Chapter 38 The Call of Innsmouth

"Inn...s...mouth..."

"Inn...s...mouth..."

Like a sleep-talking murmur, low and melodious, it echoed again and again in Gunie's mind.

The Demon Whale rocked gently with the waves. On the sleeping Gunie's face was a hint of tension and fear.

After a moment, a trace of struggle emerged on his face.

Then, Gunie slowly opened his eyes, the look of fear and pain gradually fading from his face.

The low murmuring call of "Inn...s...mouth..." also faded away.

"Huff..."

Gunie let out a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief.

He got out of bed, put on his clothes, and pushed open the window of the captain's cabin.

What met his eyes was the deep fog surging under the sea breeze.

Gunie checked the time; it should be just past five in the morning. At this hour, the light of dawn was completely obscured by the thick fog, leaving no trace at all. The sea surface was entirely a world of eternal darkness and weirdness shrouded by the night.

Amid the gentle sound of waves, eerie howls came from afar from time to time.

Not a few creatures in the ocean cast hateful and greedy glances at the Demon Whale.

Among them were strange creatures that stealthily approached.

In the past few days, several crew members had been injured.

One had nearly been dragged into the ocean by a fourth-tier tentacle octopus while asleep.

Fortunately, it was discovered in time, or the Demon Whale would have lost a crew member.

As the window opened,

the cool but somewhat oppressive sea breeze poured into the room, easing Gunie's nerves a little.

Over the past ten days or so, the Demon Whale had been sailing steadily toward the Misty Shadow Archipelago.

Along the way, they had encountered seven or eight battles of varying sizes.

Each time, it was a small-scale attack by the Fishmen and the Sea Serpent Clan.

Fortunately, with Gunie in command, the battles were dangerous but without mishap.

After about ten days of deep-sea sailing, the group was now very close to the Misty Shadow Archipelago.

And the closer they got to the Misty Shadow Archipelago, the thicker the fog became, and the more eerie the sea surface grew.

Often, unusual sounds of water could be heard, but nothing could be seen around the ship.

Looking at the deep, oppressive, dark sea horizon,

even with his source power and dark vision, Gunie could only see up to a hundred and fifty meters around the ship; beyond that, he could see nothing.

Gently rubbing his temples, Gunie allowed his slightly tense nerves to relax a little.

"That strange call really makes it hard to rest well. Fortunately, it has been gradually weakening these past few days."

"Innsmouth!"

Gunie pondered the name of this Cthulhu creature in his mind.

The object that triggered the "Call of Innsmouth" in Gunie was the lucky treasure he had obtained—an altar chain resembling a deep-sea anchor.

The day after acquiring the altar chain,

Gunie had made demonic contact with it and gradually nurtured it, hoping to obtain more information.

And indeed, he had obtained some scattered related information.

However, that same night, while resting in a cross-legged sitting position, Gunie fell into a deep sleep without any warning.

Normally, Gunie would not fall asleep unless he actively entered a sleep state.

But the strange thing happened just like that.

After falling asleep, Gunie had a dream, so vivid it felt as if he were experiencing it himself.

In the dream, on a terrifyingly large ship, Gunie looked down to see an endless ocean.

In the ocean, swarms of fishmen, their forms indistinct, swam slowly, their destination an ancient, magnificent temple deep in the ocean, beyond words.

That temple issued a faint call to Gunie: "Inn...s...mouth..."

Again and again.

Finally.

Gunie felt that there lay his ultimate destination in life.

Then Gunie jumped off the ship.

In that instant, Gune woke with a start.

Then Gune was horrified to discover that he was standing at the edge of the Demon Whale's railing, about to leap into the sea.

At that moment, Gune suddenly understood.

He had touched and deeply sensed the strange power in the altar chains, and had been infected by some peculiar force.

That Cthulhu creature called 'Innsmouth'—he didn't know what level of existence it was, perhaps the 'Dominator' level, or the higher 'Old God' level—had issued a faint call to him.

For anyone else, this situation would have been a devastating blow.

If it were someone else, having contacted the call of such a terrifying Cthulhu creature, they would probably... begin to mutate physically, growing fins, gills, and a tail, then respond to the calling Innsmouth from the depths of their soul, breeding the most fanatical faith from the soul's core, and finally leap into the sea to return to its embrace.

Fortunately... Gune had undergone reincarnation under a similar but different form of power, and possessed a certain resistance to this strange force.

On the first day, under the call, Gune nearly jumped into the sea.

On the second day, Gune locked all doors and windows.

When he woke with a start, Gune found himself sleepwalking, seemingly searching for a way out.

On the third day, Gune found himself lying on the floor.

On the fourth day, Gune didn't even get out of bed.

...

Today is the eleventh day.

The call had weakened to the point where it could only give Gune nightmares.

It was already impossible for the call to make Gune take any actual action.

'The mysterious power of this Cthulhu creature is increasingly wondrous and terrifying.'

'I wonder when I will be able to master this unspeakable, dreadful power.'

Gazing at the dark and gloomy sea fog, Gune pondered silently.

'The call is getting weaker. In another seven or eight days, it should be fine.'

'It's good for me to shake off this eerie, mysterious call soon.'

'Falling into unexplained slumber every day is not a good thing, especially in this foggy sea.'

'Captain.'

Just as Gune was pondering,

a figure swiftly approached through the fog on the ship.

It was Martel Cole, that ever-energetic young man.

Martel, who came to Gune's window, had not changed much in his physical outline compared to before.

But the strength of his body and his vigorous blood and qi were growing daily.

Though still somewhat inferior to Gune, it was already quite terrifying for a normal person.

Even the third-class sailors could no longer match Martel in strength.

During this time at sea,

with Gune's orders and Martel's help in catching fish, the three chefs had been freely supplying Martel with roasted fish of all kinds.

The gluttony talent made Martel not picky at all.

Ordinary food still cares about taste. But the fish in the sea contained source power in their meat, and Martel accepted them all.

Whether raw sliced fish, boiled soup, grilled, pickled, fried, or dried salted fish,

as long as it was edible, Martel could stuff it all into his stomach.

And the effect was surprisingly good.

Although Martel was only at the second level,

he vaguely possessed the combat power of the third level.

This made Gune reconsider whether Martel's gluttony talent had mutated.

'What is it?'

Gune said softly, looking at Martel.

'The first mate asks you to come to breakfast now; he has something to discuss with you.'

'Oh?' Gune's brow twitched slightly, then he nodded. 'I understand.'

Then Gune looked ahead into the depths of the fog.

'The Misty Shadow Islands should be here by now!'

Afterward, Gune gazed into the deep sea off the side of the Demon Whale. After staring for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly.

'I always have a sense of foreboding. Have I been targeted again?'