Ark’s mouth dropped after reading the information window. Didn’t that mean it would take 4 days?
‘But I just have to finish the mixing and crystallization process and the rest is just waiting. It only took 8 hours to create the Slime’s Immortality Pill. Although the A rank pill takes longer, it I start it now than I can finish the crystallization process by the time we arrived. As expected, it is good that I took the ferry.’
After looking at the information window, he realized he wouldn’t waste any time. Compared to the time it took to collect the ingredients, 4 days wasn’t a problem. When considering the bonus an A class immortality pill would give, who cared about a little boredom?
“Now let’s get started.”
Ark stretched his joints and grabbed the pot.
“I have to ensure the best degree of completion! Nothing can go wrong.”
Ark shook the pot at an absurd speed. Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang! Suddenly there was an audible roaring from far away and the hull tilted to one side.
“Ugh, what, what the? I almost ruined it!”
Ark looked at the pot with a stricken face. Not all the immortality pills were the same. The added bonus depended on the degree of completion in each process. That’s why he hunted 20,000 Mould Zombies and found enough ingredients to create two Necromancer’s Immortality pills. If it spilled over the side then the percentage of completion would fall!
“What is going on? Didn’t they promise to make this as peaceful as my house?
Ark murmured with irritation. Dangtangtang. When the sound was heard, Buksil opened his door and shouted.
“Ark-nim, it is serious!”
“I know. They almost made my spill it!”
“No, that’s not it….. It’s the pirates, pirates!”
—————————————————————————————————-
Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
After running onto the deck, the roaring sound was instantly heard again. At the place where the roaring sound was heard was a ship with a black hull and skeleton flag rapidly approaching
“Emergency, emergency! A pirate ship is approaching closely!”
When the pirate ship appeared, the sailors ran around the deck making noises.
“Oh my god! Why are the pirates attacking a passenger ship?”
The captain muttered with a pale, stricken face. Typically the pirates only targeted merchants. There was no point engaging a passenger ship in sea battle when there wouldn’t be much profit. There was the method of attacking the users directly but it wouldn’t be easy and a variety of scrolls would have to be used. In addition, Seutandal couldn’t produce that many supplies for trade yet so the merchants aboard the ferry often had empty bags.
On the other hand, the merchants’ fleets had a lot of economic power and rich merchants. It was to the extent that they couldn’t hold it in their bags and had to leave it in a warehouse. If they sank a merchant fleet then 20-50% of the warehouse items would float in the sea. So the pirates were more likely to attack the merchant fleets arriving at Seutandal.
‘Damn, pirates? No way!’
Ark shook the pot and frowned. He really had no luck. He was saying it again but there was only a 1~2% chance of pirates attacking a ferry. So why was he among the 1~2%? In addition, if he died then he would lose all the ingredients he gathered with difficulty.
‘My degree of completion can’t fail because of pirates or I’ll go crazy!
Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Once again projectiles flew from the pirate ship. However, it still wasn’t enough to reach the ship and the bombs exploded in the water. “Port to maximum height! We’re screwed once we’re in the range of the ships!” The ferry rotated heavily at the captain’s command.
However, this was a peaceful ship created for carrying passengers so the pirate ship was superior in speed and turning capability. The pirate ship moved in a slanted line and fired warning shots again, making the ferry shake.
‘Hik, pot, my pot!’
Ark clenched the rail firmly and shook the pot. Then he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“Kuahahaha. It’s better to stop the flimsy resistance!”
‘Eh? This voice is…..?’
Ark flinched as he saw the person yelling from the pirate ship. He surprisingly knew the face of the captain of the pirate ship. It was the boss of the bandit group that Ark had killed in the swamp, Jepeteu! Jepeteu had a subordinate magician use ‘Voice Amplification’ magic and shouted.
“If you surrender then I won’t sink your ship. We only want one person. If you cooperate and surrender then we’ll only look for that person!”
‘What, what the? They really chased me to here?’
Ark was surprised and hid himself behind the railing. Then Buksil glared angrily at Ark and declared sharply.
“Look, they chased us all the way here because you took their helmet!”
“The person we want is a dwarf merchant who looks like a pig!”
“Eek? Me? Me? H-how come?”
Buksil screamed and hid behind the railing as Jepeteu continued. Ark was also puzzled. Ark thought the bandit group was chasing them because he killed Jepeteu and snatched his rare helmet. But he hadn’t done anything and Jepeteu was looking for Buksil? Why?
