Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

BOOM!

The colossal body of the unknown beast tore through the seabed, rising like an underwater mountain range from the depths.

The cliffs on both sides of Wailing Gorge groaned under the strain, Giant Stones raining down from above.

The sea surface was no longer a mess of waves, but a towering wall of water that rose violently, as if to devour everything.

Before this world-shattering Power, the Sea Sparrow was as insignificant as a fallen leaf.

The giant wave engulfed it, and in an instant, swept it away from Wailing Gorge along with the terrified Galvis, Teresa, Hobbit, and the others on board, completely disappearing from Roland’s sight amidst the churning sea.

Meanwhile, Roland, who was clinging to the cliff face, took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm his turbulent emotions.

But the cliff, shattering like a spiderweb, clearly wouldn’t let him linger.

Seeing this, he stared intently at the tempestuous sea below him.

Just as another massive wave, carrying debris, slammed against the cliff, his sharp gaze caught a tumbling Shadow in its crest.

It was a dilapidated Pirate Ship, tossed about in the waves.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Roland kicked off the rock wall. His body shot out like an arrow loosed from its string, passing precisely through the curtain of water and falling stones before landing heavily on the deck of the battered ship that was drifting with the current.

THUD!

As the dull sound rang out, Roland ignored the pain shooting through his body, immediately rolled to his feet, and clung tightly to the thick, unbroken mast.

His vision spun.

The roar of the collapsing cliffs and the raging sea filled his ears.

Only when the suffocating turmoil subsided slightly did Roland manage to lift his head.

The perilous Wailing Gorge was gone, and even the edges of the land connected to it were crumbling away inch by inch.

And the violent waves had yet to cease.

The battered ship was like a speck of dust before this immense force.

Pushed by the aftershocks, it hurtled uncontrollably toward an unknown horizon.

Roland gritted his teeth, his fingers nearly digging into the slick wood grain. He poured all his Power into his arms, clinging desperately to the mast.

Time lost all meaning in this struggle against absolute terror and overwhelming force.

He didn’t know how long he struggled, but when the violent pulling force finally began to weaken, he collapsed onto the deck, completely spent, his chest heaving violently.

HUFF... HUFF... HUFF...

The cold sea breeze filling his throat gradually brought clarity back to Roland’s hazy mind.

’What... what in the world was that thing...?’

His heart pounded as he recalled the colossal creature, of which he had only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.

"Mr. Roland, are you all right?"

Just then, a pleasant voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

Hearing the voice, Roland shot up, his hand instantly gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.

But he breathed a small sigh of relief when his eyes focused.

"What are you doing here?"

The speaker was none other than Pikachu Tress, who had previously begged to stay on the Sea Sparrow to recover her strength.

"When you were fighting the Heartstealer earlier..."

Tress’s voice held a trace of caution.

Their first encounter had clearly left a lasting impression on her.

So now she hovered in the air a full five paces away from Roland, her eyes darting to the Secret Silver Longsword at his waist as she quickly explained.

"I was helping you the whole time, I just... wasn’t visible."

"You took me in, and I would help you in battle. Isn’t that what we agreed on?"

"Is that so?"

Hearing Tress’s words, Roland couldn’t help but recall the previous battle.

’When I cast [Flaming Arrow], the Casting speed and power were indeed much stronger than usual... Wait a minute!’

He keenly picked up on the key word in Tress’s sentence, and his brow furrowed immediately.

"Did you just say... that tall, skinny monster with an octopus head was a Heartstealer?"

When the Pikachu before him nodded in confirmation, Roland’s brow tightened.

The Heartstealer, also known as a Mind Flayer.

Although Roland had never read any records of them in this world’s ancient texts, in his past life’s memories, this terrifying Race from the DND World was infamous.

These terrifying beings from the depths of the Dark Nether Realm fed on the brains of intelligent creatures.

Their deadliest weapons weren’t their claws, but their powerful Spiritual Energy, which could easily shatter a person’s will, control their mind, and turn them into mindless puppets.

A mature Heartstealer colony could pose a threat far greater than even the most ferocious Giant Dragon.

Encountering them was sometimes more despairing than death itself.

’So that colossal beast from before was being controlled by the Heartstealer?’

’I actually... survived an encounter with something like that...’

Although Roland had some interest in the DND World’s lore in his past life, he hadn’t studied it in depth.

