After returning to the inn, Edward first used a Polaroid camera to take photos of every page of the Book of Calamity. Then he had Phoenix deliver them to Audrey, asking her to check if the book mentioned any high-level Beyonder abilities.

He then took out a tin box, sealed the book inside with spiritual power, and tucked it into his pouch.

Before long, Phoenix returned with a message from Audrey:

"Edward,

This book mainly recounts the life story of the Queen of Calamity. It says she was revered by the elven race not merely because she was the Elf King's consort, but also because she possessed destructive, natural-cataclysm-level Beyonder abilities.

Among them are a few specific powers she once used, including Lightning Strike, Bolt of Thunder, Lightning Calamities, and the like."

After reading the letter, Edward felt no particular emotion. With both the Sea God's Sceptre and the Book of Calamity in his possession, he essentially controlled most of the demigod-level abilities of the Sailor pathway—though he couldn't use them for long durations, they were still more than enough.

More importantly, he would soon be exploring the primitive island with The Hanged Man Alger to retrieve the Tyrant card. So the abilities recorded in the Book of Calamity…felt kind of pointless now?

Do I still need to learn Elvish?

He couldn't help recalling the pain of learning Ancient Feysac the last time.

But maybe if he didn't go through that cram-style torture again, it would be more manageable. Like when he'd later picked up Intisian and Jotun bit by bit—it hadn't been so bad over time.

"Forget it. What matters most right now is digesting the potion as soon as possible, then heading to the primitive island with The Hanged Man to hunt the demigod-level Feathered Serpent and advance to Sequence 4."

Wait, I'm still missing one auxiliary ingredient.

Thinking of this, he quickly wrote a letter and handed it to Phoenix:

"Could you please deliver this to Bernadette?"

"No problem~"

Edward stretched and flopped onto the bed. "Heh…I wonder if I'll really be able to get my hands on that Tyrant card."

According to the original work, that Tyrant card was something the Russian priest deliberately left for Klein. If only he and The Hanged Man ended up going, would they even be able to retrieve it?

———

Aboard The Dawn.

Bernadette sat in the captain's quarters, cradling a glass of crimson Sonia blood wine, sipping it slowly.

Just then, Phoenix emerged from the spirit world and dropped the letter in front of her.

"From Edward."

"Thank you."

Bernadette gave a slight nod, opened the letter, and glanced through it.

"Book of Calamity? The Elf Queen's backup plan for resurrection?"

Her father had been right. Once a Beyonder ascended to the angel level, death became something of a luxury—first, because they were hard to kill; and second, even if they were killed, you could never be sure they hadn't left behind some fail-safe to come back again someday.

If a Sequence 2 from the Second Epoch could still leave behind a method for resurrection, then what about Father? He had almost reached Sequence 0—how could he have been assassinated so easily?

Father…where are you?

Bernadette stood up and took a small wooden puppet from a cabinet behind her. It was finger-sized, with a long nose like Pinocchio.

She gently clenched it, then handed it to Phoenix.

"Send this back to Edward."

"Got it."

Phoenix turned and vanished.

Bernadette chuckled to herself.

"A liar's nose…grows longer, you know."

At that moment, a cheer came from outside the cabin:

"Captain! We've reached Emerald City!"

She looked up and, through the window, saw a gorgeous castle made entirely of emerald rising from a sapphire-blue sea—dreamlike and magnificent in scale.

Bernadette turned her gaze back to the letter in her hand and murmured:

"Edward…I'll be waiting for your return."

———

Elsewhere.

When Edward received the Pinocchio-like puppet from Phoenix, he looked helpless.

Is Bernadette hinting again that I'm lying?

But…I was about to be honest with you last time. It was you who avoided it and said, "There's no misunderstanding," remember?

Tch. A hundred-year-old woman, and still so hard to read…

——

8 PM.

Edward boarded a rented fishing boat and made his way to a deserted island near Symeem Island. Then, with the Sea God's Sceptre that he had "retrieved" from Mr. Fool, he used Animagus to transform into a silent, faceless Obscurus.

"Let's go! The first online lecture in the world of Mysteries!"

Edward channelled his spirituality into the Sea God's Sceptre, and then began broadcasting scenes of himself teaching fundamental sciences—math and physics—directly to the minds of all those who worshipped the Sea God.

Due to the limited number of believers he could contact at one time, Edward had to deliver his "lessons" in batches. Still, he managed to pass on basic scientific knowledge to several thousand Sea God followers, proudly naming it:

"Using the enemy's strengths to defeat the enemy."

If they wanted to defeat the invaders and colonisers and their formidable fleets and cannons, they would first need to learn how to build equally formidable fleets and cannons.

Afterwards, he established stable communication channels with several senior members of the rebels and Church of the Sea God, to whom he began imparting ideological knowledge—drawn primarily from Enlightenment thinkers, revolutionary political treatises, and early industrial-era resistance movements. He adapted principles from Rousseau's The Social Contract, Paine's Rights of Man, and excerpts of banned Loen philosophical texts advocating self-determination, liberty, and the moral legitimacy of rebellion against tyranny.

