Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 6195: Soul Machine Utopia (63)

Chapter 6195: Chapter 5206: Soul Machine Utopia (63)

The Ancient One’s body began to tremble again, as if in anger or fear. A deafening buzzing sound emanated from its body, while some tentacles in the rear continued to slap the ground. Although they couldn’t understand what it was saying, it was clear from the commonality of intelligent life that it was cursing.

Dexter realized and pointed at the object on the ground and then at the grave. The Ancient One suddenly calmed down, forming its tentacles into a ball again, but this time it extended the ball forward instead of leaning its body forward. Shiller thought this might be their equivalent of the human thumbs-up, indicating the Ancient One was praising Dexter’s intelligence.

Dexter’s expression turned serious as he focused on the abstract drawing on the ground, fearing the worst scenario might come true. This alien race wasn’t the secret hidden within the mountains; they left only graves, and what caused their death was some terrifying monster against which they were powerless.

After calming down, the Ancient One started drawing again. It depicted a bunch of things resembling coral reefs, but Dexter recognized them as undersea rock pillars. Then, it drew some square shapes on them, seemingly representing their buildings, and marked all these buildings with pentagrams, the emblem of their race.

Then it drew a single pentagram with some diagonal lines inside, which Dexter guessed might signify a particular identity within their clan. The Ancient One connected this pentagram to the monster, watching Dexter’s expression to gauge whether he understood.

Dexter pondered for a moment, uncertain if the Ancient One meant that some among them summoned this monster or if they were the ones who created it.

Subsequently, the Ancient One drew a line connecting the monster to the city and then erased the city with a tentacle, likely representing the destruction of their city.

The Ancient One also pointed to the evolution diagram of the human race that Dexter had drawn, just reversing it, turning a large pentagram into a small one. Dexter instantly realized that the Ancient One was implying they had devolved, similar to humans reverting to monkeys.

The pentagram was also wiped out, symbolizing that their race was exterminated by this monster.

The process was relatively clear, yet Dexter couldn’t quite grasp one point, so he drew Earth and looked at the Ancient One. The Ancient One immediately connected Earth to the pentagram, signaling that all this happened on Earth.

In other words, about 250 million years ago, a monster summoned by the Ancient One wiped out their city, somehow leading to their devolution and eventual extinction as a group.

Dexter sighed, for even as a biologist, this was somewhat beyond his imagination. However, suddenly the Ancient One became agitated again, slapping the ground with its tentacles and buzzing, indicating it was cursing something else.

After a while, it drew a shape that was very familiar to Dexter; it was an octopus or at least a cephalopod. However, besides the octopus, there were many things he was not familiar with—tentacled creatures with crab claws, bizarre species resembling a crinoid with a flail at the top, along with a jumble of other things.

Although Dexter wasn’t an expert in paleontology, he considered himself quite knowledgeable in this field. He was very certain that these were not Earthly life forms, at least not naturally evolved ones.

The implication seemed to be that the Ancient One’s extinction was also related to these monsters; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so angry. But it only stayed angry for a while before beginning to ponder again.

It first examined Dexter carefully, gently touching his pants with its tentacle, seemingly studying the material. Then, with great apprehension, it looked at Shiller.

It was immediately drawn to the equipment at Shiller’s waist, coiling its tentacles into a ball and extending them toward itself. Shiller understood this might be a gesture of supplication, possibly wanting his waist equipment.

Shiller stepped forward to Dexter, indicating for him to remove the equipment. Dexter hesitated, checked Shiller’s equipment, found no machine guns like the Bat Cat’s, nor other weapons—only a jet and shield—so he handed over the belt.

The Ancient One took the equipment with its tentacle and examined it meticulously, then gave them a thumbs-up. Dexter touched his nose guiltily. This wasn’t human technology, so praising them was misplaced.

However, the Ancient One might have considered the cat as another intelligent life form. It made a pleading gesture as if wanting to keep the equipment, having realized the shield could provide warmth. Although the shield was only large enough to protect its head, perhaps only its head feared the cold the most.

Shiller nodded, noting he was dressed warmly enough not to feel cold, with or without the shield being immaterial. Besides, the Bat Cat carried more than one set of equipment, so he could just ask for another later.

Now Shiller needed to discuss more in-depth matters with the Ancient One. He bit Dexter’s pant leg and dragged him outside.

Dexter said helplessly, “It’s so cold outside, where do you want me to go?”

But Shiller still won, and he walked out of the tent. However, he wouldn’t go far alone, and he started a fire at the pit they dug earlier.

As soon as Dexter left, the cat revealed its tentacles. Then they saw the Ancient One retreating frantically, as expected, it wasn’t the form of an Earth cat that he feared, but rather the ability to sense Nya’s strength.

