Shrouded Seascape

"This body is much stronger than my previous one," Norton said, and his slender legs sprung from the ground as if he were a praying mantis. His deep green figure left afterimages as he dashed toward the railroad track under construction nearby.

Silver silk as thin as hair sprung out of both of his palms. A cold light then flashed, and a large chunk of the cast iron rails on the forklift, which were as big as two palms combined, were severed cleanly.

The cast iron rails were like mud before Norton. Having abruptly lost the massive weight that it was carrying, the forklift tilted forward. Before it could topple over, invisible tentacles sprouted from the ground and stabilized it.

"Impressive. You've adapted well," Charles said, applauding.

Charles was once in the same body as Norton, so he knew what it could do. In addition to its offensive ability, which seemed capable of slicing through just about anything, it was also eyeless. Sometimes, it was better to have no eyes than to have eyes.

If one were to look at Norton's situation from a utilitarian perspective, Norton had profited on that fateful day, but this wasn't a business deal. It was absurd to look at Norton's situation from that point of view.

Norton walked up to Charles and lowered his green, deformed head to look at Charles. "Captain, I'm still adapting to this new body of mine. Once I've fully adapted to it, I'm sure my strength will increase by another level. According to the power ranking system of the Subterranean Sea, I should be around Level 7."

"Keep it up. We have a two-month break, so you take your time adapting to your new body," Charles said, patting Norton's slender arm. "If you have any concerns about your food, like if you feel like you can no longer eat what humans eat, then you can go ahead and talk to Planck."

Charles smiled and chit-chatted with Norton until he trailed off upon realizing something. He stared at Norton's green head, seemingly falling into deep contemplation.

A few seconds later, Charles turned and walked toward the towering telegraph tower in the distance. "Follow me. I think I can make this body of yours become even stronger."

The receptionist at the telegraph office of Outpost One was extremely nervous to face Charles. However, Charles' attention wasn't paying attention to him at all. He wrote down a message and asked the receptionist to send it to the Governor of Whereto.

Margaret, how are you doing these days? Is everything okay down there? Anyway, do you remember that green, centipede-like creature, one of the "Kings" of Sottom?

I'm pretty sure it's capable of producing silk that it can use as a weapon. Can you ask around and see whether it has any other uses aside from slicing things up?

Charles deduced that the green, centipede-like creature he had encountered alongside 134 at the time wasn't 1189-1. It was an independent creature.

Although it had one more tail than Norton, and its healing ability was simply absurd, it definitely looked similar to Norton. It had torn off Charles' ears, and Charles felt that it had more tricks up its sleeve.

Charles reckoned that Norton's strength would increase significantly if it shared its knowledge with Norton.

After a while, a reply arrived from Whereto.

Charles, are you really sure you've found another one of its kind? It says that its entire species has been taken over by a psychic creature. You'd better be careful about this.

Charles was relieved to read Margaret's reply, as she had basically said that the green, centipede-like creature Charles had encountered at the time was of the same species as Norton.

I don't want to know the origin story or the history of their species. I just want to know about their offensive abilities. I think their kind has some kind of inheritance that they pass down to their offspring…

Charles waited for a long time, which was about half an hour.

The telegraph spewed out a reply from Margaret.

134 says that her companion is the most talented musician of its kind. It's talented enough that it can create just about any melody out there. I think even its own kind can't replicate what it can do, as talent is innate…

Musician? Talent? Charles recalled the green centipede-like creature that had bitten off one of his ears. He could never associate such a creature with the words "talent" and "musician."

Charles turned to Norton next to him and gently pulled on his silver silk.

The silver silk vibrated slightly, producing a low noise reminiscent of a stringed instrument.

134's singing, the green centipede-like creature's ability to create a melody, and the bone flute of that gray shadow. The more Charles thought about it, the more he felt convinced that the "Kings" of Sottom were a band.

While Charles was deep in his own thoughts, the telegraph started clicking and produced a piece of sheet music.

You can experiment with this. This is an experimental melody, and it's for beginners. If that creature with you learns this melody, then it means that they have some talent and can make use of the tiny power within this melody.

Charles examined it carefully before handing the paper to Norton beside him.

"Try to learn this. It'd be great if you succeed," Charles said. He was curious about the so-called "power within the melody."

Was it like 134's singing that was capable of revitalizing just about anything? Still, Charles wasn't really expecting much, and it didn't matter, even if Norton couldn't learn it. At the very least, Norton finally had something to do, and he wouldn't keep thinking about the body he could never return to.

"All right, Captain. I'll try my best," Norton said. He accepted the sheet music and left to work hard and become even stronger.

Charles had decided to work hard and become even stronger as well, so he made a beeline for Linda's house as soon as he left the telegraph office. The recent exploration made him realize that he had some shortcomings that needed to be addressed.

Anna was already taking care of his mind, so he only had to focus on the other aspects of his strength.

Charles soon found himself inside Linda's operating room.

Linda was holding a relic that she had prepared beforehand. It was a palm-sized triangular display stand, and a bizarre-looking skeleton was nailed to the stand by rusty nails.

It seemed to be made out of interweaving corals in a variety of colors as well as the skeleton of a mouse. Overall, the relic looked ancient, and it appeared like a bad artist's random work.

The palm-sized triangular display stand was the relic that Nico had given to Charles in exchange for becoming a crew member of the Narwhale.

Charles had decided to set it aside previously, as he felt like the side effects were a bit too much. However, Charles felt like he had to make use of this relic as soon as possible, as he reckoned that they'd encounter more enemies capable of wielding the power of Divinities, just like that colossal spider carrying a mountain of brains.

Charles had to be prepared to encounter such enemies. He no longer wanted to get suppressed by that peculiar chanting, which was capable of suppressing him entirely.

"Captain, are you really sure about this?" Linda asked as she held the relic in her hands. She wanted to confirm whether Charles really wanted to use the relic. After all, the relic had a serious side effect.

"Let's do it. I need its ability to escape the gaze of a Divinity."

"How about anesthesia?" Linda asked.

Charles shook his head, prompting Linda to put down the syringe in her hand.

With the relic in her right hand, Linda thrust her right hand into Charles' chest, moving past his ribs and pressing it against Charles' beating heart.

Charles' inhaled sharply, and his face turned pale. He felt as if a massive hand was squeezing his heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. After a while, the uncomfortable sensation disappeared and was replaced by coldness. It was a coldness that seemed to be getting colder and colder as time ticked by.

Charles felt like a layer of frost had wrapped around his heart, and a sharp pain akin to needles stabbing into his heart followed afterward. The pain and coldness spread throughout his body through the blood vessels, eventually reaching his limbs.

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