Lin Gui couldn't explain why he had taken an interest in a cracked glass bead.
He simply felt a strange sensation whenever he held it.
Soon, he discovered the source of this anomaly.
Night fell.
Inside a small inn on the Twin Reefs that overlooked the Silent Sea.
The reason he had chosen a tavern run by goblins was twofold.
First, although the place was simple, the beds were kept clean.
Second... the way Theia looked at him was becoming increasingly strange.
Lin Gui was afraid that if he slept in the carriage, Theia might try something on him at night right in front of Eve.
Thus, following the scholar's recommendation and ignoring Theia's resentful gaze, he had found this inn.
He opened his palm. In the dim light, the glass bead was emitting a faint, eerie blue glow.
A powerful wave of soul fluctuations rippled from it.
Ever since awakening the 【Eyes of the Netherworld】, Lin Gui had become exceptionally sensitive to the presence of souls.
His eyes instantly turned gray.
His vision shifted, and all colors faded from the world, leaving only the distinct halos of souls clearly visible.
And then... he saw it.
A translucent, muscular merman soul.
It was draped over the glass bead, looking utterly bored.
It had a robust upper body with well-defined eight-pack abs.
Its lower body, however, was an illusory fish tail that drooped lazily.
Right now, this merman fellow was casually picking his nose with a finger.
After finishing, he casually flicked his finger, aiming right at Lin Gui's face.
Although the ghostly booger had no physical form, Lin Gui still felt a sudden chill on his cheek.
The merman soul let out a deep sigh, his face filled with utter despair.
A row of black lines practically slid down Lin Gui's forehead.
“I say... that's incredibly uncivilized.”
The nose-picking motion abruptly stopped.
The merman soul froze, looking around suspiciously.
The room was empty; there was no one else but Lin Gui.
It looked tentatively at Lin Gui, only to find that the human's gray eyes were locked onto him.
“Sigh...” It let out another pessimistic sigh and muttered to itself, “How can this ugly human see me?”
“With this pathetic level of strength, he isn't even worthy of cleaning my toilet...”
Lin Gui's face darkened completely.
He picked up the glass bead, stood up, and walked toward the corner of the room.
There sat a simple goblin-style toilet made from a crude wooden bucket.
He made a motion to toss the bead inside.
“Wait! What are you doing?!” The merman soul instantly panicked and shrieked.
“Sending you into the cesspool to clear your head.”
“Don't! Brother! Boss! I was wrong! You are incredibly handsome and dashing! Your strength is unmatched!”
After a round of “friendly” exchange and threats,
Lin Gui sat back on the edge of the bed, holding the bead, and asked,
“Who are you? Why didn't you go to the Netherworld Sea after you died?”
The merman soul immediately puffed out his chest with pride.
“Me?! I am...”
He spoke with great grandeur, but then suddenly choked on his words, falling into a slow, ponderous silence.
An embarrassed look washed over his face.
“Uh... I forgot.”
“When I woke up, I was trapped in this crappy bead, drifting all over the ocean.”
“Later, I was scooped up by a fishing net and picked up by that pretty girl, who used me to prop up a table leg.”
“Then... she had a goblin make a new table and threw the old, broken-legged one away.”
“I heard that... the North Wind caravan arrived at the Twin Reefs a month early. She scrambled to dig up some junk from her house, scooped me up off the floor, and took me to her stall.”
Lin Gui's lips twitched as he listened.
It turned out that seemingly sweet and lovely mermaid vendor was, at her core, a dishonest merchant.
He raised his hand and glanced at the glowing shell bracelet on his wrist, which Theia had insisted on putting on him.
He remembered how the mermaid vendor had spun a grand tale about it back then.
She had claimed that the bracelet had an extraordinary origin, and that she had risked her life to retrieve it by traversing the territory of a terrifying deep-sea demon.
To trade for this thing, Theia had given away a pound of meat, which was worth hundreds of gold coins.
Thinking about it now, there probably wasn't a single word of truth in that merchant's mouth.
Rather than the soul attached to it, Lin Gui was far more interested in the glass bead itself.
As the greatest weakness of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】, Lin Gui knew all too well how elusive souls could be.
Yet, this bead was not only able to bind a merman's soul and prevent it from departing to the Netherworld Sea,
but it also allowed the soul to retain such clear intelligence.
This in itself was highly unusual.
He placed the glass bead on the table, rolling it back and forth with his finger.
“Where did you find this bead?”
The merman soul crossed his arms, his tone arrogant.
“Why should I tell you, human?”
Lin Gui: “...”
He silently picked up the bead and headed toward the toilet again.
“Don't! I'll talk!” The merman instantly caved. “I can't remember the exact location either.”
“But in the place where I woke up, the seabed was covered with these shiny beads.”
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow.
On the continent, any item related to souls was rare and precious.
Yet, according to this soul, these beads seemed to litter that particular seabed?
Lin Gui pressed for more details.
After all, this was a rare treasure capable of storing souls.
Even if he had no use for it, bringing it to the City of a Thousand Towers would surely net him an astronomical amount of resources.
In Akara, there were too many things that money simply couldn't buy.
Unfortunately, the merman's thoughts were too jumbled, and he couldn't provide any more useful information.
Helpless, Lin Gui picked up the bead and made a motion to throw it.
“Don't abandon me!”
The merman soul completely panicked.
“You are the only human who can see me! I need your help!”
“Huh?” Lin Gui was puzzled. “Help you with what?”
“Help me... help me deliver a message to the City-State Alliance Council!”
“What message?”
The merman soul choked up instantly.
He clutched his head in pain, his translucent body trembling slightly.
He tried desperately to remember, his features twisting with effort.
“It's... a very important message...”
“About... danger... disaster... sinking...”
“Sea... fear... gods...”
He muttered haltingly, his eyes wild and anxious.
“I clearly remember... it's extremely important...”
“But... what on earth was it...”
He beat his head hard, yet he couldn't recall a single thing.
Only a hollow echo vibrated deep within his soul.
“Why can't I remember?!”
The merman soul's emotions fluctuated violently.
His form began to warp and flicker, becoming highly unstable.
His eyes, which had been blank a moment ago, suddenly turned blood-red.
A tyrannical aura spread outward, and he seemed to transform into a hideous monster in an instant.
And the power emanating from him actually carried a trace of the Legendary Rank!
This guy... had been a Legendary Rank expert in life!
Lin Gui's eyes narrowed, and he reached out without hesitation.
The oak staff leaning against the wall instantly flew into his palm.
Magic surged within him as his 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 hovered on the verge of activation.
Right then, the System's voice rang out abruptly in his mind.
【Ding! An Extra Commission has been updated!】
【Content: Escort the amnesiac merman soul to the headquarters of the City-State Alliance Council, Emergency Disaster Response Office.】
【Route: Planning will begin once the Host confirms the activation of the quest.】
【Time Limit: None】
【Reward: Special Magic - Merman's Gills (Allows free breathing underwater)】
【Risk Warning: The amnesiac soul is highly unstable and may trigger unknown risks.】
Rate on N.U.
