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Author's Note: I'm not gonna say anything, only that the past few weeks had been hectic for me. I accidentally published this chapter SEVERAL times for some unknown reason, despite only trying to save it
To those of you who were disappointed, I sincerely apologize
If my apology isn't enough, I guess I'll just have to atone my sin by taking my own life, then
*pulls out knife*
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Except for the cracklings of the fire, everything looks to be quiet. I thought
After our lovely cocktails shower, most of the soldiers around this place have been dealt with, leaving the gate open for us to walk inside.
That is courtesy to the two Faunus walking beside me, who clearly ignored what I tried to tell them earlier and decided to act just like first-time Dishonored player playing on chaos mode
When I said "stealth", I mean "sneaking in unnoticed and get out before they saw us", not "slaughter everyone and walk in through the fucking front entrance for all to see". Seriously, am I the only one here who tried to do this the right way?
...But oh well, such is your normal video game co-op mode. Nothing ever goes as planned
Since I've already gone this far, might as well continue on with my objective now. Rescuing prisoners seems like an easy enough job compared to what I've done before
At this moment I need manpower, lot of them. Escaping from the military by sea will require our ship to be at full efficiency, and the three of us can only do so much
That's why I'm pondering whether or not it is good to bring them along. One should always find the perfect ratio between efficiency and power output when working with multiple people as their superior. Personally, I'd rather have a good crew than to have hundreds of incompetent people as my minions. Disposable underlings are just plain useless anyway
I blinked
...God, why does that makes me sound like a villain?
My eyes roamed the town square, taking in the sight of the captive being held here. Grown adults, mostly men, seems experienced, probably been working in a ship for some time, probably fucked a lot of fish as well
Some of them have eyepatch, some have missing limbs replaced with cybernetic prosthetic, and some of them have multiple scars on their faces. Those are pretty scary features for men who supposedly works as fishermen
...It looks kinda suspicious....
But I'm not one to judge a man from his appearance alone. Looks may be deceptive, but skills will never lie. Maybe those scars are just caused by fishing?
Hah, that's a good one. If I didn't know better I would have called them pirates instead of sailors. But that is definitely not the case here. They seems to just be your normal seafarer you'd expect to see in a normal town in the middle of nowhere
But without taking their appearance into the equation, there's no doubt that these guys are competent in their job. Loyalty aside, they'd make for a pretty good crew, especially in the situation at hand
I took a second look at them, this time paying closer attention to their faces to get a glimpse at their thoughts
Somehow, the captives are all looking at me with gaping mouth and wide eyes, a muted sense of horror in their eyes
It's like a goldfish electrocuted by a toaster being thrown into it's tub actually. Except for the fear part it's pretty comical seeing it like that
....
...Wait, fear?
I raised an eyebrow
Why are they having such expression on their face? Shouldn't they be glad to be rescued?
It almost looks like...they are afraid of me. Why are they afraid of me? I don't remember scaring them in anyway, shape or form!
Have I been too aggressive in my greeting methods? I know raining Molotov Cocktails are not exactly the best of greetings, but they shouldn't be this bothered about it...
No, that must not be the case. Perhaps they are just shy is all
I know, if I can go ahead and introduce myself, maybe they will be more friendly toward me!
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Everyone is terrified of the newcomer
Normally, they should have felt happy for someone bailing them out, yet this is one of those rare cases where the savior is actually more intimidating than the villain
The boy stood there, with an ever so casual smile on his face, like he's taking a walk in a park with his friend
Except the park in this case is Hell, and his friend is Satan himself
They could catch a glimpse of two long barreled pistols on his side. One black and one white. His outfit was a blood red and dark black tone on it, as thought complementing the color of his guns
But most importantly of all, they noticed the pair of crimson irises that haunt those eyes
The Grim
Everyone present shivered as that name passed through their mind. They all know about the HQ Massacre incident. The details of the cause of it, as well as the reports they received on the culprit
There were theories. Debates. Arguments. Conspiracies as to the event itself. They had all thought it was a large terrorist organization that planned this assault on the military's headquarter, because one person just simply can't do it. It just doesn't happen
That's why when the wanted poster nicknamed the Grim appeared, all the criminals present were shock. An individual with this kind of power...It's no wonder why he was ranked A amongst the bounty hunters, and why he got that name
He is, to simply put it, as dangerous as a Grimm, perhaps the most dangerous out of all those creatures
From what they've heard from the military, he is cunning, resourceful, ruthless, extremely manipulative, and is capable of carrying out tactics with impossible odds stacked against his favor
Just who is he?
