Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Of course I want to know,"

Shard replied with a frown, feeling very uncomfortable on the swaying ship which was a novel experience to him, having never been at sea in the earlier part of his life.

"I'm different from the others. Although I am also a pirate on the Fishbone Pirate Ship, I'm giving you a chance. Drink this."

Hooves clomped across the floor to the wall, picking up a chipped porcelain bowl next to a pile of meat. A spoon in the right hand scooped up some clear liquid from the pot, filling the bowl halfway. White steam drifted above the bowl as Hooves stretched it out towards Shard with a sly expression on the human face:

"Drink this, one bowl, one question answered. Whether you want to leave, know the origin of the ship, or discover the treasure aboard, I can tell you."

It shook the porcelain bowl at Shard, the human head on top sporting a malicious grin.

Shard took an immediate step back and didn't speak, but in fact, he was internally communicating with her about their situation.

The monster in the room didn't hurry him but flung the bowl toward the doorway. It landed precisely on the floor by the entrance without spilling a drop, the clear liquid inside shimmering slightly due to the ship's rocking, casting an eerie green halo in the light of the room's green flames:

"If you don't get extra information from me, the odds of you walking out of here are practically zero. I can guarantee, this isn't poison that will kill you immediately, and it certainly won't cause your death."

Hooves tapped on the floor, the sound irritating Shard incessantly.

Then, amidst the sounds of bells and steam whistles, his Ring of Fate appeared in full behind him, glowing in the gloom, the brass-colored metal ring gleaming in the green firelight.

The monster squinted at Shard's Ring of Fate, while Shard returned to the doorway, hesitated, and then bent down to pick up the bowl.

"Oh?"

The monster with a human head, fish body, and hooves vocalized.

Shard, of course, didn't drink immediately; instead, the Gluttony Spirit Rune flickered brightly behind him. The desecration's silver Spiritual Light almost overpowered the green flames in the room. Then, Shard plunged his right-hand fingers into the clear liquid in the bowl.

One action achieved two goals: The desecration's silver light immediately shimmered on the surface of the liquid, identifying it as water. Thus, the power of Gluttony seeped into the liquid, usurping its original powers. Simultaneously, due to close contact, she provided an answer:

"I cannot detect any poison, and there are no curses at least. There's a scant amount of Whisper Element, and I don't feel any corrosion on your fingertips from the liquid."

But this still didn't clarify the purpose of the liquid in the bowl, and Shard couldn't leave for that reason. The monster in the room was right, without knowing anything, his chances of getting out by walking forward were slim.

Even if he could maintain his sanity inside the ship, he was still at the Second Ring.

"Drink your soup, and you'll answer questions?"

Shard looked up and asked.

"Yes, I swear by the name of my lord, Lord of the Crimson Spiral," Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

The tone of the sentence coming from the human face was highly suspect.

Shard took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, then sipped from the visibly unwashed rim of the porcelain bowl, waited a moment to ensure she didn't relay any bad news, before slowly drinking down all of the liquid, now gleaming with a silver light.

It smelled putrid, but the taste was a choking fishy flavor. Although it had successfully been influenced by Satiety Food, after drinking it, Shard didn't feel the slightest sense of fullness in his stomach.

Instead, he felt a terrifying sense of hunger emanating from his stomach. This was not an illusion, as in the next moment, the growling sound, indicative of hunger, came from inside his body. The sensation made Shard subconsciously want to find something to eat, this was no illusion; after drinking the soup, he was indeed hungry.

However, compared to the physical hunger, the Elements and Spirit within his body swelled up. The liquid entered his stomach and turned into the purest Spirit Flow a Circle Sorcerer could use, which was then converted by the Ring of Fate into a part of his soul. But limited by the number and level of Shard's Spirit Runes, the incoming surge of Spirit was barely contained, and for the first time, he distinctly felt the upper limit of Spirit accumulation.

The hunger drove him to take out a small bottle he carried, then using Sorcery he created some clean water, treated it with Satiety Food, and sipped it slowly. The monster in the room watched this scene with a laugh, making no attempt to stop him.

Shard quickly realized why it did not stop him; for when he drank the water, not only did he not feel full, but he became hungrier instead, and more Spirit was added to his body.

