Part 3 The Traveler Chapter 170 The Mermaid’s Clue

　　The Strongest Hunter …… Klein was shocked by the title, and after careful recollection, realized that the other party did not have a bounty.

　　In other words, Anderson Hood’s self-representation in the dream world was true and reliable, and he was more of a treasure hunter!

　　Unfortunately, Germaine Sparrow has not yet finished off any of the pirate generals, otherwise I am the strongest hunter …… Klein did not relax his guard, and his gaze was coldly watching the opposite side.

　　As long as Anderson Hood appeared the slightest abnormality, he would immediately throw this rune in his hand, anyway, the opening spell is the same, for the current sequence of him, the infusion of spirituality can also be done at the same time.

　　Hearing the introduction of “General above the stars”, Anderson shook his head seriously:

　　”No, not the strongest hunter.”

　　Yo, also quite modest well …… Klein in his heart sighed with emotion.

　　Anderson laughed and added:

　　”If ‘General above the Stars’ you still insist, it’s best to add a qualifier in front of it: below demigod.

　　”Well, the strongest hunter below a demigod.”

　　……I take back that previous sentence ……The corner of Klein’s mouth moved imperceptibly.

　　Seeing that the “General above the stars” did not respond, Anderson said with his hands naturally hanging down:

　　”This sea is very dangerous, but also hides a lot of treasure, about this, I believe you two also know.

　　”There were once quite a few adventurers, or more accurately, treasure hunters, who entered this place, seeking strange encounters, but most of them didn’t make it out alive, huh, I’m talking about most of them, and there are bound to be some lucky ones, who can both harvest items and materials, and leave without any problems.

　　”This treasure hunting group was assembled by two treasure hunters with experience in this area, who claimed to have figured out which ruins not to explore in the first half of the Safe Passage, which relics to try, which monsters to hunt with, and which out-of-control evil creatures had to be circumvented in which way.

　　”I was always curious about this place, and managed to be convinced to join their treasure hunting group.”

　　”And?” “The Star Above General,” Kadriya reflected the other man early within her slightly deep purple black eyes.

　　Anderson sighed:

　　”It started off well, really well, we avoided the dangers, got quite a few relics from the previous explorers, and hunted down some monsters and harvested several materials.

　　”It all took a turn for the worse when we found a strange temple located on a flooded island with quite a few well-preserved frescoes that this gentleman has seen in the dream world.”

　　He pointed at Klein with his chin.

　　”That’s not the point.” Klein responded calmly.

　　Anderson shook his head and smiled bitterly:

　　”One of the murals was very sinister, depicting a pilgrimage procession traveling through the parted waters.

　　”The leader of this procession was depicted as an angel with long silver-to-vest hair and soft features.

　　”I was the first to arrive in front of that mural, stretched out my right hand and habitually sketched various lines out of thin air, really, I, did not touch, separated by at least 5 centimeters, who knows, the angel in the portrait seemed to open his eyes at that moment.”

　　…… Your title of the strongest hunter must have been forced out because of too many things you’ve invoked …… Klein snorted silently without any sympathy at all.

　　”A silver-haired angel?” Gadelia asked rhetorically.

　　”Yes, but I don’t know exactly which angel it is, at least it doesn’t appear in the various paintings of the Seven Churches, and of course, maybe it’s a random addition by a muralist and may not be real.” Anderson was just about to raise his hand to run it down his hair when he realized that the man across the street in the polo shirt, brown jacket, and duck-tongued hat was staring at him with a cold gaze, as if he wouldn’t hesitate to attack at the slightest movement.

　　And at that moment Klein was thinking of something else:

　　”This guy is very specialized in art, at least ordinary people can’t understand that many religious paintings.”

　　Gadelia, who hadn’t gotten an effective answer, immediately turned her head sideways and looked at Klein, her gaze taking on a few hints of inquiry.

　　She had just heard Anderson Hood say that Germaine Sparrow had seen that mural.

　　Perhaps, this member of the organization of the Lord’s gift recognized which angel it was …… “Star on top of the general” Gadelia inexplicably felt that Germaine Sparrow may really know the answer.

　　Thinking that Ms. “The Hidden One” would be able to harvest the answer with a casual question at the next Tarot meeting, Klein didn’t hold back and simply said:

　　”‘Tail Swallower’ Urolius.”

　　”Urolius the Tail Swallower? The “Angel of Destiny”? The King of Angels? Gadelia’s lips pursed involuntarily, and the violet color in her eyes seemed to become a little more pronounced.

　　The last time she had heard this name was at the Tarot, thanks to Ms. Justice.

　　That was when she first learned of the existence of the King of Angels, and she hadn’t expected to come across a clue in the real world only a few months later!

　　”‘Tail Swallower’ Urolius?” Anderson chewed on the name somewhat blankly.

　　Klein didn’t say another word, in a manner that I wasn’t interested in explaining.

　　Anderson saw that the “General above the Stars” didn’t speak either, so he let out a chuckle and continued on:

　　”At that time, I thought it was a hallucination, because the mural didn’t appear abnormal after that.

　　”Then our party split into two parts, most of them frightened by my description and believing that they should not explore that temple, the remaining third, thirsty for more treasure, set off towards the depths of the temple, and we waited for a whole day, until three times noon alternated with night, without waiting for them to return.

