Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Ghost Fleet Assault
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The moment the old man voiced his doubt, all eyes turned back to me. Well, well, look at this.
They could fight among themselves all they wanted, but I couldn't just let suspicions about me slide with a smile. I replied coldly.
"If you don't trust me, then don't leave it to me. You can just head back the way you came."
The immediate frosty response prompted the others to immediately berate the old man who'd raised the question.
"Hey, Elder Jang, what kind of talk is that to someone who's come to help?"
"Yeah, really."
As the situation calmed down a bit, I stood up and said,
"Rescuing any survivors comes first. We'll recover the bodies of those who've passed once conditions allow."
I agreed on the matter of the remains myself. Saving the living took priority over the dead, after all.
Once I stated my priorities, most of the gathered people nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that seems like the right order."
"We'll proceed like this."
With that, I made a slight revision to the contract and handed it to them.
"Just added the agreed-upon details."
After confirming the revised contents, I stood up.
"Then let's get started right away."
"Please take good care of it. We never dreamed an outsider would show up."
"I owe a debt from this last time, so if we can't launch the boat, those guys will skin me alive."
The people each spilled their personal troubles to me. I listened as I contacted the Busan Coast Guard. The boat had already arrived.
It was what they called a P-class patrol vessel. No complaints there. For just two of us, using a larger ship would be a waste.
As soon as we boarded, the boat set off toward Tsushima Island. Staring out at the sea, I spoke to Han Sang-ah.
"Come to think of it, you haven't said a word since we met those people."
Han Sang-ah nodded at my words.
"Yeah."
"Any particular reason?"
Han Sang-ah replied,
"Not really. They weren't listening anyway."
"Man, you're cold. They all had such pitiful stories."
At my words, Han Sang-ah turned her gaze toward me.
"You didn't seem all that interested either."
She picks up on the sensitive stuff quick. Even if we spotted survivors, I'd abandon them if conditions didn't allow rescue.
That's why we made the contract that way—a safety net. Only the two of us would enter Tsushima Island. The Coast Guard boat would drop us off and withdraw immediately.
What we prioritized on the island was entirely up to us.
"No need to worry."
"Does it even matter?"
"It gives us an excuse that we at least tried to honor the contract."
This job wasn't from the government or a corporation. And unlike Gyo-dong Island, there was no command center since we weren't with a company.
"By the way, your skills look a bit improved."
At my words, Han Sang-ah glanced at her sword and replied. Her grip tightened.
"A little?"
She seemed slightly offended. But by my standards, "a little" was accurate. And honestly, she felt like she was heading down the wrong path.
"Han Sang-ah, don't think about prolonged battles."
"What do you mean by that?"
Han Sang-ah's gaze fixed on me.
"Looks like you saw me fight and got charmed by attrition warfare, but it doesn't suit you."
Han Sang-ah's abilities shone in short bursts. Exchanges lasting hours or days, like mine, didn't fit her.
"Focus on severing the enemy's neck in an instant."
The greatest strength of electricity manipulation was its terrifying speed. Lightning-fast strikes weren't just a figure of speech.
"What if I fail?"
I drew my thumb across my throat.
"Means the enemy's better than you. Game over. Prolonged fights end the same if they're superior anyway."
The only difference was how long it took to die—an irrelevant distinction.
"Aim to finish foes in 30 seconds max, no matter what."
"...I'm not sure I should trust your advice."
Back in that world, knights who did real deeds would line up just to hear a word from me.
If she wanted to kick away fortune that fell into her lap, I wouldn't stop her.
"Fighting at full throttle every time would be..."
"Who said full throttle every time?"
I'd never told her to go all-out every fight.
"To end it quick without wasting energy, you need accurate analysis. That applies to attrition too."
Short battles required judging if you could kill now. Attrition, if you could endure. Both demanded enemy analysis.
"..."
After hearing me out, Han Sang-ah fell into thought. Silence stretched on. And I figured it would continue.
"Ghost ships, huh. Yeah, why not."
In the thickening fog, ominous silhouettes loomed in the distance. The fishermen wouldn't have landed on Tsushima unless they'd lost their minds.
So they must've been abducted at sea. Meaning the enemy operated on water too.
"I was worried about something like a kraken, honestly."
Compared to a giant squid, a ghost fleet was almost tame. At least they wouldn't submerge.
