Chapter 313. Origin Essence
On the desolate aft deck of the Narwhale, Charles downed glass after glass of whisky as he drowned in his sorrows. His usual solace from drinking liquor eluded him this time; instead, the bitter liquid had deepened the sense of powerlessness weighing down on his heart.
Watching another crew member dying before his eyes was a torment. It was for the same reason that he deliberately tried not to get too close to new crew members.
This time, however, the unfortunate fate had landed on Bandages. From the first ever island they had explored, Bandages had been with him for almost four years now.
And he was about to lose yet another seasoned crew mate...
"Is there really no way to resolve this?" Charles' words slurred as he sprawled on the deck. He leaned back against the ship and stared into the darkness ahead.
He had been pondering over the same question for days, but he was no doctor. When it came to medicine and treatment, there was nothing he could do.
It would take at least another seven days for them to reach Hope Island, and after that, they needed to head to some Divinity's Land. Bandages couldn't endure for that long; it was a hopeless situation.
As Charles continued to pour more whisky into his mouth, a grotesque, hollow-palmed hand suddenly crawled over the railings of the ship.
"Fuck!" Charles cursed, and his face lit up in fury. He hurled the whisky bottle aside and charged at the monster.
The deformed creature's serendipitous timing allowed Charles the opportunity to vent all his pent-up rage on it. Its ear-piercing cries of pain broke the silence over the dark sea.
As its mangled body weakly plunged into the waters, a voice called out from above.
"Captain, are you alright?"
It was Audric. He was in his bat form and hanging upside down from a rope on the tower.
Charles was in a foul mood and gave a perfunctory response before he turned to leave. However, he halted in his tracks after a few steps. He turned back to Audric and asked, "The thing that I asked you to pick up previously in the purple sphere, did you manage to take it?"
"The stack of papers? Of course. I have them right under my bed. I've been wanting to pass them to you, but due to the First Mate's situation, I haven't been able to find the right time," Audric replied.
"Bring them over to me now. I need to look at it immediately," Charles instructed with an unmistakable hint of urgency in his voice.
Soon enough, the experimental records that 198 mentioned were placed before Charles: the experiment that allowed humans to gain the powers of the relics.
Experiment Title: K3378/954
Location: Laboratory One
Lead Researcher: Dr. E5
Test Materials: Subject D, Project 3741, Project 751, one sharp dagger, 2 kilograms of Subterranean Sea Salt, and one black marker.
Experimental Protocol: Using the black marker, draw Figure 9 (modified v1.0) on the ground, then use Subterranean Sea Salt to overlay Figures 1 and 3 onto Figure 9 (modified v1.0). Instruct Subject D to grasp Project 751 with their right hand and crush the head of Project 3741, extracting the Origin Essence from 3741's body. Immediately after the extraction and before the evaporation of the Origin Essence, command Subject D to incise their abdomen with the dagger, precisely locate the pancreas, and swiftly press the Origin Essence onto it.
Outcomes: Partial Success (tentative). Post-experiment, Subject D fell into a prolonged unconscious state, awakening on the third day with an extremely sensitive olfactory sense akin to that of Project 3741. Subject D informed Dr. E5 that Project 3741 was in the room and was staring at him silently with a crushed head. Psychological evaluation confirms Subject D is mentally sound with no hallucinatory disorders.
Evaluation: Though flawed, this experiment attempt is the closest we have come to a successful replication of the procedure. It is uncertain if this success is replicable, as each extraction of Origin Essence from the projects, though seemingly identical upon scientific analysis, feels inherently different. It's possible that each project requires a unique protocol for the successful execution of the process.
It feels like we're alchemists in the medieval era, where we are trying to combine and conjure various unknown substances through sheer imagination and luck.
However, our first successful attempt has propelled our efforts significantly. Give me twenty more years, and I'm confident I'll unravel the true mysteries of the Origin Essence, much like how Mendeleev formulated the periodic table!
"Hmm..." Charles' brows furrowed as he silently gazed at the papers strewn across the table.
198 had been speaking the truth; there was indeed a viable method for humans to gain the abilities of relics. However, the method was very rudimentary, and even the lead researcher admitted that they had only succeeded once.
But at the thought of Bandages lying on his deathbed, Charles knew they had no other way. He came to the desperate decision to try a long shot. It was the only option, as Bandages couldn't wait any longer.
With his mind made up, only one crucial question remained: which relic's power should Bandages receive for him to survive?
Charles quickly reviewed his own inventory before crossing them all out from the potential relics list. None of the relics he possessed had the life-saving capability needed for Bandages.
He immediately gathered his crew and commanded, "Bring out all your relics. This concerns the survival of our First Mate."
The crew members promptly presented their relics. However, disappointment painted Charles' face upon reviewing their relics. Their collection was meager, and most of the relics were designed for offense or defense in battle.
"What can this thing do?" Charles asked as he picked up the golden shell on Feuerbach's palm.
"Captain, this is a great item," Feuerbach explained as he eyed the papers on Charles' table with curiosity. "It can attract schools of tuna fish, which are perfect for sashimi. They are impossible to catch otherwise."
Charles made no remark to Feuerbach's words. He moved past the green-haired man toward Weister on his left, only to find the young boy empty-handed. He then turned his gaze onto the last crew member—the plump cook, Planck.
Planck was holding a strange, green serpentine statue. It depicted a stout woman whose face, where features should have been, was instead blanketed with various plants. Although small in size, the statue was intricately detailed, with leaves and branches carved so realistically that they seemed almost alive.
"Captain, I bought this relic as a life-saver," Planck explained. "I was told to just feed it with blood daily, and even if one gets fatally wounded, they won't die but enter a plant-like state instead. This will buy precious time to seek medical assistance."
Charles carefully took the small, intricately carved statue from the cook's hand and examined it closely.
"Really?" Charles asked, his voice carrying a hint of skepticism and hope.
"Erm... I've never actually had a chance to try it," Planck admitted as he scratched his head awkwardly. "That was what the merchant told me. His shop is right next to the police station, so he probably didn't lie to me. I even spent 350,000 Echo on it."
Charles scrutinized the delicate sculpture before him and took a brief glance at the other offensive relics. He then made his choice.
Clutching the statue firmly, he ordered, "Bring some sea salt to the infirmary. Quick."
Whether it would work or not, Charles could only try it out. That was the only option they had at this point.
Soon enough, the crew were assembled in the infirmary. They watched with curious gazes as their captain began to draw on the floor with a pen and sea salt.
When Charles placed Bandages at the center of the complex, triple-layered circle formation, brandished his Dark Blade and pointed it toward the cook's statue, someone finally broke the silence.
"Captain, what are you doing?" Linda asked with a hint of incredulity on her visage. As a follower of the Light God, such displays of emotions were rare.
"Using a relic to save our First Mate. Isn't that obvious?" Charles answered.
"With the dark mist within the relic?" Linda questioned further.
"Have you seen someone else use it?"
"If he swallows that dark mist, we can probably save him. But the First Mate that'll come around might not be our First Mate anymore."
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