Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

Chapter 49: Pray and Pray Again (7)

Honestly, I didn’t think it possible to steer this huge ship around that tricky reef, even if one had excellent navigational skills.

However, there were people with all kinds of abilities in this world, and people with such ridiculous skills were especially common in the world of games.

“The Dragon’s Gate is ahead!”

As the adventurer, whose primary weapon was a whip, skillfully cut through the Spartoi, he called out as such.

「West Sea: Dragon’s Gate」

「❖ Corruption Washed Up from the Sea

∎ Go to the Dragon’s Gate

∎ Find the source of the Negative Energy and Purify it」

Bam!

As the quest updated, an experience similar to river rafting, which I had done once, followed.

“Are you kidding me?!”

With this, I realized how trivial the storms and tsunamis we had gone through were. The current was so fast that I thought I would just die. I never thought this big boat would sway this much.

“Damn it, it’s so tricky and hard to navigate! This crazy place!”

No, it was even crazier that he somehow managed to drive through this place.

I held up my sword with these thoughts in mind. Due to the strong current, the Spartoi were practically jumping out of the water.

Whoosh!

I sent out a [Slash] or two through the shield and cut them down.

Because of that, I almost fell off the deck. However, Deb managed to grab the hem of my coat, letting out a roar, and the Archmage grabbed me by the ankles. Like that, I managed to somehow get back on my feet.

While the boat showed no sign of sinking, it was shaking tremendously in a manner reminiscent of a roller coaster. I almost threw up.

It was rather fortunate we had turned on the protective devices, so we at least didn’t need to deal with the Spartoi as urgently as before.

“The mages seem ready to faint. Will the protective devices work fine?!”

As Deb said, if the wizards fainted, it would become difficult to keep the devices in operation. The ship’s functions were powered by Arcane Power, after all.

That was why the device's usage time was limited and why twenty wizards came along. They were essentially living spare batteries and activation keys for the devices.

“They’re currently operating on pre-charged Arcane Power, so you don’t have to worry.”

Of course, we weren't deploying the shield the whole time. The protective devices could also function using previously supplied Arcane Power.

It was just… We didn't know what would happen when the Arcane Power ran out.

It reminded me somewhat of a racing game where you had to reach your destination before your gas gauge completely depleted. I wasn't the one controlling this ship, though.

“Not only the mages but the priests also look like they'll drop. Waah!”

At that moment, Deb lost his balance after the ship shook more intensely. His body slid across the deck and was about to fall into the ocean.

“You idiot!”

The protective shield only blocked attacks from the outside. It did nothing to stop anything from going out.

In other words, if someone went overboard, they would fall straight into the ocean. Both the Inquisitor and I urgently reached out to him.

“Got you!”

“Urgh!”

The Inquisitor, who was his good friend despite fighting with him a lot, was the first to catch Deb, followed by me. We managed to pull him back on deck.

“I-I'm alive.”

His pulled-back ears seemed to indicate how he felt at the moment. My heart would have dropped as well had I been in his position.

“Aaargh!”

However, now wasn't the time to feel relieved.

One of the sailors fell from the mast and toward the sea.

Fortunately, he didn't fall too far from me. I could still catch him.

Thud!

“Urgh!”

I quickly ran over and grabbed his arm. Almost half my body went over the railing, but I somehow caught the sailor.

“S-Save me!”

“…Stop struggling!”

Uwaaah. My body was about to fall with him!

Thud!

Just as I was about to go overboard or my wet hand slipped off his arm, the boat tilted to the other side again.

The impact caused the sailor's body to rise. I didn't pass on the opportunity.

I threw the sailor onto the deck. He might end up bruised or with a broken bone or two, but that would still be far better than being consumed by the violent waves.

“Grab something!”

Even physical pain couldn't dampen his will to live. The sailor quickly grabbed onto something before he could slip further.

“Is he fine?!”

“He's fine as long as he’s not dead!”

Other than that guy, I didn't see anyone else fall. My insides were doing somersaults, and my vision seemed to be turning upside down, as well.

Windhand managed to keep ahold of the rudder. He was truly amazing for remaining upright and holding onto it in this situation.

Did he put weights into his shoes or something? Even if he had, his core strength was no joke.

“Up ahead!”

At that moment, someone who was just barely hanging on shouted out.

“There's a reef sticking out of the water!”