Because of this, when he encountered the monster earlier, he hadn’t connected it with the legendary Heartstealer at all.

Recalling the peril he had just faced, a chill ran down his spine, and his gaze fell.

"Hm?"

As his eyes fell upon the Secret Silver Longsword in his hand—the one that had nearly severed the Heartstealer’s tentacle—Roland let out a sound of confusion.

On the originally mirror-bright blade, a mass of purple liquid now clung, writhing slowly as if it were alive.

’Is this... the blood of that Heartstealer from before?’

Under the effects of [Material Empathy], his dispersing Spiritual Power keenly perceived a strange pulsation.

This blood...

It emanated a powerful might.

But this might was completely different from any Energy he had encountered before.

Cold, pure.

If he had to describe it, it was somewhat similar to the Power that surged from the depths of his soul when he activated [Will of Steel].

The moment his Spiritual Power made contact with the purple liquid, a line of golden text abruptly appeared before his eyes.

[Abnormal Energy reaction detected. Analyzing...]

[High-purity Spiritual Origin substance detected...]

[Host possesses soul-level Energy resonance (Will of Steel)...]

[Conditions met...]

[Analysis complete. Hidden Profession available for unlock: Spiritual Master]

[Requirements: Spirit 22, Learn and master 0/1 basic Spiritual Energy techniques, Resist 0/3 Spiritual Shocks/Spiritual Controls from a stronger source, Successfully channel and release pure Spiritual Energy 0/5 times, Use Spiritual Energy to interfere with physical matter 0/1 time]

’Another hidden Profession! And...’

A flash of astonishment crossed Roland’s eyes.

’It was triggered by the Heartstealer’s blood?’

Just as he was about to examine the Profession notification more closely, a series of ethereal whispers bored into his ears without warning, reaching the very depths of his soul.

The whispers weren’t clear words, but promises of absolute Power and twisted knowledge, with the price being the dissolution of his own will.

These seductive whispers didn’t seem to be a direct Spiritual Control or attack, so his [Will of Steel] was not triggered.

’Spiritual Contamination!’

Realizing this, Roland quickly retracted his Spiritual Power and shook his heavy-feeling head, reaching for the pocket at his waist.

He fumbled through numerous shattered Alchemy Bottles until he finally found an intact Energy Potion.

He uncorked the bottle, downed the Potion in one gulp, then carefully brought the empty bottle to the sword’s blade, guiding the writhing purple liquid into it.

"Mr. Roland, what happened?"

Noticing the increasingly grave expression on Roland’s face, Tress couldn’t help but ask.

Seeing the young man before her shake his head without answering, Tress cleverly changed the subject.

"By the way, Mr. Roland, your luck is astonishingly good..."

the petite Pikachu said, curiously looking around.

The Pirate Ship had been lucky not to be torn apart by the waves, but its hull was now listing severely.

The few remaining sails hung limply from the thick mast like tattered rags.

"I can’t believe this ship didn’t fall apart after going through waves like that."

Hearing Tress’s words, Roland recalled the feeling of being tossed about in the monstrous waves and couldn’t help but feel surprised himself.

’Could it be...?’

A thought flashed through his mind, and Roland’s gaze shifted to one of the Traits on his Professional Panel, its description tinged with a bit of dark humor.

[Shire’s Favor]

’Was it the secret blessing of this Goddess of Death that allowed me to escape that desperate situation?’

Setting aside this almost fantastical speculation for the moment, Roland reassessed his current situation.

The Pirate Ship beneath his feet was in ruins, completely incapable of a long voyage.

Worse, aside from himself, there wasn’t another living soul on board to help sail it.

As for his surroundings...

Roland’s gaze swept past the ruined deck toward the horizon.

The vast, ink-blue sea churned, stretching all the way to the gray skyline. There was no sign of land anywhere in sight.

’Looks like I’ll have to drift with the current. But...’

Recalling the terrifying scene created by the undersea beast, Roland let out a breath of relief.

’At least I’m still alive. That’s lucky enough.’

After confirming he was temporarily out of danger, Roland rested to recover his spent stamina while refocusing his attention on his Professional Panel.

Seeing that all the conditions to take on the [Pirate] Profession had been met, he recited inwardly without hesitation.

’Take on the [Pirate] Profession.’