Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 616: Chapter 288: Reason / Apostasy_2

Unable to find any reason, the only choice was to ask Alka himself.

In this process, the only thing Lucilia felt was sadness, an all-encompassing pain. Unsettling emotions madly flooded her mind.

The main thing was that she could empathize; the pain, as if she had experienced it herself, felt so real.

And the origin of this pain seemed closely related to them.

Even though she didn’t intend to cry, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Chadite was also standing nearby, watching Alka.

By now, the snowflakes in the sky had long since disappeared. The moment Alka awoke, the snow on the ground rapidly melted.

The dream creatures scattered throughout the Dream World stirred back to life, moving about once more.

Alka listened to Lucilia’s question and then looked at Chadite.

”Let’s go out and talk. We’ll tell them too. I...”

Seeing Alka hesitate, unsure how to continue, Chadite didn’t press further and simply nodded.

He and Lucilia quickly returned to their own Dream Realm and awoke.

「...」

”What’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me! If you don’t say anything, how can I help?” Jason asked, looking at the Crystal Dragon before him on the deck.

The Crystal Dragon was currently the size of an ordinary person, and that wasn’t even counting her long, slender tail or the wings folded against her body. Her torso alone was as large as Jason.

But she didn’t seem to be in a good state. Unusually languid, she was curled up on the deck, quietly staring at the nearby Ocean, her thoughts a mystery.

Even when Jason questioned her, she remained silent.

She hadn’t uttered a single word since waking up and coming out onto the deck.

”Jason, let her be for a bit,” Julia, who was nearby, said, seeming to have noticed something. ”She doesn’t seem emotionally stable. She might need some time to collect herself.”

Hearing this, Jason nodded. He cast a worried glance at the Crystal Dragon, then sighed and sat down by the flower bed. He looked at Chadite lying on the carpet and the doll beside him, then sighed again. ”Sigh, what a mess this all is.”

”’Hmm...’ A mumble arose from the carpet.”

The few people nearby quickly looked over. They saw Chadite open his eyes and sit up; Lucilia, beside him, was also awakening.

”How did it go? Was it successful? I don’t feel that sadness anymore,” Jason asked.

Chadite nodded.

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from the sterncastle, and everyone turned to look.

Alka was walking over, shaking his head slightly.

Seeing that Alka appeared to be alright, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, to be certain there were no issues, Matilda swam over, wagging her tail. She placed her hand on Alka’s shoulder to check his condition.

”Aside from low spirits, I didn’t find anything else unusual,” she reported.

”Thank you,” Alka nodded.

”So, what on earth were you doing in the Dream Realm to cause such a huge commotion?” Jason asked curiously.

The disturbance Alka had caused this time had been incredibly intense, affecting almost everyone on the ship. They had all clearly felt that sudden, overwhelming sorrow, to the point where they lost control of their own emotions. They could only let their tears flow as the sadness engulfed them, leaving them feeling weak and unbearably distressed.

That grief was profound, heart-wrenching.

Meeting everyone’s questioning gazes, Alka simply sat down on the wooden stairs.

He let out a long, slow breath.

A Mirror materialized beside him, and from it stepped Huan. As Huan moved, crisp bells chimed. After emerging, Huan, this ethereal, dreamlike creature that seemed almost unreal, came to Alka’s side and lay down.

Alka stroked its head and began to speak.

”Initially, I was just planning my future path. Everything was normal.

Until I simulated Mirmi—that crimson fog deer that pulled us into the Dream Realm before.”

”You dared to simulate that thing so casually?” Simon exclaimed in surprise.

Seeing their expressions, Alka knew they had misunderstood.

He explained, ”I wasn’t simulating its monstrous form. As I told you before, its blood-red state indicates it’s already corrupted. I simulated Mirmi in its original, healthy state. That’s what Huan would look like when fully grown. You know I used a Treasure to turn Mirmi into a trophy, and I also obtained related memory fragments from that. So, I could simulate it almost perfectly.”

Hearing this explanation, everyone nodded. They then looked again at the large, dreamlike fog deer, Huan, lying beside Alka.

Under normal circumstances, it was indeed a very mystical and benevolent-looking creature.

”And then?”

”My simulation was going very well; I successfully replicated it.”

”The problem arose from something I never could have anticipated. Even if I were to do it again, meticulously considering every aspect, I still wouldn’t have foreseen it.”

Hearing this, everyone found a place to sit nearby and listened quietly.

They were extremely curious.

After all, the commotion they had just experienced had been incredibly intense.

That feeling of sorrow, especially, had deeply affected them. It was as if the grief itself prevented them from thinking too deeply about its source.

It felt... as if someone very dear to them was suffering.

Even now, thinking about it, they felt an overwhelming pity, an unbearable urge to help and comfort.