chapter 57
57 – Third Floor, Navy Formation.
Just because he’s old doesn’t mean he’s weak.
With the soul system’s correction, even an old man with lost muscles can exert the same strength as a young man.
This characteristic stands out among Earthlings, whose abilities are standardized.
‘Don’t let your guard down just because they’re old.’
She looked like an old woman, but who knows how strong she might be.
Welcomed her with a tense state.
The old woman introduced herself as Abella.
Blue eyes and faded blonde hair.
It was obvious she was a Midlander.
‘Another miss.’
Better than those who ruin the team atmosphere, but still felt disappointed as she wasn’t the type of companion they had hoped for.
‘…If only a lucky Earthling came up? That wouldn’t be so bad.’
The time spent idly on Island No. 3 is getting longer.
Is there anything that could be a variable?
I pondered, but no matter how much I thought about it, luck was the only answer.
I don’t know how effective it will be.
We explained the structure of the third floor to Abella.
“You mean we have to cross the sea?”
“Yes. We have to go to Island No. 10, where the treasure is buried.”
It was advantageous for players to cooperate as much as possible, so unless we did something foolish, we planned to travel together.
Abandoning someone because they seemed unhelpful was not a choice Yuki or I wanted to make.
‘I’d rather kill 100 trashy b*stards.’
We showed Abella the map and the chronicles.
Seeing it once was much better than hearing it a hundred times.
Abella stared blankly at the sea.
It was so dark that she couldn’t see well, but what was she looking at?
“It reminds me of the old days.”
Abella, lost in reminiscence.
She quickly came to her senses.
“We need a boat, right?”
“We already have a boat.”
I wanted to show it right away, but given the time, it was inconvenient to take it out.
On an island without sunlight, you couldn’t see an inch ahead.
“You have a boat?”
“Yes.”
I added a note, fearing she might think it was just a small sailboat.
A large ship, I said.
“Then why are we here? From what the young people say, it seems we should head to Island No. 10 immediately.”
“Even though we have a ship, we don’t know how to operate it. No matter how much we looked, it was impossible.”
If it were a car, we would have tried it right away.
The difficulty of driving often lies more in traffic rules than in the act of driving itself.
‘No one would hesitate to drive if they were alone on the Autobahn.’
But it wasn’t a boat.
Steering a boat felt different from driving a car.
It was daunting to attempt it.
What if the boat broke down in the middle of the vast ocean?
Honestly, I couldn’t handle it.
So I stayed here.
Players coming up from the second floor, the White Bone Pirate Crew seeking revenge.
They were aiming for both sides.
“Sailing is impossible, huh…”
Abella grinned as she continued.
“I think I can help with that.”
* * *
As soon as dawn broke, I took the boat out of the inventory.
“I thought nothing would surprise me more than the Tower of Struggle. But you surprise me like this.”
Abella chuckled, rubbing near her heart.
A large ship suddenly appearing in an odd space was a bizarre sight that would startle anyone unaware.
“Is sailing really possible? Truly?”
“If you just handle the basics, it’s definitely possible.”
Yuki’s face lit up brightly.
It was an understandable reaction, as she had been itching to go out to sea for the past two weeks.
Abella imparted the knowledge needed for sailing to us.
It was more like a skill than knowledge.
‘The White Bone Pirate Crew’s sailboat doesn’t have an engine. It ultimately relies on the power of the wind.’
Simply unfurling the sails doesn’t make the boat move forward.
The crew needs to coordinate well to gain speed.
Otherwise, it will just drift in place.
“Do you understand?”
“……”
I lost the will to respond to Abella’s words.
I glanced at Yuki.
Yuki pressed her lips together and remained silent.
She shifted her gaze to Hikari.
They wore similar expressions.
‘We’re screwed.’
Since coming up to the third floor, they had only done simple tasks.
Carving ice, mining magic stones.
So, no one doubted Yuki and Hikari’s intelligence.
There hadn’t been a situation that called for it.
‘They weren’t easy friends.’
They weren’t as smart as they seemed.
“…I thought I explained it quite simply, is it difficult?”
Abella looked at the two with a face full of disappointment.
“T-The Special Combat Unit doesn’t need to know this stuff. As long as we close the rifts well, everyone’s fine….”
Yuki mumbled something.
It was an excuse not worth listening to.
“It’s very different from driving. There’s quite a lot to think about.”
“You’ll find it easy once you adapt.”
“Is it possible?”
At Hikari’s question, Abella stiffly averted her gaze.
“…I can’t be sure. But we have to do our best.”
Abella looked at me.
Her eyes were full of hope, which was slightly burdensome, but I didn’t avoid them.
