Klein's voice echoed somewhat ethereally in Leyton's ears:
"I went to see Will Auceptin. He knows information about the 'Specter Empire' and needs a method to restore a certain amount of power during a weak period as an exchange."
"That's very simple for you. A charm that borrows power from history only consumes one Worm of Spirit."
Leyton explained simply. As he spoke, he raised his left hand, and faint blue starlight appeared out of thin air, quickly swirling to form a three-dimensional, peculiar rune.
Even looking at that symbol through the Gray Fog, Klein felt a wave of dizziness, as if a large amount of information, exceeding his tolerance limit and comprehension, was flooding his mind, yet it was difficult to form because he couldn't understand it.
Klein propped one hand on the table and pressed the other to his temple, forcing himself to memorize the complete symbol.
Just remembering it once is enough. Even if I forget, above this Gray Fog, I can quickly find it again through divination.
After forcefully memorizing the mysterious symbol Leyton displayed, Klein let out a long breath. He didn't mind that the memory began to blur and then asked:
"How do I engrave this unique symbol onto a charm?"
Leyton's voice echoed through the crimson star above the Gray Fog:
"The engraving of advanced charms can only be meticulously drawn with spiritual power, so creating charms that exceed one's own Sequence becomes very difficult."
"This technique of borrowing power from history belongs to your next Sequence, Scholar of Yore. Engraving this rune shouldn't be too difficult for you."
"This isn't too difficult?" Klein muttered softly to himself, feeling it was hard just to memorize the complete symbol. He then ended this brief exchange and left the Gray Fog, preparing to attempt making the charm.
Leyton spent a good while with Bugs Bunny in the forest, letting it grasp information about common ordinary animals, plants, and even some Beyonder creatures.
Until exhausted, Bugs Bunny lay at Leyton's feet, recalling the new information in its mind, and murmured softly:
"Beaumont wild rabbit, rough fur, strong biting and jumping abilities, firm hind leg meat, suitable for stewing or roasting… Black King Kong Parrot, the smartest bird, possesses a high talent for learning imitate. Some older Black King Kong Parrots can even make their own tools and are one of the potion ingredients for Savant."
A moment later, it suddenly asked, puzzled:
"Boss, the information in my head seems a bit off. I feel like I can easily dissect the animals and plants in the forest and turn them into a delicious meal."
"Solving the food problem is the greatest need in the Southern Continent and the best way for you to digest the potion."
Leyton explained simply. His spiritual perception was suddenly touched, and he raised his hand to catch the pale yellow paper thrown from the Spirit World by the Book Messenger, shaking the letter open before him:
This is Frank's letter. Since his arm was injured by those mushrooms, I have to write this letter for him.
Recently, his research has made great progress. According to his description, the mushrooms that can survive in the dark and feed on the flesh and blood of monsters are close to success. He wants to invite you to the Future to see if you are satisfied with those mushrooms.
As the captain of the Future, I also hope you can come aboard. Otherwise, this place will become a mushroom paradise. Frank used some unknown materials; those mushrooms are simply crazy, pouncing on anyone they see.
I can't protect Frank's experimental results while only clearing out those mutated mushrooms. No, in our eyes, all those mushrooms are abnormal. In short, I hope you can come to the Future as soon as possible and take Frank and his mushrooms off the ship for a while.
Leyton exhaled slowly, his eyes deep as he looked forward, as if he could see the Future, anchored at sea, being overrun by Frank's mushrooms.
After two seconds, he threw the letter back into the Spirit World, then looked down at Bugs Bunny at his feet, hesitating whether to take Bugs Bunny to the Future as well. He was a bit worried that his own rabbit might get some unnecessary inspiration from Frank.
After all, a rabbit's way of thinking is inherently different from a human's… If there's Frank Lee at sea and Frank Rabbit on land in the Future, it would be troublesome.
Muttering to himself, Leyton lowered his gaze and said:
"I need to go to the Future. You…"
Before he could finish, Bugs Bunny leaped up from the ground, hands on its hips, an expression of "as expected" on its face, and said:
"Are we going to find Frank? Oh, right, he's already a 'Druid,' so he must know how to digest the Biologist potion."
Seeing Bugs Bunny's enthusiastic demeanor, Leyton swallowed the words about sending it back to Paz River Valley, reached out and pressed its head, helping it transform into its information-based life form, and surged away in the direction of the Sonia Sea.
On the Future, faint green mist permeated, and upon closer inspection, these mists were slowly wriggling, as if composed of many living, microscopic organisms.
