Ululius raised her head slightly, gazing at the sky, her eyes gleaming with hope.
That was the image of her race's past, as she knew it through her own heritage.
"Until the divine war broke out. What began as a mere feud between the gods grew ever wider.
Countless years of accumulated hatred erupted in an instant, and a world-shattering war arrived.
With so many gods, so powerful, the world simply couldn't bear it. At that moment, my ancestor felt the call of the world.
Became a member of the Prismatic Clan, a dragon of savior."
The crystal dragon raised its head and gazed skyward. "But as you can see, my ancestor failed, and the world was shattered."
Everyone listened in silence.
Jason watched the crystal dragon approach and patted it. "This isn't a surprise."
"That's just my complaint. This isn't a surprise."
Ululius nudged Jason with her dragon claw, truly ruining the atmosphere.
"What I meant to say is that my heritage contains many rituals. It's just that I'm too weak. With this treasure, I can simplify the rituals and even enhance their effects, allowing me to use them in advance."
As she spoke, she raised her dragon claw, and the crystal on her body suddenly glowed.
Everyone could feel the gathering of magic around them.
Seeing this, Alka quickly poked her head out of the ship. She waved to the patrol who were sensing the magical fluctuations coming towards them, signaling that they were safe.
After communicating with the guards outside, Alka retracted her head.
She looked at Urulius helplessly.
As the magic gathered, a crystal formed from it appeared in her dragon claw, and she suddenly pressed it into Jason's body.
A rainbow light emanated from Jason's body.
Amidst the light, everyone watched as Jason's head sprouted a pair of crystal dragon horns, strikingly similar to Urulius's.
The crystal horns protruded from his forehead.
Fine crystal scales appeared on Jason's cheeks.
Then the light descended.
Jason observed his transformation and touched the horns sprouting from his forehead.
Suddenly, his face flushed slightly, as if his neck was blocked, as if something was holding him back.
He hurried to the side of the boat and vomited into the sea.
With the vomiting came a flood of rainbow-colored light. A massive amount of energy erupted into the water, instantly freezing a large area of the nearby surface into crystal.
Jason took a moment to adjust, and when he lifted his head, the energy flew out.
"What are you doing? Want a fight?" A ship slid by, its frozen crystals spreading past, nearly hitting their bottom. The sailors on the ship yelled frantically at them.
"Excuse me, excuse me," Jason apologized hastily, regaining his composure and waving his hand to dissolve the frozen crystal sea below.
"Be more careful next time!"
Jason awkwardly walked back to the side of the group.
"So this is what it feels like to spit." He was still a little unaccustomed to becoming a dragonman.
Everyone gathered around to look at Jason's new form.
Arka looked behind him. "Why don't you have wings?"
"And no tail either," Pororo, still maintaining his tail, said to Jason.
"Don't legends say dragonmen have horns, scales on their bodies, wings, and tails?" Lucelia asked curiously.
At this moment, Ululius's voice sounded somewhat awkwardly, "My strength isn't strong enough yet, so I can only do this."
It turned out that the transformation wasn't strong enough, so the simplified ritual obviously simplified the effects as well.
"Can it be transformed back?" Jason asked, looking at Ululius.
The only thing he felt about the change in form was a slight improvement in his physical strength, but not much.
The most obvious sensation was the increase in the magical power within him, and his control over crystal magic seemed to have become more proficient.
Other than that, he didn't notice much else.
"It's OK," Ululius said, and the power began to drain from Jason's body and return to hers.
"Alright, you guys get used to your new treasures here. I have something to do, so I'll leave first," Alka said, jumping off the deck.
It took them just over a month to create the carriers for these three treasures.
He had received a letter from the archbishop yesterday.
The treasure had been retrieved, but he needed to personally visit and speak with its owner.
Alka soon arrived at the cathedral, where a priest led him upstairs.
They entered a reception room.
When Alka knocked on the door and entered, besides the familiar archbishop, there was also an unusually serious-looking old man, his hair and beard slightly graying.
But his aura remained undiminished, giving the impression of someone who had just returned from a battle.
He also carried the distinct smell of volcanic sulfur.
He was dressed in pure black, embellished with metallic ornaments.
His attire gave him a youthful, heavy metal, punk vibe.
"Alka, you're here. Come sit," he said, gesturing to a nearby chair.
Alka walked over, nodded, and politely sat down. The Archbishop then said, "Come, let me introduce you. This is my friend, the Demon Hunter Judge—Greyfar."
"This is Alka, a follower of the Virgin Mary and leader of the Compass Eye."
The two exchanged glances and nodded. Alka had seen the solemn old man's strength with his own eyes.