A rogue agent? An assassin? A villain for fun? A reincarnated teen from another world? Nobody knows, and nobody needs to
Because it doesn't matter
Because, right here, right now, he's standing in front of them, in the flesh. His eyes flickered in the moonlight, like two sinister orbs staring straight into their souls, seemingly judging them for their sins
Demonic. Corrupted. Yet divine. An endless abyss that consumes everything unfortunate enough to fell in it
His clothe was stained from head to toe with fresh blood. Human blood. an indication that his last kill has only happened moments ago. Just how brutally were his victims murdered? Just how loud had they screamed? Just how painful was it for them?
....Will they be next?
Everyone gathered are all on the verge of crying like a child whenever he made direct eye contact with them
As if to add to that. What truly freaked them out about the boy before them, the innocent-looking boy, who barely looks 16, is the hellish sight of his surrounding
All around the Grim were burning soldier corpses, some of which are still alive seeing from the faint twitches of their body, while a few were screaming in pain near him, begging for the sweet release of death upon this hell
And he looks like he doesn't give a fuck about it at all
He look like someone who's so done with this world's bullshit that he simply doesn't care anymore
As they were entranced in their fear, the boy raised his hands and clapped. Once
Immediately, everything became quiet. A foreboding sense of dread started rising up in them as the silence stretched on
"Do you...fear death?"
His voice echoed in the burning courtyard
"The eventual end to everything. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Your life, your action, your very existence...isn't it all meaningless in the end?"
More silence. The fear in them has been dulled, slowly replaced by a morbid sense of curiosity instead
His words twisted something inside their guts, like a thousand ice-cold daggers that freezes every part in their body. At the same time it brings another emotion unknown to them
"You all are gonna die, and that's a fact, a rule of nature that can neither be ignored or defied. In the end, The Goal Of All Life Is Death"
That certainly sounds like what a skeleton overlord would say
"But despite that, you fight. You struggled. You did everything you could to preserve your insignificant lives, and why is that? Why do you resist it? Wouldn't it be better to accept your fate and end yourself now? After all, it's only one less useless human from the face of Remnant?"
"What could it be that motivated you to live?"
(Editor's Note: The final chapter of One Piece)
"...." They awaited their answers
"That's because you are humans"
"You have dreams. You have emotions. You have desires. Whether it's good or bad, I don't care. You all have a purpose to live for. That's what makes you continue your pathetic excuse of an existence. That's what makes a human"
He began walking around them
"But right now, it doesn't matter. The military is here. They're gonna hunt you down. Your dreams forgotten. Your hopes crushed. Your purpose lost. All will be gone this instance" he spread out his arm "Nobody will remember you. Even if they did it would only be a name in the list of casualty tonight. Nothing more, nothing less"
Every words that came out of his mouth further crushed their spirit, making some of them looked down
He snapped his finger, sending some of them bolting up
"That's how fast you will die within the next several minutes. What will you do now that you know the futileness of it all?"
"...."
"....What should we do...." A broken voice sounded out across the crowd, laced with despair and sadness
Have their lives up until now nothing more than a pointless thing? Years of running from the laws, fighting for survival, making brothers, only to be gunned down by the military like rabid dogs?
...They don't want to die. Not like this....
He smiled
To them, it was the smile of a benevolent god, granting them their salvation
"By joining me, of course. Each of you, individually, is weak. But together, weakness becomes strength, and through strength you find courage. Stand together as one, and you will be unbeatable"
"Join me. Fight for me, and you will never have to fear again" He grinned
"It's an interesting deal, so Savvy?"
"...Do we really have a choice?"
"Uhmmmmmmmm, yes I gues-"
"Then yes, we'll join you, captain!" They roared, surprising him and making (Y/n) secretly winced inside his head
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Despite their positive reaction, I couldn't help but feel nervous that there's something wrong with my recent speech to those fishermen
For one, it sounds kind of...arrogant, prideful, and no doubt nihilistic. That doesn't sounds remotely like the one I had in head at all
Shit
I tends to ramble about things when I am nervous, and that is also my first time giving an introduction speech like that. Still, I didn't think it would turn out to be like this...
I mean, what the literal fuck, (Y/n)? You just casually tell them they're gonna die, and that the only way to survive this would be to join you, thus indirectly giving them an ultimatum rather than a choice?
That must be the most terrible dick move in history!
I bet they're secretly hating me now....
