Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

The day after the Lone Dark escaped the Grand Duchy fleet. Just before noon.

With the westerly wind, they were progressing smoothly eastward.

“How’s it looking, Mostara?”

Captain Gorick called out to Chief Officer Mostara, who had been scrutinizing the charts.

“With this wind, we should reach the designated area by evening.”

“Over six hours ahead of schedule. That extra time is invaluable.”

Satisfied with Mostara’s response, Captain Gorick nodded with a slight smile.

Although there was no specific deadline, gathering information as quickly as possible and delivering it to the embassy was essential.

No one could predict what might happen today or tomorrow…

It was then.

“Captain! There’s something floating up ahead!”

Nan, stationed at the foremast and scanning the eastern horizon with a telescope, shouted.

Captain Gorick quickly ran to the bow.

Peering through his telescope, it took him a few moments to identify what it was.

“Planks?”

He recognized it, but he couldn’t understand why such things were floating.

“There’s more floating further east!”

Nan shouted again.

It wasn’t just a single plank.

Many more were drifting…

“Mostara! There aren’t any islands to the east, are there?”

“No islands, sir!”

From the bow, Captain Gorick shouted his question.

And Chief Officer Mostara yelled back in reply.

Before he knew it, First Officer Lena had joined him at the bow, observing through her telescope.

She spoke.

“Captain, it seems to be the wreckage of a ship.”

“Ah… so you think the same, Lena?”

Captain Gorick nodded slightly at Lena’s words.

His expression turning grim.

It was understandable.

No sailor ever wanted to see the wreckage of a ship.

They also had enough information to guess whose wreckage this might be.

“Nan! Keep an eye out for any national or naval flags that might be drifting!”

“Copy that!”

If this truly was the main force of the Free City’s fleet as reported, there could be a flag from the Free City or the Free City’s naval flag floating in the water.

Of course, if they found it, it would mean acknowledging a harsh reality.

“Could it be as Duke Helb said, that the main fleet of the Free City was annihilated?”

“Even if that’s true, there might be surviving ships. Perhaps with broken masts or damaged propulsion, unable to move…”

“Yeah, if there’s anyone alive, we should help them.”

Captain Gorick’s thoughts mirrored Lena’s words.

They were sailors.

Regardless of nationality, they would help anyone in trouble at sea.

At that moment, Chef Susie approached.

“Captain, whatever’s out there, it’d be best to eat now, don’t you think?”

Chef Susie’s words were precise.

Even from here, they could tell something had happened in the designated area.

The closer they got, the more pressed for time they might become.

“You’re right.”

Captain Gorick nodded and called out,

“Everyone, take turns and get your lunch! Make sure you eat! Who knows if you’ll get dinner!”

“Today’s lunch is curry! There’s plenty, so fill up!”

Chef Susie shouted, too.

“Woohoo!”

A cheer arose from the crew.

Maybe even in the archipelago region, there was a tradition of eating curry in the navy…

5 PM sharp.

“From around here, the sea’s color looks different…”

Captain Gorick muttered, gazing at the sea from the side.

Of course, varying colors in the sea were common.

Some seas appeared deep blue, while others were more greenish.

But here was different.

“What is this ominous black color…?”

It wasn’t blue. It was black.

And the sun’s setting rays weren’t the reason for it.

There was a clear line where the color changed.

“Captain! There’s an island ahead!”

At that moment, Nin, atop the foremast shouted.

During this time, Nin was on the foremast to keep watch in Nan’s place.

“An island? In a place like this?”

Muttering, Captain Gorick glanced at Chief Officer Mostara beside him.

“There’s no island marked on the map provided by the embassy.”

Chief Officer Mostara said, nodding.

Of course, the embassy’s work was diplomatic.

So the maps they had were over a decade old and hadn’t been updated.

Still, it seemed unlikely that an island would be missing.

Unless one had recently emerged…

Captain Gorick was torn.

There was no trace of the Free City’s fleet in the designated area.

No surviving sailors.

They had seen wreckage along the way.

