I Will Conquer The Seas and Gods

The Redflower Pirates slept in shifts. A group would sleep while another smaller group took turns steering, manning the sails, and looking out for danger.

Below deck, where their storage was kept, was where the others slept. It was a cramped place and lacked bedding, so they would have to find whatever they could to rest on. A pirates life wasn’t about comfort, after all.

That night, they would all get less sleep than usual, as they had set sail at midnight. There were probably only a few hours left until sunrise.

Roseus was currently on watch with Kruger, the ex-navy man, steering. Silius helped navigate, and the young boy Jackson managed the sails.

Roseus stood high in the crow’s nest, which was up by the sails, giving him a clear look at what might lay ahead.

Whilst up there, he looked at his revolver.

Kruger had explained that during the battle with the Suckers, he noticed that Rose had failed to fire his gun. Roseus had assumed that was because he only had one bullet in the gun, but he was wrong.

The reason his gun failed to fire was because it required the hammer to be manually cocked before every shot.

It turned out that there were, in fact, bullets in the chamber of the gun, he just didn’t know how to use the weapon properly.

Kruger gave him a handful more bullets, as he was sure the captain would need them soon... The old navy man had always had a deep respect for Roseus ever since they had first met back at an old bar, right after the man had left the navy.

Being the son of one of the most famous pirates in the world did a lot for Roseus. He assumed that when he sailed deeper into the Eight Oceans, this would continue to be the case.

His father, Captain Redeye, had a known bounty of 170,000 Halos, which were the coins used by the empire. It wasn’t the highest bounty in the seas, but it was in the top ten highest known to those that lived on the empire’s continent. Deeper into the seas, there were said to be smaller civilisations whose navies would offer much more for the heads of the pirates who troubled their lands. These pirates were seen as myths and legends, who supposedly far exceeded even the likes of Redeye, though their existences were often disputed.

Roseus wondered, if his father was still alive and had made it through the Third Sea and into the Fourth, did he have a higher bounty that was unknown to him? Was he now seen as one of these mythical pirates to some civilisations?

... 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Kruger also gave Roseus a live demonstration of what his two ranged skills could do.

Fast Hands was a skill that slightly increased the speed at which Kruger could reload and draw his gun. He described that it felt like there was an unseen force guiding his hands every time he performed the action.

They tested this together. Although Roseus was inexperienced when using the pistol, the gap between them shouldn’t have been that different.

Yet when he watched the man draw his weapon, his hands moved so fast that they seemed to become a blur.

He also assumed that the Sailor System increased the base ability of one’s skill. For example, if two people were to have a skill that slightly increased reload speed, if one was already more naturally efficient at reloading, theirs would be increased by a greater amount.

He also deduced that rather than using numbers to determine how great a skill was, the Sailor System would use words like "slightly" and perhaps "moderately" or "greatly."

Afterward, they tested his other skill, Piercing Shot, which slightly increased shot penetration.

Roseus used his gun and shot a bullet into the water. It was a waste of a bullet, but as captain, he thought it was necessary to demonstrate to his crewmates exactly how these skills worked for future reference.

As expected, the bullet caused a powerful splash in the water.

Afterward, Kruger used the same gun and fired his shot. Immediately, it was clear they were not the same.

Not only was the recoil stronger from Kruger’s shot, but it also made a louder sound too. The bullet’s splash was more concentrated and caused the water to ripple in a different way.

Again, this was only a "slight" increase according to the Sailor System. Roseus couldn’t help but wonder just how powerful a pirate’s gunshot could become when they strengthened themselves further.

These were only the skills given to Kruger by the Sailor System. It was important for the crew to note that outside of this, there was an entirely different system which offered even greater powers that came from the gods themselves.

Due to this, Captain Roseus expressed the importance of picking their fights carefully. All it took was a single pirate with a powerful ranged skill and a good gun to destroy their entire ship.

They had to get stronger. This fact became clearer to them than ever.