From the fragmented words just now, the only thing Alka could make out was that he seemed to be trying to tell him something.
How to unlock the mechanism in the Council Hall and retrieve the scepter-level treasure.
This seemed to be related to saving his race.
But the more important question was: after 30,000 years, was the so-called salvation still meaningful?
30,000 years had passed, and everything had changed dramatically. Surely, salvation had lost its meaning?
Alka remained skeptical.
But this space was clearly nothing special anymore. The light orbs that could have been used to transmit information had dimmed.
"Should we transport this thing out?" Jason asked, tapping the dim blue sphere that resembled crystal.
Looking at the orb, Alka shook his head. "How do we get it out? Our rings can't hold it, and we don't know how to open the door to the outside world."
"That's true," Jason thought, finally realizing the question.
"Alright, let's get out. There's nothing left here, and who knows how long this space can hold."
With this, Alka reversed the spell they had just entered. As the ripples spread, they instantly vanished from the spot.
The world once again plunged into darkness. When light returned, they were already outside, nestled in the ruins.
Alka looked at the bony hand still gripping his ankle and pulled it free.
He threw it into the nearby pit of corpses, looking at the half-remaining body and the withered flower he held.
"We've got it. Let's get out of here and bury it."
Hearing Alka's words, Lucelia asked curiously, "Aren't we going to dig a little deeper?"
"No, let's get out of here."
After having already found a treasure, everyone gave up their greed. They climbed up the pit and swept the surrounding dirt into the pit to bury it.
The group moved quickly, filling the hole in a short while.
They hurried toward the dock.
When they returned to the ship, it was still dark.
In the captain's cabin.
Alka held the withered flower in his hand and handed it to Pororo beside him.
According to the order of the members who didn't yet have a treasure, Pororo was undoubtedly the first in line.
"Take it! This treasure is yours."
After all, if Alka held it alone, the two treasures in his body would simultaneously repel it.
Pororo took the withered flower and carefully placed it in his palm, feeling the almost imperceptible weight.
He had coveted this treasure for a long time.
Aqua-blue magic flowed from his palm, enveloping the flower.
As the magic power poured in, the flower's withered appearance transformed, reappearing as if revitalized.
The branches grew emerald green, leaves sprouted from either side, and the crystal-clear petals perked up again.
The surrounding magic power also rapidly increased.
The flower floated in his hand, drifting ever since, before suddenly falling.
The surrounding magic power also rapidly decreased.
This clearly indicated that Pororo had mastered the treasure.
He held the flower in his hand and opened his eyes.
[Winter Flower], Alka had thought the effect of this flower would make the surroundings somewhat chilly.
The result was just that.
It didn't seem to quite match its name.
"How is it? How is the effect of this treasure?"
Jason asked curiously from the side.
Pororo raised his index finger, and electricity coiled around it.
Suddenly, with a flick of his finger, a bolt of electricity shot out, striking the back of the chair next to Jason, piercing a corner of it.
A faint white smoke drifted down from above; it was simply an ordinary attack caused by a weak current.
It didn't seem anything special.
However, the area struck by the current inexplicably began to corrode. As the corrosion progressed, it melted, eventually turning to ash and dispersing into the air.
A semicircular gap also appeared on the back of the chair, the area struck by the lightning completely vanishing.
"What kind of effect is this? Such powerful attack power," Jason said, somewhat surprised, touching the gap.
Especially at the end, it turned directly into ash.
Looking at the curious eyes of the crowd.
Pororo extended his index finger, pinching the flower in his hand, and said, "It's called the Winter Flower. It has a single effect: to make things wither, just like winter."
With this simple explanation, combined with the demonstration just now, everyone easily understood the effect of this treasure.
So that's how it is, Alka nodded in sudden realization.
So the name "Winter Flower" was derived from this meaning.
Alka had previously thought this treasure was related to winter and was considering giving it to Julia.
After all, Julia had a high degree of control over forces like cold and was quite accustomed to it.
It turns out the name means "withering in winter."
Although it only had a single effect, it was indeed powerful enough.
Making things wither like plants in winter, the corner of the chair back just now clearly demonstrated this characteristic.
