When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 81



Only Noblemtl

◈81. Summon Ghost Ship

‘Is it over…?’

After the shock wave of the bombardment had somewhat passed, I slowly raised my head.

Then he took Argelio out from the tree and looked around carefully.

It was a mess.

‘Isn’t that great?’

The surroundings were a mess due to the shockwave of the bombardment, and only black ash remained in Netelon’s place.

It evaporated cleanly, leaving behind only ashes.

‘I didn’t know the power would be this much… … .’

In fact, when I first saw the description written in the information window of the “God’s Judgement Ticket,” I was a little skeptical.

That would be so―

[Summons a beam barrage from the satellite “White Moon” that can instantly kill Awakened beings of Class L or lower.]

…it was written like this.

By the way, I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as an ‘artificial satellite’ in this world.

So just seeing this word was enough to startle me, but then a ticket to request a barrage from it… …? I thought my eyes were just deceiving me.

So, I was half in doubt before I even tried using the pass―

‘It’s more amazing than I thought.’

To my surprise, a barrage of light rays really fell from the sky.

I don’t know why there is a satellite here, or why it is called the White Moon, but anyway.

“… … .”

It was when I was alone, blankly staring at the traces of Netelon that had been burned to a crisp.

Argelio approached me with a blank expression on his face, just like me.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty… …? How did this come to be―”

“Are you okay? Don’t talk and just drink the potion first.”

I handed the guy a superior potion that I had been saving for the last moment.

Only after I shot the potion in one go did the guy’s expression become a little more relaxed.

It seemed like the insides that had been messed up by being caught in the tree had been somewhat healed.

“Phew… …. I feel like I can finally live. But what was that just now? Was that also one of His Majesty’s skills?”

When I was asked the question, I hesitated for a moment.

How should I explain the fact that I used the Divine Judgement Ticket?

Then I told the guy appropriately.

“No, it’s not a skill. It’s an item. It’s an item that summons something called a beam bombardment.”

“Light bombardment… … .”

“It’s like a powerful attack made of light.”

“I still don’t quite understand it, but it’s a great power. How can you only show such amazing things… … .”

I scratched the bridge of my nose, feeling awkward for no reason.

“What’s there to be surprised about?”

“It’s surprising, of course. Even though I’m a low-level Awakener, I could tell just by looking at him that that guy named Netelon was strong.”

“He was a high-ranking guy.”

“Besides, weren’t all the dungeons that were created this time the work of that author? That means that from now on, no new dungeons will appear. That’s because Your Majesty has defeated that person.”

It was just as Argelio said.

Since the guy who spread the dungeon seeds was eliminated today, no more dungeons will be created in the future.

It meant that we only had to remove those that had already existed.

And this situation seemed to have impressed Argel quite deeply.

“How can I not be surprised when something so amazing has just happened right before my eyes?”

“Okay, I get it, so stop talking for now. Even though you drank the potion, your body isn’t completely cured yet.”

“Besides, you didn’t just blow it away, you even got the information through conversation beforehand. We should have seen the situation together… … .”

“You should stop talking. And just because you got rid of that guy doesn’t mean it’s over.”

He continued, calming down Argel, who seemed a bit excited.

“There won’t be any more dungeons due to the Elcapist tree. But their crazy mass migration plans will probably continue. We need to prepare well for the future. To do that, first—”

Looking around, I picked up the broken words.

“I guess I should start packing and going out soon.”

That. The final reward item you can receive when you clear the dungeon.

The dungeon would probably have been cleared as soon as Netelon died.

If the system of this dungeon recognized Netelon as the final boss.

Accordingly, it would make sense for the last reward item box to come out―

“Oh, there it is.”

I was soon able to discover the golden box lying intact on the ashes left behind by Nethelon when he died.

There were no other boxes around.

Perhaps Argelio was not recognized as a dungeon raider.

‘I hope something useful comes out this time.’

I opened the box with that hope in mind.

For some reason there were two items inside.

[Ghost Ship Summoning Whistle (L)]

―Can summon a ship that has been stranded for over 100 years.

-You can use sailors who died with the ship as ghost soldiers.

(However, ghost soldiers have no ego and only obey the orders of the person holding the item.)

A flute that can summon a ghost ship.

That was the first reward item.

‘Summon a stranded ship… …? Wait, you can’t summon that too?’

As soon as I saw the item, there was one ship that came to mind.

It seemed like we would have to check soon to see if that ship could really be summoned.

After I had carefully placed the first reward item into my inventory, I looked at the second one.

[Elcapist’s Core (??)]

-Elcapist’s core.

-If this is removed, the dungeon will likely collapse.

The second item, which was shaped like an egg, was the core of the Elcapist.

An item that must be destroyed to collapse the dungeon.

‘… … ? This nuclear weapon is smaller than I thought.’

In the game of Extinction, the size of the dungeon and the size of the core were proportional.

However, in this world, it seems that just because a dungeon is big doesn’t mean its core is also big.

It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps the reason Cheonggwang couldn’t destroy the Elcapist that grew in my village was because its core was so small.

If the nuke was large enough to be seen at a glance, it would have been found and destroyed immediately.

