Chapter 330
Chapter 330
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 330
Chapter Title: Compass of Desire (1)
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The set effect of the Golden Lion's sacred gear had vanished, but his stats had actually risen instead.
At this point, it was fine to forgo the set effect. Only the chestplate's effect and the set bonus had been released; the rest of the pieces were still performing at full strength.
Rokan lightly tapped the chestplate in satisfaction before heading to the neutral zone. There, he shelled out a hefty sum for a Heavenly Rune that would take him to the city closest to his next destination.
The maritime city of Baruda.
It was one of the Heavenly Cities renowned for commerce, but that also meant it was crawling with pirates and rife with plundering.
‘I wondered who they were trading with…’
That was why Rokan had been curious when he first heard of the place. Just who was Baruda trading with?
As far as he knew, there were no large cities nearby capable of matching Baruda's trade volume. He'd wondered where they were getting their profits from.
Now, that mystery was solved.
The expanded Heavenly Cities.
Baruda was trading with one of them.
‘If I could hitch a ride, that’d be ideal…’
If he could board one of those trade ships, he could reach the expanded map zones without passing through the void. Unfortunately, boarding was strictly forbidden.
Sneaking aboard unauthorized was out of the question too.
With countless transcendents guarding them rigorously and the Majesty Master Sea Admiral providing direct escort, even Rokan had to abandon any half-baked stealth attempts.
“Alright then, shall we go hunt some pirates?”
So instead, he targeted pirate ships. More precisely, the Compass of Desire held by one of them.
The problem was he had no idea who had it, so if luck wasn’t on his side, it could take quite some time.
But no worries. If luck failed, he’d just smash them all to pieces.
“Kai!”
Kyut!
After stocking up on supplies from the shops, Rokan summoned Kai and took to the skies. He planned to scout the pirates’ positions and headings from above first.
Kyuuu….
But long flights were tough even for Kai. The skies near Baruda were infamous for their erratic, powerful gusts.
Riding Legend might hold up better, but that would only expose him to the pirates first.
“One for now.”
Whoosh. Splash.
After a bit of tricky flying along the coast, Rokan spotted a pirate ship and dove straight into the sea.
He’d already swapped out the Wings of Gales for something else.
The epic-grade item, Sea Prince’s Cape.
It granted him the agility of a sea race even underwater, enveloping his body in its power.
Thanks to it, he shot forward fiercely without worrying about durability. It self-repaired on contact with water.
No need for Murloc Gills; he could breathe underwater, so his movements were unhindered.
“This should be it, right?”
Gliding under the pirate ship, Rokan didn’t bother climbing aboard.
What was the point? They wouldn’t surrender easily even if he hit the deck. Better to neutralize them from the start.
“Aqua Blast.”
Ruuuumble. KABOOM!
He used the cape’s embedded magic to blast a hole in the ship’s hull.
He could’ve smashed it with his battle axe, but for punching a big, wide hole in one go, magic was unmatched.
‘Maybe I should learn some magic while I’m at it?’
Seawater poured in through the massive breach.
The suction was so intense that without the Sea Prince’s Cape, even Rokan might’ve been dragged in.
Watching the results of one spell, he felt a twinge of greed.
Since reaching Grand Master, skill acquisition limits were gone for him, but he’d only picked a few to avoid cluttering his skill window.
He could learn skills, but they wouldn’t match the power of those learned as class skills.
The common wisdom was that warriors learning magic ended up mediocre at both. But with his array of all-stat boosts, maybe he could make it work?
He’d seriously consider picking up magic later. For now, focus on the enemies at hand.
“Argh! We’re sinking!”
“Block it! Bail the water!”
“You idiot, how do we block that? Just jump!”
Splash splash splash.
Repairing the ship with water rising so fast from below was impossible.
The pirates grabbed valuables and leaped into the sea as soon as they assessed the situation.
Dangerous with sea monsters around, but staying aboard meant sinking with the ship.
‘Huh, they could be pro swimmers.’
The pirates who jumped in oriented themselves nimbly and started swimming.
“Aura Barrage.”
