Enlistment

Gabreide Port.

The third-largest military port on the West Coast of the Faletis Kingdom, it faced the boundless Black Sea and had been one of the most important bridgeheads of the Age of Exploration, which had begun two hundred years ago.

Besides housing the Kingdom Navy's Third Fleet, it was also a major trade hub, densely populated and highly prosperous.

The immense income from maritime trade even covered a significant portion of the Third Fleet's military funds. To the kingdom, this place was crucial in terms of geographical position, economic influence, and military importance.

Afternoon.

Captain Shelley led his squad through their routine watch atop the port's lookout tower. The sun was bright, and the waves at sea were calm, but Captain Shelley's mood was far less pleasant than the weather.

"My Goddess Katie!"

It was a perfect day to go fishing at sea, yet he had to come here for duty. If he could invite Katie out for a fishing trip on a day like this and spend a wonderful, sunlit afternoon together, how great would that be?

As the captain indulged in fantasies, he listlessly scanned the distant sea through the telescope in his hand.

Blue ocean, white clouds, unchanging scenery, and a... merchant ship.

Nothing unusual.

"Wait, what's that? There's another ship behind it, black... black sails!!! Pirates!"

Born among the children of the elite and having boarded a warship only a few times, Captain Shelley was so shocked that he nearly jumped up at once.

Clang, clang, clang...

The continuous alarm bell echoed across the sea, throwing the port into chaos. Since Gabreide Port had been built, no pirate had ever dared provoke it. For the first time, the warning of an incoming pirate attack rang through the harbor.

The afternoon after the battle with the Blood Anchor ended, half a day later than their scheduled arrival, the Yellow Swan and the Blood Anchor approached the port one after the other.

Captain Joseph had never imagined that he would receive such a "grand" welcome one day!

Escorted by two double-decked battleships armed with sixty-four cannons each, the Yellow Swan and the Blood Anchor slowly sailed into their berths. Goddess, those were two Fourth-Rate Battleships!

Had they not reported their identities beforehand with signal flags, and had the navy aboard those warships remained suspicious, the entire crew might have gone from joy to tragedy and sunk into the sea.

The merchant ship had barely come to a stop.

Not daring to delay, the captain sprinted off the Yellow Swan with agility that surpassed even young people, then explained everything to the naval officers who had come to meet them. Only then was the rookie captain's false alarm cleared up.

Afterward, pirate corpses were carried down from the Blood Anchor one after another. The Yellow Swan's heroic deeds spread through the entire port like wildfire, causing a tremendous stir in Gabreide.

After all, even if naval warships routinely patrolled shipping lanes, they usually only drove pirates away when they encountered them. Only rarely could they use the firepower advantage of several warships encircling the enemy to sink them.

Cases where pirates were completely wiped out in a Boarding Battle and their pirate ship captured intact were exceedingly rare.

Pirate ships might not have been good at much else, but they were exceptionally fast. When they encountered naval patrols or saw that things were hopeless, they immediately turned and fled. For the safety of the shipping lanes, warships found it difficult to pursue them.

Though it had been extremely lucky, for a merchant ship to kill the pirates who had tried to rob it and capture their pirate vessel was enough for this captain to boast about for the rest of his life.

If he attended high-society gatherings, plenty of noblewomen and socialites might even give him a chance at a private rendezvous just to hear of his heroic deeds. If things went well, he might even stumble into a romantic affair.

While Captain Joseph and the Yellow Swan's crew enjoyed the enthusiastic cheers of Gabreide's people, Evan told them not to mention him. Then, carrying his share of the spoils—foreign gold coins worth two hundred Gold Lions—he quietly disembarked.

However, although Evan did not want to attract too much attention before joining the navy, an event that caused such a sensation was clearly not so easy to conceal.

The tip of an awl could not stay hidden in a bag forever. As word of the incident spread and fermented, his name quietly reached the ears of certain high-ranking fleet officers, piquing their interest.

As for spoils, every country had enacted relevant laws: all spoils gained from combating pirates at sea belonged to the individuals involved and did not need to be handed over to the state.

Therefore, Evan still had reason to look forward to selling off the Blood Anchor, that single-masted fast ship, as well as the pirate bounty that was still unknown for the time being.

