“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
Rook raised his foot and nudged the leopard’s head, his expression indifferent.
“At least I let you die with a full stomach. You should be thanking me.”
“Try not to be so greedy in your next life.”
Grabbing the leopard by its smooth tail, Rook dragged it back toward his makeshift “slaughterhouse.”
But the moment he arrived, his eyes narrowed slightly.
A brown bear more than three meters long had appeared in the clearing.
Its mouth was covered in blood as it greedily devoured the free meal scattered across the ground.
Another glutton.
The bear’s short ears twitched.
It suddenly turned its head.
It had noticed the uninvited guest.
The massive beast immediately rose onto its hind legs.
A savage light appeared in its eyes as its jaws opened, exposing thick fangs.
ROAR!!!
The air before its mouth almost seemed to ripple from the force of the sound.
Thick, bloodstained saliva sprayed from its maw.
Rook raised an eyebrow.
Before his Swordsmanship had advanced, he might have made a strategic retreat.
But now?
He wasn’t backing down.
With steady steps, Rook walked toward the bear.
His breathing gradually settled into a smooth, rhythmic pattern.
Seeing that this human actually dared approach, the brown bear took it as a challenge.
It roared again.
Bang!
Both front paws slammed heavily onto the ground.
Dust erupted.
Then—
With a series of thunderous footsteps, the massive bear charged toward Rook like a heavily armored tank.
The distance between man and beast rapidly vanished.
Within several breaths, more than a hundred meters had disappeared.
They entered each other’s striking range.
One enormous paw rose.
Claws like short knives swept toward Rook.
He could even smell the foul, bloody stench pouring from the bear’s mouth.
Rook tensed.
His body abruptly stopped.
The thick foreleg came whistling toward him.
Rook bent his knees slightly—
Then instantly retreated.
BOOM!
The paw smashed into the spot where he’d been standing.
Dust exploded upward.
Rook bent his knees again.
This time—
He moved forward.
One step carried him onto the bear’s lowered foreleg.
The animal immediately sensed something wrong.
With an angry roar, it violently raised its paw.
Rook borrowed the upward force.
His waist twisted.
His entire body flipped through the air.
Seeing Rook rise above it, the brown bear, evidently an experienced fisherman, immediately raised its head and opened its jaws, waiting for him to fall straight into its mouth.
But at that moment—
Hanging upside down in midair, Rook’s eyes flashed.
An opening.
His sword swept horizontally.
Puchi!
The blade flashed across the bridge of the bear’s nose.
A bloody line instantly appeared—
And both of its cunning, excited eyes were sliced open.
Agonizing pain erupted.
Its world went black.
The bear’s miserable roar echoed throughout the forest.
It no longer had the presence of mind to care about Rook.
Using the resistance generated by the slash, Rook flipped through the air.
His feet landed firmly on the bear’s shoulders.
In that instant—
Both hands closed around the sword hilt.
Every ounce of strength in his body gathered together.
A cold flash swept across the back of the bear’s neck.
Puchi!
A spray of blood followed the blade.
A deep wound instantly opened across its neck.
Before the dying beast could begin thrashing wildly, Rook kicked off its shoulders and leaped backward.
His body traced a smooth arc through the air.
He landed steadily on the ground.
The blinded bear rolled and thrashed across the earth, howling in agony.
Eventually—
It collapsed.
Motionless.
Swordsmanship Proficiency +1
Looking at the bear, the corners of Rook’s mouth unconsciously curved upward.
A month ago, encountering a monster like this would have forced him into a desperate battle.
Even if he won, there was no chance he would have escaped without injuries.
One leap.
Two sword strikes.
Done.
“Mastering strength really is addictive.”
“Life is filled with choices.”
“But the strength I’ve painstakingly obtained with my own hands is the one thing that will never betray me.”
Rook walked forward.
He gathered his strength.
Four heavy sword strikes fell.
All four bear paws were severed cleanly at the joints.
Then Rook began processing the hide.
Bearskin was far tougher than the elk hides he had been using.
Growing stronger mattered.
But so did staying safe.
He skinned and cleaned the four bear paws, threaded them onto wooden stakes, and placed them beside the fire to roast.
Then he turned over the wolf meat, one side of which had already begun to char.
Afterward, Rook started turning the bear hide into another crude set of protective gear.
Time passed.
By noon—
Rook had dealt with another pack of wolves attracted by the smell of blood.
Swordsmanship Proficiency +12
For lunch, he ate roasted wolf meat sprinkled with some of the salt he had brought that morning.
Then he continued slowly roasting the bear paws over charcoal.
While Rook rested after eating, the shrill cries of vultures rang out from the nearby clearing.
The noise quickly began irritating him.
After he hurled his sword and skewered one from nearly a hundred paces away, the others suddenly became much quieter.
Time continued to pass.
Several more groups of predators gradually arrived, drawn by the blood.
Rook ambushed and killed them one after another.
Later, an enormous tiger nearly five meters long appeared.
That one took considerably more effort.
Its gigantic body gave it tremendous vitality.
Even more troublesome was the sheer power behind its movements.
It possessed several tons of force when charging.
A casual sweep of its tail could even shatter rock.
Rook was forced to slowly wear it down before finally killing it.
But after the giant tiger died—
No more large predators came.
Apparently, the beasts of the forest had figured something out.
There was a dirty bastard here baiting them with food.
Two full hours passed without another predator approaching.
Night fell.
The forest had become both silent and strangely noisy.
