Chapter 124
“How am I supposed to deal with that....”
I pointed a finger at the harpy circling overhead.
I closed one eye and gauged the distance, but it was hard to aim since it kept moving.
Besides, Teach was hanging from its leg.
If I messed up, Teach might get smashed into pulp.
“The sand's too heavy, and I don't think it can reach that far....”
I turned to the other pirates.
The sailors who had finished off all the harpies that fell to the ground were also staring blankly up at the sky like I was.
“Would a gun even reach that far?”
“Probably not. Maybe a cannon could.”
“Then should we try firing a cannon?”
“Sounds good. Cannons, ready!”
“What are you doing? Everyone, stop!”
I hurriedly cut in and interrupted their conversation.
Are all pirates like this?
“But Captain, there’s no way to reach that far.”
“How about someone climbs the mast and throws a rope?”
“The mast? The one lying there broken?”
When I checked, the ship’s only mast really had snapped in half at some point.
We were in a hopeless situation, with no idea how we were supposed to keep sailing.
But looking at the mast gave me an idea.
What we needed was something that could reach all the way to that sky.
“Chohogi!”
Chohogi, understanding my intent, moved.
Its giant mud hand grabbed the broken mast.
Yes, just like how it normally gripped a spear.
“…!”
Chohogi let out a battle cry and hoisted the mast onto its shoulder.
The sand-and-mud muscles all over its body bulged taut.
Seeing that face with a muscular man's body attached to it made me feel a visceral aversion, but it couldn't be helped.
Bending its waist back, Chohogi stretched out its arm with that spring-like force.
KWA-A-A-AANG-!
The sound of air being torn apart.
The enormous wooden spear shot straight up through the storm.
Kieeeek?!
The harpy leader must have spotted the wooden spear flying at it.
I could see it panicking and flapping its wings frantically.
That was when it happened.
Teach, hanging there with his shoulder pierced by the harpy's claws, suddenly twisted his body and opened his mouth wide.
Chomp!
Teach bit hard into the harpy's leg that was holding him.
Kyaaaek!
The harpy leader let out a ghastly scream.
Its wingbeats faltered from the unexpected pain.
Its attempt to dodge hesitated for just a split second.
And then, the very next moment.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
The spear Chohogi had thrown pierced clean through the harpy's body.
The harpy had become a chicken skewer.
The sheer impact made its body burst apart.
Blood and black feathers poured down like rain.
“That actually worked...?”
I never thought it would bite its way in and create an opening.
Whatever else, I had to give it credit for its guts.
“Ah, crap, this isn't the time.”
With the harpy dead, Teach, still hanging from it, began to plummet toward the deck as well.
From that height.
Whether he hit the sea or the deck, it would be instant death.
“Caaaaptain! Please save me!”
In Teach's screaming hand was something.
A lantern glowing blue that had been hanging around the monster's neck.
I was genuinely impressed that he'd bothered to grab that even in that state.
I reflexively reached out and turned the surrounding odds and ends back into sand.
A few pirates whose belongings had turned to sand by accident looked ready to cry, but we were in a hurry, so it couldn't be helped.
What came to mind was the sand rope I'd used earlier to save the sailor.
“Catch!”
The sand twisted together in midair to form a rope, and that rope tangled again to form a net.
A giant sand net hung in the air.
Thump!
Teach's body fell onto the net.
The net rippled and safely caught Teach.
“Phew....”
I let out a sigh of relief and lowered the net onto the deck.
“How is it?”
“Oh, man.... Don't even ask. I feel like I'm dying.”
Teach groaned and pushed himself upright.
His shoulder had a hole in it, blood was gushing out, and his whole body was a wreck.
But a pirate's grin was on his lips.
Teach wiped at his mouth and held up the lantern he'd refused to let go of even in that state.
“Waaah!”
“Treasure! Treasure!”
“The captain found treasure!”
“I’m the former captain, you brat!”
“Ah, right.... The former captain stole the treasure!”
The crew cheered and rushed at Teach.
I chuckled as I watched the scene.
Pirates really were a bunch of weirdos.
But at the same time, they were reassuring.
After all, they were my subordinates.
“The rain’s stopping too.”
Swish.
When I looked up at the sky, the rain was stopping as if it had never happened.
Brilliant sunlight began pouring through the clouds.
Catching that light, a giant rainbow arched over the horizon.
“Oh....”
I stared blankly at the sight.
It was so beautiful I even forgot, for a moment, to take out my phone and snap a picture.
Before I knew it, Teach, now bandaged up, came over beside me and said,
“Is this your first time seeing a view like this?”
“Yeah.... It’s really amazing.”
“This is what makes adventure worth it.”
I nodded and looked around.
Meanwhile, the ship was in a sorry state.
Most serious of all was the mast.
The mast, basically the heart of a sailing ship, had snapped clean in two.
And there was no way to join it back together.
Chohogi had already used that mast as a spear.
“Can we keep sailing like this?”
When I asked, Teach scratched his chin with a troubled look.
“It'll be troublesome, yes. But we'll have to do something. If we scrape together all the materials, we should be able to make a temporary mast.”
So a mast really was necessary.
But if I carved a mast out of stone, the weight would obviously ruin the ship's balance.
I pondered for a moment, then an idea suddenly came to me.
“How about rowing?”
