"Mr. Wells often mentions you, and Cheryl talks about you almost every day, along with Miss Vinnie."
The boy looked at Ronan with the fervent admiration of someone finally meeting their legendary idol. He quickly pulled out a small package wrapped in waterproof oilcloth from his chest, wiped it vigorously on his clothes, and then handed it to Ronan.
Ronan smiled and accepted the oilcloth package from the boy. Upon opening it, a small Message Stone immediately fell out.
In addition, there was a letter.
The letter was indeed in Cheryl's handwriting, though it looked somewhat hurried and messy.
In the letter, Cheryl mentioned that Vinnie's beauty had attracted the obsessive attention of a powerful wizard in Windrest Harbor. Vinnie was deeply troubled by this but couldn't afford to offend him. As a result, the three of them decided to leave Windrest Harbor. Old Wells used his connections to secure passage on an ocean-going ship departing from Windrest Harbor, though they themselves didn't know the destination. If Ronan ever read this letter, he could try contacting them using the Message Stone. Ronan picked up the Message Stone and sent a few messages to the other end, but there was no response.
Cheryl probably didn't know that the Message Stone she left was still an apprentice-level item, with a very limited range of communication. Once they left the small town of Windrest Harbor, it would become useless.
Ronan looked at the letter and the Message Stone in his hand, silently contemplating. After a long while, he slowly put both items away.
"What's your name?"
Ronan turned his attention back to the boy in front of him. The boy, under his gaze, puffed out his chest and replied loudly, "Meleager Becker. Everyone calls me Mel."
"Thank you, Mel."
Ronan reached out and gently ruffled the boy's soft, fluffy curls. Some shiny things slipped from his sleeve and fell into the boy's lap.
"Magic stones?!"
Mel was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened, "So many!"
As he fumbled to carefully gather the clattering magic stones, he looked up to find that Ronan had already disappeared.
Near the coastline, in an open-air tavern under a makeshift palm-leaf sunshade, the sea breeze rustled the robes of two figures sitting opposite each other, engaged in a quiet conversation.
"The Wailing Fish, also known as the Devil Fish or the Siren Fish... Its characteristic is the ability to emit a terrifying wail that can threaten even a full-fledged wizard. Local legends in Windrest Harbor say that a ship once mistakenly entered an ancient forbidden zone, and the souls of all the crew members were cursed by demons, trapped in the bodies of sea fish, forced to emit agonizing screams..."
"Many wizards are interested in the Wailing Fish, but it only appears in the depths of the Emerald Abyss, a dangerous place even full-fledged wizards dare not venture into lightly. Only those with special skills have a chance to catch it. Occasionally, one appears, but it is always quickly bought at a high price..."
Ronan listened to the Level 1 wizard's explanation without much reaction. After a moment of thought, he spoke, "Since you've come to me again, it's not just to tell me this is impossible, is it?"
"Of course not."
The black-haired wizard smiled and said, "As long as you're willing to spend enough magic stones, I can always meet your requirements."
Ronan's lips twitched slightly. The black-haired wizard's eyes lit up, and he quickly continued, "At the bottom of the Emerald Abyss lies the ruins of the ancient Mermaid's Song. Before its fall, some of its people escaped. No one knows the Emerald Abyss better than they do... Although most of them have died over the long years, I know that in Windrest Harbor, there happens to be a descendant of the Sea Clan living there... If you decide, I can take you there at any time."
The Mermaid's Song, the Sea Clan... Ronan listened to the other's explanation, his eyes flickering slightly.
He had only read about the legends of the Sea Clan in books. The collapse of the world's continents affected not just the wizarding world's structure; many ancient races that once lived on the same plane either migrated or simply disappeared, even going extinct in this world.
Elves, Winged Folk, Fairies, Barbarians... Ronan hadn't expected that in the south, in a small place like Windrest Harbor, there would still be remnants of the ancient Sea Clan.
And the matter of the ancient Sea Clan's kingdom, the ruins of the Mermaid's Song, was something he only learned about now.
"Let's go."
Without further ado, Ronan stood up decisively. The black-haired wizard politely began to lead the way.
Ronan's visit to Windrest Harbor wasn't just to catch up with Old Wells and the others. His main purpose was to explore the secret of the "Roaring Fish" he had obtained at the Fairy Ancient City ruins during the Sunset Gathering.
