Chapter 144
“Below?”
No matter how much I shook the compass, the needle didn't change direction.
I walked over to the railing and looked down at the sea.
“Do I have to dive?”
I remembered my experience from the last dive.
Thanks to the coral item, I could breathe underwater, but I had to flee in a hurry after encountering a sea monster.
Of course, now that I'd killed a whale, an even bigger monster, it didn't feel nearly as threatening.
The problem was that I only had one coral item.
Should I abandon this ship and go down alone?
“Ah, don't worry about that.”
As if he'd read my mind, Teach quickly cut in.
“I already poked around with a few things while the captain was away. This ship can dive too.”
“Ah, you did say that last time...”
Come to think of it, this ship had risen from beneath the sea the first time we met.
But one thing still puzzled me.
“Air? How do we breathe?”
“There's some kind of barrier around the ship. As long as you're on board, you can breathe and speak normally. No water gets in either.”
“That's amazing.”
No matter how I looked at it, this ship...
was too good to waste on just the 40th-floor sea.
It would be nice if I could use it on Earth too.
I'd beat up the real Somali pirates and wipe out the sea monsters said to lurk in the Pacific and Atlantic.
Of course, all of it would have to be turned into a documentary.
What if I tried taking it apart plank by plank and moving it?
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Teach went on explaining.
“The moment you leave the ship, though, you turn into a drowned ghost.”
“So that's why they're like that.”
Looking around the deck, I saw the crew had ropes tied at their waists or ankles.
The other end of each rope was tied to the railing or the mast.
'They look like astronauts.'
If that thin line snaps, it's practically death.
It struck me again just how gutsy they were.
“Then shall we go?”
It wasn't the direction I'd expected, but I wasn't too worried.
I had already long since confirmed that, with the Conductor Skill, I could use magic underwater.
More importantly, after I consumed the whale's heart and an oasis formed in my inner desert.
I instinctively knew water would no longer be able to stop me.
“All right, everyone, prepare to dive!”
“Aye aye, Captain!”
At my shout, the crew moved in perfect sync, furling the sails and taking their positions.
“Dive!”
The ghost ship tilted sharply and began plunging into the sea bow first.
Whooooosh!
Rough waves crashed over the ship.
But Teach had been right.
The water couldn't pass beyond a certain point, as if we were inside a transparent glass sphere.
“Be careful. If you go beyond this boundary, we won't be able to find you.”
Despite Teach's warning, I found myself drawn to the edge.
Blue waves stretched beyond the transparent membrane.
Dappled light shone mysteriously through the sea.
It felt like being inside an aquarium.
But I couldn't just keep marveling at it.
Because I still remembered the gigantic eyes I'd met when I dived last time.
If that thing appeared, I'd have to fight it with everything I had.
I kept a proper level of tension as I surveyed the surroundings.
“Captain, look over there!”
Teach pointed off to one side.
Fish that looked like the tuna I'd caught by fishing before were swimming there.
Fish with stones in their bellies that boosted mana.
There was no reason to let them go.
“Let's catch them right now. I'll give you one too.”
“I was just about to!”
I might not have talent for fishing, but hunting was another story.
I turned the tips of my fingers into harpoons and fired shot after shot.
Pssh!
One shot, one kill.
In no time, I had caught more than ten fish.
The fish were hideous, with dozens of eyes embedded in them.
Teach slit them open and took out the glowing stones.
Stones that increase mana when eaten.
“Heh...”
I looked at the stones with a pleased expression.
Just as I was about to give one to Teach as promised,
Flutter!
A parrot hiding somewhere suddenly flew up.
Then, in an instant, it snatched one of the stones and gulped it down.
[Yummy! Yummy!]
“You crazy bird-brained bastard, I've had it.”
In a fit of anger, I stood up with my staff in hand.
“Captain! Hold it!”
Teach, horrified, blocked my way.
“Move, move! I'm going to kill that thing!”
“I-I won't take my share! Just count it as my cut!”
“Hoo, ha...”
I let out a deep sigh and lowered my staff.
“Fine. There are plenty left anyway.”
There was no reason to be stingy and snatch a subordinate's belongings in a place like this.
Besides, I wasn't going to eat it anyway.
I handed one of the remaining stones to Teach.
“Ugh, just take it.”
“Th-thank you! Loyalty, loyalty!”
Teach's eyes welled with tears of emotion.
I divided the remaining stones equally among Chohogi and the Sand Worm.
Crunch, crunch.
Chohogi was nibbling on the stone like a hamster, while the Sand Worm swallowed it in one bite.
Then light burst from Chohogi's body.
“...!”
A sprout twitched, and another leaf grew on it.
Now it had four leaves.
Didn't they say it would bear fruit once one more leaf grew?
I smiled with satisfaction and patted its head.
As for the Sand Worm... I wasn't sure, but it probably got tougher. Or maybe it grew more teeth.
[The Sand Worm claims its EXP pool is large, so it needs to eat more to grow.]
“Chohogi, want more?”