On the deck, by the ship's side, in the cracks of the cabins, and on the high-flying sails, mushrooms of all sizes pulsed, like beating hearts.
First Mate Ottolov and Sailor Nina organized the crew to spray potions throughout the ship's restaurant, suppressing the wildly growing mushrooms on board.
Throwing down the empty spray bottle in her hand, Nina found a relatively clean chair and sat down, glaring at Frank, who was diligently trying to solve the mushroom infestation, and cursed in a low voice:
"Damn it, these bastards. I never want to see another mushroom in my life."
Saying that, she felt it wasn't enough to vent her anger, walked a few steps to Frank, and kicked him in the back, sending Frank flying into a pile of mushrooms in the corner.
White, thread-like mycelia rapidly spewed from the surrounding mushrooms, completely enveloping Frank and burying him in the mushroom pile.
"Ugh…"
Frank tried to shout something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, it was blocked by the white mycelia, leaving him only able to make muffled sounds.
After struggling twice, his body began to swell, and brown short fur burst through his clothes, instantly transforming him into a giant bear two people tall.
The surrounding mushrooms quickly pulsed, conveying excitement, and white mycelia spewed out as if without cost, submerging the brown bear that Frank had transformed into.
Some of the mycelia took on a silvery-white metallic luster, becoming exceptionally sharp, slowly abrading the brown bear's surface skin, drawing out bright red blood. Some mycelia became soft and tough, exploring the brown bear's body with extreme purpose.
The mycelia were unexpectedly tenacious. No matter how the giant bear pulled, it could never completely break free, instead gradually becoming numb and powerless under the infiltration of toxins.
Cattleya adjusted the glasses on her nose, carefully observing the mushrooms. This level of mutation couldn't be achieved by simple experimental runaway. What problematic materials did Frank use when cultivating these mushrooms? Or, was this sea area itself problematic?
On the other side of the restaurant, First Mate Ottolov voiced her current thoughts:
"My heavens, these mushrooms have evolved again! What kind of monster did Frank create? Is this food for humans, or are humans food for them?"
"Mmm… Mmm—"
The giant bear, struggling violently amidst the mycelia and mushrooms, gradually slowed its movements, its whimpering tone gradually changing, becoming deep and enduring, both painful and joyful.
The crew on the ship who witnessed this scene instinctively took a step back, seemingly recalling some terrible memory.
"...Captain?" Heath Doyle, with pale, almost transparent skin, looked at Cattleya hesitantly.
Cattleya sighed softly, her expression somewhat helpless, and said, "These mushrooms have gradually adapted to my magic and can greatly resist the effect of slumber."
Nina then approached and interjected:
"Then let him be. Anyway, besides being disgusting, these mushrooms aren't directly fatal. At most, he'll have a bunch of small mushrooms with a pile of mushrooms. He made these disgusting things himself, so he deserves to experience it."
"If he hadn't thrown mushrooms everywhere, how would these damned things have covered the entire ship so quickly? The Future is almost overrun by mushrooms."
She paused, then looked at Cattleya with some worry, leaning close to her ear and whispering:
"Captain, can you really not clear out these mushrooms?"
Cattleya slowly shook her head:
"It's difficult without damaging the Future. These mushrooms are deeply rooted in the ship, almost integrated with the entire vessel."
"These mushrooms have been corrupted by certain high-level entities, making them inherently difficult to completely remove. Plus, their reproduction speed is too fast, and they're almost integrated with the Future."
"Shit, it's all Frank's fault, that bastard." Nina looked at the brown bear already submerged by mushrooms and cursed in a low, gritting tone.
She felt disgusted just thinking about waking up from her nap to find mushrooms everywhere: some on her chest, some on her thighs, and even some on her mouth and groin secreting a white, milk-like liquid.
Cattleya looked in Frank's direction with a complicated expression. She still couldn't figure out how these mushrooms had avoided her perception and grown all over the Future.
Based on when I sent the letter, Al should be arriving soon. I hope he has a way to deal with these mushrooms, otherwise, we'll have to forcefully clear them, which will inevitably damage the Future.
As her thoughts drifted, her spiritual perception was suddenly touched. She turned her head towards the deck, a deep, pale purple flashing in her eyes.
On the deck of the Future, a "light" invisible to most Beyonders appeared out of thin air. Waves of complex information rapidly gathered, reconstructing the bodies of Leyton and Bugs Bunny.