The "Roaring Fish," or the Wailing Fish, had the ability to convert all its life force into a terrifying sound wave, which greatly interested Ronan. If he could understand this, it might help him improve his idea of compressing the life sphere for the [Immaculate Body] technique.
After three days of using his powerful magic stone resources and revealing a small part of his Level 3 wizard strength, Ronan easily found a local figure in Windrest Harbor, the black-haired Level 1 wizard now leading him.
Windrest Harbor was a small town, and Ronan soon followed the black-haired wizard to a place resembling a slum.
It was much like the place he had lived in when he was a wandering wizard in Hordedam—full of low, dilapidated old houses. The streets weren't exactly flooded with sewage, but the air was thick with the strong smell of the sea and fish.
The two stopped in front of an especially shabby stone hut. The outside of the hut was covered with dried or fresh, damp seaweed, and the fishy smell was even stronger here. Even the black-haired wizard leading the way couldn't help but frown.
"@4#￥."
The black-haired wizard quickly chanted a spell, and many black, spider-like creatures crawled out from under his Wizard Robe, swiftly swarming toward the hut.
After a moment, the swarm of creatures retreated like a tide, and the door of the seaweed-covered hut was forcefully pushed open from the inside.
A thin figure emerged from the hut.
From his appearance, he seemed to be a middle-aged man in his forties, of average height, with gray-green eyes. He looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water, with strands of hair sticking to his head.
His presence made the already strong fishy smell in the air even more intense.
Ronan noticed that the man had gill-like organs on the sides of his cheeks, which were slightly opening and closing.
His skin was also very damp, and his body was covered with large areas of ulceration, as if from prolonged exposure to water.
"Chuck!"
The black-haired wizard called the man's name, his lips moving as if he was communicating something privately with the man.
Finally, he tossed two bottles filled with pink liquid at the man's feet and said coldly, "You need to think carefully. Besides me, no other wizard in Windrest Harbor is willing to provide you with the 'Sea Poison' relief potion..."
After saying this, the black-haired wizard turned to Ronan as if to explain, and said in a low voice, "People like him, born from the union of the Sea Clan and humans, have a huge inherent flaw in their bloodline. Their bodies continuously ulcerate until they die... In the past, we were interested in their bloodline and captured a group for research. Unfortunately, after expending a lot of resources and effort, we only managed to create this worthless thing..."
The black-haired wizard stared at the potion bottles he had casually discarded on the pile of rotting seaweed, his eyes filled with undisguised coldness and disdain.
He kept watching the movements of the Sea Clan descendant named Chuck until the man silently picked up the potion bottles from the ground, at which point a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
"That's it. You can discuss the rest with him yourself. My job is done."
The black-haired wizard smiled politely at Ronan, who handed him some magic stones and sent him on his way. In front of the shabby hut, only Ronan and the man remained.
Ronan watched as the man opened the potion bottles left by the black-haired wizard and carefully applied the pink liquid to the ulcerated areas of his skin. Ronan could sense the man's tension easing as the pain was temporarily alleviated.
"What can I do for you?"
After applying the last of the potion, the man carefully stored the remaining unused portion and then humbly asked Ronan.
As he spoke, the gill-like organs on the sides of his cheeks opened and closed, giving his voice a strange, resonant quality.
"I need a guide to take me to the Emerald Abyss..."
Ronan explained his desire to find the Wailing Fish to the man. The man's eyes flickered as he weighed his options, then, as if mustering some courage, he spoke up, "If I follow your request, this trip to the sea might cost me my life, I..."
"You want additional compensation, don't you?"
Ronan guessed the man's thoughts and calmly interrupted him.
The man was taken aback, stammering and not daring to continue.
Ronan, however, had no patience for further conversation. He took out a pouch filled with low-grade magic stones, about two or three hundred in total, and used his mental energy to float it over to the man.
The man opened the pouch Ronan had sent over, and upon seeing the number of magic stones inside, he was momentarily stunned.
After a moment, he looked up at Ronan and said, "Sir, could you give me a little more time?"
Ronan nodded, and soon saw the man clutching the pouch of magic stones, running out of the stone hut's courtyard like the wind.
Windrest Harbor was a small place, and Ronan wasn't worried about a mere mortal like the man running off anywhere.
