Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

Chapter 50: Pray and Pray Again (8)

“Damn it, let’s get out of here first!”

The people aboard the ship lacked the courage to move as two dragons flanked the ship. They had to keep the vessel intact somehow to survive.

Slam!

However, wasn’t there a bit too much water on this ship?

The water on the deck reached my ankles. I wondered whether that was okay.

“Throw out the water!”

Well, apparently, it wasn’t.

At the captain’s command, some sailors began scooping water with buckets. The rain was now almost blocking our view and seemed to be breaking apart rocks.

“Stop throwing harpoons and just help get rid of the water!”

Perhaps because there was too much water to take care of, the sailors grabbed the adventurers and made them haul it out, as well.

Deb was also hit with a bucket, but fortunately, despite being right next to him, I wasn’t thrown one.

They probably wanted to let me deal with the Spartoi, especially since I’d killed the most out of everyone on this ship.

“The Spartoi are coming!”

But to be frank, it seemed I had missed a few because of my seasickness. I still had the highest number of kills, though, so I didn’t know what to think.

Was it because the Inquisitor and the whip-wielding adventurer were helping me? Was it a mental thing? I didn’t really know if this could be affected by something like that, though.

Pierce!

I grabbed another harpoon, a weapon I was becoming increasingly familiar with the more I threw, and sneakily watched the progress of the battle between the massive monsters.

The Sea Dragon and black dragon were rampaging, trying to bite each other.

It would be perfect if the Sea Dragon ended up killing the black dragon like this, but realistically speaking, that seemed rather unlikely.

We would lose its aggro if I didn’t land a critical hit. Even if I threw more harpoons, there was no way it would care about a little toothpick getting stuck in its body when sharp teeth were piercing its neck.

Perhaps we should just turn the ship around…

“It’s a tsunami!”

“Damn it, why doesn’t the protective shield have an option to block out waves?!”

Meanwhile, the black dragon’s tail came down near us, creating a huge wave. Just like when the Sea Dragon breached the water, no, this time it was definitely big enough to capsize the whole ship.

The Spartoi were also swept up and tossed against the shield before sliding down.

“Oh God, please protect us!”

At that moment, the priests, whom I wasn’t sure were actually doing anything, came forward. Either clasping their hands in prayer or raising their weapons, each person demonstrated their Divine Power in their own way.

A golden film solidified around the outside of the shield. The divine-looking membrane blacked the tsunami, splitting it in two.

I had been wondering why the priests came along with us. It seemed this was the reason.

I also had no idea that the first thing that would successfully reduce my HP during this Raid would be one of my allies.

“Damn, those crazy bastards sure are a sight for sore eyes this time around.”

Of course, those weren’t Windhand’s words but from someone he had brought along.

“Hey, what’s that dragon?!”

Windhand asked me. I didn’t actually have an answer for him. The war between those two monsters was still ongoing.

And we were too far away now for me to throw more harpoons. I wondered whether I could regain its attention by attacking from up close, but if I threw the weapons from here, they would probably just get stuck in its scales…

“We’re going to fire the cannons.”

Oh, that surprised me. Right, the Archmage was also on this ship, wasn’t he? I hadn’t seen him for a while, so I had somewhat forgotten about his existence.

“When?”

“Now.”

I suddenly heard a sound from the central mast, and some type of machine started activating.

I had thought the central mast was simply reinforced with metal plates, but looking at it again, it seemed a device was inside it.

“W-Wooow.”

One of the more immature sailors kept his eyes fixed on the mast while continuously throwing out water.

I also took a peek and was a little surprised. Arcane Power gathered into a sizzling sphere, and soon, something similar to a beam fired from it.

The moment the black dragon dropped the Sea Dragon, the Arcane cannon collided with its huge body. Baaam! A massive explosion ensued.

Kiyaaaaa!

I checked on the black dragon’s condition while holding onto the railing. I could see it thrashing around as though it were dancing.

