Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 327: The Power of Greed

The gnawing hunger continued to torment Shard, so much so that even the scent of Miss Princess’s perfume beside him was enticing his current appetite.

But this intense desire to eat also obscured other sensations brought about by venturing too deep into the ship’s cabin. He had never felt such hunger before, and if it weren’t for the fact that eating anything would only exacerbate the hunger, Shard would have consumed his own clothes by now.

"So, why can these sailors, who are clearly not from our era, all speak the standard Draleon language?"

As they continued forward, Shard still had the presence of mind to inquire about this; Miss Princess was very worried about his condition and quietly answered his question:

"In fact, most Relics that can communicate with us use the contemporary language. Relics and Whisper Element are related to civilization’s darkness, and they also draw power from civilization. Shard, you..."

She bit her lip, unsure of how to express her gratitude to Shard for risking his safety to accompany her.

After leaving the room with the black pots at its entrance, the pair proceeded further into the ship. More and more skeletal remains appeared at their feet, and the human skeletons fused with the fungal growths on the walls became increasingly hideous and terrifying. Eventually, the stains left by plasma on the walls merged into nauseating, peculiar Runes, affecting the souls of the living along with the ship.

Seeing Shard’s poor condition, Miss Princess took the lead. To be on guard for surprises, she summoned her Ring of Fate, and as a result, Shard caught a glimpse of Miss Princess’s Core Spirit Runes.

There were three Core Runes: "Writer," "Princess," and "Role Playing," very similar to a friend of Shard’s. The Five-Ring Sorceress also quietly explained to Shard her Low Fourth Ring Ascension Words, or "The ’Slumbering’ ’Princess’ gains ’Serenity’ between ’Reality’ and ’Dreams’"

"Stop."

About thirty steps away from the chef’s cabin, Miss Princess halted. Looking ahead, directly in the middle of the corridor, was a wooden chest shimmering with a golden glimmer, as if all the nearby light gathered on it, tempting any onlooker to explore its contents.

They absolutely didn’t want to touch such an obviously trap-laden object if they could help it. However, the large chest in the middle of the corridor, coupled with the thick fungal carpets on the walls, made the already narrow passage completely impassable.

"Watch this."

The blonde girl said, fishing out a rolled-up piece of Parchment from her dress pocket. After tossing the Parchment into the air, where it spontaneously combusted, she took a deep breath, and green flecks of light flew out from her hair, slowly forming a very blurry figure wielding a bow and arrows beside her.

Miss Princess was a Circle Sorcerer skilled in the Mastery of Enlightening Elements, adept at drawing power from fairy tales and stories. And the Spellcasting Materials for such Arcane Techniques were usually stories the Caster themselves had transcribed.

The translucent archer bowed slightly to Miss Princess and then approached the twinkling Treasure Chest Monster.

Just as a hand reached out to lift the lid, the chest immediately "sprang" up. Such a description isn’t quite right; it would be more accurate to say that two slender legs underneath the chest hoisted it upright.

Similarly, slender arms extended from the sides of the chest, and at the same time, the lid opened to reveal sharp teeth and a thick, crimson tongue. Using two slender legs as its legs and the chest itself as its body and teeth, this humanoid creature opened its mouth wide in an attempt to devour the archer.

From a distance, Miss Princess clenched her fist sharply, and the cancellation of the Magic withdrew the archer back into green flecks of light and vanished. Simultaneously, she pulled out a new piece of Parchment, tossed it into the air, and the image that emerged from the burnt Parchment was a solid figure with the same visage as Miss Princess.

This figure wore a blue Princess dress and a silver crown atop its head.

The Arcane Technique of the archer was likely only utilizing a Spirit Talisman, thus the archer’s figure appeared blurry. But the second story was constructed on the foundation of a Low Fourth Ring Ascension, making it as real as the nearly successful Miss Luisa’s "Little Match Girl."

The Princess emerged from the story, clutching a golden spindle, and approached the Treasure Chest Monster that had already lunged forward with a faint, ethereal smile on her face.

"Delay it for a moment," Miss Princess said.

"Alright."

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An arc of silvery light flew past the Princess’s cheek like a blade. Even the monster dared not receive the hit straightforwardly and had no choice but to crouch back into the form of a chest.

With a clang, the Silvermoon Slash struck the chest, leaving only an inconspicuous mark.

Taking advantage of the moment, the Princess holding the spindle drew closer to the chest. As the chest reverted to a monster form, she directly stabbed the spindle into the creature’s crimson tongue.

Thump.

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The Princess and the spindle disappeared together, and the creature collapsed onto the ground. As the chest’s faint breaths resembled soft, shallow gasps, it fell into a deep slumber.

