I Have a Sailing Game-Chapter 114 - 109: Wraith General
Finally, a tattered grayish-white blood-stained cloak flew over and landed on its shoulders.
Clang!
The black long knife flashed its edge.
In just a breath’s time, the wraith general who originally seemed decrepit and vulnerable became a tall, sharp-spirited undead general.
"Young man, can you use a sword?"
The tip of the sword slowly lifted, pointing directly at Rogel.
If conditions allowed, Rogel would very much like to brandish a blade like a swordsman at this moment.
But...
"...No, I can’t."
Rogel said, somewhat embarrassed.
When he said this, the wraith general also fell silent.
"...Are you really sure you can’t?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Truly, I can’t."
Rogel said honestly.
After hearing this, the wraith general sighed and sat down again, with the spirit fire in his eye sockets dimming slightly.
He seemed quite disappointed that Rogel couldn’t use a sword.
Seeing this situation, an idea suddenly popped into Rogel’s mind.
He spoke with a hint of trial in his voice.
"Perhaps... I can learn?"
Upon hearing these words, the wraith general looked up and glanced at him.
The surroundings became very quiet, and the atmosphere started to become subtle.
"...Very well, if my final enemy cannot wield a sword, I would regret it forever,"
The wraith general murmured to himself.
Then, with a thought, a skeletal hand rose from the ground, bringing a black sword from a box at the back, and it floated in front of Rogel.
"If you are willing to learn, I will teach you everything I know."
"But you need to accept a condition of mine, would you be willing?"
Rogel’s eyes were already shining at this moment.
Why rush to defeat a boss? Learn the skills first!
So he eagerly nodded, accepting the sword handed to him by the wraith general.
"Long Sword"
"Type: Weapon"
"Quality: Green"
"Attack Power: 12"
"Explanation: A high-quality long sword."
Seeing this, the wraith general also stated his condition.
"After you have mastered it, use the blade in your hand to find a way to truly end my life, and kill me."
The wraith general’s voice was calm.
After listening to the wraith general’s request, Rogel was a bit puzzled.
"Why?"
Faced with Rogel’s question, the wraith general was silent for a moment.
"...Being abandoned by death is not something to be celebrated."
So... have you lived enough?
"Isn’t living a good thing?"
"Why do you seek death?"
Rogel frowned.
All along the way, it seemed that the dead abandoned he saw were trying various ways to end their own lives.
But the question arose, why do they want to die?
"...It seems you have observed quite a bit."
The wraith general slowly spoke.
"Life represents limited memory."
"Death represents eternal sleep."
"...After being abandoned by death, the souls of the dead abandoned linger between life and death, unable to live and unable to die."
"Throughout their unknown lifespan, they exist in a chaotic alternation of life and death, sometimes memories emerge, sometimes they suddenly vanish, followed by the searing pain like being forged in a steel furnace..."
"You will doubt, you will be confused, unable to find direction or recognize yourself..."
"Few souls can maintain themselves through such prolonged spiritual torment."
"This is the soul that has been abandoned by death."
The wraith general sat cross-legged on the ground, gently stroking the long sword in his hand.
After listening, Rogel remained silent.
Indeed, if what the wraith general said was true, then the spiritual torment endured by the dead abandoned was enough to extinguish a soul’s desire for existence.
"...I understand."
Rogel nodded.
But he couldn’t help but raise a question.
"Can you really not kill yourselves?"
To him, the weaknesses he found in the dead abandoned he killed were quite apparent, right in the skull.
Could it be that those dead abandoned he killed didn’t genuinely die?
In response, the wraith general did not speak.
He raised his skeletal hand.
Then, a breathtaking scene unfolded.
Beneath the cliff of the Wraith Cultivation Platform, countless soul flames accompanied by the skeletal hand slowly rose, like an endless array of stars in the sky, illuminating the surroundings.
"Skeletons are merely vessels for the soul."
"So long as they reside in these vessels, they can at least feel existence."
