Chapter 20：Phantom Ballista in the Voyage Diary

As Da Fei continued to flip through the diary, he finally made a discovery.

—February 8th, Year 150. Cloudy. We've been sailing for two months now, but we've yet to see a single pirate. It's made people like us living below the deck insane! Our sailing speed is too fast, so we can't even fish for fun. Life is so boring. Roberts suggested we should play cards. I thought about it, there were no rules against it. Since that's the case, let's just play for fun. The captain and his chiefs won't come down here for inspection. It's way too smelly and stuffy for them. Anyways, even if they do come down, the sound of their boots will warn us.

—February 9th, Year 150. Sunny. Roberts owes me 14 gold coins. Eric owes me 10.

—February 10th, Year 150. Sunny. Roberts won today, but he still owes me 4 gold coins. Eric lost against. He owes me 15 in total now.

—February 10th, Year 150. Cloudy. Bastard! Eric was on a roll today. I owe him 5 gold coins now!

What the heck! You finally got back to the good habit of writing in your diary. However, can you just try to be less boring? What about your wife? Your daughter? Let me continue!

—February 14th, Year 150. As we were playing cards today, someone came down from above! It was Knight Markal! He greeted us in a friendly manner and even gave us some fun magic toys to relieve our boredom! I didn't expect such a respected mage like Knight Markal to come to our stinky and stuffy place. He was friendly too! His attitude gained all our respect!

Da Fei was instantly excited! Markal! Continue! Okay, it was a bunch of gambling records again. Skip!

—March 16th, Year 150. Heavy storm! At 9 PM, the lookout alarm was sounded! We encountered pirates! I was so excited! It was finally my time to shine! All the gunners excitedly got into our positions! However, at 11 PM, our ship pulled away from the pirates. We were excited for nothing!

Gambling records. Skip.

—April 2nd, Year 150. Sunny. At 10 PM, we encountered pirates. Then, we pulled away from the pirates. I was thinking, if our ship is so fast, and all our sailors, chiefs, and captain are the elites from the Empire, when we gunners will ever be needed?

—April 11th, Year 150. Rain! Hello, pirates! Goodbye, pirates!

—April 17th, Year 150. Rain! The continuous rainy season caused rheumatism in plenty of us on board. Our knees hurt whenever we walk. This feeling sucks.

—April 18th, Year 150. Rain. Knight Markal came to our cabin again. He sent us a barrel of wine to cure our rheumatism. The color was strange and it tasted bitter, but it was indeed amazingly effective! Our legs were healed after just one cup! Furthermore, they were filled with strength! Knight Markal deserves all our respect!

Legs filled with energy? Was that used to change them into jumping zombies? Gambling records. Skip! Oh, some content here! This page is filled with words!

—June 3rd, Year 150. Sunny! The day is finally here. We entered the Naga territory. Clashes were inevitable! After nearly half a year at sea, it was finally our turn! During the intense chase, I killed 6 Nagas. Roberts got 4. Eric killed 3. Robin killed 5. Joey got 5. Hawk got 3. Unfortunately, the Naga leader escaped while riding a heavily injured sea dragon! If our Ballista range was a little further and a little more powerful, we could've gotten a huge haul by shooting down that sea dragon. I would've been awarded greatly for it! I missed the only opportunity in over half a year to create some legacy. I was quite sad even during the award ceremony tonight. This battle exposed our fatal flaw about accuracy!

We are used to fighting pirates, so our Ballistas' targets are usually giant ships or floating sea monsters. We aren't usually worried about missing our targets. However, there's nothing we can do about those Naga warriors traveling at high speeds underwater.

Firstly, our ship is constantly swaying back and forth.

Secondly, the refraction of light in the water makes it difficult for us to aim. When fishermen fish with their spears, they always aim from an angle. That seems like a useful skill now. Unfortunately, I always looked down upon fishermen and never bothered to learn that. On the other hand, Nagas are naturally gifted at aiming that way. They can hide in the water and fire off bone arrows at us accurately. We just can't fire back with the same accuracy.

Furthermore, the water surface greatly reduces our arrows' power. This is quite unbelievable! However, based on my calculations, this must be true. When arrows enter the water, they lose at least one-third to half their power! That equates to an armor worth 20 points for our enemies! Water is so gentle, so how does it provide such a strong protective effect? I think this can only be explained by the theory of how little rocks can skip on the water surface without falling in.

How do I solve this problem? I'm too tired today. I should gather everyone to discuss this tomorrow.

…

Da Fei was excited! Interesting! Ballistas' accuracy was indeed an issue. After Juan discovered the Pirate King's unique skill, he started researching into God-level skills. This artillery chief must have started his own research too! The secrets are indeed hidden in this diary!

Da Fei hurriedly flipped to the next page!

—June 4th, Year 150. To celebrate our achievements yesterday, let's play some bigger hands today…

F**k you! Where's your research?! Da Fei flipped like a madman!

—August 9th, Year 150. Fog! At 9 PM, the entire sea was covered in darkness and fog. We were attacked by an unknown sea creature, yet we were completely helpless! I could only launch counter-attacks blindly based on the sound of the waves. Just then, an intense gust of wind chased the fog away. It was Knight Markal's amazing magic! We finally saw a huge, island-sized monster chasing us as it spat out fog continuously! Oh god, I've never seen such a huge monster! Even worse, we can't fire at anything directly behind our ship. That's our blind spot! Just then, a huge fireball fell from the sky and warded off the monster. It was Knight Markal's amazing magic again! So powerful! I feel like I have to ask him to teach me something!

