"Ouch!"

Margaret fell onto a pile of rotten wood. The impact caused some of the wood to splinter, but because the surface was relatively soft, she managed to escape unharmed.

Otherwise, her hip might have been broken.

"It hurts so much," she winced, rubbing her sore backside.

Once the pain subsided, she stood up and brushed the dust off her dress.

She then looked up and realized she was in a strange place.

The room was large and spacious, with three wooden pillars supporting the ceiling.

Although each pillar looked weathered and damaged, they still appeared sturdy, with no signs of collapsing.

The most interesting thing was the set of paintings hanging on the surrounding walls.

Each painting had different patterns and images. The one on the left depicted several burly men striking odd poses.

Judging by their clothing, they were most likely former crew members of this ship. On the right side, there was a painting of a silver ship floating on the ocean.

The painting was so detailed that even the faintest details were clearly visible.

The most striking was the painting in the center—a portrait of a handsome man sitting in a chair.

The man was tall, with gray hair, and wearing a black robe.

Although handsome, Margaret felt that his expression was somewhat unsettling, especially his smile.

What sent chills down her spine, however, was his gaze. It felt as though he were staring directly at her.

"Maybe it's just my imagination," she muttered, shaking her head.

Margaret pulled her gaze away and carefully surveyed her surroundings.

Now, she was completely lost. She didn't know the way out, let alone where she was.

This ghost ship was so mysterious. From the outside, it looked like any ordinary ship.

But strangely, she and Merlin had been wandering aimlessly and still hadn't found a way out.

This made her wonder: were they still inside the ship, or had they strayed into another dimension?

As Margaret was lost in thought, the sound of footsteps came from behind her.

She quickly turned her head and saw a dark corner that looked ominous.

She narrowed her eyes and muttered, "Is it just my imagination?"

Not long after she thought that, a shadow flashed by and lunged toward her.

Margaret was already on high alert. She easily dodged the attack.

She assumed a fighting stance and glared at the shadow.

It turned out to be a dog monster. It stood two meters tall, had three heads, and had sharp spikes on its skull.

Its faces looked ferocious, with rows of sharp teeth that seemed capable of tearing through anything, including iron and other hard materials.

"A dog monster, huh?"

Instead of being afraid, Margaret looked calm. She opened her palm, and a blue pair of glasses with a single lens appeared in it.

She put them on, and immediately, information about the monster appeared before her.

[Initiating analysis… Found!]

Name: Dreadhound Malgor

Type: Dark Dog

Level: 5

Abilities: Swift attacks, night vision, camouflage, stealth, and the ability to hurl energy balls.

Countermeasures: Attack its abdomen. That area is highly vulnerable, and it cannot do anything when it is targeted there.

Seeing the analysis, Margaret gave a slight smile. The single-lens glasses she was using were a magical device developed by the Beethoven family's special team.

The device allowed her to analyze every living creature, ranging from monsters and plants to sentient beings like dragons, humans, and elves.

Although it looked impressive, the device was still in the development stage, and the information it provided was not yet complete.

Its biggest weakness was that all data had to be manually entered into a catalog. So, using it on Merlin, Catrine, and the others would be a waste of time.

After all, their personal information couldn't be easily obtained.

Moreover, they were her friends, and Margaret didn't want to pry into their personal lives.

Wroaahg!

The dog-like monster growled and lunged toward her.

Margaret wasn't afraid. When it was only one meter away, she jumped aside and dodged the attack.

Boom!

Its claws split the wooden floor in two. Margaret spun through the air, then landed perfectly ten meters away.

The monster was enraged that its attack had been so easily avoided. It charged forward and launched another attack.

However, again and again, Margaret dodged each strike with ease.

Wroaagh!

The three dog heads howled loudly, then opened their mouths simultaneously.

Buzz!

Three energy balls formed between their jaws. A moment later, they hurled them toward Margaret.

Boom!

The energy balls struck and tore through the surrounding area. Black smoke filled the air, obscuring the scene and making it impossible to tell whether Margaret had survived.

As the smoke slowly cleared, Margaret emerged completely unharmed.

