Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Drake's Pirate Island
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Drake trusted Lee Shin.
It was no exaggeration to say he was born to be a pirate.
A talented individual who worked well, was vicious to his enemies, knew how to flatter appropriately, and already had a high infamy!
But the other users were a different story.
While a few had higher levels than Lee Shin, their infamy was far too low in comparison.
No, it wasn't just low; for most of them, their fame or divinity stats surpassed their infamy.
That was why Drake didn't want any adventurers other than Lee Shin to know the location of his base.
And Lee Shin felt the same way.
Important information like this was more valuable when he was the only one who knew it.
Besides, it was also closely related to his own quest.
Thus, Lee Shin asked Drake.
“How about we lock the prisoners in a sealed room for now?”
“A fine idea.”
“Then I’ll see to it.”
The two were perfectly in sync!
Watching them, it was hard to tell who the real villain was.
At this, the users listening from behind swallowed their complaints.
‘That, that…!’
‘I wouldn’t look even if you paid me!’
‘As soon as this quest is over, I’m never coming back here!’
Lee Shin shoved the users into a sealed room, and the ship set sail.
* * *
The pirate island was not as far as one might think.
It was less than an hour's journey from Les Port.
But despite the short distance, the reason the lord had never been able to completely subjugate the pirates was simple.
*Whoooosh….*
“……”
Lee Shin looked around at the thick, blanketing fog.
The fog was so dense that he couldn't see more than a few meters ahead.
On top of that, the current was much faster than in a typical sea.
A natural fortress, in every sense of the word!
Lee Shin thought to himself.
‘So this is why they couldn’t find it.’
He couldn't see clearly, but judging by how the helmsman kept turning the wheel, there seemed to be reefs scattered about as well.
In other words, without an accurate sea chart, an attempt at subjugation would be nothing but a dream.
Drake spoke.
“We’re here.”
“?”
To Lee Shin’s eyes, there was still nothing but fog, but a moment later, just as Drake had said, the fog lifted to reveal the form of a massive island.
‘It’s big.’
Lee Shin had expected a small islet, but the island was enormous.
A tall mountain rose from the center of the island, surrounded by a dense forest of towering trees.
As Lee Shin stared blankly at the pirate island, a message appeared before his eyes.
*Tiring.*
[You have entered Drake’s Pirate Island.]
[You have observed the entire voyage. ‘Drake’s Base’ will be added to your map.]
‘Good.’
He had secured the coordinates.
He still didn't have a sea chart, but… this was a huge gain right from the start.
And that wasn't all.
[You have entered the pirate island by invitation from a pirate.]
[This is a server-first achievement!]
[As an achievement bonus, all stats will increase by 3.]
‘Oh?’
The effect was an increase to all stats.
A title skill would have been better, but this wasn't bad either.
This kind of bonus would become more powerful in the later stages of the game when growth stagnated.
The corner of Lee Shin’s mouth lifted slightly.
‘How many is that now?’
Lee Shin had already accomplished three ‘server-first achievements,’ something most people struggled to achieve even once.
The first was for engaging in the first battle against another person.
The second was for killing a member of the royal family.
The third was for being invited by a pirate.
It seemed they were all rather grim accomplishments, but…
An achievement was an achievement!
Regardless of the type, just obtaining one was a remarkable feat.
‘Nice.’
Nodding in satisfaction, Lee Shin checked his status window for the first time in a while.
Lee Shin
• Class: Salseong
• Level: 84
• Strength: 441 • Agility: 1,003
• Stamina: 201 • Wisdom: 97
• Killing Intent: 207
• Fame: 3,300
• Infamy: 1,094,400
‘My level’s gone up a lot.’
His level had climbed all the way to 84!
And it wasn't just his level; his stats had also grown spectacularly.
This was the result of various achievements combined with the effects of titles like ‘Climber of the Tower of Penance’ and ‘The Seventh Legend.’
Thanks to this, despite being level 84, Lee Shin had specs comparable to an average level 100 user.
‘My special stats have risen quite a bit too.’
Even though the quest wasn't over, his Killing Intent and Fame had risen considerably, and his Infamy had shot up by tens of thousands.
…Of course, it was already so high that the change was hardly noticeable.
For there to be a significant difference, his infamy would have to rise much, much higher.
‘Should I kill more users? Or maybe people from the church…’
Lee Shin fell into serious contemplation.
He wondered how he could raise his infamy significantly.
Given the nature of his class and skills, the higher his infamy, the better, so this was a necessary deliberation.
But his contemplation didn't last long.
*Thump.*
“……”
The slight jolt of the ship bumping into something brought Lee Shin out of his thoughts.
When he came to his senses and looked around, the ship had already docked at the pier.
Lee Shin put his thoughts aside for the moment and stood up.
The quest at hand was more important.
Having entered the pirate island through an unexpected opportunity, he had to achieve something here.
“Get off.”
“Ah, uh.”
Lee Shin, along with the remaining users, carefully disembarked from the ship.
There were about thirty of them.
‘The numbers have thinned a bit.’
It was because a few had died in the previous battle.
The reconnaissance ship hadn't carried many people to begin with.
“……”
“*Gulp*.”
The users, tense from entering the enemy's main base, swallowed dryly.
It was a normal reaction.
This place was, so to speak, outside the law.
There were no rules here.
The slightest misstep could get them executed on the spot, and no one would find it strange.
‘If I die, I die.’
But Lee Shin was a user who played with his life half on the line from the start!
His mindset was just different.
So, instead of being nervous, he saw it as a perfect opportunity and stuck close to Drake, trying to strike up a conversation with various questions.
