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. DMG]-1
[CRT]- 0.1%
[H. RATE]- 100.%
[C. DMG]- 10.0%
[DEF]- 2
[P. RES]- 1.0%
[M. RES]- 0.0%
[EVD]- 1.0%
— [Health] --- {10/10 [+0.5 Hp regeneration per minute]
— [Arcana] --- {10/10 [0+0.03 Arc regeneration per minute]}
[Elements]: [Nothing]
**Note: You can only get Experience Points upon the extermination of Living Organisms and factors such as Completing Quests in the Guild, Organisation, or doing something that can enhance physical and mental capabilities. Your stats will also increase the moment you learn a skill or tirelessly train beyond your limits.**
***Moreover, the player, Arata Kazuto, cannot learn any magical spells besides [Corsair] and [Permanent Larceny] unless it is in the form of a physical ability passed by masters and the sort.****
: You have acquired magic!:
You have unlocked a skill!
* [Corsair!]- An active skill. Arata Kazuto, the player, can steal one skill from anyone for one minute! The duration increases, and the cooldown decreases as soon as your level rises. In addition, all spells stolen from the enemy will be amplified (currently at 1.3x) the normal power of the user you’ve snatched. Your damage will increase after gaining more levels!
- Mana usage: none
- Cooldown: 10 minutes
- Duration: 1 minute
Available upgrades will be received as soon as [Permanent Larceny] has been activated.
: Additional miscellaneous skill has been unlocked!:
[Mother Tongue] - Allows the player, Arata Kazuto, to comprehend and translate all languages via input and output inside the system. Written words will also be applied.
: Special Skills to be unlocked:
*[Permanent Larceny] - Ready to be activated. This is a onetime skill that allows Arata Kazuto, the player, to steal another spell until the kingdom comes. However, as soon as the player consumes the spell, Arata Kazuto cannot gain any more special skills, unless the ability involves physical prowess. Choose wisely.
[Additional notes. Today is the year 1421. Smarch, 23, the seventeenth month of the year.]
I knew that Kirameki and I died in the hands of a man wearing an extravagant suit and tie. And what awaited us was the afterlife… or something. BUT WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE BOXES AND FLOATING TEXTS APPEARING IN FRONT OF ME? WHY DID I FEEL LIKE I WAS IN A GAME? WAS I REINCARNATED IN ANOTHER WORLD BULLSHIT?
AND WHAT ABOUT THIS FUCKING ELEMENT I RECEIVED? NOTHING?! WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! Horrible. MY STATS ARE FUCKING HORRIBLE. I AM SO USELESS! I wanted to scream at the top of m y lungs, and I did. Nobody could stop me. Nobody. Not even my sister, myself, my dead parents, or everyone’s neighbours. Regardless, I put my emotions aside and focused on what was important. I needed to know where the hell I was and what happened after Kirameki and I bit the dust.
There were two things that left my eyes throwing question marks at every angle. And that was the skills I had secured… magically secured. The former was something compelling, especially if I was up against mages or wizards… if they exist in this world. And if I was truly transported to another world known as Kepler. I had to see it with my own eyes. I didn’t know the extent of my thievery mechanics, but maybe I could use it soon in battle. However, as much as possible, I would like to have peace of mind. Fighting wasn’t my style. But if I had to protect my sister again from an unforeseeable threat, I would have no choice but to kill anyone.
The latter one was a peculiar asset spell, I assumed, that could save me the trouble. I only had one thing in mind, and that was stealing the most overpowered shit in this world. Well, that was a bridge I had to cross if the time came. For now, I had to sharpen my senses for what was about to come.
As soon as I opened my eyes, these motherfucking goddamned transparent boxes with words inside greeted me. And these notifications were only applicable to a character in a game. And what did I fucking know? The system also welcomed me as a character, describing this world as Kepler, not Earth, which was the planet I knew of. After reading the bullshit numbers and stats of my character, I immediately turned to my side to look for Kirameki.
Nothing was more important than looking for my sister. If I did get thrown into a different world after dying, I wanted Kirameki to be with me. She was my life. Kirameki was the only one I had. So I wasted no more chances and looked for her, even if I had to turn this place upside down.
