Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

Marna nodded knowingly, which made Roy's eyelids twitch. He thought he had said his words in a very Kal'tsit-esque way, but he didn't expect that the Terrans would fall for it. No wonder he couldn't blame Kal'tsit.

"So what if Skadi comes from Argor? Coming from a country has no necessary connection with being powerful. Even in a country full of geniuses, there are bound to be idiots."

“But Agor is indeed superior to land-based countries in every way. They even have flush toilets,” Roy said.

Marna was taken aback: "What?"

“It’s nothing. How strong Agor is is not important. What’s important is what he’s facing, which is also the reason Skadi is so strong—the seaborn. Born in the ocean, but not a product of natural evolution. If you were to make a comparison for the seaborn, they would be like a conscious cancer.”

Terra also suffers from cancer, but its threat level is far less deadly than Oripathy in the face of the absurd medical technology of Originium Magic. Roy used this analogy primarily to describe Sealing's tenacious vitality and extraordinary reproductive capacity.

"It is a kind of creature that can continuously evolve in a directed manner according to external conditions, enemy types, and even its own will. The lower-level individuals among them are called Terror Fish, while the higher-level individuals are even more bizarre. The types I know of alone include humanoid (First Speaker), winged beast humanoid (Third Stage of Butcher), and even twin flower type that reaches the size of several stories (Bishop Saltwind)."

Upon hearing Roy's description, Marna's expression turned somewhat strange. It was incredibly difficult for a normal Terran to imagine what Haizi actually looked like, let alone Roy's description, which sounded like it was copied from some low-quality children's cartoon.

It sounds so outrageous that it's almost believable.

"So what's the purpose of those so-called sea creatures? You're not going to tell me they want to destroy the land, are you?"

“Destroying the land is merely a process, not the result,” Roy replied. “In contrast to the bizarre evolutionary abilities of the Sealings, their social structure is singular. They call themselves ‘the Great Group,’ meaning all individuals are unified under the same entity, a kind of honeycomb-like thinking. This kind of thinking brings with it their extreme desire for survival—unlike the nations of the land, they don’t divide their territory and sphere of influence on the wasteland. They have no moral concepts, and consequently, they don’t acknowledge any ‘limitation’ to their living space.”

"Before I noticed them, the Agor civilization in the ocean had been independently resisting the Sea Infestation. To prevent the ever-evolving Sea Infestation from gaining resistance to heavy weapons like firearms, they used cutting-edge technology far surpassing that of the land-based nations to create a group of primitive hunters. These hunters were called the 'Deep Sea Hunters.' They wielded ancient cold weapons and fought the Sea Infestation through their superhumanly enhanced bodies and well-trained combat skills—this was Skadi's predecessor; she was a Deep Sea Hunter. It's no exaggeration to say that she was the guardian of Agor, and even the land-based nations that are still completely unaware of the threats lurking in the deep sea."

Seeing Marna's furrowed brow, Roy knew it was about time.

The information above was enough for him to roughly understand the situation at sea and Skadi's identity, but something was missing—something more—to help him understand the connection between everything happening at sea and the land, which had been watching from the sidelines.

“Marna, you should know about the Great Stillness, shouldn’t you?”

“I know.” Marna nodded slightly. There was no one on this land who didn’t know about the enormous disaster that caused the Golden Empire of Iberia to fall silent overnight.

The last event in Terra's history to directly destroy a nation has a memorable name—the War of the Four Emperors. The Great Serenity is no less devastating; to this day, people still don't know whether this catastrophe was a natural disaster or a man-made calamity, or what caused it.

Roy's words at that moment made Marna's heart sink.

"You're right. The Great Tranquility was caused by the anger of the primordial lifeline, one of the four gods of the Sea. And we will never know when His next anger will come, or which country it will be directed at."

The Agor people and the Agor civilization, the secrets buried beneath the ocean surrounding this land, the super civilization of Agor that spans the sea, the threat of the infinitely evolving Sealings, and the super Agor people created to fight against them—the Deep Sea Hunters.

This information cannot be easily explained in a short time or in a few words, but even the words that Roy has refined and omitted countless times still reveal a wealth of information that makes Marna's scalp tingle.

Who would have thought that while the Business Federation and the Supervisory Committee were locked in a power struggle, a whole host of things were happening in the calm depths of the ocean, unnoticed by anyone?

Who would have thought that the seemingly thriving civilization on Earth has actually always had a Damocles' sword hanging over its head?

The primordial lifeline is not easily angered, but Isamara, who symbolizes struggle, is different. She was born to fight, and in the Sea Heir's destruction timeline, it was the awakened Isamara who initiated the assimilation of the land.

