Wolves of Hader

Chapter 33

The party descended from the rocky mountain.

Each person carried a backpack, plus a large bag.

The pirate captain grumbled.

"What on earth is in here?"

"Rocks."

"Did we come to this island just to mine rocks?"

"And you're groaning that it's heavy, just from carrying those?"

"I mean, what are you going to do with those rocks?"

"Young master, that's the pirate camp over there."

We hid behind the rocks.

It wasn't a proper village, just a ramshackle camp made of rough logs. There were no women or children in sight, only pirates.

"It looks like this is just a place for drinking and partying all night long. There are some barrels and utensils, but I don't see any laundry."

"Their families must be on another island."

Donnie continued.

"Apart from those inside the buildings, there are about sixty men. There are two landing crafts on the shore, and not far out at sea, there's a pirate ship. It seems all the pirates from that ship are here."

The pirate captain added.

"Even if it's the same pirate crew, they have different captains and bases. With a ship that big, there'd be about seventy pirates. There should be about five, including the captain, left on the ship."

"So, Red Beard isn't here?"

"That's not Red Beard's ship. You think piracy's easy? You have to drift around at sea for about a month before you catch a ship worth plundering. Those guys probably just scored a haul and are partying here now."

Urald spoke.

"Will things go as planned?"

"If it's too big, we'll just abandon it."

"That'd be a waste, though."

"As long as it's the size of a landing craft, that's a success. We'll be able to haul it up on our ship."

The plan was already set.

The only one who didn't know was the pirate captain.

"Donnie, go with the captain to the ship."

"When should we move?"

"Keep an eye on things and come at the right time."

"Understood."

"Why am I the only one being left out again?"

"Quiet. Go quickly. Take this, too."

"You want me to carry the old man's bag as well?"

"This pirate fellow sure talks a lot."

Urald thrust a backpack into the pirate captain's arms. Donnie took my backpack and set off with the captain.

"How many agility potions do we have?"

"Only two."

"Take one right before we start, and if I succeed in taking the ship, use the other then. Urald, just draw their attention and escape right away."

"Young master, aren't you worried about your safety?"

"As long as you lure them away well, I won't be in any danger."

"All right. Those pirates are going to be totally stunned."

Urald disappeared into the bushes.

He was so short, he hid instantly.

I ran along the cliff below the pirate camp. After running for about five minutes, I started hearing shouts.

I'd arrived at the coast, right in front of the camp.

"Hey! Pirates, how are you!"

"A dwarf has appeared!"

"What nonsense is this? Why would a dwarf show up here?"

"It's really a dwarf!"

"What's going on with these guys? A dwarf?"

"Let's catch the dwarf and hang him up!"

"Catch the dwarf! Ohohoho!"

The pirates, still half-drunk, came running 'thump-thump-thump.' As they rushed off, I sprinted quickly toward the coast.

While I was running, I saw Urald tearing through the camp, causing chaos.

Pirates chased him this way and that in their attempts to catch him.

"You idiots! Catch him already!"

"The dwarf's too fast!"

"Where did this dwarf even come from?"

Crash— Crack!

"He's heading that way! Block him!"

"Don't cluster together, get in his way!"

"You damn dwarf! I'll kick you!"

Thud— Clatter—

"Argh! My balls!"

"He's running into the woods! Catch him!"

"That dwarf must be a blacksmith! If we catch him, we can sell him for a huge price!"

"Sell him! Hahaha!"

Hearing the shouts behind me, I rowed hard. I took one landing craft for myself and towed the other one with a rope.

I let go of the towed landing craft along the way, and brought the one I was on underneath the net ladder of the pirate ship.

I quickly climbed up the ladder.

The pirates on the ship weren't any different from those on the island.

One pirate was sprawling against the mast. Two more were snoring on deck. The captain was dozing under the shade.

I crept onto the deck silently.

I approached the captain first, checked the movements, and acted immediately!

I grabbed the dozing captain by the collar and flung him straight overboard.

"Waaagh!"

Hearing the scream, the pirates opened their eyes, but that was all.

Maybe it was because they were still half-drunk, or half-asleep.

They just blinked in confusion, unable to grasp the situation, and one by one, they went flying overboard as well.

I immediately pulled up the net ladder. Then, picking up a pirate's sword, I rushed to the bow and slashed at the anchor rope.

It was so thick I had to reinforce it with magic power.

After cutting the anchor rope—

I went down into the cabin.

"Is anyone in here?"

Silence.

It was so hot inside the cabin, it was unlikely anyone was sleeping there.

Now it was time to shrink the ship.

I'd once seen a video of a foreign guildmaster shrinking a huge bus down to the size of a chocolate bar.

It was said that the more magic power you had, the bigger the object you could shrink.

Would my level of magic power be enough to handle this pirate ship, which was even bigger than ours?

Would the shrinking magic work?

And if it did, how small would the ship become?

I placed the shrinking-magic stone on the deck and infused it with magic power.

The symbol on the stone glowed, but that was all.

So I kept pouring in more magic power, gradually. Even after infusing about half my power, nothing happened, so I gathered all my strength and poured in everything I had.

It was just then.

A small, glowing orb—looked like an elemental—rose from the stone. Then light burst from the stone, spreading in all directions.

Realizing something was wrong, I rushed and flung myself over the deck railing.

As I plunged into the sea, I looked back.

The whole ship was being engulfed in green light, as if consumed by it. It seemed like it would explode any moment!

