In Kasti Port, northeast of the Northern State on the Southern Continent, this was the most prosperous port city in the Northern State apart from the destroyed Berens Port, and also the largest port in all of West Balam at present.
At the port's dock, a massive sailboat reflecting a golden Yellow Light in the sun was moored, with no other ship daring to approach it, leaving a relatively wide expanse of sea around it. This scene was quite striking given how crowded the entire dock was.
On the deck, a nimble figure ascended the rope ladder from the ship's side in a few swift movements. He wore a black cloak, his eyebrows were scorched yellow, his eyes deep blue, and his facial features clearly showed characteristics of the Intis and Lenberg regions.
On the deck, Daniels, the First Mate, seeing this scene, asked aloud:
"Yo, Danitz, why are you boarding a day early?"
Danitz waved his hand, indicating he didn't want to elaborate, then walked over to Daniels, who was sitting on a wooden barrel, and sat directly on the ground, letting out a long sigh:
"Hoo~ Don't even mention it. This wretched place is no place for a treasure hunter. Thankfully, I can finally leave the Southern Continent. If I stayed any longer, my head would be filled with knowledge by the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom's priests. Just thinking about it is terrifying."
"You'd best not let the Captain hear that. The last time Jodeson complained like that, he was continuously indoctrinated with a month's worth of knowledge by the Moses Ascetic Order's so-called 'Knowledge expulsion'. He still hasn't deciphered those encrypted knowledge, and he looks like he's about to break down."
As Daniels spoke, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve into a smile that he couldn't suppress, as if this matter made him very happy.
Anderson quickly showed the same mocking expression as Daniels. After he had laughed enough, he felt it was perhaps not good to mock his companion behind his back. He cleared his throat twice and asked curiously:
"Can't that guy steal other people's memories? Does he still need to learn? Can't he just steal it?"
"If it were that simple, I would have become a Polymath like the Captain long ago."
Jodeson, the subject of Danitz and Daniels' discussion, walked out from the ship's cabin, weakly defending himself.
His originally handsome face was full of decay, with thick dark circles around his lake-green eyes, and bluish-black stubble around his lips that was already fingernail-length. His golden-tinted hair was very messy, as if it had simultaneously endured the baptism of sea wind and bird claws.
He walked a few steps on the deck, then sat directly on the deck, leaning against the cabin, explaining in a calm tone:
"Things 'stolen' are ultimately not one's own, especially things with strong personal characteristics like ideals, dreams, and memories.'Stealing' too much can easily lead to problems with one's self-perception."
"Before becoming a demigod, a Marauder cannot become learned by 'stealing'; at most, they can 'steal' some knowledge to use when needed."
Danitz froze for a second before realizing this person was Jodeson. He clicked his tongue, looking at Daniels with some astonishment, and asked:
"What kind of torment would turn a playboy who cares most about his image into this? He's even more disheveled than those pirates."
"Heh, disheveled, what's that? You try letting your head be filled with all sorts of chaotic and useless information. They'll constantly echo in your head, attracting your attention, making you try to understand them, find patterns, crack codes, master them..."
"Son of a bitch, they're even more ruthless than the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. The Captain only tells us to read books and gives us lessons, but those people from the Moses Ascetic Order directly pour knowledge into your head! You can't stop it, you can't escape it. I even feel like I want to replace my own head."
As he spoke, Jodeson's expression became distorted, and he pressed his hands tightly against his head, shaking it, as if he wished he could pour out everything inside.
Danitz kept shaking his head at this scene. After a moment of thought, he offered a rather uncomforting comfort:
"In the words of the Moses Ascetic Order, this is called using asceticism to combat loss of control."
"I'm a playboy, not an ascetic," Jodeson retorted weakly.
Danitz and Daniels stopped talking. They had no good solutions either, only able to suggest that he go to the Captain, read more books, master the corresponding knowledge, and then decipher and thoroughly digest the encrypted knowledge in his mind.
The schools in the Paz River Valley teach this kind of knowledge. Jodeson might need to go study abroad for a while.
As thoughts drifted, a hooded and cloaked figure suddenly appeared in Danitz's line of sight. He reflexively stood up from the deck, assuming a defensive posture, and asked in a deep voice:
"Who are you?"
Leyton looked back at Danitz and Daniels, who were on guard against him, sighed, and then raised his hand to wipe his face, dispelling the illusion on him, revealing his somewhat pale and transparent body.
