As we were getting ready to depart, the hopper girl shouted.

I can't believe it! I can't believe I came to this level at level 1!

Mr. Kugyu is adjusting the sails while pouting.
Prine and I were sitting in the middle of the ship. We were told to sit down because we were in the way.

I said, 'Ha ha, aren't you embarrassed?
'That's why I'm not complimenting you!

Mr. Kugyu looks from the other side of the sail and says 'Mkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. Cute and funny.

I changed my job from a monk. As you can see, we're pretty strong.
'Ha, don't talk yourself out of it.'

That's right.

We're going to see what you can do. From here on, we're going down the river of evil. The weak ones will end up in the river.
''There are a lot of monsters out there, aren't there?''
Yes. If you read the newspapers, you'd know that, but I'll explain it to you. It's a rule.

Mr. Kugyu comes over to us and speaks, perhaps having finished adjusting the sails.

The name of this river is Chirisugu. Our goal is to get to the center point--the middle of the Chirisug River. That's the end of the 18th layer. After that, we'll go out to the ocean.
I see. We'll go to the middle of the Chirurg River.
Monsters will be aplenty. I don't care what happens to you guys, but basically our priority is to escape. The river is not that easy to be crossed by a single boat of a non-clan party. I don't care what happens to you guys.

I said it twice.
But his face looks worried.

'Are you worried about ...... by any chance?
'Bak ......! I told you I don't care what happens to you guys!

Mr. Ku-gyu exclaims. Wow, he can't hide his true feelings at all. He seems to be a bit of a worrier.

And! You better protect that ship! Protect them even if it costs you your lives! But if it's really dangerous, you know, you can run away. ......

I started giggling.
Prine and I looked at each other and smiled. He seems to be a captain with a heart for adventurers.

What are you smiling at?
'It's nothing.
'Gunnu, you kinda piss me off. ......!
'Oh, yes. I was wondering about that earlier, when I read the newspaper, how do you protect your ship against aquatic monsters? They attack from the water, right?''
Ha! Don't you know that? Of course I'm not!

A little lady with her chest puffed out with pride.
And then she declared.

Use your restorative magic!

'Use recovery magic'.
''You switched from being a monk, didn't you?''
''It's a boat, isn't it?''
Yes, I am.
''Does restoration magic work on boats?''
'This one's special.'

This one seems to be special.

Oh, and defensive magic works too, so make sure you put it on!

With that, the captain goes aft.

'That's right, Prine.
'Wow, okay. ......! Oh, um, is the defensive shield shield right ......? Or if I apply the whole defense shield "Whole Shield", will it be applied to me and Ra-kun too? ......?''

He calls out to Mr. Kugyu at the stern of the boat.

'Mr. Kugyu, can you cast a defensive spell on us and the ship with the whole defensive shield "Hole Shield"?
Of course. This ship is a party, too.

Seriously?

Should I protect you too, Mr. Kugyu?
Who's going to steer the ship if I'm not here! You better protect yourself! You have to protect me!
Yes.'

A child captain who is so bossy. Cute.

Well.

They've finished their preparations. Captain Kugyu untied the rope that connected him to the land and shouted out.

The Titanic!

I don't know about you, but that sounds like a sinking ship, I thought nervously.





The boat moves slowly down the big river.

There are no rapids. It is a calm river.

The banks on both sides are thickly wooded. Monsters may come from there.

This sailing ship moves by catching magic elements in the magic circle of its sails. It is a magic boat. I have never seen this before.

Prine looked at it with interest and nodded her head, saying 'hmmm, this is this, and this is that ....... We are supposed to be the same mage, but I don't understand it at all. Is this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person? .......



It seems to be just a question of knowledge, though.

'Prine, what kind of magic circle is this?
'Well, it uses ancient Simerian and Akkadian scripts, so I think it's a prototype of the Lullaby Lullabies magic circle.
'I have no idea. ......'
'Oh, sorry! Um, let's see... ......'

Prine is flustered, and I ask her another question.

Is that kind of knowledge something that will increase as the level goes up?
'Hmmm. I don't know. I read about it in a library grimoire when I was low level, so ......'
'Then it doesn't seem to matter what level you are. I might have to study up too.
'Let's go to the library together, Ra-kun!

With a jerk, Prine came riding out of the car. She looks happy.

