Lord of the Mysteries

"There! It's right there!" A young man with long brown hair and a pirate-like
bandana shouted as he pointed at a nearby island.
He was standing on the starboard of a three-masted sailboat. The rolling waves
drowned out most of his voice.
A muscular man with a black eye patch reached out to hold the shipboard. He
frowned and muttered to himself in shock and suspicion,
"I don't remember there being such an island on this sea route..."
This was not the first time their ship had plied this sea route.
The young man who had shouted replied excitedly, "This means that it's usually
hidden. It only appears at specific moments.
"There must be treasures on such an island!
"Captain, in the words of that strange monk, a fortuitous opportunity has
presented itself!"
He spoke in the Loen language. "Fortuitous opportunity” was a term pieced
together by two words.
"That monk spouts words indecipherable to us. Pay no heed to them." The
muscular man wearing an eye patch raised his hand and ruffled his slightly
messy short yellow hair. "And I often tell you guys that treasures are often
accompanied by danger.”
As he spoke, he pointed at his right eye which was covered by the eye patch.
"That's the cost.”
The young man with the pirate-like bandana sincerely said, "But, Captain, isn't
this the purpose of our adventure? For treasure!"
They were a group of treasure hunters from different places. Of course, they
occasionally worked as pirates and "borrowed" food, drinks, and necessities from
passing merchant ships. After all, ideals alone couldn't feed them.
The captain fell silent for a moment before saying, "Gather four to five people,
and we'll step foot on the island to take a look. The rest of you, prepare to set sail
at any time."
The young man's eyes lit up.
"You agreed? Captain, you agreed!"
The captain chuckled.
"Weimer, if not for the fact that there's no other choice, no one at my age would
continue to be a treasure hunter.”
He appeared to be in his thirties, but his blue eyes showed signs of age.
"Fine." Weimer held up his hands. "Whatever you say."
He immediately became excited.
"I'l get OI' Keaton!"
Ol' Keaton was the ship's first mate. He believed in the God of Knowledge and
Wisdom and had mastered many languages. If they didn't bring him along on
such an expedition, it was very likely that they would throw away whatever
treasures they found as trash.
More importantly, Ol' Keaton was also very strong.
When the ship docked at the dock that seemed to have long been abandoned,
an exploration team of four had already gathered beside the gangway.
They were Captain Gray, First Mate OI' Keaton, Boatswain Parvi, and Veteran
Seaman Weimer.
"No one..." Parvi looked into the distance and muttered regretfully.
The weather in the Berserk Sea today wasn't bad. Visibility was extremely high
under the blue sky, and the small port hid no secrets from her.
This place was incomparably quiet as if it had been dead for many years.
"It'll be more terrifying if there were people!" Weimer added.
It implied many things if such a hidden island remained inhabited.
Parvi was wearing a white shirt and brown pantaloons. She had a pair of
beautiful light-blue eyes and a slightly androgynous appearance.
She glared at Weimer.
"You want to stay behind and clean the deck?"
Weimer shrugged and shut his mouth.
Having become a boatswain as a woman, she needed to manage many unruly
crew members; she would never go easy on her threats.
Captain Gray, who was surveying the area, gave an order.
"Let's get ashore!"
He then exhorted, "We'll do it the old way. During the first exploration, don't touch
anything. Just look and listen."
"No problem!" Weimer was the first to rush out of the ship and run down the
gangway to the dock.
He jumped up excitedly mid-run and glided to the ground like a big bird.
The sound caused by his actions spread out in all directions, mixed with some
echoes.
Behind him, Gray, OI' Keaton, and Parvi followed carefully.
"If you continue that recklessness of yours and act on your own like an
uncivilized wild dog, I'll tie you up and hang you at the stern to fish for sharks!"
Parvi quickly walked to Weimer's side and warned him in a hushed voice.
Weimer nodded solemnly and muttered, "Girlboss, with your personality, you
should join the Church of Storms instead of believing in the Evernight
Goddess..."
Parvi didn't say anything. She looked around and followed Captain Gray and First
Mate OI' Keaton.
The port was not big. There was only a lighthouse, two simple docks, five
warehouses, and a few buildings that served as a hotel, restaurant, bar, and
police station. It did not take long for the four of them to circle the area.
Apart from the fact that there was no one around, everything seemed normal.
Weimer looked at the tables in the house facing the street through a relatively
clear glass window and did not speak for a long time.
His expression was a little solemn given his personality.
Inside the house, on the dining table, there was a cup with brownish-black liquid
and two pieces of moldy toast.
Next to them were several neatly folded newspapers.
It looked like the owner was about to enjoy breakfast when he suddenly
encountered an emergency and had to leave in a hurry. He did not even have
time to flip open the newspapers.
He never returned.
