Chapter 347 - 159: The Essence of ’Knowledge
Wei’en watched the clown, deep in thought. ’If I really do as he says, then all I’ll need to do is improve my core foundation and basic attributes.’
’But how could that be possible?’
’At the very least, I’ll still have to learn and master things like runes and potion-making, right?’
’Otherwise, I’ll only be able to fight with my fists.’
"Alright, I didn’t come here to talk about all this."
The clown leaned back in his chair and casually snapped his fingers. The surrounding scene shifted.
"Huh?" Wei’en froze, looking around at the scenery. It seemed to be the small wooden cabin from the first time the clown had appeared. "Mr. Leonard, why did you bring me here?"
"In the theater, some things might be overheard by Little Calamity."
"Little Calamity? You mean Tina? Did something happen to her?"
Wei’en’s brow furrowed. The white-haired girl’s condition had recently improved; she was no longer as cold and listless as before. ’There shouldn’t be any problem.’
’Could it be because of the Revival Coffin?’
"You’ve guessed correctly. She’s in big trouble, and so are you." The clown’s straight posture slumped, his expression turning grim. His eyes had even lost some of their light. "And at the same time, my own troubles have gotten even bigger."
Wei’en pointed at himself. "Me? I’m in trouble too?"
"She can’t get in there anymore!"
"There... you mean that special Dark Space?"
He thought of the world full of shadows and silhouettes that appeared when Tina had used her Spirit Vision. ’Can she not enter that place anymore?’
The clown nodded. "I’m not yet clear on the specific reason. It might be related to her death, or it could be the influence of the Revival Coffin. But that’s the outcome, regardless."
"But she seems perfectly normal now?"
"Normal? Do you remember what you went through after she left the theater last time?"
’What I went through?’
Wei’en sat on a rickety stool in the wooden cabin and recalled, "Nothing special, was there?"
"The Storm. And you ran into some trouble today, too, didn’t you?"
The clown’s breathing grew heavy, and he gritted his teeth. "That is the calamitous fallout from her inability to transfer the Calamity Power she carries into that world!"
"You’re saying the Storm before, and the Storm Hunter I encountered today... were all because of... Tina?!"
Wei’en stared at him, eyes wide. He couldn’t help his astonishment.
He had assumed that the Storm was due to the fickle weather at sea, and that encountering Henrik and his men was just a bit of bad luck.
He had never once imagined that Tina could have caused these events.
"Those are the facts. She must channel her ever-strengthening Calamity Power into that world to ensure her own safety and the safety of those around her."
"What if she just stays in the theater?"
The clown gasped for breath. "Then my problems will still be there!!"
Hearing his shrill roar, Wei’en couldn’t help but flinch. ’Looks like he’s in real trouble...’
"Um, I don’t suppose you could tell me how she’s affecting you?"
"She... she..." The clown seemed to find it difficult to speak. His gaze toward Wei’en held a faint, crazed killing intent, and he was clearly wrestling with himself. After a long silence, he finally said in a low voice, "She trapped me there."
"Trapped?"
"Bound... tied up... Dammit, it’s just like you saw before! After she tied me up in there, she never let me go again!"
The clown’s face was a ferocious mask. "But now she doesn’t go in there anymore! She’s even forgotten how to get in and out freely, which makes it increasingly difficult for me to get out and about. Why else do you think it took me so long to find you?"
"I’d love nothing more than to throw Abyssal Creatures at you every day for practice, to make you strong enough to find Lilith. Why wouldn’t I show up?"
"I’m sorry," Wei’en said, looking at the clown who seemed on the verge of a breakdown. He lowered his voice and asked cautiously, "Mr. Leonard, what do you need me to do?"
’So this guy really was doing it on purpose before, forcing me to fight those Abyssal Creatures!’
"I need you to make her learn how to open that world, instead of learning that damn Gonzalez language like she is now!"
"Open it?" Wei’en held out his hands innocently. "But I don’t know how to get in there either."
The clown panted, his blood-red eyes glaring fiercely at him. "Activate her Calamity Origin. She’ll naturally know how to open it then."
"Activate it?" Wei’en suddenly understood. "You don’t mean you want her to go back to the state she was in before, do you?"
"That’s right. She’s a Calamity Seed. That is her destiny! And you think not activating her Calamity is a good thing? In the end, she’ll die an even more miserable death!"
"What do you mean?"
"Hmph. You haven’t forgotten she’s the container for that mad woman, have you?" the clown snorted. "Sooner or later, that mad woman will find her and take back what’s hers!"
’A mad woman?’
Wei’en frowned. "At least Tina isn’t facing that threat right now."
’It took so much effort for Tina to return to a normal state of mind, where she can laugh and joke, learn on her own, and interact with them normally...’
’I really don’t want to let Tina go back to how she was. It would be too cruel to her.’
’Besides, if that day ever comes, I’ll be there to stop it.’
’For instance—by slaughtering that mad woman!’
The clown’s eyes widened in disbelief that Wei’en could say something so naive. He was about to start cursing, but then he recalled his recent ordeals...
"In fact, if Little Calamity can master that power and take it one step further, it’s not impossible for her to turn the tables and make the mad woman her container instead."
"Are you serious?"
Wei’en looked at the forced smile plastered on the clown’s face, highly doubting the truth of his words.
"It’s true!" The clown, seeing Wei’en’s expression, couldn’t help but growl. "As long as she takes one more step, it’s absolutely possible for her to seize the upper hand."
Wei’en asked dubiously, "Then how do we do that?"
"Embrace the Calamity, become the Calamity itself! As long as she stays in that ominous world... No, it would be enough if she just spent some time there occasionally."
"So, the result is still that we have to activate it and turn her back into what she was before?"
"It’s different. This time, I’ll take action!"
"You..."
The clown interrupted, "That’s right, I’ll... Huh?"
Before he could finish, the surrounding space began to shake violently, as if it were collapsing. Everything in the cabin instantly shattered.
"Dammit, time’s up! Remember, next time... next time I... cooperate with me!!"
The clown only had time to get those last words out before he vanished along with the cabin. Wei’en found himself back in the workshop of the theater space.
’Cooperate? Cooperate with what?’
Wei’en looked at the workbench before him and sighed. ’Some forbidden object he is. Can’t even finish a sentence...’
He carefully replayed the clown’s words in his mind. Setting aside the matter of knowledge, he was still far from being able to crush everything with his own basic strength alone. For now, at least, he still needed to rely on Magic, runes, Magic Potions, equipment, and the like to improve and fight.
The most important thing was the second matter the clown had asked for his help with... ’Do I really have to change Tina again?’
"Sigh..."
...
...
「Meanwhile」
A small, three-meter-long boat—a submersible, to be precise—camouflaged as a Deep Sea creature, was quietly moving away from the Ronan.
"Has the message been sent out?"
"Boss, I feel like I’m dreaming. Everyone on the Storm Hunter was wiped out by a single person we’ve never even seen before..."
"This is what it’s like out on the sea! Even someone as strong as Henrik had to be constantly on guard!"
"Yeah, if we weren’t so far away just now, we’d probably be dead too. Still, that new captain on the Ronan is seriously strong."
"Just you watch. After tonight, the name Red-haired Marco will surely resound throughout the West Coast of the Eastern Continent. The Black Pearl is bound to make a move then, so we have to keep a close watch."
"Understood!"