She looks happy. I think I'll go.
''Yes!

It's not easy being a mage. A monk only needs a thin book of the Holy Bible, but looking at Prine, I don't think that's enough.
No, I think it's easier to be a monk. Maybe Prine would have learned as much as she did if she had been a monk instead of a mage.
Maybe it was just easier for me as a monk.

I said to myself: 'That's enough. I'll step forward too.
'Mr. Kugyu.'

The captain, who had been working on something, came out.
I asked him about something that had been bothering me.

What's at the stern of the boat?
'Ah? Crystal. This ship is powered by magical wind, right? It takes a little work to catch it.'
'Heh.'
'Here you go.

He showed me the crystal ball in his hand. A complex series of letters flowed intricately into the ball.

'This is how we steer the boat. Well, it's impossible for a human. They won't be able to read it.
'Prine, what do you think?
'Let's see, ......, this vertical axis is the 'force of motion', and this one is the 'speed of the ship', and this horizontal one is the 'direction', right?'
'.................. how can you read that?'
'He's a genius.

Hmm.

'Why do you look so smug?
He's my partner.
'Heh, heh, heh, no way, Ra-kun. ......'

'Oh my god! Stop flirting! No flirting on my boat!
'Ehh.'
'Not 'eh!

A very angry child captain, so cute.

I don't know. I'm starting to enjoy making fun of people. Is it because of my job? Clowns were terrible, but I wonder if mages are the same.
But Prine doesn't seem to be like that.

Ah...

As I was thinking about it, something caught my detection.
The captain looks into his crystal ball and shouts.

Oh, here it comes! Monsters, you guys! Prepare for battle! Okay? Do not let them destroy the ship! And stay on the defensive! And also, if you fall into the river, you're not gonna make it! Monsters will eat you up! You're going to die!
''Yes!

I take the lead, Prine is behind me.

Prine casts a supplementary spell on me and we are ready to go.

They're coming!

Immediately after Mr. Kugyu shouted, it appeared out of the water.

Scissors!

Four objects that look like crab scissors are approaching to crush me at the front. What? Are you ...... weaker than I thought?

-- [War technique] Ironclad Guard !

With Prine's defensive magic on, I probably could have taken it as it was, but just to be safe, I use my war techniques to catch it.

Kyaaaahhh! Rana! Are you okay for a second?

Mr. Kugyu screamed and looked at me.
I nodded.

'Uh-huh'.

Four pairs of scissors, two on each side of my body, are squeezing my body, but I'm fine, I don't mind at all.

I took the scissors and lifted the body of the man with a jerk.

Gigigigigigigi!

It came out with a bang--it was a crab, after all.
It was a big crab with four scissors--a quadraser. According to the information, it absorbs both fire and ice, but is weak against lightning. And it said 'Run away if you meet it when you are in a party of one. It seems to be difficult to beat it in terms of level.

Hmmm. Is it a level problem?

Kugyu-san!
'What, what, doesn't that hurt?


Is it okay to use lightning magic here? Won't I get electrocuted?''
'Eh, eh, won't it, eh, won't it? I've never seen an adventurer who can use lightning magic. ......?'
'I knew it. Then it can't be helped.
'Oh, you're going to run away, aren't you! Hold on! Now, I'm going to throw him some bait.
'Oiyo!

Halfway through Mr. Kugyu's line, I threw the quadraser as high as I could.

'Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The captain shouts.
I ask Prine to cast a defensive spell. Not on me, but on the floor of the ship. Not me, but the floor of the ship so I don't step through.

"Hey!

Jump on the spot.

He threw Quadraser into the air, and threw a kick with his chi.

If I kicked it into the river, it might cause a tsunami and capsize the boat, so I headed for the shore.

--ZZZAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The big crab rolled down the trees, and when it stopped, it turned into a mist.

It landed on the original ship - thanks to Prine, the floor of the ship was safe - and I high-fived Prine.

Victory! Yay!
'Way to go, Ra-kun! Yes!
'Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Mr. Kugyu is surprised.
He points at me and asks.

'Weren't you a monk before ......?
'Oh, I was a martial artist before that.
'No way!
'What do you think? Have you gotten a little recognition?''
'Hmph, hmph! That's not bad! But you know what, I'm not at all surprised by that!

It was like he was insanely surprised. .......
Oh well.

