Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 442 - 441: The Once-Existent Ghost Ship

Chapter 442: Chapter 441: The Once-Existent Ghost Ship

After entering the Stone Building, Richard swept his eyes around but didn’t see the Death Mage. He was about to extend his perception to find the other party when suddenly a whooshing sound came from behind.

Originally, the Death Mage, like a corpse, had been hiding in the corner and now suddenly rushed out, wielding a dagger aimed at Richard’s heart from behind, attempting to kill him in one strike.

But—

"Bang! Crack!"

The Death Mage’s dagger, which he had stabbed at Richard’s robe, met the Non-Newtonian Fluid in the layers of the robe that quickly hardened, becoming as hard as a sheet of iron.

The next moment, the Death Mage’s dagger broke with the sound of snapping, the blade flying out and even injuring the Death Mage’s arm, causing him to scream in pain.

Richard turned his head to look at the Death Mage.

The Death Mage tried to flee, but Richard waved his hand and released Wind Repel, slamming the Death Mage hard against the wall.

"Thud!"

The Death Mage slid down the wall, crashing onto the ground, his face twisted in pain as he moaned.

Richard looked on thoughtfully.

Previously, when he had projected his spirit, he had confirmed that neither the Death Mage nor the Divination Woman possessed the strength of a Wizard, but he had also thought that both should at least be Wizard Apprentices. Even if they were just novices with terrible Talent, like Prince Gro.

But now it seemed the Death Mage had no mana fluctuations at all. The last resort was to try a dagger sneak attack. After being hit by a spell, there was no effective defense. This was simply... ridiculous, pitiable, and... frightening.

The opponent is a common person!

Yes, the opponent is a common person!

This common person was researching undeath, eternal life, and Sewing Monsters on this island.

That meant the Sewing Monsters were not some undead creatures created by a spell but were modified organisms.

This was somewhat astonishing.

It was as if, on Earth, without any help, one person managed to research and create the Cloned Sheep "Dolly" from scratch.

Thinking of this, Richard’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the Death Mage, "Before, you remember you proposed that we could collaborate, right? So now, do you have any interest in discussing that?"

"You want to talk? Fine, how do you propose we do this?" the Death Mage struggled to get up from the ground, his eyes darting around.

"Quite simple, you tell me everything you’ve researched, and I leave this place."

"Are you sure? If that’s the case..." the Death Mage said, dragging out the last word as if considering, then his expression suddenly changed. He grabbed a bottle of mixed yellow liquid from a shelf and threw it at Richard, "Just go die!"

Richard shook his head, knowing there was nothing to discuss anymore. He waved his hand, and a wall of air appeared.

With a "splash," the muddy yellow liquid bottle shattered against the air wall, and its contents splashed out, drenching the Death Mage, covering his face.

"Ah!"

The Death Mage screamed in agony, his eyes wide with extreme terror, frantically trying to wipe the liquid from his face. But it was too late; the muddy yellow liquid was a powerful Acid Liquid, it reacted quickly, creating a thick corrosive fog, and the Death Mage’s body was rapidly corroded as he screamed miserably, rolling wildly on the ground.

In a moment, the Death Mage lay motionless on the ground, breathless.

When Richard approached, he saw that half of the corpse had already dissolved, leaving no chance for rescue.

Shaking his head, Richard felt a tad regretful.

Truth be told, although he had intended to kill the opponent, he had wanted to interrogate the opponent first to find out the details of the research. He had not expected the opponent to "commit suicide."

In this case, it was going to be troublesome. To understand what the opponent had researched, it would take a considerable amount of time to sort through the materials left behind.

Walking over to the side, he casually picked up a piece of Papyrus from the Stone Table and saw the extremely sloppy handwriting that looked like scribbles. Richard massaged his brow and said, "It seems this will take longer than expected."

"So..." He looked around, quickly scanning the Stone Building, and Richard made a decision in his heart.

...

"Tap tap tap..."

As Richard walked out of the Stone Building, he saw Pandora outside, still viciously pummeling the black Sewing Monster, which had been dead for some time. Under Pandora’s fists, the black Sewing Monster was almost unrecognizable.

Pandora didn’t care about that; she kept punching rhythmically, her eyes somewhat vacant, and she constantly muttered, "Seven... Seven... Seven..."

Clearly, Pandora had gotten stuck at the end while reciting the multiplication table of seven and was struggling to recall it, thus entering a trance. The furious beating of the black Sewing Monster was merely a mechanical action. If she couldn’t remember the table, she would beat the monster for a whole day and night.

Shaking his head, Richard had no intention of disturbing Pandora and quietly walked away to the side.

...

On the side, in the cave prison.