"So you've truly become a powerful attacker now. Your offensive power has greatly increased. I hope your enemies don't get swept by your attacks," Simon said with a smile.
This attack ability was visible in the demonstration just now; it can be attached to lightning.
If it were to strike, it would be truly devastating. For an uninformed enemy, this attack would be an absolutely terrifying special effect.
The instant it strikes, it can inflict severe damage.
The mere thought of it is chilling.
"Don't touch me so carelessly in the future! I don't want to suddenly lose a piece of flesh," Jason said, pointing at Porollo's hand.
Hearing this, Porollo extended his finger and poked Jason twice.
"Oh, damn! You just mastered him! Don't move!"
Jason quickly patted the spot where Porollo had touched him. With Pororo's control of the treasure, their team's strength was further strengthened.
Finally, a player capable of making the final decision emerged within the team; Pororo and his [Winter Flower] possessed such power.
"Alright, alright, everyone, go about your business. I'll plan tomorrow's itinerary."
Hearing this, everyone left the captain's cabin and went about their business.
Arka sat alone in her seat, examining the map in her hand.
Watching the golden light fade away, now a dim golden dot, she reached out and tapped the conspicuous orange beam.
Although the message left by the Winter Priest was fragmented, these fragmented words were enough to fully expand the treasure information in her hands.
[Heart of Vastva]
[Difficulty: One-Fourth Power (Three Stages)]
[Popularity: 126,000]
[Treasure Information: The city-state of Vastva, an ancient city, worships the ancient god of mystery, Four-Fourth, also known as Change...
... Gather the treasures from the four great temples to automatically gain one-fourth power. In the Council, scatter the treasures into the hands of each statue, chant Vastva, and obtain the hidden treasure.
The original method of unlocking the treasure is no longer available due to special circumstances. You need to obtain other treasures related to spring, summer, and autumn, and gain a trace of divine power. Then, simulate one-fourth power on the Council disk to unlock the treasure.] (Perfect)
Looking at the already perfect treasure information,
Arka's expression was solemn, lost in thought.
He was already feeling a chill in his heart.
Just as he'd expected, the treasure information was perfect, and the method he'd envisioned for unlocking it was the same: it indeed contained treasures from all four temples.
However, for some inexplicable reason, this method had long since ceased to work.
He needed to find treasures that represented, or could replace, the three seasons of spring, summer, and autumn.
Just like the Winter Flower, something related to winter would be sufficient.
For example, something like withering.
A trace of divine power was also needed.
Alka had no idea what divine power was; he could only deduce from the literal meaning that it seemed to be related to the power of the gods.
For a moment, he wondered: was this treasure worth it?
Was it worth the effort and thought he'd put into obtaining it?
From the unknown reason and the alternative solution, he could actually guess.
The treasures representing the first three seasons must be unattainable or have vanished.
Arka looked at the fame.
126,000 fame.
Could it be that the Vastva people weren't dead yet? Had they truly remained in the alternate dimension? Then why weren't the other treasures famous?
This was clearly not right.
"Ah." Arka sighed, dismissing the message on the orange beam and no longer focusing on him.
He had already mentally brushed this treasure aside. It was obvious that it would take a long time to obtain.
Perhaps a lifetime.
The three treasures representing the three seasons and the divine power had already barred Arka from his grasp.
He could only wait and see if he could obtain them during future sea voyages. He kept his composure and didn't force it.
After all, he had already obtained one treasure on the island.
That was enough.
Calming himself mentally, Alka looked at the other blue treasures.
The orange treasures no longer needed attention.
But these blue treasures, and even the white ones, still contained numerous useful items.
These included, but were not limited to, technologies and products related to space expansion and space cutting, as well as a variety of possible weapons and equipment.
As Alka learned more about Vastva, these treasures became more clearly revealed in the treasure information.
Having secured this, they might have to spend the entire year on the island.
Alka decided to discuss this with his teammates.
That evening, after dinner, everyone gathered in the captain's cabin once again.
"According to what we discussed yesterday, our goals and tasks for the next period are as follows:
1. Boost our strength as much as possible, raising it to the Nine Spirals, or even the third stage, while concealing our identities.
