Reborn As a Pirate - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Hull Repair Ring!
The sharp, biting sea breeze tore past, grazing both sides of Ryan’s face as his hair whipped wildly behind him. He peered intently below, his gaze riveted on the formidable Ice-toothed Sabretooth fish that glinted just beneath the water’s surface. As the gap between them narrowed, the menacing figure of the fish magnified in his eyes, its fine blue-purple scales shimmering with a neon luster that danced with the undulating waves.

Suddenly, the Ice-toothed Sabretooth lunged, its massive body partially penetrating the ship’s hull. The impact left a gaping three-centimeter radius hole, surrounded by a spiderweb of splintered wood. The front end of the fish, still wedged in the breach, momentarily stemmed the rush of seawater into the vessel, but this precarious blockade was no cause for relief.

As the beast thrashed in its efforts to free itself, the fractures in the woodwork ominously widened. Ryan knew that if the fish dislodged completely, the hull would give way entirely, and the flooding would be catastrophic.

“We must sever the front end of the Ice-toothed Sabretooth to stop the water!” The urgency of the situation sharpened his focus, a plan crystallizing in his mind.

Yet, as his hand tightened around his weapon, a rueful smirk twisted his lips. In his grasp was merely a hefty wooden stick, a bludgeon, no doubt, but woefully inadequate for precise cuts. The task demanded a blade, something capable of surgical precision.

He pondered briefly the absurdity of his predicament. To sever anything with his rudimentary weapon would typically be folly. However, armed with the foundational sword skill from Storm Swordsmanship, “Breaking Waves,” and a dash of ingenuity from his skill set that could temporarily enhance the stick’s sharpness, there might just be a sliver of hope.

No one could have anticipated such a dire scenario. There was no time to switch weapons now. Drawing a deep breath, Ryan expelled all distraction from his mind, focusing solely on the task at hand. Although he had only a single day’s practice with the “Breaking Waves” technique, his proficiency in Storm Swordsmanship offered a glimmer of proficiency.

The stakes were too high for doubt now. With the ship’s fate hanging in the balance, it was time to act.

“Let’s do this!” he muttered, readying himself for the challenge. With resolve steeling his every move, Ryan prepared to unleash the “Breaking Waves” with whatever might he could muster. It was a desperate fight, but the only one worth having.

As the gap between Ryan and his aquatic adversary narrowed to a mere two meters, he drew in a deep, steadying breath and unleashed a formidable battle cry that reverberated across the open sea.

“Die!”

The cry wasn’t just sound, it was a force, a spiritual wave that rippled through the air. The ice-toothed sabertooth fish, in the midst of its fierce thrashing, suddenly stilled. Its eyes glazed over, caught in the thrall of Ryan’s high-spirited roar, [High-spirited Battle Cry], which bolstered his morale and surged power through his veins.

As he stared down at the momentarily subdued creature, Ryan’s thoughts flickered to the heroic figures he had studied in the Heritage Crystal, recalling their mighty and deliberate strikes, as slow yet as unstoppable as avalanches, yet swift as tempests.

This was his moment, the culmination of a half-day’s rigorous training and his mastery of Storm Swordsmanship. Gripping the makeshift weapon, a simple but sturdy wooden stick, Ryan squared his shoulders and harnessed every ounce of his strength. With a sharp exhale, he swung the stick downward in a fierce arc.

As the stick sliced through the air, it shimmered with a faint white glow, vibrating at a high frequency that emitted a crisp, crackling sound, akin to a blade cleaving through the ocean’s depths.

The impact was brutal and definitive. The stick, though blunt and seemingly ill-suited for the task, tore through the front end of the ice-toothed sabertooth fish with a gruesome “pfft,” rending flesh and spilling vibrant blue blood into the sea. The creature emitted a low, mournful cry, its pain palpable as it attempted a desperate escape.

The front end, its most formidable weapon, now severed, left the sabertooth in its most vulnerable state. In the wild, the primal instinct of an injured animal is not to fight to the death but to flee, an instinct shared by sea monsters and terrestrial creatures alike.