He was surprisingly on par with the Archbishop, both at or above the sixth level.
It was unclear whether it was the seventh level or something even more outrageous.
As Alka's strength rose to the fourth level, he was certain that the Archbishop was above the sixth level.
"The Demon Hunter Judge?" Alka repeated, as if he had heard this somewhere before.
The old man, named Greyfar, looked at Alka and said, "Chebrid told me about you and your companions."
Hearing this, Alka instantly remembered. The man who had previously worked with Pororo in the Land of Spirits, a person at the fourth level of strength.
Alka remembered that he seemed to call himself a demon hunter. At first, Alka thought he was a member of the Mother Church.
Later, he learned that he wasn't, but simply came with the Mother Church to provide support.
He didn't know much about him; he seemed a bit reserved. But he was a very down-to-earth person. He also had a very efficient method for hunting demons.
Now that he thought about it, his dress seemed almost identical to that of the man in front of him, Grayfar.
"It's great that you're somewhat familiar with each other," the Archbishop said, glancing at Alka.
A glass ball floated directly from Alka's palm.
The glass ball was enveloped in a misty pink mist.
This was Alka's first treasure, the Dreamcatcher Crystal Ball.
If there was one treasure he possessed that wouldn't significantly impact him if he didn't use it for a short period of time, it would be this one.
As Alka attained the status of Dream King, he absorbed the fragments of the Dream God.
This treasure primarily allowed Alka to maintain his strength within the dream realm.
It also allowed him to drag his enemies into a dream-like space, strengthening his own strength.
After much deliberation, Alka decided to use this treasure as a temporary collateral.
Besides, the treasure wasn't being pledged to the enemy, but to the Archbishop.
Alka still had a relatively high degree of trust in the Archbishop of the Holy Mother Church.
After all, both the Holy Mother and the Church had always provided Alka with assistance.
To put it bluntly, Alka and the others could almost be considered his own.
Perhaps to the outside world, Alka and his treasure-hunting group might be affiliated with the Holy Mother Church. At this moment, Greyfart, standing across from him, lifted a chest from his feet.
Opening the chest, he discovered a treasure within.
It was a sickle, rather exquisite in appearance, more like a ceremonial object than a weapon.
After all, it was exquisitely crafted, adorned with gemstones and patterns. Its overall construction didn't seem forged for practical purposes.
"The Harvest Scythe is a quintessential symbol of autumn," the Archbishop said to Alka, pointing at the sickle.
Alka nodded and looked up at Greyfart. Honestly, the old man was quite large.
Even Alka, who stood about 1.8 meters tall, had to look up to see him. Standing up, the old man must have been at least two meters tall.
"Thank you for offering this temporary exchange."
The Archbishop nodded as he looked at the two men and was about to reach out to take their treasures. However, Greyfar suddenly grabbed the Archbishop's hand.
Seeing this, the Archbishop frowned and looked at Greyfar: "We agreed on this beforehand."
Greyfar, still wearing his rather serious expression, glanced at the Archbishop. "Don't worry, I'm not refusing. I just didn't expect the person who wanted to temporarily exchange treasures with me would be this friend."
He turned to Alka and said, "If I remember correctly, you and your companions are a treasure hunting group, right?"
Alka nodded. "Yes, we are."
"Chebrid told me before that you went to the Land of the Spirits to seek treasure, right?"
"Of course, treasure hunting groups go to strange places, and of course they go for treasure," Alka replied directly. This wasn't something difficult to understand.
If a treasure hunting group doesn't seek treasure, what else is there for?
Grayfart nodded. "I'm a little curious. If you don't mind, could you please clear up this confusion for me, an old man?"
Arka glanced at him and nodded. "Of course, if you can answer."
"You played a significant role in the Land of the Spirits this time, confronting the demons and resisting the cultists, and even playing a crucial role in the end. So what made you willing to act in this way?"
You have to understand that for Arka and his companions, the Land of the Spirits had previously been dangerous, at least in the eyes of outsiders.
"Hatred, treasures, wealth, friendship, and the friendship of a god," Arka replied vaguely.
And his answer wasn't entirely wrong; it was just a rough summary.
Just the friendship of that last god was enough to warrant the risk, not to mention that Arka and his companions' primary concern at the time was to kill Kalutor.
Grayfart nodded, his expression still serious, without much change. "If this is a treasure hunt, would you be interested in a place filled with treasure?"
"Hey! Greyfar? What are you thinking?" the Archbishop interrupted, frowning.
Greyfar ignored him, saying, "I'm just explaining things. I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary."
Then he looked at Arka and said, "Do you know the Saralan Empire?"
Arka glanced at the Archbishop and saw a slightly helpless look in his eyes.
