novelraw Chapter 160. Thanks
Chapter 160. Thanks
"Messenger holding ears of wheat, I beseech you to open the gates to the River Styx..."
"Grant me ships that can sail the River Styx, and lights to illuminate the darkness..."
An unfamiliar prayer was softly uttered by Andre. With his chanting, flames ignited on the Sword of Mercy.
This time, the flames were milky white, carrying a holy and gentle aura, burning along the blade toward the bones.
Enveloped in the holy flames, the bones burned fiercely.
A thread, like a flame, emerged from the fire and connected to the beautiful soul.
Jasmine closed her eyes, embraced herself, her expression becoming increasingly relaxed, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Flames coiled around her as Jasmine’s soul radiated a soft light, gradually fading until it completely dissipated.
A sound like the surging of the sea, or the flowing of a river, echoed through the silent manor.
But this place was far from the sea, and there were no rivers nearby. Where did this sound come from?
Ed seemed to see a tranquil sea.
A ship with a white lantern on its bow slowly approached, the scene hazy and indistinct.
As the flames on the bones disappeared, the sound and the image vanished.
The bones had turned into a pile of ashes.
Andre, having finished his spell, opened his eyes and placed the Sword of Mercy back into the metal box on his back. The box slowly closed, and Andre clasped it in his arms, bowing slightly.
He then knelt down and carefully collected the ashes, placing them into a prepared cloth bag.
Turning to Ed and the other two, he shook his head and said, "Go and collect your gifts; we need to prepare to return."
The three nodded and jumped into the tunnel with excitement. As their light illuminated the space, they saw a wooden box buried in the soil.
Opening the box, they found it filled with various items.
On top was a small wooden box, along with some manuals and various tools piled below.
Jason reached in, picked up the wooden box, looked at it, and handed it directly to Ed.
"This is a gift just for you."
Ed took it and saw that it indeed had inscriptions.
Gami looked at the remaining items and said, "Let’s move this to the ship first and then distribute it. There’s quite a lot inside; it’s a waste of time here."
The two nodded, then forcefully pulled the wooden box from the ground, reassembled it, and had Gami’s tentacles lift it.
"Alright, let’s go back then."
Andre walked outside the manor, found a spot with many flowers, dug a pit, and buried the ashes.
They then returned the way they came and soon boarded the ship.
In the darkness, the Blue Fist departed from its berth.
"Returning to port. Everyone can go back and rest. Remember to pay attention to your mental state; we’ve stayed in the Dark Region for too long."
He then returned to the captain’s cabin.
However, the others had no intention of going back and followed him inside, as Ed and the others still needed to distribute the items.
Elena and the others were also curious about what the ghost woman had left behind.
They moved the wooden box onto the table and took out the contents one by one.
There was a small booklet, several books, and a rather rough map of the Dark Region.
Then came the magical items: a monocular telescope, a hair clip, a woman’s bracelet, and a dagger.
"Quite a lot," Jason couldn’t help but say with a smile.
Gami began to examine the magical items.
"This telescope isn’t much different from the captain’s. It allows you to see farther than a normal telescope and can penetrate darkness, fog, and bright light, provided these things aren’t made of supernatural forces."
These four items were to be divided among Ed and the other two as their individual spoils.
Gami held up the telescope and looked at the two, asking, "Do you need this? If not, I’ll take it."
He had used Andre’s telescope before and was very interested, thinking it would suit him perfectly.
The two weren’t particularly attached to it. Since Gami wanted it, they naturally wouldn’t fight over it. Ed knew that if he wanted, he could easily buy this kind of low-level magic item; as long as you had money, it wasn’t something very rare.
After accepting the telescope, Gami picked up the hair clip.
"A lady’s hair clip. Wearing it should protect your spirits a bit. It looks nice, and the material is quite expensive, worth 2-3 gold sails."
The three looked at it, showing no desire to take it. The hair clip was adorned with gemstones and butterfly-like carvings. It would be difficult for any normal man to accept carrying such a thing openly, let alone wearing it in his hair, which wouldn’t be different than telling everyone he had something wrong with his brain.
At this moment, Vanessa patted the table and said, "You don’t want it? If you don’t, I’ll buy it."
She quite liked the appearance of the item, and the magical effect made it even better.
"Okay."
The three had no objections and nodded.
Vanessa walked directly into her room and returned a short while later with three gold sails, handing one to each of the three men. Then she took the hair clip, put it on her head, and started chatting with Elena.
"Let me see this bracelet... It’s probably for ordinary people, and it can slightly improve their physical abilities."