It would be considered normal if there was only one such example. After all,
accidents were unavoidable. However, the entire port was in a similar situation. It
was inevitable that it would make one's hair stand on end and imagination run
wild.
In that instant, all the local residents, no, all the living creatures, seemed to have
evaporated.
"They haven't been gone for long..." Captain Gray's slightly hoarse voice broke
the team's silence.
Parvi subconsciously replied, "Indeed, if this port has been abandoned for a long
time, the food will not just be moldy."
It seemed like only a few days or weeks had passed since the bizarre incident
had happened.
Ol' Keaton retracted his gaze from the street and nodded gently.
"That's what the plants here say."
There were obvious wrinkles at the corners of the First Mate's mouth. His hair
was already mottled with natural curls. He was wearing a white robe and brass-
framed glasses.
"Ah?" Weimer was momentarily slow to react.
He then looked at the place where OI' Keaton had sized up and quickly
understood why he said that.
There weren't many weeds in the harbor. There were some plain or gorgeous
mushrooms growing sporadically on the wooden buildings. They seemed to have
existed all along.
The natural world had obviously not had enough time to invade this place.
Ol' Keaton saw Weimer's enlightened expression and didn't explain further. He
turned to Captain Gray and solemnly said,
"I'm worried that something might happen if we stay here for too long."
"What might happen? Could it be that we will also disappear into thin air..."
Before Weimer could finish speaking, a tanned palm appeared over his mouth.
This palm pushed his head and pressed him against the wall.
"There won't be a next time!" Parvi glared at Weimer and warned under her
breath.
Weimer nodded with difficulty, indicating that he understood.
When Parvi released him, he muttered softly, "This isn't like you, Girlboss. You
actually didn't slam the back of my head against the wall..."
Parvi chuckled.
"I'm afraid that the commotion will be too great and awaken up the bizarreness
hidden here."
Captain Gray didn’t care about their little bout. He took out his silver-white pocket
watch and opened the lid.
"We'll return to the ship in another fifteen minutes.
"If everything remains normal, we'll prepare a second exploration tomorrow."
"Alright!" Weimer was the first to agree.
The four of them maintained a fine battle formation as they skirted the buildings
in front of them and headed for the edge of the port.
There was a slightly stained steam locomotive parked here. The two tracks
extended deep into the island.
Parallel to the tracks was a cement road.
This was exactly what Gray and the others had imagined. After all, the port bore
the responsibility of loading and unloading goods, traveling passengers, and
connecting other towns with convenient road traffic.
However, to their surprise and confusion, the railway was only one to two
hundred meters long. At the end of it stood a sizable town.
Even though they were still at the edge of the port, the four of them could see the
situation there with their naked eyes.
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I" " : :
Wh—" Weimer could not express his
feelings in words. He could only
curse under his bregtiC yf (werd the
ie iy
opngr ORthis sland, I would definitely
tie up the bastard who suggested
such repairs at the stern to fish for
n *
sharks!" The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Based on their experience in many ports, this arrangement was simply abnormal.
The town 100 meters away had to be closer and connected to this side to form a
port city, or it should be a few kilometers away and be independent, unlike now!
"There might be a deeper meaning," OI' Keaton said with a frown. "This might
have something to do with the bizarre happenings here."
After he finished speaking, no one responded for a moment.
After a few seconds, Weimer looked at the town not far away and said, "Captain,
do we head over to take a look?"
Captain Gray nodded.
"Sure. Twelve minutes left.”
They then walked along the cement road toward the small town.
On both sides of the road, weeds flourished and mushrooms dotted the area.
The closer they got to their destination, the more it was like this.
Before long, the four treasure hunters arrived at the edge of the town.
There was a wooden board erected there. On it was a word written in Loen:
"Utopia."
"This place is called Utopia," Weimer muttered to himself as he cast his gaze at
Ol' Keaton.
Ol' Keaton shook his head slowly, indicating that he had never heard of it.
It was the same for Parvi and Captain Gray.
They observed the situation inside from the edge of the town and confirmed that
the streets were also empty. It was so quiet that even the wind seemingly found it
unbearable to pass.
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As they walked forward step by step,
the four of them saw the Iris Hotel,
©
Utopia's Teleg raph Qffice. anPrhahy
fli
byl dings! [owever, without
exception, the interior of these
buildings revealed that their owners
had left in a hurry and never returned.
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Read the latest chapter there!
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There were also cups with some
water left, dry clothes that were
halfway through their washing,
cutlery that had = leit QutO Wo
Ci that had not
been put away, books that had been
flipped through, carriages that had
stopped by the roadside without any
horses... These things all
reconstructed the appearance of the
town before the bizarre situation
happened. The content is on
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chapter there!
"I keep feeling that something is missing..." Weimer couldn't help but whisper
when he saw the municipal square in sight.