The Master of Language - T.M.L Chapter 1 (Part 2):

That breath of his really knows no bounds.

In the end, I half-closed my eyes.

If I could, I would have covered my nose too.

“……”

Oshalo looked genuinely sorry.

I don’t particularly resent Oshalo.

It’s quite common for a slave to die on a ship.

As a stark example, most of the crew on the deck were minding their own business, not even giving us a glance.

Even the first mate, who was steering the ship, looked at us with a gaze urging us to hurry back, fearing the dirty slaves might spread disease.

Yes, I understand. I do understand, but!

My body trembled unwittingly.

Despite not having eaten for three days, I’m not hungry at all. My muscles tense up with fear.

Thud.

Thud.

Finally, we reached the bow, and I saw the V-shaped waves stretching out.

It was like the gates to the underworld were opening.

“Hup!”

I knew this sound well.

It was the sound Oshalo made whenever he exerted himself.

But wait.

Why do I have to die?

I’m only fourteen.

After being dragged into slavery and rowing and working on the ship tirelessly, am I to die like this?

So meaninglessly?

I don’t want to die.

Without realizing it, I clenched my teeth tightly.

I don’t want to die!

Then suddenly, something welled up from the depths of my mind and my senses seemed to spin dizzily.

Thump!

I dropped down onto the deck.

Unable to move, I collapsed face-first onto the floor. Pain surged through my body, but I didn’t fall into the water.

What’s going on? I’m not in the water?

With great effort, I lifted my head and looked around. Oshalo, who I thought would be right next to me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Wha, what? Why are you lying there like that?”

Oshalo and the first mate were sprawled on one side.

Above them, I could see the helm was snapped in half.

“The helm, the helm?”

“It’s broken!”

“Cap, Captain! Captain!”

The ship became instantly chaotic.

Dozens of rough-looking crew members drew their sharp knives and gathered around me.

The helm, which controlled the ship’s movement, was broken, and the first mate was injured. To the ship, this was tantamount to mutiny.

They looked ready to kill me on the spot.

“It’s magic! Magic! I saw it!”

One of the crew cried out in a fear-stricken voice.

At that, everyone approaching me froze with pale faces.

Magic?

Who? Me?

From behind the crew, the captain appeared, pushing through them with a stylish hat. He looked at the broken helm with a twisted expression and shouted at the first mate who was groaning in pain.

“First mate! What happened?”

The first mate looked at Oshalo. Oshalo, with an innocent expression, pretended to know nothing. It was a face that anyone could see knew nothing.

The first mate pointed at me.

“That slave used magic to break the helm.”

Why do they keep saying magic?

I spoke to the captain.

“Magic? Me? What Magic could I have… Ugh.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe and coughed.

And then, incredibly,

Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

More than the pain, I was struck by sheer astonishment first.

What on earth…?

Even amidst the confusion, I was amazed by the sheer volume of blood pouring out before my eyes.

I thought my body had run completely dry of fluids long ago.

Yet despite losing so much blood, my mind remained clear.

“What nonsense is that? If that slave could use magic, why would he have remained a galley slave? Get a grip, everyone!”

It made sense.

I completely agreed.

Yet the crew still seemed hesitant, not daring to move forward.

“Exactly, Captain. Magic, me? Haha. Then I’ll just go back to being thrown into the sea as planned. Yes? Haha.”

That would probably give me better odds of survival than being cut down by their knives.

But the captain dashed my hopes cruelly.

“No. You’ve brought chaos to the ship. As an example, we’ll tie you to the mast and let you dry to death.”

Damn it.

He strode toward me.

Please move, please.

Just let me fall into the sea instead.

I desperately tried to move, but my limbs wouldn’t budge.

The captain reached out to grab me, and I squeezed my eyes shut again.

Whoosh!

The captain flew backward.

He crashed clumsily into a pillar, but the crew beside him managed to catch him.

“Mag, magic!”

“Real magic!”

Everyone took exactly one step back.

Did I really use magic?

At that moment, my head felt like it was splitting open.

Fragments of knowledge and pieces of memory tore through my brain.

“Arrgghh.”

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

The pain is hundreds of times worse than when I had to exert myself without a drop of water.

I wish someone would just cut my head off.

I gritted my teeth and barely endured the pain.

“Don’t get close! Throw your knives or stones, kill him from a distance. He can’t keep using magic forever! Quickly!”

The captain’s shout rang clearly in my ears.

My head hurt too much. They were all rustling about, pulling something out, but the pain overwhelmed any sense of danger, leaving me unable to react at all.

“Th-throw!”

“You throw!”

“Just throw it!”

They all hesitated.

They must be scared too.

Who wouldn’t be afraid of magic?

I don’t know how I suddenly became able to use magic, but for now this magic has given me a chance to survive. Whether it works or not, it’s all or nothing.

Ugh, if only I could do something about this splitting headache.

I tried to focus my mind as much as possible.

“You fools!”

The captain stepped forward roughly.

He drew a short dagger and threw it at me.

Please!

One more time!

Thunk!

Unfortunately, the dagger flew straight into my thigh.

Damn it. Was it just a fluke?

The pain in my head was so intense that I felt nothing in my thigh.

“Wha, what is it?”

“Can’t use magic anymore?”

Their expressions began to change.

They were already quite menacing, but now they looked like demons from hell.

In unison, they drew their weapons, and with all their might flung them at me.

Now there was only one thing left to believe in.

A miracle.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted loudly.

“Stop!”

Dangun

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