The White Bone Pirate Crew's main base was located on Island 8.

The coordinates were 8-152.

Finding the same coordinates required extreme luck. It was practically impossible.

Thus, it was rare for their base to be attacked.

Aside from when the pirate crew was first formed, they had never experienced a war.

They only oppressed those weaker than themselves.

When a stronger foe appeared, they would immediately bow their heads.

They’d even directly ferry them onto their ships and send them to the 4th floor.

The stronger players didn’t exactly oppose them either. There were occasional heroes who, driven by a sense of justice, tried to take them down, but they were quickly dealt with through a few sacrifices.

‘Thinking that they could be the strongest even in the Tower of Struggle is honestly arrogance.’

What if we met them on the 1st floor?

If someone met a Swordmaster while still unprepared and lacking skills, they would have hesitated, and then their necks would’ve been sliced off.

But on the 3rd floor, it’s different.

Players who have experienced the Tower of Struggle always have at least the minimum plan to face a strong enemy.

Skills.

The skills of the Soul System aren’t meant for the strong.

They are for the weak.

A myriad of control skills make it difficult for even the strong to avoid them.

Of course, the higher the agility, the higher the chance the skills might miss.

Considering that on the outside of the tower, they can’t resist at all, there was at least a chance inside the tower.

There’s a big difference between 0% and 1%.

"Are we facing complete annihilation again?"

"It seems so, since they haven’t returned yet."

We sent in reinforcements to pay back what happened on Island 2. Given the substantial number, we thought victory was certain.

‘Has a Swordmaster appeared?’

Tyler, one of the officers, couldn’t accept the possibility that such a strong person had appeared again.

"We already sent one up a few days ago. The Dragon Slayer. But another one? Does that make any sense?"

Indeed, the order of summoning to the Tower of Struggle was closely tied to death.

‘Could two Swordmasters die almost at the same time?’

No, it couldn’t happen.

The 3rd Great War, the 2nd Dragon Knight War…

Even if famous wars from Midgard’s history were to resurface, it would be absolutely impossible.

‘But if it were a martial artist, they’d die all the time. It wouldn’t be too strange if a strong fighter appeared.’

However, martial artists had nothing to worry about.

They tend to overestimate their martial arts and have little understanding of skills.

Peak?

Super peak?

They may be incredibly strong, but they’re easier to deal with than a Swordmaster.

That’s why I thought I could easily take them down and sent them off.

I didn’t expect to be outplayed like this.

"...Stupid bastards."

Tyler growled.

His angry roar caused a subordinate who had come in to report to flinch and tremble.

"What should we do?"

"What do you mean, what should we do?!"

You could call it a coincidence if it happened once.

But two times? It was hard to call that a coincidence.

‘Sending in more soldiers will just get us defeated again.’

The unit leader probably thought the same.

Being just a low-ranking officer, his only option was to wait for orders.

At that moment, a commotion erupted outside.

"Captain! Captain!"

One of the subordinates rushed in, tripping and falling.

Tyler’s expression didn’t ease.

The series of events happening were making him uncomfortable.

"It’s the enemy!"

"Enemy?"

Was that word really coming out of his mouth?

‘This is a White Bone Pirate Crew branch, isn’t it?’

It wasn’t the main base, but as the captain of the 6th division and a high-ranking officer, this was his island.

‘Did someone get the coordinates?’

If not, then…

Sometimes, it happens.

A captured ally revealing all the coordinates.

A betrayal.

Revealing the coordinates itself wasn’t a huge issue.

However, if a player who had visited that island boards the ship, then it’s a problem.

Since the path to the island is visible.

"...Could it be? These idiots..."

Tyler was quick to catch on.

Having spent a long time on the 3rd floor, he had experienced many situations.

"Go out right now!"

He shouted at the frozen subordinates.

"Prepare to welcome those bastards!"

He wasn’t about to just sit and wait to be attacked.

Tyler himself had lived a rough life.

‘He’s got airborn skills…’

He was certainly someone to reckon with.

There was a chance, after all.

"Is this the main base of the White Bone Pirate Crew?"

Abella asked a captured pirate.

The pirate flinched, then nodded his head.

"It’s not the main base, but it’s the island where the officers stay."

The White Bone Pirate Crew had grown so large that it was impossible to fit all of them on a single island. Naturally, they each created their own kingdoms.

"Are these really pirates?"

To Abella, this wasn’t the most important thing.

It didn’t matter whether they were pirates.

Whether they had committed atrocious acts.

That was all she needed to know.

"They’re good at capturing people."

Yuki liked Abella for that attitude.

"It wasn’t my role to capture people. I’m not an idealist who thinks I have to save everyone."

"Those who deserve to die should die? I knew that, but you’re a pretty fierce woman."

"You didn’t think that way too?"

They had been living on this island for nearly a month.

Naturally, they had come to understand each other’s values.

"...I was just a regular college student."

Unlike Yuki, who had been sent to hunt monsters from an early age as part of the public security force, I had never really considered killing.

It was all just an excuse to keep my sanity intact.

‘A normal person wouldn’t enjoy killing, right?’

The reason for killing.

The reason why it was necessary.

It was all so I could survive.

That was the priority, but sometimes, my hand moved on its own.

When I was ignored, I became crueler.

I couldn’t stop myself when I remembered those stares after the car accident.

Sometimes, I wondered if I had anger management issues.

"Killing pirates. Let’s go."

"……."

But my self-doubt wasn’t really an issue.

I didn’t worry about whether I was okay living like this in front of a real psychopath…

It didn’t matter at all.

When I was by Abella’s side, I could be the nicest person in the world.

"For the Kingdom of Velada!"

Abella leaped off the ship.

Riding the ice spirit’s raft, she headed toward the land.

