11 chapter 10

"One of the cities with a warp stone that is closest to the

Ispania Mountains, is Ispaniola. If you walk about half a day

from the North Boulevard there, you will arrive at the

entrance to the mountains. Of course, it's an area where a

large number of monsters appear…"

He wasn't completely sure but he still added that information to his

words.

However Frey was unsurprised at the mention of monsters.

"How much do you think it'll cost?"

"It's quite the distance from Kausymphony actually so you

will need at least 10 gold coins."

That was ten times Frey's current wealth.

If he didn't manage to reach 7 stars and gain the ability to use

teleport then that would mean he'd need 20 gold coins.

'I need to earn money.'

Two months of vacation. Initially he had felt that it was more than

enough time, but the more information he got, the tighter the time

actually felt.

Frey spent some time chatting with Mac.

He was forty-four years of age, and as expected he was a veteran

who had explored all over the continent.

Their conversation was very helpful for Frey.

Mac explained the situation around the continent in an easy to

understand manner and he sometimes answered without hesitation

even when the things he was asked were mysterious or questionable.

Unlike the other students, Mac didn't dislike him, in fact the

captain appreciated him a lot for the respect he was given.

Three days after, as they were passing by Geotanbul. Frey looked

around before addressing Mac.

"There are a lot of warships."

"It's a maritime country. Moreover these days those pirates

from Oscar Islands are very active."

A sailor without front teeth was the one who answered him.

Frey shook his head.

"The Geotanbul Navy seems to be very strong, why can't

they root out the pirates?"

"There have been multiple punitive operations. But each

time, the pirates would come together and form an alliance."

Mac sighed heavily.

"Can you believe it? Whenever those selfish and cruel

creatures felt that their lives were at risk, they didn't

hesitate to join hands. It's a horrific union. They are so

powerful after joining together that it is impossible to get rid

of them using only the power of Geotanbul. Besides it is

impossible to get rid of them completely."

"Are you unhappy?"

"Yes. It's easy to talk about having Geotanbul get rid of

them, but it's thanks to those pirates in the Oscar Islands that no other country dare take over this one. It is ironic that

the pirates who eats the country's flesh also act as their

guardians."

"Hmm."

There are times when dangerous guys like that have their uses.

How powerful would the city state be while utilizing their power?

Still the existence of pirates was unpleasant.

Frey frowned but didn't say anything as he didn't want to offend

Mac.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not sure if you heard, but we

have two 4 star battlemages in our escort this time."

In this modern time a 3 star wizard was the standard and 4 stars

were considered elites.

At 5 stars he could be eligible to be the head of a small academy.

In addition, wizards from the magic towers were seen as more

reliable so it was understandable why Mac was so confident.

"I'll say this, if pirates aim for us, it will be a bad day for

them. Well, if they had brains then they wouldn't aim for us

while we're escorted by imperial warships."

Unfortunately, Mac's expectations turned out to be wrong.

That evening, pirates raided.

Even then, Mac was not afraid.

"They came to dig their grave at my feet."

Soon however, an amazing scene appeared before his eyes.

The warships that were escorting the Cortez had been smashed by

ice spikes.

* * *

"Kuhahaha! Did you see that you bastards?"

The pirates were excited as Kunst shouted those words.

Initially, they had only been half-confident.

They had only heard rumors of the undead beings.

In fact, many ominous and horrifying things had been said about

them, but the pirates wondered if it would be able to face off against

the battle mages who were unparalleled in naval battles.

As it watched the Cortez that floated in the distance, Lich Dullard

began to murmur ominously as black smoke began to pour out from

its body of bones.

The pirates trembled in fear and took steps away from the lich.

Before long, Dullard's murmuring stopped.

Soon words flowed from his mouth as he looked at the ships in the

distance.

[Ice Spear]

Piching.

In an instant, an ice spear materialised before the ship.

It was thicker than the ship's mast and looked like a giant awl.

This awl descended to the ship at a furious speed.

The battlemages responded as well, covering the ships with a light shield.

However it was to no avail.

Kwajik.

The ice spear shattered the shield like it was glass and easily

crashed into the warship.

"Wooooow!"

The pirates cheered loudly.

Even if all of them smashed with their mights, they would not be

able to achieve a similar effect.

They looked at Dullard with expressions of worship and fear.

Kunst approached him with a smile.

"That was an amazing skill."

[…it's a bit odd.]

Dullard muttered grimly.

It was impossible to tell what he was thinking because of his empty

bone face, but one could see that he was confused.

"What do you mean? No matter how good those battle

mages were, they couldn't even protect themselves."

[I summoned three Ice Spears.]

"Yes?"

Kunst had an odd expression before quickly saying.

"Lord, didn't we agree that the ship in the middle couldn't

be sunk? The students there should be used as hostages…"

[It wasn't large enough to sink it. It would just prevent

them from running away or giving annoying resistance.]

"What happened to it?"

[It was blocked.]

"What does that mean?"

Although Kunst could be considered a smart pirate, that was the

extent of it. He still had a hard time understanding what Dullard was

trying to say.

Dullard glanced at Kunst's face for a moment before looking away.

[There is a skillful wizard on that ship.]