chapter 10

“Let’s have a hearty meal this time.”

Kunst, captain of the notorious Bloodred Plunderers of Oscar Islands lifted his head as he said this.

“It will be a big one this time?”

The one-eyed man beside him also lifted his head.

Although this man looked very dumb and naive, he was a madman who pulled out his own eye while saying, ‘Pirates should only have one eye’.

Well, it was nothing to be surprised about. There were a lot of crazy people there.

Kunst stroked his beard and said.

“A ship carrying students from the Westroad Academy will be passing by the island.”

“Doesn’t this happen twice a year? Besides don’t they have warships overlooking them?”

These words came from the vice-captain. He was a weak man, but he was very smart and cunning, that was how he made it to his current position.

“The Nitilus has them. But the Cortes that follow it is different. It is going via Geotanbul which means they’ll have to pass right by the Oscar Islands.”

Kunst laughed very loudly.

“They only have two escort warships with only about 50 guns.”

“They are passing close to the Oscar Islands?”

One-eye asked angrily.

What they were doing was similar to a rat shaking its ass while walking through a cat’s den.

However, the vice-captain was much more cautious.

“You gotta remember. The Academy is packed with talented people who are important to the Empire. No matter how little it is, there should be some protection…”

“Two 4 star battle mages are escorting them.”

“Battlemages!”

The One-eyed man couldn’t help but shout at those words. Even a few pirates nearby turned pale when they heard that.

4 star Battlemages were unrivaled demons on a naval battlefield. In fact, some of the men here had witnessed such a scene before.

“We’re going to attack a ship protected by battlemages? Captain, did you get a knife to the head?”

The vice-captain couldn’t help but ask roughly.

Kunst laughed loudly at those words.

“I’ve been hit twice. Of course, I’m fine regardless of that. My dear right-hand man, it’s not that we don’t have any chance of winning. Because we have an old man who will help us in the future.”

“Old man?”

“Kuku.”

At that time, a dark sound came from behind Kunst and all the pirates were surprised.

Though it was dark, they should’ve been able to tell if there was someone behind Kunst.

Although the person was wearing a black robe, they shouldn’t have been hard for them to see.

The faces of the pirates were struck with astonishment as the hood was pulled back and the face was revealed.

“Huk..!”

“Gh-, a ghost!”

“Hik…”

It was a walking skeleton. It was a white skeleton without any flesh.

In the place of its eyes, there were deep black holes filled with red flames.

Seafarers usually had strong beliefs in superstition. In particular, they were especially afraid of the sea’s evil spirits and ghost ships.

The skeleton’s appearance reminded them of both.

Kunst enjoyed the expressions of his men with a triumphant look on his face.

“Let me introduce you to Dullard. A lich”

* * *

Frey sat on the deck of the ship and looked around.

There were few people there besides the sailors and a man who was giving orders here and there saw Frey before approaching him.

“Are there any inconveniences?”

Frey realized he was the captain and shook his head.

“I just came up to get some fresh air.”

Frey subconsciously spoke politely to the captain because of his age and title.

The captain’s eyes shined.

‘He has a class.’

The captain was only a commoner that had been employed by the empire and since most of the students knew this, those who boarded usually treated him poorly.

The captain was even used to it after experiencing it for a long time. For this student to use a polite tone when speaking to the sailors showed that he was someone with an amazing background.

Of course, it wasn’t a definite indicator that he had a good family. There were many students who did not have a trace of elegance or politeness even though they hailed from great families.

Either way, the man in front of him was truly remarkable.

The captain took off his hat and bowed politely.

“My greeting was late. I am Mac Martinez, Captain of the Cortez.”

“I’m Frey Blake.”

“Ah! You are a son from the Blake family.”

The surprise in Mac’s eyes was easily noticeable.

After doing this for such a long time, he was able to memorize the names of some of the noble families. He’d heard that the Blake family was one of the most prestigious families in the region.

‘Indeed…he is a child from a great noble family.’

Mac was inwardly filled with admiration however it was only an illusion.

Had it been any of Frey’s older brothers, he would’ve been disappointed.

In any case, Mac liked this young cadet so he smiled before saying.

“Can I sit beside you?”

Frey laughed at that as it was a bit strange.

“Aren’t you the owner of the ship?”

“Haha.”

It meant that his permission was not necessary.

Mac grew increasingly more fond of Frey.

Frey mumbled softly while looking around the deck.

“It’s a good ship. The most important thing about sailing is the division of the roles, even though I’m a layman, the crew seems to be very organized.”

“They were all carefully selected. Although they might not be very smart, they are all good at their own tasks.”

Praise to the crew and ship was the highest praise a captain could receive. Even those empty words managed to make him feel good.

Mac couldn’t help but smile and laugh happily.

“So what do you intend to do in the capital city?”

“I plan to use the warp stone1 there.”

“I see. I’ve used it once before. In the blink of an eye, I arrived in Passfield across the east sea. I’m not sure when I’ll use it again since it is too expensive for me.”

Frey looked at Mac.

The person in front of him was a captain who had probably traveled the world.

“I’m going to the Ispania Mountains in the North. Do you have a recommended route?”

“The Ispania Mountains?”

Wasn’t that the place that was called the Monster’s Paradise? It was the hell mountains that even A-class soldiers would find it hard to return alive from!

It was practically suicide for a wizard to go there without any protection.

But Mac was smart.

He knew that if he asked, he wouldn’t get a complete answer.

Mac thought for a moment before he opened his mouth.

(Note:

Minor change, after browsing the manhwa for the first time, I decided to change ‘warp seat’ to ‘warp stone’.

Also just my own opinion, I feel like the mc portrayed in the manhwa is rather…whimsical and childish, I prefer the novel mc better…

Also, the discrepancies between the novel and the manhwa is much larger than in any other combination I’ve seen)