As for whether Captain Joseph would pocket that portion of the Gold Lions, Evan was not worried. After all, this was a World of the Extraordinary, where the relationship between individuals and organizations was not one of absolute weakness and strength.

Perhaps In Captain Joseph's heart, Evan was the stronger party.

After getting off the ship, Evan did not wander around. He headed straight for his goal.

When Evan asked for the address of the recruitment office at the docks, the local residents enthusiastically pointed him in the right direction. They not only told him where it was, but also explained the entire enlistment process.

After thanking the helpful passerby, Evan carried his pack through more than a dozen streets of varying sizes before finally arriving at a secluded courtyard with peeling paint even on its walls.

Only after repeatedly confirming that the rusted brass plaque truly read "Kingdom Navy Third Fleet Recruitment Office" did he understand what the passerby had meant by "a little hard to find."

Evan was puzzled. Was serving in the navy really this poor?

"Um..."

Evan turned around and saw a dark-skinned, burly man, half a head taller than himself and built like an iron tower, wearing a somewhat bashful smile.

"Um, I wanted to ask, is this the navy recruitment office?"

"Uh... I haven't gone in yet, but that's what it says on the plaque. Are you here to enlist too?" Evan developed a trace of goodwill toward this honest-looking fellow and answered with a smile.

"Yes, yes. I'm Gary Farman. I came here because I want to join the navy. Hello! Hello!"

"Evan Garratt. Nice to meet you!"

The burly man vigorously wiped his hands on his clothes, then seized Evan's outstretched right hand and shook it hard.

After letting go, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He looked at Evan in panic. "Sorry, sorry! I got excited and forgot. Is your hand all right?"

Evan spread open his clean, fair right hand. There was nothing wrong with it, but a notification popped up in his Data Vision.

Name: Gary Farman

Gender: Male

Identity: Prospective Navy Recruit

Attributes: Constitution 0.7

Strength 0.65

Agility: Unknown

Intelligence: Unknown

Skills: Unknown

Those Constitution and Strength values were almost on par with an apprentice who had undergone several years of formal knight training.

Evan understood at once. This was another guy with Innate Divine Strength, and he was even more monstrous than his first opponent, Black Bear Billy.

Seeing that Gary could not control his own strength at all, Evan knew that his power was definitely inborn. Unlike Evan, who had reached his current level through systematic training and cultivation, gradually accumulating his strength without facing any issue of losing control.

Otherwise, he would not worry about hurting someone just by shaking hands.

"I really should get out and see more of the world," Evan secretly sighed.

He had left that little place called Leopold only a few days ago, yet he had already encountered so many powerful people. The days ahead were bound to be exciting.

"My hand's fine. Don't worry, I'm quite strong too. But you really should be more careful in the future. If it were someone else, you might break their bones!"

Evan smiled at Gary without concern, though his expression was somewhat strange. Such a huge, brawny man could actually blush? That was truly rare.

"I... I'll be careful." Scratching the back of his head, Gary clearly lacked confidence, and his voice was very quiet as he made the promise.

"Come on. Since we're already at the door, let's go in and take a look!" Evan stepped into the small courtyard first and followed the long path lined with shrubs on both sides toward its depths.

A moment later.

Evan sat upright on a wooden chair while, across from him, a stern-faced major officer in uniform rapidly wrote something on the papers before him.

"Name?"

"Evan Garratt."

"Age?"

"Fifteen."

The officer looked up at him, said nothing, and lowered his head to continue filling out the form.

"Where are you from?"

"Leopold."

"Any specialties?"

"I'm fairly good with a sword, and I know a little Navigation Knowledge and Potion Knowledge."

The officer wore an expression of understanding, ended the questioning, and wrote his own name at the bottom of the form. He did not ask Evan whether he could read, an obviously unnecessary question, and instead had him write his name on the form as well.

"Take it out."

"What... Ah, oh, oh." Though Evan had no idea how the officer knew, he remembered Viscount Andrea's instructions before his departure and obediently took out the so-called Letter of Introduction.

Seeing Evan's confusion, the officer rolled his eyes at him. "Don't you noble children realize how different you are from ordinary young people, from your appearance to your behavior?

"Every day, all you think about is pretending to be ordinary people and making something of yourselves without relying on your families. Do you have any idea how much trouble that causes us at work?"