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Chapter 46
The monsters to watch out for in [Owl’s Ghost Ship] were the sparrow and our erstwhile poker-playing opponents, the crane, crow, and peacock.
However, very rarely, a goose may inexplicably appear in the crew’s quarters.
Not much was known about the pattern of the goose’s appearance, but Seo Dawon seemed to have known something about the Dungeon conditions, considering how he was disappointed at the sight of only three birds and called the fourth one out on his own accord…
“Can we even deal with the goose? What’s with the ‘event scenario’ anyway…’ Kim Sangyoon, who sidled closer to me, muttered to himself.
I glanced questioningly at Seo Dawon, asking what we should do now…Before Seo Dawon could say anything, however, Kim Sangyoon came closer and asked “Um, what’s the cool downtime for the skill you used earlier?”
He sounded a little excited…Perhaps he mistook Seo Dawon’s [Thunder Calling] for something I did.
Once again, I raised my eyebrows at Seo Dawon after listening to Kim Sangyoon’s question. I wanted answers quickly, but Seo Dawon only shook his head, aggravatingly.
“That’s…I probably won’t be able to do that again today.” In the end, I could only offer vague answers and bowed my head.
Kim Sangyoon was disappointed, “Ah, of course, the cooldown time for such an impressive skill is….” He glanced at the pirate birds, warily, and lowered his voice. “Excuse me, but…About that skill just now.”
“Yes?”
“Is that one of a Necromancer’s skills?”
“…..”
Of course not.
If a Necromancer could do that, would everyone call it doomed class?
But, I simply nodded, aware that to others it would seem as if I had been the one to cast the spell.
“Oooh….” Kim Sangyoon admired, fully believing in his misunderstanding. “Then, maybe, did you receive that skill during the Tower of Command?”
I didn’t answer, but Kim Sangyoon seemed to accept my silence as confirmation.
“Lee-kyung-nim. If you were to live stream yourself, I think public perception of Necromancers would completely reverse.”
“…..”
“At first, I thought that somehow Seo Dawon had followed us. Your skills are as spectacular as a Mage’s.”
It was hard to keep a straight face at his shockingly sharp intuition.
I guess it was obviously more of a Mage’s style.
I contemplated on how best to cover this glaring flaw, but Seo Dawon said, “Just ignore him,” stopping me from indulging in bad acting.
Fortunately, the awkward conversation naturally halted as the goose came to the forefront in the nick of time. ‘Thump, Thump, Thump,’ With heavy footsteps, it outpaced all the other birds.
Lackey had quieted its clacking–even Kim Sangyoon, in the midst of more questions, had shut his mouth–and watched the goose.
With a casual glance, anyone could see that the goose was twice as large as the other birds and carried a poise befitting ‘Owl’s right-hand man.’ Thinking the battle was about to resume, I prepared to send out Lackey…But, suddenly, the goose looked at us and held a wingtip close to its beak.
The pose looked quite similar to a ‘shhh!’ gesture. Subconsciously, I stopped; we all quietly watched the large bird.
[Do you know why our pirate crew is called ‘Owl’s Ghost Ship?’]
Of course, I had no idea–I had only entered this Dungeon once before and had never spoken with the goose.
The goose continued as if he didn’t really expect a response from us.
[Our pirate crew’s captain, Owl hyung-nim…He’s very sensitive. He detests when things are chaotic or noisy.] 1
The crane, peacock, and crow nodded sympathetically with the goose’s words.
[So our pirate ship was built to be silent when it moved–of course, every room was soundproofed as well. Other ships would not know they are being approached until just before the attack. That’s the origin of the nickname, ‘Ghost Ship.’]
The goose, who had been patiently explaining so far, had suddenly wrinkled its forehead and became angry.
[But you guys blew this whole room up and made so much noise! It’s been a while since my Owl hyung-nim fell asleep without stress…Are you crazy? You wouldn’t have boarded this ship without knowing how Owl hyung-nim is!]
