Wizard: I Add Points and Hunt Monsters

”It seems you’ve figured out what you want. Just stay on the ship. Perhaps you’ll find that this is for the best.”

Black Jack drew a card and slammed it on the table, shouting boisterously, ”Black Deacon! Yuan, watch how I’m gonna win this hand back!”

”Hmph. Red Queen,” Yuan nonchalantly tossed out a card without even glancing at Black Jack. ”Playing such a high card right from the start... I’m starting to question your intelligence.”

”Mind your own business! Sea Emperor! Beat that!”

”The Sea Emperor? Forbidden Sea. You’re familiar with this card, aren’t you?”

”Dammit...”

Marco...

He idly shuffled the playing cards in his hand, inwardly cursing the person who’d impersonated him to hell and back.

’Damn bastard, just you wait. When I find you, I’ll make sure to finish the job!’

Meanwhile, Waleed, who sat across from him, also had a shifty gaze. His mind clearly wasn’t on the game either.

...

...

「Meanwhile, on the observation deck of the Ronan.」

Wei’en leaned back in his chair, lost in thought as he gazed at the calm surface of the sea.

He was still unaware that not only was the Dawn Church in pursuit, but someone was also lying in wait to intercept him—an old friend, no less.

Of course, even if he did know, he wouldn’t back down.

No matter how many difficulties this path held, no matter how arduous the journey, it was his own choice—a choice he was determined to see through to the end.

Right now, his mind was consumed with thoughts of the Twilight Secret Cultivators, of the collection of killing intent, and of the Deep Sea Giant Beast that was on the verge of becoming a Level Four Catastrophe...

’Who on earth were those bandaged freaks?’

’And what was their purpose?’

’It felt like they were patients escaped from a psychiatric hospital, their heads filled with bizarre ideas. Their speech and actions all had a neurotic quality...’

”You’ve been sitting here for almost three hours. Is there something on your mind?” After arranging the Guards, Clelia came to the observation deck and sat down beside Wei’en.

”No... Well, yes, I suppose there is.”

Wei’en hadn’t intended to tell her, but on second thought, he changed his mind. The Twilight Secret Cultivators might be the masterminds behind the collection of killing intent. They were so well hidden that if he didn’t get to the bottom of it soon, there was bound to be major trouble ahead.

”Oh? Let me guess. You’re feeling emotional after seeing the tragic state of Dakman Island?”

The corner of Wei’en’s mouth twitched. ’It’s a wonder she can attribute such a noble and kind sentiment to me.’ He also knew he couldn’t go along with her line of thinking. Otherwise, the conversation would go off the rails at high speed.

”Have you ever heard of the Twilight Secret Cultivators?”

”Twilight Secret Cultivators? That name sounds familiar... Hmm, I think I’ve seen it somewhere before. Why do you ask—” Clelia’s eyes widened as she made the connection to what happened on Dakman Island. ”You mean, they were the ones behind that Alchemy Array?”

Wei’en nodded. ”You must have noticed those three figures wrapped in bandages standing on the Pyramid when the Alchemy Array was activated, right? They were Twilight Secret Cultivators.”

”They were?”

”Yes. Can you tell me anything about them?”

Clelia stared at him, stunned. Her bright eyes flashed with a complex mix of doubt, shock, and confusion. A few seconds passed before she snapped out of it.

”The Twilight Secret Cultivators... They’re an extremely mysterious group. I’ve only ever seen the name mentioned in some of the Era Relics treasured by the Eternal Life Association.”

”In the descriptions of them on those relics, the most common theme is slaughter. It seems their very existence is to create slaughter, to destroy the world.”

Clelia’s fingers tightened on the wooden railing of the observation deck. She spoke in a heavy tone as she recalled the records. ”Devils wrapped in bandages, their emaciated bodies like scythes that reap death. They destroyed the beautiful Tamerland, slaughtered the terrifyingly powerful Thunder Giants...”

”They call themselves the Dancers of Dusk, but they are nothing more than completely fallen madmen. Their so-called ’True World’ is nothing but a product of their wild fantasies...”

’True World?’

Wei’en remembered that term vividly. When he killed those bandaged freaks, they kept mentioning a ’True Master,’ a ’false world,’ and how ’only slaughter is real.’

”So, they’ve been around for a long time?”

”I don’t know.” Clelia shook her head slightly. ”In fact, in the current era, no one has ever mentioned the name. If it weren’t for what we just went through, I would’ve dismissed it as just another boring legend.”

’The current era...’

Wei’en mulled it over for a few seconds before looking at her again. ”If I told you that the taboo at sea—the one concerning Dream-Enterers—was also their creation, would you believe me?”

Clelia froze, her eyes slowly widening and her mouth falling slightly agape. ”Are you saying the Twilight Secret Cultivators created a killing dreamscape that covers every sea?!”

She was well aware that the taboo at sea wasn’t confined to a single region. The number of people who had died after being pulled into the dream was innumerable.

But she had always assumed it was like the red moon—just another bizarre phenomenon inherent to the world. She never expected...

”Based on my earlier findings, yes.” Wei’en stared into her bright eyes and said in a low voice, ”Do you remember that time I went into the sea?”

”That time? You figured it out back then?”

Wei’en voiced his suspicions. ”Yes. Even before then, I sensed that whatever was causing the killing dreamscape felt similar to the collection of faith. But after observing more carefully, I determined they weren’t collecting faith. They were collecting the killing intent of the Dream-Enterers.”