These were fused with theological reinterpretations that framed scientific inquiry as a divine pursuit—an expression of the Sea God's will to empower his faithful against foreign oppression.

Of course, he made appropriate adjustments based on the realities of the world of Mysteries.

This knowledge would then trickle down from the higher-ups to the mid-level members who had been gathered in advance, and finally from them to the base-level believers, completing a viral, cascading spread.

However, whether this kind of "teaching" could truly help him digest his potion—and how efficiently—it would work, Edward had no real idea. After all, his method of "wandering" was…rather contrived.

———

While Edward was tirelessly spreading knowledge among the thousands of Sea God followers throughout the Rorsted Archipelago…

On Symeem Island, Winter sat in his dilapidated home, staring blankly at a pouch full of money that had been transfigured into gold pounds.

By all accounts, this money should've been enough for him and Renee to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Yet…he felt no joy at all.

What had happened during the day still haunted him, lingering in his mind like a shadow he couldn't shake.

Just the thought of that old woman, and the apple he had eaten, made fear creep up his spine.

The old woman had said she would only take his soul after he died…

But she was a witch—one of the witches of legend! Could anything she said be trusted?

Knock, knock, knock—

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, startling Winter.

"Winter? Winter, are you home?"

A familiar voice called from outside—it was Renee's mother.

Winter quickly rushed to open the door. "What's wrong, Mrs. Jenny?"

At the doorstep stood a woman in her forties or fifties, dark-skinned, her face full of tears. She said anxiously, "Renee…Renee collapsed while eating just now. She's unconscious and won't wake up. Her father's out, and you're the only one who can help us, Winter!"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Jenny. I'll take her to the clinic right away!"

Without another word, Winter bolted for Renee's house. The moment he arrived, he saw her lying unconscious on the floor.

"Renee! Renee!"

He rushed forward, shouting her name, but there was no response. Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms and sprinted toward the island's clinic.

——

Twenty minutes later.

After examining Renee, the doctor frowned deeply.

"…Sorry. I can't figure out what's causing her coma or why she won't wake up."

"Oh heavens…"

Mrs. Jenny's legs gave out and she nearly collapsed. Winter caught her and helped her sit on the couch.

He turned back to the doctor, eyes filled with worry. "Then what should we do now? We can't just wait around, can we?"

The doctor shook his head with a bitter expression. "I can't treat what I can't diagnose… Maybe take her to Bayam? There are doctors from Loen over there—they're much more skilled than I am."

"But…"

Winter hesitated. He was afraid that whatever had struck Renee was too urgent for her to survive the journey to Bayam. The earliest ship wouldn't leave until 9 a.m. the next day, and the voyage alone would take five hours.

Just then, Renee's body began convulsing violently. Her expression twisted in pain.

Even the doctor was startled, let alone her mother.

After a long moment, Renee finally calmed down. The doctor wiped sweat from his forehead and said solemnly:

"Her condition is extremely bad…I'm afraid she might not make it through the night."

Winter felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss, chills spreading throughout his body. Utter terror rose up from the depths of his soul.

And yet—he could do nothing but watch.

This wasn't a robbery. It wasn't some danger he could rush in and save her from.

It was illness.

Something he couldn't protect her from, even if he gave his life.

Suddenly, a thought struck him like lightning.

Give my life…?

Right—the old woman! The one who was probably a witch!

Maybe…maybe she could save Renee.

Before leaving, she had said that she would appear whenever someone wanted to make a deal—and that she wanted souls.

The bag of money from before had been in exchange for his soul after death.

So…what if he offered his soul right now?

Would that be enough for her to save Renee?

With that thought, Winter knelt beside the now-peaceful Renee and gently stroked her cheek.

"Renee…Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

Then, under the stunned gazes of the doctor and Mrs. Jenny, he stood up and ran out of the clinic.

Winter sprinted all the way to Symeem Island's dock.

Compared to the daytime, the place was now pitch-dark, nothing in sight.

But he didn't care. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted with all his might toward the sea:

"Witch! Lady Witch! Are you here? Can you hear me?"

"I'm Winter! The one who made a deal with you earlier today! You said if I needed something, I could come find you!"

His voice was quickly drowned out by the crashing waves and roaring sea wind. No reply came.

He shouted even louder, "I…I want to trade my soul for Renee's life! You don't have to wait until I die—you can take my soul now! Just—just please save Renee!"

By the end, he dropped to his knees, heavily thudding onto the dock.

"Please…Please save her. I'm willing. I'm willing to give up anything."

But the only answer was the howling night wind and the endless sound of waves.

Winter knelt there motionless, stunned.

After more than ten minutes, he slowly rose like a zombie, staggering, his eyes completely lifeless.

"Hehehe…Are you really willing to give up anything?"

Suddenly, a rasping, twisted voice echoed out from the shadows.

———

[Note]: As usual, no Extra Chapter tomorrow. But, don't forget to vote if you liked the chapter~

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