“Ryuin-kun.”
“I understand.”
I explained confidently.
Abella’s expression hardened by the second.
“You’ve completely misunderstood.”
“…….”
Everyone has different talents.
‘I’m still a national university graduate. I’m not stupid enough to be treated like this.’
Unfortunately, the college entrance exam was of no help in operating the ship.
“It’s impossible to set sail right away anyway. We need to get the coordinates and the life story from Island No. 3.”
“That’s right. We have plenty of time. If we study and train until then, we’ll be able to sail.”
“Someone we need might come up too.”
“Maybe a mid-level officer from the navy will come up.”
There were high expectations for the player gacha.
“I was in the navy too. Retired a long time ago though.”
“Really?”
“I was the first woman in the kingdom to reach quite a high position. Because of that, I was abandoned by my family. Well, it wasn’t a bad life.”
Somehow.
It seemed like she knew a lot.
“Grandma Abella.”
They moved to Island No. 2.
Since the day had begun, it was time to start the work.
Hikari handed a pickaxe to Abella.
“Since you’re the youngest, you can mine the magic stones with this.”
“?
It was so natural that she didn’t realize something was wrong for a moment.
Yuki looked at Hikari.
“Boss? Why?”
“I wonder if that’s the right thing to do.”
“Everyone has their own tasks. We have to do it together.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Something other than mining, maybe another task will come up?”
Hikari said shamelessly.
There was no immediate plan, just a desire to escape from the automatic mining of magic stones.
“You’re doing all sorts of things.”
“Hehe. It’s fine. I’m not an old woman who can’t move. I can do this much, so don’t worry too much.”
Abella swung the pickaxe.
Slowly but steadily, she struck the magic stone chunk.
“It looks precarious.”
I told him he didn’t have to overdo it.
“I’ll handle it. Go about your business.”
It’s not like I’m whipping him like a slave.
If it gets tough, he’ll take breaks as needed.
We conquered the dungeons on Island 2 and Island 3.
We didn’t obtain the coordinates.
The probability was close to abysmal.
“I think I understand why there’s a fight to take over the islands.”
If you’re lucky, you can quickly get the coordinates or the chronicles, but it’s not easy.
To increase the probability, you need to secure the number of dungeons.
One dungeon per island.
Naturally, the gaze turns outward.
At that moment, the sound of cannons was heard.
Boom-.
It was a familiar direction.
“Coming again?”
Even after being beaten so badly?
“Do these b*stards have no learning ability?”
A group doesn’t always act rationally.
The interpretation of information varies depending on the time lived.
“Isn’t there a reason why they call it armchair theory?”
Moreover, there are no proper communication tools here.
The final decision-maker has to judge based on what the subordinates say.
The words of the middle-ranking officers are important.
The nuance changes depending on how they convey the message.
“Tsk tsk. They should just give up.”
The pride of the pirate crew.
They couldn’t give it up.
They sent more troops to somehow manage the situation.
‘There might be a true strong one.’
We can’t let our guard down.
From the perspective of the Skull Pirates, they might be confident in their victory.
That’s why we sent Hikari first.
She possesses the strongest superpower when it comes to infiltration missions.
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone particularly strong.”
“Don’t be fooled by appearances.”
“I’ve seen a lot. Mana experts, top-tier warriors. By our dimension’s standards, fifth-grade superhumans. There were none of that level.”
Hikari was convinced that the enemy’s power was weak.
“It’s better than last time, but they’re not at the level to beat you, Ryuin.”
“Really?”
“I don’t think a player capable of beating you would belong to such a shabby pirate crew in the first place.”
When survival instincts kick in, agility stats reach the pinnacle of a supreme warrior.
It’s almost impossible to meet a strong one of similar level.
The probability of a supreme-level player existing in the Skull Pirates is almost as low as the probability of an Earthling ascendant being born.
“Huff, huff. What on earth is this? It sounded like cannon fire.”
Abella arrived at the beach, panting heavily.
She seemed startled by the cannon sound.
“Pirates!”
Abella struggled to lift her head and confirmed the pirate flag in the distance.
Then she burst into a fit of rage.
“All pirates must die. Those trashy b*stards!”
She screamed like a senile old woman, foaming at the mouth, her anger palpable.
“In this vast sea! To think such vermin exist…!”
“Breathe. Breathe, grandma.”
“Please, lend me a ship.”
“……”
She’s a crazy old woman.
Her eyes were wild.
‘Absolutely unstoppable.’
I quickly took out the boat and handed it over.
The raft of the Ice Spirit.
It was an upgraded raft.
Abella climbed onto the raft and started rowing.
“For the Kingdom of Bellada!”
“……”