The crew of the Naru Glory Fisherman had all been imprisoned here and, overwhelmed by fear and despair, many were softly weeping.

"I shouldn’t have set sail when I heard the rumors about the ghost ship. And now I’m about to die here. Sob, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die..."

In a corner cell.

Captain Morgan, First Officer Williams, and helmsman Tomia listened to the noisy sounds around them, sitting silently on the ground.

Suddenly, Captain Morgan spoke up, addressing the two men, "Actually... I heard about the ghost ship a long time ago."

"Hmm?" First Officer Williams and helmsman Tomia were taken aback.

"Really, I did hear about it a long time ago." Captain Morgan’s eyes and brows lowered, "You have only come aboard recently and wouldn’t know, but actually, there were all kinds of rumors about ghost ships when I wasn’t a captain yet, ten or more, twenty or more years ago.

Rumors would always say how many ships met with disaster, but I never believed them. After all, I am very clear that some rumors are fake from the beginning, exaggerated in the process of spreading until they seem true.

But... sigh, I really didn’t expect that ghost ships truly exist. Now everyone has ended up like this; I guess it’s my fault too, I was too stubborn, I am not a good captain."

"Captain, you shouldn’t say that," First Officer Williams said earnestly. "In my heart, you will always be the best captain. As far as I know, no one has better navigation skills than you."

"Is that so?" Captain Morgan gave a bitter smile and asked, "If that’s the case, can we live and leave this place, I mean, if. Williams, would you still be willing to sail with me?"

"This..." First Officer hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and looked at Captain Morgan, "Captain, don’t get mad, but I’ve realized now that I don’t really enjoy sailing."

"Hmm? What do you like?"

"Adventure," First Officer Williams said. "Actually, when I first came onboard, I thought that as a sailor, I could go to many places, see many people, and gain a lot of experience. But after joining the ship, I understood that, although it’s true you can go to many places, they are just ports. I’ve seen many people, but they are all cargo traders, which is quite boring.

If I can make it out alive, I would like to become a mercenary. That might satisfy my desire for adventure. Don’t be mad, Captain."

"No, I am not angry. You becoming a mercenary is good, actually, if I can leave this time, I am not planning to sail anymore either. After all, the ship is gone. I will find a place and live out the rest of my life in peace," Captain Morgan said and then turned to the helmsman to ask, "Tomia, what do you want to do?"

"I—" The helmsman hesitated a moment before responding, "If possible, I would like to open a tavern."

"Open a tavern? Why?"

"Because... I like drinking," the helmsman said a little sheepishly. "On the ship, Captain, you hardly let me drink, and when steering the ship, you made me not touch a drop. I know it’s for safety, but I really can’t help it. I feel opening a tavern, to drink as much as I want, would be the best."

"Then you’d better be careful, lest your tavern closes down because you drink too much."

"Surely not." The helmsman scratched his head.

At that moment, First Officer Williams’s face changed and, in a low and cautious voice, he said, "Footsteps."

"Hmm?"

The three men in the cell immediately turned their gaze toward the cave entrance.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The footsteps grew closer and louder, echoing through the cave, catching everyone’s attention as they all turned to look at the cave entrance.

Richard appeared at the entrance.

Entering the cave, Richard first glanced at the people in the cell, then turned his head to look into the depths of the cave.

"Hmm, is there one that escaped the net?" Richard said, and with a wave of his hand, several sparks flew out.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The sparks quickly hit a presence deep in the cave and, amidst the consecutive explosions and by the light they cast, they could see a green-skinned stitched monster scorched and fallen to the ground.

The people in the cell fell silent.

Richard turned back and spoke to the crowd.

"Time is limited, so I’ll keep it short."

"First, you are lucky, I am here to rescue you."

"Second, I will open the doors and let you out next, you have half an hour to make your way to the port along the route we came from, and then leave on the ship that brought you here."

"Third, if you don’t leave within half an hour, you will have creatures like the one I just killed coming after you in groups to capture you and kill you all. In other words, you have only half an hour to escape.

"Fourth, don’t ask me why I am saving you, nor why I know so much, and don’t be curious about my true identity, just take care of yourselves."

"Fifth, it’s up to you whether to believe what I’m saying or not, whatever you want, that’s it."

After speaking, Richard quickly opened all the cell doors.

Everyone stayed in their cells, looking at each other, unsure of what to do.

Should we run away immediately? Has luck come like this? But why does it feel a bit off?

Seeing this, Richard didn’t say much, simply stated, "There are twenty-nine minutes left," and then walked out of the cave.

The next moment, the people were slightly taken aback, then realizing, they all ran out of the cells, out of the cave, and desperately towards the port.

...