The sound of thunder roared through the air as Roseus had enough.

He swung the Greycloud Longsword down with all his strength, willing the impact to carry with it the power of lightning. This was a strength of the weapon’s effect, rather than the ranged attack gifted to him through the pact with Rai’zac. That skill only had three uses left, so he would use them wisely.

As for Kruger’s double, the man had no chance. As soon as the impact crashed into him, the double’s body dissolved and faded into nothing, leaving the blade stuck in the deck.

[You have defeated: Daedalus’s Double]

[Common Soul Absorbed]

[The Ocean Beckons You...]

Roseus yanked the weapon free from the wood and looked around him, seeing if he needed to aid any of his men.

Dawn, Petyr, and Jackson had used melee skills to deal with their opponents. Kruger and Adriana had filled their opponents with bullets. Silius had just barely managed to defeat his by throwing it overboard. Pip, who was in the crow’s nest, was waiting for her enemy to climb up to her. She was the only one who was going to be facing a double of herself.

Before the Pip could reach her, one of the riflemen atop the Templar Consort ship fired a round from his rifle. The bullet carried a black aura with it, piercing through the double with ease, causing its body to disappear as its soul was reaped.

Roseus looked up at the deck and saw that a Templar sailor was saluting him whilst holding his rifle in hand. Black smoke curled from the barrel. Captain Roseus returned the salute.

Soon afterwards, Captain Lionheart walked up to the railing. The handsome young man had a smile on his face, as though he had just rid the world of the most disgusting vermin.

"The fact that Daedalus was angered further proves to me that you are true believers, following the righteous path of knowledge!" the captain shouted at the Redflower Pirates.

Lavender responded by tapping her temples, which was the symbol of the Church of Civilization, who worshipped the God of Knowledge.

Daedalus? Roseus was momentarily left stunned. Only when Dawn walked up beside him and spoke in a quiet voice did he understand what the words meant.

"I was offered a pact from a god but rejected it. Once I did... this happened," she said.

Roseus nodded his head, now understanding the situation. Such a danger was secretly a blessing in disguise.

Through this, they had now convinced the Templars and their Third Mate that they were true believers. This would help them in the long run when they entered the Second Ocean.

However, at the same time, this further proved to Roseus just how dangerous the seas and their gods were.

He noticed a change in his sailor system, but before checking anything, he asked Dawn for a detailed explanation of what the god had offered her, and how the interaction had gone.

It seemed that not all gods were deceptive, and some could give you their offer before you responded. This further showed the greed that Nammon embodied.

Furthermore, it was now clear that some gods were petty enough to become angered once their offer was rejected. Although Daedalus’s wrath was not great, they did not know what other sorts of wrath the gods might bring down upon them if a similar situation were to happen again.

Because of this, they knew that they had to be careful.

Finally, Roseus checked his sailor system and asked the others if anyone had awakened any new skills.

His progress through his pact rank with Rai’zac had increased to 55/100. The fact that it was increasing so much made him curious as to whether the jealous storm god was worth creating a more permanent pact with.

However, as he wished not to make any more rash decisions that might lead to any more mistakes, such as the birth of Nammon, he decided he would wait until he had gained much more knowledge. He hoped that he would reach the second rank of the pact before his temporary pact was finished, so that he could see what came with it.

As for the rest of the crew, only Silius the navigator had awakened a skill. Having efficiently used melee combat to take down his opponent, he earned the following skill.

- Shortblade Efficiency [LV.1] → When wielding a weapon with a blade shorter than 30cm, the user’s speed and stab strength are slightly increased.

This was because Silius wielded a steel dagger during combat. The navigator seemed pleased to know that he could now hold his own in combat like the others.

...

With that said and done, the Templar ship continued sailing deeper into the Maze Sea, traversing its dangers with ease. Not once did it stray from the correct path, therefore Silius didn’t need to do much as a navigator.

A few more days passed with the crew nourishing themselves, spending time training, and getting to know one another better than they had before.

During this time, Roseus and Dawn shared tales of their childhood, and how their younger selves would feel now, knowing that they were sailing into the seas they had always dreamed of.

Eventually, the ships came to a great wall of fog that took hours to sail through.

Once they emerged from the other side, it was as though they had sailed into a different world.

The skies changed. They were filled with black and white clouds that swirled amidst each other, creating an ethereal scene that resembled a painting. Through the clouds, the orange sun pierced, casting its light down onto waters that almost seemed translucent. It was hard for Roseus to process. This place did not seem real.

Right as they emerged, a sea creature leapt from the water before landing back in gently. Roseus was just barely able to see that this was some sort of shark with a sharp mouth like a sword, and translucent skin that allowed him to see all of its innards.

In the distance, he could see two ships, one far to his left, and the other straight ahead. They were both heading towards an island even further away in the distance, which had heights that stretched into the clouds like mountains.

Captain Lionheart’s head peeked over the railing as he watched the Redflower Pirates gawk at the sights of the Second Ocean.

The man outstretched his hands, presenting the waters to them.

"Welcome to the Second Ocean! We will arrive at Highstorm Island by nightfall!"

~~~

End of Volume One: First Ocean