But I didn’t have to burn the world to find her. By the time I realised it, my sister was already sleeping on my lap, as she used the fat on my knee as her cushion. Kirameki snored like an angel. However, something was strange. Despite leaving our world as we knew it, she still seemed to have difficulty in her breathing. She used her shoulders to respire despite living in her dreams, and my sister had thin and more bones than meat in her body.
“K-Kira… Kira. Can you hear me? I’m sorry for waking you up, but I have to know if you’re alright.”
Even though we were transferred into this world, Kirameki inherited the sickness she had when she was still alive. Regardless of that fact, I still heaved out a thankful sigh, knowing we had survived. We cheated death. And that was the most important thing we had to appreciate.
Kirameki jerked her body and continued sleeping beside me. She refused to open her eyes. Well, since we hadn’t encountered any problem yet, I let my sister sleep for the time being while I studied our surroundings.
Kirameki was safe. And I will continue to bring my sister to the haven she deserved as long as I am alive.
It seemed that the place we were currently awoken was an interior made of wood. While looking around me, this place was meant to be a prison cell for someone. But from the size of this room, I imagined this place was bigger than it seemed. However, I had no evidence of it. Not until my eyes caught sight of an ingress leading upward. And the only thing I speculated this to be was… a ship. A fucking ship.
The room swayed back and forth. There was no earthquake, despite the sweeping motion. Chances were… we were tossed inside a ship. A brig of the ship. Thanks to the metallic bars in front of us, I surmised someone had placed us here accidentally and thought of us as slaves of some sort, which I knew they had been mistaken. We were free citizens. But as I skimmed at our surroundings, dozens of people dressed and trapped like us were stuck inside a cell similar to ours. ‘Were these people prisoners of war?’ I wondered. Nobody could answer my question.
“Hey! Do you know where we are going? Do you know what this place is?” I tried looking for answers from these people. But their eyes told a million stories. It looked like these individuals were not harmless but, at the same time, wanted nothing but to mind their own world. In short, they were broken. No words entered these people’s minds; thus, I let them be and pondered for other options.
Hence, the logical move I should make was to gather more intel about everything and everyone. But a cracking sound disrupted my train of thoughts. When I followed the origin of the sound, it came from someone above us, walking without a care for this world. Within a few moments, somebody came to fetch us and opened the hatch at the ceiling.
‘Finally, someone I could talk to, unlike these people already broken and cast down,’ I intoned, and waited for that someone to arrive.
But alas, this world never ceases to amaze me. As the shadow slowly formed its figure in front of me, a man wearing unusual clothing befitting a pirate said its introductions.
“There should be fifteen slaves here... so, three... Seven... Ten... Fifteen... Seventeen. Two additional slaves? Captain and I didn’t remember any extra people brought in the brig. Oh well. I’ll report this to the captain.”
It was a little odd, but the enigmatic body approaching us kept mumbling to herself. The voice sounded feminine. But I wasn’t one to judge. I just assumed it came from a girl, based on what I had heard in my previous life. And it was a woman.
“I can see you aren’t a broken man. I’ll crush ye barnacles if you try something funny or if I find out you’re a spy sent by the Kingdom.”
Kingdom?
Broken man?
Crush ye barnacles?
What the fuck is wrong with these people?
