Chapter 116 - Chapter 116: Mithril, Argos (2)
Chapter 116: Mithril, Argos (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
It seemed that the merchants who dared to cross the sea to trade were all quite capable.
Ji Chen nodded.
This map was very useful to him. Although he would not get lost in the ocean, he needed a direction to go in before he got lost.
Otherwise, if he didn’t even know the direction, it would be meaningless to get lost.
Ji Chen put the map into his backpack and continued searching.
After confirming that there was nothing else of value, he left with Anina.
Back on the second deck, the Naga warriors were still digging hard in the mud. It seemed that it would take a long time to dig out all the Mithril.
He decided to return to the ship first and wait until he was done digging before coming down to collect it.
After instructing Anina to supervise the scene, he wrapped himself in the seawater and quickly floated up. With a splash, he broke through the sea surface and jumped onto the deck.
“My Lord, you’re back. Did you find anything in the sunken ship?” Alice asked in surprise.
“A ship of Mithril, a magic map, and a box. The Naga warriors are still digging below.”
Ji Chen smiled and took out the metal box.
It began to shake.
There wasn’t much inside, and as it shook, it made a dull sound.
It didn’t sound like coins or gems.
Curious, he congealed water into a saw and began to cut the box. The water saw was even tougher than metal with the support of his magic power. The friction with the box made an ear-piercing sound.
Considering that he could not destroy the things inside, he sawed very carefully and did not dare to use too much force.
Ten minutes later, one side of the metal box was sawed off, revealing what was inside.
There were only three things inside.
An ancient compass, a diary, and a strange gun.
He was slightly surprised to see these items.
It wasn’t gems or gold coins, but these objects?
He picked up the compass with a curious expression and examined it.
The compass was made of copper and was engraved with some strange words and patterns. There was a small button on the top and a transparent crystal shell on the surface.
It was strange that, when looking through the crystal casing, there was no seafloor visible. Instead, there were intricate gears and hinges interlocking with each other, giving it a steampunk-style appearance.
On the side, there was a diamond-shaped crystal connected by copper wires.
It was evident that this was not an ordinary navigational compass but rather some kind of alchemical mechanical creation.
[Alchemy Compass]
[Level: Special]
[Usage: Able to direct the way to Argos]
Argos?
Ji Chen frowned. What was this place?
The information panel of the compass in front of him could not provide any more information.
He turned his attention to the diary.
Not long after he entered this world, he was instilled with the common language of this world. Not only was he able to hear, but he was also able to understand the words easily.
He casually opened the waterproof leather cover and flipped to the first page.
However, he quickly skimmed through the following pages because they were filled with miscellaneous details of the captain’s maritime life.
But through those few pages, he learned some information about the ship and the captain.
The ship was named the “Ocean Adventure”, and the captain’s name was Zolt Roa.
Zolt was not a merchant, as he had initially assumed, but rather an ocean explorer. His ventures included but were not limited to developing new sea routes, exploring dangerous waters, undertaking commissions to find rare and precious items and researching marine creatures.
He engaged in highly perilous activities.
However, he had accomplished quite a few remarkable feats.
For instance, he had established two major sea routes between the northern and southern continents, successfully explored a treacherous region resembling a stormy sea, and completed numerous commissions, earning himself a considerable reputation on the continent.
But as the saying goes, “If you play with fire, you’ll get burned”.
The ultimate outcome was evident: the ship sank, and he and all the crew members met their watery graves.
After flipping through about two-thirds of the pages, Ji Chen’s hand stopped.
When he saw the content on the page, his heart skipped a beat, and he began to read it carefully.
From this point onwards, it was the record of Zolt’s final voyage.
The first sentence at the beginning made him tremble with excitement.
“This voyage of the Ocean Adventurer is to find the legendary underwater city, Argos.”
Argos, the place mentioned on the psionic compass, was actually an underwater city?
Ji Chen was surprised, but he quickly collected himself and continued reading.
“Strange coincidences exist in the world, which may happen yesterday, today, or tomorrow, but now it’s happening to me.”
“Just when 1 was contemplating what the next meaningful voyage would be, I unintentionally caught a compass while fishing. It had some peculiar characters on the back. Through my investigation and the remnants of ancient books by the seaside, I discovered that there once existed a highly advanced civilization in the Mid-Ocean called Argos. The characters on the back of the compass bore a striking resemblance to the Argos script mentioned in those ancient texts. So, I suspected that this compass could guide me to the location of this lost civilization.”
“…And so, another challenging and magnificent journey began. After making all the necessary preparations, 1 set sail with over a hundred brave sailors, hoping for good luck…”
“…Across endless seas, guided by the compass, we finally arrived at our destination. According to the legends, Argos was located underwater. To ensure our success, 1 invested heavily in the production of dozens of special alchemical garments capable of diving into the depths…”
“…The search process took longer than I had imagined. I hope that tomorrow the sailors will find what we’re looking for, or else our food and fresh water might not be sufficient for the return journey…”
Several days passed between the two paragraphs.
The slightly hasty handwriting revealed Zolt’s excitement.
“After countless nights of enduring severe sea conditions and evading dreadful marine creatures, we have finally found Argos!”
“When we saw it, we could hardly believe our own eyes. It was a magnificent city encased in a crystalline shell, surrounded by a ring of mithril columns. Through the shell, we could catch a glimpse of a city adorned with peculiar towers and buildings, bearing traces of alchemical technology…”
“There is no doubt, this must be the legendary lost civilization of Argos! Now, the next step is to find the entrance to the city…”
“…We have been unable to find the entrance to the city, but our food and fresh water have almost run out. If we don’t leave soon, the consequences would be unimaginable… Therefore, we unanimously decided to take one of the mithril columns outside the shell with us. Each mithril column is several tens of meters high, and there are hundreds of them. It’s truly an astonishing treasure…”
“Of course, we need to break down the column into smaller pieces before we can transport it back… Oh, by the way, we also found a uniquely shaped alchemical firearm nearby. Its precision is unlike anything I’ve seen in my life…”
“…The transfer of the mithril is complete, and we are now on our way back. Once we return to the mainland, this earth-shattering discovery will surely make me renowned across the continent… Yes, that alchemical firearm will serve as the best evidence…”
He flipped another page and the notebook stopped abruptly.
Upon seeing this, Ji Chen let out a deep breath.
He didn’t expect Captain Zolt to actually rely on the compass to find the so-called underwater city of Argos.
Moreover, the large amount of mithril on the ship was obtained from there.
According to the description in the log, this amount of Mithril was only broken down from one of the hundreds of Mithril Pillars.
Such an astonishing amount of Mithril was enough to make any native force go crazy.
However, the final outcome was both laughable and heartbreaking.
After traversing countless seas and discovering Argos aboard the Far Ocean Adventure, they were not deterred by the arduous journey, nor were they defeated by storms or marine creatures. Yet, it was on their way back, on the verge of reaching land, that they struck a reef and sank.
Such is the irony of life.
However, it was through this unfortunate event that they made the discovery and obtained information about the lost civilization of Argos.
Argos… alchemical technology… mithril columns…
A glimmer of excitement flickered in Ji Chen’s eyes as his thoughts began to take shape..