Looking closely at where the cannon hit, I could see its scales had broken slightly… Did we manage to break through them? I couldn’t really make out much as everything around us was pitch black. I wasn’t sure whether this was enough to pull its aggro, either.

“Uwahaha!”

Aah, I see. I could tell the kimchi dumpling was doing her best, considering how much noise she was making. Anyway, the black dragon… Was it looking at us? Did we pull its aggro?

Kiaaah!!

We did.

“The dragon is coming!”

We pulled it very well.

It was heading straight for us now! Accompanied by a tsunami!

I was screaming on the inside. Was that really okay? Will it really be fine? Could we really lure it back like this?

However, no matter how much of a fuss I made internally, it didn’t change the position I was in.

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I ran up to the stern. I had been at the center of the deck to better deal with the Spartoi, but now the dragon took priority.

“H-Here it comes!”

“Focus on the shield!”

Although we were only grazed not too long ago, it still took ¼ of the power to block it. How much would it take to stop a head-on attack?

Brzzzzt.

Regardless of how much damage would be prevented, it wouldn’t be anything good.

So, I infused as much Arcane Power as possible into a harpoon and threw it. I hoped it would work like last time—distracting the dragon with my attack so it would only graze past us.

Kiyaaaaa!!!

However, the dragon only increased the size of the wave facing us, causing it to rise further into the sky. That was just cheap!

“Oh God!!”

Fortunately, we could reinforce the shield with faith.

“This humble servant of yours offers herself to you.”

Golden light began pouring out from the Inquisitor.

“Save the sea and save your poor sheep.”

The blue waves rushing toward us tried to devour our ship, but they were completely blocked by the golden film, creating a scenery similar to what one might witness in an aquarium.

“Let your glory fall on the sea.”

My HP went down, as well.

“Uwaargh!”

“The Sea Dragon!”

“Uwah, uwaaargh!!”

No, hey, wait a second. Instead of dying from drowning at sea, I might actually end up dying from drowning in Divine Power.

No matter how much I stood on the opposite end of Divine Power, getting killed by my teammate was just too much! Uwaaargh!!

Splash!

However, before my HP completely bottomed out, the ship soared up and rose to the surface again. We survived. The Divine Power scattered away along with a spray of water.

「A hostile existence has entered a radius of 30m.」

Whoosh!

However, the black dragon gave us no time to catch our breaths. It towered right before us.

It seemed to have expected us to get washed away by the water, and when we didn’t, it clearly became enraged. The boat was shaking like crazy.

I really wanted to retaliate by driving a harpoon into its body.

However, whether because of my HP suddenly decreasing or the boat’s recent, rapid ascension, the edges of my vision had turned black and white, and I couldn’t move. I also couldn’t properly grasp the distance between the stern and bow anymore, which was a problem.

I slowly lowered my head and tried to shake off the dizziness.

“Everyone, brace yourselves!”

To my great annoyance, the dragon stuck its head over the bow and dove back into the sea with its body shaped like a “U”, causing the ship to rock again. I felt my gastric juices coming up.

Kiyaaa!

At that moment, the Sea Dragon came rushing toward us as though trying to save us.

Ah, of course, it wasn’t much help; as it rushed toward us, the already tumultuous surface of the water began swelling again.

Shake!

My body violently shook, like falling forward when a car suddenly stopped. That was the moment I couldn’t hold on any longer.

“Bleargh.”

Something lumpy spilled out from my throat through my lips.

It was kind of dark in color. I was pretty sure gastric juices were supposed to be brighter, though.

Drip.

Some of it also dropped down, mixing with the rainwater. I hoped it was just tears or drool, but the color of what dripped onto the deck was nothing like that. Part of my vision had turned red, as well.

Still, it didn’t matter so long as I didn’t suffer from the injury penalty.

Even if parts of my vision turned red and I bled a little, it wouldn’t kill me.

Kiyaaargh!

Bang!

“…!”

As I was trying to reassure myself, something hit the protective shield. Crack! It was followed by something breaking, a sound that rang in my ear.