It was safe to conclude that the fleet was destroyed.

However, they had discovered an island further east.

One that wasn’t supposed to be there.

Should they land on it?

Or even approach it?

Could it be that this island was the reason for the fleet’s destruction?

Suddenly, he shouted an order.

“Hard to starboard! Turn around quickly! Leave this area at full speed!”

“Haaard-to-staaarboard!”

“After a 180-degree turn, full speed ahead!”

At Captain Gorick’s command, the helmsman turned the wheel, and First Officer Lena relayed the order to the engine room through a voice tube.

After completing the 180-degree turn, Nan climbed the mainmast to keep an eye on the rear.

Nin watched the front from the foremast, and Nan took the rear from the mainmast.

Thanks to their training, they didn’t need specific instructions.

But as soon as he climbed the mast, Nan began shouting.

“Captain! Something is surfacing behind us!”

A report that made no sense just from hearing it.

Captain Gorick dashed to the stern, reaching it in seconds.

Right beside the ship, bubbles were rising from the sea in vast amounts, so close that there was no need for a telescope.

Seeing this, Captain Gorick’s skin prickled.

He sensed that something dangerous was coming.

“Lena! Prepare for boarding combat!”

“Copy that!”

Clank.

A chain stretched up from the depths of the sea, entwining itself around the stern of the Lone Dark.

The crew immediately tried to pull it off, but it wouldn’t budge.

And then, it appeared from the depths.

A ship.

Its sails were torn, all three masts broken halfway up, and large holes gaped along the ship’s sides.

Near the bow, the name of the ship was visible.

Even Captain Gorick recognized it.

“Flagship of the Free City Fleet, the Pororock…”

Captain Gorick muttered, his voice trembling.

The Pororock was the flagship of the Free City Fleet. Meaning it always sailed with the main fleet.

The fact that this ship had sunk.

And the fact that it had appeared from under the sea.

“A ghost ship?”

First Officer Lena murmured as she finished preparations for the boarding combat and moved to Captain Gorick’s side.

That seemed to be the only reasonable conclusion.

Every sailor knew ghost ships existed.

Even the Lone Dark had once fought the infamous ‘ghost ship Ruri’.

But…

“A ship that was still ‘alive’ just a few weeks ago, becoming a ghost ship? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Gorick answered.

Yes, ghost ships existed.

But they didn’t become ghost ships so easily.

While there were exceptions, like ‘Ruri’, ghost ships were said to form when a vessel sank to the bottom of the sea and over the span of decades, or even centuries, fused with the spirits of the crew who perished with it.

At the very least, it didn’t happen in just a few years.

And certainly not in just a few weeks…

“Could that island… be creating ghost ships…?”

“Lena…”

Lena’s whispered words aligned with what Captain Gorick had been thinking.

“I haven’t heard of anything like it either…”

“No, surviving comes first!”

Lena may not have known either… but Captain Gorick reminded himself of what was most critical at this moment.

The Pororock, as a flagship, was massive.

It was larger than the Lone Dark, an ocean-going cruiser, and its deck sat slightly higher.

Ropes were flung from the Pororock onto the Lone Dark.

As they slid down the ropes onto the Lone Dark…

Snap!

Just then, the crew of the Lone Dark slashed the ropes.

Causing those attempting to board to fall into the sea.

“They’re zombies…”

“Yes.”

Captain Gorick and First Officer Lena confirmed.

The ghost ship Ruri had been crewed by skeletons.

It seemed not all ghost ships were the same.

Again and again, ropes were cast down only to be cut, with the boarders plunging into the sea each time.

However, it seemed even the ghost ship was losing patience.

Dozens of ropes were thrown all at once.

Cutting all of them was impossible.

Finally, zombies set foot on the deck of the Lone Dark.

Some wore the uniform of the Free City Fleet.

The crew of the Lone Dark noticed this.

At first, they showed pity.

But that sympathy soon vanished.

“Show no mercy! If they take us, we’ll end up like them!”

Captain Gorick shouted.

