Chapter 701: Clashing Seas (1/2)

Zac wasn’t too surprised about the first destination being Cork Island. The Twilight Ocean shared the same odd feature as many other Mystic Realms that were actively managed by the System; it was randomized between trials, just like Earth upon the Integration. However, a lot of features were constant even after the randomization, and Cork Island was one location that always appeared somewhere in the early parts of the Twilight Ocean.

People had tried for ages to create vessels that worked in this odd place, but they were either restricted by the system or simply didn’t work while submersed in the mystic waters of this place. But the place was simply too big to just randomly travel around by foot, and people had found some workarounds; one was to jump into the powerful streams that passed through the Mystic Realm.

Another way to build vessels with the help of pre-fabricated runes and locally sourced materials.

The trees at Cork Island were quite popular as a material for making underwater vessels. The trees had a diameter of up to twenty meters, which allowed you to hollow one out and create roomy submersibles. Even better, the thick bark both had strong defensive properties while also isolating some of the Twilight Energies permeating the air.

Finding Cork Island and building a vessel would give you a leg up against the competition, though it wasn’t the only solution people had found over the ages. Rocks, shells, corals, even large beasts. People had managed to turn all kinds of things into odd submarines that only worked in this world. A few even managed to create flying vessels, but those were less popular as over 90% of the valuables were hidden in the depths of the ocean.

“How come Cork Island instead of the Monolith Forest?” Sharpo asked with a hollow voice, which gave Zac a start. “Why are we traveling along the Living Pulse?”

It was a good question, and one Zac would have thought to ask if he didn’t still think from the perspective of a human. Cork Island was a pretty decent spot, but it was ultimately preferred by the living factions since it was filled with trees. Meanwhile, the undead factions gravitated more toward unliving materials such as the stalagmites that the ghost mentioned.

Neither material was better than the other, but the risk of being caught up in a conflict was lower if they aimed for the Monolith Forest instead.

As for the Living Pulse, it was one of the more famous underwater currents. This one, in particular, had been given the name the Living Pulse since it could take cultivators to a series of decent opportunities for the living. It was pretty dangerous though, so it required both knowledge of the stream and some defensive means.

The pulse was often erratic, lashing out with force even exceeding the E-grade. Similarly, there was a Death Pulse that passed by the Monolith Forest. Both pulses would ultimately lead into the outer waters where the group could start looking for the Life-Death Pearls or continue toward the Twilight Chasm.

“That’s the path the esteemed numerologist found for us,” Catheya shrugged. “Don’t worry. Those who reach that place as quickly as we will are more focused on reaching the depths of the ocean than fighting it out with other groups. We only need to be careful after having built or vessel in case someone wants to snatch it.”

“What’s the matter, ghost?” Qirai grinned. “Didn’t we come to this place to hone ourselves? Barging through the Living Pulse sounds a lot more exciting than going the other way. It’s the path of the elite.”

Sharpo didn’t respond nor inquire further, and neither did Zac. However, he knew the explanations were mostly excuses. He was willing to bet his right arm that this route had something to do with the additional mission of Catheya’s, the one that he had been enlisted to help out with in return for dealing with the Veilplume Monarch.

Zac wasn’t overly worried about heading to the Living Pulse though. If things went downhill he could always use his escape talismans and swap to his human form, blending in with the living. His Array would lose its efficacy for a month, but that didn’t really matter now that he was inside the Mystic Realm.

Of course, he didn’t want to use his Specialty Core unless necessary. The System shielded others from looking inside, but who knew if the brand he had been marked with was recording his actions. If possible, he wanted to rid himself of that egg along with the brand before swapping between races.

“Alright, the quicker we move the less likely it’s for trouble to appear,” Catheya said. “Let’s go. Feel free to pick up loot on the way, but don’t cause trouble for the others.”

The group immediately sped up after sinking to the ocean floor, and they spread out a bit with Catheya in the middle so they could trawl a thin stretch of seabed for valuables. Zac didn't find anything interesting over the first two hours, but he eventually spotted an odd plant that looked like a tall grey coral that grew grey seaweed that resembled palm leaves. It didn’t look very exciting, but he could sense some spiritual fluctuation hidden beneath the long grey leaves.

Zac immediately shot forward, feeling he had finally found something of value. However, he wasn’t the only one as Qirai blasted forward with enough force to cause a small whirlwind in the water behind her. The plant was slightly closer to Zac, but the Titan was surprisingly quick so they reached the plant at the same time.

“Mine,” Qirai said while trying to stare down Zac, but he only snorted and ripped up the plant by its roots and threw it into his spatial ring.

“Keep to your own lane, Titan,” Zac spat, which caused the aura of Qirai to veritably explode as she took a threatening step forward.

“Alright, that’s enough, you two,” an exasperated voice reached the two of them as the waters turned freezing. “No need to fight over one little fruit. You need tens of thousands to get a chance at a decent spot on the ladder. Everyone gets a two-kilometer berth. And Arcaz, don’t rip out the whole tree. Just pluck the fruits. Don’t you know about the rules of conservation?”

Zac nodded as he glanced in the direction of Catheya, but he still didn’t take the tree out. It had already been harvested, and it would probably not survive even if replanted. Qirai glared one last time at Zac before she flashed away, her movement skill causing a massive shockwave that even pushed Zac a few steps back.

A small smile crept up along Zac’s lips as he looked at the Titan swim away in a huff. He wondered if the Titan Revenant’s predecessor was so irascible that it carried over through the awakening, or if it was just something that was hardwired into their muscles.

“According to my calculations, we’ll reach an area where we can jump onto the pulse in a bit under two weeks,” Catheya’s voice continued, and Zac realized that it came from a small ice crystal that floated next to him. ”In total it will take almost three months to reach the inner layer. You two only need to cooperate until then. After we’ve farmed our pearls, we can go our separate ways.”

“No worries,” Zac smiled. “People always compliment me on how well I work with others.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Catheya laughed through the ice crystal, after which it melted and blended into the water in the surroundings.

Zac didn’t immediately set out, but he rather waited a few seconds before he took out the coral-like tree and harvested the Twilight Fruit. It was the first time getting a good look at it in person, and it didn’t look much for the world; just a grey peach-like fruit. However, the reason why he was ready to come to blows with Qirai over this low-tier item wasn’t because of any goals related to the Fate-Plucking Ladder.

After almost four years, he had finally found an item that elicited a response from [Love’s Bond].

The reaction was small, but it was definitely there. Alea wanted something from this tree, and it only took a few seconds to confirm that it was the fruit itself. Zac's heart beat in anticipation as he pressed the fruit against his amulet, and a smile spread across his face as he saw it getting drained in an instant, leaving just a husk behind.

This discovery was huge, and it brought even more excitement than the ability to ward off the Twilight Energy. He had no idea why Alea wanted the Twilight Fruits, but he thought it might be related to its reconciliatory effects. The items he had used when forming [Love’s Bond] had ultimately been a mixed hodgepodge of things he had at hand.