"Wow! Merlin, this place is truly terrible—it's a complete mess!"

Margaret looked around in horror. They were currently in a fairly large hall.

The ceiling was five meters high, and ten wooden pillars supported the room.

Each pillar looked dilapidated and damaged. One of them even seemed extremely rotten, as if it could crumble at any moment.

"You're right. I have no idea what kind of chaos has befallen this ship," Merlin muttered.

The hall was in shambles. Broken wooden chairs and tables lay scattered across the floor. Dust, mold, and all sorts of debris filled the area.

However, what stood out the most was the presence of bones, similar to those in the entrance area.

The difference was that these bones appeared smaller.

"[Ding! Issuing an emergency mission! Solve the mystery of this ghost ship! Reward: 60,000 system points and a Treasure Map!]"

Seeing the panel suddenly appear, Merlin was startled, then smiled broadly.

"System, you really are thoughtful!" Merlin praised.

He had already suspected the system would issue a mission for him, and his guess was correct.

Without hesitation, he pressed "Yes," and the panel vanished from view.

As the two continued forward, Margaret suddenly stepped on something.

Startled, she looked down and saw a black bottle.

Curious, she picked it up and opened it.

Instantly, the bottle released black smoke that spread in all directions.

"Merlin!"

Merlin was startled and turned around, only to find Margaret being swallowed by the smoke.

"Margaret!"

He rushed toward her and reached out to grab her, but his hand met only emptiness.

"Damn it!" he cursed, continuing forward in search of her.

Unfortunately, the black smoke quickly filled the entire hall, leaving him unable to see anything but darkness.

Gritting his teeth, Merlin raised his hand and shouted, "Wind Magic!"

Whoosh!

A three-meter-tall whirlwind appeared, pulling the smoke into itself before exploding outward.

The quiet, dimly lit hall finally became visible again. However, Margaret was gone.

"Damn…" Merlin clenched his fists, rage boiling inside him.

He'd been too careless—he should've stayed closer to Margaret.

"Don't worry. That girl is still on this ship. That smoke seems to have the ability to teleport its target."

Lyserra's calm voice echoed in his mind.

Merlin's anger subsided immediately. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"Do you know where she was transported to?"

"No, but I can guarantee she's fine."

Merlin nodded and didn't press the matter further. As long as Margaret was safe, he wasn't too worried.

"Lyserra, just how big is this ship?" Merlin asked as he continued forward. "It feels like I've been walking for ten minutes, and all I've found is destruction."

He didn't have a watch, so he couldn't be sure how long he'd been walking. Still, by his estimate, it had been no less than ten minutes.

Lyserra paused briefly before explaining, "You and the others have been trapped inside a special dimension."

"A special dimension?" Merlin was startled and stopped in his tracks.

"That's right. Ever since you stepped onto this ship, you've essentially entered that dimension. But you and the others didn't realize it," Lyserra replied calmly.

Merlin furrowed his brow. A special dimension was something only mages who had reached the First Spirit Core or Nine-Star level could create.

Even then, not everyone at that level could do it. Mastering such a technique was extremely difficult—almost impossible.

Only those who were truly chosen and gifted could accomplish it.

"Can I leave now?" Merlin asked.

This was no small matter. If the ship's owner could create a special dimension, then that person must be incredibly powerful.

"Easy. I can destroy it. But if I do, you'll be forced out immediately, and your investigation will end right then and there. Do you want that?"

Merlin fell silent. After a moment of thought, he quickly shook his head.

"No. But if any of the girls are in danger, can you bring them to me?" Merlin asked.

The system mission required him to conduct a flawless investigation. If this place was destroyed, wouldn't the mission be considered a failure?

He had already spent a large amount of system points purchasing two high-level spells earlier, so he didn't want to lose this mission.

"I understand. Leave it to me," Lyserra said confidently.

Merlin smiled in satisfaction and continued forward.

The hall branched into three paths—right, left, and straight ahead. The path on the right was pitch-black, with not a single source of light.

