Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 333 Beans

"You, 55 cards..."

The captain clutched the card, his face twitching while displaying a wrathful expression. Due to his extreme rage, his eyes bulged out, making them look even more like fish eyes.

The light from the skull lantern above was dimming, and more blurry figures of spirits began to appear in the shadows in the cabin. Intense spiritual pressure swept in from all directions, but the golden light traces on Shard burst into even brighter radiance at this moment.

It was as if golden embers were kindled on his body, and even Miss Princess, standing behind him, could feel more warmth.

"You cheated, so I won. Now, let us leave."

Shard said again through gritted teeth, his expression amiss because he was indeed too hungry.

"No, it was you who cheated."

The captain's voice grew even more sinister and terrifying, blending with the fading light, as if it echoed from a profound abyss, hoarse and deep.

"Where did I cheat?"

Shard retorted.

"This card, it has your scent!"

The card was violently thrown at Shard, its tremendous force turning it into a sharp blade that slashed through the air, directly targeting Shard's head.

Because he was sitting and someone was behind him, Shard couldn't dodge; he could only manipulate the card to stop. However, such an action undoubtedly proved that the card was under his control.

Genesis: Balance landed on the table, and the captain let out a laugh.

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The foul air spread around, and as the sailors grew restless, the captain's figure grew taller, his skin wrinkling and turning paler, his body skin turning a dull green due to the open clothes which revealed a white belly. Most of his body was covered with fish scales, but shadows appeared on his back, resembling a high ridge with scales. His ugly head gained more fishlike features, with large, bulging eyes and constantly quivering gills on either side of his neck, transforming him into a true merman.

[You have contacted "Desecration."]

"Does the opponent carry the power of an Evil God?"

[This one is favored by an Evil God, in other words, a God's Favored One.]

The rotting, swollen fish face looked at Shard, its mere ugly visage possessing transcendental power, but Shard also looked back at it:

"You cheated, truly despicable, there's no doubt about that."

"You also cheated, and you dare call me despicable? I think no explanation is needed here."

Neither party denied the point of "cheating," but this meant the game could not yield a winner.

The captain, now appearing in his true form, did not want to let Shard go by any means. After the recent gambling round, it seemed to develop more interest in Shard.

They locked eyes with each other, neither speaking, and it was only when the Evil Spirits around them began to stir quietly again that the captain spoke:

"Reveal your last set of cards. If you bust, it counts as your loss. If you don't bust, I'll give you one last chance to play a game with me."

Shard nodded, looked down at the card in front of him, and flipped the first one, which turned out to be the Queen.

"Hmm?"

That meant his intense efforts were completely unnecessary, as if Shard hadn't thought about making the opponent cheat, flipping the card directly would have won him the game.

"The Queen?"

The captain also did not expect this outcome:

"You see, Fate always likes to play with people, and all we can do is passively accept it. Let's gamble one last time."

Swollen hands tossed a small object across the table toward Shard, which continuously spun on the table; Shard stopped it and realized it was an ivory dice. Unlike the twenty-sided dice commonly used with Roder Card, this one was a cubical six-sided die.

"You throw it yourself. Whatever number you throw, that's how many dishes you eat. After you finish eating, if you can still calmly tell me you want to leave, I will let you go. Otherwise, you and everyone here this time, including the woman behind you, will stay. This time it's absolutely fair, I can swear to the gods."

The Evil Spirits looked at Shard, who twisted the die, and in his mind a voice clearly stated it was just an ordinary object, there was no conspiracy this time, it was a true gamble of luck.

"Can I help him eat?"

Just as Shard was about to throw the die, the girl behind him suddenly spoke.

"Of course."

The captain said.

Shard turned his head in surprise to look at her, her hair had completely turned red, one hand on the back of the chair, she looked at Shard with green eyes, looking downward:

"I remember what you said, when you can't hold on, it's my turn. You go first, if you fall, I will continue to eat until we leave."

"Alright."

Her Highness the Princess was by no means the frail woman found in fairy tales; Shard truly admired her as a strong, independent, and decisive Female Sorcerer.

The dice tossed carelessly into the air, all eyes fixated upon it. As it descended, it bounced twice on the table and stopped, displaying the number 3.

"After eating three dishes, if you still can speak, I'll let you leave. I swear to the gods, this time it's absolutely fair," the captain said.

