The World Is Not Equal
The dull thud against the door jolted him awake, his heart plummeting like a stone. He burrowed deeper into the blankets, too terrified to even open his eyes. The thought that it had finally come made every muscle in his body stiffen with tension. He peeked out from under the covers, but there was no one there. He was completely alone. The sound must have been his imagination, or perhaps something from outside. Yet his racing heart refused to calm.
This was not his room. The space was built from rough, aged timber—nothing like a modern apartment. It looked like something straight out of the Middle Ages, a wooden cabin from some medieval fantasy. His heart began to pound again. Had he been kidnapped? The idea sent a fresh wave of panic through him.
A week ago, he had caused an accident. Though calling it an accident felt like a lie. Whenever he thought about that night, his teeth ground together and his blood boiled with rage. Just one drink. It was supposed to be the last one. He had planned to finish that single glass and leave. At the gathering with his friends, one of them had been bragging about striking it rich in the stock market. He had been waiting for the right moment to slip away.
“You should’ve sold at the right time, idiot.”
When the braggart sneered at him like that, he had downed the soju in one furious gulp. Then he grabbed the bottle in front of him and smashed it over the bastard’s head. By some miracle the bottle didn’t shatter, but the guy filed an assault charge anyway. If anyone had the right to cry, it was him. That same friend had talked him into dumping every last won from his account into some “promising” stock. The shares had soared for days, hitting upper limits again and again, only to suddenly plummet. By the time he came to his senses, he had missed the chance to sell and was left with less than half his investment.
The friend who had pushed the stock on him mocked him for not selling, calling him a brain-dead loser who couldn’t even take good advice when it was spoon-fed to him. Truth was, he had never cared about stocks. He had only jumped into the market because his friends kept calling him a pathetic, outdated loser who couldn’t keep up with the times. He knew it was all his own choice, his own responsibility. Yet knowing that didn’t stop his hands from shaking with fury.
For the past week he hadn’t stepped foot outside his house. The last thing he remembered was collapsing from hunger. Now, with dazed eyes, he scanned his surroundings. If this was a kidnapping, the room was strangely ordinary. The walls and door were made of wood, and the decorations and furniture looked nothing like modern design. The clothes and coat hanging on the wall weren’t off-the-rack contemporary fashion—they resembled feudal-era Western uniforms from some historical painting.
Most unsettling of all, the entire room was slowly rocking. It was too gentle for an earthquake, yet the sensation of movement was too distinct to be imagination. Instinctively, he realized he was inside a ship’s cabin. An extremely old ship’s cabin. And not just any antique vessel—this was something far beyond common sense.
He tried to sit up and immediately noticed something wrong. His chest felt heavy. “Huh?” Something that absolutely should not be there was attached to his chest. A woman’s breasts. And not just any breasts—full, shapely, and impressive. In his shock at the impossible situation, he unconsciously grabbed them.
Then he knew. This was no dream.
He—no, she now—slowly climbed out of bed and stood before the full-length mirror beside it.
“This can’t be…”
The sight of her own reflection left her stunned into silence. Hair the color of flowing lava, eyes like polished rubies. A luxurious silk slip that teasingly revealed the most important parts of her body. And a face so breathtakingly beautiful it seemed impossible for this world to contain. Her figure was nothing short of divine blessing. Yet the true reason for her horror lay elsewhere.
She knew exactly whose body this was.
For the past week, she had trembled every night beneath the blankets, desperately praying to escape somewhere—anywhere. Perhaps that prayer had been answered in the worst way possible. It seemed she had been sucked into the very game she used to play.
Her name was Rose Black. An NPC character from an open-world naval game. In that seafaring adventure, Rose was a mid-boss pirate captain who existed only to be defeated and killed by the protagonist.
But things were different now.
Her fate was no longer death. She recognized the slip she wore and the uniform hanging on the wall. This wasn’t the vanilla version of the game. Someone had installed mods—including the adult content patch.
Because of that, her ending had changed. Instead of dying, she was now destined to become a living toilet, a plaything for men.
She pressed her pale hands to her face in a dry wash. There was no time to wonder why she had possessed Rose Black instead of the protagonist, or why she had been stupid enough to install those mods in the first place.
“That can’t happen.”
She needed to figure out exactly when in the story she had awakened and avoid the terrible fate awaiting her. Fortunately, she had already cleared the game once. She knew the conditions for clearing it, the protagonist’s movements, and—most importantly—what would happen after the protagonist achieved victory.
The protagonist who completed every feat would become the ruler of the seas, claiming everything in existence. That included the world’s most prominent women. Rose included.
She had to prevent the protagonist from clearing the game. She would become the ruler of the seas herself. Whether that would let her escape this world, she didn’t know. But it was the only way to avoid her tragic fate.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone rapped on the door.
“Entering.”
The woman didn’t wait for Rose’s reply before throwing the door open. Rose felt a rush of shame at being seen in her nearly transparent slip and quickly covered her chest and groin.
The woman who entered offered no apology and simply continued speaking.
“Oh. You were undressed. It must have been quite stuffy.”
The blunt-looking woman was someone Rose knew well—Sara Vale. Vice-captain of the Black Rose pirates and Rose’s right-hand woman. Cold and rational, she possessed the highest navigation stats in the entire game. During Rose’s playthroughs, Sara had been one of the main reasons the Black Rose pirate crew had been so difficult to defeat.
And there was another reason.
A cheerful woman popped out from behind Sara.
“Ah! Captain! You weren’t actually sleeping in a situation like this, were you? Well, they do say beautiful women are heavy sleepers!”
The dark elf with the sensual figure was Nelia, the Black Rose pirates’ master gunner. When it came to artillery, no one could compare to her. In fact, those two women were the main reason the Black Rose pirates had once been called the final boss of the game.
