Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 151 Bizarre and Wonderful S-Rank Skills!
"You mean you found an ancient coffin at sea that seemed to be from the land era, and you thought it was a treasure, but when you opened it, there was a well-preserved mummy inside?"
"You wanted to sell it... and donate it to the Twelve Stars research institute, but it got tainted by its [curse]?"

Shi Ming frowned.

He originally didn't want to get involved, but the location where the Ganges found the mummy happened to be near his destination, the sunken pyramid.

Such a strange thing made him feel it necessary to get to the bottom of it.

And who knows, we might even get some good intelligence.

Eliza looked worried.
She was not tainted by the "curse," but the captain of the Ganges, the pillar of their ship, became one of the victims.

"That's right, Mr. Stone. That's why we're asking for your help. You are a powerful Awakened One who hopes to lend a helping hand to the Ganges. For this, we are willing to offer a generous reward."

“I am just an ordinary A-level Awakened, not a doctor, and I have no way to help you lift this curse.”

When Eliza asked for help, Shi Ming said he was powerless to help her.

On this endless ocean, curses and unknown, strange powers—even if they aren't true mythical forces—may be connected to some conspiracy, virus, superpower, or S-class skill...

These forces should not be underestimated.

“No, Mr. Stone, we just want to exchange some Dome Crystals with you,” Eliza said.
"Dome Crystal?"

Shi Ming was puzzled.

"Can crystals cure diseases?"

"Indeed."

Shi Ming was stunned. Mummies are usually ancient artifacts. Why would the Dome Crystal from the Wandering Era be used to treat diseases caused by such ancient artifacts?

Eliza continued to explain.

"After the incident, we were forced to seek help from the Pharaoh. Ptolemy, the current captain of the Pharaoh, said that it was a curse from Horus, the god of vengeance. He hated people for disturbing his slumber and cast a curse on the usurpers, so a scale would appear on the cursed person."

"Scales?"

Shi Ming seemed to have thought of something.

"On the left side of the scale is the heart, with a gloomy feather hovering over it. On the right side of the scale is a weight-shaped crack. Only the power of the Dome Crystal can suppress the gloomy black energy in the heart. At first, soaking in seawater was enough to alleviate it, but now, it requires one Dome Crystal every hour. If it is not suppressed in time, the cursed person will die."

The captain of the Ganges, Singh, who was standing nearby, lifted his coat.

Shi Ming was surprised to find that Singh's left and right chests actually had "scales" made of gloomy black energy.

The black mist on the left looks a lot like a feather.

The black mist on the right side resembles a weight.

Singh picked up the last crystal on the Ganges with a heavy heart and brought it to the right side of the scale. The crystal slowly melted and actually merged into it, and the black aura on the left side, near the heart, was greatly reduced.

This reminded Shi Ming of a legend about the Pharaoh's kingdom.

After death, a person's soul is guided by Anubis to the underworld. At this time, the god of the underworld will place the person's heart on a scale. If the weight of the heart exceeds the weight of the feather on the left, it means that the person has committed many evils, and the soul will be eaten by the demons of the underworld, and will never be able to be reincarnated.

The legend reflects reality, doesn't it?
"What about the mummy?"

“We were worried that we might disturb the gods and cause it to return to the sea.”

Shi Ming has lived in the entire city of Bengbu. Before you've even figured things out, are you just going to throw it away like this?

He frowned, looking at the black aura surrounding Captain Singh of the Ganges, and blinked.

What curse of Horus, the god of vengeance?
He didn't believe it.

All twelve Titans have fallen. This is an era without gods. He does not believe in the gods in the legends of the Pharaoh's kingdom. Horus has survived for so many years and can still cause trouble. There must be someone behind him.

[Intelligence Eye: Gather intelligence.]

[Beep~ Beep~]

[Intelligence being compiled...]

[Searching. Confirming host's detailed coordinates... Search successful, intelligence summary in progress... Intelligence generated.]

[S-Rank Skill: Feather of the Nether Serpent] [Ranked 97th in the S-Rank Skill Ranking.]

Sure enough, what kind of divine curse?

It's just an S-rank skill! And it's ranked 97th.

[A curse-type skill that can imbue external objects with the power of the Nether Serpent's Feather. Those who come into contact with it will be infected with the Nether Serpent's mark. When the mark's power is triggered, the infected person will suffer immense pain, and black mist will linger around their body. Only by using the power of the Dome Crystal or Pure Dome Crystal can the pain be alleviated, but this is merely a temporary fix. The infected person's left side of their heart will also gradually crystallize.]

[If an infected person survives for 7 days, their heart will transform into the "Heart of the Underworld Serpent."]

Those who possess the skill "Nether Serpent's Feather" can enhance their skill's strength and evolve/upgrade it by consuming "Nether Serpent's Heart." The greater the host's physical strength, the higher the quality of "Nether Serpent's Heart."

【…】

[Method to dispel the Feathers of the Nether Serpent:]

[1. Slowly eliminate the erosion with power of equal level.]

[2. Upon killing the user of the skill, the Feather of the Nether Serpent will naturally dissipate.]

……

It's still the awakened ones causing trouble.

S-rank skills are incredibly diverse, including defensive skills, offensive skills, and even some insidious curse-type skills.

Clearly, the Feather of the Nether Serpent is such a skill. It is similar to the "raising of Gu" in some literary works that Shi Ming saw in his previous life. It uses a human body as a shell to feed the master and gains an improvement by consuming the results.

It is unknown which awakened force is behind it.

"Yes, I can exchange them for you with Dome Crystals, but this method of restraint is clearly only treating the symptoms, not the root cause."

"It's like drinking poison to quench thirst; we must find the problem at its root and solve it."

Shi Ming felt it necessary to remind his clients, since they had just used quite a few good items to exchange for thirty Dome Crystals.

"We have been invited by Ptolemy to travel to the Pharaoh for assistance. It seems that Ptolemy has a powerful S-class Awakener under his command who can help us dispel the curse within 7 days."

???

7?
Is it the Awakened One's skill called the Feather of the Nether Serpent?

Within 7 days, the curse may not have been dispelled, and the Heart of the Underworld Serpent may have taken root.

Your captain has become someone else's food too!

"Every gift of the era of wandering comes with a price tag. And some prices may be shown outside the game."

Shi Ming didn't say much, but he subtly reminded them that he was only speculating, and raising questions without solving them could escalate the conflict and cause unnecessary trouble. Therefore, he could only subtly remind the people on the Ganges to be more vigilant.

Moreover, perhaps I'm overthinking it. Could the S-class Awakened Ones on the Pharaoh really help them dispel the curse?

Where is the Pharaoh now?

"30 degrees east longitude, 30 degrees north latitude."

The Pharaoh's kingdom was not large, and it was quite convenient, making it a necessary stop on the way to explore the sunken pyramids.

But there's no need to create unnecessary complications.

"Would Brother Stone like to come with us?"

"Ptolemy will also hold a seven-day sea beast feast, where he will sell the blood and remains of an S-class sea beast that has not awakened its power. This beast can no longer awaken power, but it has a variety of other great uses."

Oh?
Shi Ming became somewhat interested.

Upgrading a general-class drifting ship requires the blood of different S-class sea monsters. At the beginning, only one type is needed, but more and more will be required later on.

He needs to save some money so that he won't be short of funds when he needs it in the future.

(End of this chapter)