After arriving at the port, we got the news about what happened on board the ship...

"...A disease?" - Garami

"Or... that is, what it will end in... I think." - Lily

"Thinks"? She "thinks"? Doesn't she knows who's on that f*cking ship!? This little...

Calm down. CAAAALM DOWN! *Breathe in*, *breathe out*..., phew, that's better. It's the peak of stupidity to lash out at Lily just because she brought some bad news.

"...Then? Why's a disease suddenly running amok on the ship?" - Garami

"That black barrier-like thing on the ship, it's supposed to be some Extra Skill that kills the one inside it if we take too long in dispelling it... I think..." - Lily

"...And why do you know about all this?" I asked while looking at the locals. They seemed just as surprised over this news, and Lily's knowledge about this so-called Extra Skill barrier.

"It's the funky bird. We met a funky bird in the jungle and brought him back. He's the one who told us all about it when we saw the ship being anchored away from the port." - Lily

..."funky bird"? Now, this I gotta see.

We followed Lily to the inn where we had rented some rooms for everyone and found Iron in one of them, restraining a penguin out of all creatures to find on this tropical island. A penguin dressed in an orange Hawaiian shirt and a yellow-orange mohawk, but it's still a penguin... I think.

"...That is one funky bird, I agree," said Ciara who had followed us to the inn.

"Who're you calling funky!? Not that you're wrong," responded the penguin with a hint of self-satisfaction. Wait, "funky" is a compliment where this bird comes from? The world sure is big... and this ain't the time to think about stupid things like that! And ain't this guy...

"Iron, tighten." - Garami

"Roger." - Iron

*Squeeeeeze*

"GYAAA!? Dying-, I'm dying-, uuuurgh..." - Penguin

"Garami! Why're you-!?" - Ciara

"That bird's the one who flushed us off the ship." - Garami

".........What?" - Ciara & Lily & Iron

"Kingpin Penguin. A species of penguins are classified as Demi-Humans, and they're missing the Ice attribute that penguins normally have. However, they have access to many Leadership Skills, which turns them into natural leaders over other penguins, or even other races. Also, they got some nasty tricks with Ocean attribute skills." - Garami

I explained it to them while reading from the Kigal-Note... but honestly, that's just for show. I'm the one who designed the Kingpin Penguin after all.

Hearing my explanation, the two girls stopped looking worried at the penguin and rather seemed to want Iron to squeeze the bird even more. But seriously, don't. Bad sushi's gonna cover the whole room.

"Then, if you don't wanna start resembling a raisin, you better start talking, bird. Why're you here, why did you try to drown us with that water-current trick, and how do you know what's happening on board the ship anchored outside the port? In that order." - Garami

"O-okay, okay! I get it!"

There we go. I don't like crushed birds any more than the other demons around after all.

"*Cough*, ehm, to start from the top, my name is Captain Kingpin." - Kingpin

"...You jokin' or somethin'?" - Garami

"It's true!! You dissin' my name-*Squeeeeze*-!? Sorry, forget I said anything!" - Kingpin

"...And? Just where's your ship, 'captain'?" - Garami

"Ugh... it was destroyed. Or, we had to destroy it. My crew managed to push me off the ship right before the disaster struck. We were sailing right beside this island around two weeks ago when it was attacked, so I managed to swim ashore before any sea monsters noticed me." - Kingpin

"...Huh? You were able to sail?" - Ciara

The fairy's right. Ain't the monster-free sea-lines only available for a limited amount of time?

"We had our base on a group of islands south from here. The sea between this place and those islands are always safe from sea monsters because it's so shallow." - Kingpin

Now I get it. Luxuria is directly east of Invidia, so going south won't help those wanting to travel between the continent at all.

"And I wasn't trying to drown you guys. I... I just wanted some help out of the tiger-territory... but you guys just had to let the underlings go!" - Kingpin

...Ah, he was stranded close to the tiger's nest. I looked at Iron, and he nodded. Guess they did find him close to where we met the tigers. 

Hmm... he had no way of knowing whether we would explore the island, so he dragged us to the island forcefully so he could join up with us after we bashed in all the tigers. That we let the normal cats go was outside his prediction, and as a penguin, he couldn't move fast enough to catch up with us after we left the tigers. I mean, he's a penguin. No way he can break the speed limit with those "legs". 

"And why do you... wait, I can guess. Your ship was attacked as well?" - Garami

"...Right. The barrier starts from the center of the ship. I was standing on the bridge, so my guys pushed me off before I got caught in the trap. After it's completely set, the barrier lets no one in, or out. The inside will be filled with small amounts of Death aether, of the un-resistible kind, which will work the same way as a virus until everyone trapped inside are dead." - Kingpin

"That's some detailed knowledge of the situation, considering you only got a glimpse of it. Why do you even know it's an Extra Skill? Couldn't it have been something else?" - Ciara

Ciara's right. The penguin's got too detailed info about this.

