Brain bloom

This...this is too complicated. Fufu gave up thinking and just wanted to be a useful elf.

Having eaten its fill of seawater nearby, Fufu maximized its light intensity and plunged towards the crack.

The seabed made her feel safe, but the water was somewhat murky, perhaps because the churning from retrieving the box hadn't stopped. However, it didn't obstruct her vision—soon, she saw a pale white patch near the crack.

It's that hand.

Now Fufu could see clearly that this was probably a female human hand, and it looked like it had struggled for a long time before being severed at the root... The broken surface was tattered and somewhat horrifying.

But the hand was intact—for some reason, no matter what kind of fish passed by, they were unwilling to take a few bites, and it was not rotted by nature or time.

It remained motionless, so it shouldn't be a threat. Fu Fu breathed a slight sigh of relief and tried to approach a little closer. The hand remained lying quietly on the ground; there was no problem for the time being.

Fufu reached the edge of the crack, curious to see how long and deep it was, and what was underneath that made a hand appear. It was time to explore. Fortunately, the crack was wide enough for her to try crawling down.

Fu Fu prayed, hoping that what lay beneath the crack wasn't some terrifying place...

Instinct resisted, but the idea of ​​protecting the princess was deeply rooted, and the power of courage drove Fufu to crawl down.

Beneath the crack was a narrow, irregularly shaped passage. It was as if a gift box had been accidentally torn open, and Fufu was about to pass through it.

There seemed to be a space, because air was slowly seeping out, which was completely different from what Fufu knew. Generally speaking, isn't the seabed just a layer of soil so thick it's almost despairing...? There shouldn't be any space here.

Even though Fufu's light was as bright as the moon, the scenery below was still obscured; only endless blackness filled the field of vision.

The descent seemed endless, and the silence was chilling.

Even a soul born from nature, Fufu couldn't help but feel an unprecedented sense of despair in this suffocating atmosphere. If they continued to delve deeper, even if they looked up, they would no longer be able to see the color of the ocean. But the darkness below seemed poised to devour everything.

Fu Fu then noticed that no seawater flowed down into the crack; instead, it was filled with air and even a bit dry.

why?

What exactly lies down there? Driven by curiosity, she ventured another meter or so—and finally saw something unusual.

The darkness was gradually dispelled by her radiance, and something white began to emerge.

A staircase? She could see what was below the crack clearly. Yes, it looked like a staircase with steps... and there was the pale white of a corpse, lying on one of the steps.

"……goodbye!"

She had reached her limit and dared not go any further.

It subconsciously expelled most of the seawater to reduce its weight, and then flew upwards at full speed.

The embrace of the sea brought her immense peace, but she didn't even have the courage to look back. She rushed towards the sunlit area and finally returned to the embrace of the vast world.

……

After hearing what Fufu had to say, the three people on the shore who were counting their valuables fell silent. Fufu's tone was impassioned, and it was unclear whether she had exaggerated the matter, but her fear had infected them.

"Have you... heard of anything similar?" Dandelion pondered. "What could it be?"

Aisalia shook her head gently.

Fu Fu also said she didn't know.

"As a salt spirit that only comes into existence after thousands of years in the sea, there's not a single clue? Then... this thing is a bit strange."

Dandelion lowered the brim of her hat and took a deep breath.

"There are spaces deeper in the sea, steps, and corpses that don't decompose... It's like another world. Is it connected to something?"

“No, the worlds are not connected like that.” Su Dai, who had been silent until now, spoke up. “Demons, gods who wield various powers, and other high-ranking beings, their otherworldly existences are all conceptual things, and have no real connection with us.”

"Could there really be something down there?"

"I have a...not very rigorous hypothesis, it might be an artificial creation."

Su Dai seemed to recall something, her tone solemn and distant. Her long-beaked hand no longer flew around, but stood seriously on the treasure chest.

According to some ancient folk songs, there may have been a branch of humanity that existed in the seabed and established a civilization.

"how do you know?"

“I am a writer. When I was young, I traveled all over the world in search of inspiration, which was before the War of the Flowers. There were some old bards and travelers who always had some good stuff on hand. I listened to a lot of it and analyzed it carefully.”

"A pornographic writer traveling around? Gathering material? That's quite something." Dandelion thought of some unpleasant things, but now was not the time to joke about it. She pricked up her ears, signaling the other person to continue.

“Many old works contain signs that there was once a civilization on the seabed… Some strange poems have appeared, saying things like ‘the palace from the seabed has long since decayed’ and ‘those people will never reach the imagined land and will drown in a world without sunlight.’ Perhaps what we are encountering now is a remnant of that civilization.”

The dandelions did not refute it, because it was the only explanation at the moment—they knew very little about this ocean and could only comfort themselves with some seemingly vague speculations.

Staircases and corpses mysteriously appeared beneath the sea – creations of an underwater civilization? And they're so close to our home; it sounds a bit frightening.

But then she remembered someone, and her gloomy heart instantly brightened. She remembered a lovely, dashing face.

She was no longer alone; she had someone she could rely on.

Dandelion stood up and exclaimed, "I don't want to sleep in peace! There might be monsters crawling out, so let's explore a bit deeper—Fufu!"

"I...I absolutely won't go!" Fu Fu hid to the side, her body glowing extremely dim.

"I'm not asking you to go down, but rather to ask Mori to come and help. She's probably still sunbathing at home. Go there and tell her we can't handle this and we need her to step in."

