth and took a bite out of the large mushroom in his arms.
The words that were about to come out of his mouth suddenly got stuck. Watching Frank smack his lips and give the evaluation, "It should be non-toxic, the taste still needs improvement," Klein was silent for a long time, then coughed lightly and suggested in a low voice, "Drawing conclusions rashly is not rigorous. You are already a Sequence 5 Druid, your physical constitution is already different from ordinary people."
"If there are still some ignorant pirates later, I can leave them all to you!"
Watching Frank, who paused, then nodded in agreement, Klein, who was about to urge him to return to the cabin, suddenly frowned and looked warily beside him.
The colors there became intense, vividly layered together.
Silently, white bones emerged from the deck, gushing like a fountain into the air, forming a giant skeleton nearly four meters tall.
Black flames burned in the skeleton's eye sockets. It looked at Klein, actively bent its back, lowered its right arm, and opened its palm, inside which was a stack of folded letter paper.
Mr. Azik's messenger! Has he finally recovered?
Klein felt a surge of pleasant surprise, this thought flashing through his mind. He didn't care about Frank, somewhat impatiently unfolding the letter:
"…Don't worry, I have awakened and found myself again…"
"…After I finish dealing with the Numinous Episcopate's affairs, I will come find you…"
"…Your teacher, Azik Eggers…"
After quickly reading the letter, Klein also discovered a pure white feather foldered inside the letter paper.
This appearance, strikingly similar to 0-08, made Klein's breathing hitch. He then recalled the huge feathered serpent, its pure white feathers obscured by light yellow grease, that he had seen in the Death's mausoleum that day before his eyes burst.
With a guess, Klein no longer suppressed the joy in his heart. He carefully put away the seemingly ordinary feather, then looked at the white-boned messenger who was obediently waiting beside him.
In just a moment, the messenger's feet were covered in translucent mycelia, but the white-boned messenger, comparable to a Mid-sequence, didn't seem to care.
After confirming that Klein had no intention of replying immediately, the white-boned messenger no longer lingered, instantly disintegrating and falling to the ground like a waterfall, quickly disappearing.
The gathered mycelia stiffened in mid-air, somewhat bewildered, seemingly not understanding where the prey they had just caught had gone.
Frank, who had already reached the cabin door, his eyes suddenly lit up. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Klein beforehand, "No, this won't do!"
That decisive tone choked Frank. He scratched his head regretfully, muttering as he looked at the spot where the white-boned messenger had disappeared, "But I haven't said anything yet…"
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