A magical shield shimmered right in front of her.

"Oops! Did that surprise you?" Margaret giggled. "Sorry about that. I have tons of magical artifacts in my pocket, so your attacks are completely useless against me."

The monster seemed to understand her words. Its rage reached its peak.

The three dog heads opened their mouths and unleashed the same energy balls continuously.

Unfortunately, every one of those attacks was blocked by the magical shield in front of Margaret.

Margaret watched casually. The artifact she was using was called "Coloisis." It was spherical and could emit a magical shield capable of withstanding monster attacks up to level eight.

As such, the attacks of the three-headed beast were… futile.

"Alright, enough of this game. I'm starting to get bored," Margaret said, yawning lazily.

She took out the hand fan she carried. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary fan.

However, few people knew that it was a semi-mythical artifact.

Margaret channeled the power within her body into the fan.

Instantly, the golden fan expanded to two meters in size.

She raised it, then swung it forward.

"Wind Magic: Tornado Attack!"

Whoosh!

A three-meter-tall tornado formed in front of her and shot toward the monster.

All the energy balls released by the beast were swallowed by the tornado, then hurled back at it.

There was no explosion—only the sound of raging wind and the monster's howls, drowned out by the storm.

A few moments later, the tornado vanished. The monster had been torn apart, reduced to chunks of flesh scattered in all directions.

Margaret shook her head and muttered, "Boring."

She had thought the monster would overwhelm her, but it seemed her expectations had been too high.

Just as Margaret thought it was all over, a playful voice sounded from behind her.

"An interesting girl. At your young age, you've already reached an astonishing level. What's your name?"

Margaret got goosebumps. Her heart pounded as she quickly turned around.

The painting of the handsome man in front of her suddenly moved. The face that had once looked lifeless now seemed eerily alive.

His smile shifted, and his eyes blinked.

"Y-You…" Margaret's eyes widened in shock. "You're alive?"

The man in the painting chuckled softly. "Yes, I'm alive. Why? Surprised?"

Margaret stumbled back twenty steps, clutching her giant hand fan as if ready to attack the moment the man in the painting moved.

"What do you want?"

Sensing her wariness, the man in the painting didn't get angry. He crossed his legs, rested his right elbow on his thigh, and propped his chin on his palm.

His blue eyes stared at Margaret without blinking, as if observing something rare and precious.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. Instead, I've come to offer you an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Margaret's eyebrows shot up.

Her father had once said there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Though she didn't know whether the "opportunity" the man mentioned was real or not, she was certain there had to be something behind it.

"Yes, an opportunity." The man in the painting nodded. "You've probably realized that this ship is very mysterious. You've been walking for quite a while, but you still haven't found the end of it. Is that right?"

Margaret fell silent. That was indeed both her confusion and her anxiety.

"That's natural. This place isn't the ship you boarded but a special dimension created by the owner of this ship—oh, no, that's not quite right."

A mocking smile appeared on his face. "More accurately… the ship's false owner."

"False owner?" Margaret muttered in confusion.

She stared intently at the man in the painting, and suddenly a suspicion crossed her mind.

"Could you be the owner of this ship?"

"Bingo! You're right!" The man in the painting gave a brief clap. "Allow me to introduce myself—my name is Van D'Sersan. I am the son of a duke in the Kingdom of Lokaria. However, since I had no chance of becoming the heir, I chose to become a free sailor."

He pointed toward the painting of the burly men on Margaret's left. "They are my crew and also my friends."

His face showed a sincere expression of longing.

Margaret looked closely at the painting of the burly men.

The Kingdom of Lokaria… she knew that name. It was a kingdom that had vanished from the map of the continent.

The cause was still unknown. But according to various tales, it had disappeared overnight, swallowed by the earth.

No one knew who was responsible, let alone the purpose behind it.

The incident caused a huge sensation and was recorded in the historical records of every kingdom on the continent.

Margaret turned her gaze back to the man in the painting and asked, "So, what opportunity do you want to offer me?"

The man smiled again. "I'll tell you. But this opportunity comes with a great responsibility, so listen carefully."