Chapter 75: Singer in the Mists

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Singer in the Mists

"We’re all moving at the same Speed, aren’t we? It would be a little stupid to think you were the one going too fast."

Whether it was stupid or not, Seraphina Sinclair was relieved to know she wasn’t the only one.

She didn’t stay idle while waiting for the black mist to pour in. Another wave of trade offers had flooded her private messages. Sifting through them one by one would take a lot of time, but since she was just waiting around, she figured she might as well put the time to good use.

This time, the offers were especially chaotic. Besides the materials Seraphina Sinclair had filtered for last time, there were also a few schematics.

Seraphina Sinclair was pleasantly surprised at first, but after seeing what the schematics were for, she lost interest.

A schematic for a stone toilet. Its effect: allows you to craft a decorative, non-flushable stone toilet.

’Am I supposed to carry it to the window to dump out the contents?’

Seraphina Sinclair scoffed and moved on to the next one.

Schematic for a decorative vase. Crafts a cursed vase that actively shatters itself.

’This thing is something else... You don’t even get the chance to use it as a decoration.’

The most ridiculous one was the last one: a Firework Launcher Schematic. When fired, it has a 100% chance to attract all monsters within a 500-meter radius.

’This one... well...’

’You could make one if you felt your death wasn’t going to be spectacular enough.’

This last survivor also knew how ridiculous his offer was. He scratched his head, stared at the screen for a long time, and then added something else.

[Harborlight]: Boss, I know this schematic alone isn’t much. I’ll add a bundle of electrical wire. It’s a high-grade material and pretty rare right now. How about it?

’Electrical wire?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s finger, which had been about to close the chat window, froze. Her brow arched slightly.

"Electrical wire?" she murmured, tapping the screen twice with her fingertip to reopen the trade details.

[Electrical Wire]

[Description: A high-grade material used for crafting precision machinery! Can also be used directly! If you want to enter the electrical age, this item is a must-have! Each bundle contains 20 strands. Usage is counted by strand, not by length!]

’It really is good stuff.’

’I can’t use it now, but I definitely will in the future.’

And... used for crafting precision machinery? The moment Seraphina Sinclair saw that line, she thought of the Precision Guide. ’If that thing needs to be crafted, it’ll probably require electrical wire, won’t it?’

Although that suicidal firework launcher schematic seemed useless, it was a nice bonus to go with the electrical wire.

Seraphina Sinclair narrowed her eyes, weighing the pros and cons.

"It’s only three pieces of rune paper, anyway. I can just draw more when I have time. It’s no loss to stock up on this stuff."

She muttered to herself, then quickly typed a reply.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Fine. The schematics plus the wire for three Fire Drawing Runes.

Harborlight’s eyes lit up when he saw Seraphina Sinclair’s reply. His fingers flew across the keyboard.

He had only made the offer on a whim, since even he thought the firework launcher schematic was ridiculous. He never expected her to actually accept the trade!

[Harborlight]: No problem! Awesome, Boss! I’ll confirm the trade right now!

Afraid Seraphina Sinclair would change her mind, he immediately hit the confirm button. Then he hesitated for a moment before carefully adding another message.

[Harborlight]: Um... Boss, if you have any similar runes in the future, could you consider me first? If I find any other rare materials, I’ll come to you. We could have a long-term partnership!

After sending the message, he stared nervously at the screen, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the table.

Seraphina Sinclair saw the message and casually replied, "We’ll see," before closing the chat window.

’If he had other rare materials right now, I wouldn’t mind chatting a bit more. But as for the future...’

’Who knows what will happen?’

Seraphina Sinclair shook her head. Twenty minutes passed by quietly, and the black mist was about to pour in.

She took a deep breath and silently tightened her grip on her dagger, preparing herself.

The moment the black mist flooded in, a strange song reached Seraphina Sinclair’s ears.

She couldn’t make out the lyrics or understand the language. Seraphina Sinclair tilted her head, listening for only a moment before clamping her hands over her ears.

’Something this weird can’t be good!’

’What kind of good song could a monster possibly sing?’

Wary, Seraphina Sinclair silently activated the effect of Water Stopping. After feeling her mind clear considerably, she released her hands, using the brief sound to pinpoint the monster’s location.

’It’s probably over by the stone table...’

’This is not a good sign.’

The monster was still far from Seraphina Sinclair, but it was very close to some of her miscellaneous items.

’They might be miscellaneous, but they’re still supplies!’

Seraphina Sinclair frowned. ’This thing is singing, so it probably isn’t some violent maniac, right?’

’The stone table is just sitting there, not bothering it at all. It wouldn’t...’

BANG!

Something suddenly made a loud noise, followed by what sounded like something toppling over, creating a continuous CLATTERING racket.

After a while, all the noise stopped.

Seraphina Sinclair...

’I don’t need to guess to know what happened. The monster had either smashed the stone table or flipped it over...’

’Either way, the result wasn’t good.’

The black mist thinned. Seraphina Sinclair immediately looked toward the stone table. Through the haze, she quickly located the large, dark shadow and silently chanted in her mind, ’Insight!’

[Singer in the Mists (E-level)]

[Description: A Spirit Monster formed from dense fog and lingering obsession. Its form is as ethereal as smoke, its face bearing only a single, constantly opening and closing mouth. But if you look closely, you will see that its body is composed of countless familiar images from your life. What you see depends on what your memory holds.]

[Weakness]: ???

’Ever since the weaknesses started showing up as only question marks, the Insight Skill has become completely useless!’

’Other than the monster’s name and a baffling description, it gives me nothing else.’

’What’s the point of knowing the monster’s name? So I can die an informed death?’

She was speechless, but she did notice one term: Spirit Monster.

’That name has to mean something, right?’

’What could it mean? That this monster has no physical body?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s pupils trembled. ’If so, that means my frequently used Fire Drawing Runes are useless! That’s terrifying!’

Talk is cheap. Seraphina Sinclair pulled out a Fire Drawing Rune, tore it, and directed the flame to fly toward the monster.

The worst-case scenario came to pass. The flames, as if unable to find a target, passed right through the monster’s body, circled around, and returned to Seraphina Sinclair’s arm.

Even worse, not only did the attack fail to harm the monster, but it managed to infuriate it.

The black-hole-like mouth suddenly gaped wide, its body darkened, and in the next second, it let out a piercing shriek!

Seraphina Sinclair immediately covered her ears, but she was a step too late. Or perhaps, her simple physical defense was completely useless against this kind of sonic attack.