Prologue Arata Kazuto’s Perspective __________________________ “You know the difference between watching a documentary of a lion eating a zebra and a zebra running away from a lion?” I asked Owari, while casually walking on the aisle of corpses and bones piled like a carpet. This place was called Skull Island, after all. “It’s the fact where you choose which side you are on. If you first watched the zebra getting eaten by the lion, you’d feel tragic for the zebra. But if you watched the lion eating the zebra, you’d say it’s the circle of life." “And I might’ve said something cool. Shit,” I continued. But, in reality, I didn’t know what I was saying. It was completely bullshit. The crashing sound of waves entered our eardrums as the heated fight came to an end. I was the victor. After stealing his powers, I managed to overpower my enemy and, somehow, turned the tides in my favour. But despite overwhelming him, the man remained calm, like a gust of wind outside this skull cave. H
“Hey, big brother Arata. If I grow up, can I be a musician!” “Of course, Kirameki. Just follow your heart’s content, and your big brother will do everything for you, okay? Just make sure you’ll pass your entrance exams, learn a lot of musical notes, and, and-...” “Boo… brother. You’re so stingyyy,” Kira, my sister, grumbled and pouted. “Fineee~. I’m going to learn the fiddle! And I want you to be the first one to hear it!” “That’s a promise?” Kirameki added, and placed her pinky in front of my face. “I promise!” But that day never happened. ………. “When you’re a pirate, everything’s free!” Well, the truth was, I got what I wanted. But not what I needed. The partitions surrounding me were just enough to accommodate two people on a single bed. It had two rooms: one for the bedroom and one for the kitchen… For everything. Every month, we paid roughly around forty-thousand Yen - the cheapest of them all. I traveled around Tokyo to find an apartment that was enough for us to live
……I intended to execute my work without fail and make a few Yen before coming home. I would use the money I would earn for my sister. It was for Kira’s sake. Despite the risk involved, I ventured onward and covered my face and identity in case anyone noticed me. I put on a mask and hoodie as I prayed for my fate.I can still remember the first time I committed this crime. I came across a club that held betting matches, prostitutes, and the sorts. There was not a time I was interested in checking out or hanging out in one of those livelihoods. But what piqued my curiosity was the amount of money those customers had been throwing. Like holy shit, these people in the clubs were the children of famous companies - rich kids who cared little about their parent’s wealth! Talk about a jackpot right there.It seemed that those people involved in such businesses had at most five hundred thousand Yen in their pockets. So I sat around and lingered for an opportunity to strike. The next thing I k
“H-Hey, hey!? Where did all my money go? And my wallet?! MY MONEY INSIDE MY WALLET’S GONE!” the man shouted, and got up from his seat. “All he left are the casino chips?!”His screeching voice was then followed by the woman beside him, which I had also played with earlier. “M-Mine too! I have five hundred thousand Yen! I-It’s all gone! B-But my ID card is here… My credit cards are all stolen! The only thing the thief left is the vouchers!”Yeah. Why would I even want those beauty product vouchers? It was not like my sister and I needed it for anything. Money was my priority, so I took the cash inside their wallets and got out as snappy as I could without grabbing much attention.It was not even just them. Besides those people that heckled and belittled me, there were dozens I had passed by. And I stole every money they had and left those casino chips, considering I had to exchange them first before turning them into cash.Just like what I had envisioned, I took the lift and followed t
…………….. “Ladies and gentlemen, let us give a round of applause to-...” The announcer introduced a girl and her band on the stage. There was an audience in front of them. Hundreds of seats filled the area, and the patrons attended the project meant for the graduating students. A reserved seat caught the attention of many. But since the chair was taken by someone, nobody dared sitting in the space without anyone’s consent. Not even the teachers. The school’s program included re-creating a play where the actors would express their dialogues, and the music group, which had a member named Kirameki, would be in charge of the sounds. Kira had a solo play for the event. And everyone who had rehearsed with her saw right through her talent. Once. It only took one audition when Kira was accepted for her role. Kira was supposed to play when the prince arrived for the princess. A classic tale and romance. Her musical piece should capture everyone’s hearts, including the one Kira cared about th
I witnessed my sister die in front of me. I told Kirameki that I wanted to listen to her written music and hear her play the violin. However, life didn’t grant me that wish. Instead, the world punished me and threw the two of us off the edge of the plank. Kirameki did nothing wrong, and I had longed to be a brother to her. But… we died without getting the life we deserved. It was all for naught. [Pirate System Activated.] [Code: Unknown$*((^#@] [Welcome, Arata Kazuto, to the world known as “Kepler”.] However, it wasn’t over. Just like a wheel, our lives turned to a hundred and eighty degrees. And when the ship cruised in reverse, life gave us another chance to relive everything again. It was just the beginning. [Character Name]: {Kazuto, Arata} [Title(s)]: {Novice} [Species]: {Human} [Occupation]: {Slave} [Age]: {18-year-old} [Class]: {Thief} [Level 1] {Next Level-> 0/1,000 Experience} [Stat points]-{0} [STR]- 2 [VIT]- 2 [MEN]- 1 [DEX]- 1 [INT]- 1 [LCK]-50 [DMG]- 5 [M. DM
[Character Name]: {Françoise} [Title(s)]: {Lackey} [Species]: {Human} [Occupation]: {Pirate} {Slave} [Level 30] [Age]: {37-year-old} [Class]: {Swordsman} {Novice Gunner} [STR]- 20 [VIT]- 20 [MEN]- 1 [DEX]- 1 [INT]- 1 [LCK]-50 This information popped up when I stared at the woman. Though her stats looked mediocre, mine was completely inferior to hers. I was like an ant standing in front of a cyclops, ready to eat me for its next meal. Luckily, that wasn’t the case in this situation. It seemed that I also gained the ability to appraise someone’s level and power, but not to the extent of my capabilities. Nevertheless, there was more than this passive-like ability. It should be. Maybe by tinkering with my system, I could upgrade my appraisal technique and learn more things about anything in this world. But that problem was for the future me to solve. I also found it abnormal to read the word “slave” beside her occupation. I thought the people tried inside were slaves. But little d
The moment I stepped out of the ship’s hold, another girl, which I assumed was also a pirate, kicked the door shut behind me. A blasting sound echoed through my eardrums, and the sound kept ringing through my mind. But as soon as it ended, I returned my gaze to Françoise, the woman who escorted me out of this place and thumped my shoulder. She gently pushed me forward and told me to follow her lead. “I’ll tour you later, kid. For now, traverse your way towards the poop deck,” Françoise said. I hadn’t gone insane. My ears discerned the word “poop deck”. It was the most elevated deck of the ship, and right next to it was the “helm” or the wheel. Even though I knew what it was, my eyes widened in surprise, listening to people using these words. As I strolled around the place, all parts of the ship appeared before me. The one I had come from was called the brig to house criminals. On regular occasions, the brig also served as the boat’s cargo, where marines placed their stash inside. Th