"Of course, I would know. That dome of death is the M.O. of the Simoom Pirates! They kill everything with the captain's Extra Skill and take the corpses to feed their ship-Dungeon!" - Kingpin

"Dungeon!?" 

None of us could keep our voice down at this revelation. A ship that acts as a Dungeon, that's too stupid! Dungeons need to be fed aether from leylines, or they'll collapse for good...

"Now I get it. They simply attack everything to keep the Dungeon going." - Garami

By constantly attacking the high-ranking monsters that live in the sea, they've kept that monstrous Dungeon alive for so long that people could get a good idea over the Dungeon Master, this "captain of the Simoom Pirates", method of operation. 

"...Did that ship look like a wooden ship with windmills attached to the sides and with sails that looked like dried husks of skin?" - Garami

"! Yeah, that's... wait a minute, don't tell me-!" - Kingpin

"I saw it. Right before you flushed us away." - Garami

"OH, GOD DAMN IT ALLLLLL!" - Kingpin

That's my line, dammit...

---

Afterward, we met with the mayor of the port-town and filled him in on the situation. Especially the part where there's a big chance that those Simoom Pirates may have set up camp around the area.

"That is worrying," said the old cat Therianthrope. The other feline transforming humans in the port-town looked more worried than him... but a leader shouldn't be thrown into panic, so I kinda respect his stone-faced nature now.

"How long have those on the ship left?" the mayor asked the penguin, who Is a little freaked out, being in a city filled with cat people. 

"Ehm, none of those trapped by that skill, be it monsters or humanoids, have ever survived more than five days... but I've never heard about someone dying before then either." - Kingpin

"Meaning we got five-, no, four days on us. Think of the fifth day as the deadline, quite literally." - Garami

"Yes, but let us not drag our tails even then. Is there any way to remove the dome?" - Mayor

"No way. It's an Extra Skill that focuses on keeping people stuck inside! The virus-like effect is almost secondary. You need something like a barrier-breaking specialized Extra Skill to defeat a barrier-specialized Extra Skill. It's common sense!" - Kingpin

Zahhak's not gonna be of much help then... ah!

"What about the pirate captain? If we knock him out, won't that deactivate the skill?" - Garami

All the Extra Skill-users on our team have to stay conscious while using our aces-in-the-hole, so this barrier of death should work on the same logic. Even if it doesn't, defeating the captain and forcing him to turn it off is also an option.

"And if they wanna use the ship and its passengers and crew as 'fuel', then those bastards have to be hiding close by. If we cooperate and send out search parties around the whole island, we should be able to find where they are hiding." - Garami

That's gotta be the reason why the ship is anchored so close to the port despite the risk of the Death aether leaking out and polluting the island. They're trying to force the pirates to stay as close as possible to this place, which gives us a chance to reach their ship. It would be impossible to find them if they were in open waters, and according to the penguin, that death dome can only be used on one target at a time, so they are unable to hunt down some other prey.

"...That is the only option we have here. I will send our best hunters out, Frenzy monsters are damned. These pirates are a much greater threat." - Mayor

"We'll help. Iron and Ciara will join the search parties." - Garami

"I am grateful for the help. Then, what will you do?" - Mayor

"Prepare a secret weapon or two." - Garami

I hope I can get them ready, at least...

---

Later, I was standing in front of the Dungeon entrance again, accompanied by Lily and the penguin.

"Why're we wasting our time here!? This is the wrong Dungeon! We need to find the ship, not some cave!" - Kingpin

"Calm your feathers. We're gonna make this place our secret weapon against those pirates." - Garami

"You're gonna use the Dungeon!?" - Kingpin

"More like to call on the real thing. Plus, who said that this place can't be connected to a secret port where the pirates are hiding?" - Garami

"Ah, that's right. The pirates could have… nothing!" started Lily before remembering that the penguin isn't part of our group and therefore doesn't know anything about Damavand.

"You're going to call them... how the heck is a Dungeon supposed to help you with that? Are you going to take over this place?" said the penguin, obviously joking from the tone of his voice.

"You got it." - Garami

"Yeah, I've got… got it!?" - Kingpin

"B-boss-!?" - Lily

"Wait, don't tell me-!" - Kingpin

"That said, you're not so white either, Captain Kingpin of the Penguin Grand Pirate Fleet." - Garami

"...EEEHH?! Pirate fleet!?" - Lily

Lily shouted in surprise while the penguin looked a little blue from my revelation. 

"The Penguin Grand Pirate Fleet, a group of pirates that disguises as normal citizens of the Anatrica Archipelago just south of here, but the reality is that they are a massive crew of pirates that are around 80% of the reasons for the many losses of life and ships on the sea-route between Invidia and Luxuria. And to conceal yourselves from the authorities of the two continents, you make use of the fluctuating sea currents and make up the illusion that there are crazy sea monsters that only appear when those currents are active.