This was far more effective than Dr. Schneider’s hypnosis, which, when used on a Circle Sorcerer, required direct contact to work and had absolutely no such effect on non-human creatures.

The archer reappeared beside Miss Princess, drawing the bow, but the fired arrows couldn’t penetrate the monster’s head.

Miss Princess looked at Shard, who nodded in acknowledgment. He reached into the air and slowly drew out his Holy Silver Two-Handed Greatsword.

Approaching the treasure chest monster, he raised his sword with both hands and then thrust it fiercely into the seam of the chest. No blood of strange color flowed out; instead, the thin limbs and the chest itself turned to a chalky color and then crumbled into a pile of dust like a sand sculpture.

However, with the monster’s death, a black light actually surged along the holy silver greatsword into Shard’s body.

"Hmm?"

[The Greedy One shall always pay a price; as the greed in their hearts accumulates, it becomes a part of what they most desire.]

[Relic—Treasure Chest Monster, has granted you new power.]

[Outlander, you have gained insight into ’greed’.]

"What does that mean? It’s not Arcane Technique or Sorcery, nor is it a Spirit Rune?"

[The creature you killed is extremely special, it can be regarded as a creature born purely out of greed. By killing it, you have inherited its greed. This is both Enlightenment and Whisper, but not yet enough to constitute a Spirit Rune.]

"Understood, so that means as long as I gain more insight, the probability of obtaining the Greed Spirit Rune will increase significantly."

Shard concluded, then once again clutched his stomach. His focus returned after the battle ended, and the sensation of hunger surged up, making him long for the feeling of being full once again.

"Are you all right? I saw a black light just now, was that a curse?"

Miss Princess also came over, commanding the archers beside her to carefully sweep away the gray dust on the ground, ensuring it wouldn’t reform.

"I’m fine, it’s not a curse. The treasure chest monster was not part of this ship; it was a Relic itself. I merely touched its power."

Shard suddenly sniffed and then looked at Miss Princess. After she blushed a bit, he said:

"Let’s keep moving, I want to get out of here as soon as possible. Either Coldwater Port or a restaurant in Tobesk is fine, I’m starving."

"Once we leave, I’ll treat you to a late-night snack."

Probably due to the special characteristics of this dilapidated pirate ship, the length of the straight corridor leading to the cabins was actually longer than the ship itself.

Before reaching the staircase leading to the next deck, Shard and the girl beside him encountered two cabins they could enter. Inside were fish-headed, humanoid sailors playing cards, and a small boy crying in the dark with his back to the cabin’s door.

Trusting the cook’s words, the two chose not to interact with any of the crew members within the rooms. As they proceeded, the fungal carpet beneath their feet had become so thick that they no longer felt the floor when they stepped on it, and finally, in the darkness illuminated by the silver light at their fingertips, the staircase leading downward appeared.

However, as they got closer, both saw a figure sitting on the third step of the staircase, back facing them. They cautiously slowed down and saw that, at least from the back, it should be a man with curly black hair, wearing a short-sleeved sailor shirt.

But what he looked like from the front, neither Shard nor Miss Princess could guess.

Drops of water kept dripping from his entire body with a tick-tock sound, audible only once they moved closer. A cold feeling emanated from him; the temperature inside the ship, located in a creepy, dark maritime area, was already not high, but as they approached the staircase, it suddenly dropped below freezing.

The most direct evidence of this was that the breath of Shard and Miss Princess was now visible as mist in the air.

The figure sitting in the middle of the staircase blocked their path; there was no way to pass. Looking at the unguarded back, Shard, starving as he was, really felt an impulse to strike with his sword. Fortunately, he still had some sense left, and Miss Princess once again signaled that she would handle the problem:

"Don’t underestimate a Five-Ring Sorceress, though I don’t have your powerful psychic resistance, I won’t lose in a direct confrontation."

The girl, whose hair had mostly turned red, asked Shard to wait where he was, while she deliberately made her footsteps louder and continued forward, stopping five steps away from the staircase entrance.

"I..."

The figure on the staircase began to speak at that moment, with a slow and hoarse voice, like an elderly gentleman:

"I fell into the sea."

The sound of dripping water became louder and louder. Shard made the light on his fingertips brighter to help Miss Princess illuminate the area.

"Then, the sea swallowed me up, swallowed up my body and soul. Even though the captain took me in, part of my spirit and body remained forever in the sea."

The Female Sorcerer looked down at her feet, where the dampness was spreading toward them, reflecting the moonlight from Shard’s fingertips. The two then noticed that the fungal carpet wrapping around the corridor had not reached the entrance to the stairs; the flooring was already exposed in front of them. The dampness seemed to be spreading from the person sitting on the staircase because of the water continuously dripping from him, but logic dictated that the water shouldn’t have spread from the third step all the way up to their position.