Chapter 101: The Mysterious City of Gold

The chairman’s reaction left Chu Yun unsettled, and he told him everything from start to finish. At Anna’s request, she added the details of how Kasido transformed from a man into a monster, and how that woman had changed.

Nelson slowly calmed, though his face suddenly looked decades older. After a deep sigh, he said to the two of them, “I’ll deal with the rest. Don’t mention this to anyone else.”

His voice carried a helplessness that made it hard to imagine what could trouble a fourth-rank adept like him so much.

“Chairman, could it be the effect of a divine fragment?” Anna asked in confusion.

Chu Yun disagreed. If this were truly a divine shard, Nelson would not have looked the way he did.

Nelson nodded toward the past, settled back into his chair, and after a long silence finally spoke again. “Centuries ago, when humans first landed on Laarafel Island, the Kingdom of Alnor opened trade with the Laarafel race. Many adventurers were so interested in this new people and the new island that they set out at once.”

“One explorer, while searching, discovered an ancient ruin packed with records about a lost civilization and ancient races. He also obtained a wondrous relic.”

“A relic?” Chu Yun said. The word felt familiar.

“Yes, a relic: a special artifact formed when the power of some mighty being or god condenses and binds to a physical vessel after death,” Nelson went on. “The relic he obtained was an astrolabe.”

“With the help of those records and the astrolabe’s guidance, the explorer found an underwater city made of gold in a sea to the northeast of Laarafel Island, in waters then unknown.”

“Loaded with coin, he returned to Laarafel Island and planned to use the treasure to build a larger fleet and hire more people for another expedition.”

“But not long after his return, strange changes appeared in his body.” Nelson pointed at the squid head on the table.

“Tentacles grew from his face. He had to stay submerged in seawater to hold his human shape. The change only worsened, until even constant immersion no longer helped. In the end his head became that of a squid, and he went mad.”

Remembering the woman, Anna could not help but ask, “Chairman, what happened to those who became squid monsters in the end? Did they become sea water?”

Nelson shook his head. “According to the records, squidfolk do turn into seawater when they die, but in normal cases they can remain in that state for a long time. The woman you spoke of changed by an irregular path; after her Blood Master died, she was destined to die soon after as well.”

“The spread of squidfolk blood is somewhat like that of the blood clans. And because their traits are so obvious, anyone infected by that explorer was quickly taken into custody by the Laarafel people and eliminated.”

“The more frightening part was this: those who had merely come into contact, or even stayed close to a holder of a Cursed Coin, began to change slowly over the next several months.”

Chu Yun frowned. “Did all of them become squidfolk?”

“Not all. A Cursed Coin is selective. Some are untouched, and some even gain from it.”

Before Chu Yun could ask another question, Nelson continued. “Though they are called Cursed Coins, they are like any object with two sides: they merely amplify the desire in a person’s heart until it becomes tangible power.”

“Those whose hearts are filled with greed, lust, and corruption become deranged squidfolk. But if the desire is strong in other ways—such as a weakling’s wish to grow stronger—it can sometimes bring them benefit.”

“Some humans became stronger; some demi-humans and monsters even underwent bloodline evolution.”

“And because of that division, many people were unwilling to destroy the Cursed Coins. Some were melted down and recast as ornaments. Some were stamped and disguised as currencies of various nations.”

“Since then, every year on the continent there have been both gains and losses from them. Sadly, most of the victims turned into squid fiends.”

“Confiscating Cursed Coins is hard, because they do not need to be directly touched. Even close contact with a holder for a short while can be enough to be affected.”

“Fortunately, the Goddess of Life granted priests divine rites. If the proper rite is cast, a Cursed Coin can be detected.”

“Every major church and state declared the Cursed Coin a forbidden item and used priests to help detect them. Their numbers have decreased year by year with confiscations, but some still circulate in the world.”

“By now their power has been greatly reduced. In the worst times, one coin could curse more than ten people a day. In this age, it may take ten days or so to curse one person. Even then, most curses do not show immediate effect—sometimes it takes half a year before one person is truly changed—so tracing them is very difficult.”

After listening to Nelson’s old account, Chu Yun was still puzzled. “Chairman, your face looked almost furious a while ago.”

After a brief silence, the chairman reached into his spatial case and took out a picture frame. It showed a young man and woman; the man resembled him somewhat.

“Nothing wrong in telling you,” he said. “This is old history. This is Selena’s parents.”

Selena’s mother had unfortunately been struck by the curse of a Cursed Coin. Because it was not deep, her change into a squidfolk was comparatively slow. In a way, the Cursed Coin is also a crude measure of the heart: only the morally foul become squidfolk, so most people take little pity on them.

Selena’s father did not care for such arguments. He wanted to save his wife, but in all these centuries there had never been a successful case. To save her, he had to go to the mysterious Golden City beneath the sea and find the answer.

The astrolabe and all the records were stored in the Mage Guild headquarters of Alnor. When Selena’s father made that decision, Nelson and his wife clashed over it.

Nelson did not want his son to risk himself for someone with a corrupted heart. His wife did not think so. She believed her daughter-in-law would support her son’s decision as well, and even wanted to sail with him to seek the answer.

With Nelson’s wife’s help, Selena’s father obtained the astrolabe and set out alone. He never returned.

Selena’s mother was then frozen in place by Nelson’s wife with high-order magic, and to this day she still waits for her son’s return.