Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

The surrounding seawater involuntarily crystallized, forming ice flecks.

Pororo’s head tilted back slightly, then he suddenly spat something forward.

A large amount of dark gray lightning spewed from his mouth, pouring directly into the giant serpent’s maw.

As the lightning surged in, the serpent immediately began to struggle frantically, but its jaws were firmly clamped by Pororo, rendering it immobile. Lucilia was still on its body, wildly slashing with her slender blade.

Under their combined efforts, in little over a minute, the serpent that had intended to devour them died in the water. Blood began to diffuse through the seawater.

”We can’t watch anymore; we need to get up quickly.”

The surrounding environment had been thoroughly contaminated by blood. Lucilia nodded. She quickly clung to Pororo, and the two swam rapidly upwards.

The vast amount of blood in the seawater and its potent scent began to attract predators from the vicinity and the surrounding seafloor. They started to gather. A brutal slaughter was about to occur here, as the creatures attracted were far stronger than the serpent they had just faced.

Through a hole in the ice, the two climbed out and stood once more on the swampy surface.

They quickly ran towards the place where Alka had departed earlier.

Shortly after they left, the swamp beneath where they had just been began to tremble slightly. The seawater in that area could be seen starting to ripple unnaturally, a sign of the intense battle raging below. Even the surrounding water had been stained red.

Seeing this, Pororo left swiftly without looking back.

Since they hadn’t been underwater for long, and Alka’s group wasn’t moving quickly, it didn’t take them much time—just over half an hour—to catch up with Alka and the others ahead.

”Why are you back so quickly?” Alka asked.

Pororo could only shrug. ”We ran into a clueless sea serpent. Although not very strong, its death attracted too many ocean creatures.”

Alka nodded in understanding. Who knew what powerful Sea Beasts lurked in these waters below? For these ocean creatures, the smell of blood was the most potent lure.

”It’s just as well. We’re almost done surveying here anyway,” Alka said. ”Let’s head back together in a bit.”

After speaking, they regrouped. It didn’t take long to finish surveying the surrounding area, and they began to return.

On their way back, they noticed the water already showed traces of crimson. The battle in the area where Pororo and Lucilia had been was already spreading, but this no longer concerned them. They boarded their ship and set off.

They docked the Feiyan at a small harbor near the Island. The harbor was filled with small fishing boats and the trough-like wooden planks previously used for transporting goods.

They returned to the Three Trees Seat, the lodging prepared for them.

After returning, they quickly ate the food Juanlu had left and cleaned off the stains left by the seawater. Chadite immediately returned to work, finding a quiet spot on the second floor to begin drawing maps. The remaining three—Alka, Pororo, and Lucilia—sat in the living room of the first-floor hall. Julia sat quietly beside them, reading a book.

”So, Lucilia,” Alka began, ”did you discover anything interesting?”

Hearing Alka’s question, Lucilia nodded.

She said, ”Although those ruins are very badly damaged, and the visible texts and drawings are scarce, we still made some findings. The patterns found didn’t have matching texts. However, if we consider similar patterns, where only some words differ or are simplified, then there are indeed some findings. The script strongly resembles that of the Sea of All Beings—that is, the common tongue I previously used—or a similar version of that script. It seems to be a direct lineage, with the script having undergone some changes over time.”

From Lucilia’s words, it was clear she meant that the script she currently used might have evolved from this older form. The evolution of writing systems typically shows clear traits, usually becoming simpler and easier to write. Through these changes, one can determine which texts are from an earlier era and which are more recent. And the script Lucilia had seen that day was indeed from a much earlier period.

”So, I speculate that these ruins are very likely from before the Divine War,” Lucilia continued. ”Combined with what we’ve recently discovered in the Sea of Moisture, this place very likely has deep ties with the Sea of All Beings. The ruins in this area, and the script found on them, strongly support this. But this world itself was shattered and then pieced together, making it nearly impossible to determine connections based on geographical proximity. Perhaps tens of thousands of years ago, these lands were once part of a single continent. It simply shattered in the end. One piece was formed into the safe Four Divine Seas, and another was cast into the Endless Sea. One can only make judgments based on other factors. That’s all I’ve gathered so far; I saw too few ruins. The sea serpent interrupted our deeper exploration, so we’ll have to find another way to explore later.”

Hearing Lucilia’s words, Alka nodded. There would undoubtedly be opportunities.

He had Chadite draw maps of the surroundings mainly because there were plenty of white and blue spots nearby, not far off, and they were numerous enough. And they certainly needed more regular treasure to replenish the funds for their future activities. If they didn’t replenish their funds, Jason might end up begging.

Speaking of which, for a Treasure Hunting Team, their ship’s ordinary wealth seemed rather lacking, not up to the expected standard. After all, Alka and the others had previously focused on specific Treasures, but sometimes these Treasures weren’t accompanied by any astonishing wealth. Over time, their stored wealth had been increasingly depleted. It was time to replenish it.

Meanwhile, these ordinary treasures could also help them understand the overall situation in the Sea of Moisture. Knowledge of the surrounding environment could unlock more information about Treasures. Conversely, more detailed Treasure information would allow Alka and the others to better understand the areas they were in. The two aspects were complementary.