The more skills, the better.

‘It’s just that I haven’t been able to acquire them, and that’s what’s disappointing.’

The skill slots are limited.

The player has to choose which skills to acquire.

In the process, some skills are discarded.

However, skilled individuals, like those who are Mana Experts, are able to collect soul remnants.

That was shocking information.

‘This is really unreasonable.’

Although I benefited from it, it’s still frustrating.

I followed Abella.

Abella was ruthless when it came to killing pirates.

“What will you do if a player stronger than you shows up, Grandma?”

“I’ll die then.”

“...”

There was no answer.

Fortunately, no one appeared who could defeat a Mana Expert.

‘They must have all ascended by now.’

A superhuman who can manipulate mana freely wouldn’t be wasting their time with the pirate crew, acting like a fake king.

Thanks to that, Abella was able to eradicate the pirates as she pleased.

In the process, she captured many large warships.

It was almost a shame that there weren’t enough pirate hats to register ownership for all of them.

“Engine. Looks like engine manufacturing will be possible behind Island 7.”

The mana stones I had mined were being used for this engine.

Though, it didn’t really matter.

The pirates had far more mana stones stockpiled from grinding slaves.

‘Even if I mine for half a month by myself, it would be impossible to defeat hundreds of them.’

If I were a Swordmaster-level superhuman, maybe it would be different.

But with a human body, there were limits.

However, I wasn’t disappointed.

‘At least I know that Earthlings can acquire growth skills now.’

For something like the Three-Stroke Sword technique, I couldn’t experience growth benefits because I didn’t have a dantian.

But who knows?

There might be skills like mining or lumberjacking out there somewhere.

“Here it is.”

I left the trivial tasks to the pirates.

Those who had been captured by Abella found some way to contribute.

Though it was no different from how the pirates used the slaves, Abella didn’t mind.

“It’s all about rehabilitation through labor. They’re still garbage, though.”

In some ways, Abella was a step ahead of me.

Her rationalization skills were exceptional.

It was impressive.

“There might be poison in it.”

“If those bastards poisoned it, that would be better. I could just kill them. Unfortunately, they didn’t poison it. They figured out it was pointless.”

Abella busily traveled, smashing the branches of the White Bone Pirate Crew.

In the process, she liberated many players.

The resources and ships the pirates had accumulated were distributed to the slaves.

Their choices were split down the middle.

Some left immediately, while others joined, watching us carefully.

Abella didn’t turn them away.

If they wanted to join, she accepted them all.

‘There are too many people. It’s getting awkward for the pirates to move.’

There wasn’t a single overwhelming force within the White Bone Pirate Crew.

At most, there were the captains?

‘The Lunacolis I met on the second floor. They’re either similar or a little weaker than those guys.’

With that level of strength, they could live comfortably on the third floor.

The Lunacolis themselves couldn’t even make it to the third floor and all died.

It all depends on who you’re facing.

The important thing is, you can’t stop ten hands with one hand.

The executives of the White Bone Pirate Crew weren’t invincible.

If many attacked at once, they’d be helpless.

How much worse off would the pirates below them be?

‘The pirate crew was wiped out to the point of annihilation, but the former slaves who were players are now glaring at us.’

Choosing to assassinate and escape wasn’t an easy decision.

The positions of the pirates and slaves had completely reversed.

“We have to kill them.”

“It doesn’t make sense to let them live.”

The players freed from the White Bone Pirate Crew didn’t welcome the surviving pirates.

But there was no other choice.

If all the pirates were killed, the path to the White Bone Pirate Crew’s base would be cut off.

For Abella, who wanted to wipe out the pirates, the surviving pirates were necessary.

“Does anyone know the coordinates of the White Bone Pirate Crew’s base?”

“…I know.”

Someone raised their hand.

‘She’s beautiful.’

She was a woman of rare beauty.

In any dimension, she was attractive enough to make someone stop and stare a dozen times.

‘Is she a celebrity?’

My poor vocabulary couldn’t quite capture how stunning she was.

“Do you know the coordinates?”

“…Yes.”

“Well then, that changes things.”

If we had the coordinates, we didn’t need to keep the pirates alive.

“Can everyone operate a warship?”

At Abella’s question, a few men stepped forward.

They had surprisingly thick arms, considering they had been slaves.

“Hmm. Alright.”

Abella willingly went to the pirates and cut them down.

