Chapter 375
Chapter 375
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 375
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Crunch-crunch-crack-!
Crunch-crack-!
Santos smashed through the cabin where we were loaded.
“Ugh….”
Thanks to the hemostatic agent, I hadn’t lost much blood, but my thigh still throbbed fiercely.
“Hm? You….”
Santos looked at me, then snapped to attention and shouted.
“Get up to the deck, hurry!”
“Uwaaaaaah-!”
Riiip….
The ship tilted.
I’d worked at the docks unloading cargo but had never been on a ship myself, so keeping my balance was tough. No, even seasoned sailors would struggle to stand straight in a situation like this.
“Go! Go! Hurry! My treasures!”
Santos and his crew pushed from behind.
The ship’s crew had already rescued the others and boarded his pirate ship, it seemed.
I hurried to keep up.
But then.
Craaack….
‘…Huh?’
The sinking accelerated.
Screeech….
‘Huh…?’
The world flipped, and my body curled up like a ball, tumbling end over end.
Splaash-!
I barely grabbed the doorframe.
Riiip….
“Damn….”
Boom….
My body got sucked into the flooding water. It felt like I was experiencing every misfortune a kid could have.
‘Hold… my breath….’
The water rose fast.
I did what I could.
‘To escape from here….’
The current was fierce, and the ship kept sinking.
No matter where I looked, survival odds were near zero.
Until someone showed up.
“Uahaha! Santos is coming!”
“You idiot! Come back!”
“Wait for me!”
“Damn it….”
Someone’s warmth enveloped my body.
But I’d already swallowed too much water.
I reached out toward the warmth and clung.
‘Don’t… want to die….’
I lost consciousness.
“You won’t die.”
That was the last voice I heard before blacking out.
* * *
When I woke, that massive ship was gone. I floated on a small plank, presumably from the wreckage.
“…Huh?”
“You’re awake?”
There was one other person on the plank.
“…Santos?”
“You remember me. How’d you know my name?”
“You were yelling it so much….”
“Hm… I thought I was so famous even a kid like you knew me.”
Santos was like a cloud.
No matter what I said, he replied with something cheerful.
“The sky and sea after a storm are eerily calm, like a lie. Isn’t it amazing?”
“…Are we gonna die?”
Rustle-rustle….
Santos ruffled my hair.
“Why? Think we will? Why?”
“We’re in the middle of the ocean, drifting with no food.”
“Smart kid.”
“…….”
“But you know what?”
Santos lay flat on the plank, gazing at the sky as he spoke.
“You and I survived that sinking ship in the storm. That chaotic night.”
He was right.
We had survived.
In a moment when only death came to mind, his presence pulled me back to life.
“For people like us to die in weather this nice doesn’t make sense.”
“…So we won’t die?”
“Of course not.”
“Why is it ‘of course’….”
“Of course things are just that—obvious. That’s the reason in itself.”
I still didn’t get what Santos meant.
“Then why’d you save me?”
“Same thing. It’s obvious.”
“…I don’t get it.”
“Hahaha! Don’t question a sea dog’s actions! Santos just did what was obvious. Ah! And don’t thank me.”
“Got it.”
“…You could thank me, I guess. …Hm?”
My head spun, and I passed out.
“Hey!”
My condition was poor.
Not just the stab wound in my thigh, but I hadn’t eaten properly in ages.
“Your body’s burning up.”
It hurt.
To meet my end like this, dying unknown in the ocean.
Splash….
Splash….
Night fell, and the waves grew rougher.
I cracked my eyes open.
“Ah, you’re up.”
Santos was pressed against me, sharing his warmth.
“Santos.”
“…What?”
“My name’s Kang Seol.”
“…Oh, never asked your name.”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
“Don’t forget. Please don’t forget.”
He sat me up.
“A farewell? After all that trouble, isn’t that too much?”
“But….”
“Look over there, Kang Seol.”
Santos pointed to the horizon.
A speck: a light.
“…Light?”
“The stars a sea dog calls home.”
I clung to my fading consciousness and listened to Santos.
“This sea is my universe. That light’s a star drifting through it.”
“…….”
Blink. I blacked out.
When I opened my eyes again….
“You idiot! Found you! Hey, everyone, come here and look below— the ocean’s greatest fool’s down there flirting!”
“Uahaha! Captain, I hoped for something stupid again, and you delivered!”
“Who’s the kid next to him? Looks hurt.”
“Where’s the rum? Shove some in his mouth, he’ll be fine.”
“As long as he doesn’t turn out simple like you… Lower the rope!”
Santos hugged me and grabbed the rope.
“This is….”
“Welcome aboard my ship, Kang Seol.”
I set foot on a new star.
* * *
At 12, I spent unforgettable days.
“Port side! Turn to port! We’ll crash!”
“Better to crash! Damn snake head!”
Even sea dogs fought massive sea beasts.
“Uahaha! Plunder!”
“Kyaaak!”
