Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Through the Black Mist
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“Mmph……! Mmph……!! Mmph……!!”
A massive burlap sack wriggled beside Woojin as he stood in the Yein-ho's wheelhouse.
“Just hang in there a bit longer. If I want to bring along someone who doesn't want to come without killing them, this is the only way.”
Woojin patted the squirming sack.
“Alright. Shall we get going?”
Hisiiiiiing……!!!
Pulling the wheelhouse lever released steam from both sides of the ship, and the anchor embedded in the seabed quickly rose.
Bwooooooom———!!!
With the blaring horn, the ship slowly began to move.
“What the?! The Yein-ho is moving!!”
“What's going on?”
“Who the hell is doing that……”
As it left the harbor, the people of Baekhwa Valley began to murmur.
“We don't know yet if it'll be worship or curses.”
Though he said that, a strange sense of anticipation lingered on Woojin's face.
'Fame, huh……'
He thought as he increased the ship's speed.
“A perfect reward to grab right before leaving the Dark Forest.”
-……Urghhh!! Blech!! Urrghh…… Ack……
Setsuna clung to the deck railing, letting out guttural groans nonstop, until she collapsed on the floor, too exhausted to vomit anymore.
-Master…… I think this is as far as I go……
Woojin let out a hollow chuckle at her labored words.
“Why'd you have to stand on the deck then? You could've just flown.”
-B-but……
Setsuna pouted, her voice trailing off weakly.
-It's my first time on a ship.
“Flying means you're still on the ship anyway. Isn't it the same?”
-No way!! It's totally differ…… Urp…… Blech……!!
“You okay?”
Luen awkwardly smiled and pressed on Setsuna's back with his index finger.
“Setsuna, romance is nice and all, but the sky's getting darker by the minute. If you want to snap out of it, start flapping those wings.”
No sooner had he spoken than the deck plunged into darkness as if someone flipped a switch.
“Light.”
Luen lit the way, but the pitch-black gloom persisted.
-Ugh…… I feel sick.
“Still seasick?”
-No. It's this fog. It reeks horribly.
Setsuna pinched her nose with both hands, shaking her head as if breathing was a struggle.
“You guys…… you're gonna die.”
In that moment, a voice came from behind Woojin.
It was Harterwin the captain's son, Chason, his face peeking out from the mouth of the burlap sack.
“Not content with kidnapping someone who said no…… now you're heading into the Black Mist? If you're gonna die, die alone—why drag me into this?!”
“Because you're the key.”
“……What?”
“This ship. Your family built it, right?”
Chason stared blankly at Woojin's words.
“It was in an old tome. The sea clan that commanded gods was cursed, driven from the ocean, their lands swallowed by darkness.”
Kriik— kriik—.
The ship creaked and rocked.
“Your clan built this ship to pierce the Black Mist and return to your homeland.”
“H-how do you know that?”
“I saw the comments.”
“What the hell does that mean?!”
Woojin smirked at Chason's baffled expression.
In truth, figuring out how to pass through the Black Mist wasn't hard.
Keruga's guide had been up for years, and plenty had tried following it.
'The community was full of posts beyond Keruga's—not just his.’
But like Keruga, they hit an unexpected snag.
Even knowing how to pierce the Black Mist, getting a ship to ride was the problem.
Beyond Keruga's guide, community posts mentioned the Bolton family too.
“Only the blood of the Bolton family and this ship are the keys to piercing the Black Mist.”
Chason bit his lip, his face flushing as if something dawned on him at Woojin's words.
“……So many people came begging to take them into the Black Mist. I was sick of it.”
Players who'd sought him out.
“Awful bastards. They thought nagging me would get them the ship……”
He might've suffered horrors.
Baekhwa Valley allowed casual NPC killing, after all.
“Even if they took the ship, it'd be useless……”
He bit his lip harder.
“One trash stood out. A guy named Keruga was different. He never got the Yein-ho, but he tried every trick to challenge the Black Mist.”
“And? What did he show you?”
“A broken sword.”
“……A sword?”
“It was definitely my father's sword.”
His pitiful, teary face looked on the verge of sobs, but Woojin only looked baffled.
“That's it? I thought he brought a heart or something. You think your father died for that reason?”
“Father would never drop his sword!”
“You didn't see it yourself.”
Chason's eyes trembled.
Maybe he'd been waiting for someone to say it.
“Don't trust people too much. Someone told me: the key doesn't have to be alive.”
Woojin said coldly, recalling Keruga's note.
“Are you threatening me? Then why keep me alive? Why not kill me and take me?”
“Your father would grieve.”
“……!”
“Forgot what Setsuna said? No smell of death on this ship. Your father might still be out there somewhere.”
“……How can you be sure?”
Woojin smirked.
“Sure? Hell if I know. That's why it's unexplored—no one knows.”
Druruk—!!
The wheel spun rapidly.
“So let's go find out.”
Chaaaash———!!
Waves crashed against the hull.
“What's waiting inside.”
[Kahira's Contract]
▶ Collect more related information.
'Linked to Kahira's quest. Which means this place might be tied to the rifts too……'
That implied dungeons could exist.
