The southern side of the island felt eerily quiet. Only the sound of the wind and the waves could be heard from time to time.

However, in the midst of that silence, a green ship appeared, floating off the coast.

The ship was enormous—twice the size of the one that had brought Merlin and the others to the island.

"A-a ghost ship!" Monica and Liora swallowed hard.

Although they had seen it last night, it had been too far away then.

But now, they could see it clearly up close.

Its appearance, along with the aura it emitted, felt suffocating—as if an invisible hand were gripping their throats.

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!" Merlin clicked his tongue, staring at the ship in awe. "So ghost ships really do exist, huh?"

Even though he had already believed the girls' stories from last night and Gerhan's account earlier that day, seeing it with his own eyes felt completely different.

Luna, Catrine, Nysera, and Margaret stared at the ship warily. Whether it was just a feeling or not, they could sense that it was dangerous.

"Lisa, can you check what's inside the ship?" Margaret asked.

Lisa closed her eyes and channeled her mental power toward the ship.

But suddenly, her mental power was repelled by something invisible.

She opened her eyes. Traces of astonishment and fear were clearly visible on her face.

"My power was reflected…" she murmured.

But Merlin and the others still heard her, and the atmosphere immediately fell silent.

"Should we continue?" Luna asked cautiously.

Lisa was an expert at the Ninth Awakening level. Her strength was beyond question.

Yet even someone as powerful as Lisa had her power reflected by that ghost ship.

That proved one thing—inside was a figure at least as strong as Lisa. It was clearly dangerous, and it could threaten all their lives.

Merlin glanced at the girls' shifting expressions and said, "Anyone who wishes to return should go back now. Don't worry—you're not obligated to join me in this investigation."

The girls took a deep breath in unison and looked at Merlin with determination.

"I'm staying!" Luna said first.

"Me too!" Catrinen chimed in, immediately followed by the other girls.

Merlin wasn't surprised by their decision. After all, they were heroines. Their pride and courage were etched into their very bones.

Without another word, Merlin turned and walked toward the ship.

The girls quickly followed behind him.

The closer they got, the stronger the night wind became. It felt as though the ship were creating its own dimension, forcing the wind to grow fiercer with every step.

Merlin swept his hand downward. Instantly, a magical barrier appeared, enveloping him and the girls behind him.

The piercing chill of the sea breeze vanished, replaced by a gentle warmth.

They finally arrived beside the ship. It was eerily quiet and completely deserted, with not a single crew member in sight.

"How do we get on board?" Margaret asked, confused.

Merlin examined the ship's hull, then looked at its tightly sealed entrance.

He gave a small smile, pulled his leg back, and reached his hand forward.

"Gravity Magic!"

Whoosh!

The closed door was instantly forced open by an invisible force.

Lisa stiffened in surprise. She had never seen magic like that before.

'Gravity magic? What is gravity?' she wondered.

Under the shocked gazes of the girls, the plank-like door dropped down, revealing the ship's empty interior.

"Wow! You're amazing, Merlin!" Monica's eyes sparkled with admiration.

Merlin simply smiled, his gaze fixed on the ship's interior with quiet excitement.

"Let's go inside."

The others nodded and followed after him.

Once inside, they were greeted by a strange and eerie sight.

Bones were scattered across the floor, and some were still clad in torn sailor uniforms.

"Eww! Disgusting!" Margaret scowled and kicked a bone out of her way.

The others did the same. Although they knew it was disrespectful, the bones gave off such a foul odor that it made their stomachs turn.

Merlin waved his hand, and the bones in their path were instantly swept aside.

"This ship is huge," Merlin said cautiously. "How about we split up?"

He turned and looked at them calmly, as if waiting for their response.

"Split up?" The girls were startled by the suggestion.

"Right." Merlin nodded. "There are eight of us in total. We'll split into four groups—two people in each. What do you think?"

If they disagreed, Merlin wouldn't force it. But in his opinion, splitting up was the fastest way to explore the ship.

The girls considered his proposal. Then Nysera spoke up.