Even without that person's urgent shout, Windhand was already struggling to turn the rudder… As a matter of fact, ships couldn't instantly turn like cars or motorcycles.

“Shit, I think we're gonna hit that thing!”

Although the protective device would shield us from most of the damage caused by colliding with the reef, the consumption of Arcane Power would be enormous. In addition to the cost of simply having it deployed, it would consume even more to relieve the shock caused by the collision.

That was why we needed a captain like Windhand. It was meaningless to consume all the device’s charged Arcane Power meant to block the dragon's attacks on something like this.

“Brace yourselves, everyone!”

That was why I couldn't just stand still.

I started running, holding onto a loose rope attached to the ship, and took a harpoon in hand.

With too many obstacles on deck preventing me from moving forward, the next best option was the railing.

It might seem crazy to jump onto the narrow railing of a rocking ship, but it was surprisingly easy to maintain my balance on it.

[Survival Instinct] didn’t recommend this way for nothing, after all. Although it was a bit of a shame that my nausea was rising like crazy.

“You bastard! Hold onto the rope!”

“What?! A-Aah! You're crazy!”

However, I was already in this predicament, so I couldn't just stop. I stepped on the bow as I reached it before literally jumping overboard.

Bam!

The thunderous, murky sea was thrashing about beneath me, spraying masses of gray foam.

“…?!”

“Mister Knight, are you crazy?!”

“Th-The sea!”

I opened my eyes and tried to focus my vision. Fortunately, I could vaguely discern the reef, which was somewhat darker than the sea.

“You!”

I felt like Windhand was calling out to me. Well, no matter what he said, he probably thought I was about to die, right?

I knew it, too: my actions were very close to suicide.

But how could we be sure using all that Arcane Power to survive the reef wouldn’t lead to something worse later on?!

Maybe it was because I’d already experienced so many other snowballing events, but I couldn’t stand back when I knew I could do something about this.

Brzzzt!

Arcane Power quickly gathered inside my held harpoon. It looked like it had been struck by pitch-black lightning.

Slam!

And then I immediately slammed it into the reef.

Boom!

First, the sea parted in a circular manner, the water getting pushed to all sides.

Then, the reef shattered into pieces from where the harpoon hit it.

“That idiot…!”

My body began to fall, dragged down by gravity, and the water I had just pushed away rushed to refill the space. The boat was slightly swept away by the resulting current.

Splash!

Anyway, I fell straight into the sea. Bubble, bubble, bubble. The air leaving my mouth filled part of my previously dark vision with hazy bubbles.

The surrounding sound became muffled as vague memories and past regrets went through my mind.

『The sun is so high up in the sky! And you’re still not up yet?!』

『Son, do you want to go hiking with me?』

I missed my parents.

Splash!

My muffled ears suddenly sharpened again as I heard the splashing of water. The rope I had been tightly clutching was being pulled up, and with it, my body.

The scattering foam seemed so distant already.

Thud!

My body struck the deck, causing a tingling pain to run through it. My pain level was heavily reduced, which meant this would definitely leave a bruise.

“Mister, are you still alive?!”

“Demon Knight! Are you okay!”

At that moment, the two people who had most likely fished me out of the water with the rope came into view. The sky was blocked out by their two young faces.

“Cough.”

I was grateful they saved me, but I had to get rid of this seawater first.

I coughed out the water that had entered my mouth. A salty, sour taste was left behind. It seemed some gastric acid had also come up.

“You monster bastard! Are you alive?!”

Why was Windhand picking a fight with me again? No, was that meant as a compliment, not an insult?

Anyway, I hoped my near-suicidal act was helpful. My eyes began moving to the right.

I got up with those two’s help to avoid getting thrown off the boat again and closed my eyes for a moment. My inner ears were itching and popping.

“…Is there anything else that needs to be broken?”

“Damn, so that’s why you were so confident you could slay the dragon! Because you have multiple lives!”

Well, I hoped I did. If possible, it would be even better if that extra life took the form of getting to log out after Game Over.

* * *

* * *

“It’s the Sea Dragon!”

At that moment, one of the sailors shouted loudly.

I slowly opened my eyes to check what was ahead of us. Beyond the bow, I could see something long swaying from left and right in the middle of the stormy sea. Honestly, I thought it was a waterspout.

Crash!

As if the rain wasn't enough, thunder began to roll loudly over the sea.

“You can kill that thing, right?!”

“Stop asking the obvious!”