All I knew about Captain Owl was that he was the boss of this ghost ship and that he was shaped like a huge owl. Even though I joined a party to raid this place, I didn’t really see–let alone fight–Captain Owl because I was dealing with mobs from afar…
An owl suffering from neurotic insomnia…
But the goose didn’t stop there. He took out a wooden box from behind his back, which he had been dragging along for quite some time, and dropped it onto the ground with a thud.
[I guess it doesn’t really help if you got all this way ignorant of your misdeeds. He’s incredibly angry now, but he’ll grow sleepy when his stomach is full….I’ll comfort him with fresh human flesh today.]
While speaking viciously, the goose took out two sashimi knives out of the wooden box.
As expected, we’re still going to battle? “Lackey, come forward,” I ordered…but the goose intercepted and clanged the blunt of its knives over its head. Suddenly, my ears felt numb, and I could temporarily no longer hear anything.
What? What’s this…!
I was not the only one disoriented; Kim Sangyoon also seemed to suffer the same effect. It was exactly like wearing noise-canceling headphones with no music.
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You’ve been struck by the ‘silence’ status ailment. You’ve been restricted from using skills that require commands.
You are unable to issue commands to your servants.
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The system message kindly informed me of my condition.
What the hell is this!
I ignored the message’s guidance and rushed to strain my vocal cords and call out to Lackey.
Fortunately, Lackey looked back at me and ran towards my side…But, when I ordered, “Lackey, attack!” The skeleton continued to hover in my general area and did not spare a single glance for the pirate birds flying in front.
“Lackey! Look in front of you! In front of you!” As I beckoned before him desperately, Lackey only tilted its head; its mouth stayed shut.
I looked at Lackey’s current mood in his status window in frustration…
[I don’t know…this is too difficult….]
Eventually, I gave up urging Lackey and looked towards Seo Dawon.
I don’t suppose I’m unable to communicate with the Mage as well? Then, things will be really tough…
“You don’t hear me, do you?” I said.
“Umm…What did you say just now? I have no idea.”
Damn.
I couldn’t believe what was happening.
At least I could hear Seo Dawon’s voice normally…I prepared to strain my vocal cords until bursting, but I changed my mind. I formed each word with my lips very deliberately and slowly, clearly enunciating each word.
It seems my method wasn’t effective, for Seo Dawon only looked at me puzzled, unable to respond. Still, he seems to have gotten a hint, “Did you get hit with a status effect or a curse?”
I nodded quickly.
Seo Dawon continued, “It seems like you’ve been silenced?” I nodded furiously once again. He asked, “How many minutes are left?”
I held out five fingers.
This knowledge was gleaned from my status window. [Status effect: Silence] was displayed next to my level; and the remaining time for that condition was shown in red.
5 minutes and 22 seconds remaining.
“That’s a bit difficult…Do you think Sangyoon can hold out for five minutes?” Seo Dawon said in a tone that did not seem to indicate any kind of worry.
He was now standing alone at the battlefront against four pirate birds. He struggled when he fought the crane…The current situation was very bleak.
I looked at Kim Sangyoon whose cheek was slashed by the goose’s large sashimi knife. The sight raised goosebumps on my skin; I looked back at Seo Dawon and asked urgently, “I-Is there no other way?”
“When you’re silenced, all skills to directly utilize your servant have all been blocked…But there’s one thing you can do.” He said.
So, I turned back to the status window and read through my list of skills again.
Most of the skills were colored red, meaning they were not available at present time, but one skill remained unchanged.
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-Possession (New!)
If special conditions are met, the servant can use the summoner’s body.
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TL: “All I know about Captain Owl is that it’s an Owl” is giving me major “People die when they are killed” vibes, lmao.
Thanks so much, Mufasa for the love! This bonus chapter is for your first donation!
Footnotes
Hyung is what young men call older men if they are a) brothers or b) Close friends. Just a refresher.