Chapter 12

A tiny ghost slowly emerged from Adrian's fingertip.

It was the most basic White Hollow, with no damage attributes whatsoever. Its round head and white body, which swayed without a breeze, made it look especially cute.

White Ghost: Fair-Weather Doll!

This was the basic effect of [Ghost Creation]: it produced a White Hollow with no damage or other attributes. Its only advantages were immunity to physical attacks and the ability to pass through physical barriers.

Adrian released another ghost. About the size of his palm, it had the same rounded body, but its pale face bore a faintly dangerous smile.

He waved his hand. The ghost waved its arms and flew up into the air.

At a command from Adrian, the ghost's body suddenly swelled like an exploding bomb. A powerful shock wave burst outward, roughly equal in force to a grenade.

Mini Hollow: Tempting Gift!

"That's enough testing [Ghost Creation] for now. Let's try [Spirit Projection]!"

Adrian activated the ability. A spirit identical to his body separated from it, and the body, no longer supported by his soul, immediately slumped to the floor.

"This is my first time looking at myself from this angle. I have to say, it feels pretty strange..."

Adrian gazed at the "himself" lying on the floor as if asleep, his expression peculiar.

The next moment, Adrian, now in spirit form, passed straight through the inn room's wall and flew into the night sky.

"Spirit form is similar to a ghost's. I can't touch anything in the physical world, which means I've lost my sense of smell and touch. I can only perceive my surroundings through sight and hearing. At level 1, [Spirit Projection] lets me travel about a hundred meters from my body. The hot spring...? I'm not afraid of water at all in spirit form?"

Adrian instantly returned to his body.

"If water doesn't affect me in spirit form, what about when I'm Ghostified? Could it be the same...?"

Surprise, shock, and unmistakable delight mingled on Adrian's face as he headed into the bathroom and filled the tub.

"I... feel weak... glug, glug..."

[Navigator] Upgrade Quest

The following morning.

Adrian left the inn and returned to the Tree of Knowledge Library, where he borrowed a travel booklet titled Complete Guide to Ohara (Sea Circle Calendar 1497 Edition).

He also ran into Dr. Clover. After a night of reflection, the elderly scholar had somehow regained his confidence and was ready to give Adrian another lecture.

Adrian promptly proved him wrong to his face.

"Oh, right. I took a quick look at Basic Shipbuilding and Repair and Common Diseases of the Sea and Their Treatments last night. I think I've got a decent grasp of them. Would you like to test me?"

The result went without saying.

Adrian's Shipwright and Doctor secondary professions had both reached LV10. His overall skill might not have been particularly advanced, but he had thoroughly mastered the contents of those two books.

After putting him through a round of tests, Dr. Clover's spirits sank once more, and he lapsed into a dejected silence.

It was worth noting that a secondary profession's level cap of 10 did not mean the profession itself only went up to level 10. More advanced knowledge simply remained unavailable.

A level-10 [Doctor], for instance, could use [Simple Disease Treatment] to treat common illnesses at sea. Anything more difficult required a more capable physician.

The same applied to [Navigator], [Cook], [Shipwright], and the other professions.

After leaving the Tree of Knowledge Library, Adrian followed the travel booklet's directions to Ohara's shopping street.

"Dorothy's Tailor Shop, the most famous clothing store in all Ohara. This is the place!"

Adrian entered the shop. An elderly woman with gray hair and impeccably neat clothes sat behind the counter, surrounded by rows of fabrics of every kind.

"Hello, customer. I'm Saville Dorothy, owner of Dorothy's Tailor Shop. What can I do for you?" the old woman asked with a warm smile.

"I'd like some clothes made," Adrian said with a nod. "Two kendo training outfits, two everyday kimonos, and three suits."

"May I ask a small question?" Grandma Dorothy asked kindly.

"Of course. Go ahead."

"Judging by your appearance, you aren't eighteen yet, are you?"

Adrian was slightly surprised. "Huh? You can tell?"

"Of course! Don't underestimate a professional tailor's eye!" Grandma Dorothy said earnestly.

Her expression softened again at once, without a hint of disdain for his age. "If you're not yet an adult, clothes made to fit you now will soon stop fitting."

"That's all right. If they stop fitting, I'll just come back and order new ones," Adrian said, spending money without a second thought.

"But Grandma, could I ask you something?"

"Please do."

Adrian looked embarrassed for a moment.

"How tall do you think I'll get?" he asked hopefully. "Could I reach three meters?"

Reaching three meters was Adrian's greatest wish at the moment!

Grandma Dorothy came out from behind the counter and felt the bones in Adrian's arms and legs. She shook her head slightly. "Three meters is unlikely. If you train hard, you might reach two."

"Only two meters?" Adrian sounded disappointed.

"To most people, two meters is already remarkably tall!" Grandma Dorothy said cheerfully. With no other customers in the shop, she was happy to chat.

"Well, two meters it is..." Adrian shook his head and set aside his worries about his height. "Thank you, Grandma!"

"You're welcome. You can pick up the clothes in three days. The total cost is..."

After leaving Dorothy's Tailor Shop, Adrian browsed the shopping street for a while longer. He bought a few things, then headed toward the edge of the island.

Before long, he arrived at Ohara Dock 37.

As mentioned before, the fishing boat Adrian had "borrowed" when he left Xilian Island had given up the ghost just as he reached Ohara, after he had pushed it without regard for the strain.

Fortunately, Adrian had unlocked and leveled up his [Shipwright] secondary profession the previous night. Building a small boat capable of carrying one person was well within his abilities.

He hammered and knocked away as time passed.

Adrian removed his mask, dusted off his hands, and put the scattered tools back into their box. The boat was officially finished.

