The sea on the 3rd floor had no owner.

The strong find treasures at the right time and ascend to the 4th floor, while only the weak remain, stuck and stagnant.
There is no one bold enough to claim ownership of the sea.

But it’s not peaceful.

“Open fire!”

“Fire! Destroy those bastards’ ships!”

The weak fight in their own way.
They expand their forces on the 3rd floor, scrambling to survive as long as they can.

“Heh heh. Once we sink their ships, they won’t be able to leave the island. They'll be stuck. How long should we keep them locked up, a year or two?”

The countless islands make it possible.

It wasn’t an easy task.
They had to build a village, a city, a country from scratch.

They didn’t do it alone.
They had banded together early on, pooling their strength.

Players with similar goals formed mercenary groups, which grew in scale to become mercenary bands.

They made islands their bases and conducted activities outside.
They extended out to the sea and raided resources from other islands.

They could be called pirates.

One year passed, then ten, and the forces on the 3rd floor grew stronger.

The Skull Pirate Band, known for its strong presence on the 3rd floor, was now bombarding Island #2-1,004.

“Destroy all the ships and land. Anyone useful, take as slaves, and kill the rest.”

“What about the women, boss?”

The second-in-command, speaking in a despicable tone, was glanced at by Miles, the leader of the Skull Pirate Band’s 16th division, who smiled maliciously.

“Why even ask? You know what to do.”

“Heh, I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“Fine. I’ll say it clearly.”

The women who were pretty enough to offer as gifts would be captured alive and as intact as possible.

“…The ones who aren’t that attractive, just deal with them. Have your fun or not, do whatever.”

“What about the men?”

The second-in-command’s added question made Miles scowl and curse under his breath.

“Do whatever you want, you fucking pervert.”

Boom!

A ship anchored on the island sank.
It had been struck by a shell from their cannons.

“Keep firing! Fire every shell we have!”

Boom!

The loud explosions rang out.
There were more explosions coming from not too far away.

I rushed toward the direction of the sound.

Boom! Crack!

On the coast, I could see a fleet of ships in the distance.
It wasn’t just one or two.

There were enough to be considered a fleet, aiming directly at the second island.

Bright flashes of light gleamed from the holes in the ships.
The cannons were firing.

Boom!

They were firing shells directly into the island.

The ships anchored on the island were destroyed, and several players managed to flee, running from the bombardment.

No player could withstand that kind of cannon fire unscathed.
Even if one survived, a direct hit would leave their body in tatters.

Franco shouted.
The scattered members of his team gathered around him.

They were trying to respond somehow, but it was clear it was futile.
What could they do against naval cannons?

If there had been a port or defenses capable of responding to enemy ships, maybe it’d be a different story.

But this was Island #2.
Except for the magic stones and the dungeon, there was nothing resembling decent facilities here.

Blocking a fleet here was essentially impossible.

Boom!

“Move quickly!”

From the direction of the temple, people came rushing toward us.
Brian was among them, so it seemed like he was with Franco’s team.

Some of them had noticed me.
It was the same elf who had been so snappy earlier.

He didn’t seem to care whether I was nearby or not.
He prioritized the immediate danger over his suspicions about me.

“Elk, cast the defensive magic!”

“Got it.”

One of the Middle-Earth people shouted.
There was strength in his voice.

His words seemed to reverberate in my head.

‘Is he the captain?’

He was wearing a black hat, something a pirate captain might wear.
But beneath it was a silver breastplate.

It looked out of place.

Elk, at the captain’s command, pulled a staff from his inventory.
He then activated magic toward the remaining intact ship.

A large shield appeared at the ship’s bow.

Boom! Crack!

The cannonballs pummeled the shield.
It looked precariously close to breaking apart.

“It won’t last long!”

“That’s enough.”

Elk gritted his teeth and shouted.

The Middle-Earth captain dashed forward through the barrage of cannon fire.
There was no hesitation, even though a single hit could have killed him.

He reached the ship.
But he couldn’t immediately put it into his inventory.

