Reborn As a Pirate - Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Repairing Unnamed Ship Sculpture!
The wisdom of retreat, he mused, often outweighed the valor of persistence. While some might argue the fastest way to wealth was through plundering the gains of pirates and adventurers fresh from the maze, Ryan saw the lower risk and potential profit in such an endeavor as more appealing.

He chuckled to himself, pondering the pirate’s life he led. “Robbing the rich to aid the needy,” he thought, rephrasing the less savory aspects of his trade with a grin. It was, after all, part of the pirate’s code in his view.

Ryan didn’t venture far. He found an old wooden house in the deserted village, clearly abandoned for years, and decided it would serve as a suitable temporary refuge. There, he would wait quietly for the return of Freni and Cecilia, prepared yet hopeful he wouldn’t need to engage in any more ‘heroic redistribution’ of wealth anytime soon.

With the “Dark Moon Magic Pattern” at Freni’s disposal, Ryan felt reassured about her ability to locate him when necessary. There was no need for undue concern about their reuniting.

As he awaited her arrival, Ryan was far from idle. A flicker of light emanated from the space ring on his finger, and five unusual items materialized before him: the [Ring of Black Eclipse], [Ring of Energy Resistance], [Bloody Flintlock], [Great Sword·Ferocious Ice Flower], and [Umbrella Fire Scale Armor Set].

These artifacts had served him well in countless battles, contributing to many of his victories. However, as Ryan’s prowess grew and the adversaries he faced became more formidable, these once-cherished items had lost their edge, outclassed by superior alternatives.

Making up his mind to make use of these relics, Ryan decided to offer all five to the [Unnamed Ship Sculpture], a mystical artifact still languishing at a mere 1% of its potential restoration.

Improving the sculpture’s restoration degree hinged on two methods: locating the elusive “anchor point” or absorbing the spiritual essence from rare items to mend it incrementally. The former seemed a daunting task unlikely to be resolved soon, and while the latter was feasible, the rarity of suitable items had always been a limiting factor.

Now, with expendable artifacts at his disposal, Ryan was eager to test how much their sacrifice might enhance the sculpture’s reparability.

Turning his focus inward, Ryan visualized the pitch-black ship sculpture residing in the depths of his being. With a mere thought, the sacrifice commenced. A soft black glow enveloped the sculpture, and moments later, the items arrayed before him crumbled into ash. From their remains rose five streams of pure spiritual essence, each seeking out the sculpture.

Among these, the essence from the [Umbrella Fire Scale Armor Set] was the most substantial, the others smaller but equally intense, each melding seamlessly with Ryan’s own energies.

As the essences integrated, an update flashed across the visual panel before him:

——

[Unnamed Ship Sculpture]

[Level]: Damaged (7% repair rate) – Absorbing spiritual essence can gradually restore and enhance its capabilities.

[Function]: Dependence lv.1, Protection lv.1, Travel lv.1

——

Ryan stared at the updated readout, his fingers trembling slightly with a mix of astonishment and hope. The incremental progress, though modest, heralded new possibilities and reaffirmed his path forward. The journey to fully restore the sculpture promised to be long and fraught with challenges, yet the potential rewards it held were beginning to seem within reach.

Despite his mental preparations for modest gains, Ryan couldn’t help but feel disheartened by the minuscule improvement in the [Unnamed Ship Sculpture]’s restoration rate. The panel had made it clear: the spiritual essence within low-level rare objects could indeed augment the sculpture’s repair, but the term “faint” had apparently meant nearly imperceptible.

An ordinary low-level item barely nudged the repair rate by 1%, and even a superior low-level item could only muster a 2% increase. He’d need a staggering hundred such items to fully restore the sculpture, a number that seemed nearly unattainable, perhaps even exceeding the holdings of the Saint Tos royal treasury.

“Tsk…” Ryan clicked his tongue in frustration, shaking his head at the improbability of it all.

Robbing the royal treasury of Santos seemed like a wild fantasy, and realistically, his hopes for restoration lay in discovering the “anchor” of the mysterious island. The notion of burglarizing the treasury, especially considering Freni’s tales of the Water Drop Princess, a reputed fourth-level force of nature was swiftly dismissed. Ryan knew well the chasm that lay between a genuine fourth-order extraordinary professional and the pretenders like “The Hanged Man.”

Lying back on the wooden cabin floor, he sighed deeply. His thoughts wandered to Freni and Cecilia, who were due to return soon. Having spent a relentless twenty-four hours guarding the eighth floor of the underground maze, only an hour remained until midnight.

Once the two women returned, a thorough discussion would help him plot the next phase of his journey. Although Santos City appeared calm for now, Ryan’s sense of foreboding was intensifying, urging him towards even greater strength.

Deep beneath the central area of Santos City, within the royal palace’s subterranean chambers, stood the Water Drop Princess Ariel. She gazed contemplatively at a blood-red fruit perched high atop a tree, its vibrant color stark against the dark foliage. The blood pools surrounding the tree’s roots had risen noticeably, slowly engulfing the lower branches in a crimson tide.

The fruit bore intricate lines that mimicked a closed eye, almost as if it were watching, waiting. Ariel’s eyes, sharp and penetrating, looked eastward towards the dusty “Holy Libra” atop the main hall of the Libra Holy Church, its golden light dim but steadfast.

A subtle smile played at the corner of her mouth as she whispered to the little black kitten perched on her shoulder, its amber eyes reflecting the scene around them, including a person encased in an ice coffin nearby.

“We will definitely succeed!”

The figure within the ice coffin was obscured by the thick, frosted glass, barely revealing the outline of a slender body. Ariel held a gem shaped like a water droplet between her hands placed gently on her lower abdomen, the stone emitting a soft, enigmatic glow, promising and ominous all at once.

Nestled within the timeworn walls of a deserted village, Ryan found solace by a flickering campfire inside a quaint wooden house. Cradled in his hands was a small blue conch, its surface etched with ancient runes, a mystical artifact bestowed upon him by the enigmatic Fantasy Beast Witch, Meloye. Known as the Voice-Transmitting Conch, this magical device served as a lifeline to the arcane world he had fleetingly traversed.

Despite possessing the conch for some time, Ryan had never felt the need to use it, until tonight. Questions and doubts swirled in his mind, urging him to seek Meloye’s wisdom. With a sense of urgency, he rapped the base of the conch thrice, initiating the ancient enchantment. As he did, the conch began to emit a soft, ethereal glow.

“Miss Meloye, can you hear me?” Ryan whispered into the conch, his voice barely rising above the crackle of the flames.

He waited in the silent expectancy, but the conch remained quiet. Concern furrowed his brow as he pondered the silence. “Could she be in danger? Or perhaps something has happened to her?” he mused anxiously.

The city of Santos had become a tumultuous blend of dark and light, a sanctuary to many but also a den for the unsavory. The Witch Society, though skilled in their arts of concealment, faced constant threats. Given the volatile atmosphere, Ryan realized he had neglected to keep abreast of Meloye’s circumstances, his attention consumed by the cryptic ” Overthrow Temple.”

Minutes trickled by with no response, prompting Ryan to reluctantly set aside the conch. “Perhaps a visit to the old Witch Club’s cabin is in order tomorrow,” he thought, recalling the vital intel Meloye had provided him during their initial encounters. He owed her his assistance, should she need it.