Gerhan was taken aback. "A ghost ship?"

"Yes." Merlin nodded. "Margaret said you have a lot of experience at sea. Have you ever seen one, or have you only heard stories about them?"

For now, Merlin knew almost nothing about the ghost ship that had appeared last night.

That was why he needed to gather as much as he could before taking action tonight.

The only person who might know was Gerhan.

Gerhan fell silent. His expression slowly grew complicated as he lifted his gaze toward the sky.

"A ghost ship, huh?" he murmured. "At first, I didn't want to tell you about this. But…"

He turned back to Merlin and gave him a meaningful smile. "Since you asked, I'll tell you. It's a story that might keep you up at night."

***

Fifteen years ago…

"Hey, have you dropped the anchor yet?" a fat man with a menacing appearance asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, Captain! We can start fishing now!" a crew member replied.

"Good!" The fat man nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the rest of his crew and gave the order to cast the net.

The deck was filled with the sound of footsteps as the crew moved back and forth.

However, one crew member remained calm. He simply watched the others with an indifferent gaze.

"Gerhan, why are you just standing there?! Hurry up and cast the net! That's your job!" the fat man scolded.

Gerhan rolled his eyes but obeyed the order. Together with the other crew members, he cast the ten-meter-long net into the sea.

He then hooked the end of the net onto the winch, pulling it in alongside the others.

Hundreds of fish were instantly trapped in the net. They were quickly tossed onto the deck.

"Hahaha! Great catch! Do it again!" the fat man shouted, bursting into laughter.

The exhausting process lasted three hours before finally ending at midnight.

The crew was exhausted, but they still had to sort the fish they had caught and store them inside the ship to be sold on land later.

Another two hours passed, and they finally finished at two in the morning.

"Good work, everyone! Now get some rest. We'll head back to land at six!" the fat man ordered.

The crew smiled with relief and returned inside to rest.

Just as Gerhan was about to leave, the fat man stopped him.

"Gerhan, come here. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Gerhan was surprised. Although annoyed, he said nothing and walked toward the ship's railing with the man.

"What's the matter?" he asked impatiently.

Noticing his irritation, the fat man wasn't angry at all. He took out a pack of cigarettes and handed him one.

Gerhan's irritation eased slightly. He accepted it and lit it.

As he took a drag and exhaled the smoke, his expression gradually relaxed.

"Gerhan, do you want to come work with me on another ship? The pay is decent—twice what you make here," he offered, puffing on his cigarette and exhaling smoke.

"Go with you?" Gerhan was surprised. "Where?"

The fat man grinned. "I have a friend who happens to be a wealthy merchant. He wants to build his own crew, but he hasn't found the right people yet. I'm sure you'd love the job. So, what do you say?"

He didn't rush him. He was confident Gerhan would agree.

After all, he knew the man well.

Gerhan fell silent, his mind turning over various considerations.

After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright. I'll go with you," he replied firmly. "But I want a higher position than I have now. Being part of the crew is exhausting, and it's not really my passion."

"Hahaha!" The fat man laughed as he patted Gerhan's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be my direct subordinate. Hmm… what title would be suitable? Oh!"

His eyes sparkled. "You'll be the second captain, while I'll be the first captain. How about that?"

Gerhan chuckled and didn't mind the unusual title. As long as he wasn't just an ordinary crew member, he could accept it.

The two continued talking, mostly about their plans for the future.

But suddenly, the relaxed atmosphere turned silent.

The night breeze and the sound of the waves seemed to vanish all at once.

Noticing the change, the fat man grew wary.

He pulled Gerhan back, surprising him.

"What's going on?" Gerhan asked, confused.

The fat man stared into the distance with a sharp, alert expression.

"We're in danger…" he muttered fearfully. He looked at Gerhan with panic in his eyes and ordered, "Get out of here fast! Wake up the rest of the crew! We can't stay here any longer!"

Gerhan was clearly confused by his strange behavior. However, he didn't argue. He immediately tossed his cigarette aside and ran toward the inside of the ship.