Moss and barnacles clung to the hulls, tattered sails fluttered, broken masts jutted out impressively. Faint figures prowled the surroundings, bloated corpses shuffled on deck.
A sudden gust carried the stench of rotting flesh and fishy rot straight to our noses. Like salmon sashimi left out at room temp for a month.
"Hey, think the coast guard can handle this?"
Nothing scared me. Glancing over, Han Sang-ah showed no fear either—must have steel guts.
But the coast guard? Looking their way, I saw pale faces on the crew. I'd understand if they wanted to bolt right now.
Cops weren't monster hunters.
"Five ships."
Ghost ships blocked our path—five of them. Sneaking past to Tsushima wouldn't help.
Without our protection, this boat wouldn't make it back to Korea. They'd all die at sea.
Then we'd be stranded too.
"We handle them all here."
"Got it."
Monsters from a Rank 2 Erosion Core—they'd be way stronger than the ones on Gyo-dong Island. But failing here meant no future.
Han Sang-ah quickly suggested,
"One stays to guard, the other crosses and clears them out."
"Nah, we won't do that. Even if we leave the boat, these people won't die."
Not certain, but worth trying before committing one of us to defense full-time.
Han Sang-ah flinched and stared at me.
"Not wrong, but... it feels cold to me. Sure, those monsters kidnap before killing. But they might kill if things go wrong."
I looked at her like she was some monster.
"What the hell are you even saying?"
Who said abandon them? What a wasteful, trash-tier mindset—hard to even recycle.
I swiftly scraped the spear tip across the deck, drawing a geometric pattern.
"What're you doing?"
"You'll see."
A technique from that world. My physical achievements were gone, but the knowledge remained. I could use it.
True to its name, following set procedures to draw complex formations granted various protective blessings by purpose.
Other blessings were meh, but "protection" implied shielding from harm. Made it handy for guarding against specific threats.
"What's that?"
"You'll see."
A large circle enclosing two squares in a star-like arrangement.
Inside the overlapping squares, a small circle with two overlapping stars. The spear moved ceaselessly, drawing without pause. The deck pattern grew ever more intricate.
Myriad shapes drawn per the method made eyes spin just watching. Han Sang-ah, observing quietly, muttered,
"...The ambient mana is moving on its own."
"Like a waterwheel."
Ambient mana flowed over the patterned shapes per rules, triggering effects. Already, faint light emanated from the deck formation.
Fundamentally no different from how I used mana. Same advantages.
"Once activated, it's semi-permanent."
It lasted until damaged. I told one of the crew,
"Might not matter, but don't try erasing it."
Etched into the deck, intentional removal would be tough anyway.
"Wh-what if those things destroy it? Then what?"
I replied,
"They won't reach the boat."
If it were that unreliable, I wouldn't have bothered learning it. Calmly, I watched the ghost horde charging our vessel, wailing from the fog.
But if knowledge from that world didn't work here...
—Kah... hahaha!
Thankfully, no such issue. A creepy remix of a cat's screech—screams—and the charging foes halted, bodies shuddering.
"It's working."
"Where'd you learn this?"
To Han Sang-ah's admiration, I replied breezily.
"Learn? I made it."
Total lie. Learned it in a world you'd never know. Like those novels—modern tech to isekai for success.
Reverse could work too, right?
"Boat's secure now. Let's cross."
Time to smash ghost scum sailing rickety old sails into the 21st century.
Han Sang-ah's body floated slightly. Confirming, I said,
"Hey, piggyback me. Or I swim. You can manage that, yeah?"
I couldn't run on water yet. She nodded.
"Got it. Hop on quick."
I leaped onto her back. She rocketed forward on electromagnetic rails in the air, carrying me toward the ghost ship.
"Hey, comfy."
"Of course when you're carried. Almost there."
I saw it too. Over her long hair whipping in the sea breeze, the ghost ship neared. I said,
"Shoulder—stepping."
"Go."
With permission, I stepped on her shoulder, leaped, and landed on the worm-eaten wooden deck.
"God, even mackerel left a month at room temp wouldn't stink this bad."
The corpses charging with rusty cutlasses showed no reason or judgment in their eyes.
Just beasts with blades. Their swings splintered rotten deck wood everywhere.
"Insane strength."
Pure power-wise, I could arm-wrestle and beat the giant bat-head from Gyo-dong Island. These monsters matched my size!