Chapter 774 The Earthquake <TOC> Chapter 776 Tulas
Translator: SumTLMan
As Angel was organizing Haska’s potions, he noticed one bottle that bore no label. The deep green liquid within appeared ordinary, yet it held an intriguing, profound weight to it, arresting one’s gaze.
Angel used the Eye of Nalda for identification, and the result left him surprised.
“Withering Vigil.” It was a middle-grade potion, and a rather unique one at that.
The effect was described in a single sentence: “Reduces life consumption, effectively prolonging lifespan.”
At first glance, this effect seemed rather mundane, hardly befitting the grandeur of a middle-grade potion. However, upon reading the notes attached, Angel’s eyes lit up.
“Using this potion does not consume any potential. However, during the potion’s active duration, the physical body will experience a significant withering, becoming as frail as a mortal. This effect is reversible. The maximum lifespan extension can reach up to a hundred years.”
The mere fact that it doesn’t consume any potential already justified its status as a middle-grade potion. By shrinking physical consumption, it squeezed out a lifespan of up to a hundred years, making it the most potent life-extending potion Angel currently possessed.
Furthermore, as it doesn’t consume potential, it could be used in combination with other life-extending potions. For many wizard apprentices stuck at the Great Barrier, this was an exceedingly precious potion.
The Withering Vigil, it always waits for the sweet return of spring.
This potion alone could potentially fetch tens of thousands of magic crystals at an auction. Angel hadn’t expected to find such a precious potion here.
However, this also heightened his vigilance. Haska’s ability to calmly jot down notes was largely due to his ample lifespan. He believed that with his remaining life, coupled with this “Withering Vigil,” he could overcome the Great Barrier. Once he became a fully-fledged wizard, leaving this place would be straightforward by using the Plane Corridor.
What Haska didn’t anticipate was that underneath the seemingly calm surface of this area, danger lurked. Ultimately, due to his carelessness, he remained here forever.
“What a pity, Haska didn’t record what the hidden danger on this silent ilse was.”
The most abundant of Haska’s collection were potions, with several magic rune scrolls, all unopened. This suggested that his death was swift, leaving no time for resistance.
With a heavy heart, Angel packed up Haska’s belongings, preparing to continue his search for clues.
However, not long after he left, he found himself returning to the desolate area. He had taken all the extraordinary items but left all the ordinary living supplies untouched.
Initially, he thought that he didn’t lack these supplies and taking them would serve no purpose. But as he walked away, he felt a tinge of unease. Leaving these mundane objects so conspicuously out in the open seemed somewhat inappropriate.
If this island truly is the destination sought by Song of the Deep Sea and Summer Dew Ridge, their arrival would allow them to deduce from the untarnished supplies that someone had previously inhabited this island.
Angel was aware that formal wizards possessed a certain spell, referred to as “Rewind Illusion.” This spell could trace the faintest of clues, rewinding time to restore the truth of history.
The traces he left behind here were so significant that even the necessities of life were left out in the open, potentially providing others with a handle against him. With this realization, Angel turned back and pulled out a disposable spacial capsule from his bracelet, storing all the supplies in it.
Simultaneously, he meticulously erased his traces in the vicinity, including his pheromones. Once everything was completed, he finally turned around and departed.
Angel didn’t visit the ship graveyard again, as more than half of the ships inside were damaged. He wouldn’t find any useful information there, so he decided to follow the coastline and see if there were traces of other people.
The ships in the ship graveyard were mostly vessels that sailed in the Devil’s Sea. The smallest of these ships could carry over 50 people, and there were many that could carry over a thousand. However, strangely enough, he didn’t see many skeletons in the ship graveyard.
This suggested that many people disembarked. After disembarking, traces of human activity and clues would be left behind. Therefore, what Angel was searching for now were the gathering places of these disembarked individuals.
He carefully inspected as he walked along the coast.
Human trash occasionally appeared on the coast, but complete human traces were not seen. It wasn’t until Angel arrived at a river leading to the sea that he saw numerous remnants of fire pits.
There should have been many people gathered here before, but there were no skeletons nearby, implying that they didn’t stay here for long.
Angel’s gaze didn’t rest on the opposite bank of the river but instead followed the river leading to the sea, looking towards its source. This sea-bound river probably connected to a lake on the island, or to an underground waterway.
Since ancient times, humans have always lived close to rivers. For instance, many primitive tribes in the central region of the Feran Continent would always have a river near the locations where they built their tribes.
Even if the water in this river was filthy, Angel still believed that the survivors might have followed the river upstream.
He walked along the riverbank, heading back towards the inland direction.
While walking, he also controlled the scouting puppet to investigate the situation under the river.
