Translator: CinderTL
[Detected: Hidden Profession Unlocked - Pirate]
[Requirements: Strength 7, Agility 9, Maritime Survival Skill 4/4, Short-Handled Weapon Related Skill 2/2, Plundered 5/5 Large Vessels]
[Proceed with Profession Change?]
"Confirm."
[Profession Change Successful! Current Profession: Pirate]
[Attribute Bonuses Gained: Strength +2, Agility +3]
Golden text flashed across Roland's vision.
As usual, a warm current surged through his body without warning, then surged throughout his entire being.
However, due to Roland's already high base Strength and Agility, this influx of energy didn't bring about a transformative qualitative change.
Yet as the warm current surged through his veins, he clearly felt his nearly depleted stamina rapidly recovering.
After a long sigh, Roland turned his gaze to the golden text that continued to appear before him.
[New Trait Acquired: Wave-Treading]
[Wave-Treading: When activated, this ability allows you to walk on the vast sea or turbulent waves as if on solid ground. The sea breeze becomes your steps, and the spray transforms into a path. The duration and stability of this effect depend on your mental attribute and the sea conditions. Walking on a mirror-calm surface is far easier and more sustainable than navigating a raging storm.]
The text materialized clearly, and Roland's sharp gaze swept over every word.
As the full effect of "Wave-Treading" registered in his mind, a glint flashed in his eyes, and his breath momentarily hitched.
Walking on water.
The implications of these four words instantly unfolded in Roland's mind.
The ocean would no longer be an absolute barrier.
This ability would grant him exceptional mobility during sea battles.
Without needing to board a dinghy or scale the ship's hull, he could strike with precision at the enemy's weakest flank or stern in any sea condition.
Most importantly...
Roland surveyed the surrounding boundless sea.
This ability might be his key to escaping his current predicament, trapped in the vast ocean.
"However... with my current mental attribute, I don't know how long I can maintain this. Once my mental power is fully restored, I'll give it a try..."
As he was lost in thought, another line of golden text flashed before him.
[Trait Acquired: Plunder]
"A Hidden Profession like the [Pirate] class actually has two properties?" Roland couldn't help but feel surprised. Even advanced classes like [Apprentice Knight] and [Enchanter] only gained a single property upon job advancement.
While he was still astonished, the golden text slowly unfurled:
[Plunder: When you completely defeat an enemy creature in combat, an invisible force will strip away its most precious possession. This spoils will always manifest before you—it is the item its soul values most deeply or the most exceptional item it carries. This reward is the ultimate boon the ocean bestows upon pirates.]
Roland's gaze froze on these words, his heart clenching as if gripped by an invisible hand, then pounding violently.
Always manifest...
Most precious possession...
This wasn't ordinary loot distribution or rummaging through corpses hoping for luck.
This was a law-level stripping!
What did this mean?
It meant he no longer needed to search through blood-soaked battlefields, fearing he might miss a hidden treasure.
This meant that even the most cunning enemy couldn't destroy or transfer the true source of their power before dying.
It meant that every time he defeated a formidable foe, the most core and immeasurably valuable spoils would be presented before him without a doubt.
The only regret was...
"Is the range limited to personal belongings? Still, even so, it's an incredibly powerful ability."
Considering the world he inhabited—a fantasy realm brimming with extraordinary power—Roland nodded gently.
In such a world, the most precious treasures were often not tangible objects within reach.
Contracts hidden in secret vaults, fragmented souls imprinted with magic, or ancient secret arts passed down through generations...
At this thought, Roland's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Then, if I slay a powerful individual who has achieved extraordinary status, would I obtain the secret art that allowed them to reach that realm?"
Pushing this wild idea aside for the moment, he watched as the golden subtitles slowly faded, no longer reappearing.
Feeling his strength partially restored, Roland exhaled deeply and stood up from the deck.
"I wonder if Theresa and the others made it through that storm..."
Shaking his head slowly, Roland turned to the pixie hovering in the air, gazing into the distance. "Tracy, do you know where we are?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Roland..." Tracy replied, shaking her head gently, her expression not particularly worried.
Pixies, being spirit creatures, could adapt swiftly to any environment, which was why they thrived across the continent.
"However, judging by the direction of the waves, we're probably north of the Howling Gorge."
"North?"
Though he often heard tales of other kingdoms from Galvis, Roland's knowledge of the continent's more distant regions was limited.
After a moment's deliberation, he chose the direction he knew best.
"So... if I keep heading west, I should be able to return to the River Domain Nations."
With this thought, he asked Tracy again about the mind flayer.
When he learned that it was identical to the mind flayers from his past life's memories of the D&D world, his brow furrowed deeply.
This meant that the world before him was not only inhabited by beings with extraordinary power, but also teeming with the bizarre and unpredictable creatures from the Dungeons & Dragons cosmology.
The Beholder's floating, fleshy orb body and its deadly gaze rays, the Aboleth's ancient and twisted shapeshifting and mind-domination abilities, and even those Twisted Ones capable of manipulating space-time...
The thought of these mysterious and deadly demonic beasts sent a chill down Roland's spine.
"It seems this world is far more dangerous than I anticipated."
"If I hadn't had the Steel Will buff during my fight with that mind flayer, I would have been instantly corrupted by that invisible mental assault, just like Theresa and the others, losing my combat ability. In that case..."
With a soft sigh, Roland began searching the dilapidated pirate ship.
However, the raging waves had left the cabin nearly empty. To make matters worse, he discovered multiple leaks in the hull.
If he didn't act quickly, he and the ship would soon be buried beneath the waves.
With time running out, Roland stuffed his meager haul—a few sacks of sour-smelling ale and some cured meat—into his waist pouch. Grabbing the tools he found nearby, he began efficiently dismantling the relatively intact deck beneath his feet.
Drawing on his extensive blacksmithing experience, he completed the task in half a day, and a simple yet sturdy small boat took shape before his eyes.
Thud!
The boat splashed into the water.
Under the pale moonlight, Roland leaped from the pirate ship, now half-submerged in the sea, landing steadily in the small craft.
After skillfully orienting himself, he began paddling westward, conversing with the pixie circling around him.
Time blurred into the rhythm of the oars.
Day and night passed, the horizon remaining a monotonous stretch of blue.
Just as his sense of time had nearly vanished, a dark silhouette finally pierced the distant horizon.
Land.
Yet instead of a clear sky, the silhouette was shrouded in a thick, unnatural gray-white mist.
Like a massive shroud, it silently covered the coastline.
As Roland gazed at the dead, gray-white expanse, his brow furrowed.
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------------------------------------
Continue Reading (𝙆𝙉𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏) on CinderTL• ⓒⓞⓜ
Read Ahead to Ch358 • 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖊 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 • No Login
---------------------------------------------------------