"Alright."

Shard nodded his head, reassessed his physical condition, and then pulled the nearest fish soup toward him. All these were dishes of Desire, and appearance made no difference, so choosing one dish over another mattered not.

Nobody spoke; Shard quietly finished the first dish. Then, supporting himself on the table with one hand and clutching his chest with the other, he bent his head and started retching violently towards the ground. It wasn't that he was too full, but rather that his hunger had reached a certain limit, ensuring his body instinctively protected itself.

"Shard."

Miss Princess placed her hand on Shard's shoulder. Shard looked up, trying hard to smile, then shook his head:

"I'm holding up for now."

That was indeed true for if he could not have, he would have burst into Divinity when the dice landed.

The second dish consisted of crystal-clear purple grapes. Since Shard had come to this world, he'd rarely eaten fruit due to always struggling just to get by—his wallet had not been thick enough to consider such luxuries.

As he picked up a grape, thoughts of home came flooding back. He stuffed the grapes in his mouth, swallowing even the skins.

His hands clenched tightly on the table, he closed his eyes and held his breath. At this moment, even breathing seemed to intensify the sensation of hunger. Dizziness blurred his vision, and Shard felt the entire world spinning as he struggled to suppress the desire to eat like mad.

Even though he knew that eating more would only make him hungrier, his body still wailed in its desire to eat. He now dared not even recall how he used to eat before. Any scant memory of food would make him feel like he was going to lose his mind.

From the current situation, once he lost control, it was highly probable that he'd turn and eat Miss Princess because she was the only living person around, likely tastier than either the Evil Spirits or the fish-head people.

"There's one dish left."

The captain's voice sounded like a corpse being dragged across the sand. The disgusting slickness reminded Shard of jelly, then of decaying rotten meat.

He opened his eyes, his hand trembling as he reached for the plate in front of him.

"Do you feel it?"

"What?"

"When your hunger reaches a certain limit, the consequences of the craving to eat aren't as simple as just eating the pretty girl behind you,"

Even now, she was chuckling. Sometimes Shard felt that even if the world were to end, the voice in his head could still emit such a beautiful sound:

"I see... I understand now."

The last dish he got by surprise was yellow baked beans, a common food in the breakfasts of harbor cities and sometimes served in bars as a snack.

Shard picked up a bean, his trembling hand paused, and then he closed his eyes and put the bean in his mouth.

With each chew, he keenly felt a certain "limit"; his tolerance for hunger was nearly exhausted.

He picked up another bean and placed it in his mouth; the discomfort in his stomach miraculously vanished completely. Instead, a hunger stemming from his soul took over, compelling Shard to eat something else. His body's primal instincts were gradually eroding his will and nothing else seemed to matter anymore. His senses were searching for something to eat, and if he really made up his mind, the existence of the Outlander would likely disappear from this ship, and a horrifying figure would emerge.

As Shard put the third bean into his mouth, he paused for a while, then collapsed headfirst onto the table, motionless.

Nobody spoke. The Evil Spirits watched Shard, the captain watched Shard, and even Miss Princess watched Shard.

They were all anticipating him to sit back up, then turn and eat the young lady behind him, while Miss Princess was hoping for him to sit back up and tell her with a smile that it was all over, that they had won.

But Shard just lay quietly on the table, perfectly still. Miss Princess had even lost all sense of time, as the Shard she saw seemed to have lain there for thousands of years.

Without sadness or tears, she didn't know what had happened to Shard, but she knew that as a Second Ring Sorcerer, Shard had given everything he could, and now it was her turn:

"Now, it's my turn!"

The young lady's voice was hoarse, yet the emotion it carried was so fiery. Her slightly reddened eyes were bright, even though her only companion had fallen, the Five-Ring Sorceress remained resolute.

The name Princess implies royalty, but this princess was absolutely not the feeble, laughable woman of the stories:

"Now I'll stand in his place, eating all the food. If I finish, all those you took on this cruise, you will let go,"

"No problem," the captain nodded, the Evil Spirits stirred restlessly, but they could not violate the rules to attack the woman directly.

Miss Princess, looking down at Shard who lay on the table, then walked to his right side.

She reached out, picked up a bean from the plate, and then with her eyes closed, threw it into her mouth.