Hearing this, Jason’s eyes lit up, and a wide smile appeared on his face. Before Ed could react, he snatched the bracelet from Gami.
"Then I’ll take this one."
Although Ed thought the item was pretty good, he would have to drink fewer stamina potions, since Jason wanted it so desperately, he wouldn’t fight over it. A few more stamina potions, then let it be; it doesn’t matter much for a rich guy like me.
The last dagger looked the most valuable, so it ended up in Ed’s hands, since everyone else had already taken something they liked.
After Gami’s appraisal, the dagger, besides being forged from very sturdy materials, also possessed the normal attributes of a magic weapon: namely, sharpness. However, to unleash its sharpness, it needed to be infused with magic, just like Ed’s shotgun.
Gami thoughtfully made a cloth strap to store the dagger on the spot and handed it to Ed along with the blade.
Ed tucked it into his waistband. He was just missing a weapon for close combat, and the dagger was pretty good; if it were a sailor’s knife or a sword, that would be perfect, but sadly it looked like he still had to wait to get a perfect weapon.
"The things marked on this map should be the treasures that Jasmine mentioned she left behind on other islands," Jason said, looking at the map seriously. He then handed the map to Ed: "Keep this safe; we’ll explore those places later."
You don’t have to tell me that; I’m not as careless as you, Ed rolled his eyes while taking the map. He gave it a cursory glance before putting it into his inventory. He had storage equipment, so it was best to entrust this to him for safekeeping.
Gami flipped through the booklet, somewhat surprised. "This booklet actually records several lost spells; what a coincidence!"
"What a coincidence?" Ed turned around and asked. When it came to learning new spells, he always found himself getting excited.
"It even contains [Dark Vision], the one Jason asked about before."
Hearing this, everyone felt it was quite a coincidence indeed; Jason had mentioned it when they arrived on the island. They hadn’t expected to obtain it so easily now.
Besides [Dark Vision], the booklet also contained a spell called [Dagger Swing], which made dagger-wielding movements faster, and another spell called [Stealth], which made movements more stealthy. The three spells combined, along with the dagger itself, could directly transform even a novice into a good assassin. The combination was simply too perfect.
[Stealth] was fine; it was a spell that only worked when engraved on equipment, so using it constantly would be a waste of magic. [Dagger Swing], however, seemed a bit absurd to Ed, almost too useless. It was limited to daggers, which he couldn’t understand at all, and it felt like a waste of effort.
He couldn’t help but ask, "These spells are so strange. How were they made, especially that Dagger Swing spell?"
"They were either learned from some kind of dagger-type [Treasure] or deliberately researched and shortened from other, more powerful weapon-action spells," Gami explained. These strange spells, after evolution, were frequently encountered, so they weren’t particularly unusual.
As for those books, they weren’t very interesting; they were just some collections containing old knowledge, but not much that was practically useful. They were rare, unique copies, good for the library’s collection, and could be given to Lipoca later.
Andre, who had returned from his cabin, was very interested in the [Dark Vision] spell. He said from the side, "Would you be willing to give this spell to the church? The church will give an equal contribution."
Before Ed could react, Gami and Jason nodded hastily.
Seeing their actions, Ed nodded as well, as if he had any other option, and this spell wasn’t anything so great that he’d want to keep it for his own special use. So he might as well do a good deed while he can.
And the fact that the other two agreed so quickly without even asking his opinion meant that the contribution was definitely worthwhile. They didn’t think the exchange would be unequal.
Elena explained from the side, "The church’s contribution is very valuable; it can be used in a lot of places."
Hearing Elena’s words, Ed turned to look at her with a weird expression: "Can you read minds? How do you know what’s going on in my mind?"
Hearing this, Elena couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh. "Haha, no, it’s just that you always raise your eyebrows slightly whenever you have a question. Didn’t you notice?"
Hearing this, Ed touched his eyebrows: "Really? I didn’t notice either."
Seeing that the three of them agreed, Andre said directly: "This spell is still very useful here. Is the material for it on the ship?"
Gami nodded: "It’s not on the ship, but the blood from that squid can be used as a substitute. Wait, I’ll go get it for you."
After saying that, he hurriedly headed into his cabin. After a while, he came back with several vials of dark red blood and handed one to each person. Since everyone would definitely learn this spell, it was a very practical one in the Dark Region, which was surrounded in darkness all year round.
If they gave this spell to the church, the church would definitely give the three of them a lot of contributions.
Afterwards, everyone gathered around the book and looked at the important points for learning the spell. After memorizing them, they returned to their respective rooms.