Roy wanted to prevent this, so he protected Skadi, but he also had to prepare for the worst, so he told Marna about it.

One person's strength is ultimately limited. Even in chivalric novels, the protagonist still has teammates like healers, sorcerers, and tanks. Roy is always humble, and he will never do things himself if he can hire others. At the very least, he will assemble a core of a golden team. At the very least, he will try his best to win over two countries. With the power of roguelikes and modules, he may not be without the ability to fight.

“I will keep these things a secret,” Marna replied after a long silence.

Roy quickly waved his hand: "Don't keep it a secret. If you think someone is trustworthy, just tell them. I'm not asking for some secret operation. Don't we Chinese... the Kazimierz believe that strength lies in numbers?"

When did we become a follower of any religion? Isn't that what the Ursus people believe in?

Marna gave Roy a strange look, and he actually felt that if he were to casually tell Roy's words to other people, he would probably be considered crazy.

"I understand." With a half-hearted reply, Marna lowered the sword from his hand. The power had been fully restored, and Kazimierz returned to his usual self.

PS: This chapter is mainly a transition, a brief background explanation for readers who are not familiar with the background of the Sea Heir's world-ending storyline.

(This also satisfied my desire to recreate YJ, as I always like to start giving serious lectures when it's dark. This applies to Reed Piper, and also to Talulah and Alina.)

Volume 1: Chapter 116 Master, are you trying to coax a child?

"In light of the various unfounded conspiracy theories and defamatory messages circulating online, the Business Federation hereby reiterates that this major power outage was purely accidental. It was caused by the excessive power load resulting from the high level of attention this year's Major and the overload caused by the champion Roy's use of a large Originium Arts at the end, which was not within the scope of our consideration. As punishment, the Business Federation and the Knights Association have fined Roy and issued him a serious warning."

The serious voice of the Business Federation spokesperson came through the television screen. Consistent with this statement was an earlier investigation report, personally released by Grand Knight Russell of the Oversight Council, in conjunction with the National Assembly, on the four-city blackout—the report also defined the incident as an accident caused by negligence, and warned Roy, the one who caused it.

For the general public, this was no big deal. A power outage lasting less than ten minutes wasn't a matter of life or death for them; instead, it became fodder for jokes and boasting about their experiences. As for Roy being fined, they were neither surprised nor resentful. Fine him if you want; Roy is a champion, he'll have plenty of money in the future. Moreover, being able to overload the entire city's power supply with Originium Arts was a mythical feat unheard of in several lifetimes. Those fortunate enough to witness it firsthand were even more proud, excitedly sharing the "Pegasus Meteor" video they filmed that night online, its exposure comparable to a flashbang.

For those in higher positions who were aware of some of the inside story, these two statements became even more intriguing. The Business Federation and the Supervisory Commission rarely acted in unison. Their anticipated scenario was that the Business Federation would accuse the Supervisory Commission of failing to fulfill its responsibility to protect Kazimierz, while the Supervisory Commission would accuse the Business Federation of shoddy workmanship in maintaining the electrical circuits. This would lead to a major confrontation, ultimately ending with one side paying compensation. Based on past experience, the Supervisory Commission would likely be the one to concede in the end.

But it's quite interesting that both sides chose to compromise and reconcile at the same time, even directly blaming a racing knight for the power outage.

The release of the two statements, along with the viral video of "Pegasus Meteor" on the internet, pushed Roy's popularity to another climax, and also attracted the attention of more riders who usually don't care about esports.

But Roy didn't care about any of this.

"Does our champion not have a home of his own?"

Marna, holding a newspaper, turned her gaze to Roy, who was already sitting at the table, and made a sarcastic remark without holding back.

He was already a champion, and he was already considered to have a bright future, but Roy seemed completely oblivious to this. He came to his house every day to freeload, and he didn't even pay a penny.

This is simply unreasonable!

What happened to your ideals, your ambitions, and the sense of crisis you felt when you stood beside an open sewer and solemnly recounted the end of the world?

They should at least pay for the food!

Is it really worth it for someone to freeload off me, a regular office worker, every day?

In his current state, Marner certainly couldn't bring himself to utter such blunt and offensive language. He could only sigh and say to Maria, who was bringing dishes out of the kitchen:

"I'm planning to take a long trip soon."

"OK?"

Maria nodded subconsciously, then belatedly realized what was happening and shouted:

"Uncle, are you going out? Where are you going? With whom?"

The shout also attracted Zofia in the kitchen. Holding a spatula in one hand, she poked her head out and asked with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, "Are you alone?"

"Myself."

"How long ago was the last time you went out?"

