Shrouded Seascape

"Really? How did the people of the Albion Isles do that? Did they learn it from books?" Grace was drawn in by the other party's story.

The little giant looked up, seemingly recalling something. "No, there were no books at the time, and neither were there teachers. In fact, the Albion Isles wasn't exactly the best place to live, and the fresh water on the island tasted bitter.

"If we're going to talk about the Albion Isles' rise to prominence, then we'll have to start talking about the achievements of its very first governor…"

The little giant's storytelling was so great that Grace felt like she had witnessed the Albion Isles' hundred years of epic history through the former's narration. Of course, such stories weren't that rare in the Subterranean Sea, and islands with a hundred years of history had their own epic tales to tell.

However, it was Grace's first time hearing about an island's origin story, so she listened intently, seemingly captivated by the story. However, Lily beside her was not interested at all and started clamoring for the bartender to serve her liquor.

The little giant narrated for over two hours, and he finally put down the mug of beer that he had been holding without drinking. "You know what? I had a student who was just like you—he found it fun to learn. In fact, he even set a record for not leaving the library for a month."

"Really? How is he doing today?" Grace asked curiously.

The little giant went silent for a long time. In the end, he skipped Grace's question entirely as he said, "I have to say, he was really talented. At the young age of thirteen, he was admitted to the Albion Isles' University of Mechanical Engineering."

"I even thought about letting him take over my class, but his introverted personality made me hesitate for a long time," the little giant added with a hint of complex emotions in his tone of voice.

Just then, he stared at Grace and asked, "I can see that you're very talented. So, are you the technician of your exploration ship?"

"Uh... no, my position is weapon."

"Weapon? What is that? Are you a crew member operating the deck cannons? That position is called gunner, not weapon."

"No, Lily is the gunner. The golden mouse licking some liquor over there is the gunner. I'm the ship's weapon," Grace said. She then proceeded to explain the true meaning of her position.

The little giant chuckled coldly at the explanation and said, "He truly is the Overlord of the Northern Seas. He can easily do what others don't even dare to do, and he can even create such a ridiculous position."

"Actually, I volunteered. I volunteer for everyone's sake," Grace said in a low voice, cutting a frail figure as she lowered her head.

"You've volunteered, sure, but are you going to do the same ten years later? You must not trust Charles. He's an incredibly selfish individual."

"You... why are you touching my hair? Get away from me! Don't touch me!!" Lily exclaimed, slurring her words like a drunkard.

Grace turned to the right and saw a figure clad in black standing next to Lily.

Lily was so drunk that she couldn't even stand steadily. Before she could stabilize herself, Planck walked up to Lily in a huff with an empty mug in his hand. "You better put those hands away, pal, if you still want to keep them."

The man turned around quietly and walked away from Lily, who was flailing around in confusion. He then exited the bar.

Seeing that, the little giant patted Grace on the shoulder and said, "It seems that your mouse friend is already drunk. Take her back with you and leave. Someone of your age shouldn't stay in a place like this for too long. If we somehow meet again in the future, I'll treat you to something else."

The little giant then stood up and left the bar.

Upon leaving the bar, the little giant walked leisurely on the streets for thirty minutes. Then, he suddenly turned a corner and entered an inn. He made a beeline for the room that he had booked in advance.

Someone had been waiting for him in the room, and he was none other than the man who had touched Lily's fur earlier in the bar. The man looked agitated, and his behavior was bizarre, as he'd howl from time to time for no apparent reason.

"It's Him, it's definitely Him! I cannot possibly mistake that feeling!! He's not dead! He's still alive!" the man roared and tugged hard at his face, tearing it apart. Blood and flesh splattered to the floor, revealing the adorable face of a blond boy.

The blond boy was none other than Lylejay, the former Pope of the Divine Light Order. He paced back and forth in the room, looking extremely agitated. Realizing that the Light God was still alive, hot tears streamed down his face.

"Hehe, congratulations. However, your god has become a mouse. What are you going to do? How about you snatch that mouse away and keep it in a cage?" the little giant suggested.

Lylejay's steps came to an abrupt halt at the little giant's words. Then, he raised his right hand, and the two-meter-tall little giant flew over to him. Lifting the towering little giant by the neck, the Pope tugged hard, tearing apart the little giant's upper body.

Fresh blood dripped down the floor, but the little giant's torso contained no human organs but a pair of short, thin legs resembling a baby's limbs. Moreover, both legs didn't resemble the legs of an ordinary human being.

One of the two legs seemed to be a hodgepodge of flesh and gears, while the other leg was skinless. The black cloth covering the little giant's face was torn open as well, revealing a bizarre head made out of a confused mixture of flesh and gears.

It turned out that the little giant was none other than the former Chosen One of the Feaster and the former Governor of the now-annihilated Albion Isles, Swann.

Swann's head looked abnormally large in comparison to his infant body.

"Blaspheme the Light God again, and I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death!!"

It was funny to hear such vile words coming from the mouth of a ten-year-old boy, but no one would probably laugh in the face of the fanatical light in the boy's eyes.

Realizing that the Pope was serious, Swann looked down slightly, and his two bizarre eyes stared at the floor. "Okay, whatever you say."

"Hmph!!" Pope Lylejay swung hard and hurled the infant-like Swann across the room. Swann's figure—a hodgepodge of intricate gears and flesh—crashed into the wall, and he fell heavily to the ground.

Swann's mechanical eyes rotated rapidly, and white steam gushed out of the brass pipes sticking out of him. The gears inside of him also rotated rapidly with a clicking sound. Swann took advantage of this strange series of events to hide the malice glimmering in his good eye.

"How did it go? Have you placed the mark?"

"It's done. I can always track that girl's location. Once Charles sets off for another exploration, we can find them using that mark."

***

A few days later, Charles was in the Captain's Quarters of the Narwhale, perusing the information inside the metal disk from the Foundation. He was studying the true application of the so-called Origin Essence.

He was not alone—First Mate Bandages, Second Mate Nico, Chairman Jax of the Explorers Association, and Linda were with him.

The documents contained fewer words and more concentric circles in arrays. The arrays didn't look as bizarre as the magic arrays of the Western Seas, and they were more like function curves intersecting with each other.

The details of each arc were written specifically next to the arc itself, and the angles formed by the intersecting lines were also marked accurately and meticulously at each corner.