Chapter 210 - The Way Out from the Dark Wave (1/2)

The sea demons were a race that was enigmatic. It wasn’t merely because their habitats were in the deep sea far away from land — which developed a physical barrier between them and the living beings on land — it was also due to their totally different world outlook and way of thinking. The things that they described would probably have a gargantuan difference with the way that humans understood things. Take, for example, the monsters that were differentiated by humans according to their grade of magic and aggressiveness, but they were differentiated by the sea demons with their chewiness ranking. It was simply too ludicrous, and it was impossible to have a proper conversation.

Therefore, Gawain didn’t dare to determine what was the “giant squid” that the sea demons dug in the deep sea. He could only make a bold assumption from the descriptions mentioned by Tiel and describe it as something related to the gods. As for the exact thing… he would only know after seeing it personally.

It was a pity that there weren’t any opportunities to venture to the deep sea now.

After dinner, Tiel stretched herself. This deep-sea creature who was constantly preparing to hibernate seemingly didn’t have any concept of a stroll after a meal. She was already yawning constantly when answering a bunch of questions from Gawain. The sea demon lady opened up her tail that was bunched up before waving to everyone and saying that she was going back to rest. She then arched and arched as she crawled out of the dining hall.

As expected, the crawling posture was still so awkward…

Betty stood up to pack up the tableware, while Rebecca carried a large stack of rune base plates and scrolls as she returned to her room to continue the calculations. Once Amber finished eating and drinking to her fill, she went into the shadows, and it was unknown what she went off to do. Soon enough, the dining hall was only left with Gawain and Heidi.

Gawain could see that Heidi was thinking something and had asked first, “What are you thinking of?”

“Ancestor, do you believe what the sea demon said?”

Gawain asked in return, “What do you mean?”

“In the legends, the deep-sea creatures were known for resorting to demagoguery and turning people hysterical. There were also rumors from sailors that once their ship leaves the coastal waters, they would be able to hear the songs of the sea demons in the windless night.” Heidi was speaking about the knowledge from the books. “The songs will lure the ships into whirlpools and places with submerged reefs. They would even be able to pull people into nightmares, leaving behind empty and dilapidated ghost ships that drift on the sea.”

“It is obvious that you don’t believe those legends.” Gawain smiled and looked at Heidi. “Furthermore, those sailors’ superstitions are ridiculous. For seven hundred years, how many ships were able to return alive from the remote sea? How can there be so many sailors with ‘personal experiences’?”

Heidi shook her head lightly and said, “The legends might be preposterous, but Tiel’s narrations are also deliberate exaggerations to scare people and to waver the hearts.”

“You are referring to the ‘true Dark Wave’, right?” Gawain knew what Heidi meant and said, “To be honest, I would rather believe that it is true.”

Heidi frowned and asked, “It is because of the recent discovery of those ores at the Dark Range?”

“The Holme Ore was formed during the Dark Wave, and we are unable to determine what kind of matter would vanish during the Dark Wave,” Gawain said softly. “The transformations in the Dark Range have personally been seen by everyone. Back in the Gondor Wasteland… we have also seen countless things that had transformations to their characteristics because of the Dark Range’s influence. A large quantity of new magic-conducting materials might be the same as striking gold, but if such a phenomenon appeared in the whole world, it would be a disaster for the mortal civilizations. Can you imagine what would happen if all the generalized magic-conducting materials had a sudden transformation in characteristics or even vanished?”

“Even the elves’ Sacred Stars Temple would fall.” Heidi laughed bitterly and shook her head before she said, “But the Dark Range still has iron ores and construction materials. The giantwood is still giantwood, while the quartz sand is still quartz sand…”

“This should be considered as the world’s final trace of kindness for the mortals. The transformation during the Dark Wave might not be 100%, but it seems like those fundamental matters and those with low magic sensitivity are the least affected by the Dark Wave. Even if magic-conducting materials were affected, the transformation wouldn’t be 100% either. However, no one can be certain that it would still be the case during the eruption of a ‘true Dark Wave’. Even if the Dark Wave only affected 10% of the characteristics, it would be enough to destroy mortal civilization’s foundations — the magic circles that are still operating, the magic wells in the various parts of the world, mage towers, the magic-conducting materials in the magical devices. If they were affected by the Dark Wave during operations…”

Gawain didn’t say the last statement, but Heidi and Gawain understood what kind of scene it would be — the mortal civilizations would instantly explode and spiral out of the sky…

There was a reason why the Gondor Empire that was unrivaled in power was only able to withstand the Dark Wave for one month before being annihilated.

It was a future that was filled with despair. If the Dark Wave’s true might was as described by Tiel and imagined by Gawain, then the current mortal civilization wouldn’t be able to save itself. Even with Gawain’s two lifetimes of experiences and the millions of years as a satellite spirit, he would never be able to imagine how the current human civilization could contest with the Dark Wave. Who would have expected that the world could lose its foundations and that this world was actually so vulnerable to ‘transformation’?

However… were there really no other methods?

It was unknown why Gawain would suddenly think of the statement he had read in the laboratory in the ancient fortress.

“Humankind shall last forever… Even if we defied the gods.”

Could it be that the Gondor Empire’s Master Mages weren’t researching a method for eternal life, but attempting to study the god’s power to search for a method to deal with the Dark Wave? During the Meteoric Era over one thousand years ago, the Gonder Empire’s Master Mages already knew that the Dark Wave was coming?

Therefore they were saying that “Humankind shall last forever” instead of “Humans shall live forever”. The latter meant eternal life, while the former might mean the survival of the entire race and civilization!