"I agree."

The others exchanged glances, then nodded as well.

"Great." Merlin nodded in satisfaction. "Then we'll divide the groups fairly."

He pointed at Monica and said, "Monica and Catrine, you two go to the right side. Luna and Nysera, take the left. Liora, go with Lisa to the front. Margaret and I will head to the far end. Got it?"

"Got it!" they answered in unison.

"Good." Merlin nodded contentedly. "In that case, let's split up."

Once everyone had left, only Merlin and Margaret remained.

Margaret wrapped her right arm around his and pressed herself playfully against it.

"My love, I know you love me so much," Margaret said, rubbing her cheek against Merlin's shoulder.

Merlin blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Margaret smiled slyly and explained, "You deliberately paired me with you, didn't you? I actually thought Luna would be the one to get that chance."

Margaret had assumed her partner would be Catrine or Monica. Who would've guessed it would turn out to be Merlin himself.

Merlin fell silent for a moment, then shook his head helplessly.

"It's not like that. Among the others, you're the weakest—even weaker than Monica. I was just worried you'd have a hard time later, so I brought you with me to ensure your safety."

Margaret: "…"

The corner of her mouth twitched. Her joy at being with Merlin vanished instantly.

"You heartless man!"

She clenched her fist and was about to punch Merlin in the stomach, but before she could, Merlin had already pulled her into an embrace.

"Alright, I was just joking. Why are you getting so emotional?" he said softly, patting her back.

Margaret's anger melted instantly, like a sandcastle swept away by the tide.

But the next moment, she snapped back to reality and scolded herself.

'Damn it, Margaret, why are you so cheap? Just because of a few sweet words, you've already forgiven his harsh words from earlier? Disgusting!'

Even so, she still didn't want Merlin to let go of her. Instead, she closed her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"[Ding! Heroine Margaret Beethoven's affection has increased by 100 points! Current affection: 100+!]"

"[Ding! Congratulations to the master for earning 20,000 system points!]"

The corners of Merlin's mouth curled into a satisfied smile. He hadn't expected that teasing this girl could bring such a huge benefit.

After Margaret calmed down, Merlin released his embrace and took her right hand.

"Let's go."

Margaret nodded and immediately wrapped her arm around Merlin's, resting her cheek against his arm.

However, neither of them noticed that after they vanished from the spot, the pile of bones that looked like trash suddenly shifted—and then emitted a faint green glow.

***

"Whoa! This place is so scary!"

Walking side by side with Catrine, Monica looked around with a pale face.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet and tense. It felt as though something was watching them, even though the place was empty—there was no one there except her and Catrine.

Catrine scanned the surroundings warily. The further they walked, the greater the danger that seemed to lie ahead.

"Be careful. Don't stray too far from me," Catrine warned.

Monica nodded and quickly moved closer until their arms touched.

As they went deeper inside, a sudden cold wind blew from ahead.

Catrine startled and grabbed Monica's hand, pulling her back.

Monica was also startled. "What's happening?" she asked instinctively.

Catrine didn't answer. She narrowed her eyes and summoned her sword.

"Step back five meters," she ordered.

Though confused, Monica didn't dare to argue and quickly retreated.

Catrine's gaze remained locked ahead, her expression growing increasingly serious.

Seconds passed, but there was still nothing in front of them.

Then suddenly…

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind surged forward.

Catrine's eyes widened. She leaped forward and swung her sword vertically.

Slash!

The shadow was split in two and fell to the ground. Strangely, it quickly reformed itself, then vanished into thin air.

Catrine didn't dare let her guard down. She scanned her surroundings with heightened vigilance.

Whoosh!

The shadow reappeared and attacked from her left side.

Catrine bent her knees and leaped upward, landing on the ceiling. She then dropped down and spun a full 180 degrees.

"Die!"

Slash!

She sliced the shadow into several pieces. Yet once again, the fragments merged back into one before disappearing.

Catrine took two steps back and gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Damn… this opponent is really a pain!"