Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer
Chapter 90: In the Darkness

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: In the Darkness

As Gami gained vision in the darkness, he immediately controlled the Vibrating Stone Cannon below and took aim.

However, before he could fire, the monster, as if sensing the impending danger, plunged its massive body deep into the water.

Seeing this, Gami couldn’t help but curse loudly, "It sank to the bottom of the sea! Damn monster, so cunning!"

The others, however, couldn’t see a thing in the darkness and were unable to offer much help.

It should have been nighttime outside, and even if the dark clouds above suddenly thinned, no sunlight could penetrate.

At this moment, Alka suddenly had an idea. He hurriedly dismantled the nearby lanterns, took out the Lighting Stones from within, and retrieved a few more stored Lighting Stones from his ring, piling them all together.

Immediately, four cards appeared in his hand. He threw them onto the deck, and the cards emitted a transparent light from which four tall Mirrors emerged.

He skillfully manipulated the Mirrors, combining them and angling their surfaces to concentrate the light from the pile of Lighting Stones he had placed around them. The gathered and refracted light formed a searchlight beam, illuminating the sea’s surface.

In an instant, a bright shaft of light pierced the pitch-black night, illuminating the scene for everyone.

The searchlight beam locked onto the tentacles that had risen from the sea surface.

With the aid of this light, everyone could finally contribute.

Two more slender tentacles whipped upwards.

Several strands of silk materialized and shot out, tightly ensnaring the two tentacles.

Andre leaped up, blue light gathering on his right fist, then slammed it hard onto one of the tentacles. Flesh flew as the point of impact ruptured, and the entire tentacle was severed, falling away.

Chadite also delivered a whip kick, sweeping it across the other tentacle. The fluorescent glow on their leg sliced through it like a blade, severing the tentacle.

Turbid red blood spurted out.

In that brief confrontation, the two attacking tentacles were severed. Vanessa used her threads to pull the dismembered tentacles onto the deck.

"AWOOOO!"

The monster cried out in pain, the intense agony causing part of its body to surface.

Seizing the opportunity, Gami immediately fired. Several cannonballs launched fiercely, smashing into the sea. Water splashed high, shrouding the monster. When the water settled, the sea surface had turned crimson.

Chadite immediately reached out, touching the ship’s side as a faint wave of Magic Power swept downward. Turning around, they shook their head.

The monster was not dead but had already sunk to the seabed to flee.

All that remained were two slender tentacles on the deck, still twitching slightly.

"Is this a Sea Monster?" Alka couldn’t help but ask, looking at the two tentacles.

Andre nodded, gazing at the tentacles. "This should be a Sea Monster juvenile."

"This is still a juvenile?" Alka exclaimed in surprise.

This tentacle wasn’t even whole; it was severed in the middle. Even so, this single piece was at least half as thick as Alka’s body and an astonishing four to five meters long. And that was just the segment that had surfaced to attack. The total length of the tentacle must have been at least ten meters. For such a huge, squid-like Sea Monster to be just a juvenile...

How powerful would an adult be? Wouldn’t it be able to crush a sailboat into pieces with a casual swipe?

"It can’t be helped," Andre said. "It’s actually rare to encounter Sea Monsters attacking ships in the open sea. However, due to the sheer number of Sea Monsters in the Realm of Pitch Darkness, such encounters aren’t surprising here."

As the two were talking, Gami maneuvered his machine next to the still-twitching tentacles. A steel appendage extended from it, seemingly to examine the severed tentacle.

"Unlike the Sea Monsters in the outer seas, these ones can’t be eaten," Andre, who knew a great deal, continued speaking from the side. "They can only be used as materials for various Spell-related purposes."

A short while later, Gami nodded in agreement. "These two tentacles are almost saturated with Dark Power. They’ll be excellent for use with Spells related to darkness."

Here, ’darkness’ generally referred to Spells related to night and shadows—darkness in a literal sense, rather than a negative one.

"Alright, everyone, let’s clean the deck," Andre announced, walking into the small nearby storage room. He emerged with a large number of brushes and buckets. "Its blood is mixed with Magic Power and is highly corrosive. The ship’s automatic cleaning system will have a hard time with this."

To be honest, in the several months Alka had been aboard, this was the first time he had seen such tools, which were common on other ships.

Everyone was given a set of tools. The fourth-level members from below deck also brought up a few buckets of fresh water. They began cleaning the blood from the areas of the deck where the fight had taken place.

At times like this, Uncle Hammer, Matt, and the other secondary members could only assist from the sidelines.

According to Andre, this blood, tainted with darkness, was highly corrosive and somewhat harmful to humans. Ordinary people, those who hadn’t become Touched, would easily fall ill if they came into contact with it without protection. Although it might only cause minor illnesses, it was best to minimize any trouble on the open sea.

After finishing, everyone cleaned the grime off themselves and returned to their cabins to rest, no longer in the mood for cards.

However, the encounter with the relatively weak Sea Monster juvenile had indeed managed to dispel their gloomy mood.