“This is a wonderful island.”
He started with some light flattery.
The reaction was exactly as he expected.
Drake beamed with joy.
“You think so? Haha!”
“I do. It’s clear how much care you’ve put into it, Captain.”
“Indeed. You have a good eye.”
[Drake’s intimacy level increases.]
“Especially that sculpture over there, modeled after an anglerfish…”
“That’s a sculpture of me.”
“A mere… sculpture cannot fully capture your greatness, Captain! Compared to the real you, even the most finely carved sculpture is no more than an anglerfish. That’s what I meant.”
“Hahaha!”
[Drake’s intimacy level…]
‘Whew.’
There was a slight crisis, but thanks to his sky-high flattery skills, Lee Shin managed to narrowly avert it.
In fact, his quick thinking had the result of improving Drake’s mood.
Lee Shin was about to ask Drake a more serious question.
“By any chance…”
*Kuaaaack!!!!*
“?”
But before he could even open his mouth, a scream erupted from somewhere.
Lee Shin’s head snapped in the direction of the sound.
Unless he was hearing things, it sounded like a desperate scream…
‘What was that?’
“Ah, over there?”
Drake, following Lee Shin’s gaze, explained in a nonchalant tone.
“That’s a place we call the re-education center.”
“…Pardon?”
“Simply put, it’s a place for educating prisoners who won’t listen to reason. Looks like there was a small problem during the education process. It happens often, so don’t mind it.”
“I-Is that so.”
Lee Shin forced himself to look away.
Pirates will be pirates!
He had almost forgotten, given how un-pirate-like Drake had been acting, but that was only because of his high intimacy level.
“Want to take a look?”
“I’m fine, thank you. Anyway, that’s not what I was…”
Clearing his throat to change the atmosphere, Lee Shin continued with his original question.
He asked about everything from when they settled here to how things had been progressing since.
Even though some of the questions could have been quite sensitive, Drake answered them all freely.
“Ah, that was because of this and that…”
“This is a secret, but actually…”
It was all thanks to his high intimacy level!
Lee Shin’s subtle conversational skills, which never crossed the line, also played a part.
Thanks to this, Lee Shin easily got a general overview of the island’s situation. The summary of their conversation was as follows.
Drake was originally a pirate active in the Caris Archipelago.
But for some reason (likely a power struggle), he brought his subordinates here.
And just recently, he found a suitable island and settled down.
Currently, they were in the middle of aggressively expanding their influence while developing the island in earnest.
‘I see.’
Lee Shin nodded.
Indeed, the island was large, but it felt somewhat empty for its size.
At first, he thought it was an intentional design choice…
But it turned out that development was just slow.
“…We’ll head out again after the ship is serviced. Rest until then.”
“Understood.”
Drake added a few more explanations before leaving.
As soon as he was gone, Lee Shin sent a whisper to Arthur.
‘Where are you?’
- Sir? Ah, I’m… with the others right now. Can you see us?
Lee Shin turned his head.
In the distance, he could see the users huddled together.
And surrounding them, as if to guard them, were pirates.
Arthur asked.
- Where are you, sir? Should I come to you?
‘No. Just stay put.’
- …?
He had originally intended to call him over, but after a moment's thought, he changed his mind.
He didn't think Arthur would be of much help in looting a warehouse.
If anything, an unskilled person like him would likely just get in the way.
‘Oh, right.’
- Yes?
Just as he was about to move, Lee Shin remembered something and sent another whisper to Arthur.
He had a separate task for him.
‘From now on, make a few allies.’
- Why?
‘I think we’ll need them later.’
The explanation was vague, but Arthur didn't seem particularly curious.
It was something *the* Lee Shin was doing.
He didn't know the details, but he figured there must be a reason.
- But how do I do that?
‘Figure it out yourself.’
Lee Shin replied nonchalantly.
Reflecting on his own experiences, he figured just striking up a conversation would be enough to win them over.
- Um… I’ll give it a try!
Arthur replied energetically, as if he had gained confidence from those words.
Only then did Lee Shin turn and head towards the warehouse Drake had told him about.
* * *
As befitting a warehouse where security was crucial, Drake was using a cave located in the center of the pirate island.
‘Three of them.’
Lee Shin hummed thoughtfully as he observed the pirates guarding the entrance.
How was he going to get past them?
Truthfully, now that he was Drake’s second-in-command, he could probably just tell them and walk in.
But if it was later discovered that items were missing, it would be difficult to avoid interrogation.
So, if possible, it was better to go in and out without anyone knowing he was there.
‘I’ll have to sneak in.’
Having made his decision, Lee Shin picked up a small stone from the ground.
He then threw it towards the torch placed next to the cave entrance.
*Tuk!*
His aim was perfect.
The flame flickered.
“Hm?”
Naturally, the pirates’ attention was drawn to it, momentarily creating an opening.
And Lee Shin did not miss such an opening.
*Whoosh!*
Activating Stealth, Lee Shin quickly slipped into the cave without being noticed by the guards.
His movements were so stealthy that the guards didn't even feel a sense of unease.
“What was that?”
“Just the wind.”
‘Phew.’
A clean success that showcased his expertise!
Lee Shin let out a sigh of relief and slowly made his way deeper inside.
But then.
- *Kieeeeeeeek!!!*
“…?!”
The moment he started moving towards the back of the cave, a monstrous shriek echoed from the distance!
Startled, Lee Shin instinctively dropped into a low crouch and gripped his dagger.
At the same time, he silently screamed at the absent Drake.
‘…You said this was a warehouse?!’
Then why was he hearing the same screams he’d heard from the re-education center?