The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Chapter 182: Chapter 106: Black Sea

Sean walked over and took a look. It really was Chris’s handwriting.

It was on the flag of the Krobel Club. It had been too dark before, so he had only noticed the club’s emblem, not the signature on the flag.

And the date.

"1145.03.17"

This was before he went to the Black Fruit Rainforest.

Elise mused, "Chris came to World’s End first, and then went to the Black Fruit Rainforest... Is there some connection between the two?"

A bad feeling crept into Sean’s heart. "Quick, try calling the others."

Chris was already dead. Perhaps the other people who had been here had met the same fate.

Hearing this, Elise immediately had Yisha call Alola Town and tell their people to find the Explorers’ contact information as quickly as possible.

"As quickly as possible" was the instruction, but it would still take time to execute.

Sean and the others had no choice but to wait.

About three hours later, the sun had fully risen, and a string of numbers finally came through.

Yisha dialed them one by one.

The good news was, someone answered the calls.

And most of them were the very people who had left their names at World’s End.

When they heard Yisha was a reporter wanting to interview them about their climbing experiences, they proudly recounted what it was like.

Reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain was indeed something to be proud of.

And then came the bad news—

"It’s always dark below the cliff."

"And it’s a strange kind of black... Forgive me for not being very cultured, I can’t find a good word to describe it, but basically, its blackness is unusual. It gives you a sense of nothingness, as if there’s nothing at all below the cliff. That’s how the name ’World’s End’ came about."

These were the exact words of one of the Explorers who had summited the peak.

Their world wasn’t infinite; this peak and the cliff were its boundary. That’s why it was named World’s End—any further and you’d be in the void.

As for any city ruins, ancient castles, or highways... no one had ever seen them.

While Yisha was on the phone with these climbers, the Night Watcher, who was waiting in the city, also called to ask about the situation.

Sopea reported truthfully, "We haven’t found it yet."

Night Watcher: "What do you mean you haven’t found it? Are there any leads?"

Sopea: "...No."

’He had been to the "New World" too. The topography of World’s End was completely different from the areas around Kovri or Selona City. To be honest, he was also very confused now. Could it be that the Consciousness Riverbed "lied" to us? That the things in the "New World" exist, but their timeline is chaotic? Just because something is in the "New World" doesn’t mean it exists in the Real World now?’

The Night Watcher was silent for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, "I’ll give you three more days, at most."

You could tell he was a little angry.

He had been skeptical about the existence of the Holy Temple Ruins from the start. He had only come to take a look out of respect for Sopea and because the matter was of great importance. But now Sopea was telling him they hadn’t found it...

He had taken the risk of bringing over a thousand people here, crossing mountains and seas, ready for a major operation. Even if they couldn’t find the materials, they could at least kill some Witch Hunters to avenge the dead Wizards, but it turned out to be a wild goose chase.

Anyone in his position would be angry.

The moment he learned there was no progress, the Night Watcher’s opinion of Sean hit rock bottom. His impression of Sopea plummeted as well; he felt like he’d been played for a fool.

Among everyone present, only Sabeck wasn’t taking the matter to heart.

For one, this wasn’t his business; it had nothing to do with him.

For another, he had never believed from the very beginning that Sean and the others could actually find the Holy Temple Ruins.

There was a word to describe what Sean and his group were doing—"archaeology."

Or, more accurately—"tomb raiding."

And they were trying to raid the tomb of the Legendary Mage Carl Black, of all people. How could it be that easy?

Even if the Holy Sanctuary still existed, it couldn’t be found so easily. Not to mention the major families watching like hungry tigers. If there were any real treasures, they would have been carved up and taken long ago. Would there be any left for Sean and his group?

"What now?" Sabeck asked, shrinking his neck.

’It’s freakishly cold on this summit, and my Magic Power is suppressed, so I can’t even warm myself up. I kind of want to go back.’

Elvire warned irritably, "Shut up, unless you want to be thrown off the cliff as a test subject."

Sabeck: "...Okay."

’This girl is so fierce!’

’It’s not my fault they can’t find the Holy Sanctuary. If she’s got the guts, she should go yell at Sean. She just picks on an honest guy like me. Hmph.’

"No, that’s not right," Sean, who had been lost in thought, suddenly said.

"What’s not right?" Kate asked.

"The Holy Sanctuary shouldn’t be hidden under the cliff," Sean said.

He realized he had overlooked a problem.

The Kovri Ruins and Siracle State are in different time zones. That time difference is based on their respective local times, and people judge time by the color of the sky. To put it another way—if the Kovri Ruins were hidden beneath this black void that completely blocks out all sunlight, then there would be no day or night, and they wouldn’t be able to see the sun.

The existence of a sun proves that Kovri isn’t hidden by the "Black Sea."

"Are you saying we’re looking in the wrong place?" Elvire frowned. "But the time difference is fixed. If Kovri isn’t in the far north, and it’s not here, where else could it be?"

"Wait for me a moment." Sean sat down on the spot and closed his eyes.

This left everyone completely bewildered.

"What’s he doing?"

"No idea. Maybe changing positions helps him think?"

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Elvire. "Is he always like this?"

Elvire: "?"

’How would I know what this guy is normally like?’

’They make it sound as if I’m so close to Sean that we spend every day together. I don’t know this man very well either, okay!’

Actually, Sean wasn’t thinking, he was using "Meditation."

He had gone to the Void Technique Space.

The best way to find a place wasn’t to search everywhere for it, but to make the place "actively" come to them.

If their general direction was correct, they should be very close to Kovri now. And with the open view from the summit, he could go to Kovri and launch a "Signal Flare" or something similar into the sky to confirm the Holy Sanctuary’s exact location.

So, after many days, Sean once again entered the statue, went "offline," and arrived in the real Kovri.

Having "rehearsed" in the "New World," Sean already knew the strength of the patrols here. He was no longer afraid of attracting attention and directly used a Magic Spell to control the statue and cross the road. He needed to be discovered now, to lure Klintor and the others over, subdue them, and then have them send the signal. This would also serve as a setup for a future plan to lure the tiger from the mountain.

Only... things didn’t quite go as Sean had planned.

He wandered the streets for a good while but didn’t see a single soul.

’Are these guys slacking off?’

Sean complained inwardly. Before, in the "New World," when he didn’t want to be found, Klintor and the others had appeared, popping up out of nowhere from behind. Now that he wanted to be found, the guys had vanished without a trace. ’What kind of work ethic is this?’

If he weren’t worried about how to explain flying up into the sky to Elvire, he would have become a Signal Flare himself.

Sean searched along the street, making some noise from time to time, but still couldn’t attract anyone.

It wasn’t until he reached the mouth of an alley that he finally heard something.

"So hungry..."

"I’m dying, save me, Lord Klintor..."

Sean followed the sound into the alley and found that it was coming from a familiar old house.

’Isn’t this the place where Elvire and I captured and interrogated those soldiers in the "New World"?’

Sean was still a statue at this moment, but he couldn’t be bothered with that. Eager to confirm the suspicion in his heart, he used "Quickly Harden" and smashed headfirst through the wall, rushing into the house.

The next second.

Sean’s eyes widened.

In the dimly lit room, a group of soldiers, tied up with ropes, were struggling and moaning weakly on the floor, looking as if they had been starved for many days.

Sean subconsciously counted them.

Not one more, not one less. Exactly 35.

...