「Blood Alliance Calendar, Year 456, September 10.」

It was growing darker. Now, even in the daytime, it was difficult to see any sunlight penetrating the pitch-black clouds. If it weren’t for the occasional rays of light breaking through the clouds, we would have completely lost our sense of day and night. Moreover, the Realm of Pitch Darkness is far more dangerous than I imagined. Everything here is extremely deadly for ordinary humans. Yet, judging by the bustle in the Southeast Corner, countless ordinary people navigate the Realm of Pitch Darkness, hoping to reap huge profits. Wealth truly blinds people to reality. As we draw closer to the epicenter of the dark outbreak, the surroundings become even more perilous.

Alka stopped writing in his logbook and closed it.

"Are you writing about the past few days?" Lucilia asked. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, lounging comfortably.

Alka nodded.

"Then are you going to continue studying the Ancient Fogan Language today?"

"I’ve been studying all morning. That’s enough for today. I’m going out for some fresh air."

As Alka spoke, he stood up. Hearing he was going out, Lucilia unhesitatingly slipped back into the necklace.

As they drew closer to the epicenter of the dark outbreak, they ventured deeper into the Realm of Pitch Darkness. Now, Lucilia was unwilling to come out anywhere except in their room. The room had Protective Spells and was hermetically sealed. The Dark Elements carried by the sea breeze would make her extremely uncomfortable. According to Lucilia, it felt like walking across a desert with scorching sunlight burning her skin. Although the sensation wasn’t fatal, it was definitely irritating and would become increasingly unbearable over time.

When Alka arrived on deck, it was still incredibly dark, even with several Lighting Stones hanging about. Their destination lay in the Middle Stage of the Realm of Pitch Darkness, still a considerable distance from the core of the dark outbreak. Judging by their sailing speed, they were now roughly in the Middle Stage. The darkness here was so profound that even the Lighting Stones struggled to dispel it.

A card appeared in his hand. As it emitted light, a Mirror materialized above it. Under Alka’s control, it transformed into a ring shape with multiple reflective surfaces. Alka lit a Lighting Stone and placed it in the center, creating a makeshift flashlight. The Mirror’s light reflection, he had to admit, was surprisingly useful in such a pitch-black realm.

"Alka, you’re here," Jason called out from the crow’s nest, where he was on simple lookout duty, having seen the beam of light form. "Come on down. I’ll take over your watch."

A lantern appeared in the crow’s nest on the mainmast, and then the light source quickly slid down along a zipline. As the light source moved closer, Alka could see Jason clearly. Jason looked somewhat lethargic, with messy hair, and even his beard had grown long and untrimmed. He appeared somewhat disheveled. After all, sailing in darkness for so long had inadvertently made him pay less attention to his appearance.

He walked over and patted Alka’s shoulder. "Alright, you go up. I’m going to get some rest."

"Get some good rest," Alka said, climbing up the rope ladder.

The crow’s nest on the mainmast was reasonably spacious, so moving around didn’t feel cramped. At the top, there was a human-head-sized brass bell. If anything suspicious was detected, he could ring the bell to send an alert down to the deck.

Ordinarily, they rarely performed such watch duties. But now things were different. The secondary crew members couldn’t even come up to the deck now; the pervasive darkness would harm their bodies. Thus, the core members had started taking turns on watch. Although nothing could be seen in the darkness, from the crow’s nest, one could sense any anomalies with the ship, thanks to the Spells set up there. In particular, one could sense dangers within the ship’s immediate vicinity.

"The darkness truly wears on one’s spirit," Alka couldn’t help but mutter.

"It’s alright. It’s like being in a mirror," Lucilia’s voice replied from the Mirror.

To pass the time and alleviate the boredom, the two began to chat idly. Darkness and isolation could drive a person mad without someone to talk to.

As the two were having a casual chat, suddenly, a series of sharp BEEPS echoed from below. A flurry of panicked footsteps sounded on the deck.

Alka immediately aimed the Mirror flashlight downward. He saw Matt and Liboka struggling to carry Hammer toward the infirmary.

Vanessa, hearing the commotion, also came out. Seeing them, she immediately ran over, took Hammer from them, and carried him into the infirmary.

Hammer, though being carried, was still struggling wildly. His mouth was open and he was shouting something. However, Alka was some distance from the deck, and with the howling of the wind in the darkness, he couldn’t hear clearly.

"He’s saying, ’Stop singing! Stop singing!’" Lucilia’s voice, unaffected by the wind, came from the Mirror.

"Stop singing?" Alka was puzzled. What did that mean?

"Didn’t your captain mention before that the darkness can cause mental disturbances? Perhaps that’s what Hammer is experiencing."

Hearing Lucilia’s suggestion, Alka recalled what the captain had said and nodded.

Yes, the captain did say something like that. But wasn’t the ship supposed to be relatively safe? I thought such problems were more likely when leaving an island. But on second thought, that warning was primarily for people like us—the Touched. Ordinary people, with weaker constitutions and no active Magic Power for protection, might be affected even while on the ship.

However, Alka was currently on watch, so he had to suppress his curiosity and wait for someone to relieve him.