Resting quietly in Dock 37 was a brand-new speedboat. It had off-white paint and a streamlined hull, with no figurehead at its bow. Its raised gray canvas sail was blank as well, marking it as an ordinary fishing boat rather than a pirate ship.

Its appearance left nothing to complain about. The only pity was that its propulsion system was...

Ahem. Awkward as it was to admit, it was powered entirely by hand.

Just as Adrian was about to test his new boat, a notification appeared on the panel.

[Ship ownership detected.]

[Maximum level detected for [Navigator] and [Basic Navigation].]

[Begin Secondary Profession Upgrade Quest?]

Did he even need to think about it?

Of course he would!

[B-rank Profession Upgrade Quest [Navigator] triggered!]

[Quest requirements: Sail a vessel across one of the four outer seas and chart the corresponding Sea Area!]

[Quest rewards: [Navigator] profession upgrades to [Navigator]; [Basic Navigation] upgrades to [Advanced Navigation]!]

Adrian read the requirements carefully and realized he did not need to travel all four outer seas. He only had to complete a voyage across one of them.

Since he was currently in the West Blue, all he had to do was sail across it and draw a complete map of the West Blue that met the system's specifications. Then he could upgrade his [Navigator] secondary profession!

"The upgrade quest is B-rank. Does that mean I'll run into powerful opponents during the voyage, or just that it'll take a lot of time and effort? Probably the latter."

"Will there be another secondary profession upgrade after [Navigator]?"

"And if [Navigator] can be upgraded, can [Cook], [Shipwright], and the others upgrade too? I wonder when their upgrade conditions will appear..."

A string of thoughts flashed through Adrian's mind.

"Wait! Why didn't this quest trigger before?"

"Because the last boat was stolen—ahem, borrowed—I didn't own it. But the money I 'borrowed' bought the lumber I used to build this boat, so now I own this one?"

"What kind of logic is that?!"

"This is discrimination against pirates! Discrimination against Pirate King Roger! Back then, his virtuous right-hand man—ahem, the Pirate King's Right Arm, Dark King Rayleigh—only put to sea because he stole Roger's boat and got talked into it!"

The cold, unfeeling system showed no reaction to Adrian's rant.

Despite unexpectedly triggering the Navigator upgrade quest, Adrian had no intention of setting sail immediately.

For the next few days, he remained on Ohara. He kept up his daily Swordplay training while continuing to explore the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's abilities.

Three days later, a system notification finally appeared.

[Countdown: 0!]

[Player Forum is now open!]

[Closed beta has officially begun!]

Closed Beta Begins

"Nickname: Cao Renqi!"

"Standard start selected. Character creation complete."

"Race: Human."

"Based on your questionnaire responses, your arrival region and island have been selected."

"Your arrival point: Flower Country, West Blue."

"Arriving..."

"Enjoy the game!"

On a deserted stretch of Flower Country's southeastern coast, far from anyone else.

Cao Renqi's vision suddenly blurred. When he could see clearly again, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar open space.

Rough, damp, yellow-brown sand lay beneath his feet. A salty sea breeze rushed into his nostrils. In the distance stretched an endless blue ocean, while white seagulls cried out as they soared freely overhead. It all looked incredibly real.

Cao Renqi crouched and scooped up a handful of sand. The fine grains slipped between his fingers, feeling exactly like the sand on beaches he had visited in the real world. He could not help marveling at it.

Hundreds of other closed beta players stood packed around him. Most were curiously taking in the scenery, exclaiming things like "Holy crap," "That's insane," and "Good heavens!"

The more goal-driven players were already leaving the beach to explore the surrounding area.

Still a little clumsy with the controls, Cao Renqi brought up his system panel and checked his character attributes.

Just as the official website's previews had shown, players choosing the standard start had only one main profession, [Drifter], signifying someone who had washed up here from another island.

He could ignore his level, experience, and attributes for now. He would figure them out bit by bit once he started doing quests.

His only equipment was the standard beginner's three-piece set: a short-sleeved cloth shirt, pants, and straw sandals that could never be dropped. They had no attributes and served no purpose beyond covering him up.

"Can't be dropped? Does that mean the system just doesn't support it? Is everything still there?"

Cao Renqi instinctively reached down to check.

Yep. His old buddy was still there.

The next moment, he noticed a guy nearby conducting a similar experiment, though with a much bolder approach. The man was actually trying to take his pants off on the spot!

Cao Renqi quietly moved a few steps away. Whether the guy managed to remove his pants or not, Cao Renqi had no desire to see it.

The grown-ups had warned him: that sort of thing would give him a stye!

"There are people like that in the closed beta? I thought everyone else was a pro gamer!"

Unlike most other Pirate King closed beta players, Cao Renqi was neither an elite amateur nor a professional gamer. He was simply a passionate VR enthusiast. As for his gaming skills...

Well, his name said it all. Apart from games of a certain adult variety, he was a complete rookie.

When he had heard that Pirate King was coming out, Cao Renqi had followed the news closely. He desperately wanted to see what a Full-Dive VR Game was like!

He had even offered up a kidney on a small forum—no, not a kidney. He had shared a mysterious string of numbers he had treasured for years.

When the Pirate King closed beta was announced, Cao Renqi's luck had been extraordinary. Against countless people online, he had managed to grab one of the precious beta spots.

So when the closed beta officially began today, he had entered the game at the first opportunity to see it for himself.

Rather than making a name for himself in Pirate King, Cao Renqi mostly wanted to enjoy the sights of another world—and perhaps meet some beautiful women there.

"I started the VR game, and she and I walked into the cornfield. The next 372 words have been omitted..."