Continuing along the direction of the end of the sea, on a huge black reef jutting out above the water, Cattleya was sitting with both arms wrapped around her knees, her head resting on them as she quietly gazed into the distance.
Her eyes were filled with a dazed look and reminiscence. She was probably recalling the wonderful days she had spent by Bernadette's side in the past.
Hastur only glanced at her twice and did not choose to disturb her, letting her relax for a while.
When he was about to leave this illusory world, he would send her out.
Hastur continued toward the end of the sea. He wanted to see whether this illusory world had a boundary.
As he continued moving forward, the things in the distance kept moving backward, always maintaining a certain distance from him.
Hastur merely raised his hand and severed the rules here, and his figure instantly arrived at the end of this illusory world.
When he stepped onto the holy mountain where Mr. A devoutly worshipped, the giant hanging upside down on the cross at the summit of the holy mountain began to awaken from its silence. Within the shadowy curtain behind Him, a pair of eyes also emerged.
The True Creator had sensed the relevant changes and cast His gaze over. For an existence at His level, accomplishing this was extremely easy.
"The Stars."
The True Creator's voice was not loud, yet it stirred up a raging storm. The originally azure seawater instantly turned into a black ocean.
"I thought you would wait until I stepped into your divine kingdom before appearing."
"You will not set foot in my divine kingdom."
"I'll still take a look from afar."
"Is this vessel still convenient to use?"
"Very good. Do you want it back?"
The True Creator remained silent for a while before saying, "This is the price paid in advance."
Hastur chuckled. "I don't recall making any deal with you."
The True Creator said nothing more. His gaze withdrew, and along with it, the holy mountain disappeared.
"An advance payment? This little price is nowhere near enough." Hastur muttered to himself before turning around and leaving.
This illusory world had already lost its value as far as exploration was concerned.
On his way back, when he passed by Cattleya, she finally put away her reminiscing expression and stood up with a solemn look, but she did not say anything.
She had far too many questions she wanted to ask, yet she was also afraid of hearing something she should not.
Sometimes, digging too deeply into things was not necessarily a good thing.
Hastur had no intention of making small talk with her either. He merely said, "It's time to leave."
Cattleya nodded, and then she was sent out of the illusory world.
She stood there dazed for a moment before gradually recovering her usual capable demeanor and began having the crew of the Future check who was currently aboard the ship.
In the end, she discovered that Frank, the culprit behind this whole disturbance, had still not returned. Her brows furrowed slightly as her gaze swept toward the mysterious figure on the small boat.
After hesitating for a moment, she still decided to personally find out what was going on.
"He is continuing to study mushrooms inside the illusory world."
That was the answer Cattleya finally obtained, and the worry in her heart eased somewhat.
Inside the illusory world, Frank was researching a mushroom that could automatically explode.
Normally, it could be fried, stir-fried, boiled, or deep-fried, while when facing an enemy, it could be thrown out and used as a bomb.
...
At night, Puning Port.
As more and more merchants and travelers came and went, the entire port was dyed by lights every night, turning it into a city that never slept.
It looked even livelier and more dazzling than the capital, Backlund, at night. But with more people came an increasing number of drunken conflicts.
Especially since every night, a little black cat would run across rooftops and eaves and through the depths of alleys, going around instigating people to start fires.
Guests who had already had quite a bit to drink would inevitably start fighting and causing trouble whenever they accidentally encountered it.
This caused the detention rooms of the port's security patrol to become overcrowded for a time.
As for this, Hastur merely had the security patrol expand a few more detention rooms, then turned a blind eye to the matter.
Around three in the morning, the little black cat finally returned yawning. Its body landed lightly on the windowsill. Raising its sleepy, bleary eyes, it looked at its master, who was already sleeping soundly inside the room. Unable to resist, it angrily waved its little paws a few times before returning to its own nest to rest.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, it was grabbed out of its nest by its iron-hearted master, who lectured it about how "the whole day's work depends on getting up early in the morning" and told it to go outside for some exercise and lose some weight while it was at it.
After living through this inhumane existence for two weeks, Ariella suddenly felt a comfortable yet indescribable sensation coming from within her body one late night.
This feeling had appeared before. Her master had told her that it was a sign that the potion had been completely digested.
Looking at the dim night sky, Ariella's little head only thought for a second before deciding to return to her nest and sleep first, then tell her master tomorrow.
"The Instigator potion has been completely digested?"
The next day, Hastur came as usual to urge Ariella to go outside and stretch her legs. He was then informed by Ariella of this important news.
"Meow!"
Ariella raised her little head and looked at her master proudly.
Her instincts told her that this was a good thing. She could receive praise, and at the very least, she might get to eat a few more dried fish.