Swoooosh. Thud!
“……!”
But Rokan wasn’t about to let them go. He was here to capture pirates and snag the Compass of Desire from one of them.
Vibrant aura orbs shot out unhindered by the water, devouring the swimming pirates like a shark.
“Gah!”
“Enemy!”
“I-Is it a monster?”
How could surface-swimming rabble spot the submerged Rokan?
Panic hit at the sudden attack and dying comrades, but these weren’t amateurs.
Some activated underwater breathing items and dove in. Rokan prioritized them.
‘Small fry.’
[Red Skull Pirates Deckhand][Lv 377]
The downside: the Red Skull Pirates’ levels weren’t high. Lower odds of them having the Compass of Desire.
Screeeeech.
But that didn’t make them easy.
The pirates with breathing items knew they had to take him down or die, charging ferociously.
They spread out to evade the aura barrage and encircled him.
Not as free-moving as Rokan with his epic item, but lifelong sea-dwellers nonetheless, they darted nimbly and unleashed their attacks.
“Whirlpool.”
Ruuuuumble.
Then Rokan activated the cape’s final skill.
Whirlpool. The vortex swirled around him.
Sucking in everything nearby, stripping control away.
Levels? Swimming skills? Useless against the maelstrom. Just get swept up.
Only Rokan moved freely within.
‘Nice.’
Because he was the user? No. Even he’d be swept up in that rotation.
The cape, granting sea race mobility, simply gave him insight to ride the currents.
So he navigated the vortex at will.
“……Impressive.”
It didn’t take long to slaughter the helpless foes.
Unable to control themselves with the level gap, he didn’t even need Blood Awakening, Stormwind Incarnation, or Berserk—just carved them up.
He wiped out the small crew but gained only minor loot and EXP.
“First round won’t fill you up. Onward?”
Still, Rokan was satisfied. He’d gauged underwater combat potential.
Plus, the cape’s skills had short cooldowns with enough mana, so he sped off for the next target.
Kyut!
Kai scouted from the sky, Rokan moved underwater.
With [Empathy] linking their minds, Kai could relay what he saw effortlessly.
Find pirate crew, hole the ship, slaughter the divers. Rinse and repeat.
He sank about five ships that day, but no Compass of Desire.
“Hmm, this could drag on.”
Plenty of pirate ships, but the sea was vast.
Even using Kai’s eyes for quick spots, no guarantee when he’d find the one with the compass.
‘Any better way?’
He itched to drop massive coins on a fleet for a sweep, but pirates would spot and flee from afar.
Baruda might not even allow assembling such a force.
“Guess hitting that place is the answer.”
Rokan, pruning his waterlogged hands, eyed an X-marked spot on the map.
Lawless Port.
A haven for pirate ships shunned by normal cities.
No Pirate King-level powerhouse, but swarming with Lv400 pirates. Dangerous.
“Sounds fun.”
Heh.
Knowing their stubborn, sneaky rep made it more appealing.
Best to infiltrate and find the compass-holder, but Rokan didn’t mind.
If trouble brewed, smash them all. He’d get it eventually.
Decision made, he headed straight for Lawless Port.
He reverse-summoned Kai just in case. With hundreds of watchtowers monitoring for pursuers, better safe.
He approached submerged, then scouted the perimeter upon arrival.
“Even Blink’s tricky.”
Plan was Blink past surveillance, but up close, even that seemed tough.
Lawless Port was a massive harbor and fortress.
Scaling those walls meant exposure, sparking suspicion before entry.
“They do everything.”
So Rokan went underground.
He picked a seabed cave under the port, entered, and used Digdog to burrow.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Digdog couldn’t operate in water, but this dry pocket inside let it dig tunnels easily.
Some air too, and he could divert attention from the noise and vibrations.
“Whirlpool.”
Ruuuuuumble.
A sudden vortex off Lawless Port drew eyes. Sea travelers feared whirlpools most.
As the port buzzed from Rokan’s whirlpool, Digdog smoothly tunneled inward.
Rustle.
Finally, Rokan breached Lawless Port.