Although the Ancient One was invincible in this world, there was nothing they could do about Nya, the enemy from the sky. Shiller didn’t believe that the extinction of the Ancient Ones didn’t have Nya’s involvement, that was a very chaotic era, and Nya was an expert at taking advantage in chaos.

If the Ancient One knew it was Nya’s doing, it wouldn’t just be fear, but also anger. However, this Ancient One didn’t start swearing like before, which proved he possibly didn’t know the truth, only knowing that the Outer God was formidable, something they couldn’t provoke, which is why he was afraid.

Unfortunately, the Ancient One was an alien race, untainted by the Outer God, so there was no way to communicate using Nya’s power; they could only communicate through gestures.

Shiller used his tentacle to point at the monster that exterminated the Ancient One civilization, then at their city, drawing the outline of a mountain around the city and pointing outside. The Ancient One showed expressions of terror again, desperately slapping the mountain with his tentacles, even mimicking human head shaking.

Shiller just looked at him fixedly, and after a while, the Ancient One’s tentacles drooped down. He couldn’t sigh like a human, but his wings folded in, indicating his low spirits.

Shiller connected the humans in the evolution diagram to the mountain and also connected a pentagram to the mountain. The Ancient One patted the ground with tentacles, seemingly expressing refusal, but after a while started to narrate extensively, finally pointing helplessly at the pentagram-shaped grave outside.

Shiller knew a deal had been struck. Humans would help the Ancient One save his companions in the grave, and in return, they would accompany humans into that black mountain. The Ancient One knew what lay in their city, and he was reluctant to go, but clearly understood that now he and humans were in the same boat; if that hidden threat wasn’t resolved, both races would face extinction.

Then Shiller pointed at the monster pattern on the ground and then at the Ancient One. The Ancient One confirmed by curling his tentacles into a ball, so Shiller understood that this Ancient One likely died in the first Shuggos rebellion.

The timeline of this race is as follows. Billions of years ago, they arrived on Earth, diving straight into the sea to begin development. They fought the Star’s Favored Clan and other aliens, eventually occupying most of the oceans and part of the land.

But trouble arose when they created a monster to further expand and lost control over it, leading to a rebellion. During the first rebellion, both sides engaged in a bloody battle, many Ancient Ones died, but the monster was suppressed.

But it wasn’t over; just after suppressing the rebellion, the Ancient Ones fought with other races, and just after that fight ended, the monster rebelled again during the ice age, a few million years ago, the second rebellion, which ultimately led to their extinction.

If this Ancient One died in the first rebellion, he is indeed ancient among the Ancient Ones, almost equivalent to a World War I veteran among humans. And if the graves outside are full of veterans, that’s undoubtedly good news and will make their actions much smoother.

Shiller thought for a while, first of all, they definitely couldn’t take the Ancient One back to the previous base, even if the professors and students could accept it, the sailors definitely wouldn’t. Also, once the blizzard stops, communications will resume, and surely someone will spread this news, then the army and reporters will rush over, and who knows how many might die on the way.

But one tent alone wouldn’t be enough to accommodate so many veterans, constructing a sub-base here is imperative, but establishing a base requires equipment and resources, which would need the help of Professor Dale and Professor Frank.

The only option is to bring them here first to communicate directly with the Ancient One, then gradually move resources here under the guise of geological and biological surveys, building a warm shelter for the Ancient Ones. The Ancient Ones would likely help, and there’s no doubt that the body strength of deep-sea creatures would suffice.

Dexter returned quickly and said, “I’m ready to proceed according to plan; setting off back right now. Are you staying here waiting for me or going back with me?”

Shiller actually wanted to go back together, because Dexter needed a witness to prove his story true, given that everything sounded so shocking, other professors might not accept it so easily.

But the Ancient One’s tentacles had already quietly reached out and grasped the tip of Shiller’s tail; it was obvious that he had guessed this human and cat might leave, and naturally the Ancient One didn’t want to be left here, as once the fire goes out, he might freeze to death.

Shiller was a bit troubled, deep-sea doesn’t actually get cold, the environment the Ancient One lived in was at least four or five degrees above zero, but this Antarctic minus twenty degrees blizzard, even with an unretreated body they might not withstand it, let alone now that they’ve degenerated so much, even if they wrapped up everything, they couldn’t step out of the tent’s door.

Ultimately Shiller chose to sit beside the Ancient One, indicating he would stay, and Dexter left with his pack. As soon as he left, Shiller impolitely leapt onto the shoulder of the Ancient One, and then started sharpening his claws on its barrel-like body.