“The pirates deserve to die. If they’re useless, they should be killed.”

They were no different from the players who had been captured as slaves.

‘Madwoman.’

When it came to anything related to pirates, Abella lost her sanity.

“Rest up. We depart tomorrow. The goal is the White Bone Pirate Crew. We’ll erase them from this sea.”

The next morning, Abella got on the ship early.

The players followed her in droves.

‘They’re quick on the uptake.’

They, too, were players.

They knew how to become stronger, so they couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

Leading the captured warships, we headed directly for the White Bone Pirate Crew’s base.

It was a fleet, close to a full-fledged naval force.

It felt like just yesterday when I was riding the raft of the Ice Spirit to Island 2.

We had skipped all the steps.

‘Taking someone else’s things.’

The White Bone Pirate Crew’s base was located at Line 9.

If we went further, it would be the treasure island at the entrance to the fourth floor, Island 10.

‘They were almost ruling like kings.’

They had settled at the far end of the third floor.

That alone showed their arrogant positioning.

“What’s this? They’re coming to greet us?”

Ships came out from the White Bone Pirate Crew’s base.

It seemed like they wouldn’t even allow us to land, as cannons fired.

Boom-!

“…Evade the shots!”

Abella shouted loudly.

“Cannons!”

The crew members hurriedly loaded and fired the cannons.

Unfortunately, the cannonballs only splashed into the sea.

The ships of the White Bone Pirate Crew were on another level compared to ours.

Their size and firepower were a step above.

‘I can feel the difference.’

We were falling short in every aspect.

“It looks like an A-rank ship.”

“Captain! Ship 3 is heavily damaged!”

A shower of cannonballs rained down.

Some ships sank after being hit by the blind cannonballs.

“Damn it.”

Yuki touched the bottom of the ship.

Szzzzt-!

White ice shards spread like roots, freezing the sea and holding the tilting ship in place.

“Hikari!”

“Yes!”

Hikari’s body shimmered.

She quickly moved the crew of Ship 3.

Yuki wiped her nosebleed and grimaced.

“Are you just going to watch?”

“Oh.”

For the past few days, following Abella had become routine.

‘Without realizing it. I was just waiting for Abella to jump in.’

Even though Abella was a bit senile, it felt like it was pushing the limit for her to jump into the sea during a naval battle.

Her hesitation was quite amusing.

[Cannon Fire]

The cannonballs exchanged fire.

In the meantime, I sent one of my own cannonballs.

The skill, enhanced by the Soul System, hit its target.

“We’ve sunk it!”

“Who shot that?!”

I fired a cannonball at a ship that seemed lower-tier in the White Bone Pirate Crew’s fleet.

One shot, one kill.

[Moria (Dwarf) Soul absorbed.]

[Health increased by 0.01.]

[Gaerus (Midgardian) Soul absorbed.]

[Strength increased by 0.01.]

[The soul of a Martial Artist is absorbed...]

[Strength increased by 0.01…]

When one ship was destroyed, a large number of people aboard it were wiped out.

The reason was simple.

If they fell into the sea and waited for a certain amount of time, they would suffer dot damage.

Even if they could swim, they couldn’t escape it.

‘There’s a reason ships are considered vehicles.’

It was the Soul System’s judgment that players summoned to the Tower of Struggle had to endure.

Thanks to that, I was able to absorb a large amount of souls.

The pleasure was immense.

“Good. Well done. As expected, Ryuin-kun. I believed in you.”

Abella patted my back excitedly.

“Hikari! Can you move me?”

“…Just let me rest a little.”

Even the powerful psychic’s mental strength had limits.

“Is crossing over on the Ice Spirit’s raft impossible?”

“…You’d probably die from cannonballs.”

“Fire the cannons! Even if you can’t hit, just fire away! It’s practice. Practice now!”

The exchange rate was terrible.

Either way, the White Bone Pirate Crew was active-duty.

They had the upper hand in hitting the cannonballs.

[Cannon Fire]

Boom-!

Of course, there was an asymmetric force that could turn that exchange rate upside down.

What good is shooting and hitting?

One shot could turn everything around.

“Hikari.”

“Yes.”

“Turn me into a dragon.”

“......”

Hikari’s arm slid between my armpits.

Immediately, my body floated up into the air.

The wings of light unfolded.

‘Let’s enjoy this properly.’

[Race – Gold Dragon]

The light attribute breath blasted out forcefully.