I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 357 Fragments of the Earth

Jack was fast, so fast that even he was surprised.

However, he didn't have much leeway at the moment. The ball of light floating in the sea was so gentle and tranquil, just like the moon in the sky.

"Much better than those garish things in the city!"

Jack thought to himself that as a poor man in the post-apocalyptic era, he had never heard of anything like radioactivity and lacked the necessary vigilance towards fluorescent substances.

He was just following his instincts, thinking that if something could emit light, it was a treasure, and even if it wasn't valuable, it would be great to take it home as a light bulb.

"The seawater temperature hasn't changed, so it shouldn't be too hot. By the way, where did this thing come from? I didn't see it underwater earlier..." Jack slowly approached the fist-sized orb of light, then suddenly looked up, his eyes sparkling with inspiration. Looking at the moon, which emitted a similar glow to the orb, a sudden thought struck him—

"Could it have fallen from the moon? But isn't the moon supposed to be a giant earthen ball?"

Jack, still pondering this, finally reached out his hand to the orb of light. And in that instant of contact, a flood of images flashed through his mind—

The first thing that appears is a blue water sphere, and as the view zooms in, you can see countless schools of fish swimming in the sea.

Not far from the water sphere, a small sphere radiating a moon-like white glow suddenly came to life, transforming into a white, furry creature with long ears that looked somewhat like a sea slug.

The animal landed on the water sphere, dived into the sea, and searched for pebbles and gravel, piling them up in one place.

As the images flashed by, more and more sand piled up, gradually rising above the water and turning into land. Then, vegetation grew and animals flourished. The white rabbit also transformed into a beautiful black-haired girl dressed in white. She gently wiped the liquid on her forehead, which was either seawater or sweat, and admired her creation with satisfaction.

The images flickered continuously, showing huge monsters tearing each other apart and humans dressed in animal skins chasing after the beasts, before quickly transforming into a cityscape at night with towering buildings.

Just as Jack was engrossed in the story, a terrifying roar suddenly rang in his ears, and a colossal wave crashed down, shattering the city, the crowd, and the earth.

The land, once gathered together, turned back into sand and scattered across the sea, leaving only a few remnants to carry the surviving humans.

Upon seeing this scene, the girl shed a tear, which transformed back into a white, long-eared creature, flew into the sky, and coalesced into a ball of light.

However, the scene did not end there. The tear fell into the sea, mingled with the sand, and turned into orbs of light. Finally, it drifted away with the waves and scattered in all directions. The last page of the scene showed Jack holding the orbs of light.

Suddenly waking from the illusion, Jack was startled. He had been in the sea for who knows how long; if this continued, he feared he would perish…

"Hey, not cold? Maybe I wasn't actually spacing out for too long?"

Jack felt somewhat bewildered as he assessed his physical condition, but he still swung his arms, trying to swim back to his sampan. Only then did he suddenly realize that the ball of light in his hand was gone!

"Wait, it's not gone!"

Although there was absolutely no written explanation, Jack managed to understand everything from the fragmented images he had seen earlier, and he also realized what the orb of light he had encountered truly was.

"A fragment of the earth, from the moon and the goddess of the earth, the goddess of longevity and healing, the blessing of the Jade Rabbit Goddess Kaguya-hime. Whoever obtains the fragment will gain a power bestowed by the gods, a blessing from the earth..." Jack was eager to try out the magical power in his memory, but his reason made him return to the sampan, and he immediately dragged himself back to his floating house by the rope.

Floating houses are a common form of slum housing in the Blue Lagoon Islands. They are usually built on the sea where there are only a few rocks. The rocks in this location are too small, and the house is cramped even for one person, which is why it was so cheap for him. However, now it seems that building a floating house in this place with both light and noise pollution was probably the best decision he ever made.

"Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have been able to snatch the fragments of the earth!"

Jack closed the door and squinted at the light shining through the crack.

Even he knew that the ultimate goal of the Seekers was to find the Goddess of the Earth. Now, he had actually received the blessing of the Goddess of the Earth. Did this mean that he might be hunted down by the Navy?

"No, I'm afraid it's more than that. If people find out that I have fragments of the earth, not only the navy, but even the nobles in the city probably won't let me off the hook. These things are much more valuable than relics from the previous civilization!"

Although Jack felt a little apprehensive, he was more excited. How could someone who aspired to become a land seeker possibly be afraid of the Navy's pursuit?

"I don't know if those sea god followers can see the fragments of the earth; we must set sail as soon as possible!"

Jack found a fishing line on the ropes used to secure the stakes under his floating house. After feeling along it for a moment and untying a few knots, he pulled a sealed jar out of the water. He counted the amount inside and hesitated slightly. This amount of money was not enough to even reach the cargo warehouse in Catania Port.

"I shall test the power bestowed upon me by the Earth Goddess!"

Jack placed the jar in the corner, held it in front of him with both hands, and silently prayed to the Earth Goddess in his heart.

The power of the earth is the power that nurtures all things. Those who obtain fragments of the earth will also gain one or more of the three abilities of creation, change, and control, tailored to specific goals.

As Jack guided that power according to the information in his memory, the persistent dampness suddenly vanished without a trace.

Jack, who had never experienced this feeling before, could hardly understand what it meant to be dry. All he knew was that he had just climbed out of the water and there wasn't a single drop of water left on his body!

"The power to make water disappear? No, the fragments of the earth say that the power it grants can only create, change, or control, not destroy or eliminate, so it's about controlling water? But I can't make the water increase either... Ugh, why didn't I go to school?!"

……

Jack is clearly not an isolated case. Throughout the Blue Lagoon chain, or more precisely, throughout the Luther Islands, many civilians have encountered similar situations.

Only a few lucky individuals manage to discover such a thing; the majority are those who are witnessed holding up the "fragments of the earth."

However, the earth fragments are completely absorbed the moment they come into contact with a person, so unless the person says so, no one knows what they are.

Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone in this world can control their mouth...

(End of this chapter)