Ghost Ship

"What is this place?" Miles looked at the scene in front of him with amazement. He was standing on a hill, and what lay beneath his feet was an abyssal water body of a grim, foreboding sea lying what remains of an old ship potentially lost during a fight with monsters, years ago. She was in a wrecked state but all things considered, it was a miracle for it to stand as she did. There were creatures who enjoyed the vast opportunities she had to offer them. Monsters of sea life, climbing on the deck to enjoy the sun.

The ship was an unsettling sight from a distance, like a dead beast slowly rotting and eaten by maggots. She was barely standing upright and her absent pieces left a gloomy absence of what was meant to be. Monsters on deck, ignoring her once-glorious self, were jumping on rusty metal, destroying it in their wake.

"Zall discovered this place when he fell asleep in the river. River took him all the way here." Xavic explained. Zall looked embarrassed, while Miles's eyes were twitching. Falling asleep on a river in Portal World? Only Zall could do it for sure.

"And, what is in there?" Miles asked.

"I saw a small tree growing inside the sea, reaching out to the ship. On the tree's body, there were fruits. Although they were underripe, I could feel the energy inside them. There was also a strong monster sleeping before the tree, protecting it." Zall explained slowly.

"What type of monster, and what was its tier," Miles asked. He saw Tutor Dusek's ultimate, so he knew there were trees that could increase help with training. He was interested in it.

"It has two enormous eyes that survey its surroundings from their deep sockets. A simple nose rests below, but it's the eerie mouth that grabs your attention. A brittle smile reveals two small canines and a very long tongue.

Broad warped ears sit on each side of its tiny, pointy head, which itself is covered in rows of small spikes and has two broad horns protruding from the sides.

Its long brawny body stands straight. Two short, almost branch-like arms dangle at its sides and end in broad hands with sharp nailed fingers, of which it has 8 in total. Its legs are lean and are bent, each ending in skinny feet.

Its body is covered in thick scales and its shoulders are narrower than its torso, from which a fanned tail sways back and forth." Zall explained vividly while imagining.

"Humanoid?" Miles asked with surprise. Zall only nodded. "Have you seen the artifact?"

"Hmm. A giant trident." Zall answered. "The monster is at least pinnacle-tier. Luckily it never leaves the ship, so I was able to escape."

"It is looking dire." Miles pondered. "It is too strong to face head-on, and we cannot lure it. Explosives may damage the tree too, so it isn't worth it. There isn't much we can do." Miles shook his head.

"Can't we wait? We can come back later when we are stronger." Xavic gave his opinion.

"I don't think so. Fruits will ripen soon, and we are not even sure when the tree will yield again." Miles shook his head.

As they were discussing, the ground started to tremble. The trio looked in the direction of the source and saw a giant crocodile walking with slow steps towards the ship. It was at least 5 meters from the ground to the head, and its body was twenty meters long from head to tail. Its scales were black, and its eyes were blood red.

Its giant muzzle was closed, but four sword long fangs were protruding from its mouth. Its eyes were locked on the ship and looked like it didn't care about anything else.

"Another pinnacle-tier monster," Xavic exclaimed in panic.

"Let's retreat," Zall said.

"Let's watch. We are still far, and not in danger. We can take advantage if they decide to fight each other." Miles calmed them down and kept on watching. When the crocodile was only 100 meters away from the ship, a humanoid monster walked out of it. Its eyes were locked on the giant monster, and a giant trident was fixed in its hand. Its bluish-purple scales were shining under the sun. The monster roared to stop the crocodile's advance.

The crocodile stopped and looked at the humanoid monster. It wasn't as big as its front leg, but it still could feel that the humanoid monster was dangerous. As they were staring at each other, the humanoid monster started to speak in a foreign language.

"Get away from my area, you overgrown lizard."

Miles's eyes dilated as he understood what the humanoid monster said. "It is the same language." Miles thought in his heart. The language was the same as the Exaltedness of the Creator. When he first received it, thanks to Jelly's mother he also learned the interpretation. Now the humanoid monster was speaking in the same language.

The crocodile responded with a roar, but it obviously wasn't able to speak.

"If you want to fight, bring it on. But let me warn you, I have acquired a blessing from an Evil-Lord." The humanoid monster said and raised its arm. Under its arm, on its triceps was a strange tattoo.

The tattoo was cyan in color and had three moss in tandem. Behind the mosses, a figure of a mermaid could be vaguely seen.

When the giant crocodile saw the tattoo, it took a step back in fear and looked at the humanoid with dread in its eyes. Then it looked at the ship in greed and mustered up its courage. It took a step forward, and a pillar of water left its giant maw, flying directly to the humanoid monster.