And onward the ship goes.
And the monsters come out.

Then a big turtle appeared. His name is Gamayra. She has a high defense and uses magic to repel magic.
An enemy that is impenetrable to both physical and magical attacks. I see. It's a nuisance. Then...

I bowed reverently to Gameira as she came up to the boat. I have a silk hat in my hand.

I put on the hat and walk swiftly toward the monster. I greet him.

Hello, turtle. Isn't it a beautiful day?
''Tortoise?''
'By the way, this silk hat, usually pigeons from the inside. ......'
'GAMEY!'

I approached him unintentionally, and he bit my head off with the whole silk hat. My neck and above disappeared.

Ranaaaaahhhhh!

Kugyu's exclamation echoes. But..,

'Yes, hello.
'Whoo-hoo!

I poked my head out of my coat and said hello. Of course, I had hidden it with a magic trick. And here's the rest of the story.

'The silk hat that Gamayra bit on, today I've planted a deck of cards in it...

--Z-d-d-do-do!

'............ is,me............'

Several swords pierced through the monster's mouth. They return to the mist.

He used a playing card as a sword... like a reverse Blackbeard Crisis...? Yes, thank you, thank you...''
'Ra-kun is so cool! I want to be cool!

Prine, who applauds my magic tricks with a clap, throws a kiss. She is a good customer.

On the other hand, Mr. Kugyu is so surprised that he can't speak.

If physics and magic don't work, there are magic tricks, right?
'No, no, no, that's not what I meant!

Shaking his head, Mr. Kyu looks at me.

'You said you were a martial artist before .......'
'I was a clown before that.'
No way!

The ship moves on.

Next came the Octopian zombies.

A big octopus zombie. It deflects attacks with its slimy mucus. It spits the same mucus as ghost slime from its mouth. It absorbs both fire and ice, but is weak against lightning.

My fears about the safety of zombies in water were unfounded. This monster is dexterously rotten only on the inside.

The surface is too slimy to hit. It's vulnerable to lightning, but it's on the river, so it's impossible. If it's 'chi' it might pass, but I don't want to touch it.
'What's that last one: ......'
Because he's Ra-kun...'

Kugyu commented on my tweet, and Prine followed up.
I move forward.



'So that means it's this guy's turn.

Sleekly, he pulled out an eltral sword.
I felt bad that my first prey was undead,

'-- ka!

I easily cut the octopus in half, without even having time to avoid the slimy tentacles and have Prine play with my tentacles.

'Noooo ....... Octopazombie is a monster that can barely be beaten by a party of three. ......?'

Mr. Kugyu drops his crystal ball in shock. 'What? And Prine manages to catch it. Nice.

'You said you were a clown before ......'.
'I was a warrior. My first was a Thief.'
'Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The exclamations of a lazy captain echoed through the huge river.

Mr. Kugyu breathes heavily on his shoulders. He seems to be tired from the surprise.

'I guess my eyes weren't crazy... ......
'I've been approved?
'Hmph! Hmph! Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm! Well, well, well! Well, you're on my boat, so you deserve that much!

A child captain puffing out his chest. Adorable. Then he turns away and mutters quietly.

''There's nothing I won't admit, nothing I won't do, nothing I won't do. ............ (giggle)''.

I don't know.
Well, anyway.

Let's move on then, Mr. Kugyu.
'Why are you in charge? I am the captain of this ship!
'I know what you mean, Captain Kugyu.
'Hmph, hmph! If you know, you know! Hold on tight, you guys! It's going to be really, really, really, really hard from here on out! I won't help you if you fall down! --I'm not saying I'm not going to help you, but...''
''What did you say?''
I didn't say that! Come on, let's go!

And so the Titanicco moves on.

Prine asked me secretly.

Did you want to tell me about your new job, Mr. Ra?
Oh. The dungeon dwellers - the Hoppers - are fine. They don't divulge secrets about their adventurers.
'Oh, yes! Mr. Hopper, you're so tight-lipped!
That's the way it is.

Gradually, the river began to flow faster. Then, suddenly, at a certain point, there is no more.

There is nothing.

With a rumbling sound, the water is sucked into the river. Beyond that point, there is nothing but a clear sky. Huh?

That's .......
'Of course it is! That's the famous Chirisug River--the Grim Reaper Falls!

A gaping hole in the sky awaited us.