"...It's been almost four years, hasn't it?" Marner's face showed a serious expression. Since Snitz Nearl disappeared, he had never given up searching for them. But the earth was vast and boundless, and without any clues, his search had been like a headless fly bumping around aimlessly. The last news he received was four years ago, when it was said that Snitz Nearl and his wife had appeared in the frigid lands north of Sami. He had then embarked on a long journey, spending countless amounts of money and time to prove that it was just a ridiculous lie.

Since returning from that long journey, faced with the gradual decline of the Lin Guang family, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plans for another search. He concealed his ambitions and found a job at a construction company in the Great Knight Territory, working to support his family while quietly gathering information and waiting.

Until Roy appeared. His news that "the Snitz Nearl couple had been in Letania" rekindled Marnna's hope.

Although even Roy couldn't confirm the accuracy of this information, or even give a definite answer like "which city they appeared in," Marna didn't care. Wasn't that how his departure was?

"This time I'm going to Letania, and I'll be there for about four months."

"I can't speak," Marner said slowly, his tone as authoritative as ever, as he looked at Zofia:

"In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to take care of Maria."

"We're all family, what's this talk of helping or not helping?" Zofia waved her hand, indicating that she didn't care. She lived alone anyway, and with Maria at home, there was more life, which made her happy.

Maria, however, hesitated for a moment upon hearing the news that Marna was going on a long trip, before finally speaking:

"Uncle, when you go out, could you please ask around about my sister?"

Margaret has been away from Kazimierz for quite some time. At first, she would send a messenger with two letters home, but later, whether she was deep in the wilderness and couldn't find the messenger, or encountered some trouble, even the correspondence stopped. Maria was very worried about her.

Moreover, she also had a selfish motive. She wanted to confirm whether her sister had seen the article in the wine newspaper. If she hadn't, that would be fine; if she had, Maria would have to consider whether she should choose a better burial plot for herself in advance.

She might become the first Pegasus in the Rinko family to die from a painful butt.

Seeing Maria's eager eyes, Marna nodded helplessly: "I understand. I'll ask around for you."

“Speaking of which, I was also going to be away for a while.” Roy added “+1” as soon as Marna finished speaking.

Maria's reaction was even stronger than before: "Hey, Master Roy is leaving too, where is he going?"

"Let's go find treasure," Roy said seriously.

Maria rolled her eyes: "Master, you're trying to fool a child!"

“Of course!” Roy’s words were cut short by Maria’s fierce glare, who added, “Of course not, I’m genuinely looking for treasure. Maybe I’ll even run into your sister.”

What do you mean by "maybe we'll run into each other"? You could have just said you were going to see my sister.

Even though the rumors originated from her, for some reason, Maria seems to have almost come to believe them herself.

Volume 1: Chapter 117 Rhodes Island is a place where hidden talents abound!

Rhode Island, early morning, 8:00 AM.

As a former professional soldier in Bolivar, Instructor Dubin has a strict routine: she goes to bed at 10 p.m., gets up at 7 a.m., and goes to the training room at 8 a.m. sharp to start training. In the afternoon, she is responsible for training the reserve team members. She is very satisfied with this life.

Under her influence, many operators also spontaneously began daily training, including Margaret Nearl, an operator from Kazimierz who had not been on the island for long but was very much to her liking.

Despite her prestigious background, Nearl is incredibly approachable. She shows no aversion to working with Infected individuals and frequently volunteers for dangerous and challenging rescue missions. This has left a positive impression on Rhodes Island's elite operators. She is also incredibly dedicated to training; sometimes, Dobermann even sees Nearl arriving at the training room earlier than he does.

Although they haven't reached the stage of being friends yet, they are acquaintances.

However, in the past few days, Dobermann hadn't seen Nearl in the training room. Even at lunchtime, she only saw Nearl silently packing up the food to take care of the blonde Sarkaz girl, without saying a word. This made her a little worried.

This worry reached its peak this morning when he stepped into the empty conference room once again. Dubin gritted his teeth and finally decided to knock on the door of the head of the medical department's office.

"Dr. Kal'tsit, do you know how Nearl is doing lately? I haven't seen her in the training room today. Is something wrong with her health?"

Inside the gate, Kal'tsit, who had just made herself a cup of coffee, looked in surprise at the gate with dark circles under her eyes.

She had just finished an all-night surgery, but instead of Amiya urging her to sleep, she was greeted by the usually mature and composed Dobermann, who was asking about the hottest topic on the island recently—Operator Nearl's family affairs.

Has Instructor Doberman's lack of information really gotten this bad?

After thinking for a moment, Kal'tsit spoke through the door: