I stood at the bow as the evening sea breeze brushed through my hair. The sky had turned deep purple as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
It was already evening on the first day of our journey.
It was rather uneventful, aside from the absolute shocker at the beginning when Miao Song named our group Defenders.
Does that make me part of some kind of proto-Defenders?
The OG team long before the concept became popular?
Anyways, after that, I resumed my magic lessons with Zephyra. There was little else to do on the journey, so studying seemed like the best use of time.
After several hours of theory, my brain was fried. I had taken a break and came up to the bow.
The improvement was already noticeable. I could feel myself understanding the Order-school spells I had learned much better.
As I leaned against the railing and stared at the endless sea, a group of sailors nearby caught my attention.
They were sitting on barrels and cargo crates, passing around mugs of cheap ale.
Some drank.
Some smoked pipes.
Others chewed through their salted rations.
Tomas sat among them.
Feeling bored and curious, I tilted my head towards them to listen.
The sailors sat on the barrels and boxes. Some nursed the ale from their tin mugs, some ate their rations, and others smoked pipes of tobacco.
Jem, one of the younger sailors, swirled the dregs in his cup and spoke offhandedly, "Saw somethin' odd this mornin'."
Silas, the oldest sailor on the ship, didn't look up. "Aye? What kind o' odd?" He asked casually.
"A coffin. Floatin' right alongside us, maybe an hour after we cleared the headland. Pine box, no name, no markings. Just bobbin' there like it was keepin' station."
Manuel, another sailor, smoking tobacco, added casually, "It stayed with us for a good while. Didn't drift away like normal wreckage. Kept pace, almost."
The sailors ignored and were about to tell the next random thing when they noticed that Old Silas looked unnaturally serious.
Silas set his mug aside. His voice came low, gravelly, the way it did when he told stories no one asked for but everyone listened to anyway.
"Ye should've spoken sooner, boy."
Jem shrugged, trying to laugh it off. "Thought it was nothin'. Just driftwood in a funny shape. Happens all the time, don't it?"
"Not like that," Silas said in a grim voice. "Not keepin' company with a ship under full sail. Not when our ship was traveling faster than the wind should allow."
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. A few lanterns were already lit on the bow. The lantern light was carving deep shadows into the lines of his face.
"There's an old saying among the Brethren," he continued, quieter now. "When a coffin passes a ship in daylight and lingers... 'tis no accident. 'Tis a herald. Means somethin' will come aboard after dark. Not a man o' flesh and bone, mind. Somethin' that walks soft when the moon hides her face. Somethin' that drinks a man dry—blood, spirit, all of it—till there's naught left but a husk ye wouldn't recognize as yer shipmate come mornin'."
Manuel crossed himself quickly, muttering in Portuguese.
Tomas shifted uncomfortably. "Come now, Silas. Ye've told that tale a hundred times. Night Leech, Salt Vampire, whatever ye call it. Just to scare the new ones."
Silas fixed him with a stare that could curdle milk. "I sailed with Rocks, lad. Saw the Violet Rose come into Tortuga with most of her crew gone pale and empty. Throats torn, not a drop spilled on the deck. They'd laughed at a coffin driftin' past, same as ye. Said it was nothin'. Next night, screams. Footsteps on deck. A laugh like wind through dry reeds. Men found in their hammocks, skin tight to bone, eyes sunk in. The rest swore they heard breathin' in the dark—cold, patient breathin'."
Pete, another sailor, rubbed the back of his neck. "And ye think that's what's comin' for us?"
"I think the sea don't send messengers for no reason," Silas replied. "And that box lingered. That's the part that troubles me."
A few sailors laughed nervously.
Jem felt the warmth of the grog drain from his belly. He glanced toward the quarterdeck, where Miao Song sat and talked with Matthias about something, speaking quietly with the mate.
"Should we tell the cap'n?" Jem asked quietly.
"Aye," Silas nodded, his face heavy. "If anyone can help us from the night wanderer 'tis the cap'n and his mates."
The sailors rose slowly and walked toward the quarterdeck.
Miao Song and Matthias sat at a small table, drinking tea, with Sebastian, the butler, standing in attention behind Matthias. Matthias sipped his tea elegantly like an aristocrat, while Miao Song wasn't far behind.
Other sailors saw the group walking towards their captain and, curious, joined. Zephyra walked out of the cabin and saw me walking towards them too. She didn't know anything but nodded when I gestured to her to join us there. Ulysses, the only one who remained behind, shrugged and joined in the fun too.
Miao Song looked up in mild confusion as the sailors approached. "Anything the matter, Silas?" He asked.
Silas stopped in front of Miao Song. "Cap'n, 'tis like this," he started. He narrated what Jem had said earlier and then stated his own suspicions.
The nearby sailors shifted uneasily as he spoke.
Miao Song listened quietly.
When Silas finished, he glanced toward Matthias.
The vampire hunter had remained silent the entire time.
Matthias gave a small nod.
Miao Song nodded back.
"I understand," he said calmly. "You may return to your duties. We will take care of the matter."
The sailors visibly relaxed.
"Aye, Cap'n."
As they began to leave, Matthias spoke calmly. "Sleep with one eye open tonight."
The sailors stiffened. Fear crept back into their faces. They nodded and left.
I could hear Silas speaking to them as they walked away.
"Listen up, lads. Double yer watch tonight. Keep steel close. And if ye hear footsteps after the middle watch… don't answer. Unless ye want to wake up empty."
When the sailors were gone, Zephyra, Ulysses, and I took seats at the table.
"What's this all about?" Ulysses asked gruffly.
"Nothing much," Matthias said with a smile. "Only that we shall be receiving an uninvited guest tonight."
Ulysses snorted. "Friendly visitor?"
Matthias laughed softly. "What do you think?"
Ulysses leaned back with a grunt.
"Is he dangerous?" I asked the experienced vampire hunter.
Matthias leaned back slightly in his chair, considering the question. "As a vampire? Certainly." A faint smile touched his lips. "But this one should be manageable."
"Oh?" I rested my forearms on the table. "And how did you arrive at that conclusion?"
Matthias looked pleased by the question and immediately shifted from Vampire Hunter Mode to Scholar Mode.
"Well, first of all—" he tapped a finger lightly on the table, "—he stayed inside his coffin the entire time he followed our ship."
"And that tells you what?"
"That he fears the sun," Matthias said simply. "If he were some ancient monster, the sort that could wipe us all out with a gesture, daylight would not concern him nearly as much. Nor would he need to hide in a coffin while tracking us."
I nodded slowly.
"Second," Matthias continued, "notice his choice of prey. Lone ships."
"What about it?"
"If he were confident in his strength, he would establish a lair somewhere on land—perhaps a town or a port city. Plenty of victims, regular feeding." He shrugged slightly. "Instead, he hunts isolated vessels. Fewer witnesses. Less attention."
"Meaning he prefers not to be noticed," I said.
"Exactly."
Matthias folded his hands on the table.
"Third… vampires must drink blood regularly to maintain their strength. Yet this one drifts through the open sea searching for targets." He gave a quiet chuckle. "In an ocean this vast, finding prey becomes a matter of luck."
"So he's probably starving."
"Not starving," Matthias corrected, raising a finger slightly. "But certainly not well fed. A well-fed vampire would not stalk a single ship for hours."
I tapped the table thoughtfully.
"So he won't let us go easily."
"Precisely. If we are the only prey he has seen in days, he will not allow the opportunity to slip away."
Matthias paused for a moment before continuing.
"And lastly—if vampires go too long without blood, they can become feral."
"Feral?"
"They lose their reason," he said. "They attack anything that moves, without patience or planning. Dangerous creatures… even when weak."
I looked at him. "But ours isn't like that."
"No." Matthias shook his head.
He glanced toward the sinking sun. "If he were feral… he would have attacked already."
He leaned forward slightly, voice calm.
"The fact that he is still following us means he is hungry… cautious… and still thinking."
I nodded in thanks for his explanation.
Around the table, everyone looked relaxed, as if dealing with a weak vampire was hardly worth worrying about. Even Matthias, the weakest among them, looked nonchalant. Then again, a man with the title Vampire Hunter probably had good reason to be confident, especially with a butler/bodyguard like Sebastian.
Speaking of which…
Where had Sebastian gone?
He had been standing behind Matthias when the sailors came earlier.
Now he was nowhere in sight.
"Lady Zephyra," Sebastian said, and respectfully placed a glass of red wine in front of her. She smiled and thanked him.
So there he was. The ever-efficient butler had gone to prepare drinks for us without even asking.
"Mr. Ulysses." He placed a big mug of hard rum in front of Ulysses, who grunted as thanks.
"Mr. Zoro." Lastly, he placed a mug filled with coconut water in front of me.
"Thanks, Sebastian."
"My pleasure, Mr. Zoro."
Ulysses looked at my drink and made a face.
"I still don't understand how you can drink that monkey piss. Real men drink alcohol."
I smiled calmly. "I prefer to remain in control of myself."
Ulysses snorted but didn't argue further.
Once the drinks were finished, everyone returned to their own business.
I had rested enough, so I resumed studying with Zephyra. The lesson paused briefly for dinner before resuming.
I was pushing myself harder than usual tonight. I had a feeling I was close to breaking through to the Novice stage of Order Magic.
And I was right.
It was around midnight when I felt a sudden change. A faint white light covered my body for an instant and faded.
Immediately, I received a bunch of notifications.
Mage
Objective 2: Reach the Novice stage in one school of magic (Completed)
Reward: Skill: Rapid Casting, Mana Regen Rate Increase (+100%)
Congratulations on reaching the Novice stage in any one school of magic.
Reward: Title: Novice Mage
Congratulations on reaching the Novice stage in Order School.
Reward: Title: Novice Order Mage
I checked the new titles I received.
Title: Novice Mage
Effect: Increase magic learning and comprehension speed by 5%.
Title: Novice Order Mage
Effect: Increase Mana Regen Rate by 10%.
Finally, I checked my status. There was a new section in it.
Magic:
Order Magic (Novice)
Feeling satisfied, I focused back on Zephyra, who was looking at me with a proud smile.
"Thanks, Zephyra," I said sincerely. "Because of you, I made such rapid progress."
"It was all your discipline and hard work," Zephyra said, waving her hand.
"But it wouldn't have been possible without your help," I said, shaking my head.
Zephyra smiled more, then her smile turned mischievous as she slowly got up from her chair and walked towards me.
She straddled me and leaned her head towards my ear. Her lips were so close, her warm breath tickled my ear. She said with a breathy voice, "If you're feeling that grateful… how do you plan to show it?"
I smirked. She pulled back her head and looked at me with half-lidded eyes. Our faces moved closer—
Then a scream tore through the ship.
That fucking vampire!
I had completely forgotten about him. And he had chosen the worst possible moment to show up.
Zephyra saw the irritation flash across my face. She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. "We'll continue this later."
Then she stood.
I rose as well, jaw tight. Oh, I'm going to make you ever regret crawling out of that coffin.
We ran out and saw one of the sailors standing on the crow's nest being drained by a shadowy figure, its teeth buried in the sailor's neck. It was this sailor who had screamed earlier.
All the sailors looked in horror, and blood drained from their faces.
The vampire threw the dried husk of the sailor's body after drinking its blood. He looked down at the rest of us with a predatory expression.
His gaze fell upon Ulysses, Miao Song, and Zephyra. He licked his lips. "It certainly is my lucky day today. So, many premium dishes for me to feast upon." He looked down at the shriveled sailor. "Far better than these piss-blooded rats."
But the people in question looked almost bored.
The vampire looked pissed at the non-reaction. "Why aren't you saying anything? Shouldn't you tremble in fear in front of me?"
I had had enough of this asshole. I wanted to get this done quickly and resume what I had started.
I shot the vampire, dead center on his forehead. But it looked like his senses were extraordinary, so he dodged at the last moment.
"You dare attack me, puny human?"
I answered with another bullet, but he dodged it again and jumped down.
"You dare disrespect the mighty Lucien?" Lucien growled.
Mighty? Yeah right. He was just an E2, but was stronger than the pirate captains I had defeated previously, as his strength and speed matched his rank, and his durability was even higher.
"Need help, kid?" Ulysses offered.
"Thanks," I said calmly. "But this is personal."
Ulysses didn't understand what I meant by that, but didn't offer again and backed, looking at the fight with interest.
Lucien conjured some bats and directed them towards me.
I shot down each bat before it could reach me, quickly cycling through the pistols I had kept in my inventory. I could've used the throwing knives, but I was too pissed to bother practicing my knife-throwing skills and wanted to end this fight as soon as possible.
Just as I shot the last bat, I realized that Lucien was already on me. I hurriedly pulled out my sword to block his attack. Sharp noises of metal hitting metal came as his nails collided with my sword.
"Nice reflexes for a puny human," Lucien praised mockingly. Then he sniffed, and he made a face as if he had sniffed a delicacy.
I felt a shiver run down my spine.
"Human, your vitality is strong, your blood smells sweet," Lucien said, again licking his lips. "Certainly not as good as them, but you can be my dessert at the end."
"Fuck you, too, asshole." I shot at his face. But he had already dodged to the side.
My Danger Sense warned, and I rolled to the front. He had appeared behind me, teeth bared, and was about to bite me.
He laughed and then lunged at me while I was still down. I rolled to the side, his sharp nails left deep gashes on the wooden floor.
I hurriedly jumped to my feet and blocked another of his claw swipes with my sword.
I counterattacked this time. Using the Brutal Strike skill, I punched the fucker directly in the face. A sickening crunch sound came. I saw that his nose was broken.
"You have successfully angered me completely," Lucien barked. "Why can't you just accept your fate as my food?"
I didn't bother humoring with a response. Instead, I took the opportunity when he was disoriented with his nose injury and punched his face again with the skill still active.
He fell with a scream. I got on top of him and started pummeling his face. Initially, he still shouted and cursed, but soon his voice grew weaker as curses turned to pleas, and finally, he could barely say anything.
"Mr. Zoro," Matthias called calmly. A silver dagger spun through the air toward me.
I nodded and got away from Lucien. He saw the silver dagger and started begging. But with the shattered jaw, he could barely form words. I drove the blade straight into his heart. A weak scream escaped his throat, and his body collapsed into ash.
The next day, the ship docked at a port town early in the morning to purchase some supplies.
The smell of salt, fish, rum, and sewage hit like a tide. We could hear vendors shouting, bells from nearby ships, and the seagulls.
"You're free to do as you like," Miao Song said. "Just be back by noon."
He left with several sailors to handle the purchases. Matthias and Sebastian departed shortly after with another group.
That left the rest of us—including the remaining sailors—free to wander.
Zephyra and I left together to explore the town.
We found that a crowd was gathering in the town square. Feeling curious, we joined as well.
A procession arrived of red-coated marines carrying muskets with bayonets fixed, three shackled men in rags, and behind them the hangman in his black hood with nooses coiled like snakes over one arm.
Among the three shackled men, one was young, barely in his early twenties. The other two looked in their thirties. One of them had a fresh scar on his face. Their heads were shaved, feet bare, and chains clanking with every step.
The crowd swelled—sailors, whores, merchants, street vendors, even a few rich men in fine coats who'd come to watch the spectacle. They pressed shoulder to shoulder along the waterfront, some jeering, others silent, a few laying bets on how long the drop would take.
"They're hanging them for piracy?" A nearby sailor asked, voice low.
His companion snorted. "For being caught. Same difference."
The prisoners were marched up the scaffold steps. The younger guy went first. He stumbled once, knees buckling, and the Marines hauled him upright without ceremony. The hangman slipped the noose over his head, tightened it, then stepped back. A clergyman in black offered a prayer, but the guy didn't seem to hear; his lips moved, but no sound came out.
The drumroll stopped.
A voice, calm, official, read the sentence from a parchment.
"…for the crimes of piracy, robbery upon the high seas, and murder of His Majesty's subjects, you are sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead, and may God have mercy on your soul."
The trapdoor dropped with a sharp crack.
The guy fell, rope snapping taut. His body jerked once, legs kicking wildly for a few terrible seconds before the twitching slowed, then stilled. A wet sound escaped his throat, and the crowd let out a collective breath. Some cheered. Some jeered. Most just watched, faces blank or grim.
The second man climbed the steps without help. He looked straight at the crowd, eyes defiant, lips curled in something like a smile. When the noose settled around his neck, he spoke, voice carrying clearly over the crowd.
"Tell the Governor," he said, "that when the next storm comes, he'll find my ghost waiting at his window."
The hangman didn't wait for more. The trap fell again.
This time, the drop was cleaner, the neck snapped clean. The body swung slowly, a pendulum against the morning sky. The rope creaked.
Finally, it was the turn of the third. He calmly climbed the steps unhurriedly. Even in rags and on his way to his death, he had an air of authority around him.
A noose was placed around his neck.
Someone in the crowd shouted:
"Cap'n Sharktooth! Since you're dying, why not tell us where your treasure is buried?"
"Silence," the marine barked. He looked at the crowd to identify who had shouted, but couldn't pinpoint the culprit.
A hint of a smile appeared on Sharktooth's face. "You want my treasure?"
"Silence, prisoner," a nearby marine chided, but was ignored.
Sharktooth laughed.
"I buried it all in one place."
"If you've the guts… go find it."
I snorted quietly.
Who does he think he is?
Gol D. Roger?
The marine's face hardened. He nodded at the hangman who opened the trapdoor.
A crack, and Captain Sharktooth swayed limply on the rope.
Silence held for a heartbeat, then the crowd broke into noise—cheers, curses, someone hawking fried plantains like nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the pirates mixed in the crowd looked excited.
The spectacle was over. We left the town square to find something else to do.
We wandered the town aimlessly for a while, occasionally stopping to try whatever local food caught our attention.
"Cap'n— I mean, Mr. Zoro."
I turned at the familiar voice.
Tomas approached with a few sailors from our crew.
He still looked awkward calling me by name. I could tell he was still disappointed I wasn't the captain of our current ship.
"Enjoying yourselves, Tomas?" I asked.
"Aye, Mr. Zoro."
He gave a lewd grin that quickly disappeared when he noticed Zephyra standing beside me.
I had a good idea what kind of "fun" he and the others had been having.
Then his expression turned serious.
He glanced around carefully to make sure no one was listening.
Then he leaned closer.
"Mr. Zoro," he whispered, "I've found out there be an underground auction takin' place here, and it'll be startin' any time now. Thought ye might be keen on it."
Interesting.
I glanced at Zephyra.
Her eyes were already lighting up with curiosity.
"Let's go," she said immediately. "I've never been to an auction before."
I nodded.
Truth be told, I hadn't either.
After Tomas told us where to find it, we parted ways with the sailors.
Then Zephyra and I headed toward the auction house.