While (Y/n) is secretly agonizing on his social anxiety, several hands hesitantly went up
"Do you have a question?"
"Yes. Uh-What ship are we gonna use to escape"
"The Morningstar, of course"
"Ah, thank you Captain, I was just wo-WAIT DID YOU JUST SAY THE MORNINGSTAR"
"Yes" I deadpanned, inwardly wondering if I had fucked up somewhere "Are there any problem?"
"N-no sir, but doesn't that ship belong to Gangplank?"
Gangplank?
"Ah, that guy. Don't worry, he gave us permission to use his ship"
"Really, Sir?"
I pulled out Gangplank's severed head and showed it to the guy with a smile on my face
"Why don't you ask him instead?"
He opened his mouth, then close it
"No way..." He suddenly kneeled in front of me "HE KILLED GANGPLANK! OUR CAPTAIN IS THE NEW PIRATE LORD!"
What?
The others snapped up to us, their eyes widened at the sight of me holding Gangplank's head in my hand
I internally panicked, thinking I screwed up again
"Wait, I can explai-" Before I could say anything, one of them genuflected in front of me
"ALL HAIL THE LORD!" And just like that, the crowds kneeled as well, bowing their heads to show respect
....
....what?
...what in Monty's tight anus are you talking about?
...who in Monty's long big shaft is the Pirate Lord?
...Are they talking about me?
Suddenly, a memory surfaced from my last fight with Gangplank. He had clearly muttered something at the end of it
If I remember right, he did mention about passing something to me
....
"You've won, the position is yours, kid" He grimaced, closing his eyes tiredly "...you are now the new Lord"
(Y/n) looked at the man, confused as fuck as to what he's talking about
Before he could ask him about it, the man's breathing stopped as blood poured out from under him. Gangplank is dead
....
So by killing that guy, I'd accidentally inherited his titles as well as all his possession. I am now his indirect successor, who is supposed to carry on his legacy as a pirate , and chances are my bounty will get increased because of this as well
Did you hear that?
That's the sound of me screaming from frustration right there
"GOD FUCKING DAMN IIIIIIIT!"
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Behind (Y/n)'s back, Carmine leaned in to her partner
"I actually like this guy more than our chief at Menagerie" She whispered "Do you think he would be a better leader to the White Fang than Ghira?"
"Possibly. That level of charisma is just simply unbelievable. He managed to get himself an experienced crew with just a few word and basic psychology tactic, while Ghira's position was inherited from his father" Matsuo shrugged "There couldn't be a more jarring comparison between the two"
She snorted
"Ghira's a pussy"
"That's one way to put it"
"Still, maybe he could be the one to settle the old blood between us and human?"
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So...where is this Morningstar? How do I find it anyway?
Ping!
To summon the [Morningstar], please whistle Pirate of the Caribbean's main theme, Dead Man's Chest OST
Okay. I did exactly what I were told the moment I saw the instruction window appearing besides me....
...Which is also when my mind finally catch up with the meaning of those words
"Wait, did you just say 'summon'?" That's impossible, how could you possibly summon a shi-
BOOM
A ship burst out from the ground
Let me repeat that
A fucking ship just burst though the ground, like a fucking submarine
I stared with my mouth gaping in shock at the gigantic thing. With a length of over 50 meters, polished black wood, black sails and several hundred cannons by it's side, the thing is simply a nightmare to look at
The ship slowly tilted forward from the momentum of the previous vertical burst, it's front crashing into the ground, creating a massive crater where it landed. Everybody scattered from it to avoid the stray debris
Silence
Well, the vessel might be haunted, but at least the captain and the crew isn't some kind of undead ghost. That would be pretty cliched to me
"Well, what are you waiting for?" I called out to them "All men on board!"
"Aye aye Captain..." they suddenly trailed off "Say, what's your name, Captain? It gets awkward just calling you that"
"Just call me Kenway" I tilted my non-existent pirate hat "Captain (Y/n) Kenway"
"Alrighty then, Captain Kenway!" They replied enthusiastically as all of them began climbing on board
You must be wondering why I used that name
It's because Black Flags is an amazing game
And also because Kenway sounds more like a sailor's name than (L/n)
Speaking of which: How the hell can you spell my name? It's just basically a "y" and an "n" seperated by a "/" in the middle. You might as well call me Yin with that kind of spelling
Why would my parent even named me like this anyway? (Y/n) (L/n) is like the name of a shitty protagonist in a [male reader insert story x fictional female character]. It's terrible as hell and shouldn't be used by a decent author at all....
