Reborn with the Conquest System-Chapter 54: Ark

Throughout the night, Magnus woke up multiple times as he was plagued by nightmares. Some showed him places twisted beyond common sense—warped into a living hell. Others replaying his darkest moments from his previous life, only for him to be unable to recall any details once awake.

With two thick eyebags having formed under his eyes, he gave up on trying to sleep. Humming a tune, his eyes stared at the wooden ceiling.

Having spent a night pondering over what he could call home, the captain’s offer seemed to whisper to him.

’Well... It’s true that I never particularly cared about doing anything specific, so maybe joining these guys might be interesting. I do also look the part of a scary sailor right now, haha.’

[An octopus victim is a better description.]

’...I’m not a woman for you to say that!’ Realising what the system meant, he protested.

[... I JUST GOT AN IDEA!]

’HELL NO!’

[I’m kidding. Oh... You might have guests. ]

He abruptly stopped humming a tune, his eyes locked onto the map in the corner of his eyes. He had zoomed in extremely, and right now the ships layout was clearly visible with his room taking a quarter of the map.

Three red dots were outside his room.

’Well... Seems like the captain doesn’t want to hold up her end of the bargain.’

As he thought that, a knock came from the door.

"Enter." He said, standing up slowly from the bed.

The door swung open, and three men rushed through the door with their weapons drawn. Baffled, he scanned the three attackers.

’The guy in a coat. Some baldy with scars on his face. A manlet.’

[... I don’t think this is on the captain.]

’Same.’

"Die, sea-devil! The Ark won’t claim our cap or ship!" The guy in a coat said, pulling out a pistol and getting ready to fire.

The other two charged.

Baldys blade was going for the neck, manlet was going for ribs.

’Not bad, it might be enough for killing an elite knight even. But...’ His gaze wandered to his stat window.

[Name: Magnus (changeable)]

[Level: 13]

[Experience: 13455/16000]

[STR: 64] [SPD: 54] [INT: 13] [WIL: 98] [-] [-]

[ Mana total (2INT+WIL)= 124]

Looking at the slow moving weapons, Magnus contemplated just standing there and letting them hit him.

Before he realised one crucial detail—

’WHAT IF I GET TELEPORTED AGAIN!?’

His hands turned into two black blurs as they shot towards the two men, his entire body coated in mana and strengthened.

The left hand slapped the bald man on the hand, his fingers bending at odd angles as he let out a pained scream. A punch followed, sending him rolling across the floor.

The right hand delivered a punch to the manlet’s shoulder, his arm instantly twisting from the blow. Before he could scream, Magnus grabbed his throat and he was violently thrown to the ground.

’Held back enough, next!’

Magnus piercing gaze fixated on the last man standing.

"MONSTER!"

He raised his pistol, aiming it at Magnus as he pulled the trigger.

His entire body blackened under the influence of his mana technique, his hands raised in preparation to defend.

Bang!

Ting!

A light sensation struck Magnus between his arms. Confused, he spread his arms apart, a bullet that was stuck between the falling to the ground.

"Pffft..." He couldn’t resist anymore, bursting out laughing.

"Monster! There’s no way a human could live—" The man in the coat shouted, yet Magnus gaze locked back onto him.

With slow and deliberate steps, Magnus walked up him. Stepping over the baldy and manlet, they both groaned in pain.

The man backed away, yet he hit the wall behind him. His eyes darted to the side, ready to bolt and call the captain—yet Magnus was already in front of him.

"Now then, convince me to let y—"

"AAAAAAH, DEMON, DEMOOOON!"

Magnus’s hand firmly gripped his mouth.

"Look. I’m giving you a chance to solve this without being beaten into pulp, you muppet. Unless..." He came closer, the chill in his eyes causing the man to tremble, "You want to get beaten up?"

"Stop this at once! What is going on!" A familiar voice echoed from the side.

Pulling away from the him, the man stumbled on the ground as he frantically ran over to the stairway, revealing the newcomer. The captain eyed Magnus, her gaze questioning and her mana surging as she got ready for battle.

"Three idiots decided to say hi to me with weapons drawn. There’s two inside, out cold but breathing." his finger pointed at the cabin.

Her gaze lingered on him, before switching to the man who hid behind her.

"Is what he said true, Altair?"

"Cap, he’s the devil himself! He took a pistol shot after his skin turned black, it bounced right—"

Her fist dug into his stomach, sending him flying backwards. Rolling a few times on the ground, the whites of his eyes showed as he lay sprawled on the floor.

"Ahem..." she turned to look at Magnus, "I am deeply sorry for my first mates... Stupidity. I really appreciate you showing mercy to them, so is there anything I could do to resolve this misunderstanding."

"It’s fine since it’s not you who ordered them to attack. They were even polite enough to knock on the door to check if I was awake..."

Magnus said, smirking.

"They knocked... On the door?" her gaze wandered to her first mate again, a tired sigh escaping her lips.

"Yeah. Anyways, care to explain what this Ark thing is that had them try to slit my throat?"

Her brows furrowed at the mention of the arc, her once casual stance now stiffening.

"The Ark is a fairy tale, " She said after a moment, turning around to leave.

"A fairy tale that might get people killed?"

Sighing, she turned around and walked into his cabin. Gesturing for him to close the door, she sat on the bed as he listened.

"The Ark is an entity... or a ship. Maybe even a force. No one really knows. The only thing people agree on is that it’s cursed— something that lurks beneath the surface of the water, like a reflection in a mirror."

"That sounds horrible."

[Let’s go!]

’Absolutely not.’

She continued, "Supposedly, whenever the Ark appears, countless ships vanish from the world. Those that survive an encounter come back marked, their minds broken beyond any divine magics repair."

"And the last person who reported of the Arks sighting had those same marks as you..." Her words trailed off, yet the meaning behind them was clear.

"But I’m not marked or Insane? Hell, I didnt break any bones when beating up these idiots."

"True, and you mana feels normal. Which is the only reason why I didn’t fight the moment I saw you."

"Well... Since it’s over, I’ll let it slide. Don’t let something like this happen again though, otherwise there might be blood if I can’t control my strength."

"Sigh... Yes yes, now then, if you excuse me..." she pushed open the door, before grabbing the two passed out people.

"I have duties to attend and people to heal. I hope your stay is without further interruptions, Magnus."

"Your name?"

"Not saying." She slammed the door, leaving Magnus behind in the dark room.