“Sara! A lady is standing here in her underwear and you’re just going to leave the door open? Close it right now!”
Nelia scolded Sara in a playful voice and skipped lightly over to Rose. Ignoring the commotion, Sara quietly closed the door and reported in a chilly tone.
“Three imperial fast ships are in pursuit. They will enter firing range shortly.”
Rose searched her memories. This was the point in the story when Rose was being chased by the empire—and the empire had only sent three fast ships. That meant she hadn’t yet earned her fearsome reputation. Luckily, it seemed the game was still in its early stages.
When the game first began, Rose would betray the empire, steal a legendary warship, and become a pirate. Later, that same legendary vessel—the Blood Requiem—would make the empire’s fast ships look like toys.
While she organized her thoughts, Nelia began dressing and adorning her with the skill of a practiced maid. Rose felt a slight resistance at first, but Nelia’s devoted service felt strangely pleasant, so she allowed it.
Nelia hummed cheerfully as she fastened a leather corset around Rose’s waist. Though Rose felt a faint aversion to wearing something only women wore, the tight pressure of the leather against her body brought an unexpected sense of comfort.
“The captain is our idol. You mustn’t show even the slightest disheveled appearance. I’ll take care of everything, so just stand still, Captain.”
“Nelia, stop playing around and hurry up.”
Under Sara’s urging, Nelia leisurely finished dressing Rose, even taking time to carefully consider which earrings would suit her best.
“All done! Wow! The captain is beautiful today as always! You really are our goddess!”
At Nelia’s words, Rose checked her reflection in the mirror. Flashy earrings that seemed unfit for a pirate, a shirt left open to boldly display her cleavage, and tight shorts that clung to her thighs, proudly showing off her long, smooth legs. Having shed the slip and donned the uniform of a pirate empress, even she had to admit the sight was beautiful enough to make someone want to offer up their soul.
Still hesitating amid complicated emotions, Rose accepted the sword Nelia handed her. The moment her fingers closed around the hilt, memories and combat instincts as Rose Black flooded into her mind like a crashing wave.
“Good. Let’s go.”
As if she had inherited the original Rose’s confidence as well, she strode out of the captain’s quarters. No sailing ship in existence could stand against her abilities and the flagship Blood Requiem. Having failed to conquer the Black Rose pirates countless times, she knew that fact better than anyone. She lifted her chin with arrogant pride.
Sara, who had been standing by the door, gave a small bow and followed behind her like a perfect butler.
“Oh! The captain has returned!”
The moment Rose stepped out of the captain’s quarters and stood at the railing overlooking the deck, the previously tense crew erupted in cheers. They were filthy, violent, beast-like pirates. Quite a few women were mixed among them. It was an unusual sight in the typically misogynistic pirate world, yet it was by no means a weakness for the Black Rose pirates.
“Where are the enemies?”
At Rose’s question, Sara pointed toward one side of the sea.
“They have already entered firing range. We are awaiting your order to fire.”
Though she called it “firing range,” the enemy ships still looked tiny in the distance. Rose smirked. She copied the actions she had seen Rose perform in the game.
Thump!
She lightly struck the deck with her scabbard and looked at Nelia.
“What are you waiting for? Fire already.”
Nelia raised both arms with a delighted shout.
“Yes! I’ve been waiting for those words! Prepare to fire!”
Red magical energy gathered in her hands, then shot out like beams of light that infused the cannons lined up along the gunports.
“Eat this!”
As Nelia cried out in excitement—
BOOM—!
The cannons belched fire. Shells infused with magic streaked forward like lasers.
BOOM—!
One shell scored a direct hit on the central fast ship. A thunderous explosion shook the air as debris flew in every direction. Watching the spectacle, Rose felt an overwhelming thrill surge through her chest. It was a vivid, intense pleasure that the game could never have given her—only reality could.
The two remaining fast ships faltered for a moment, then continued their charge.
“Reload!”
At Nelia’s command, the fired cannons were withdrawn and fresh ones already loaded were pushed back into position.
“Fire again!”
Another magic-infused shell sent a second fast ship to the bottom.
The battle was proceeding smoothly. It could hardly even be called a battle. The fast ships were still far away, and she could finish reloading before their short-range weapons could reach her and sink them all.
Rose was watching the busy reloading process with satisfaction when—
“Pathetic fools.”
A chilling voice came from directly behind her.
Because they had set sail in such a hurry from an imperial port, assassins had managed to sneak aboard. The original Rose would never have missed their presence, but having only just possessed this body, she couldn’t fully utilize its abilities yet.
“Captain!”
At Sara’s shout, a blade flew toward Rose’s face.
Whoosh—!
Rose’s waist bent backward. The murderous intent made every blood vessel in her body feel like it was shrinking. But her back never touched the deck. Her body froze in a perfect arch, head nearly brushing the floorboards.
“Haa…”
She took a deep breath, then swiftly rose, using the momentum to slam her fist into the assassin’s face. Caught completely off guard, the assassin was sent flying all the way to the opposite railing.
Rose calmly brushed her disheveled hair back into place and returned to a proper stance. Though she appeared composed, her heart was pounding violently with tension. Soon, the blood that had run cold began to burn hot again.
The sensation of shattering ships with cannon fire, the feeling of smashing an assassin’s face with her fist—both flooded her body with ecstasy. Only after coming to this world did she truly feel alive in every cell of her being.
Freedom.
The reality of possessing Rose was not despair. It was freedom.
But it wasn’t over yet.
“Aaaargh!”
The imperial assassins who had hidden aboard began attacking the crew. The cannons were seized in an instant. At the same time, countless grappling hooks flew from the approaching fast ships. And that wasn’t all.
Far beyond the horizon the fast ships had crossed, the full imperial fleet was slowly revealing itself.