Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 85: Chapter 85 Realm of Pitch Darkness

The next day, their ship docked at a small island for a handover.

A merchant ship, flying the Sect’s flag, sailed in from the distance.

”They’re here.” Andre, who had been standing at the bow for some time, spotted the approaching ship and called out.

As the merchant ship drew near, workers on board began transferring cargo into the Sea Fist’s hold. Hammer was below, directing the operation.

Compared to the supplies, Alka and the others were noticeably more curious about the person arriving to replace Bobby.

”Let’s make a bet on their gender,” Jason suddenly proposed from the side.

Alka and Chadite glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.

”Male,” they both said.

”Then I’ll pick female,” Jason said.

The wager was a single Silver Coin.

Just then, Andre returned from the Sect’s merchant ship. He wasn’t accompanied by anyone, but rather by a... mechanical device?

It was entirely brass-colored, somewhat resembling an insect but with four slender, pointed legs. Its upper body was capsule-shaped. Its articulation wasn’t managed by rotating parts or gears but was clearly driven by spells; the spell inscriptions on its joints were exceptionally distinct. It was completely sealed and appeared extraordinarily agile, yet fragile.

”What is that thing?” Jason frowned, unable to help asking.

Alka also shook his head; the device was utterly bizarre no matter how he looked at it. It felt completely out of place.

”Gami? That must be Gami.” Chadite clearly recognized the device, a hint of surprise in her voice.

Noticing their curious gazes, she explained, ”That’s not just a device. There’s a person inside. It’s just... he never grew any older.”

Hearing this, Alka turned to look closely. The capsule-like container on top did indeed look large enough to hold a child of about five or six.

He stopped growing... Dwarfism, perhaps? That was Alka’s first thought.

Before they could say more, Andre had already led the mechanical device aboard. Vanessa and Sang Kaka also arrived on deck.

Seeing everyone gathered, Andre pointed to the mechanical device beside him. ”Allow me to introduce the newest member of our Treasure Hunting Team: the Blacksmith from the Church.”

As he finished speaking, the capsule-like top of the mechanical device opened. Inside, just as Alka had suspected, sat a little boy who looked to be about five or six years old. He smiled and waved at everyone.

”Hello, I’m Gami, Gami Gard.”

Though somewhat curious, everyone nodded politely and introduced themselves.

Andre looked at his daughter and said, ”Chadite, you know him. You take him and show him around the Sea Fist.”

Chadite nodded and walked straight over.

Sitting in the mechanical device, Gami’s eyes widened when he saw Chadite approach, and he visibly shrank back, a clear sign of fear.

This made Chadite slightly embarrassed, but she still smiled and said, ”Gami, long time no see! Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the Sea Fist.”

”Haha, it’s you, Chadite! No worries, I can just take a look around myself.”

”I said, I’ll give you a tour of the Sea Fist.” Chadite’s tone hardened involuntarily.

”Yes, yes!” Gami replied, slightly flustered.

This scene made Alka feel as though Chadite were bullying a child.

Jason leaned towards Alka’s ear and whispered, ”Why does he seem so scared of Chadite?”

”You don’t need to ’feel it out’; he’s clearly terrified.”

It was so obvious that everyone could see it.

Gami quickly retracted into the machine, and the device sealed shut. They watched as the mechanical contraption, controlling its four slender, pointed legs, began to follow Chadite on a tour of the ship.

”Chadite wasn’t like this when she was a child,” Andre remarked with a hint of wistfulness, watching Chadite’s retreating figure. ”Back then, she was a complete wild child. Fortunately, her mother managed to straighten her out.”

Hearing this, Alka and Jason, who also had their share of childhood experiences, could roughly imagine why the boy named Gami was somewhat afraid of Chadite. It likely stemmed from some childhood trauma, they figured. A wild child, and Chadite clearly fought with her fists. This suggested that as a child, Chadite might have been the kingpin among the kids, unbeatable in a fight. And what group of boys would let a girl be their kingpin? The consequences were easy to imagine.

”Alright, everyone’s here,” Andre announced. ”Take this time to get acquainted. We’re heading towards our target.”

After saying this, Andre waved his hand. The sails unfurled automatically, and with CLANKING AND WHIRRING sounds, the ship slowly sailed towards the horizon.

Alka didn’t return to his room but instead went to the captain’s cabin. Jason, responsible for intelligence gathering and analysis, was also at the table.

Jason nodded when Alka entered. Their interactions during this period had shown Jason that Alka also placed great importance on intelligence and... craved it. Jason constantly felt that Alka’s hunger for information and intelligence was even more intense than his own. However, Alka clearly preferred merely acquiring intelligence, rather than sifting through and analyzing the vast amounts of it.

Alka sat down directly beside Jason and began to look through the documents scattered on the long table.

”This time, we’ve roughly pinpointed the location to Paltro, in the Realm of Pitch Black,” Jason said, pointing to an area on the large map. This was the area Alka had specifically asked about before, the one containing a large quantity of blue Treasures and even a scarce amount of gold Treasures.

[Paltro - Realm of Pitch Black]

[Treasures: White - Massive, Blue - Large, Gold - Scarce]

[Difficulty: Dangerous]

[Information: The destruction site of the Vastin Empire. At the moment of the Empire’s fall, a special ritual fully unleashed the power of the Scepter-level Treasure, the Shadow of Darkness, causing it to resonate indiscriminately through the surroundings.

This annihilated their enemy, the Meiniche Alliance, along with the Empire itself. The entire sea region has been plunged into perpetual darkness for years due to the spread of this power.]

Since Alka had already reviewed the intelligence on the target location yesterday, the information was now almost completely revealed.

The entire Dark Realm covered an area almost three times the size of the territory controlled by the Blood Gold Alliance. This showed just how powerful the two Alliances located there must have been. Their simultaneous annihilation buried immeasurable wealth and Treasures in the ruins. This has lured countless explorers ever since.

However, as this devastation was wrought by a Scepter-level Treasure, the Treasure’s power completely enveloped the entire sea region. Consequently, it is exceptionally perilous.