“Did you do something to those guys?”
“I don’t know. I just kept running away!”
Buksil replied with a perplexed expression. However, this was not the time to be thinking about that. The passengers who were panicked by the warning shots became disturbed by Jepeteu’s words.
“What the? They’re chasing after someone?”
“Then they’ll leave us alone if they find the person they’re looking for?”
The passengers muttered with a hopeful expression.
‘Shit, if this continues then won’t the passengers drag us to them?’
Ark hid under the rail and continued shaking the pot while shouting.
“Don’t be fooled! That is the modus operandi of these guys!”
“What? Fooled?”
“Do you think they would shoot a ferry just to get one person? Once they board the ship, they’ll just rob everyone’s bags. Obviously they had a lot of [Robbery] scrolls.”
“I see. That’s right, that person is right!”
“That pirate is a weak bastard!”
By the end of Ark’s words, the passengers were glaring at Jepeteu. Then the captain grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted.
“Do you think I will surrender to pirates who are trash of the sea? Even if your words are true, this ship is owned by the King of Bristania. There is no way I will pass a passenger of the King’s to pirates! I will uphold the honour of Bristania and resist until the end!”
“Bah, I can’t communicate with them. It can’t be helped. Approach them!”
When Jepeteu laughed and raised his hands, the sails of the pirate ship instantly unrolled. Then the pirate ship accelerated and approached the ferry.
“Port side! Starboard!”
The captain shouted but it wasn’t easy to ferry to escape the quick hull of the pirate ship. After a short time, the pirate ship finally managed to line up beside the ferry. The strongest weapon of the pirates was the cannons. And cannons were mounted on the side of the pirate ship. That was why the pirate ship moved in a slanted line and approached from the side. That was the best attack range of a pirate ship! Once lined up side by side, the cannons could fire dozens of artillery. If an ordinary ferry was attacked by dozens of cannons fired from close range then it would sink.
“S-stop them. Prevent them from bombarding us!”
The captain shouted frantically.
Then archers and magicians on-board the ferry attacked the pirate ship. But the range of the bombardment was from dozens of metres away. Most of the arrows and magic fell into the ocean, and the attacks that reached barely damaged the hull.
“Hahaha, you fools! Do you think attacks that shabby would damage this battlefield?”
“Damn, port side! Port side! We have to escape from their range!”
“Not a chance. You think that slow ship can escape us?”
No matter what direction the ferry moved to, the pirates quickly overtook them. Meanwhile, the dozens of cannons on the side of the pirate ship were loaded.
‘Damn, what do I do?’
Ark tightened his lips and felt like his insides were burning. If the artillery hit the ferry then if would suffer extravagant damage and sink. But the problem was not the damage. If Ark died now then his immortality pill creation would be cancelled. All the ingredients in the pot would be lost. But Ark couldn’t think of a method.
‘There is a method to escape. Fortunately it is just one pirate ship. Before the bombardment starts, I have to jump into the ocean with Jepeteu knowing.’
Even if the ferry didn’t sink, most users wouldn’t have a way to survive if they fell into the ocean. However, Ark had the ‘Flute of the Merpeople’ and could call the dolphins. If he called the dolphins before escaping into the ocean then he could escape Jepeteu. But he was also taking a risk. Right now Ark was concentrating his energies in shaking the pot!
‘Riding the dolphin and completing the immortality pill at the same time will be difficult.’
Ark was thinking that when something interrupted him. One of the soldiers on the mast shouted with a shocked voice.
“Captain-nim!”
“What?”
“P-pirate ship!”
“Are you joking? Why are you talking about a pirate ship that we’ve already seen?”
“No, that’s not it….. A different pirate ship has appeared from the left. And there are three of them….. It is a pirate fleet! They’re approaching at a rapid pace!”
“W-what?”
The captain ran to the left deck with huge eyes. Just like the sailor said, three pirate ships were approaching. While everyone was distracted by the pirates on the right, a pirate fleet had appeared on the other side. The three pirate ships were on a completely bigger scale that Jepeteu’s pirate ship.
“This is a ferry! A ferry! Why are four pirate ships attacking us?”
The captain muttered with a devastated look. Then a voice that was using ‘Amplification’ magic was heard from the pirat