10th Quad. The Beginning of the Naval Battle
***
Lyle, who had lived his whole life with his feet firmly on solid ground, was struggling to stay conscious from the unfamiliar pain he was experiencing for the first time.
At least the other team members had held decent social positions in their original worlds and had ridden boats before, but Lyle was a different case altogether.
Of course, there were exceptions like Dump, who had never been on a boat before but somehow didn't get seasick.
"Seasick, huh? I've heard that can happen if you ride a carriage too long," said Seowoon, shaking his head as he watched the man remain motionless in heavy armor on the swaying ship.
"Lie down for now. Laying flat on the deck might help you manage it a little."
"I have to maintain my position…"
"It's fine. Just lie down."
After Seowoon forced him down, Lyle finally closed his eyes, the dry heaving easing up a bit.
Though none were as bad as Lyle, aside from Dump and Nam Sagwang, the other team members didn't look great either.
"Guess we'll have to start carrying seasickness meds too."
As the ship sliced smoothly across the sea for a while, JinRYung shouted out,
"Enemy spotted! Direction 130!"
Everyone turned their eyes in the direction he pointed from atop the mast, where he had been scanning with a spyglass.
"They're pretty far."
"And a bit off course. They don't seem eager to fight either. What do we do? Looks like a carrack—if we chase them, we can probably catch up."
Seowoon shook his head at Limin's suggestion.
"Right now, ship upgrade items are more important than a fight. If they're not picking the battle, we don't need to chase them."
Limin nodded and resumed steering the ship.
The enemy vessel, over a kilometer away, seemed to have spotted them too. It paused briefly, then continued on its way.
After half a day of sailing, their target islands began to appear on the horizon.
The team's spirits lifted at the sight of a sizable island surrounded by a cluster of smaller ones, backlit by the setting sun.
Even Lyle, barely able to stand by gripping the railing, looked at the approaching island with eyes full of hope.
After laying Lyle down in a cramped cabin, Seowoon began issuing orders.
"Everyone, stay sharp. We don't know where an enemy ship might be hiding among these islands."
At that, everyone took up their positions.
Nam Sagwang stood at the very front, ready to spring into action at any moment.
Though his stance, precariously perched on the prow, seemed dangerous, no one doubted his ability.
As the red sunset gave way to growing dusk, they passed the first island—and a deafening blast greeted them.
-BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!
-CRASH!
Enemies, hiding their ship behind the small island, fired their cannons with perfect timing.
Nam Sagwang blocked the first magic cannonball with his body, but the second and third struck the ship, tearing holes into its hull.
Startled, Lyle stumbled out of the cabin.
-Ding! Hull has sustained 10% damage. Mobility decreased by 12%.
"Charge the enemy ship!"
At Seowoon's command, Limin turned the helm without hesitation.
-BOOOM! BOOOM!
Water spouts erupted as cannonballs landed around them from the sudden change in course.
"Ramming speed—hit them hard."
The caravel surged toward the enemy carrack, which had turned sideways to fire.
"Hyung! Sagwang!"
Even without Seowoon calling out, the two were already deflecting incoming cannon fire from the stern.
Among the spiraling blue cannonballs were the occasional red ones—fired in a straight line—the same kind that had pierced their hull.
-CLANG!
Meanwhile, Juriel and Ki-chan Lyle desperately erected barriers, blocking the incoming red cannonballs.
-BOOM! BOOM!
Weaving through the rising columns of seawater, the caravel finally closed in on the enemy ship.
"Brace for impact!"
Even before the crash, Seowoon, JinRyung, and Nam Sagwang leapt from the caravel toward the enemy vessel.
-KRAAASH!
-FWOOOSH!
-SSSSHHHHK!
-FWOOM!
Almost instantly, four spells—at the 6th and 7th circle level—exploded where they landed, engulfing them in flame. Then, with a tremendous impact, the caravel slammed into the side of the enemy ship.
-THUUUD!
The caravel's bow, more damaged than the ship it struck, shuddered under the impact—but the three who had jumped into the magic firestorm vanished without a trace.
"Now!"
Right on cue, the trio reappeared, leaping from the shattered stern onto the enemy ship, catching the enemy spellcasters off guard.
They had cast all their high-level spells, thinking they were hitting real enemies—and now those "dead" opponents were charging at them.
As with all magic, once the trick is revealed, it feels trivial.
