When Ed activated his nearly half-dead system, the system's voice sounded again:
[Ding! A Map Detected!]
[Scanning...]
[Scan Successful]
[Happy Treasure Hunting!]
Hearing the familiar, cold yet sweet female voice in his head, Ed subconsciously glanced back and confirmed that the other two had noticed nothing strange. He then returned his attention to the system.
"So that's how it works. If a map meets the system's scanning standards, this prompt will sound for the first time. The same map likely won't need to be scanned again in the future. No wonder many of the maps I experimented with at home a few days ago didn't work. Although this system only has two functions for now, this bastard is really picky."
For instance, a map drawn in the sand with a stick yielded nothing. When Ed tried drawing a detailed local map with pen and ink on paper, light spots appeared, but there was no scanning sound, probably because the system had already registered the base map.
"Now I think it's because the detailed regional map is just an extension of the overall Golden Wheat Island summary. The main Golden Wheat Island map was the one that could be clearly scanned for treasures."
Retracting his thoughts, Ed looked curiously at the map now displayed in different modes. This large world map was not as densely packed with light spots as he had initially imagined. Instead, it flashed with slightly different lights across various areas. These lights varied subtly in color: light white, light blue, dark blue, and gold.
For example, the area they were currently in, the "Blood Gold Alliance," was colored light blue. Thinking this, Ed reached out and clicked on it.
[Blood Gold Alliance
Number of Treasures: White (Large), Blue (Small)
Difficulty of The Area: Easy
Introduction of The Area: The location of the Blood Gold Islands Alliance, The Forces of The Islands Alliance.]
It was completely different from the introduction for a single light spot. However, Ed didn't jump to conclusions. With so many areas on the map, he decided to look at a few more first. He clicked on a neighboring white area that was a darker shade.
[Sabo La Sea
Number of Treasures: White - Medium
Difficulty of The Area: Difficult
Introduction of The Area: None]
The first entry was clearly the area's name. Since the name was written directly on the map, it was displayed automatically. The second entry seemed to indicate the quantity of treasures corresponding to their color level. The third entry's difficulty rating was a rough summary, not as precise as the one for individual treasures. The fourth entry was similar to the treasure entries, supplementing information based on his own knowledge.
For example, because he knew some information about the Blood Gold Alliance, it was displayed as the alliance's location. For the Sabo La Sea, which Ed only knew by name, there was no information at all.
Thinking this, Ed couldn't help but click on one of the golden-colored areas on the map. The gold color meant the treasures here were of that top-tier level. And everyone knows that gold means the real deal.
[Paldor-Dark Realm
Number of Treasures: White (Huge), Blue (Large), Gold (Small)
Regional Difficulty: Dangerous
Regional Introduction: None]
A large number of blue treasures? Did that mean blue treasures were so common here you could practically pick them up like white ones? It seemed very likely this was a place where people with magical powers thrived. I should start my treasure hunting career from there.
Thinking this, Ed couldn't help but touch the ring on his little finger.
If things like this are everywhere, does that mean any random person can become a wizard with magical powers? Especially a gold-level treasure... what could be marked as gold? If a simple blue treasure can be so powerful, what about a gold one? Would it make someone overpowered in one fell swoop?
No information was provided. After all, Ed didn't even clearly know what the blue treasure represented yet. The difficulty had also reached "Dangerous," meaning things weren't as simple as they seemed.
Thinking this, Ed suddenly turned to the two shameless bastards who were still drinking that swill. "Where is this Paldor?" he asked weakly, while tapping a specific point on the map with his finger.
The place Ed clicked was one of the areas closest to their current location. So, this Paldor wasn't terribly far from the Blood Gold Alliance, at least, not on the map.
Hearing Ed's question, Hols walked over and looked. "You're asking about this wretched place? I've never been to Paldor myself, but I've heard people talk about it. The rumors weren't good. It's a sea area with many ruins, popular with treasure hunters. It's dark all year round; you might only see the sun for a short time each day. That's why it's also called the Dark Realm."
Hearing Hols's less-than-helpful answer, Ed just nodded and casually thanked him.
"Worthy of a treasure hunter. You went straight for a place related to treasure hunting. As expected of Marcy's favorite, unlike someone who only knows how to finish others' drinks," Hols joked, the barb landing squarely on Sigurd, who placed his empty bottle on the table with an embarrassed expression.
Ed didn't want to talk with these two shameless bastards, but remembering he still needed them to get back home, he buried his dissatisfaction and waved a hand helplessly. "I was just curious why there's a dark area marked here. F*ck! Not again! Which bastard is steering the ship? Why is it shaking so much!" he spoke weakly, his stomach now sending him more unpleasant signals.
Hols wore a smile of schadenfreude for a moment, but then his expression turned serious and he warned, "If you don't have enough strength, friends, or a proper treasure-hunting group, it's better not to go there. I heard it's very dangerous. Remember, very dangerous."
Ed nodded, waving the back of his hand with a hint of annoyance. "Don't worry, I understand. I'm not as reckless as you seem to think I am."
"That's good."
After Hols returned to Sigurd and resumed their previously half-finished conversation, Ed looked back at the area's introduction. Sure enough, the information entry, which had been blank before, now showed new text.
[Information: The place where the Wastin Empire was destroyed. When the country fell, it used powerful treasures to destroy both the enemy and itself. The resulting spread of power has kept the entire sea area shrouded in darkness for many years.]
"The information just increased dramatically. Just from learning some superficial info, the system supplemented a lot more detailed knowledge. I believe this information is very precious; probably only powerful people know about it. It shows the system's power and importance once again... if only this bastard would stop playing dead, life would be perfect."
The Wastin Empire, huh? I have no information about it. But forget it, this place is definitely not something I should be considering right now. I'll have a chance to learn more in the future. The first problem is dealing with this damn seasickness by any means necessary, and the second is obtaining that magical power. Otherwise, I might not even be able to activate those cards.
Having made up his mind, Ed turned to look at the more detailed maps on the table. "Can I take a look at these too?" he asked, his tone informing more than asking. Even if Hols refused, he wasn't planning to leave unless physically thrown out, which seemed even more impossible.
"Of course, there's nothing secret about them. You can buy them anywhere, anyway."
After hearing this, Ed nodded thoughtfully. There were many maps on the table: some were sea charts, others were more detailed maps of the Blood Gold Alliance's location. However, most were relatively crude, and compared to the world map behind him, both the paper quality and the level of detail were far inferior. One could almost say calling them maps was an insult to the word.
Ed blinked and immediately activated the system. The scanning sound rang out again. After the scan finished, the different maps showed various changes. The sea chart and the world map weren't much different, also displaying blocks of different colors. The small island map, like the Golden Wheat Island map, now had light spots, though only two white ones. Clicking on them revealed no further information.
Only the map of the Blood Gold Alliance was different. This large-format sea chart of the alliance only marked a few important locations for reference, key islands within the Blood Gold Alliance.
Just as Ed was about to take a closer look:
"Clang! Clang!"
The clear sound of a swinging bell came from outside. Ed knew it was the sound from the lookout atop the main mast. The bell ringing from there meant something had been spotted in the vicinity. In simple terms: trouble was coming.
"Something's happened. Let's go out and look... Ed, you can stay if you want. It doesn't make much difference whether you come out or not," Hols said. He then grabbed Sigurd's hand, who had moved to help Ed, and dragged him out of the cabin, leaving the poor guy behind.