Poor guy… … . I felt sorry for him for a moment and then raised my sword―

Kwajik!

The nuke was completely destroyed.

The message came to me almost simultaneously.

[Elcapist’s core has been removed! The dungeon will collapse! Escape quickly!]

-Current dungeon collapse rate: 2%

– Time left until collapse rate reaches 100%: 5 minutes

I immediately picked up Argelio.

Then I ran towards the dungeon exit that had appeared at some point.

Fortunately, the exit was directly connected to the outside.

We felt the air ripple once, and we were soon able to get out.

‘Ha… … . Finally outside. By the way, the other kids… Ah, they’re coming out now.’

Luciana, who was on the first floor, and the other party members all came out of the dungeon one after another.

Thanks to clearing the dungeon, exits were created on the first and second floors of the dungeon.

Rubin, Dionik, and Elodie, who had come out like that, each spoke to me in turn.

“Nike! You’re safe!”

“Brother, you’re not dead?”

“… …He’s not dead.”

I would have liked to have answered all of them and thrown a dungeon clearing celebration party, but it wasn’t the time.

“There’s no time. Let’s say hello later and run away before the dungeon collapses.”

There were less than 5 minutes left until the dungeon was 100% destroyed.

Moreover, this dungeon was located on the sea, so if it collapsed, the party would fall into the sea.

Just then, Dionik grumbled.

“My wing is injured so flying is difficult… Should I swim?”

“Nike, I’m still far from being repaired. I don’t think I can give you a ride. What should I do?”

As expected, following Dionik, Rubin also showed his difficulties as if he was unable to fly.

After thinking about it for a while, I answered in a slightly uncertain voice.

“It seems like there is a way. I don’t know if it will work… but let’s give it a try.”

Next, I took out the “Ghost Ship Summoning Flute (L)” that I had put in my inventory.

A hornpipe that looks like nothing special at first glance.

I glanced at it once doubtfully, then put it in my mouth.

‘Can this really summon that ship from history?’

There was really no certainty as to whether the ship would be summoned or not.

But I had to do it.

If I just stood there blankly, my group would all end up like rats in the ocean.

So I blew the horn as hard as I could, and the item sent me a message asking for it.

[You have used the item “Ghost Ship Summoning Whistle”. Please tell me the name of the ship you wish to summon.]

(However, only ships that have been stranded for over 100 years can be summoned.)

Before asking what to call it, I first took a deep breath.

Then I said the name of the ship in history, which I had been thinking about for a long time.

“The Footsteps of the Morning Star.”

The ship the first emperor rode on when he visited the village of believers, the Steps of the Morning Star.

An ancient ship item that can float in the air using divine or magical power.

Will we ever see that ship, which has disappeared into the back pages of history, here again?

I waited with a pounding heart for the ship to appear.

“… … .”

Nothing happened.

‘Why? It’s a ship that disappeared 100 years ago, so it fits the conditions.’

Could it be that it wasn’t stranded?

What if the ship didn’t run aground at that time… but someone stole it… …?

Then it wouldn’t be possible to summon it with this item either.

This item is an item that summons a ‘ghost ship’… that is, a ship that ran aground and ended its life as a ship.

‘Tsk… … .’

I became anxious.

The dungeon is still slowly collapsing.

I had to make a quick decision, and ended up opening my mouth to my group.

“Sorry, it doesn’t work as well as I thought. I guess I’ll just have to swim along—”

“Nike!! Look over there!!”

Just as I was about to say that I thought I’d have to swim, Rubin pointed into the distance and shouted.

I turned my head in the direction Rubin pointed and soon saw it.

‘That’ ship, which is much older than before, but still feels magnificent.

[The ghost ship “Dawn Star’s Footsteps (L)” has answered your call!]

As the system message said, it was definitely the Morning Star’s Footsteps.

I recognized it right away because I had seen it many times when I entered the seon-gwan’s dream.

Luciana, unaware of the situation, spoke in confusion.

“Ship… …? Is this a rescue ship sent by the Duke?”

“No, I just called.”

“With that horn?”

I explained to Luciana, who asked in disbelief.

“This is an item that I got as a reward for clearing the 3rd floor dungeon earlier. It has the function of summoning a stranded ghost ship.”

“Oh my god… … . The thing I needed was just what I needed at the moment I needed it… … .”

As Luciana was surprised, Argelio responded from the side.

“Isn’t it amazing? When you killed the person who kidnapped me on the third floor earlier, Your Majesty, you killed him with an item I had never heard of before. You should have seen it… … .”

The Argel guy’s eyes sparkled again like before.

I was embarrassed, but since it was an urgent situation, I got the group’s attention.

“Let’s chat later and get ready to board. The boat is here.”

While we were talking, the Morning Star’s Footsteps had already arrived in front of us.

We still don’t know what’s on deck.

So, I jumped up on the deck first and had a look, and it was a good thing.

“Sea, skeleton… …?”

Several armored skeletons were lined up on the deck.

Thanks to that, I was so surprised that I almost fell into the sea, but I barely managed to come to my senses.

‘Oh, are these the ghost soldiers that were supposed to be absolutely obedient?’