Chapter 183: The Curse of the Sea Caller
“What’s going on?”
Moria was stunned. Judging by Li Wen’s tone, the Kingdom’s princess seemed to have disappeared from the ship? This was a major event. If Victoria were to have an accident, everyone on this ship would likely be held responsible.
“You should tell me what happened on the ship first.”
Li Wen casually replied and walked into the cabin. If nothing went wrong, Victoria should still be in that silent, lightless, tranquil sea area.
Back at Wilson Castle, Li Wen was also drawn into an alternate dimension independent of reality, but that time it was caused by Little Wilson’s ritual to attempt ascension.
What was the cause this time? At least so far, Li Wen had not seen any signs of ritual influence. Another more critical question was why only she and Victoria were drawn into it and not others?
Li Wen pondered what commonalities there were… for example, they were both female, at least in the game, but that seemed too broad, as they weren’t the only females on the ship. Secondly, they were both Transcendants. although Victoria had never displayed any abilities in this regard and always liked to appear weak and helpless, hiding behind others to watch the show, Li Wen still knew that the other party was a Transcendent, and an extremely powerful one.
But that was her perception from her past life. What if the current Victoria had not yet started on the path? Although the possibility was extremely low, it was not impossible.
In conclusion, this point also needed to be considered.
“Not long ago, some crew members and passengers got into a conflict.”
“Conflict?” Li Wen raised an eyebrow. “Three or four hours ago, in the upper cabin?”
Moria nodded. He said with slight regret and lament, “I wasn’t present when the conflict happened. By the time I arrived, people were already injured. It’s said that they were playing a dice game, and a passenger lost and suspected the crew of cheating, after which the two sides started fighting.”
It sounded like a trivial matter, something that would happen on any ship. But Li Wen thought about it and suddenly had an idea.
“Were all the people on the ship present at the time?”
The priest recalled and said, “All the crew members, except for the sailors who couldn’t leave their posts, should have been present. As for the passengers, all the ones I remember should have been present… except for you and Miss Victoria, who stayed in your rooms.”
In other words, everyone who stayed in their rooms was drawn into it?
This thought flashed through the girl’s mind, and she quickened her pace, walking directly into her room. If nothing went wrong, there should be clues here.
“You go check the other rooms.”
Li Wen asked Moria to split up. She surveyed the not-so-large room and, after thinking for a moment, bent down and crawled under the bed. As expected, she found a wooden board that was darker in color. Her eyes turned cold, and she took out her short sword to pry open the board. A mix of salty sea breeze and rusty iron smell immediately flooded her nostrils.
In the gap under the wooden board was embedded half a black seashell, its rim covered with fine barbs, its surface etched with faded spiral patterns, and a rusty iron nail secured it tightly. When she tried to touch the seashell with her fingertip, a bone-chilling cold spread along her nerves to her brain. Countless images of drowning people struggling flashed before her eyes – pale hands grasping at the sea surface, swollen bodies being dragged by the undertow towards the abyss, turbid pupils reflecting the gradually receding sky.
“This is…” Li Wen pried open the nail with her short sword. As the rust fell, the mixed foul odor actually faded. She picked up the seashell and carefully examined the patterns on it. It didn’t look like something natural.
“It’s the ‘Curse of the Sea Caller’.”
Li Wen murmured to herself, her eyes flashing with the light of memory.
In her previous life, she had followed the combat experts of the Strategy Team as a logistics staff member to explore many ancient and mysterious ruins, thus witnessing many grotesque things that had long disappeared into the river of history. This curse術式, known as the “Curse of the Sea Caller,” was one of them.
The seafaring people of the old era, the primitive inhabitants living on the edge of the turbulent sea, often used this curse to summon the souls of their loved ones who perished at sea, or to seek the return of their remains. However, if this curse was cast on a living person, it would cause the target to fall into a long nightmare. When they escaped from the nightmare, those with weak minds would go mad, and even those with strong wills would be plagued by nightmares for a considerable period of time.
“It seems someone wanted to use this curse to trap everyone on the ship in nightmares to achieve some purpose,” Li Wen thought to herself, her fingertip gently rubbing the rim of the seashell, feeling the subtle Mana contained within.
But apparently, this plan did not go as smoothly as the caster wished. The conflict on the ship drew everyone away, while Li Wen and Victoria, who remained in their rooms, instead of sleeping and being Transcendants, were guided by a more eerie, mysterious, and powerful force to that tranquil, lightless sea area.
“A very strange power,” Moria came out, his brow furrowed, holding the seashell that Li Wen did not want to touch easily. The cold and evil power in his hand was as submissive as a lamb. “It’s like the deep dark, or like decay.”
“Did you check Victoria’s room?”
Moria shook his head slightly. “She’s not in her room.”
In other words, the Kingdom princess was indeed still in that place.
Li Wen had no ideas for the time being. The person who cast the curse probably didn’t expect this situation. That person was probably still regretting the failure of the plan. Even if they found a way to catch them now, it would be meaningless.
The real important thing was Victoria. Although Li Wen didn’t want to interact with her too much, she was, after all, the princess of this Kingdom, and any accident would have too great an impact. Moreover, she played an important role in future events, so she couldn’t die in this godforsaken place.
In her original destiny, would Victoria also experience this? If so, how did she survive at that time?
Li Wen was torn between “should I go save her” and “don’t intervene too much.”
“Miss Mephistopheles, perhaps you should rest first.” Just then, Moria suddenly said.
“What?”
The girl didn’t react for a moment. What time was it to think about resting?
“I mean, you should go rest,” the young priest said softly, as if describing a very ordinary matter. “Your condition is very poor right now.”
Am I in poor condition?
Li Wen’s first thought was to open her status window to check, but she soon realized that Moria was not referring to that kind of condition.
She took a deep breath, calmed down a little, and realized that she seemed a bit strange. From the moment she boarded the ship, the anxiety and unease in her heart seemed to be constantly amplified by some power. It was just that before, because she had been fully devoted to refining the Potion, she had overlooked this situation.