Woojin checked the alerts, excitement bubbling as he steered the ship.
“Master!! Monsters ahead!!”
Kwaduduk……!!
Luen, standing on the deck, urgently shouted and nocked an arrow.
Shuuuuwook———!!!
The arrow sliced through the air, embedding into something underwater.
[Kieeeek———!!]
A harsh screech erupted from beneath the surface.
-Mud sharks!!
Setsuna yelled, gripping her open tome.
“T-turn the ship……! If those monsters climb aboard, we're all done for!!”
Chason screamed in terror, but Woojin only accelerated.
“Luen, keep them from touching the ship! Setsuna, find spots with light around us!”
“Got it!”
-Yes!
“You, grab the wheel.”
“……What?”
“No need to do anything. If the inscription on the ship is right, it'll handle itself once light appears.”
“W-wait! What are you saying? What if I turn the ship……?!”
Woojin untied the sack and grinned at Chason.
“Then you'll really die by my hand.”
Chason fell silent at his cheerful tone.
“Damn it……!!”
Chason gripped the wheel.
Kang—! Kang—! Kwang———!!!
The shark pack closed in instantly, slamming into the hull repeatedly.
Chaash———!!
Sharks burst from the water, landing on the deck.
[Kruk……! Krrruk……!!]
Their forms were grotesque.
Not mere sharks—their bodies sprouted arms and legs, eyes blood-red like diseased beasts.
[Kyaaaak———!!]
They charged Woojin, jaws agape.
Kwajik—!!
A gray shark clamped onto Woojin's nape with all its might.
[……Kruk?]
But its teeth couldn't pierce his skin.
“Not enough to break the barrier, I see.”
Peok—! Peok—!!
Pububububek———!!
Mana bullets flew at the shark flailing against the surrounding barrier, mouth still open.
The iridescent projectiles blasted the shark's body away.
-You okay?! Master!!
Setsuna, new to combat, yelled with wide eyes.
“Setsuna, I'm fine—protect Chason.”
-Got it!
Setsuna flapped to the wheelhouse on Woojin's order.
[Kyaaaak———!!]
[Krrruk———!!]
Sharks leaped onto the deck from both sides.
Hwaruruk———!!
Jjeok———!!
In an instant, the sharks on the left ignited, while those on the right froze white.
[Burning Flames]
[Area fire damage applied]
[Cold Wave]
[Area freeze damage applied]
Raising his sword, Woojin cleaved through the writhing shark pack in a flash.
[Gray Shark defeated.]
[Gray Shark defeated.]
[Gray Shark defeated.]
……
Despite the nonstop alerts, monsters kept leaping aboard.
EXP piled up fast from the horde, but joy was short-lived.
Kwang—!! Kwang———!!!
Unable to handle Woojin, the sharks stopped boarding and rammed the hull instead.
“Hey!! Do something!! It's hard to hold the wheel!!”
With sharks pounding both sides, Chason clung desperately and yelled.
“At this rate, the ship'll break!”
That was when—
-Master!! Light!!!
A glimmer pierced the darkness with Setsuna's cry.
“Chason! Turn the wheel!!”
“But……!”
“Don't worry. Trust the ship your father sailed.”
Woojin touched the mermaid figurehead at the bow.
Swishhhhha———!!!
A faint light flowed over the deck, and the ship cleaved through waves at terrifying speed.
Kudangtang—! Kudaddang———!!
The sharks clinging to the sides were flung off by the Yein-ho's acceleration.
The enveloping fog thinned bit by bit.
As it cleared, the sea calmed—no more monsters, waves stilled.
“Phew…… we survived.”
Luen slumped exhausted on the deck and said to Woojin.
“Too early to relax. This is just the beginning.”
Beyond the fading mist, as he'd predicted, a stark white lighthouse appeared.
“What's that?”
“Who knows. Time to find out.”
Woojin gazed at the wrecked ships before the lighthouse and murmured lowly.
“Whether that light is fortune…… or not.”
As Chason docked the ship at the harbor, the trait appeared.
'Adventurer triggers on arriving at new regions……'
It hadn't in the Black Mist, but fired upon reaching the harbor.
Why?
'The mist was just a smokescreen.'
Woojin scanned the surroundings thoughtfully.
“Everyone, stay sharp. That sea back there wasn't the unexplored part. The real deal starts here.”
They nodded at his warning.
“I…… I'm not going. I'll stay here.”
As people disembarked, Chason spoke in a voice thick with fear.
“Stay if you want. But don't count on the ship sticking around.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sorry for dragging you here by force, but I promise one thing.”
Woojin faced Chason squarely.
“As long as you're by my side, I won't let you die.”
“……”
Chason bit his lip, staring back.
“Damn it!”
Stepping off, he yelled bitterly.
“You dragged me here on your own—send me home no matter what!!”
Level 35, but total points around level 20.
His strength, agility, and vitality—key for combat—were pathetically low.
Not firepower; more like dead weight.
But……
'What the hell is with that ridiculous Dexterity?'
A whopping 105 points.
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