‘Does the ship’s size cause a delay?’

Three seconds.
Exactly as the shield shattered, he succeeded in storing the ship in his inventory.

He shouted.

“Fall back! Move!”

Once the ship disappeared, the enemy stopped firing.

But it wasn’t over yet.
The enemy began closing in, likely intending to wipe out Franco’s team.

“Head to the opposite side of the island!”

Franco’s team was clearly familiar with this kind of situation.
They quickly turned and ran to the opposite side of the island.

The Orcs, Hybrids, Elves, all moved without pause.

The enemy was just as experienced.
Some of them formed a blockade through the sea, while others used small rafts to land on the island.

Their speed was surprisingly fast.
Since this was the Tower of Struggle, I couldn’t compare it to real-world boats.

“Things are getting intense on the 3rd floor.”

I observed the situation from a vantage point, watching the two groups.

‘Suddenly, my raft feels so pathetic.’

The Ice Spirit’s raft, carefully stored in my inventory.
I worried that it wouldn’t even come close to reaching the 3rd island.

‘I don’t think I can make something as grand as their ships...’

With my knowledge, at best, I could manage to build a raft made from wood.
Building a galley or warship like I’ve seen in other media was beyond me.

‘What if I just take theirs?’

It seemed like a much better option than struggling to make one on my own.
But when it came to raiding, a problem arose.

Guilt.
I felt reluctant to steal from players who had no connection to me.

Just a bit.
But it was enough to make me hesitate.

‘They might be decent players after all.’

Just like Franco’s team, who had shared information with me.

“......”

I wiped my face with my sleeve.
Washing with water would have been more effective, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury.

The players who successfully landed scattered across the island.
They were trying to track down Franco’s team.

Some of them seemed to have noticed me and pointed at me from the beach.
They gave commands, and a few teamed up to come after me.

I quietly waited for them.

“Heh heh.”

The ones who climbed the mountain, like Franco’s team, were made up of various species.
They surrounded me with mocking laughter.

Their slow movements exuded confidence.

“What are you doing here? Were you abandoned by those guys? Or maybe you don’t have a raft to escape?”

“......”

They gave me the same look.
The look that spoke of victory before the battle even began.

“You look pretty good, for a Earthling.”

A man with missing front teeth licked his lips.
In an instant, a wave of disgust washed over me.
It was a feeling I’d experienced before.

“…You. Don’t tell me.”

“Churp. Don’t worry too much. Even if it’s your first time, I’ll make it painless for you.”

He had the same eyes as that one coach who had touched me inappropriately.

“Ah.”

It wasn’t the first time.
Not just him, but the others too.

They were people who didn’t feel guilty about violating others.

Thank you.
Now, I wouldn’t feel guilty either.

First strike.
I unleashed a Hatchling Breath forward.

The target hit by the flame suffers approximately 50,000% fire elemental damage.

Whooshhh—!

Though called Hatchling Breath, it had a much wider range than expected.
Most players wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

The ones who had been leering at me, as well as the ones in the back, were all annihilated.

[Sanders (Middle-Earth) Soul absorbed.]
[Agility +0.01.]
[Labby (Citizen) Soul absorbed.]
[Intelligence +0.01.]

Soul absorption.
My stats were rising quickly...

‘Wait a minute.’

The group was made up of various species.

[Criton Bari (Serpentius) Soul absorbed.]
[Agility +0.01.]

Among them was a ferocious Hybrid.
Serpentius.
Looking at the fallen player, it seemed to imply a snake’s head.

‘Why did my stats only rise by this much?’

The Lunacolis with wolf heads had given me +0.03.
The strongest of them gave me +0.05.

But the snake head only gave me +0.01?

I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

‘No skills either.’

It was a hollow result for killing over a dozen people.

I shook my head.
Anyone who saw this might think I killed them for the stats and skills.

‘But they attacked me first.’

I left the bodies of the fallen behind and hurried down the mountain.
I was making my way to the ship I had planned to steal.