Arrows flew, and cannonballs fell into the sea, but she didn’t care.

Whether the pirates died or she did, she was determined that one of them would.

"...Is she really going to die?"

"Well, if that happens, at least it’ll be her destiny."

Hikari said it casually.

Having spent time with her, I realized she was the real psychopath.

Swoosh—

"Ahh!"

"Stop!"

Abella’s sword emitted sword energy.

With each swing of her blade, pirates fell one by one.

"How are we supposed to stop that? It’s sword energy!"

You can’t block sword energy with a sword.

Unless you’re a mana expert, you can’t face Abella.

Mana experts aren’t common even in Midgard.

The White Bone Pirate Crew could never have one.

I too hastily landed on the island.

I couldn’t leave everything to Abella.

"What the hell is this?"

"Be careful. That one might have something up his sleeve."

The pirates refused to get close.

Being a mana expert and my companion meant we had a sort of aura backing us.

I felt my shoulders lighten.

"If they won’t come to me, I’ll go to them."

Anyone staying on the pirate island could be considered a bad guy.

Without hesitation, I let out a breath.

The pirates were swept away in droves.

Many players lost their lives, but I felt no guilt.

Thanks to the rationalization I’d built up.

‘It’s rising steadily.’

My eyes only followed the stat increase messages on the Soul System.

‘This is all increasing my chances of survival.’

I knew it wasn’t the right thought for a human to have, but it wasn’t easy to control my mind.

I was becoming desensitized to killing.

Then, Abella shouted.

"Ryuin, do you know what your duty as a naval officer is?"

"...What is it?"

"To protect people. In the Tower of Struggle, you’ll become a weak player exploited by pirates like these."

"……."

"Move quickly. There are definitely people who have been captured here."

Abella led the way.

Following Hikari’s guidance, we arrived at a prison.

"Tsk, tsk. It’s the same here as in Midgard."

They enslave people.

Some of the slaves were sexual slaves too.

It was a sight that made me cringe.

"There’s no one to manage things, huh?"

It was a lawless zone with no minimum rules.

Perhaps that’s why things had gone so far out of hand.

"Alright. We’ll kill them all."

Abella swept through the island.

Wherever she went, blood spattered.

The pirates scattered and tried to flee, but they couldn’t escape Abella’s sword.

I too swung my golden dagger.

I prayed to the Soul System to let me gain a skill.

However, there was no significant gain.

Only blood soaked my hands.

"Grandmaster! Please, spare me!"

There were martial artists on the pirate island too.

It wasn’t just Middle-Earthlings.

"Grandmaster? What are you talking about?"

Did they think begging would save them?

"Wait!"

It was the same with Earthlings.

‘I didn’t expect there’d be Earthlings among the pirates.’

In some ways, it was the most certain path to survival.

They’d been enduring and had only faced a catastrophe.

"Ryuin...!"

"Why are you calling me?"

Whether they joined voluntarily or were forced into it, they were part of the pirate crew.

"Shit! You bastard! You're an Earthling too...!"

"Earthlings are just Earthlings."

I was misunderstood because of some bad Earthlings.

Considering everything I’d been through, I couldn’t treat all Earthlings the same.

I had wiped out an entire island.

Could a mana expert do this alone?

‘She helped, though…’

Abella had really done it.

"Alright. Let’s move to the next island."

"Are we continuing?"

"Now that I know about these pests, it’s impossible for them to continue breathing on the same sea."

Abella’s voice was incredibly firm.

It seemed like it would be a big problem if I didn’t follow.

I glanced at Yuki.

She hadn’t done anything from the start, so her condition was still fine.

What about Hikari?

She hated doing things.

She was obviously displeased to be dragged along by Abella’s forceful demands.

Her lips poked out in frustration.

"Hikari. That girl follows Yuki well, so there’s no need to persuade her. Ryuin? Put those lips back in place."

"Cough. Cough."

"It might seem a little forceful, but I’ve prepared a gift for you."

"A gift?"

Did she bring some equipment the pirates had hoarded?

Abella tossed a crystal at me.

I knew exactly what this crystal was.

‘It’s the same as what I saw in the 1st floor skill random box.’

Where did she get this?

Surprised, I stared at it, and Abella casually explained.

"It’s something even a mid-level expert can do. When the Soul System captures remnants of a soul, you can snatch it with a light trick."

"......"

"If you want to learn it, go ahead and do it. Help me with what needs to be done as a naval officer."

The desire to enforce justice would likely change depending on the skill level.

[The Soul System has discovered part of Tyler’s soul.]

[You can acquire ‘Ground Strike (D)’.]

I checked the information of the crystal.

[Ground Strike] [D]

Strike the ground with great force to deal 303 magic damage to enemies in front and lift them into the air for 1 second.

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Mana cost: 80

Overwhelming power!

[Do you want to replace ‘Mining (B)’ with ‘Ground Strike (D)’?]

I had worked hard to level it up.

From F rank to B rank.

F rank raised by 1% per level, but once it reached B rank, it increased by 6%.

The efficiency became incredible as it grew.

However, no matter how high the mining skill was, it wasn’t as useful as crowd control skills.

I immediately acquired it.

I erased mining and registered Ground Strike.

‘...Other races must receive such privileges only for their own dimension’s skills.’

Martial arts have levels too.

They have their own core, and by practicing, their skill levels rise.

Just like with mining skills.

On top of that, their stats also improve.

The gap between Earthlings and them only widens.

‘That’s why they told me to invest in luck.’

The only variable.

The stat that can’t be touched fairly.

Luck.

But it was too late.

Unless I get more bonus points.

"Have you acquired it?"

Abella looked at me and asked.

I nodded and answered.

"Captain Abella. Let’s go kill these trashy bastards."

"Mm. I like that."