This clearing resembled a slaughterhouse.
Corpses of every size lay scattered everywhere.
The atmosphere itself seemed heavy.
The only sounds came from more than a dozen vultures quietly feeding on the remains.
Their calls were subdued.
Almost eerie.
Because the noisy ones had already become part of the rotting meat on the ground.
These vultures were already several generations of latecomers.
Perhaps the earlier birds had somehow passed down a lesson.
Eating was allowed.
Being annoying wasn’t.
The thick stench of blood saturated the air.
Even the wind couldn’t disperse it.
After resting for two hours, Rook’s stamina had completely recovered thanks to Self-Recovery.
The system panel appeared.
Swordsmanship — Proficient: 26 → 113/200
Hand-to-Hand Combat — Beginner: 5 → 9/100
Self-Recovery — Untrained: 1 → 2/10
Rook closed the panel.
The excitement in his eyes gradually settled.
He finished an entire bear paw, crisp on the outside and tender within.
Then he let out a satisfied burp.
Standing up, Rook stretched his body and looked toward the even darker depths of the mountain forest.
“It’s about time I went deeper.”
“There’s no point staying here forever.”
Sword in hand, Rook soon disappeared into the forest.
…
The moon shone brightly over the quiet mountains.
A musky stench drifted through the air.
Grunting noises came from somewhere nearby.
Following the sound, Rook discovered several fat wild boars in a patch of grass.
He adjusted his breathing.
Moved closer.
Then suddenly charged.
And while Rook was busy hunting boars in the mountains—
Back in the coastal port town—
At the top floor of a luxurious restaurant in the center of town, Norton and the first mate sat inside a private room.
Across from them sat a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, dressed in a purple suit and overcoat.
He was Morgan William, head of the Morgan Family, the largest criminal organization in town.
His influence extended across the underground world of several nearby islands.
After several rounds of drinks and plenty of food—
Thud! New chapters come out on g.com first.
Norton set his wineglass heavily onto the table.
His eyes narrowed.
His gaze hardened.
“Mr. Morgan, what exactly did you send someone to bring us here for?”
“Our businesses shouldn’t have anything to do with each other.”
Morgan held a gold-banded cigar between his lips.
He narrowed his eyes at the two men.
Then suddenly chuckled.
“Mr. Norton, are you aware that your current situation is extremely dangerous?”
“You’ve been slaughtering civilians without restraint.”
“Your bounty has risen dramatically.”
“Yet your strength doesn’t match the price now placed on your head.”
“On top of that, your ship is carrying a considerable amount of treasure.”
“Right now, countless hyenas throughout the waters of the East Blue are staring at your head.”
“The Marines.”
“Bounty hunters.”
“Your fellow pirates.”
“Even underground organizations like ours.”
“Right now…”
“You’ve made yourself an extremely tempting target.”
Norton’s gaze turned icy.
He immediately sneered.
“Then why don’t you try taking a bite?”
Morgan quickly raised both hands with a helpless expression.
“No, no, no.”
“I’m a businessman.”
“Fighting and killing is far too troublesome.”
“I invited you here because I wanted to offer you a profitable arrangement.”
“I certainly didn’t come looking for trouble.”
Hearing that, Norton fell silent.
The first mate beside him looked thoughtful.
Morgan simply waited.
Relaxed and comfortable, he slowly puffed on his fragrant cigar.
After a while—
Norton’s hoarse voice broke the silence.
“What do you want me to do?”
Morgan’s lips curved upward.
“Just as I said.”
“I’m a businessman.”
“The treasure aboard your ship must be rather difficult to liquidate, isn’t it?”
“You can exchange those valuables with us for Berries.”
“And in return, we can also provide you with timely intelligence.”
“For example…”
“If the Marines prepare an operation against you, we could inform you in advance of their sailing routes and personnel deployment.”
“As for the exchange rate…”
BANG!
Norton suddenly slammed his hand against the table and rose.
His expression was cold.
“My head is right here.”
“You think you can take my money for nothing?”
“Dream on.”
With that, Norton turned and walked straight out.
The first mate gave Morgan an apologetic expression.
He nodded politely toward him before quickly following Norton.
Morgan slowly exhaled a cloud of cigar smoke.
Then he chuckled.
“That first mate…”
“He seems considerably smarter than his captain.”
“Perhaps he can be brought over to our side.”
“As for the current captain…”
“Heh.”
Morgan clapped three times.
A muscular young man in ordinary clothing emerged from a partitioned side room.
He bowed respectfully.
“Father.”
“Darwin.”
“You heard our conversation just now.”
“The Norton Pirates are currently recruiting.”
“Take a group of our men and join them in separate batches.”
“Then have a conversation with that first mate.”
“Talk to him about…”
“A new captain.”
“And the Black Gloves.”
Darwin’s lips curved upward.
“Of course, Father.”
“There’s nothing I enjoy more than watching stupid pirates tear each other apart.”
Morgan helplessly rubbed between his eyebrows.
“Just remember to be careful.”
“Although I doubt those backwater pirates could hurt you in the slightest.”
Morgan watched as his eldest son—the son he was most proud of, who had only recently completed his training at a prestigious fighting school—left the room.
Then Morgan William slowly exhaled another cloud of smoke.
“This Great Pirate Era can’t be left entirely to a bunch of brainless pirates.”
He walked toward the window.
His gaze fell upon the pirate ships rising and falling with the waves along the coast.
His grin gradually widened almost to his ears.
“Pirates…”
“Nothing but trash.”