[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
“Why the fuck am I here again?” I was unsure Israel, the Captain, was serious about it and thought of it as a joke. Boy, I was wrong. The next thing I knew, I was standing at the bowsprit with my hands tied behind my back and a cutlass sword from Francoise. She tailed me like a shadow. And Francoise was the one pushing me into the ocean. “Tell me again, why are you doing this to me?” I asked, while glimpsing behind. But the sword’s edge poked my bottom, almost drilling inside my hole. I had been motionless here for a few minutes now, with the pirates cheering behind me. Some threw their rubbish at my figure, while others hollered, “JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!” This might be a regular occurrence for the lasses on the deck. Back in my world, bullying had evolved. But this was just absurd. Although I knew death awaited me if I fell, I couldn’t take these pirates seriously. The water splashed at the ship’s exterior walls when I darted down at the wooden. The ocean was deep. It was calm. Of
I was in front of the shark. And as the Megalodon swam and circled me, I had no idea what to do until these people came to help me. One pirate noticed my figure, and quickly blurted, “MAN OVERBOARD!” Anon, Captain Israel sent out two pirates - more like forcing them to swim in the ocean -, but she didn’t think it through. Just before those pirates ram against the tides, they howled in unison at the top of their lungs. “WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!” That’s when I knew we were screwed. Finally, four pirates dove into the water and fought the baby Megalodon shark with their abilities. One pirate extended his palms when she crashed against the tides, and the other three revealed their weapons augmented with magic. Soon, the woman with arcane in her hand emitted a turbulent gale and sought to blow away the violent fish even for a moment. We didn’t have to fight the Megalodon. All these pirates had to do was to buy time for the rest of us to ascend back from the vessel. [Character Name]: {A
“Interesting. What an interesting man you are; a very courageous and honest individual who will relentlessly protect the person you love or have the most. I admire you, Arata. You never cease to surprise me. That’s why I took you under my wing,” Captain Israel spoke, still with the sabre poking my neck.“Judging from what you’ve witnessed from me, you’re afraid to know whether to keep me beside you or throw me off the plank. And the best possible outcome was to test me. And what do we know? A storm hit our ship, and two pirates who couldn’t swim nearly drowned. You could’ve done something, but you let it happen, Captain Israel. Now, I ask you. What do you want from me? Why are you gauging my strength?” I questioned. “Why did you try sacrificing your two comrades for the sake of witnessing my abilities?”“It’s because I know you can save them. And I am checking if you have what it takes to stand on this ship without killing my comrades. I could’ve killed your sister if I wanted to. But
[Contract has been sealed! Congratulations! You are now obliged to accomplish your given role to the Pirates] [Quest:] [1. Decipher the hidden runes of the scrolls and present them to Captain Israel and her crews.] [2. Assist Captain Israel and her crews to the golden treasure chest and the mysterious-looking scroll with the name “Lunar” on it.] [Congratulations! You have become a pirate! You have gained four levels! You are now level 5!] [Character Name]: {Kazuto, Arata} [Title(s)]: {Novice} [Species]: {Human} [Occupation]: {Pirate} [Age]: {18-year-old} [Class]: {Thief} [Level 5] {Next Level-> 0/5,000 Experience} [Stat points]-{0} [STR]- 5 [VIT]- 6 [MEN]- 5 [DEX]- 4 [INT]- 5 [LCK]-51 [DMG]- 8 [M. DMG]-2 [CRT]- 0.1% [H. RATE]- 100.% [C. DMG]- 10.0% [DEF]- 5 [P. RES]- 1.0% [M. RES]- 0.0% [EVD]- 1.2% — [Health] --- {50/50 [+1 Hp regeneration per minute] — [Arcana] --- {33/33 [0+1 Arc regeneration per minute]} **** Note: Magic damage and Physical damage based on the
The map I had encoded revealed the layouts of the world, Kepler. It was a massive place where even the puny scroll had to be enlarged so we could easily view the islands. The distance was already computed, so there was no point in us to estimate with our minds. Most importantly, my system combined the two scrolls. Although it consumed the scrolls, we had an idea of exactly where we were supposed to go.Kepler was this habitable world mimicking Earth. But compared to the planet I had lived on, mythical creatures and whatnot resided in this place. And my claim was supported by the existence of a megalodon shark, which should have been extinct by the time humans had already developed. If I had to assume, more mythical beasts would appear. But that was a problem my future self would solve once we crossed our bridge.As I observed the map, five major islands and their names appeared before us, including the treasures where they were marked. Starting from the top left of the map was the grea
“Can I ask you one thing, Captain Israel?”“Hmm?” she hummed to herself.I resumed, “Why are you trusting me? I’m just wondering. I’m not a pirate, just like your crew, but you’re giving me a pass where my opinions would matter. Logically speaking, it would be better if you listened to your crewmates rather than someone you just recently met. You might be up to something, and the two of us neither trust one another.. The next thing that would happen, I might find myself lying on the ground, with a dagger piercing my chest at my back.”“That’s the problem, Arata. I trust you. You might say it’s because of the contract.” Captain Israel shut the door behind her and continued. “But you’re right. That’s one of the few reasons why I’m doing this. I could’ve asked my fellow pirates about my decision, yet I chose you. Don’t worry. I also have fate in them, and their opinions matter. But it seems like you’re more knowledgeable than it seems, especially when it comes to the barrels earlier and d