After a period of recovery, he had already emerged from the state of being a half-flesh, half-starlight aggregate, returning to his human appearance. However, beneath his surface skin, there seemed to be a bottomless darkness hidden, with brilliant starlight floating, twisting, and stretching out into eyes—cold, indifferent, evil, and mad eyes.
"Uh..." Danitz's throat bobbed as he swallowed twice, then gave a dry laugh and asked somewhat nervously, "Are you losing control?"
"Not yet."
Leyton responded indifferently, then turned to look at Jodeson, who had completely lost his playboy image, and said in an even tone:
"Do you want to become a Parasite?"
Gulp~ Jodeson, who had originally thought his emotions were stable and he wasn't as nervous and embarrassed as Danitz and Daniels, swallowed, and asked with some surprise and anticipation:
"Of course, I do. That's a demigod existence. Do you have the characteristics of a Parasite?"
He paused, then sighed with some disappointment:
"But I haven't even fully digested the Dream Stealer potion on me yet, and I don't have money to buy demigod-level characteristics or materials."
Leyton paid no attention to Jodeson's words and said calmly:
"There's a secret treasure left by the Jacob Family that can only be opened by a descendant of Jacob."
"As the key, you can obtain a Parasite characteristic. You can also invite some people to explore that treasure with you. What that person doesn't value will also be a good harvest for you."
"That person? A Saint or an Angel of the Zoroast Family?" Jodeson's expression gradually became solemn. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed, "Alright, there's more than one descendant of the Jacob Family, but treasures aren't plentiful."
He paused, then added, "But you need that person from the Zoroast Family to guarantee that the Parasite characteristic given to me has no problems, and that he won't treat me as a supplement for his own recovery."
Leyton looked at Jodeson with some surprise, not expecting him to have guessed part of Pallez's identity directly, and to be so decisive, not taking the opportunity to raise the price or demand more for himself.
Jodeson looked back at Leyton and chuckled:
"If a descendant of the Jacob Family is needed, then it's certainly not someone from the Jacob Family. There wouldn't be many existences interested in the Marauder family's treasure who could also produce a Parasite characteristic."
"First, Amon can be ruled out. He certainly wouldn't need to consult anyone for such a thing, and he wouldn't even need a key to enter..."
"Excluding him, the most likely candidate is someone from the Zoroast Family. They also control the Marauder pathway and have been persecuted by Amon. Whether for self-preservation or to recover themselves, it's very reasonable for them to covet the Jacob Family's treasure."
"As for adjacent pathways, with Amon's existence in this pathway, who would be so tired of living as to switch to this pathway just to become someone's dessert?"
Leyton nodded slightly, agreeing with his deduction, then asked in a flat tone:
"Do you need to ask Edwina for leave?"
"No need. I'll write a leave note for the Captain and have a messenger deliver it to her," Jodeson waved his hand, standing up from the deck, seemingly eager to go explore the treasure.
Walking beside Leyton, he suddenly remembered something and turned his head to look at Danitz and Daniels, chuckling:
"I'll go scout out the situation first. If it's suitable, I'll write to the Captain to organize the crew to go explore the treasure."
As his voice fell, Leyton placed a hand on Jodeson's shoulder. Both their bodies simultaneously blurred, disintegrating into complex knowledge, transforming into a pure information stream creature that surged like a torrent towards the distance, merging into the Spirit World.
After a period of "Sights in the Spirit World," Leyton brought Jodeson to Backlund.
In Leonard's rented detached house in the West Borough, a terrifyingly complex torrent of information surged out from the Spirit World, quickly gathering in the living room to re-form Leyton and Jodeson's bodies.
Jodeson surveyed his surroundings and said with considerable emotion:
"That was fast. I once stole the Travelers Door from a Traveler, but neither its speed nor its distance can compare to your 'Sights in the Spirit World' in information form."
Leyton ignored Jodeson, glanced around the room, then reached out and pulled at the void in front of him.
Pale blue starlight rippled before him, forming a illusory, water-curtain-like door. Leonard was pulled out from the other side of the door.
After stumbling a few steps and steadying himself, Leonard glared at Leyton, saying with a mix of anger and helplessness:
"I was already coming downstairs. You didn't have to just pull me over, did you?"
"I still need to return to the Southern Continent," Leyton explained simply, then immediately changed the subject, looking at Jodeson beside him: "He is a descendant of Jacob. Before Pallez awakens, you can let him follow you and give him a chance to re-enact the Cryptologist."