“That’s!”

“Oh God!”

I quickly raised my head, an ominous feeling overcoming me. The black dragon’s tail had shattered the shield and broken part of the rear mast. The Inquisitor was gritting her teeth and spreading her protective film back out, which is why it only caused that much damage.

The Archmage headed down again.

However, the tail attack didn’t end with that.

Whether by coincidence or intention, the black dragon fiercely swung its tail toward us even while roaring at that Sea Dragon.

It was persistently targeting the central mast.

* * *

* * *

Rumble.

Blood streamed from the lips of the priests who were gritting their teeth.

The Inquisitor was in a similar condition. The stronger the radiance around them became, the stronger the film surrounding the ship to withstand those tail attacks became, and the more heat their bodies emitted, evaporating the rain before it even fell on them.

That didn’t look very healthy. My HP was also plummeting into the abyss here.

‘I can’t just stand here and suffer like this.’

Grip.

I held tightly onto the railing and grabbed the Zweihänder still strapped to my back.

Either way, I was thankful the main mast wasn’t damaged, but that happiness was rather limited, considering another mast had broken completely.

There was no way my character’s temperament would allow me to overlook this.

“…? You?”

Besides, if that thing kept hitting the film, I was destined to die either way. I didn’t want to be killed by my allies like that! Absolutely not!

Whatever our original plan might have been, I needed to live!

Tak.

I climbed onto the railing once more.

“Whip!”

“E-Eh?!”

Attacking from the railing was futile; my sword wouldn’t effectively hit the target. As such, I rushed along the railing toward the tail that was readying to crash down on the ship once more.

As I got near it, I jumped offboard as if attempting to plunge into the ocean.

Ssshing!

I pulled out my Zweihänder, gripping it tightly with both hands and encasing it in a pitch-black aura.

Whoosh!

Then, a jet-black crescent extended from my sword, growing in size and cutting off the dragon’s tail. Spew! Black blood spurted from the beast as several meters of the black dragon’s tail fell into the water.

Kiyaaaaagh!

I had never felt so exhilarated by the dragon’s scream.

“A-Aah!”

However, in exchange for that blow, I had no choice but to surrender my body to gravity.

Sling!

Just as I was about to fall into the seawater, a whip quickly wrapped around my torso. I could feel a painful tingling and tightening sensation from where the leather strap wound around my body, but at least I had avoided falling into the sea.

With the aid of several other adventurers, he pulled my body back onto the deck using the whip as a safety line.

Thud.

I tried to land on my feet but still ended up falling.

Hmm. Still, I wasn’t embarrassed by my failed landing as I rolled one more time. I could only praise myself for the awesome posture—down on one knee with a hand placed on the ground—I ended up in. Although my stomach felt like it was turning somersaults, and I had to puke out more of that thick, lumpy stuff in my mouth.

“Demon Knight!”

I hurriedly covered my mouth and coughed. When I looked at what was smeared on my gauntlet, I felt relief, even though it was nothing to be relieved about.

Wow, I was so glad it was blood. If it had been puke, the atmosphere would have been completely ruined.

No, of course, no one would blame me for puking. It was just… If I had to roleplay as my character anyway, I wanted to at least look cool and stylish. I would look completely different if I were to puke instead of spilling some blood after putting so much effort into this performance.

“Uwargh! Are you okay?!”

Deb, who had stuck his head out from inside the ship, got scared and came running. While my head was spinning, Deb pulled my body to help me up, making me even dizzier.

“The… dragon.”

I closed my eyes tightly before opening them again.

“I don’t really know what happened to them. They both dived back under the sea…”

My vision was even redder than before, but my dizziness was lessening. Could it be?

No, I wasn’t sure if I was over my seasickness. My stomach still felt like it was tossing around inside of me.

“We’re in the Dragon’s Gate again! Everyone, get ready!”

