Data.112 – Old Bowman, Ghost Airship

This Ghost Airship…was it an enemy?
There was no visible HP gauge, and since Garbow wasn’t crying, it seemed unlikely…?
But for what purpose was it flying up there?
Since it’s an airship…can you ride on it?

I had so many questions.
However, they didn’t do anything to acknowledge me.
They did not stop, but continued to drift away slowly, like the wind.
In other words, they were just just passing by. It was a coincidence that had nothing to do with me.

…However, I would definitely regret it if I just let them go.
I wanted to get on that airship somehow.
It was quite shabby-looking. So there were places where there were no walls and you could see the passenger seats. That was perfect, as I could hit it with Warp Arrow.

“Floating Cloud Herd! Windcloud Blast! Whirlwind!”

The wind carried me up, and I stepped on clouds in order to rise even higher.
As it was an airship, it wasn’t flying too high up.
However, if I missed, I would have to wait for 3 minutes.
And so I got as close as I could and…shot!

“Warp Arrow!”

The arrow went through the gap in the walls and landed inside.
And then my body warped into the mysterious Ghost Airship.

When I was inside…I was scared…!
There was something intimidating about being in an airship where the floor creaked.
The floor was made of wood…
And there were gaps, which allowed cold air to seep through…

In the first place, I was not a fan of horror. It made me wonder why I had ever gotten into a Ghost Airshop where human souls were floating around.
There were times when human curiosity trumped any fear…!
Well, there was no point in being scared now. And so I might as well summon Garbow again and explore the area…

Creak…creak…creak…

I walked through the creaking passages until I arrived at the front.
And there…I saw that there were other players!
They sat on torn, leather seats. And after looking at me once with wide eyes, they turned away as if nothing had happened.

Yes, they were players, not monsters.
Garbow didn’t react to them, and they were clearly surprised to see me.
After the Charin fight, more people looked surprised or would shout after seeing me…

Still, the people here were strangely quiet.
While some were likely here as a party, none of them were talking to each other.
It was more comfortable that way for me, but I couldn’t help but wonder.

Was there some kind of rule here, where you would be thrown off of the airship if you talked?
Did the ‘combat’ here involve trying to make someone talk?
Perhaps NSO was now about mind games…

“Alright! I’ve finally found you, Ghost Airship!”

Someone new had come aboard.
Someone with no notable features…as rude as that sounded, it really was just an ordinary young man.
It was the default male that you could make in the character creator. The kind of student you would see in textbooks. The design that was discarded for being too plain to be the protagonist…
He was still handsome, and not someone that you would dislike. But there was nothing memorable about the design.

“Ah, you are Mr. Kyuji! I forgot to thank you back then!”

“Back then…?”

I don’t remember…
Maybe it was because of his appearance. Even if we had met, I would have likely forgotten…
But, maybe this person looked like this because he wanted to be forgotten…?

“Ah, I’m sorry! You’ve beaten so many players and enemies now. So you would have forgotten someone like me! Especially since I have a face like this…”

“Uh, sorry…”

Why was I apologizing…!
Still, I got it now.
I rarely even talked to people. And so I would not have forgotten someone who talked like this.
If I did meet him before, it must have been a time when we didn’t have time to talk…

In other words, as enemies during the battle royale…
Still, I wasn’t sure. I had defeated too many players.
Especially during the turf war, where the combat had been so random…

“Well, that’s enough talking. Let’s wait quietly. I think that we’ll arrive at our destination soon enough.”

“So, you know where this Ghost Airship is headed?”

“Of course! I’ve been on it, arrived, been dropped, and returned before. Though, it did take a long time… Well, we don’t know when or where this ship will actually appear. But the last stop is always the same… The Ghost Float.”

“Ghost…float…?”

“Oh, I guess you don’t look up spoilers online, Mr. Kyuji! If I say anymore, I will be robbing you of a wonderful experience. So I will be silent!”

Ghost Float…eh?
To be honest, I was quite relieved that there was a destination, and this ship didn’t just wander endlessly.
That would have been terribly disappointing.

Still, he sure talked a lot for someone who didn’t even introduce himself.
While it was a little odd, I suppose people did occasionally forget to introduce themselves.
And so I would take a seat as well and wait.

The Ghost Ship rose into the air and accelerated.
At the same time, the creaking sounds grew louder.
I just hoped that the ship would fall apart while in the air… I closed my eyes and prayed. Finally, the creaking stopped.
At the same time, I could hear the other players stand up and talk.

“This time…”
“Ahh…! I can’t wait…”
“I hope this one is challenging…”

Well, that was ominous…
While I was worried, I stood up. That was when I heard people scream around me.
Did they think that I was some blood-thirsty player…?
But it wasn’t like I was able to kill them on the field, so there was no need to worry…

Regardless, all these strange feelings were blown away once we landed on the Ghost Float.

“What is this…?”

The ground was made of patchwork tattered cloth, and it was soft as if it was stuffed with cotton!
The trees and grass were colorful and cartoonish!
But more than anything…the island was floating!
It was a hanging sphere made of patchwork cloth…!

A ghost island…the Ghost Float!
Everything about the design felt so exaggerated…!

The atmosphere was so different from the NSO I had experienced up until now, that I couldn’t help but feel excited!
But, I will control myself…!
First, I had to take in my surroundings.

I was currently in the dock.
There were several other ghost airships. They gather players from all over the lands and bring them here, before setting off to pick up more.
The players that arrived would then move from the dock to the town.
It was a mysterious town that looked like it was modeled after London, and was covered in fog.

Nice…very nice…
It was a place where you wanted to just stop and look around, even if you didn’t have any destination in particular.
I very much wanted to unlock fast travel here.
But where could I accept the quest to unlock it? And I also wanted to explore the field around the town as well!

Sometimes human curiosity trumped rational thinking…!
The street that stretched out from the town was lined with fancy lamp posts.
And it led to the kind of forest that you would expect a witch to live in.
I loved this kind of classical atmosphere!

However, there weren’t too many people there.
In new areas, when you were headed somewhere, it would make sense to use the main roads, as there were fewer monsters to be seen there.
And yet, aside from me, I could only see two boys walking further ahead.
Considering how many people had been in the town, there should be more people on the field as well…

“Wh-what!? Ahhhh!?”

The boys in front of me fell to their knees.
And then someone jumped out as if to deal them a mortal wound.
It was…a player!
But why was a player attacking them!?

“You see them sometimes… Beginners who don’t know that this is a ‘versus field’…”

The player swung a sword at the boys.
I didn’t really really understand what was happening, but it seemed like you were allowed to do it!?
But while my mind was confused, my body had already pulled out my bow and was ready to attack.

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