But before he had taken ten steps, a white mist suddenly appeared, spreading until it covered an area of up to twenty meters.

Gerhan's visibility dropped to just one meter.

"Damn it… What's going on!? Why can't I see anything?!" Gerhan gritted his teeth.

He tried calling out to the fat man, but there was no response.

Then, suddenly, the sound of a trumpet echoed from ahead.

At first, it was faint—but gradually, it grew louder until it felt as if it were right beside him.

Through the thick mist, he saw it—a large ship, twice the size of his own, slowly emerging before his eyes.

The ship was gray and heavily damaged. The atmosphere turned instantly cold and suffocating.

Gerhan's heartbeat was so loud he could hear it in his ears.

"T-That ship… A ghost ship!?"

***

"Huft…"

Gerhan took a drag from his cigarette and tossed it away. His gaze remained fixed ahead, tinged with sadness and nostalgia.

Standing beside him, Merlin listened closely to his story.

Then he asked, "What happened next?"

Gerhan fell silent for a few seconds before answering, "Death."

"Death?" Merlin was startled. "Who died? Could it have been the ship's captain?"

Gerhan shook his head. He took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"The entire crew on board, including the captain."

His answer left Merlin speechless. He couldn't understand how they could have died so suddenly.

As if sensing his confusion, Gerhan continued to explain.

"To be honest, I don't know if they're really dead or not. When I tried to call out to the others, they had already vanished. I even searched as far as the wine cellar and the fish storage area, but I still couldn't find anyone."

He lowered his head, his expression clearly showing helplessness.

"So, I concluded that they must have died."

Merlin frowned. His mind still couldn't wrap itself around how they had simply disappeared.

Could it be because of the mist?

Out of curiosity, Merlin asked the system.

"System, do you think the mist is the reason they disappeared?"

It took a few seconds before the system's voice finally echoed in his mind.

"[It seems so, Master. The mist that appeared likely has the ability to teleport everyone simultaneously. However, this is still only a theory. I cannot confirm whether it is true or not,]" the system explained.

Merlin nodded and said nothing more. Still, the system's theory made sense.

"I understand. Thank you for the explanation," Merlin said softly.

"You're welcome, Young Master Merlin. However, I'm quite curious…" Gerhan looked at him intently. "Why did you suddenly bring up such a question?"

It was unlikely that Merlin would randomly ask about the ghost ship without a clear reason.

Of course, if Merlin didn't want to answer, he wouldn't press him.

Merlin paused for a moment before speaking honestly. "Actually, last night…"

He then recounted his encounter with the ghost ship in detail.

Gerhan listened carefully. However, his expression gradually shifted into one of astonishment and wariness.

"Young Master Merlin," he called out in a heavy voice, "I suggest you be careful. I don't intend to interfere with your decision to investigate, but the danger is quite high. I advise you to think it through carefully."

He was different from Merlin—just an ordinary man with no powers whatsoever.

Facing a ghost ship was clearly not something he could handle as an ordinary human.

Merlin, however, was different. He possessed special powers and had a chance of confronting it head-on.

Still, the risk of death was always present, which was why he felt the need to warn him.

"Thank you for your advice. I'll keep it in mind," Merlin said with a smile and a nod.

***

Nighttime…

"Are the preparations finished?" Merlin asked.

Lisa nodded. "Yes, Young Master Merlin. I've stored it in my storage bracelet."

She raised her right wrist, showing a silver bracelet.

"Good!" Merlin smiled in satisfaction. He looked over the girls who were ready, then noticed one was missing.

"Where's Nivis?"

"Ummm… Nivis…" Monica smiled shyly and replied softly, "She's in her room. She said she's scared to go, so she'd rather stay behind."

Merlin chuckled softly.

"It's fine. My original plan was to have her stay here anyway. It's good that she chose to stay."

Nivis was relatively weak. Besides, her specialty was cooking, not combat. It was better for her to remain here and wait for news from them.

"In that case…" Merlin looked at each of them in turn and said enthusiastically, "Let's go!"