Hastur sighed. "It really wasn't easy. It's already been more than half a year."
"Meow?" A puzzled expression appeared on Ariella's face. Why wasn't this the reaction she had imagined?
"A Sequence 8 potion, and it took you more than half a year. You're not even as good as a dog, and you're still proud of yourself?"
As he spoke, Hastur flicked Ariella lightly on the forehead.
If he hadn't been constantly pushing her during this period, with Ariella's lazy temperament, she would have needed at least another two months to completely digest the Instigator potion.
This speed could already be considered extremely slow. After all, Ariella had known about the acting method ever since she first entered the Beyonder world.
Sharon and he had also taught her the essentials of acting as an Instigator many times. Under normal circumstances, three months was the average.
Yet Ariella had taken more than half a year, showing just how incredibly lazy she was.
Ariella stared back indignantly with her eyes wide open. How could she possibly be inferior to a dog? Those foolish creatures couldn't possibly compare to her noble and elegant self.
"Don't be so dissatisfied. That dog really is a little more talented than you in this regard."
"Meow!" Ariella pouted indignantly and turned her head away, not wanting to pay any attention to her master.
Hastur smiled, picked her up and held her in his arms, gently rubbing her little head as he told her a little about Susie's glorious achievements.
When she heard that Susie, despite being a dog, actually liked reading and had even read extensively, Ariella was completely shocked!
An image involuntarily appeared in her mind: a dog lying beneath a bookshelf, wearing glasses and flipping through a book, with flashes of wisdom and contemplation occasionally appearing in its eyes.
"Meow?"
"Still don't believe me? When we return to Backlund, I'll take you to meet her. Hopefully, by then you'll already be able to speak fluently."
"..."Ariella remained silent for a long time. Could this be what people meant by someone else's child being better?
Very soon, she became angry. It was only a dog, so why did it have to work so hard at reading?
To the point that in her master's eyes, she had already become a poor student.
"Since you've been working fairly hard during this period, you can have as many dried fish as you want today. Remember, only today."
"Meow!"
Ariella's eyes instantly lit up. Without even bothering to think about anything else, she suddenly jumped from Hastur's arms to the floor and quickly charged toward the storeroom where the dried fish were kept.
"Next is the Witch. I wonder if Ariella will turn into a beautiful young woman on the spot after consuming the Witch potion."
Hastur seriously pondered this for a while and decided to write a letter to Sharon first to discuss it with her and share some relevant experience.
Judging by the time, Sharon should have already arrived in the Southern Continent.
As for the Witch potion, he had already had the Yellow Robed Monks' organization prepare the Beyonder ingredients long ago. All that remained was to concoct them into a potion.
The Yellow Robed Monks' organization was very good at gathering things. When a group of winners went out together to handle a task, it was always easy to achieve what they wanted.
That night, Hastur went to the study. 008 eagerly shifted its butt, pushed against the pen box, and bounced toward Hastur.
"Quiet down first."
Hastur held an ordinary quill and tapped it twice against the pen box. Only then did 008 settle down.
Taking out a blank sheet of paper, Hastur thought for a moment before slowly putting pen to paper.
It took him half an hour to finish the letter. He blew his whistle and summoned a spirit-world messenger.
When a crack leading to the Spirit World appeared in the study, 008 quietly shifted its position, moving a little closer to Hastur.
The little firebird Gregrace poked her head out through the crack in the Spirit World. After chirping twice, it flew onto Hastur's shoulder.
"Huh? You seem to have gotten a few rounds fatter recently."
Hastur reached out and placed Gregrace, who was perched on his shoulder, into his palm. After carefully observing her for a while, he finally confirmed that Gregrace's condition was much better than before.
It was probably the result of her recuperation in the Spirit World during this period. In addition, with wars constantly raging across the Southern Continent, the aura of death was the best nourishment for her.
"Chirp."
Gregrace slightly raised her head, looking quite proud, as if she were very satisfied with her current condition.
"Come, deliver this letter to Miss Sharon. She's currently in the Southern Continent. You should recognize her, right?"
Hastur made a few gestures with his hand to avoid Gregrace mistaking the person.
Perhaps because he had mentioned the Southern Continent, there seemed to be a little more brightness in Gregrace's eyes. She nodded, then took the letter in her beak and flew back into the Spirit World.
008 began moving around actively inside the pen box again.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Hastur's expression gradually became solemn.
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T/N : Hello Everyone, LordIsland here!
I have stockpiled quite a few chapters, so will post bonus chapters based on power stones:
1 bonus chap for every 50 powerstones till we reach 150; 2 bonus chap for every 50 stones after reaching 200... no limit...
Give me your stones :)