As I had cut off so much of its tail, there was no way we lost its aggro. If we entered the Dragon’s Gate again, the water would become shallower due to the reefs, making it difficult to attack us from below—

「A hostile existence has entered a radius of 30m.」

“What?”

I felt some slight vibrations from the water and saw a target mark approaching us from beneath the ship. Soon, the water level rose, and something soared from the left side of the ship.

“Uwaaaargh!”

The shield, which I didn’t know had recharged, broke once more. The ship rocked tremendously, throwing people onto the deck.

Crack!

The black dragon bit into the mast.

Bang! Baaang! Bang!

I could feel more ominous vibrations coming from under the ship.

Crack!

“There’s a hole in the ship!!”

“Th-There are Spartoi!”

They were sounds that heralded catastrophe.

“Oh, almighty God, please hear our prayers. Hear my plea.”

“Don’t panic! Come down now and stop the water from getting in! Adventurers! Take care of the Spartoi!”

Oh, did I uselessly cut its tail off? Should I have just waited for the ship to escape its radius?

Even if my HP hit rock bottom, I would have been the only one to die…

Kiyaaargh!

On the ship that had barely regained its balance, I faced the dragon still some distance away, waves whipping between us.

Splash.

It bit through the mast it had just torn off, the two pieces falling into the sea. Those red eyes stared directly at me.

“Hurry, throw out the water! If this ship sinks, we’re all dead! We still have the front mast!”

At that moment, I came to a realization: even if I hadn’t sliced off its tail, it would have tried to kill us. We hit it with the Arcane cannon before I even touched its tail. We also threw a multitude of harpoons at it.

Or maybe it was just because we had trespassed into its territory. Or simply because we were still alive.

Or maybe it just was because it was ‘corrupted’.

“Now—!”

Bang!

At that moment, something else struck the ship in the gap while the shield was still down and the priests couldn’t recite their prayers.

It was a Spartoi, larger than all those I had seen before.

However, it was still in the process of forming. Its legs and face weren’t entirely there yet.

From what I could glean from how its unfinished body vaguely resembled the black dragon, it most definitely formed from the cut-off tail.

However, there was something even more important than that: I was really lucky. I wasn’t just talking about taking an opportunity when it presented itself. I was genuinely, extremely lucky.

It could have dealt so much damage to us with just a single attack, so it was assuredly strong.

“Captain!”

“Urgh!”

Unable to move from where he held on to the rudder, Windhand was drenched in the water that the Spartoi splashed on board and thrown into the sea.

“Captain!”

The sailors screamed.

In the next moment, Arcane Power flowed into my legs without me noticing.

“All of you!”

“Hold on for just a moment!”

Sigh, really. The mast was shattered, and there was a hole in the bottom. This raid seemed to be an utter failure.

Did he try sacrificing himself or something?

However, did I have to comply with that plan?

“Get back on the ship.”

“Argh?!”

I caught up to Windhand as he flew through the air. I grabbed him by the collar and immediately tossed him back.

“Mister Knight—!”

It would hurt a lot if he hit the deck like that, but that wasn’t something I should care about. Still, it was better than falling into the sea, right? Moreover, the black dragon was right in front of me.

Kiyaaaaargh!

The dragon opened its mouth and lowered its head. With how massive its body was, it was a bit slower as well.

No matter how skillfully one could swim after falling in there, it would be difficult to escape the radius of that huge mouth.

“Victory to my blade.”

However, I hadn’t given up yet.

I was going to try and fight it. Our plan had fallen to pieces anyway and was now just a pie in the sky.

“Glory to the Heavens…!”

[Survival Instinct] pointed to a large fragment of the mast that thing had just torn off and spat carelessly into the sea.

I was very lucky. It was extremely rare for such debris to remain intact and floating on the surface when the sea was like this.

I seized the opportunity and gained a foothold.

Splash!

The impact of me jumping onto the piece of debris caused some ripples and splashes to form around the area.

My body lifted into the sky.

Bam!

The black dragon’s head was right underneath my feet.