2. Avoid strangers who might visit the island as much as possible.
3. Excavate the ruins on the island, obtaining their knowledge, artifacts, and some technologies."
After A-Ka finished speaking, he tilted his head and looked at the crowd: "Anything else you'd like to add or any better suggestions?"
Everyone fell into deep thought.
"If we want to improve our strength as quickly as possible, then we can't all go to the island together to excavate the ruins later, as this would waste our meditation time," Sofia said after a moment's thought.
"With daylight hours reaching over ten or even twenty hours, it would waste our meditation time if we always worked together.
After all, the Magic Gathering Stone needs to cool down, and time here is calculated based on a day and night. Overall, we don't need a year."
After all, a year here is clearly not the same as a year in the Home Sea.
A single day lasted for thirty or even forty hours.
A year was equivalent to two years.
Lucelia nodded and said, "Does this mean we need to split up into teams?"
Alka nodded in agreement, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Lucelia and I will take turns leading. Julia and Mathilda will also rotate into the team. The rest of the team will be assigned based on their abilities and the danger level of the destination."
After hearing Alka's suggestion, everyone thought about it and nodded. It was indeed a perfect fit.
After all, if they split into two teams, someone would need to understand the language and gather information.
Previously, only Luelia knew the island's language, but later, thanks to the priest's final spirit, Alka also learned it.
Naturally, the two of them would take turns leading the team.
Julia and Matresa were the only two members of the team with healing abilities. While one would focus on healing and the other would provide some additional treatment, they still needed to enter the team separately.
This ensured everyone could survive in the event of fatal damage.
Furthermore, they had a final safeguard: the [Stagnation] spell, a true life-saving artifact.
Unless the entire team was wiped out, they would survive.
Julia, Matresa, Simon, and Jason were all proficient in this spell.
Xadaiti also mastered it.
"Then I can try to enter the town on my rotation day and gather more intelligence, such as information related to the outside world. If I'm alone, it's not surprising that my magic power is stable, isn't it? And if I'm constantly in the town, I'll be even less noticeable," Jason said after a moment's thought.
This suggestion plunged everyone into deep thought.
Because if that were to happen, Jason would undoubtedly be in danger. Such an activity carries a certain degree of risk.
"Okay, but you have to be careful. Bring a puppet with you whenever you go out," Alka said after a moment's thought.
The puppet and Lucilia have a very long link, allowing them to transmit information to each other and more quickly determine Jason's safety.
"Then you will be responsible for communicating with Baraz, selling him some of our ship's treasures, and providing him with a list of items we need," Sofia said from the side.
They'll need some supplies on board, and Alka and Simon will need materials for forging.
They're also planning to use this time to improve their puppet army; relying solely on the materials on the island is clearly not enough.
This will also allow Sofia to better understand prices outside, helping him avoid being exploited during future sea voyages and trades.
Then everyone discussed some details.
For example, Sofia was essential. After all, if they were to excavate the ruins, without Sofia, the excavation progress would be unimaginable.
It's not impossible that the excavated ruins would be destroyed or collapsed.
To this end, Sofia would need to travel back and forth between the two locations during her operations to mark the next excavation site in advance.
They would also need to avoid contact with strangers on the island during their operations.
Simon also needed to create more practical excavation tools. After all, the previous excavations were only temporary, but now they would obviously be excavating for a long time.
Therefore, better, faster, and more practical tools had to be manufactured.
Alka also needed Sofia to provide more detailed maps of the island, no longer maps of the entire island, but maps divided into blocks and magnified.
This allowed Alka to better identify the treasure's location.
After all, many of the white dots overlapped, and not every blue dot had a prominent ruined building.
Many were completely buried deep underground.
These required a more detailed map to mark them.
After discussing these fine details, everyone began preparations.
It was the second day.
Naturally, it was time to begin the trial run.
On the first day, Alka would naturally lead the team, along with Sofia, Matlisa, and Jason.
They would form a team and excavate the ruins.
Of course, they also carried heavy backpacks, the excavation structures Simon had forged last night.
They were specifically designed for excavation, capable of excavating large clumps of soil as well as performing detailed repairs on smaller areas.
Combined with Alka and the others' abilities, the excavation speed will be no slower than before, and may even be faster.
The rest of the process will proceed from this.