Following the man at a leisurely pace, watching him weave through the alleys of the slum, Ronan became somewhat curious.
Finally, he saw the man rush into another equally shabby, half-open door. Outside, some loose women's undergarments were drying, suggesting it was the residence of the man's lover.
Just as Ronan had guessed, as soon as the man entered the house, a woman's scream soon followed.
"Damn it, you stinking fishman, get out of my house!"
"If you don't settle the last payment, don't even think about touching me again!"
Accompanied by the sound of something falling to the ground, the woman's angry voice suddenly stopped.
After a moment of silence, a more intense scream came from inside the house.
"My God, where did you get so much money?!"
"Oh, Chuck, you damn rascal, I could just love you to death..."
Strange sounds of clothing rustling began to come from inside the house.
Ronan silently counted the time. When he reached thirty-one, he saw the man reappear.
Unlike his previous numb expression, the man now had a radiant face, the gill-like organs on his cheeks flaring like small fans, with a few exaggerated red lipstick marks still on his face. The pouch of magic stones, however, was nowhere to be seen.
A plump woman with a barrel-shaped body, her clothes disheveled, chased out of the house, waving a handkerchief and shouting at the man's retreating figure, "Chuck, me and our child will be waiting for you at home..."
As she spoke, she gently touched her belly, which was full of fat.
"It's ready, sir. When do you want to set off?"
The Sea Clan Chuck returned to Ronan, wiping his damp face vigorously, his eyes burning as he asked.
Ronan didn't know what to say, not understanding but respecting it.
He turned and walked towards the coastline.
"Now."
On the azure sea, a silver-gray Spell Airship skimmed the surface of the water, heading rapidly in one direction.
Ronan stood at the bow, squinting into the distance.
With his vision far beyond that of an ordinary person, he could clearly see that near the horizon, the originally azure sea water was gradually turning a deep green.
It was as if there was a thick, unmixed green ink in the water, deepening continuously. From afar, it looked like a dark green maw, swallowing the entire sea.
That was their destination, the Emerald Abyss.
Since encountering the ancient sea creature, the silver giant eel, Ronan had always maintained a deep respect for the ocean.
His experience of crossing the ocean alone, returning from the east coast to the southern continent, had also given him the courage to face the unknown.
Turning back, Ronan saw Chuck examining the "Roaring Fish" he had casually placed on the deck of the airship.
This "Roaring Fish," bought at the Sunset Gathering, had been on the verge of death after expending all its life force in a fatal roar.
Ronan had kept it alive by infusing it with life force.
But even so, it wouldn't live much longer, floating belly-up in a transparent crystal tank. The two strange human legs growing from its body, once as tender as a baby's, had now withered and wrinkled like those of an old man on the brink of death.
"This is the first time I've seen a Wailing Fish that didn't die after crying..."
Chuck said with a tone full of wonder as he looked at the Roaring Fish in the tank.
Ronan had never looked down on or been prejudiced against those living at the bottom. After using a spell to temporarily remove the strong fishy smell from Chuck's Sea Clan heritage, he treated him even more like a normal person.
After setting out to sea, the two often chatted. After a few days of interaction, Chuck himself had discovered that the young sir, whom even the most distinguished wizards he usually encountered treated with respect, had a much better temper than his appearance suggested.
"How do you usually catch them?"
Ronan casually asked Chuck.
Chuck answered almost without hesitation, "Flesh."
Then, glancing at Ronan, he added, "My flesh. Ordinary flesh doesn't work. Only the flesh of someone with Sea Clan blood can lure the Wailing Fish.
In the legends of the Mermaid's Song, the Wailing Fish were created by demons from the depths of the abyss to hunt and enslave the Sea Clan... They are particularly sensitive to the flesh of the Sea Clan... But don't worry, sir, I'm ready to sacrifice myself for this sea hunt at any time..."
Ronan was unimpressed by Chuck's show of loyalty but was quite interested in the origin of the Wailing Fish he mentioned, so he couldn't help but ask, "What else do you know? Tell me in detail."
Chuck hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, I don't know much.
By the time it reached my generation, the Sea Clan bloodline in my body was already very thin, but the damn 'Sea Poison' disease has always been with me... What I know comes from stories my grandfather told me when I was a child..."
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