The scouting puppet was something he found on the ship of the White Shell Shipping Company he had previously explored. There was a whole box of them, which he didn’t hesitate to take. Using it as a wizard’s eye at this time was clearly much more convenient than searching by himself.
In Angel’s view, the world under the water was far more splendid than what he could see with his naked eye.
While submerged, Angel would occasionally stumble upon a few remains. However, near the riverbank, there were no significant discoveries. The intermittent skeletal remains in the water, however, reinforced his belief that he would find clues further along the bank.
After a brief half hour’s journey, Angel finally beheld a plateau leaning against a cliffside. Signs of human habitation were evident here, there were even houses built of wooden planks.
Simultaneously, the area was strewn with an abundance of bones.
The skeletal remains were dispersed, and their positions at the time of death suggested a possible attempt to flee in all directions.
These bones carried fragments of information, like personal diaries, iron box necklaces, and so on. Angel had an intuitive feeling that he could find more clues among them.
One by one, the diaries appeared in Angel’s hands. After reading, he would respectfully return them to their original position.
As he delved deeper into the readings, his expression gradually turned grave. Among all the entries, most were filled with desolate moans and hysterical cries. However, amidst these desperate utterances, Angel noticed a term that almost every person used
—Dark Figure.
Every now and then, a dark figure would attack, ruthlessly killing people before retreating. Its methods of killing were diverse, and the speed of execution was incredibly swift. Often, it took merely a blink of an eye, and one would feel a splash of warmth on their face. Upon opening their eyes, they would find their comrade decapitated beside them.
The dark figure was like a monstrous entity in the dark, weighing heavily on everyone’s hearts. Many collapsed under the pressure, some even baring their own fangs, turning on their companions. Others chose to end their own lives, jumping into the river.
Only then did Angel understand why there were so many skeletal remains in the river he had seen earlier.
After reading these people’s diaries and considering the account of Goblin on the ship Night Elf and the dark figure he had seen earlier, Angel felt an intangible pressure.
According to their descriptions of the dark figure, it was possible that Haska had fallen victim to it.
A single, fatal blow – that was the only explanation for why Haska didn’t even have time to pull out his magic rune scroll.
Angel didn’t disturb the people’s remains. After erasing his traces, he approached a cave on the cliffside. This was a clearly man-made cave, not too deep, with fewer remains inside compared to the outside.
Moreover, the skeletons here were mostly clad in iron armor, presumably knights. After all, only occupations like knights could hew such a cave in a short amount of time.
Among the armored skeletons, Angel couldn’t find any clues; professionals seldom vent their emotions through written words.
However, it was worth noting that their armor was intact, without a scratch.
Contrary to the occasional half-bones found elsewhere, their armors were intact, marred only by time’s rust stains, and bereft of other damage. Their bones bore no signs of external injuries, making their cause of death rather puzzling. Could that “dark figure” be proficient in energy manipulation?
Having traversed the cave, Angel presumed he’d discovered all he could. Yet, in a remote corner — inside a pile of withered wood cordoned off by a wooden fence — he stumbled upon hidden skeletal remains.
Nearby lay a notebook.
On examining it, Angel found the contents similar to those of others — accidental arrival from the Gear Abyss, landing in the ship graveyard… It wasn’t until the last few lines that he took the notes seriously.
The notebook mentioned the same “terrifying dark figure”, yet the author seemed to be chronicling while hiding in the pile of decayed wood.
The hastily scrawled sentence read, “He’s outside, I saw him, he killed Taki, Moanna… I’m so scared, I’m about to die… Ah! I’ve seen him! I saw his silhouette when he was killing Joseph! His attire, attire… the horned helmet and the broken-legged hook, like a man, the legendary pirate recorded in the books — the Tyrant King, Tulas!… Damn, he’s found me…”
The record ended there. However, from this information, Angel managed to deduce a few things.
Firstly, he finally learned the identity and name of the Tyrant King. Although termed a “legendary” pirate, it was likely a mere mortal title, unrelated to the legendary wizards.
The owner of these bones was from the Flaming Bronze Era of the Feran Continent, 1500 years ago — a time when a fleet of ships were just starting to take to the sea, and this individual was one of those young explorers.
A record of the “Tyrant King” existed in his chronicles 1500 years ago.
And Goblin from the Dark Elf, a mere 300 years ago, also encountered the “Tyrant King”.
This could mean one thing: this Tyrant King had been alive for a very long time, and might still be alive now.
The identity of the “dark figure” was now clear. Perhaps the one who killed Haska was also this Tyrant King. What remained uncertain was the circumstances of this individual, why he murdered so many people, and… where he could possibly be?