"If it weren't for the fortunate fact that you processed my soup with the power of Gluttony, after drinking it you would likely have leapt at my stored food here to gnaw and bite,"

The monster laughed, pointing at the heaps of flesh and limbs against the wall:

"Your Gluttony is very strong, so you can still maintain your sanity. But now that you've drunk it, the hungrier you'll become before you leave this ship, and the more you eat, the hungrier you will get. However, it's not without benefits; before you leave the ship, anything you eat will transform into Spirit, which is a tremendous benefit to any Transcendent of any era."

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple, getting hungrier and stronger... such malice is truly inventive."

Shard clutched his stomach, and after letting go, he tossed the bowl in his hand across the room and asked through gritted teeth,

"Answer my question, how should I find the captain safely to learn the way to leave?"

Actually, that was two questions.

"I thought you would ask how to leave, didn't expect you already knew about the captain?"

The monster caught the empty bowl that was thrown over and said, but then shook its head:

"Asking about how to leave, you'll have to negotiate that yourself. However, I can tell you how to find him. It's simple, the captain is right below us in the cabin, staying with a bunch of rude sailors lacking in taste."

It was wearing only a black dirty apron, hard to imagine anything with less taste than it.

"Walk down the corridor of this level to the end, you might encounter some danger, but don't bother with anything other than what you must fight. Doing so will greatly increase the chances of meeting the captain alive. For someone like you who can maintain high rationality in the cabin, the probability of leaving is actually quite large. What you need to consider is..."

The human face with fish-like features maintained that nauseating smile:

"How to gain more benefits here."

"Are you tempting me? No, I still think life is the most important."

Shard shook his head, holding his stomach.

"So you refuse the second bowl?"

The fish-bodied monster swung the empty bowl at Shard, who felt his own hunger and after pondering thrice, decided he could have another bowl:

"No, please give me the second bowl."

The human head let out a pig-like laughter, mocking Shard. It served him half a bowl of soup, then tossed the porcelain bowl toward the door.

Keeping the Ring of Fate spinning behind him, he used "Satiety Food" to process the soup, and still sipped it in small bites. The feeling of hunger did intensify, and the spirit within him grew more abundant, even on the verge of exceeding the limit.

"The second question, how can I find my companions?"

Shard didn't care about treasure; life and friends were his treasures, and he was still concerned about Miss Princess. In fact, as an outlander who had come to the port city, he had guessed who the other party was, so he couldn't possibly leave her here.

Moreover, the road ahead was perilous; if he could have someone accompany him, the possibility of leaving would be greater.

"Not seeking wealth, but concerned about companions?"

The monster in the room reached out and took the empty bowl Shard threw, the human head on the fish body squinting at Shard, its eerie yellow pupils rolling back in the sockets:

"Everyone is on this ship, yet not everyone is on the same ship. Since the ship first appeared, it has constantly preyed for The Great One who bestows us with power, yet it also selects special individuals from the food to become crew. The crew are all on the ship but on different ships, to accelerate the ship's capture of outsiders... Your companion is here."

Although it was difficult to comprehend, it essentially meant a parallel space; each person was adventuring alone on this ship. It also explained why Shard had only encountered two "crew members" so far, as the other crew members had other passengers plundered by the pirate ship to confront.

Thinking about roughly a hundred special individuals who could be rated as "Relics" after leaving the ship made Shard's scalp tingle. But Miss Princess said it was only a Sage-Level Relic, which meant that the crew definitely couldn't leave the ship, and even the "Fishbone Pirate Ship" itself wouldn't approach civilization. Roaming the deep sea with a very low frequency, it posed no threat to civilization; it didn't curse nor spread anything, just hunted in the deep sea and captured people, and that was it. Probably that's why such a dangerous thing was only rated at Sage Level.

"You still haven't told me how to find my companions."@@novelbin@@

Shard said immediately.

"It's simple, you could negotiate with the captain to see if he has that mercy. Or you could negotiate with me, drink another bowl, and if your companion isn't dead yet, I'll bring them to you. If you can't handle it, I'd be happy to have you as my kitchen assistant. You are the kind that can become a crew member, endowed with eternal life by my master."

The monster used a neutral pronoun, took the empty bowl Shard threw back, and for the third time, ladled the liquid from the pot into the bowl; its hooves were steady, the level of liquid almost identical each time.

The sound of the thunderstorm outside was unusually muted, and the creaking of the ship as it rocked made one doubt whether the vessel would fall apart any moment. Shard watched the monster beside the pot; the latter also held the bowl and looked at Shard:

"I bet you'll drink this third bowl."