Chapter 138: SAN Check In the Middle of the Storm Part 1

The Crying Innsman was something that would hardly be called a ship by any modern standards.

Its mast was snapped in half and its bottom was covered in huge gaping holes. Its bow looked like the open mouth of some strange sea creature that was bearing its teeth as its prey. And despite looking as though it was about to fall into pieces anytime now, it was approaching us at an astonishingly fast pace, cutting through the roaring waves as if they were nothing.

「Habyah!?」

「Bugyouh!? I-It’s way too slippery around here……」

Akitsu Akane fell over and slid through the deck together with his cape, but no one paid that any mind or laughed. But still, it wasn’t even that slippery to begin with, so just how bad was your sense of balance!?

This level of shaking wouldn’t be a problem if we were on a modern ship. Sailing through a storm like that is not something any normal human would be able to do, but at least technology gave us tools and devices that made it possible. However, no matter how realistic, this is a fantasy game, and our boat is not modern. So we were shaking so much and the deck was so slippery that keeping your balance was pretty much impossible.

「Are you okay!? Will you be able to fight in such a state!?」

「I’ll, I’ll manage somehow……」

「Well, at least to some extent, by the looks of it……」

「Rust, help meeeeee……」

Two of us seemed to be OK, and the other two were not OK, no matter how hard they would try to hide it. As for the NPCs…… All of them had their assigned roles, and they were desperately trying to hold onto anything near their posts that would allow them to stand their ground firmly. Even Strude was holding onto the mast with all of his might, a sight that made me feel sorry for the guy for some bizarre reason.

「We can’t fight it in those clouds! We must somehow lure it closer and then attack from close range!」

「Hey! I’m the one giving orders around here!」

「Shut your whore mouth! Tell me that after you pull yourself together!」

「Ugugugu!」

A sense of compassion? What’s that? Some kind of a fish food?

The pirates try to get near the ballistas and prepare it for combat. While some of them were doing just that, others were busy loading them and preparing them to engage the enemy. It was a difficult task to do in our current conditions, but they were somehow managing it.

The distance left between us and the Crying Innsman was less than twenty meters. From this distance, we could already make out the dim silhouettes of the people on board the Ghost Ship. And just then, when there was a lightning strike that illuminated the whole area, we could see them clearly.

「Just how many 1D rolls would we need to do now?」

「Ugh, I think I’m going to be sick……!」

They were simply too ugly and too dreadful to even call them human. They had human shapes alright, but their bodies were completely covered in scales and barnacles that made it impossible to distinguish what was what.

Their faces were mostly deformed and their bodies were covered in tusks and fangs in various places. Their eyes were empty and without much focus, looking as though they were going to pop at any second now. Their mouths were broken or elongated, filled with rows of teeth that looked like small saws.

Their ragged clothing barely covered their deformed bodies. They were the embodiment of the underwater horror, most probably corpses that drowned and fish started feasting on them, eventually becoming one with them after they came back to life. It was a simple horror, but one that was quite effective against Pioneers like us.

Let’s see, when encountering Deep Sea Abominations or Eldritch Horrors like that, what kind of Sanity Check do you need to make? 1D3? Or was it 1D10? …… Just what am I thinking right now!?

「Hyi, hyiiiiii……!!!」

「Oh sh*t, did someone just failed their save throw……?」

Unlike us players who have some meta insight when it comes to the enemies, some of the NPCs seemed to go crazy after seeing them right off the bat. God damn it, I sure hope that this game allows for Friendly Fire if they happen to turn against us.

「PSYCHOANALYSIS!」

「Gubeh!?」

Since I couldn’t really use any recovery magic, the only way to snap them out of it was via shock therapy treatment!

「M, my cheek hurts like a bitch for some reason……」

「If you claim to be such a great pirate and captain, then get your fucking crew to behave like pirates and not a bunch of pussies!」