　　”We are all excellent treasure hunters, and knew that something must have happened, and after a little confirmation, we did not dare to stay or wait any longer, and immediately left the temple, taking the ship to return the same way. We had already harvested enough and didn’t want to take any more chances.”

　　Wait, none of you have any intention of saving your companions? Well, members of this kind of impromptu gathering of adventuring groups, after encountering danger, surely they will only care about themselves and the few friends they know best …… According to my experience, your companions who disappeared might be eating the fingers of the corpses …… Klein made a few belly laughs without opening his mouth to accuse Anderson.

　　Anderson sighed again and said:

　　”After leaving that temple, we found ourselves experiencing some mutations, on the one hand, we became unlucky, no matter what we did, even a few quiet sips of light beer, we would find that whoever had used the keg as a toilet and urinated into it, well, that didn’t happen to me, that happened to my companions.

　　”On the other hand, we gained control over ourselves in the dream world, no longer in a state of confusion, knowing something but unable to launch into action, so some of my companions, roughly a third of the initial number, curiously traveled some distance forward into the depths of the dream world, and heck, they didn’t come back.”

　　Gadelia, who was listening quietly, opened her mouth to ask:

　　”What about their real world bodies?”

　　”Altered into monsters, killed quite a few of their remaining companions, killed most of the sailors.” Anderson took a noticeable deep breath, “Although we managed to take out the monsters, due to a lack of enough sailors and a series of unlucky events, we weren’t able to reach the island before the storm, so our ship sank, the harvest sank, and the rest of our companions either drowned, were struck by lightning, or were devoured by the monsters in the water, which I did not all see with my own eyes.

　　”Only I, being a little stronger and luckier relative to them, was thrown by the waves and managed to swim to this island, and began to try to make a canoe to get out, and, heck, as you can see, that last axe of mine shattered and reflected back into the dream world.”

　　Those last words of Anderson’s were addressed to Klein.

　　What a doom and gloom treasure hunting group …… Klein mentally drew a Crimson Moon for the other.

　　He thought that Anderson’s description should be true, and that his experience didn’t look like he had made it up out of thin air, but whether he was hiding anything was unknown.

　　Perhaps, Anderson had really been to the depths of that temple, eating the fingers of corpses only to come out thinking he was fine, or perhaps, he had explored quite a bit of the dream world, having suffered inconspicuous contaminations in the dreams of certain unknown creatures.

　　Anderson Hood finished recounting his experience, and smiled at General “Stars Above” Gadelia and the unnamed so-and-so:

　　”Do I have the honor of riding on the ‘Future’?

　　”I’ll pay the fare.”

　　He looked as if he was at your disposal to make an offer.

　　Once again, Kadriya looks sideways, at Klein, as if asking him if he wants to say yes.

　　In other words, you’re more inclined to agree? You’re not even going to do the next review? Why are you so confident when I have to go to the Gray Mist to divine before I can give a definite answer? Why are you so confident about the extraordinary ability of the “Secret Spy” to reach Sequence 5? Klein interpreted some information from the glance of “The Hidden One” Gadelia.

　　In the middle of his hesitant speculation, Anderson said sharply:

　　”I am familiar with the next voyage!

　　”I can help you avoid the dangers lurking in the safe passage, I can tell you which ruins not to explore, and I can let you escape the mermaid’s song in time!”

　　”Mermaid’s song?” Klein’s eyes nearly glazed over, and it was hard to maintain the image of Germaine Sparrow.

　　”Yes, it’s another day’s sail from here, I mean a day in the outside world, around a ruin and turn toward ……” Here, Anderson suddenly realized something and closed his mouth with a smile, saying no more.

　　Klein thought for a moment and pulled out a gold coin in front of Anderson, chanting in a low voice:

　　”Anderson Hood has a problem.”

　　……

　　He repeated it seven times in a row, going through the standard process of divination, but not actually expecting an answer at all.

　　It was a test of the other side.

　　If Anderson truly had a problem, there should be a show of weakness, after all, he couldn’t confirm Germaine Sparrow’s divination caliber and couldn’t be sure that the inevitable interference would be successful.

　　Clang!

　　The gold coin popped up and fell down, Klein glanced at it and directly put it into his pocket:

　　”No problem.”

　　Going back above the gray mist to make a confirmation …… Klein added in his heart.

　　Gadelia then looked to Anderson and nodded:

　　”I grant your request.

　　”But after getting out of this sea, the items you have on you must be shared with me in half, if you have nothing, then I don’t want anything.”

　　Anderson was silent for a few seconds and said with a renewed smile:

　　”Deal!”

　　Finding a way out, he visibly relaxed a bit, and then laughed in a whirlwind:

　　”Also, I must remind you all that although my doom is limited to myself, you must also be careful as I may attract monsters, but of course, I believe that with the combination of you ‘General Above the Stars’, this gentleman, and I, safety can still be guaranteed.”

　　As soon as his words fell, the entire island suddenly shook, and there was smoke and dust that filled the air from within the primitive forest.

　　”It can’t be true that monsters have come ……,” Anderson subconsciously opened his mouth wide.