"There have been survivors who dared to use the sea-routes when the currents aren't 'active', but you either let them go because there were some real sea-monsters close by that you decided to let those 'brave adventurers' challenge to strengthen the credibility of the rumors, or they were part of your group from the start. Now, is that all?" - Garami

The penguin didn't need to answer. It was obvious from his face. Even the black feathers look like they've gone pale!

"And if my hunch is correct, then it wasn't an accident that led you to face those Dungeon pirates. A better hypothesis is that you guys actively tried to snuff out some competition that recently arrived in these waters. That would explain how you have so much info about them as well, plus the reason why you waited in the jungle. There's a risk that someone may recognize you in the port, so you waited for your crew to come and pick you up. However, the threat of the tigers as you mentioned got under your skin, so you tried that half-assed plan of dragging us to the island to act as an escort. Moving the ocean currents so you could reach the port from the sea had the risk of getting caught by those Dungeon-pirates after all, so you needed to walk through the Dungeon." - Garami

Yup, this guy's guilty. He's starting to sweat so much that a pond's forming underneath his legs. What else could one expect from the information brought by Blot the man himself?

"So here's an offer to you-" - Garami

"Stop! Parley! Mercy! Just don't throw me to the authorities! They treat guys like me worse than trash! Just getting executed by throwing me into a pit filled with starving carnivores would be a blessing compared to their normal treatment of us pirates!!" - Kingpin

"...then we've got no other choice but to kill you here and cut your sufferings short. What a shame," I said with a melodramatic tone. The penguin freaked out for a moment, but my bad acting must have calmed him down as he asked:

"...Shame? Wait, what was that offer you talked about?" - Kingpin

"So, he finally noticed... I know some people who would love to have a specialist on the sea join them. If things go well, you can expand your activities around the world and not limit yourself in this small patch of sea. Even the skies may not be a dream. Heck, you could become an official 'commander' and escape the long arms of the law." - Garami

I grinned mischievously at the penguin while saying this, and the penguin started to smile back with the same expression. In the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Lily was wearing an expression of exhaustion and resignation. That girl...

---

After the deal with the penguin was finished, I walked into the Dungeon along with Lily. The penguin is waiting outside.

"...Was this all just to recruit a sailor-specialist into the organization? In this time of emergency?" - Lily

"This is exactly the right time. I wanna make sure we're all on the same team. Backstabbing can be painful, you know." - Garami

"...Ah, now I get it..." - Lily

Blot even asked me personally to see if my bad luck magnet would snag something good from those pirates. And he was right again...

"With that outta the way, let's clear this Dungeon~." - Garami

"Just like that?!" - Lily

"Just like that. There are only traps here. So many that people simply gave up on conquering this place due to the sheer amount of stress that came with it, but..." - Garami

I started removing the equipment that could slow me down and threw them into the Storage. Then I took a starting posture with one hand on the ground, used [Energy Warfare], [Mystic Warfare], [Dragon Power], [Genocide Drive: Speed], [Swift Legs], and even [Lightwalk]. I've also had all the current Possession Ghosts use speed-boosting support spells. 

"And here we... GO!" - Garami

With a speed that's probably leaving afterimages behind, I started to run through the trap-filled corridors. I used [Nightwatch]'s trap-detecting abilities to dodge most of the triggers, but at this speed, I couldn't dodge them all. However, with this crazy speed, I'm long gone before the traps are fully activated.

This place consists only of simple passages that are filled with traps, just as the info was saying. I kept on speeding past the traps, dodged the arrows, jumped over the pitfalls, ignored the poisonous gases, and left all the dangers this Dungeon could produce behind me.

Ah, how I've wanted to simply let out and run with all my might. The last time I could do a full-sprint dash was during the battle against that spider-queen in the Water-Knot. Chasing after the Black Baron doesn't count, as the corridors in the Tir na Nog castle were too complex and short to run with all my strength. 

As I ran, I found several safe areas and treasure chests lying around. Like, literally. It feels like the owner didn't care to place them in good locations... or maybe they only care about the FP they generate? That would explain why there are so many traps around here. This place is min-maxing the Facility stat... wait. Something's up here. Many of these traps are far above what even Facility D can create. That means, the Dungeon has more floors than one..., or they obtained DP through some other means...

My worries seem to be unnecessary, as the aether-lines that connect the Dungeon with its Core are getting brighter by the minute. I noticed this weakness when I was inspecting Damavand and took action to hide these lines, but it seems the owner of this place isn't in the possession of something like [Empyrean Eyes]. 

Soon, the number of traps dwindled to nothing and I could see the goal. A huge set of wooden doors. Looks kinda frail...... DYNAMIC ENTRY!!!

*Crash!!*

Wow, it was frailer than I expected. But, I reached the Core. And it took less than five minutes! I could prepare a cup of noodles and have time to spare!

"Wha-, who are you!? Don't come closer!" 

A person, probably this place's Dungeon Master, turned around and... spread his limbs in a pose as if protecting something... someone? Huh?

Why's some Golem protecting a couple of small animals without even caring about the Dungeon Core that's on the other side of the room?