As Merlin stared into it, he felt as though something was staring back at him.

The path on the left was dark as well, but not completely. It was illuminated by strange mushrooms that emitted a faint green glow.

Meanwhile, the path ahead was brightly lit. The light came from the moon in the sky, which somehow managed to pierce through the special dimension and illuminate the corridor.

"Ugh…"

A groan suddenly came from in front of him.

Merlin was startled and immediately stopped in his tracks.

Under the moonlight, a monster slowly emerged.

It was two meters tall and humanoid, with two heads and four arms. Its face was charred, as if it had been roasted for a long time, and its foul stench could be smelled even from that distance.

Merlin narrowed his eyes and whispered, "System, analyze that monster."

"[Ding! Starting analysis… Ding! Found!]"

Name: Nameless

Level: 6

Description: A nameless monster born from the rotting remains of the ship's crew. There are quite a few of them, and they are extremely aggressive toward anyone who approaches the territory they control.

Note: This type of monster cannot be easily killed. They can heal themselves when injured, even if the wound is fatal. The only way to kill them is to completely destroy them, leaving not a single part behind.

"Oh? What a unique ability," Merlin muttered in surprise.

He had rarely—if ever—seen a monster with such an ability.

But now, he had finally encountered one. For some reason, it made him feel a little excited.

"Argh!"

The monster roared and charged at Merlin without warning.

Merlin wasn't afraid. He casually raised his hand.

Instantly, wood elements rose from the ground and bound the monster in place.

"Argh!" The monster struggled, but it couldn't break free.

Merlin snapped his fingers, and a fireball appeared above the monster's head.

Whoosh!

The fireball dropped onto its body and set it ablaze.

The monster let out a howl of pain. Its self-healing ability activated rapidly, repairing its wounds.

Unfortunately, its regeneration couldn't outpace the relentless flames.

In less than two minutes, the monster was reduced to ash and vanished from sight.

"Easy." Merlin smiled as he wiped his palm.

The system: "…"

It had expected Merlin to struggle a little. Who would've thought it would end so easily?

'Are there any other monsters?' Merlin wondered.

Not long after he spoke, the sound of two sets of footsteps came from the right.

"Argh!"

Two monsters identical to the previous one appeared. They stared at Merlin with hungry eyes, then charged at him in an instant.

Merlin wasn't afraid. He lowered his stance, a faint smile forming on his lips, and dashed toward them.

In the next moment, his figure appeared above their heads. He twisted his body midair and kicked the monster on the left.

Bang!

His kick shattered one of its heads. Without stopping, he landed on the monster's body and immediately rushed toward the other one.

The monster tried to raise its hand to attack him but failed.

Merlin had already grabbed both of its heads and crushed them. Then he pressed his palm against the wound and whispered, "Fire Magic: Inferno!"

Fwossh!

A magic circle appeared beneath his palm. The next second, a stream of lava erupted from it and flowed into the monster's body.

"Argh!"

The monster screamed in pain, struggling to attack and shake Merlin off. However, all its efforts were in vain.

Eventually, its body could not withstand the intense heat and began to melt.

Merlin leaped and landed on the body of the monster whose head he had crushed earlier.

The monster was in the process of regenerating. However, before its head could fully reform, Merlin summoned one of the Primordial Daggers and stabbed it into the neck where the other head had been.

Srck!

The blade sank deep into its flesh.

Thud!

The monster's body jolted. A piercing pain surged through it, as if thousands of needles were stabbing every cell in its body.

Its regeneration went into overdrive, desperately trying to heal itself. But it was all in vain.

In less than a minute, the monster's body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The two monsters that had been so ferocious moments ago were nothing in front of Merlin.

"How disappointing," Merlin muttered, shaking his head.

He had thought he would have some fun—at least for a little while. But it seemed he was wrong.

The two monsters were far too weak and helpless.

Merlin returned his dagger to the system's storage and continued moving forward.

He hoped something more exciting was waiting for him ahead.