“We should wake up the crew.”

Woohyuk summoned Triton and instructed him to ring the bell up on the lookout tower.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell rang loudly, causing people to leap out of bed and rush above deck.

“What's going on?”

“Are there pirates?”

Still sleepy and groggy, most people couldn't understand what was happening as they rubbed their eyes.

Seeing their state, the captain pointed out to the sea and exclaimed.

“We are being chased by cursed ghost s.h.i.+ps. Judging by the flags they are flying, they seem to be a part of Anne Bonny's fleet.”

“Pirate Anne Bonny? “

“I heard she died more than one hundred years ago….”

The pa.s.sengers stared at the incoming ghost s.h.i.+ps that were shrouded in a black mist, with a look of incredulity.

There were quite a few of them, no something a small sailing s.h.i.+p like theirs could possibly deal with.

“What do you think we should do, Agatha?”

“We have no choice but to try and escape at full speed. If they manage to catch up, we are done for.”

Agatha, the brunette with gla.s.ses, responded to Jacob's question.

Judging by her red robe, she was most likely a mage.

After giving her a long stare, Woohyuk proceeded to instruct Triton who was still on the lookout tower.

[Go, first mate.]

[....]

Triton begrudgingly plunged down into the water, causing the Pitbull Clan members to look around in confusion.

“What was that?”

“It looked like some sort of fish….”

Since he was indeed half fish, his statement could be considered partially correct.

“Wallace, it doesn't look like we can outrun Anne Bonny's s.h.i.+p with this vessel. Don't you think we should try talking it out with her instead?”

“That sounds like a terrible idea. How could Anne Bonny show mercy to someone who's stolen from her?”

In her time, Anne Bonnie was quite well known for repaying any grudges. It was to the point that she had named her s.h.i.+p 'the Revenge Queen'.

Woohyuk however, thought differently.

“Perhaps she has her own circ.u.mstances.”

She could very well be wandering the seas as a ghost, simply because she had suffered from a similar curse as Drake.

Of course, it was still unclear as to why she had only appeared now.

“Circ.u.mstances..if that is the case, then perhaps she is looking for revenge on Oth.e.l.lo who betrayed her? ”

“He must have died a long time ago. Is there anyone else you can think of, have you managed to uncover anything else.”

“Hmm… Davy Jones, her fiance was an up and coming pirate, but he is no longer with the living. According to some legends, before he was killed, he had made some pact with the Sea G.o.d in order to obtain eternal life.

Davy Jones

Woohyuk hadn't known that he'd served the Sea G.o.d. Perhaps Triton might know something, but he had gone to negotiate with the ghost, Anne Bonny.

“Maybe the truth is something only Anne Bonny knows. Let's try to speak with her when she comes.”

As Woohyuk finished speaking, loud sounds appeared from the nearby s.h.i.+p. A fight had erupted between Triton and Anne Bonny.

Wallace was surprised upon seeing the ghost s.h.i.+p covered in ice.

“We'd be lucky if they don't sink us before they even get within earshot.”

“It indeed looks like the negotiations aren't going so well, but not to worry. They don't have much of a choice but to accept our offer.”

The jewel must be an important item for Anne Bonny simply by the fact that it was related to her curse.

Shortly after the ghost s.h.i.+ps caught up with their vessel.

“Kyaaak!”

Humanoid monsters jumped on their deck as they let out strange cries.

It would be a b.l.o.o.d.y battle. 

“Die you monsters!”

“Just why did our clan choose this s.h.i.+p?”

The majority of the pa.s.sengers were made up by members of the Pitbull Clan.

About 20 of them.

Among those, Jacob and Agatha performed rather well. Jacob made full use of his Knight Apprentice cla.s.s, and tanked the monster in the front, while Agatha kited to the back, slowing their movement with her Ice magic.

Woohyuk, who was protecting Wallace, nodded at their performance.

'They're not bad.'

In fact, it would be rather strange if they couldn't do at least this much since they had survived this far.

Agatha even had the spell Ice Missile, which was superior to the more common Ice Bolt, meaning she must have some level of magical talent.

As Woohyuk was watching Agatha's Ice magic, the humanoid monsters took a few steps back, before jumping back into the sea.

No doubt they had been given the order to retreat.

“Huk Huk… I thought I was going to die there.”

“Is anyone injured? Quickly speak up.”

“We have five with light injuries, the rest are fine!”

The Pitbull Clan was busy taking care of their own, while the other pa.s.senger leaned up against the mast to rest. 

'It is about time she comes.'

As they cleared their deck, Woohyuk turned to stare and the income Revenge Queen. The negotiations must have taken a turn for the better, since there were no longer any signs of Triton's Ice magic.

“She's coming.”

Wallace swallowed down nervously as he pulled out his cutla.s.s. He had a look on his face of one that was prepared for death.

Just as Woohyuk was about to rea.s.sure him, grappling hooks were launched from the incoming vessel.

Pussususuk!

As they hooked on their s.h.i.+p, the distance between the two sailboats began to disappear.

“Quickly, cut those ropes!”

“They're trying to board us!”

The Pitbull Clan members jumping into action. As they ran over to the edge of the s.h.i.+ps with their swords raised, Woohyuk injected mana into his Cradle of Grief.

A black fog quickly shrouded the deck, causing all its pa.s.sengers to suffer from a mental attack.

“Kuuah”

“No...No strength..”

They plopped down one by one. Among them, only Agatha was able to somewhat resist its effects. Of course she had still fallen to the ground, but a least she was able to remain lucid.