“For dozens of kilometers? By rowing? The new captain is a demon....”
“Does the captain have no heart...?”
“It'll be very hard. Human strength alone won't be enough to overcome the currents.”
“Hmm....”
The pirates immediately erupted in protest.
But what if the ones rowing weren't the pirates themselves?
I snapped my fingers.
The mass-produced sand clones rose to their feet on the deck.
“How about these guys? They can work 24 hours a day, and they're much stronger too.”
“Indeed. With this, there's a chance.”
The mass-produced sand clones were obviously reluctant, but when I glared at them with a scary look, they reluctantly went to row.
I also handed Teach the whistle I'd once given to Chohogi.
“Here, make sure you don't get mutinied.”
“If those guys mutiny, I don't think we'd ever beat them.... But all right.”
Teach took the whistle.
And the next moment, my vision turned white.
A signal that the tower was expelling me.
At the same time, a familiar status window appeared before my eyes.
Along with three books shining in rainbow colors.
“Ah, this must be....”
Apparently, it was time to level up.
Then the follow-up alerts were already predetermined.
[Congratulations on clearing Floor 42 on EXTREME difficulty.]
[First-clear bonus applied!]
[Rank 1 bonus applied!]
[2 Skill Book Enhancement Tickets awarded!]
[Would you like to enhance? (There is a chance of destruction on failure)]
[On failure, a ‘Tower Secret Draw’ ticket will be granted.]
“This is tough....”
Enhance, or give up.
Someone else would probably choose to take the rainbow instead of enhancing.
I thought about my rainbow skills.
Skills like Weathering, Sand Worm, and Mirage, each one powerful enough to change the entire game.
Was there any need to gamble?
But I was different.
Because I had a wheel as a safety net, and another chance besides.
I’d learned from the last time.
The wheel you get as a bonus for failing an enhancement might actually be an even better reward.
“A simple skill isn't what I need anymore, anyway.”
Of course, rainbow skills are powerful.
But it didn't seem likely that those skills would solve my problems.
A Tower Re-Climb Ticket, or all sorts of rare materials for making scrolls.
At this point, those things were actually more necessary.
Of course, there was no guarantee I'd get exactly what I wanted, but that was true of skills too.
More than anything, I believed in my luck.
“All right, let's enhance.”
I made up my mind and pressed the button.
[Attempting enhancement.]
[…….]
[Enhancement failed!]
“Yeah, there's no way it would work on the first try.”
But I wasn't disappointed.
In fact, the corners of my mouth rose.
[Obtained 1 ‘Tower Secret Draw’ ticket.]
This reward was something I wanted too.
“One more time.”
I still had one chance left.
Since the base reward came out as a rainbow, it seemed I'd been given two enhancement chances.
I boldly burned through the remaining chance as well.
[Attempting enhancement.]
[…….]
[All enhancement chances have been used up!]
[The reward will be destroyed.]
[Obtained 1 ‘Tower Secret Draw’ ticket.]
Two tickets gained from two failures.
Two more chances were back in my hands.
Then I noticed an unfamiliar number floating beneath the wheel.
[Mileage: 3 / 10]
“What is this?”
It was clearly a system I hadn’t seen last time.
If it was mileage, was this some kind of pity system?
Looking closer, the number was 3, just as it happened.
It looked like the sum of last time's one spin plus the two chances I had now.
“They're even giving me a pity system?”
Then there was even less reason not to go for enhancement.
I hummed as I spun the wheel.
The wheel spun at a furious speed.
[Tower Re-Climb Ticket]
[Elixir]
[Spirit Essence (High)]
…
[Papyrus Set]
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
Countless spaces flashed by rapidly.
“What should I aim for? A re-climb ticket is still the best choice right now, right?”
I wanted both of them.
It'd be nice if I could spin the wheel about ten times.
At last, the speed gradually began to slow.
The needle stopped on a golden slot.
[Obtained a Gold Skill Book!]
“A skill book?”
It had been ages since I'd seen a gold-rank skill book.
I placed my hand on the skill book without hesitation.
The skill book vanished into light.
[Conductor]
[Passive]
[The mana conduction rate between particles increases.]
“I'll keep it for now.”
It was hard to tell what effect it had just by looking at it.
Since it was passive, it probably improved efficiency or control.
Since I couldn't check it right away, I'd set it aside for now.
“All right, next ticket.”
I spun the second ticket.
“Re-climb ticket, re-climb ticket....”
Though it looked like I could even draw divine beast blood from the wheel, in the end that was still a one-time use.
It was more important to secure a long-term source.
A re-climb ticket was indeed the best choice at this point.
“Please!”
I spun the wheel, pouring all my desperation into it.
Rattle-rattle-rattle-.
The sound of the needle turning was like a heartbeat.
The wheel slowly began to stop.
It passed by magic stones, elixirs, and skill enhancement tickets.
Click!
[Tower Re-Climb Ticket (One-Time Use)]
“Kyaaah!”
I let out a scream without even realizing it.
I did it.
It really came out.
Unreal luck. It had been worth boldly forgoing the rainbow.
“As expected, I'm the kind of guy who can make it.”
I smiled as I looked at the ticket in my hand.
With this, I could visit the 20th Floor again.
I could recover the faith I'd scattered last time and get World Tree sap too.
It was the perfect plan, really.
With a light heart, I was flung out of the tower.