...Wait
....Could it be....I'm also a male reader insert?
It couldn't be, right?
Right?
(Editor's Note: ...Oh shit)
I shook my head and decided to stop thinking about it. It would be better to worry about it at a later time, let's just focus on the task at hand first
Somehow I could hear several relieved sigh sounding somewhere faraway as I finished that statement.
Shaking my head again, I stepped on the plank and began walking up the deck. The wooden slabs creaked under me with every steps I took.
Strangely enough, something about this ship is unnatural to me
I mean, the fact that it can appear from under the ground is unnatural enough, but this is on an entire different level of weirdness
The Morningstar...is bonding with me
I can suddenly see what it see, feel what it feel, and it in turn can also do the same to me. It's like our senses have been merged together the moment I set foot on it
My first instinct is to resist it, but I'm curious as to what hidden secret this vessel have to make it such a formidable ship, deserving of being commanded by Gangplank
So of course, I used [Observe] on the ship to see more details about it
What I saw greatly surprised me, as I stood there on the deck, staring into space with a blank look on my face after finished reading it
Ship: Morningstar
Class: S+
HP: 10,000/10,000
Special Ability: By "eating" other ships, the Morningstar can repair itself and becomes stronger with every fight it encountered
Special Trait: The Morningstar can be summoned at will at any given time of the day and travel in any terrain (Land, Lava, Ice, Earth, Below Water...) with zero decrease in speed
Ping!
By killing the previous owner of the ship, you are now considered the ship's new master. It will only listen to your order from now on
"....."
Wow. This may be the luckiest thing I will ever get in this new life. Looks like lady Fate finally took pity on me, huh?
And judging from the description and the words being used on it, my prediction about the Morningstar was right, too
The ship I am standing in...it is alive. It has a sentience of it's own. Like a living person, this ship is haunted, and it bonded with whoever it recognizes as it's "Master" until they are killed. Like a cursed object, I thought
I closed my eyes as my [Sixth Sense] took over, searching for the core of this thing
As expected, it has it's own Aura as well. An entire network of them, in fact, running from the tallest mast to the lowest deck under me. It's just like I'm looking at a living animal and not a wooden ship
That feeling was unnerving to say the least, but I continued on probing with my sense
From what I can see, the energy all focused in one spot...the captain's cabin, coincidentally where I will stay for the night
I opened my eyes, my skills deactivated. The Aura outline of the ship slowly faded away as I did so
"So that's how it is..." I muttered, my hand trailing along the railing to the side "Whoever created you must be either a genius, or an absolute mad man..."
A ship that can feed on it's captain's Aura and use it effectively? This is some dark magic stuff right here. Why would this exist in the RWBY universe anyway?
Could this ship be Salem's, or could it be one of the Seven Deadly Sin's creation?
I don't know, and I honestly don't care. What matter is that I've hit the jackpot with this one. I've got the crew, I've got the ship
Now all I need to do is set sails and all will be as it should be
"Captain, let's go!" Carmine said excitedly as she climbed up the tallest mast and looked out to the sea, as though searching for something
"Captain, let's do this" Matsuo said as he stood beside me, his hair rustling in the sea wind
I grinned and pointed my finger in front of me
"Onward!"
Slowly, the Morningstar glided across the ground, before it broke out to the sea. With a splash, it continued on to it's Captain's command. Moving ever onward
To Menagerie, and to a peaceful vacation!
Quest Completed!
Quest: Get yourself a ship, either buying or stealing one is fine (You have chosen to steal one the hardcore way)
Extra: Get yourself a crew (You have managed to get the most hardcore crew in this land)
Reward:
- You received 15,000 EXP!
- You have leveled up! You are now level 78!
- [Sea Travel System] Unlocked!
- [Sea Combat System] Unlocked!
- [Navigation System] Unlocked!
- Title [Pirate Lord] gained: +50& Infamy, +100% bounty
Ah, finally
It seems like things had begun going uphill for me. No more fuck-up, no more fighting
All is as it should be
I grinned
With preparations like these, just what could possibly go wrong?
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Author's Note: 100,000 words, people. This story has reached 100,000 words! And 100,000 reads as well!
*cries* thank y'all for the amazing support you've shown me this past year, it's been fun reading your comments and replying to them
From now on, I'll try to improve my writing as not to make it hard to read!
P/s: Also, on a side note I've gotten myself a proofreader/editor. It's my brother here who volunteers for it, so cheers for him, guys!
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