“Resist and I’ll scar that pretty face?”
They preyed on rich folk’s ships too.
“Here, polish it shiny.”
“Yeah.”
I adapted well to ship life.
I helped with cooking before meals, cleaned the deck, even learned some carpentry.
“Alright, let’s practice plundering to become fine pirates today?”
“Sure.”
I healed enough that “sure” slipped out naturally.
Santos bawled when he heard my past.
“Waaah… So sad… How’d you endure that as a kid?”
“Shut up, Santos! Let’s sleep!”
“Listen, this guy….”
I was a pirate pup.
The crew accepted me.
My past traumas easily unlocked their hearts.
“But saving your friend? That was truly great!”
“Great? Why? It was obvious….”
Suddenly, his words came back.
Something I’d never deeply considered.
- Of course things are just that—obvious. That’s the reason in itself.
“It was… obvious. That’s….”
Now I understood why risking my life for Yurin, my friend, brought no regrets.
“Yeah, that’s what’s obvious. Doing the obvious isn’t easy. But if you pull it off….”
Santos grinned.
“You’re a man.”
“Man….”
I grew up on that ship.
Until I was 15.
Santos was my captain, mentor, father.
[Bold actions ignite courage.]
[Courage doesn’t drive action—action births courage.]
[Enlightenment! Awakening new ability.]
[Persistent: Awakening the Man Within.]
On my 15th birthday eve, I fell gravely ill.
“Ughhhh….”
“No idea what’s causing it?”
“Seems like a mana issue. Beyond me. Need a skilled mage.”
“…….”
Santos said goodbye before I recovered and the ship docked.
“Seol.”
“Don’t… I don’t wanna go.”
“You’ve got something different. Not like me or those idiots over there.”
“That’s why I have to leave?”
“Idiot, stay here and you die! Piracy’s for guys like me, not promising kids like you!”
Santos raged.
“You gotta try everything, right?”
“…….”
“This place is just a cage for you. You’re a bird for bigger skies. Got it?”
“I….”
“It’s not preparing to leave—it’s preparing to fly.”
On my 15th birthday.
They gifted me farewell.
Dropping me ashore, they said goodbye.
“Kang Seol! Make it big, but don’t forget! You’re a pirate at heart!”
“Hahaha! What’s there to brag? Forget us!”
“Don’t cry while saying it, idiot!”
I stopped and turned.
They stood against the sunset.
“Will we… meet again someday?”
“…….”
“…….”
“Hm….”
In the silence, Santos bellowed.
“Not here, but sea dogs drift the universe! So….”
He bared his teeth in a grin for me.
Grin….
“Of course, idiot!”
* * *
Urp….
“Buwaaah….”
My mana outburst cycles shortened.
They said my body held far more mana than most.
Awaken it or suppress it—some measure would stop the fits.
‘Body… can’t hold out….’
I heard of a city drawing wanderers from the continent and headed there.
Baluel.
The city’s name.
Sniff….
Strolling the city, I caught a scent.
‘Scent? No, this is….’
Like a trace etched into my soul.
I chased the woman bearing it.
“Um….”
“…Who?”
Exotic looks.
Massive greatsword on her back.
But I didn’t know her.
“…Never mind.”
“Ah… okay….”
Probably a mistake.
If anything good came from Baluel, it was the mage interested in my condition.
“Pack up. We’re going to the cabin.”
He claimed he could fix me. Turns out, he was renowned locally, with a solid rep.
To ease symptoms, I followed him for now.
“Proper intro: I’m Snowman.”
“I’m Kang Seol.”
Snowman.
‘…Familiar?’
Somehow, a familiar name.
He checked a pocket watch and muttered.
‘…Huh? That pocket watch….’
Not just the name—even the watch felt familiar. Déjà vu hit often, but some days worse.
Like today.
“Your job here is simple. Prepare meals so you sit at the table on time, clean on schedule. I’ll allocate study time daily. Fulfill those, and free time’s yours.”
“Anything to watch for?”
Snowman said.
“I’ll allow lab access after observing your level. Don’t go near till then.”
“Understood.”
“And I eat a lot, so make plenty.”
“Yes.”
Don’t dos? Skip ’em.
Do dos? Do ’em.
I, forged in twisted positivity, would comply.
Cabin life began.
“Mealtime.”
“Yeah.”
……
“Mealtime.”
“Ah.”
No outbursts while staying there.
My mana stayed contained, sickening my body.
Learn fitting magic, take measures—my health would normalize fast.
Good choice picking Snowman.
I felt it to my bones.
He didn’t interfere outside set times.
Yet checked my studies meticulously.
“Your mana aptitude isn’t one kind. Four, even.”
“Four….”
“Blessed body. Darkness and light, storm and blood. Opposing attributes, yet boiling in you.”
No reason known, so I just nodded.
“Conveniently, overlaps with mine. Follow my teachings well.”
“Yes.”
Time at the cabin flowed on.