Ruins

Cutlass Harbor, the Sea Warrior Bar.

The same place, different people.

Four people sat around a table, passing the time over drinks while keeping an eye on sailor recruitment.

The newly joined ranger, Engels, chattered away to Annie about his adventures and glorious past.

Judging by his storytelling alone, it was a shame he had not become a bard.

Annie occasionally gave a polite response, which only made Engels put more effort into his tales.

"The [Black Pearl]'s refit is basically finished, all the cannons have been purchased, and we've recruited over two hundred crew members. Where are we planning to go next?" Annie was now somewhat regretting having given Engels any attention.

Back when she was with her family, there had been young noblemen who admired and courted her, but their proper upbringing had kept them from going too far.

She had never encountered anyone so oblivious to boundaries, so relentlessly persistent.

Over the past few days, this wretched ranger had stuck to Annie whenever he had time, pestering her endlessly. Since he was now one of their own, she could hardly have Green teach him a lesson.

"I don't have any ideas at the moment. Do any of you have suggestions?" Dunn knew little about the waters around the New World. Even Cutlass Harbor was a place he had found through Annie's connections.

"Whether it's you or me, what we need most right now is to advance, but nowhere in the known waters nearby seems likely to help," Annie said with some frustration.

The ritual required for Annie to advance from her [Navigator] class to the third-tier [Weather Master] was to experience and record four to seven kinds of natural disaster-level weather at sea.

This requirement had two difficulties: first, finding the weather, and second, surviving the disaster.

Out on the boundless sea, the weather was unpredictable. No one knew when or where it would change, or what it would become, so there was no way to search for it. They could only rely on luck.

"I do have a suggestion." While Annie and Dunn were talking, Engels had sensibly shut his mouth and listened from the side.

"Oh? Let's hear it." Hearing Engels speak, Dunn turned to look at him.

"I've worked with Grant, captain of the [White Shark], before," Engels said slowly, choosing his words.

"The [Beast Speaker] who specializes in sea beasts?" Dunn thought back over the information he had gathered in Cutlass Harbor over the past few days.

[Beast Speaker] was a second-tier class whose Career Ability allowed communication with beasts. It was divided into different branches according to the beasts each person specialized in. Grant followed the sea beast branch, communicating with sea beasts.

The [White Shark] kept over a dozen white sharks. At sea, even three to five white sharks would give an ordinary second-tier combat-class professional serious trouble.

That was how the [White Shark] had gotten its name.

Grant had used them to run rampant in the nearby waters for over a decade, and his total bounty now stood at around 380 gold coins.

"Yes, that's him." Engels nodded.

"Go on."

"Not long ago, Grant happened to discover an island with some ruins on it. The place was full of traps, and he suffered heavy losses after only exploring a little."

"He came to Cutlass Harbor this time not only to resupply, but also to get a few captains together to explore it."

"Supposedly, the ruins belonged to some ancient Pirate King."

"An ancient Pirate King?" Dunn's interest stirred a little.

Although the Age of Exploration had only lasted a little over a hundred years, that did not mean no one had ventured onto the sea before then.

Both the New World and the Old World had histories of exploiting the sea that stretched back more than ten thousand years.

But the Storm Sea had prevented the two continents from making contact for ten thousand years. Only when Ocean's Touch crossed the Storm Sea had the two continents been connected, ushering in the Age of Exploration.

The ocean's abundant resources had drawn many people to explore it even in ancient times, and pirates had inevitably appeared among them.

Although piracy had not been as widespread as it was now, every so often, another legend of a Pirate King would circulate across the seas.

And whether in ancient or modern times, anyone who became a Pirate King had to be at least a fourth-tier professional.

"That's right. If you're interested, Captain, I can put you in touch. Grant invited me before, but then I met Miss Annie." As he spoke, Engels gave Annie a look of affected devotion, forcing her to drink to hide her embarrassment.

Hearing Engels's suggestion, Dunn considered it briefly before agreeing. "I am a little interested. We can try getting in touch first."

Seeing Dunn agree, Engels immediately composed his expression and rose. "No time like the present. I'll go contact Captain Grant."

After Engels left, Annie immediately said to Dunn in a low voice, "Something seems a little off about this Engels."

"What's off about him? Isn't he simply captivated by our Miss Annie's beauty?" Dunn looked at Annie with amusement.

"Bullshit!"

"Miss, be ladylike."

"..."

Before long, Engels returned with Captain Grant.

Grant was a somewhat weathered middle-aged man whose hair had already gone gray in large patches. Judging by his appearance alone, he looked no different from an old farmer.

"Hello, Captain Dunn."

"Hello, Captain Grant."

"You've certainly made quite a name for yourself throughout Cutlass Harbor lately, Captain Dunn."

"Not at all. Your name is the one I've long admired, Captain Grant. Your reputation precedes you."

"Captain Dunn, I hear you're interested in the ruins I discovered." After they exchanged pleasantries, Grant took the initiative to get down to business.

"How could I not be interested in an ancient Pirate King's ruins? Even a Pirate King would be interested if they heard about it, wouldn't they?" Dunn said with a faint smile.

"Haha, to be honest, I've already contacted three other captains, each with a total bounty of over three hundred gold coins." Grant's smile faded. "The manpower from our four ships should more or less be enough."

"I only came out of consideration for Engels, since he came to see me. After all, I've always wanted to invite him to join me, but now you've actually snatched him away, Captain Dunn."

"So what are you saying, Captain Grant?"

"I only came as a courtesy to Engels. We don't need you to join us, Captain Dunn."

As soon as Grant said this, Engels's expression changed drastically. Though Grant claimed it was a courtesy to him, this was undoubtedly a slap in his face in front of his new captain.

With the very first thing he had handled after joining the new ship turning out like this, what would his new captain think of him? What would Miss Annie think of him?

Even Annie frowned, looking somewhat displeased.

Only Dunn's expression remained unchanged.

As for Green, Green was merely an emotionless bodyguard machine.