Seowoon had simply used illusion and transformation magic to bait the enemies into wasting their spells on clones.
"Kill them!"
At someone's sharp shout, seven enemy knights and warriors rushed the trio.
-Dis All!
A strange chant rang out from behind—the eerie incantation of a transformed Jung Suhwa.
"She's a witch!"
Her neatly tied hair had gone wild, and from the crystal orb she held aloft, an unsettling light swept across the enemies, visibly slowing their movements.
"Leave the mages to me!"
Namsagwang effortlessly beheaded a charging warrior right in front of him and broke through to the mages in the rear.
Seowoon shook his head as he confirmed that two of the three enemy mages were young women, then began to engage them directly.
-KWAANG!
A thunderous boom echoed as a knight clad in golden armor blocked an enemy knight charging at Seowoon, their clash dyeing their armor red.
As the two knights collided, the deck tore apart, and the wooden floor beneath them screamed and gave way.
-TUKANG!
Without hesitation, Dump smashed his helmet into the enemy knight's helmet, launching a relentless assault.
With limin and kichan joining Dump, the enemy ship's deck suddenly felt cramped.
In shipboard battles with limited room to maneuver, getting pushed back even slightly was almost a certain defeat.
There was no space to retreat, so all they could do was grit their teeth and hold their ground—but Seowoon's squad was overwhelmingly strong.
When Jung suhwa kept a wide-area debuff active during the close combat, the enemies dropped without even getting a proper attack off.
-PUPUPUPUK! PUPOK! CRACK!
A high kick slammed into the face of a female mage whose face was already covered in blood. Her body crumpled as she lost consciousness.
Now only one female mage remained. Namsagwang smiled as he walked toward her.
The other teammates didn't even glance at him—they just started looting.
In the background, the sound of leather drums being beaten echoed, but everyone deliberately ignored it.
"Oh! This one's good."
Jinryung said as he lifted a silver orb.
-DING! Hull Repair Tool. Throw onto the deck to restore 10% damage.
"If we've got repair items like this, there's no need to switch to another ship."
As they continued looting, kichan spoke while examining eight mana cannons.
"Hey, these items mounted on the ship can be collected too."
"Really? Great. Load everything onto our ship."
"What should we do with this one?"
limin asked. Seowoon glanced around the enemy ship and replied.
"Let's sink it."
Once looting was finished and everyone returned to the caravel, Namsagwang—left alone—began drawing up his internal energy.
With immense presence and ocean-like inner power, he activated his advanced technique. The enemy ship's deck split in two with a massive screech.
-CHUUUUUUUK!
He leapt high, and as he rained down energy strikes midair, the ship was completely cleaved in half and slowly began to sink into the sea.
As Namsagwang landed back on the caravel, his teammates' expressions had changed.
They'd temporarily forgotten he was Namsagwang—a monster in battle and a pervert who seemed to enjoy hitting women.
"Is that the kind of power you get with higher internal energy?"
"Amount of energy doesn't matter. What's important is control and the level of hardened energy techniques. You know that."
Namsagwang replied indifferently to Seowoon's question.
Of course, Seowoon knew that logically, but seeing such monstrous prowess firsthand gave him a thirst for more inner energy.
The fight had already maxed out Seowoon's energy core.
-Special Stat. Inner Power: 1095
It wouldn't increase further, and vitality was no longer something he needed.
Lost in thirsty contemplation, Seowoon didn't notice limin starting the ship.
"Wouldn't they have already looted this place?"
"Still, we should check. And I think we need to rest today."
Seowoon looked sympathetically at Lyle, who was still clinging to the railing, vomiting over the side.
There was no need to keep sailing the dark sea, so they headed to the central island.
After docking, Namsagwang hoisted Lyle over his shoulder and used a water-walking technique to land on the island.
Collapsing onto the ground, Lyle looked overwhelmed with emotion.
"S-solid ground…"
The seasickness didn't vanish instantly, but just being on land seemed to lift his spirits.
"Lyle, get some rest. Jung suhwa and limin, keep watch and look after the ship. The rest of us will go loot."
Juriel and kichan summoned glowing orbs of light and led the group deeper into the island.
Past the white sands, they entered an area where green grass gave way to forest. Suddenly, a wave of mana rippled through the air.
"Senior!"
Even before Seowoon, at the front, could say anything, the team had already prepared for battle.
-SLASH!
Jinryung dashed past Seowoon and cleanly beheaded an enemy just as they were about to cast a spell.
