Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Grand Map

The moment Alka activated the system, its voice echoed in his ears once again.

[Map detected]

[Scanning...]

[Scan successful]

[Happy treasure hunting!]

Hearing this, Alka glanced back and saw that the other two hadn’t noticed anything strange. Only then did he turn his attention back to the system.

So that’s how it works, Alka thought. If the map meets the system’s scanning criteria, this prompt will appear the first time. After that, the same map might not be needed again, or at least not as much. No wonder when I experimented at home a few days ago, many maps simply hadn’t worked. For example, maps drawn with a stick in the sand didn’t trigger it. However, I had found that drawing a detailed map of a small area with ink on paper would still produce light spots, though the scanning sound hadn’t occurred then. Thinking about it now, it might be because that detailed regional map is just an extension of the overall map of Golden Wheat Island. The map of Golden Wheat Island itself is already capable of clearly scanning for Treasures.

Reining in his thoughts, Alka looked at the map, which was now displaying in different ways. Curiosity spread across his face.

This worldwide map was not, as Alka had originally thought, covered in dense light spots. Instead, it flickered with slightly different lights based on different regions. These lights varied slightly: dim and dull, faint white light, pale blue light, deep blue light, and golden light.

For example, the ”Blood Gold Alliance” area, where they were currently located, was pale blue. With this in mind, Alka reached out and touched it.

[Blood Gold Alliance]

[Treasure Quantity: White - large, Blue - small]

[Region Difficulty: Simple]

[Region Introduction: Location of the Blood Gold Islands Alliance, an Island Alliance power.]

This was completely different from the information that appeared with the light spots previously. However, Alka didn’t rashly make a judgment. There were so many regions on the entire map, so he decided to look them over first.

Then he tapped a nearby region, which was a rather dim white area.

[Sabola Sea Region]

[Treasure Quantity: White - moderate]

[Region Difficulty: Difficult]

[Region Introduction: None]

The first entry must be the region’s name. Since the map already shows the name, the system displays it directly, Alka surmised. The second entry should show the Treasure colors and their respective quantities. The third entry shows the difficulty, but it isn’t as specific as when evaluating individual Treasures; it only gives a general overview. The fourth entry is similar to the Treasure information, filling in details based on my own knowledge. For example, because I know something about the Blood Gold Alliance, it shows this as its location. But for the Sabola Sea Region, I only know the name and nothing else, so it provides no information.

Thinking of this, Alka couldn’t help but click on the regions on the map that had a golden hue. A golden hue means the Treasures here are gold-grade, he thought.

[Paltro - Realm of Pitch Black]

[Treasure Quantity: White - vast, Blue - large, Gold - small]

[Region Difficulty: Dangerous]

[Region Introduction: None]

A large quantity of blue Treasures? This means that blue Treasures are fairly common here. It’s probably a place where only people with mystical powers can operate freely.

Thinking of this, Alka subconsciously touched the Ring on his little finger. What must it be like in a place where such things are common? Especially gold-grade Treasures—what kind of things would be marked with gold? The system provides no information about that at all. After all, I’m not even sure what blue Treasures specifically represent. And the difficulty has reached ’Dangerous’.

Thinking of this, Alka suddenly turned his head and asked, ”What kind of place is this Paltro?”

He had clicked on regions closest to their current location, so this Paltro wasn’t too far from their Blood Gold Alliance—at least, on the map.

Upon hearing Alka’s question, Hawls came over to take a look.

”You’re talking about this one?” Hawls asked. ”I’ve never been to this place called Paltro, but I have heard some people talk about it. It’s a place with many ruins, a sea region where many Treasure Hunters go. Because it’s dark most of the year, with only a short period of sunlight each day, it’s also known as the Realm of Pitch Darkness.”

Hearing Hawls’ answer, Alka nodded. ”Thank you.”

”Just like a Treasure Hunter, asking about a treasure-related place right away,” Hawls said teasingly.

Alka waved his hand helplessly, saying, ”I’m just curious why this place is labeled as the Realm of Pitch Darkness.”

”Without sufficient strength, friends, or a Treasure Hunting Team, it’s best not to go to that place. I’ve heard it’s extremely dangerous. Remember, extremely dangerous,” Hawls warned him slightly from the side.

Alka nodded. ”Don’t worry, I’m not that reckless.”

”That’s good.”

Alka continued looking at the region’s introduction. Indeed, the information entry, previously ’None,’ now displayed new details.

[Information: The destruction site of the Vastin Empire. At the brink of its annihilation, the Empire used a powerful Treasure to destroy its enemies along with itself. The entire sea region has been plunged into perpetual darkness due to the diffusion of that power.]

The amount of information suddenly increased significantly. He had only learned a few superficial details, yet the system had supplemented them with much more specific knowledge.

This information must be incredibly valuable, Alka thought. It once again highlighted the system’s power and importance. Vastin Empire? I’ve never heard of it. But never mind, this place isn’t something I should be thinking about right now. Perhaps I’ll look into it in more detail when I have the chance. The current priority is to first obtain that mystical power.

Then he turned his head to look at the more detailed maps on the table.

”Can I take a look at these too?”

”Of course, go ahead. There’s nothing secret worth hiding; you can buy them anywhere.”

Hearing this, Alka went over to the wooden table.

There were many maps on the table. Some were nautical charts, while others were more detailed maps of the Blood Gold Alliance’s territory. Most of them were rather rough, however; compared to the world map behind them, both the paper quality and the level of detail were far inferior.

Alka blinked and immediately activated the system. The scanning sound rang out once more. Once the scan was complete, several maps had changed.

The nautical chart and the world map didn’t show significant differences; they also displayed areas as blocks of different colors. The map of the small island now resembled the Golden Wheat Island map in Alka’s handbook; it displayed light spots. However, it only had two white light spots, and clicking on them revealed no obtainable information.

Only the map of the Blood Gold Alliance was different. The large sea chart of the Blood Gold Alliance only marked a few key locations for reference. These key locations were all important islands within the Blood Gold Alliance.

Just as Alka wanted to examine them more closely, DING DING DING!

The clear ringing of a bell sounded from outside. Alka knew this sound came from the lookout in the crow’s nest at the top of the mainmast. A sound from there indicated that the lookout had spotted something nearby.

”Something’s up, let’s go out and take a look.”