After a moment's thought, he said, "I do. I learned about this country when I was looking into the Devouring Mouth. It's said it was destroyed by a demonic invasion a thousand years ago."
"No, this country hasn't been destroyed yet. Its remaining people are still fighting among the ruins."
Hearing this, Arka finally understood.
Clearly, the witcher and the witcher inquisitor before him were descendants of this nation.
Perhaps they were still fighting on their original territory.
Still fighting in the ruins, that meant the area was still infested with demons.
When I was learning about the Devouring Mouth, I also learned about this area, which was considered quite dangerous. However, their focus was on other areas at the time, so I didn't know much about it.
The fact that they were named "Demon Hunters" probably explains this as well.
"You seem to understand, so I'll be frank.
If you're interested, you can learn about this country's former glory and wealth later. The demonic invasion and the wars of the time decimated the country, leaving behind a vast wealth buried within its ruins.
As for the demons, if you understand them, you'll know they clearly have a penchant for destruction, chaos, and bloodshed.
The wealth of the mortal world holds no meaning to them.
I believe such a lure should be enticing enough for a treasure-hunting group."
After this, he continued, "Thank you for listening to an elderly man's nagging. Your treasure is deeply connected to you, and you should be using it yourself.
Since it's yours, I'll lend it to you for a while."
With that, he closed the box and pushed it over.
Alka saw this and glanced at the archbishop. The archbishop nodded somewhat helplessly. "Take it, but don't take possession of it. If you do, you'll be in my debt."
Hearing this, Alka thought for a moment and nudged the box slightly toward the archbishop. "Let's take the necessary protective measures."
The archbishop nodded with satisfaction.
After opening the box, he cast an unknown spell upon it right in front of the two men.
A golden energy, like fluid, enveloped the entire treasure, then vanished within.
Then he closed the box and pushed it toward Alka again.
"Take it, and remember to return it as soon as possible." Alka nodded.
Then he looked at Greyfart before him and said politely, "Thank you for your generous help. I'll remember this favor."
"No need. He's already offset the favor for you."
Alka nodded without saying anything more.
After saying goodbye to the two, he took the suitcase and left the room.
After Alka left, the Archbishop frowned at Greyfar.
He asked with a hint of anger, "What exactly do you want to do? Why are you saying all this to him?"
Greyfar calmly took a sip of the tea in front of him.
"What's wrong? I didn't say anything."
"Stop playing dumb. Why are you trying to spark his interest in the Saran Empire?"
Hearing this, Greyfar turned to the Archbishop with a puzzled look. "What's the problem? Did I say anything false?"
"Isn't the Saralan Empire once the most powerful nation in the entire Infinite Sea? Wasn't its wealth astonishingly vast? Wasn't it the envy of even the Church?"
Hearing this, the Archbishop sighed helplessly.
"But it's dangerous there."
"Dangerous? Wasn't the Land of All Spirits, where the Flower Fairy revived it, dangerous?" Greyfor asked.
"That's different."
"What's the difference? He's already offended the Devouring Mouth, and that damned demon won't let him go.
Why not find a way to kill him first?
Besides, aren't there troops from various churches in Saralan now? What's there to be afraid of?
Your knights of the Holy Mother Church are the most murderous there.
And don't you see? Everyone on that ship has taken an oath. They understand the suffering of the world. You should understand what I mean. The Archbishop sighed helplessly, rubbing his brow in frustration.
"It's different, you can't understand. Alka comes from the Home Island of the Home Sea. He was born a follower of the Mother Mother.
And, the Mother Mother truly called him her child. Long ago, when he arrived in the Infinite Sea, the Mother Mother personally issued a decree telling us not to interfere with him or guide him.
Let him sail freely. I hope what you just said doesn't count as guidance."
"Could he be the Mother Mother's child?" Greyfar couldn't help but ask.
"Of course not. He's just an ordinary mortal, at least not before." The Archbishop glared at Greyfar and said.
Furthermore, the Sanctuary didn't grant them any special privileges, and they specifically emphasized that they shouldn't excessively help Alka. They only provided limited assistance when Alka requested it.
"Don't worry. The Mother Mother didn't bring down divine punishment on me, which means my words didn't count as guidance. "
"As long as they're still a treasure-hunting group, they can't escape the Saralan Empire. If they haven't been to the Saralan Empire, they can't be called a powerful treasure-hunting group, right?"
Hearing this, the Archbishop could only nod in agreement.
Because it was the truth, irrefutable.
Forget it, as a treasure-hunting group, they'll have to go there one day anyway.
It wouldn't be a big deal if they learned about it sooner.
After all, in his understanding, Alka was considered a relatively cautious person.