As the team gathered behind him, Jinryung scanned the area for more enemies.
"Huh? It's a Creature Shaman."
"Creature?"
Unfamiliar with the monster name, Seowoon asked. kichan rummaged through the dead enemy's belongings and answered.
"They're humanoid monsters. Some are shamans like this guy who use offensive magic, others are assassins who ambush, and some are warriors swinging clubs or swords. The funny part is—they fight each other to the death too."
Hearing the explanation, Seowoon glanced around.
"If monsters like this are here, that means the island hasn't been looted yet."
"Looks like it."
As they ventured further into the island, scattered items began to appear.
Most were ship upgrade or repair items, though occasionally they found decent weapons or spellbooks.
"As expected, since the island is big, there are a lot of items lying around."
kichan said cheerfully as he picked up a usable spellbook.
-CRACK!
Just as they were about to suggest heading back and returning tomorrow, a loud sound rang out.
Juriel quickly fired a sphere of light into the sky.
When they rushed toward the source of the sound, they found the Creatures locked in a life-or-death battle with a massive, turtle-like monster.
Its gray skin and featureless face made it look like a monster out of a sci-fi movie.
Aside from its mouth and eyes, it only had two small holes where a nose would be, giving it a disturbing appearance.
"It's pretty agile. If I didn't know better, I'd have mistaken it for an elf."
The Creatures moved with such lightness and agility while fighting the giant turtle that they looked like elves Seowoon had encountered before.
"Giant Turtle!"
At kichan's outburst, the rest of the team turned to look at him.
Feeling their gazes, he looked at Seowoon and smirked.
"That one's a high-value monster. It often drops its shell, and that thing alone is worth over a billion won per kilogram."
Hearing that, Seowoon didn't hesitate to give the order.
"Let's start the hunt."
The team rushed toward the two groups of Creatures battling the Giant Turtle, unleashing a barrage of magic.
Despite the sudden intrusion, the Creatures didn't panic; they calmly pulled back and reformed their formation.
"Impressive."
Seeing the shamans retreat to the back while the warriors and assassins took the front lines, limin expressed genuine admiration.
"They're intelligent. Don't let your guard down."
At kichan's warning, Rimin nodded, and just as he charged in, the Giant Turtle let out a roar.
-KURAAAAAH!
Seizing the moment when the Creatures retreated, Namsagwang struck at the turtle's neck—but the thick hide split only slightly.
His attack hadn't been enough to take it down. He quickly withdrew as the beast spewed fire in its death throes.
"That hide is insanely tough."
"You can't take it lightly. The easiest way to kill it is to flip it over and stab the belly."
As he finished speaking, kichan cast Earth Crag, shaking the ground beneath the turtle to destabilize it.
Jinryung, Seowoon, and Juriel focused on dealing with the Creatures, while the rest of the team coordinated to steal the turtle kill.
"Senior! The shamans only use low-level magic! No need to take unnecessary risks going after them!"
Even while suppressing the nimble assassins, Seowoon kept track of his teammates' movements.
He knew how important it was to have battlefield awareness in team fights, so he never neglected to practice monitoring the whole field, even in easy fights.
The assassins leaped several meters at a time, twisting in midair, and the bulky warriors had strength to match their size. Once they were all dealt with, the remaining shamans turned to flee.
But Seowoon's throwing arrows flew into their backs, and they were all taken down before they got far.
The stubborn Giant Turtle still endured even after all the Creatures were dead.
Its shell was so incredibly hard that even Namsagwang, wielding Sugang, shook his head in frustration.
Their spells repeatedly tore up the ground in an attempt to flip the creature, but the shell took no damage, and the turtle resisted to the end.
-THUD!
Whenever they cast Earth Will to raise a wall from the ground, the turtle sensed it with uncanny timing and dodged quickly, suggesting it had a sharp mana sensitivity.
"Dump!"
"I know!"
Just as the ground gave way and the turtle's balance faltered, Dump's entire body began to glow with golden light.
He activated his ultimate skill—something he could only use once in a while—and slid under the turtle's belly.
-BOOM!
With a loud crash, the Giant Turtle's body flipped into the air.
At that moment, Namsagwang slashed open its exposed underbelly.
-SPLURT!
Green blood burst from its stomach, and the turtle, after a final spasm, stopped moving. It disappeared, leaving behind a collection of valuable items.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]