Shrouded Seascape

Today is the 24th day since we entered this uncharted region. Apart from a storm six days ago that swept away an exploration ship, the remaining ten exploration ships are operating normally.

We are getting closer and closer to our destination. Sailing an uncharted region is always nerve-wracking, but most of the crew managed to adapt.

When Dipp was patrolling around the ships earlier, he reported seeing an abandoned city on the seabed. There are indeed other unknown natives in this uncharted region. The puppet that has decided to accompany us must be one of them.

These natives are probably creatures that have evolved by themselves in the bizarre environment of this seascape. From the messages we received via telegraph, they are indeed trading information for places to live in.

The possibility of this being a trap is very low, but we still have to be wary.

It's been such a long time since I embarked on this quest, and now, only one last item remains. I just have to retrieve my left arm, and I'll be able to obtain those three wishes from 005.

I don't trust 005, but I trust Tobba. He implied that I have to make a choice, or we'll find ourselves in a bad future. His predictions would always come true, so I chose to make a deal with 005.

Such is life—everything is never perfect. More often than not, it's about choosing the not-so-bad choice between two bad choices.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, interrupting Charles' journal writing.

A creaking sound echoed as the first mate covered in bandages appeared in front of Charles.

"You... were looking for me...?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask you a favor, Bandages. I remember you can do tattoos, right?" Charles asked, closing the diary in his hands.

Bandages revealed a peculiar expression upon hearing Charles' words. Of course, he could do tattoos, and he was a great tattoo artist. He had personally tattooed fragments of his own memories all over himself.

As far as he knew, however, his captain wasn't a fan of tattoos.

"Activating the power of Edikth inside me by drawing that array every time is too troublesome and slow, so what if we tattoo the array on me? Wouldn't that make things more convenient?" Charles said.

He had been pondering over this idea over the past few days. Knowing that he would be in extreme danger by attempting to retrieve his left arm from inside the body of a god, Charles knew that he had to make preparations in advance.

After some thought, Bandages nodded slowly. "Hmm... it might work..."

"That's great. Let's give it a try, then. And don't actually complete the array. Leave some missing parts for me to draw to activate the array," Charles said, taking off his clothes and gouging out some black stones from his palm.

Bandages didn't leave the room to get his tools. Instead, he raised his hand, and a thorn emerged from his fingertips.

Charles had a bottle of ink on his desk, and he had been using it to replenish the ink of his fountain pen. Bandages walked up to the desk and dipped the thorn sticking out of his fingertip into the ink.

Then, Bandages proceeded to tattoo the array on Charles' scarred back. The tattoo covered all of Charles' back, so Bandages had to spend the entire night and until mid-morning to complete the tattoo.

"The wrist here... is missing a stroke... you can use a pen... to draw and activate it... Try it..." Bandages said thoughtfully.

Charles walked up to the mirror with his upper body bare and stared at the tattoo from the side. His entire back was covered with strange inscriptions, and it looked like he was wearing a thin blue armor on his back.

Charles picked up the fountain pen on the desk and carefully drew the missing stroke on his wrist. Before Charles could complete the array, he could already feel that peculiar sensation filling up his heart, and his figure began to swell as well.

Charles quickly erased that line, and he was instantly delighted. It was working!

"Captain… better be careful… about using an unknown… power," Bandages reminded.

The two of them had talked about why Edikth had chosen Charles, but they couldn't brainstorm any clues at all. However, they believed that there was a catch with this power. It was from a god, after all.

While putting on his clothes, Charles answered, "I know. I'm trying not to use this power as often, too, but I have to use it when necessary."

Charles turned to Bandages and added, "You spent the entire night drawing this tattoo on me, so go back to your cabin and rest. I'll cover your shift today."

Bandages didn't bother standing on ceremony. He nodded and turned around to leave.

When Charles arrived at the bridge, he saw Second Mate Nico sitting on a chair with his feet on the instrument panel. Nico was absent-mindedly filing his polished nails with a nail file.

Meanwhile, the one manning the helm was Sailor Norton.

"Have we run out of helmsmen that you actually allowed a blind monster man the helm? Are you out of your mind? And put your feet down!" Charles exclaimed.

He walked over to the wall and cross-checked the navigation logs.

"Captain, don't worry. We're not alone here, so if we end up deviating from the route, the other ships are surely going to tell us.

"Plus, although Norton has lost his eyes, his ears are still working, and they are very keen. Am I right, Norton?" Second Mate Nico asked. Of course, he still obliged and put his high boots down on the floor.

"Cut the nonsense and start the handover. Bandages is on a break today, so I'm taking over his shift."

Nico stood up and stretched lazily; a hint of mischief flashed behind his long eyelashes as he asked, "Captain, what was the first mate doing in your room all night last night? Could it be that you two—"

"Watch your attitude! We're on the ship, so you better take things seriously! And I have no time for your jokes!" Charles said sternly.

Charles' tone of voice made the flippant Nico restrain himself and begin the handover. When the handover was complete, Charles finally became aware of the Narwhale's current location and the fact that they'd reach their destination today.

"According to a report from six hours ago, the three submarines ahead of us have already started their exploration. We expect to receive more reports soon," Nico said, pointing at the communicator next to him.

Nico's words had just fallen when a male voice accompanied by a lot of static noise echoed from the speakers of the communicator.

"Eleven o'clock report, Maiden's Love is operating normally."

"Eleven o'clock report, Scorpion's Tail is operating normally."

"Eleven o'clock report, the Wilson is operating normally."

Once the other ten ships had finished reporting on time, Charles picked up the black microphone and said, "Eleven o'clock report, the Narwhale is operating normally."

The recent improvements in the Subterranean Sea's information and communication technologies allowed ships to contact each other quickly and more easily.

If anything were to happen to a ship, the nearby ships would immediately know their status. In other words, exploration had gotten just a bit safer in the seascape.

"This is Charles contacting First Mate Seth; report your findings in the last three hours," Charles said. Seth was the first mate of the submarine at the very front of the group, which had decided to dive into the sea to act as a scout.

"It is ten past nine in the morning. We've reached the coordinates on the nautical chart, and we've commenced a dive."

"It is nine thirty-one in the morning. We've reached the seabed, and we've turned on our searchlight. We've begun searching for the target."

"It is ten nineteen in the morning. Our sonar has detected an anomaly on the starboard side of the vessel. Three minutes after detecting the anomaly, our vessel started shaking violently."

"It is ten twenty in the morning. The tremors have stopped. We did a scan on the vessel using the periscope, and we discovered three rows of neatly arranged dents on our submarine's hull. Regardless, we decided to continue our exploration."

"Eleven o'clock report, no findings. Report comple—Oh my Goddess! What is that above us?!"

A commotion suddenly erupted from the other side of the line, and the powerful gushing of seawater echoed from the speaker soon afterward.