It wasn’t out of reason.

He had voiced the words that rose from deep within him.

He himself didn’t fully understand what he meant by ‘if they take us’.

Would it happen if they were dragged to the ghost ship? If their spirits were ensnared? Or… if they were killed?

The crew of the Lone Dark, under First Officer Lena’s and Chief Officer Mostara’s leadership, fought on the aft deck.

Before the battle began, Captain Gorick had given First Officer Lena one absolute order:

“Do not let anyone die”.

Therefore, any crew member with even the slightest wound was immediately pulled back to be healed with potions.

The fighting was limited to the aft deck, making this possible.

After a while, as he continued to command the defense, Captain Gorick tilted his head slightly.

The Lone Dark’s defensive line was by no means impregnable.

Yet, the zombies weren’t charging all at once.

In fact, they wouldn’t advance beyond a certain line.

“A line…? Could it be…”

Captain Gorick leaned over the side of the ship to look at the water.

The Lone Dark was bound by the chain from beneath the sea and had stopped moving.

The engine had also been shut down when they’d decided to prepare for boarding combat.

The Lone Dark was sitting right where the color of the sea changed.

“The zombies only move within that dark part of the sea? They can’t cross it?”

Captain Gorick was convinced.

There was a chance of victory.

But he also had concerns.

For now, the Pororock was stationary.

But if it began to move and dragged the Lone Dark into the dark sea…

The wind was still blowing from the west.

With the Pororock’s sails torn, it couldn’t catch the wind.

But there was no way to know if the Pororock’s wind engine was operational.

Captain Gorick hurried to the speaking tube and issued his command.

“Run the engine at full throttle! Burn it out if you have to!”

“Aye, sir!”

Chief Engineer Gunno’s voice rang out in reply.

“Lena! Cut that chain connecting us!”

Captain Gorick shouted toward the aft.

First Officer Lena glanced briefly at Captain Gorick, then at the chain binding the Lone Dark to the ghost ship Pororock.

It was clear to anyone that this wouldn’t be easy.

Captain Gorick had already seen how the crew had tried to pry off that chain without success.

However…

Lena nodded.

She turned to Chief Officer Mostara, fighting alongside her.

“Mostara, cover me!”

“Understood!”

Without hesitation, Mostara charged into the throng of zombies.

Cutting through them like a raging storm.

His quiet, steady demeanor as a navigator was nowhere to be found; he now moved like a vengeful spirit.

Even the zombies were drawn toward him, distracted just enough.

At that moment, Lena dashed forward.

And leaped.

With her sword gripped in reverse, she brought it down on the chain, channeling her momentum into the blow.

She chanted as she struck.

“”

Sword and wind-attribute magic struck the chain simultaneously.

Snap.

The chain binding Pororock and the Lone Dark shattered.

With a graceful landing, Lena returned to the Lone Dark.

Its engine, pushed to full power, surged forward.

Carrying them swiftly out of the blackened waters.

In the next moment, the zombies at the aft collapsed.

Lena, Mostara, and the rest who had fought at the stern could only stare at the scene, stunned.

Only Gorick seemed to realize the connection between the dark waters and the zombies.

They had simply trusted him and followed his orders.

But that trust had saved them.

“Did we… make it?”

“Somehow, we did.”

Chief Officer Mostara muttered, and First Officer Lena echoed his sentiment softly.

“You did well.”

Captain Gorick praised, coming up to the stern to commend those who fought.

At that, those at the stern finally sat down.

The reality of their survival sank in.

“Captain, how should we report this?”

Lena asked as she stood back up.

She was just as uptight as Mostara.

“Report exactly what we saw.”

“Is that wise?”

“I don’t know. But given what we encountered, it needs to be reported. I feel… it’s something humans would be better off avoiding. They might need to close off the area and have representatives from several nations discuss it.”

Captain Gorick sighed deeply as he spoke.

It might not be the right decision, but if they didn’t report it and something terrible happened… that would be a regret he’d carry for life.

For Gorick, there was no choice but to report what they’d seen…

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