My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 173: Dead Men's Voyage

Josh looked on with a kind of pride plastered on his face as the 'Freedom' floated on the waters giving off an ominous glow. He could feel the many different souls that had soaked into the wood and been stitched to gather into a new kind of existence. One that was entirely subservient to himself. A loud laugh full of mirth made him jolt as he looked at the hulking figure of Sigrun.

"Excellent! Truly excellent! You are a complete natural at this!" The leviathan laughed at the progress his so-called student had made.

"Thank you," Josh replied, not knowing what else to say at a time like this.

"Come now! Don't be so modest! It usually takes one of your kind a few years to achieve such a result! I never would have imagined that something like this would be possible so soon!"

"Is that so?" Josh looked at his new haunted ship in a new light. He finally had something in his life to truly be proud of.

"Of course! Do I look the kind of creature that blow smoke up your ass for no reason?" Sigrun snorted in amusement as he studied the young wraith. If he kept growing at such a pace, then he would not have to wait for all that long before he gained the necessary power to break him out of here.

"There's just one problem," Josh stated as he looked at the sails. "I don't have a crew capable of sailing it."

Sigrun noticed how dejected Josh sounded at this prospect and let out a wolfish grin. He knew he wanted to save the humans that he still felt tied to. So he would not be petty. In the long run, displaying his faith in his new business partner now would pay dividends in the future.

"Listen here, kid. With the level, you've just reached you should be able to call upon the souls trapped here to crew that ghost ship of yours." 

Josh eyed the ancient leviathan with a mixture of suspicion and disbelief. It was like hew was suddenly being told that he had the power to raise the dead! Wait. That was exactly the point Sigrun was getting at, so maybe it was not the best of analogies.

"And how would I do that?"

"Simple, release your aura towards the sea and call upon any willing souls. I bet they'd fight with each other to get a spot on your crew. Every one of them is as desperate as me to spend even a single second back amongst the living!"

Josh was still a little unbelieving of Sigrun's claim, but he had nothing to lose. It was not like the Dead Sea was capable of harming him anyway. He turned his mind inwards and connected with the death energy that lingered there. He imagined scrunching it up into a ball before throwing it out of his mind.

A wave of mental pressure crashed through the air and into the depths of the soul-filled sea. Josh waited with anticipation as he watched the still calm waters. Feeling a little letdown, Raven chose this moment to arrive on the beach to see what was going on. He stared at his old ship with shining eyes. Though he was not too keen on its new look. Mainly the ghostly chains that seemed to hold the entire thing together.

"Yo, Josh? Does this mean what I think it means?" Raven cried enthusiastically as he towards him.

Josh raised an eyebrow at Sigrun to seek confirmation as to whether he could actually leave this place now. The ancient leviathan closed his eyes as if pondering something for nodding his head to confirm that it was indeed possible. Raven did not miss the gesture and almost leapt for enjoying! He was looking forward to enjoying a fine glass of vintage blood and some personal comforts.

Josh looked at the ship with a hint of longing in his eyes. 'I wish it had worked. This would be really useful in the rescue.' Josh was surprised to hear Sigrun laughing again and had to check to see what it was all about. Instead, he found that the giant serpentine dragon was staring directly at him.

"Your call for aid was heard loud and clear. Don't worry. They're just working out the finer details amongst themselves before your crew present themselves."

Raven almost jumped when he heard this statement from Sigrun. It basically confirmed that his ship was not going to be returned to him! His heart wept at the thought! Then again, could it even still be called the same ship? If it were not for Josh, it would never have the chance to sail the open sea ever again.

Well, he could set it aside for now. As long as he made it back to the realm of the living who was he to argue? Depending on what would happen upon their arrival, he may never get the chance to sail the seas ever again anyway. His thoughts drifted to the undoubtedly furious yet beautiful queen that would be awaiting him. 'Yeah, no matter how I look at it. Settling down in a peaceful city doesn't actually seem that bad of a way to spend my retirement.'

As Raven was lost in his daydream, the Dead Sea began to bubble. A green fog rose up and rested on its surface. The sound of clanking chains reached Josh's ears. The sound seemed to be timed to that of many people walking towards him. Gradually humanoid figures began to emerge from the fog. The ghostly procession lasted for some time at Josh began to count how many of them there were.

Ten Twenty Fifty One hundred

In the end, he counted a total of one hundred and ten ghostly crew members. Each one of them had the severed chains connected to shackles attached to their ankles. When Josh focused on these shackles, he made a shocking discovery. The rest of the chains would reveal themselves to his eyes! Each and every one was connected to the spot in his chest where his heart used to beat

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