I held out all the remaining stones.
But Chohogi shook its head.
It rubbed its own belly.
It seemed to be full after eating three already.
[The Sand Worm advises that efficiency drops if you eat too much at once.]
“Really? But there are four left...”
Should I eat them?
But it hadn't been very effective last time, so this time would probably be the same.
“Let's keep them for now.”
If I couldn't find a use for them, I could always give one each to the Mage Gallery members as gifts later.
I tucked the stones into my pocket.
***
The dive started again.
The ship began descending deeper and deeper.
At some point, no light reached us anymore.
“Is the pressure okay? The ship isn't going to suddenly get crushed, is it?”
“About that, it seems to be drawing power from my body. Is this mana?”
“Hm?”
Sure enough, looking closely, I could see Teach and the wheel connected by a thick line of mana.
“Isn't this some kind of curse? Like I'll never be able to leave this ship for the rest of my life?”
“Heh, there are plenty of legends like that. I don't mind. I don't need anything from land except books and tangerines.”
“How do you feel?”
“I'm perfectly fine. Maybe because I just ate something good?”
Since he said so himself, I figured I could relax for now.
But the visibility problem was still unresolved.
It was as if this sea absorbed light; no matter how close I brought the torch, it wouldn't illuminate the surroundings.
I pushed my Insight Eye harder, but even that wasn't easy.
“Damn...”
The Insight Eye was, after all, an eye that sensed mana and life force.
But the deep-sea water itself seemed to be steeped in dense mana.
The more I drew out the Insight Eye's power, the more everything around me looked like nothing but black masses—an absurd situation.
In the end, we had to keep descending while trapped in the primal fear darkness brings.
“This is kind of scary...”
Just then.
The compass needle suddenly started spinning again.
Soon enough, the needle pointed in one direction.
“Light!”
There was light there.
A warm, soft light that put my mind at ease.
The ship naturally moved toward that light.
I, too, was drawn toward it as if enchanted.
The closer I got, the more alluring the light became.
At last, when I stood at the bow.
“...Huh?”
I realized the light was hanging from a thin stalk.
And that the stalk was connected to a huge, hideous mouth.
“...!”
Before I could even cry out.
Its jaws snapped shut.
Crunch!
My vision went black, and I felt my body lift off the deck.
Thud.
My headless body collapsed limply onto the deck.
Instead of blood, sand poured from the severed cut.
“Kyaaaah!”
“C-Captain!”
[Squawk? Squawk!]
Teach and the crew, even the parrot, jumped to their feet in shock.
Their expressions were a mix of anger and fear.
“Fire the cannons! Cannons!”
Just as Teach was shouting and about to swing his staff,
Jolt!
My previously limp body twitched and sprang upright.
“H-Huhh...!?”
Teach's eyes widened as if they might pop out.
The crew couldn't even scream, only gaped with their mouths wide open.
“Why are you all so surprised?”
Using the method I'd learned last time, I spoke through my headless body.
“Hkyaaaak!”
“G-ghost!”
“Heh... now you're finally looking this way.”
Teach and the crew were in utter panic.
Yes, this is the proper reaction.
I'd been disappointed when they stayed too calm after half my head got blown off earlier, but now it felt like I'd gotten my revenge.
“Y-you're alive?”
“Of course.”
Still headless, I walked over leisurely and grabbed the railing.
I could see the anglerfish that had swallowed my head trying to get away.
“Where do you think you're going?”
Even though my body had been severed, my consciousness stayed connected.
I focused mana into the head inside its belly and clapped my hands.
BOOM!
A huge explosion.
Its belly burst open, and golden sand gushed out.
The deep-sea anglerfish's corpse was reduced to tatters.
I reached out.
The scattering sand cut through the current and gathered around my neck.
“Ugh, is this spit?”
My restored face was smeared with sticky fluid.
The stickiness in my hair felt especially awful.
I decided I shouldn't use this strategy again.
“That thing's still shining?”
I looked at the anglerfish's corpse.
I could still see the lantern giving off light.
“Grab that too.”
The crew hurriedly moved to cut the anglerfish's lantern free.
A luminous organ about the size of my fist.
Surprisingly, it was classified as an item.
[Lantern of the Deep-Sea Anglerfish]
[Epic]
[Lures targets in the dark.]
[Puts enemies under a weak hypnosis.]
“Hypnosis again...?”
As expected, I kept getting items only some pervert would like.
Naturally, I'm a wholesome, exemplary citizen.
I had no intention of using this on people. At least not now.
“Teach, attach this to the bow.”
“Huh? This?”
“It'll serve as a light, and we might as well catch any fish that come flocking to it.”
“You're quite resourceful.”
A moment later, a bright lantern lit up at the front of the ghost ship.
Sure enough, a few small fish kept gathering there.
“You can handle this much yourself, right? Make sure you keep the stones safe.”
“Yes, sir! Leave it to me!”
With Teach saluting me, my vision turned white.
And at the same time, the familiar book appeared.
It was time to level up—no, to spin the gacha.