[Without a vessel, there is only the eternal torment between life and death.]
The ancient, indifferent voice of the Wraith General sounded.
[Are the Dead Abandoned I slew also among them?]
Rogel was utterly shocked, staring at the surrounding Soul Flames.
The Wraith General slowly nodded.
[You should have seen the appearances of the Dead Abandoned.]
[Lying in coffins, in grave pits, hanging themselves, or frantically digging mines...]
[Their goal is only one...]
"To numb their pain."
Rogel said this in front of the screen.
At this point, he also understood.
Why, despite their pain, the Dead Abandoned are unwilling to shatter their bone shells.
Because compared to living in endless spiritual torment, they’d rather hold on to a shell and find some trivial things to do.
It turns out they’re just a pitiful bunch...
At this moment, Rogel suddenly realized something.
His eyes lit up, and he gestured, and the Dead Abandoned Heavy Cavalry came forward.
[What about its soul? Is it still there?]
After hearing Rogel’s words, the Wraith General paused, seemingly sensing something.
After a moment, he suddenly turned to look at Rogel.
[...How did you do it?]
The Wraith General’s voice surprisingly carried a hint of disbelief.
Seeing this, Rogel immediately realized that his unique ability seemed to be able to break this strange state of the Dead Abandoned.
[This is one of my abilities.]
Rogel responded.
[But I don’t know where its soul actually went.]
Though Rogel had used Hei’s Soul talent for a long time, he wasn’t clear about some of the details.
After turning those originally soulful creatures into clone shells, where their souls went, whether they were devoured or extinguished by his talent, Rogel didn’t know.
The Wraith General, however, didn’t care about this.
[No matter what, it certainly can’t be worse than now.]
His tone calmed down.
[Since you have this ability, my request to you shouldn’t be much of a difficulty.]
[But before that, I need to teach you how to use the sword as agreed.]
With that said, he stood up.
[Now, draw your sword.]
Seeing this, Rogel took a deep breath and clumsily drew the long sword from its sheath.
As soon as he drew the sword, the Wraith General instantly attacked with his weapon.
Rogel relied on his bodily reflexes and instinctively swung his sword to parry.
*Clang—*
As the sound of metal clashing rang out, Rogel also received an in-game notification.
[You have been attacked by the Wraith General, Life Value -120.]
"Damn."
Rogel winced at the shoulder wound on his game character.
If the Wraith General hadn’t already stopped his movement, Rogel might have thought he said so just for that strike...
Seeing Rogel’s wound, the Wraith General seemed to pause for a moment.
[I forgot you still need to recuperate.]
The Wraith General pondered for a moment; after this exchange, he also understood Rogel’s level.
[You also need to eat to maintain life, right?]
"..."
What else could Rogel say? He just nodded.
[How did you get in here?]
If the Wraith General had eyebrows, they would surely be furrowed deeply by now.
After thinking for a moment, Rogel told the Wraith General about the cave, though not everything. He wasn’t foolish enough to pour his heart out to a Dead Abandoned he had just met.
He also wondered if the Wraith General knew any secrets about the cave.
[Being able to freely pass through the barrier...]
The Wraith General remained silent for a moment, seemingly scrutinizing Rogel carefully.
[I understand.]
[Since you have such an ability, go back and rest up first.]
[For living beings, injuries affect performance, which is not conducive to your current stage of learning.]
The Wraith General sheathed his sword and returned to sit cross-legged on the bone platform.
Rogel looked at the time in the real world.
It was getting late, and it was about time to rest.
So he nodded.
As he was about to leave, the Wraith General spoke again.
[If, after a while, my demeanor towards you feels unfamiliar, please repeat the events that just occurred to this old master.]
Rogel was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
But after thinking for a moment, he found the reason.
The Wraith General was also a Dead Abandoned, and naturally would suffer the aforementioned mental torments.
However, Rogel didn’t know how he retained clarity for such a long time.
[Also, take these things with you.]
[I assume they were prepared for you.]