Splash—

Diving, I did my best to get away from the ship. Even after surfacing, I swam as far away as I could.

As I swam hard, suddenly—

Flash!

A burst of light exploded.

"Whew..."

The pirate ship was gone.

No, a small boat was floating some distance away.

I'd hoped, and it worked!

I swam toward the shrunken ship. The pirates around me looked at each other in bewilderment.

"The ship's disappeared?"

"Where did our ship go?!"

"Captain! That guy threw us out!"

"Catch him!"

The pirates began swimming toward me. They had no clue the pirate ship had shrunk.

But, as it turned out, they swam faster than I did.

"Hey! Isn't that our ship?"

"What the— The ship's tiny!"

"That brat! I'll kill him!"

The pirates started gathering around the shrunken ship. One of them reached it before me and began splashing toward the landing craft.

I quickly overtook him.

"Stay away! Get lost!"

Wham—

I punched him in the face, grabbed the pirate ship.

I used the shrunken pirate ship as a swim board and kicked in the water. When speed lagged, I channeled magic power into my legs.

"That guy's stealing our ship!"

"Give us our ship back!"

"If you keep yelling, we'll catch up faster!"

Because the pirates had fallen into the water before me, their stamina ran out fast.

Thanks to that, even though I was pushing a heavy ship, the distance between us kept widening.

"You bastard! Hand over our ship!"

"Captain! I'm spent, I can't go any more!"

"If we lose the ship, we're dead men!"

"Ah! I got a cramp in my leg!"

"See, that's 'cause you idiots drank too much!"

I widened the gap even more.

That big ship had shrunk to the size of a twelve-person landing craft. If it had been even bigger, I would have given up.

"Young master! Over here!"

Donnie was coming on a landing craft. They must've set off for me as soon as the ship disappeared.

"Tie this rope to the figurehead!"

"Throw it!"

Donnie tossed the rope.

I tied it to the pirate ship's figurehead and boarded our landing craft.

The crew immediately changed course.

"I didn't expect it to shrink this much. That was a pretty big ship, too."

"Yeah. It's just the right size."

"Why did you bring back a model ship?"

One of the crew asked, so I just smiled.

It looked like a sailing ship, but since it was so small, it seemed like a model.

Yet it was too big to be just for decoration.

/ / /

"We got ourselves a ship for free!"

"Do you think it'll make a good trade ship?"

"Pirates don't build ships, or buy them; they raid trade ships and make 'em into pirate ships."

"So this is a pirate ship?"

The captain asked.

Everyone was out on deck.

"That's right. Next voyage, we'll renovate this and sail it. I want the captain and the crew to sail with me again. No—I want to hire you as members of my house."

"It would be our greatest honor. But..."

The captain inspected the ship, turning it this way and that.

"It's the shape and structure of a seventy-man sailing ship, but how can we use this for a voyage?"

"I'll restore it to its original size."

"Restore? I'm not sure I understand."

"You'll find out soon enough. Please make sure nothing damages this ship in the meantime."

"Yes, sir!"

I spoke to the pirates as well.

"From now on, you'll ride this ship, too. As proper crew, not pirates."

The pirates nodded uncertainly. They seemed to accept the idea of being crew now.

The pirate captain looked at the shrunk ship curiously. To him, it looked just like the "model" of the pirate ship he'd seen at Ta-iki.

The captain shouted,

"Everyone, take your positions! Pirates may pursue, so we need to clear these waters as fast as possible!"

"To your stations!"

"Former pirates, move, too!"

The crew hurried around.

We'd already come quite far from Ta-iki, but we still couldn't let our guard down.

We might encounter a storm again.

"What's the current wind direction?"

"Southwest wind!"

"Set the sails for southwest!"

"Unfurl all sails, aye!"

As each sail rose and filled, the ship surged forward under the wind.

It was another long voyage ahead.

Only the final destination remained now.

/ / /

Six days on the sea.

It was as if the spirit of the sea itself were testing us. But there were no storms.

It was a remarkably smooth voyage.

During the journey, both Urald, Donnie, and I made good use of our time.

I began to create basic skills, and the other two achieved union with their elementals.

They didn't create the same system as I did. As long as they could register the skills I made, that was enough.

"It's really amazing to be with an elemental."

"In what way?"

"It's like having a really close friend. A friend who understands exactly what you mean."

That was Donnie's impression.

He was right—the relationship was just like that. Spiritually connected, with no sense of resistance in communication.

Urald got a Warrior skill.

Donnie got a Berserker skill.

Russell would get a Defender skill.

For now, I planned to give these advanced class skills to these three first.

There were seven main classes—it depended on whom I met next for the other classes.

Berserker. Warrior. Defender.

Archer. Lancer. Buffer. Healer.

Those are the basic seven.

Depending on weapon or skill, each class can be subdivided further. You could also combine them, like a Lance Defender.

There was no separate Mage. If your class skill level rose high enough, you could wield magic-like power anyway.

So, the leader of each main class would get a spirit stone, and the soldiers would get low-rank spirit stones.

Further progress would depend on their own efforts.

Now, only my role remained.

Would I be the Buffer for my companions, like in my guild days?

Or would I see the path of the Berserker, something I never tried before?

"The Demon Island is in sight!"

On hearing the cry, I left the cabin.

On the sea ahead, shimmering in the haze, an island's outline came into view.

A place of magical power and spatial phenomena. The locals here called it Demon Island.

Strange Island, Alice.

The last island of this journey.