Markal appeared again! This gambler finally came to his senses. Da Fei continued to flip through the pages.

—August 10th, Year 150. Sunny. I visited the much respected Knight Markal nervously. He was very friendly as he hosted me in his study. Although Knight Markal was always nice to us, his friendliness made me especially excited after I witnessed how powerful he is. There were many books in Knight Markal's study. His tables were full of jars and bottles. What a mysterious and intelligent scholar! I asked him about the sea monster yesterday. Knight Markal said that it might be the legendary fog-creating sea monster, Leviathan. However, he was not too sure. Oh my god. If that really was Leviathan, then Knight Markal would be the powerful person who defeated Leviathan…

Da Fei was completely stunned!

Leviathan! Level 8 Sea Creature published on the official site. Unknown attributes. An existence that was more powerful than Angels, Demons, Giant Dragons, and all other Level 7 soldiers! In the legends, God took seven days to create this earth. In the first six days, God created all the physical things and the laws of time and space. On the seventh day, he created two legendary monsters. The male was named Behemoth, the lord of the land. The female was named Leviathan, the lord of the sea!

This Markal could defeat Leviathan. How powerful must he be then? Am I going up against such a dominant and strong person, then? Oh right, Markal's study? Usually, the high-ranking ones onboard will live near the upper levels of the ship. In other words, the room that Raging Sea of Blood was in while fighting the BOSS was the study? The study belongs to such a powerful mage who can defeat Leviathan, will the reward really just be a simple Magic Book?

Now that I can use the Ballista, it won't be an issue for me to fight that Evil Spirit. However, that huge Ballista really can't be operated in such a tiny space! That's an issue. Alright, the original plan still stands. I'll ambush him from the back. It's been half a day since I last heard footsteps on top. If he's not worried as a Level 5, I won't be too as a Level 8. Then, let's continue with this diary—

…

Of course, the Knight Markal's time is precious. I asked him for any suggestions on how to improve the accuracy of our Ballistas. Markal fell into deep thought. Then, he told me that he'll come to me with a solution once he figures it out. Before I left, he gave me a very expensive bottle of wine as a gift. I'm so excited!

…

As expected! Can't expect this gambler to come up with any scientific research. The mage is more reliable. After all, even the seafarer's God-level skill was thought of by Markal. Continue.

—January 17th, Year 151. Sunny. Today was exciting. Knight Markal came again. Not only did he bring us good wine, but he also brought the solution to the inaccuracy of our Ballistas! I didn't expect him to take it so seriously! After such a long time, I thought he would have forgotten it!

This was a shocking plan! He brought the designs of a completely new magic Ballista. The main body must be made out of high-grade wood used to create magic staffs. The metal crossbow arms and the protective armor must be replaced with mithril alloy so that it can conduct the magical powers. Each Ballista will be engraved with 12 rechargeable magic stones and 12 attached magic formations. Even the arrows must be enchanted! Such an expensive and shocking Ballista will allow even an ordinary, non-trained gunner to fire without any obstacles. He will be able to ignore the mystical fog as he aims! Furthermore, the magical Ballista will have auto-aim enabled because of the magic formations. It will seek out enemies by itself! Even creatures hiding in alternate dimensions will not be able to avoid the shots! Leviathan, the Nagas, the swaying of the ship, none of those will be an issue for this Ballista!

This existence will be like the Phantom Godly Bow from the Elf Kingdom. Hence, Sir Knight called it the Phantom Ballista!

This was a genius, magical, and grand creation! Unfortunately, we had neither the equipment nor the material needed for the execution of this plan. However, I'm determined to follow Knight Markal and complete his grand creation once we finish this expedition!

…

—System Message: You have obtained information about the new Ballista, "Phantom Ballista"!

—Novice Guide: After obtaining information about a weapon, the player will trigger the plot about the weapon. The player can choose to research and develop the weapon himself. He can also learn about the said weapon from NPCs in order to obtain it.

Finally! This BOSS was different as he gave me information about a new kind of Ballista! My "number one difficulty in the world to obtain" Skill Book is finally worth it. Although the target seems distant, it's still better than nothing.

Da Fei had flipped the book for a long time. Hence, he went straight to the end.

—April 19th, Year 156. A storm was here!

—April 20th, Year 156. An unknown fleet appeared in the storm.

The diary ended here. There was an uncompleted entry. Did he die?

Da Fei sighed. This poor guy probably had no wives and daughters. Even sadder, he probably didn't even know how he died, as he had no time to pen down any last words. He still revered Markal in all his entries…

Hang on. Since this Phantom Ballista was designed by Markal, he must be a relevant NPC for this mission. What will happen if I give this diary to Markal? He must be happy, right? After all, this entire diary was about how amazing and upright he was. It's proof about Markal's honorable and accomplished journey. This will be evidence that gets rid of any suspicions around him being the only survivor! If he's happy about receiving this, maybe he'll give me the Phantom Ballista as a gift?

However, I already accepted the Epic Mission from the seafarer to fight against Markal. Will it be safe to meet Markal with this mission on hand?

Forget it, that's not my concern right now. I'll just check out the next cabin after fixing my Ballista.