As if possessed, Windhand started shouting. Even though I reflexively responded like that, I felt completely different internally.

Wow, that thing sure was big. If that hit the ship even once, wouldn't the shield disappear immediately? Could we really lure that thing to Gamak Bay? Really?

The Raid seemed so realistic that tears came to my eyes.

“Tell the mages to ready the Arcane cannons!”

“Aaaarg, you crazy priest!”

The Inquisitor threw Deb through the door leading below deck. Although quite the radical method, there was nothing faster nor safer.

I still stood on the rocking deck. The distant dragon roared and soon fixed its gaze on us.

“…”

The distance between us was great, but I could still see its head and body in great detail. It was so woefully beautiful that one would never think it was the source of all this.

To give an example, its scales shone brightly even against this cloudy sky and murky water, two horns the color of coral extended from its forehead, and its thin, wing-like fins emitting a soft glow were almost decorative in appearance.

And its pearl-like eyes focused on me. That was how it looked.

The beard extending from the dragon's maw gently shook.

「Sea Dragon │ Ruler of the Western Sea. Ancient Beast. Divine Beast. It has many names, but only a few have witnessed it directly.」

“Th-That's a dragon…”

“Lord Sea Dragon…”

It seemed too mysterious and sublime to kill. Some sailors who seemingly worshiped it sobbed and lost their will to fight.

Even the adventurers and mages who didn't revere it were overwhelmed by its presence and had to swallow hard.

“Shit, come to your senses!”

Smack!

But before the people's hearts completely broke, Windhand rained abuse on them and urged them forward. Immediately after, the water near the dragon rose, and something else appeared beside it.

Bite!

Its neck was bitten by the thing coming out of the water. Its beautiful scales broke, and blood poured out.

“Another dragon!”

Ironically, the creature that bit the Sea Dragon was another dragon.

Although smaller, it had dark, ominous scales and black horns that curved strangely, and its fins were torn and cut, making them look rather unsightly.

Even so, it was clearly a dragon as well.

I suddenly remembered the mural from the mountain cave, which depicted an adult and a child dragon together.

“…I can feel Negative Energy.”

“Has that dragon become… corrupted?”

Anyway, I had thought the bigger one far too elegant and noble to be the culprit behind all these incidents, so it seemed the true source was the smaller one.

「??? │ ???」

Like with the Plague Demon, a window filled with question marks appeared before me. It was clear: we had to slay that one.

Kyaaaah!

At that moment, the Sea Dragon that had its nape bitten let out a scream and struggled to shake off the black one before diving into the sea.

The black dragon did the same, as if trying to chase the Sea Dragon.

We were suddenly left alone on the stormy sea.

“…Go over there.”

I narrowed my eyes and quickly spoke to Windhand.

He, too, had been overwhelmed by the dragon’s majesty, but he still managed to steer the ship by strictly guiding the sailors who had barely regained their senses.

“What?”

“Go to where the dragon came from.”

Thanks to being very large, the dragon was easy to spot. However, the distance between us was too great. To attack, we needed to approach its location.

Moreover, this also benefited Windhand and the sailors in another way.

For a being of such magnitude to fully dive into the sea meant no reefs were around that place. Even if there were before, if those dragons had been fighting so fiercely for some time now, they had likely destroyed everything in their way.

If we had to wait for the dragon to emerge again anyway, it would be better to wait there rather than in this area filled with nothing but reefs.

“…!”

Windhand’s eyes widened slightly, seemingly sensing something from my words. He then grabbed onto the rudder tightly.

“Everyone, come to your senses!”

The boat began moving along the rapids once more. The tumultuous water made a lot of noise, but the boat never stopped.

“…! The current has weakened!”

“Aren’t there any reefs within the Dragon’s Gate…?”

It seemed my prediction was correct: there were almost no rocks and reefs where the dragons had been rampaging.

At least, that looked to be the case, considering the reactions from Windhand and the sailors. I also suspected the current hadn’t weakened for no reason, either.

However, that didn’t mean the situation was completely resolved.

The dragon was still submerged, and even after it came to the surface, there was a lot of work to do before we could attack and lure it away.

“…! Below us!”

Suddenly, I heard something similar to a scream and reflexively looked down over the side of the ship. In the dark water, an even darker shadow passed us by.

“U-Uuuuurgh!”

“Hold onto the railing!”

Soon, the water level rose on one side of us, and the black dragon stuck its head out of the sea. Of course, the cost of that was the boat nearly capsizing.