"Okay! I'd love to."

Fu Fu felt a sense of relief and immediately flew towards the wooden house.

A minute later, Fufu returned, bringing with him a note, which he handed to the eagerly awaiting Dandelion.

"Let me see what it says. Does it say it'll be here in a bit? Then let's wait—"

Message: Yuan and I went shopping in Silvermoon City. Don't save us lunch.

"***".

……

(P.S. I'm not updating anymore, sorry.)

After all, the Moon Raven is celebrating its violent death; I need to go and be depressed for a while...

But starting today, I should be updating at 3 AM every night... until I make up for all the missed updates.

Volume 1 #096 · Let's Talk Business

Shopping is so much fun, that's the first thing on my mind.

Compared to other places, the streets of Silvermoon City have a special feel to them. They are somewhat crowded, but never dull or oppressive. Instead, they exude a sense of refinement.

The people walking through the streets, of all races, were at least well-fed and able to survive the winter; there were no beggars. Even wealthy people dressed as nobles could stroll leisurely through the streets, and even if they brushed past poor-looking fellows, they would not show disgust or deliberately avoid them.

This was the first time Yuan felt that her eyes weren't enough to take it all in, because there were so many interesting and new things, even clothes drying on the rooftops of apartment buildings and cats roaming freely could keep her looking at them for a long time.

Sen Shi originally planned to come to Silvermoon City alone, but Yuan wanted to come along to see everything. He kept asking questions along the way and was curious about everything.

"Human cities are so lively." Yuan seemed to have some longing in his heart.

"Yes."

"However, there are too many streets."

"I understand you're on the devil's side, but why don't you come out? Haven't you ever been to a human city before?"

She seemed like a country bumpkin—but Mori didn't dare say that, worried it would ruin the wine deal, and that would surely upset his princess. She'd brewed so many fine wines; it was rare to find someone knowledgeable about them, and Mori would do his best to keep a customer for Dandelion.

Fortunately, Yuan is an approachable and easy-going girl.

“Because my father wouldn’t give it to me, but I still used force to get the right to go out.” She seemed very proud. “That battle was really tough. I almost became the first person in history to receive the title of Demon King as a human.”

Sen Shi didn't know what to say, only feeling that this family was really complicated... Maybe the ancient demon king didn't let her go out for the safety of the human world.

"Since he is a historical figure who was summoned, then Mori Toki is the same as me, right? He shouldn't have come to Silvermoon City many times."

"To be honest, I've only been here once."

"Then..." Yuan's face showed unease, "Will we get lost? This street is too complicated."

"No, that won't happen."

Sen Shi adjusted his hat brim, striking a composed pose, and immediately pulled out the Silvermoon City map he had bought earlier from his bag. There was no navigation in this era, but learning to read a map was still quite simple.

After searching through a complex map that seemed to have thousands of yarns scattered randomly, I successfully arrived at my destination: the commercial street.

Besides buying materials to seal the skull of the first Pope, Mori also needed to discuss the magic scroll business. The magic scroll inscribed with the advanced magic, "Firebird's Hundred Cries," was waiting to be exchanged for gold coins.

As luck would have it—Sen saw a shop called "Magic Trading Post," which obviously sold goods. The decor was exquisite, the location prime, and its reputation was undoubtedly excellent.

After hesitating for a moment, Mori and Yuan went inside, hoping to successfully complete the deal.

"Welcome, both of you."

After exchanging greetings, the shop assistant, who was engraving the new staff, looked up. He appeared to be a gentle-looking middle-aged man.

"I'm the boss, Adams. So, what do you two pretty young ladies need?"

Sen Shi glanced at the shop's furnishings; it had a strong magician style, with magical items everywhere.

Inside, her mental energy was exceptionally active. However, unlike a cat that curiously peered around, she focused intently on business—

"I think magic scrolls are always in high demand, right?"

"Of course, that's common sense. You want to buy magic scrolls?"

"No, I obtained it by chance—it contains the advanced magic, 'Firebird's Hundred Cries.' I don't think I need to explain the value of this magic, do I?"

Adams' expression changed slightly, but he calmly put down his work before inviting Mori to sit down. Mori silently took out the newly engraved magic scroll and placed it on the table.

“Powerful magical effects, it’s the real deal.” Adams glanced at it but showed no emotion from beginning to end, speaking in a businessman’s tone. “The ink is really new… I won’t ask where it came from. Here’s a quote: fifty gold coins, cash if you’re okay with it.”

"...Are you sure?"

Although it's not as special as a healing spell, this is a rare high-level magic scroll on the market, and Sen Shi felt that this price was really not reasonable.

Moreover, this item is not without historical prices to refer to. Sen Shi did his homework. The last time something similar appeared was two years ago, when it was bid up to more than one hundred gold coins.

"I'm absolutely certain I have the capital to come up with that much cash and can make the deal right now." Adams remained confident, a hint of arrogance silently emanating from his expression.

"Then let's forget about it." Mori silently packed up the goods. "This price is a little lower than I expected..."

Adams extended his hand, indicating that he was no longer interested in haggling.

After an unpleasant transaction that lasted only a few words, Mori Toki and Kazuma left the store, feeling slightly dejected.

Her steps were no longer carefree, and she couldn't help but think that she might have misread the market demand... Perhaps high-level magic scrolls weren't actually that valuable.