“What, what is this…”

Leaving her behind, Woohyuk walked to the s.h.i.+p's edge, awaiting the arrival of the Revenge Queen.

Shortly after, the two s.h.i.+ps collided.

Quang!

A loud grinding sound as their hull shook violently. It almost felt like they had been rocked by an earthquake.

Still, it didn't lead to too many injuries since for the most part, other than Woohyuk and Wallace, everyone was already lying down on the ground.

“I have a request.”

Wallace had just managed to regain his footing, as he told Woohyuk. Because he was recognized as his ally, he hadn't been targeted by the Cradle of Grief.

“What is it?”

“I have a granddaughter named Dorothy. She lives with my wife in the residential area of Delphoa. If I die here, please give her this.”

Wallace handed him a silver pendant. No doubt there was some history behind it.

“Alright.”

Woohyuk nodded as he examined the pendant.

[Wallace Campbell's Secret Pendant]

Category:    Jewellery

Grade:        B

Durability:    12,500

Effect:        Spirit 30, when combined with the purple gems kept by Dorothy, additional functions are unlocked.

'Is it a fusion artifact?'

The kind of artifact that only shows its true worth when multiple items are brought together.

Since he asked him to hand it to his granddaughter, there was a good chance that it had a message recorded within it. 

Some artifacts were capable of storing some information within them.

As Woohyuk was closely examining the silver pendant, a system window popped up before him.

[New quest]

Name:         Wallace Cambell's sincere request

Type:        General

Content:    Deliver the secret pendant given to you by Wallace Cambell, to Dorothy who is living in Delphoa, a port city in the Izuna kingdom.

Other:        Upon failure, cannot be repeated.

'So there's also a quest.'

In general, the reward one receives from a quest almost always outweighed any gains obtained by pocketing the quest item.

In essence, using Wallace Cambell's silver pendant as a means of extorting Dorothy, wasn't a smart idea.

“I believe you can survive this desperate situation we are in. I am too old now, but I still have a good eye for people.”

“Have you already given up?”

“I've lived long enough. It's quite rare for seafarers such as I to have enjoyed such a full life. The only regret I leave behind is not being able to care for my granddaughter.”

After she lost her parents in an accident, she became a very introverted person.

Wallace had returned to the sea despite his old age, simply to leave her being some inheritance. Of course his wife would know where their money is stashed, but the pendant held other valuable items.

“Thank you for accepting, if you manage to succeed, my wife will reward you properly.”

“Don't worry so much about the pendant, for now let's try to think about how to stay alive.”

Either way he was heading to the port city, Delphoa, so this quest could be easily achieved. His difficulty at the moment lay in releasing Anne Bonny from her curse.

They had a lot of trade that went through the Nerf Bay, so leaving her to roam these waters would severely hamper their economy.

As Woohyuk raised his head to look at the Revenge Queen, bathing in a blue light, a woman appeared above the mermaid sculpture on the s.h.i.+p's prow.

“Are you Anne Bonny?”

“That's right, I was once called that name.”

She was beautiful enough to stand out in a crowd, despite her appearance being mostly blurred.

Woohyuk instructed Wallace to take out the Jewel, and then continued speaking.

“This is the gem you are after, come and take it.”

“I've finally found it. I've been waiting so long for this day to arrive.”

Anne Bonny glided over to their s.h.i.+p, and accepted the red jewel. She immediately began to regain some color, as she regained her human complexion.

Bright red hair, deep  blue eyes like the sea and a milky white skin tone.

Even by the Eeth continent's beauty standards, she was quite the looker.

“What happened to you?”

“Oth.e.l.lo, a s.h.i.+pmate of mine, was jealous of the relations.h.i.+p between Davy Jones and I, and committed quite the cruel act.”

At the time, Anne Bonny had been carrying Davy Jone's child. She had decided to quit her life as a pirate, and return to her hometown. However, Oth.e.l.lo wasn't having none of it.

He had obtained the Hourgla.s.s of the Dead from a Sea Nymph, and trapped her soul inside of it.

“The Hourgla.s.s of the Dead...”

“Once it was flipped over, she could only until all the grains of sand had fallen to roam the living world.”

Bound by the Hourgla.s.s of the Dead, Anne Bonny was incapable of harming anyone. Every day she pleaded with him to release her, but Oth.e.l.lo steadfastly refused.

Even on his deathbed, he vowed to never allow her to be reunited with her lover, Davy Jones.

As such, Anne Bonny's soul was cursed to be trapped inside of the Hourgla.s.s until it was destroyed by someone.

“Then why would you need this jewel? Was there an extra curse, other than the Hourgla.s.s of the Dead?

“Oth.e.l.lo was quite the cruel man, leading him to add another fail safe right before he died.”

Since Anne Bonny had never forgotten her love for Davy Jones, Oth.e.l.lo tricked her into cursing her own betrothal gift. His intent was to keep Anne Bonny trapped at sea, long after the Hourgla.s.s had ceased holding her.

Eventually he had succeeded, and Anne Bonny was cursed to wander the Nerf Bay in search of the red jewel. 

“Indeed, typically it is quite difficult for a ghost to break free from a curse they placed upon themselves.”

“I was blinded by revenge, and was easily fooled.”

In order for her soul to be released, the cursed jewel had to be destroyed.

However that had proven to be quite the problem since Wallace had alway kept the jewel with him.

“You can be reunited with Davy Jones now.”

“No, he's still wandering this world, neither a part of the living or the dead.”

Having been betrayed by his own crew, he entered a contract with the Sea G.o.d right before his death. In exchange for the eternal life he had been promised, he was tasked with leading all the souls of those lost at sea into the afterlife.