As the fish turned to retreat, Ryan’s momentum carried him forward, and with a splash that marked his entry into the cold embrace of the sea, his entire body submerged in the turbulent waters.

As Ryan plunged into the icy waters, his [Water Warfare Specialization] kicked in, with his spirits and his body alike. Thanks to his talent [Descendant of the Vikings], his previous life’s poor swimming skills were now irrelevant. He wouldn’t be sinking to the bottom of the sea today.

However, as he watched the ice-toothed sabertooth fish making its escape, a wistful sigh escaped him. No matter how adept he became in water, his abilities paled in comparison to those of sea monsters.

Yet, considering the circumstances, repelling the fish without major damage to the [Black Rose], this was the best outcome possible. Still, Ryan couldn’t shake the feeling of his own inadequacy.

Just as he prepared to haul himself back onto the deck, something remarkable happened. Several faint blue filaments appeared on the water’s surface, moving swiftly past him and ensnaring the fleeing ice-toothed sabertooth. These tendrils coalesced into a massive, translucent blue hand that grasped the fish with unyielding strength.

A wave of exhilaration washed over Ryan as he witnessed this stunning display of power.

“It’s Freni!”

In the grip of the giant blue hand, the body of the Ice-toothed Sabretooth began to show lines of the same eerie blue, signaling erosion. Within moments, the fish ceased its struggle, its life fading as the light in its eyes dimmed and extinguished.

“It’s dead.”

“So strong!” Ryan marveled, his gaze locked on the now lifeless creature within the spectral hand’s hold. This moment crystallized the vast gulf in power between himself and Freni.

Suddenly, a beautiful silhouette appeared at the edge of the deck beside him. The girl’s eyes shone with a potent blue light, and a fluorescent glow spread beneath them, covering a quarter of her face. Her appearance was both mysterious and otherworldly, transforming her into an enigmatic figure against the backdrop of the churning sea.

As Freni gracefully extended her hand, the motion seemed to exert an invisible grasp on the massive form of the Ice-toothed Sabretooth Fish, drawing it effortlessly toward the deck.

Looking down from her elevated position, Freni’s gaze fell upon Ryan, who was drenched and bobbing in the sea below. Her voice, echoing eerily as though from a deep cavern, carried a hollow, repetitive tone. “Mr. Ryan, allow me to assist you back aboard.”

As she spoke, a surge of force carried Ryan from beneath. A platform of faint blue light materialized under him, lifting him gently from the chilly grasp of the sea and depositing him safely on the deck.

Ryan, still catching his breath from the ordeal, wasted no time on formalities. “Lady Freni, we must attend to the hull breach caused by the Ice-toothed Sabretooth immediately. If we delay, the influx of seawater could be catastrophic.”

The mystical blue glow dimming in her eyes, Freni responded with a gentle shake of her head, her voice regaining its usual clear, melodic quality. “Worry not, I have just the thing for you.” With a deft flick of her wrist, she tossed a small object toward him.

Instinctively, Ryan caught it. It was a ring, modest in appearance but significant in purpose.

Freni’s voice lingered in the air, informative and serene. “This is the [Hull Repair Ring], a low-level rare artifact designed specifically for such repairs. It requires only wooden planks as raw material and uses minimal spiritual energy. It will mend the damage swiftly.”

Ryan examined the ring closely. Information about the artifact surfaced in his mind, displayed in a discreet gray font:

[Low-level Artifact – Hull Repair Ring: A crafted artifact containing a simple sentient spirit, imbued during its creation to perform basic repairs. It can mend areas up to one square meter, provided you supply the necessary materials. Note: This artifact cannot repair critical structural elements like the ship’s keel.]

[The artifact harbors a faint essence of spirit, which could enhance the efficacy of the [Unnamed Ship Sculpture] if absorbed, speeding up repair processes.]

Ryan clutched the ring, his mind racing with the possibilities it presented, not just for immediate repairs but for the resilience it could impart to their vulnerable vessel.