Chapter 130 - Pearl Hunters

"You ask me who hunts soul pearls and why? All right, I'll tell you what I know, but I must warn you that some of my information is unreliable. Don't take my further words as truth, even I haven't fully understood the topic yet." Said Sven.

"I understand, and before you start talking about pearl hunters, I want to ask you something. When I fought in the Purgatory zone and took the soul pearl for myself, at that moment, there were many cracks in the sky, as if it were glass. Then I saw boundless darkness, and the hand of some creature tried to take the pearl from me." Calmly Wain said.

"You were able to escape and get out of the Purgatory zone with a portal. That's impressive." Sven said in amazement.

Wain looked at Sven puzzled and said, "What do you mean ran away? I cut off his arm and chased him out of that space. It was the only choice. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had time to activate the portal and get back."

When Sven heard this, he was stunned for a few seconds.

'It seems that Wain is even stronger than I imagined. However, I'm being silly. His soul is powerful and under a veil of mystery and mysticism. Hmm, I need to watch this man's progress closely. It is not often that someone worthy appears among them. He can overwhelm the whole world with his power. It's very rare' Thought Sven.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you. Honestly, I didn't expect you to be able to fend off an attack by a pearl hunter. Maybe you got lucky, and he was pretty weak, though I don't rule out a factor like your strength." Sven said.

"Do you know who it is? Who's after the pearls of the soul?"

Sven shook his head, "No, unfortunately, I don't know that. The thing is, it's impossible to pinpoint the beings who do this for a multitude of reasons. For one thing, pearl hunters are not any race, nation, kingdom, or group of people.

In most cases, they act alone, as if they were thieves of some sort. However, this rule applies only to the weakest soul pearl hunters. The stronger ones band together in groups and even entire organizations with their own ranks, duties, and leaders."

"I see, but how do they sneak into other worlds while still being outside the zone? That creature I fought was outside the zone." Asked Wain.

"There are two options here, but only one of them can actually be applied in practice. Pearl hunters most likely move into Purgatory zones using portals." Sven muttered.

"Is that possible?"

"Sure, why not. You were able to get home through the portal."

"Yes, but I used the soul pearl, and I was helped by the watcher of this area of Purgatory. Without that two conditions, I wouldn't have been able to get home." Said Wain.

Sven shook his head, "That's not exactly true. Even though the person who was the territory watcher had special powers, that doesn't mean he's the only one capable of activating portals to other spaces."

Wain nodded his head and said, "I agree with that. But, isn't the soul pearl a prerequisite for activating a portal?"

"No, the soul pearl can be used for that purpose, but that is not its only function. In this case, the soul pearl works like a battery. It transfers energy to the portal so it can be used."

'That's right, the first time I talked to Agnes, she suggested that I somehow create a soul pearl. She probably meant the two of us to accumulate enough energy to activate the portal. Hmm, but I couldn't do ten years of energy harvesting.' Thought Wain.

"I see. The soul pearl can be replaced with some other energy source and activate the portal. But is entering another space that easy? I needed the help of an area watcher, even though I had the soul pearl and the portal ready to use." Proclaimed Wain.

"No, it's not easy. I'd say it's incredibly difficult. It takes several conditions to move from one space to another using a portal, each of which is quite difficult to meet." Sven said and held out his index finger to start a countdown.

"First, you need materials to create the portal. Creating a portal is very difficult. You need a skilled craftsman, a true professional in the business. But getting the necessary materials is not an easy task either.

Second, the portal must be set up. If this is not done, you will not move into the space you want but into the void, where your body will be split into atoms in a few seconds.

Third, it takes a tremendous amount of energy to activate a portal, as I said earlier. It might take about a quadrillion Primary Chronicle souls to activate a portal for a short transition between two spaces." Said Sven.

"Oh, those are too gigantic numbers..." Said Wain.

"Yes. Of course, a lot depends on the quality of the portal and on the skills of the person who set it up, but you will need a lot of energy in any case."

"However, there's another big problem. If the space doesn't want to take you in, you'll have to force your way through. In that case, you need even more energy, and if you're not powerful enough, space will drive you out, and you might even die."

"I see. You said there was another way the creature could get into another space."

Sven nodded, "It's almost impossible, but if the creature can move while outside the boundaries of spaces, then it can walk almost anywhere. But, that's only possible if the creature has extremely rare and specific abilities or is incredibly powerful."

"That kind of power and ability is impressive. Now tell me the most important thing. Why do soul pearl hunters do this?" Asked Wain.

"Of course, but it's quite difficult to establish their true purpose. They always try to operate as stealthily as possible, even the weakest and most inexperienced of them. Because otherwise, those who can move through spaces will find them and destroy them in an instant." Said Sven.

'Hmm, so there are spaces in the World of Darkness where such beings dwell. Perhaps the vast zones of the World of Darkness contain areas comparable in size to a continent. I wonder if the inhabitants of the zones of the World of Darkness can invasion my world?' Wain thought.

Sven went on to explain, 'First of all, the most straightforward and understandable reason why pearl hunters do this is the trivial trade. One soul pearl, even of a tiny area of Purgatory, can fetch an astronomical amount of money.

Secondly, there is a large amount of energy hidden in the soul pearls, and some creatures can use this to become much stronger. However, with the right abilities and tools, anyone can do it.

In these two main reasons, I am fully convinced, and you can trust me. But what I tell you next is more theory and hypothesis than truth. I hope you understand that."

Wain nodded.

"Perhaps the hunters are stealing pearls for a more specific and larger purpose. They are likely conducting experiments on the pure energy stored in the pearls. I also believe that the leaders of the hunters may be trying to use the pearls to create their own spaces." Sven said.

He sighed and continued, "But they probably haven't succeeded yet. It's too difficult to create a whole mini-world, even if it's the size of a nature reserve or an island. It should not be confused with the empty spaces that can be created with certain abilities or items. 

There is nothing in those spaces, whereas Purgatory zones have the right environment for life. To create a Purgatory zone requires not only the energy of a soul pearl but also the power of Purgatory, which is almost impossible to use for anything."

"Do they have any other purpose?" Asked Wain.

"Yes, I assume that with this energy, the hunters are also trying to deliberately drive monsters or the inhabitants of the zones of the World of Darkness into other zones. I think they do it for the purpose of some kind of experiment, but most likely, it's all about getting stronger and more unique souls." Sven pronounced.

"Hmm, if they suddenly collide monsters from two spaces, only the strongest or the one who was able to adapt to the new conditions will survive. If you repeat this process time after time, you can get really amazing results." Said Wain.

"Yes, it's like genetic experiments, only in the format of gladiatorial fights. No pity or rules, just brutality, and bloody rivers." Sven pronounced.

'Hmm, those monsters that attacked us after the appearance of the white pillar of energy looked insane. It seemed strange to me because even the weakest monsters shouldn't have that look. There's nothing left in them but brutality and animal instincts, but now I'm beginning to understand the situation.' Wain pondered.

Wain believed these monsters had randomly escaped from another space and entered his world when the sky cracked. 

They were most likely test subjects in the pearl hunters' experiments. However, Wain did not rule out the possibility that these monsters were members of some extremely aggressive race.

'I thought then that a dark monster, that is, a pearl hunter, would appear, but it seems they could not get into my world. Perhaps the cracks in the sky recovered too quickly. However, given the size of this world, it would be complicated for them to cross the spatial barrier, even if they really wanted to..' Wain thought.