Super Righteous Player
Chapter 613 - 154 "Captain of the Ship in Stone" Selicia_1

Chapter 613: Chapter 154 "Captain of the Ship in Stone" Selicia_1

A good piece of news is that there isn’t a scarcity of information about Captain Selicia of the "Ship in Stone."

This is, to put it mildly.

The amount of information exposed about her is simply too much.

It would be more appropriate to call her a superstar or a legendary figure than a low-profile Transcendent.

You can even find her stories in children’s literature.

The most outrageous part is... it’s a series!

A whole set of fairy-tale picture books, approximately seven or eight volumes. It seems that the most recent one was released last month.

There are also novels with her as the protagonist, as well as a large number of stage plays. It would be more accurate to say that stage plays are actually the most numerous.

In an era without the internet, it is rare for a living person to achieve such fame. Even "The Unfallen Shield," during his lifetime, his reputation only lingered among the rich who "needed to hire security" or among the sages and Diggers with a wide range of information sources.

It is usually after a hero’s death that authors and poets begin to write many novels, plays, and poems about him, a process that itself takes more than a decade. Following that, it takes a considerable amount of time for their stories to become widespread and reach such a level of fame.

This abnormal level of fame made Annan begin to wonder if this might be some special requirement of her Curse Binding.

"It seems a lot of the information about the ’Stone Captain’ is made up of plays,"

After quickly flipping through the materials Naifertali had found from the infinite bookshelf, Annan mumbled thoughtfully, "Could there be some special meaning to this?"

"To be precise, most of them are stage and musical plays. These are the latest fad among young girls."

Naifertali added in a low voice with a light cough, "I heard it from a friend."

I understand. I occasionally have such a friend too.

A small smile played on Annan’s lips.

But he also understood why—

Despite Miss Naifertali’s calm and learned demeanor, she was, after all, a young lady in her early twenties.

It was quite normal for her to still possess a girlish heart.

Annan read quickly.

In an hour, he had a good grasp of these reports.

Although they varied in form, the main narrative of the "Stone Captain" stories was very similar.

Tracing back to their "origin"... it’s the tale of a noble miss from a foreign land, Selicia, who fled underground while being pursued by assassins and acquired a treasured ship through marvellous adventures.

—— A ghost ship that could carry people through rock layers, air, and sea without disrupting anything.

Its name was "Silver."

In some of the more serious investigative reports, it was noted that this ship might be alive. Either that, or it was some dangerous, self-aware enchanted object.

Miss Selicia signed a contract with the ship and became its captain, who would never leave "Silver." In return, the ship could take her through any obstruction to any place she wished to go.

Whether it was rock layers that might collapse at any moment, dangerous veins with metal ores, or within magma, "Silver" could navigate freely as if it were merely a phantom.

"Silver" did not require black fire or green fire for propulsion, nor did it need the energy of life like the legendary ghost ships. Every time it "stopped," it would automatically absorb surrounding matter for repairs or replenishment.

The waste and refuse on the ship were also absorbed by "Silver." Occasionally, when Selicia discovered a miraculous place, she would create an empty "air bubble" with Silver as a marker.

When Diggers encountered an air bubble, they knew Selicia had been there, and there might be something of value.

Hence, Selicia was called "the Digger among Diggers."

She would also occasionally stumble into natural mining tunnels.

Underground monsters, the depths of lava, isolated villages, and the fish people of the deep sea... aside from not venturing to the surface world, she went almost everywhere and could meet anyone.

In many cases, Selicia herself did not wish to go to these places.

Such a convenient treasure ship naturally attracted many admirers, and there were those who would want to seize it... but Selicia herself was already a gold-tier Transcendent.

She also had some loyal followers.

They enjoyed this type of free and highly imaginative voyage and were willing to follow Selicia on her adventures.

There were others who wanted to hitch a ride. They typically had places they wanted to go, or people they were looking to find—like a younger brother who left home over a decade ago to become a Digger, an uncle who disappeared while searching for a scorpion’s nest, or a serial killer fleeing from punishment, and so on.

Selicia had a peculiar rule.

Those who wished to board had to tell a story. The story had to be about why they were looking for that person, that thing, or that place... If the story was "one she had never heard before" and she was satisfied with it, they could then embark on a new journey.

If not, they would be kicked off the ship.

Her ship had its poet, who would record all the stories heard by the captain, and everything that happened during their voyages... and compile them into epic poems. These would be distributed in the cities where they stopped for resupply.

And all for free.

Yet, many were not after a particular destination.

Rather, they were smitten with Selicia herself.

It was said that Selicia had exceedingly rare pink-purple hair and a doll-like exquisite face, petite and of distinguished grace. She was a rare and powerful gold-tier Transcendent, reportedly very young too...

In the places she passed through, several children of nobility were bewitched by her demonic charm and boarded her ship, which even included members from Wizard families, Transcendent families, and an offspring of the Dennisiowa royalty... as well as a few young maidens who fell in love with her.

This lent her legend a more magnetic allure, yet also spawned some less favorable tales. Hence, she was also known as "Fairy Artemisia."

It’s a type of poppy with smaller flower paths and delicate petals.

It’s hard to say whether this nickname was a compliment or a derogation.

What really went on aboard her ship, those who had never managed to embark would never know. And besides the crew and "passengers," no one else was allowed aboard... This only added to the mystery.

Based on the epic poems disseminated by the ship’s poet, along with the scant information on who boarded or disembarked at which place, creators let their imaginations run wild and thus were born some musicals, operas, and novels.

The stories were usually centered around a particular adventure, with the main conflict stemming from the emotional entanglements of the many renowned individuals aboard.

They were essentially the soap operas of the era.

And they were serialized...

"...It actually sounds like a rather romantic story,"

Annan murmured softly.

It was pretty normal for Naifertali to sneak a look.

Who knew the playwrights of the Underworld had such a knack for entertainment?

From these somewhat exaggerated scripts, Annan gleaned an outcome that struck him as quite unbelievable:

Though he didn’t know why, it seemed like Selicia was, well, fishing for suitors?

...And it appeared that she had quite the haul.

At that moment, the image of a young man he had seen in the nightmare of the Wolf’s Kiss flashed through Annan’s mind.

The one who was extremely devout and fervently passionate about Vladimir... the ordinary young man with light brown hair, skin pale enough to startle, and a face speckled with freckles.

His cheeks were so thin they caved inwards, his back a little hunched, and he seemed a bit spacey. Even the gaze of his colleagues prompted an instinctive avoidance... Without even speaking to him, one could tell this was a person with severe social anxiety.

And yet, such a man...

Annan closed the book.

He fell silent, questioning himself for a moment.

...Is this really the same person?

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