Tak.

With that in mind, I couldn’t simply miss this opportunity.

“Harpoon!”

I quickly ran to someone in the center of the deck. A stupefied adventurer reflexively handed me a harpoon.

“Quickly, turn the main sail and activate the tailwind devices!”

Windhand sensed what I was planning and swiftly prepared to turn the boat around. A very wise choice indeed.

“Throw it now!”

At Windhand’s signal, the harpoon wrapped in black lightning flew off into the distance.

Staaab!

It pierced through the black dragon’s scales and into its flesh. It was then that my anxiety, wondering whether this would work, was completely relieved.

Kieeeeeeh!

However, it seemed my attack worked too well. A booming, horrifying roar, much louder than the Sea Dragon’s, echoed through the sky, and a pair of bright red eyes looked toward us.

It may not have just been a feeling that its eyes were filled with burning anger.

“…Harpoon.”

“Mister, is this really the right thing to do now?”

“Give it.”

I mean, our plan was to pull its aggro and lure it away.

Originally, we wanted to attack it with the ship’s cannons, but all we had to do now was go further and further away.

Actually, this might be better. The Arcane cannons also required the mages’ Arcane Power.

It went without saying that using said power to maintain the shield and the windshield devices contributed far more to our survival.

Kieeee!

Pierce!

Anyway, I got two hits in. It flew through the air and pierced the black dragon’s body again.

I tried my best to aim for its head, but because of the waves and sudden winds, I missed my mark and hit the nape of its neck.

Kyaaaaaaagh!!

Still, I successfully managed to pull its aggro. The black dragon began lunging at us, roaring in what seemed like anger.

“Uwaah!”

“It’s coming!”

It came toward us with its long neck as if trying to swallow the ship whole. Of course, since its mouth wasn’t big enough, it probably intended to just sweep over the deck or something. However, that alone would have already killed the dozens of people gathered here.

However, my target had just become a lot bigger, so why should I waste that opportunity?

I put my trust in the shield and threw another harpoon at the dragon. Some also imitated me; a barrage of harpoons flew through the air as both sailors and adventurers attacked.

“Kiaaaaaargh!”

Bang!

The harpoons thrown by the Inquisitor, me, and another unknown person pieced soft flesh—the inside of its mouth—slightly redirecting the dragon’s charge. The protective membrane encasing the ship shone brighter than ever, deflecting the dragon.

“Uwaargh! The boat is rocking!”

It was fortunate that the shield formed at a slight distance from the ship. Even if something hit the shield, it wouldn't affect the vessel. The waves were a different story, though, so it would still shake.

A small tsunami caused by the dragon went over the outer shell plating and drenched the deck in more water. The men continued throwing harpoons while forcibly trying to maintain their balance.

However, most of their attacks merely bounced off the scales, though the Inquisitor still managed to break through.

“…! Arcane Power!”

“The Arcane Power maintaining the protective device has just decreased by a fourth!”

However, we were presented with such depressing news just then from inside.

Although we had minimized the Arcane Power consumption thanks to our awesome captain, the saved power was almost completely lost in one go.

“Try to hold on somehow! We have to make it back!”

But what could I do? If we wanted to survive, the mages had no choice but to squeeze out even the tiniest bit of Arcane Power to fuel the protective and tailwind devices that made the ship move faster.

“…! In the sea!”

However, that wasn’t the only bad news. Spartoi were born from the pieces of scales that fell into the water. Those things could be handled with a single throw of a harpoon, but if things continued like that, they would become extremely annoying.

They were even more troublesome now that we needed to conserve the Arcane Power powering the shields.

“Stop them! You must!”

“Keep them away!”

I had wondered whether the Raid Boss would be weak, given how extremely weak the Knucker I had fought was, but it turned out not to be the case.

The environment was so incredibly harsh that the difficulty level rose exorbitantly. Considering how easily I could piece its scales, I could kill it right away if it weren’t for this damn rocking!

“Uuuuurgh!!””

However, the sea shook the boat even more now. Splash! There was no need to look around to know why water poured onto the deck again, almost capsizing the ship.

Kyaaaaargh!

As if to retaliate for what had happened earlier, the Sea Dragon bit the black dragon’s neck. A war between monsters was about to commence once again.

Raid and all that aside, certain words laid on the tip of my tongue: ‘Please leave our boat and us shrimp-like beings alone if you two whales want to fight.’