This is too… interesting! Mag’s eyebrows rose as he looked at the three thieves huddling in a tiny wooden boat in the middle of the hall which was cleared of the chairs and tables.

The system had created a vast ocean using perspective projection; at the same time, it used 5D technique to make the effects of the wooden boat swaying and turning with the scenes.

The special effects of the skeleton and water ghost[1] gave Mag a shock too.

The perfect combination of reality and illusion. There weren’t real ghosts and monsters, but it created a scarier ambience.

Of course, after removing all the special effects, the behavior of the three thieves looked very ridiculous and met Mag’s psychological expectations.

Mag was especially happy to see the two little lolitas laughing their heads off with the water buckets.

Let the storm be even stronger, Mag said in his heart.

…

The storm was getting stronger and stronger, and one big wave followed another big wave. The little wooden boat was shaking and creaking so loudly from the waves as if it was going to disintegrate anytime.

Colby and his gang were holding the edges of the boat very tightly, and letting out high-pitched screams following the boat’s swaying.

They had totally believed that they were transmitted into the sea and had met a huge storm very unluckily.

The three men who couldn’t swim. If this boat flipped, they were all going to die.

Of course, it wasn’t the violent storm that the three of them feared most; it was the head that appeared on the surface of the ocean.

The wet hair resembled kelps, and the pale face looked especially hideous in the occasionally flashing lightnings. Two blood-red eyes were staring at them.

Strong fishy scent floated over gradually as if there were dozens of rotting fishes surrounding them.

“Mama Mia! What kind of ghosts are these?! I am so scared!!!” Fatty’s voice already began to tremble.

Splat.

A hand grabbed the edge of the boat that he was gripping tightly. A white skeleton head poked out of the water with an equally horrified expression, and said, “I am so scared too.”

“It’s here again!

Fatty jumped in a shock. The boat which was already shaking rocked violently, and almost turned over.

“Don’t leave me alone!”

That skeleton also screamed and leaped out of the water straight away. It spread out his arms and grabbed Fatty tightly. All the bones in his body were chattering.

“Get off! Get off!!!”

Fatty kept screaming and jumping on the spot as he tried to shake the skeleton off, but the skeleton was stuck to him like superglue—he couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard he shook. It would also scream along with him in a shrill voice.

Splat.

Another soft thud.

A rotting hand hung onto the edge of the boat, and a rotting head popped out of the water slowly as it tried to climb up the boat.

“Stop moving around, Fatty! The boat is going to capsize! Don’t let those disgusting guys up!” Colby kicked Fatty back into the boat. He swung his sword and slashed at the rotting corpse, which already had half of its body in the boat, sending it back into the water.

“Ah!!!”

Shrill screams were sounding, and all the water ghosts were rushing toward the boat. They were trying to climb onto the boat by pulling themselves up with the edges of the boat.

Fear was on the trio’s faces. They swung their weapons crazily to kill the ghosts that were closing in.

However, these water ghosts seemed to be endless. No matter how hard they struggled, water ghosts still rushed at them from all directions.

Desperation and fear overwhelmed the three of them. If they were given the choice to choose again, they would never step into that restaurant.

Fatty swung his mace around with his eyes closed as he cried, and shouted, “Mama, I am in the wrong! I know I am in the wrong… As long as I can make it back alive… I will be a good man…”

“I will not steal anymore! I will steal nothing at all…” Skinny was also crying. He was on the verge of breaking down, hacking the endless water ghosts and being stared at by those bloody red eyes.

“Come out and fight with me if you are good. Releasing all these ghosts are not skills!” Although Colby was pale too, he was still relatively calm. Only the slight trembling of his hands betrayed the panic in his heart.

He had seen quite a lot during his travels all these years. He had never thought he would flop in an unassuming restaurant.

Huge waves slammed into the small boat, and endless water ghosts kept swarming toward the boat; even he wasn’t confident that he could leave this sea alive.

…

“Little Amy, wrap that lettuce with kelp before you throw it out. It isn’t nice to scare people with a bald lettuce.

“Anna, turn that fan’s power a notch up. Yup, and sprinkle some more chilli powder in the direction of the wind.”

Mag sat in the middle and gave instructions calmly. He was feeling so happy looking at the three stupid thieves struggling on the boat.

How dared they come and steal from him. He would teach them a good lesson that it was worth them coming on this trip.

…

The storm began to die down, and the waves calmed down too. A bright moon began to rise up from the sea. The water ghosts let out a scream before diving back into the sea and disappeared.

“Is it finally over?”

The exhausted trio slumped in the boat and panted hard. They still had lingering fear.

The surroundings were silent. The bright moon was reflected on the surface of the sea and everything was peaceful and quiet.

“Woli papapa lalala~”

Beautiful singing came from afar. The voice was so sweet as if an angel was singing by their ears, soothing their frightened hearts.

“Who is singing?” Fatty raised his head with a bewildered stare.

“Such a beautiful voice. It must be a beauty who is singing.” Skinny stretched out his neck and swayed along with the music.

“It’s coming from that direction. If there is someone over there, we may be able to leave this place.” Colby pointed in a direction as he picked up an oar.

“Leave this place!”

Fatty’s and Skinny’s eyes lit up too, and they swiftly picked up the wooden oars. The three of them worked together and rowed in the direction the singing came from.

The singing got clearer and clearer. Even though they couldn’t understand the lyrics, that melodious singing seemed to have a magical power that made people immerse in it. They just wanted to get closer and closer, even forgetting why they wanted to get close.

They didn’t know how long they had been rowing when a reef rock protruded out of the ocean’s surface awkwardly at a faraway location. A woman was sitting atop of the rock, and she was the one singing.

The boat was getting closer and closer, and their gazes had become blurry. They rowed robotically as they gazed at the woman on the rock, mesmerized.

Such a beautiful person. Even though her back was facing them, the thin clothes couldn’t hide that graceful figure. The singing was so beautiful that even the cold seawater became warm, just like the feeling of falling in love.

The shore was closing in, and they could escape from the miserable sea soon.

Moreover, there was a beauty who was welcoming them on that rock. She made all the suffering that they had gone through seem trivial.

The beauty whose back was facing them slowly turned around under their expectant gazes.

[1] It’s probably someone who’d drowned turned into a zombie. If you played Witcher, you may know drowners. I figure it’s the same thing, more or less.