Black Shark Pirates!

The agony was excruciating, as if the serrated edges of a saw were methodically slicing through every nerve fiber within his body.

Leon's consciousness staggered out of the murky depths of confusion. His eyelids remained shut, but the cacophony around him clawed at his senses.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"Open your eyes, newbie, this is your initiation into the [Blood Shark]!"

"If you don't do it, we'll toss you to the black sharks! Oh, I'd relish watching that, as they rip you to pieces."

Amid the chaos, a mix of screams, threats, and sinister laughter swirled around a feeble plea.

"Please... have mercy... spare me..."

"Murdering me will gain you nothing... it will only summon relentless hunters of the navy..."

"Grant me my life, and by the oath of god... I promise you riches beyond your wildest dreams..."

With great effort, Leon forced his eyes open, his vision clouding before focusing on the bloodied and tear-streaked face of a young man before him.

The young man's attire, once surely lavish, was now a tattered canvas smeared with grime, footprints, and dark, ominous blood stains perforating the fabric.

In that moment, Leon found himself gripping a brass flintlock pistol, its barrel aimed directly at the young man's forehead.

A mere twitch of his finger could end a life, could extinguish the light in the young man's eyes forever.

The gravity of his situation bore down on Leon.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?

These fundamental questions about existence flickered through his mind.

Yet, before Leon could grasp his bearings, his finger twitched against the cold metal trigger.

"Bang!"

The harsh scent of gunpowder assaulted his nostrils as a crimson hole blossomed on the young man's forehead, cutting short his pleas in a silent, dreadful finality.

The look of utter betrayal etched into the young man's face as life fled his eyes seared itself into Leo's memory.

"Bravo! Nicely done boy!"

"Boy, you want to be a pirate, you want to join the [Blood Shark], and you've made your mark!"

"It's a shame, though. I was quite looking forward to the black sharks having their feast, tut."

The noise continued to envelop him, but for Leon, all sounds faded into a distant, muffled echo, drowned out by the overwhelming roar of his own racing heartbeat.

His fingers quivered as they gripped the cold, harsh metal of the flintlock pistol.

This was Leon's first time taking a life, an act coerced rather than chosen.

The reality of his situation was undeniable. The intricate engraving on the pistol's trigger under his fingertips, the acrid smell of blood that threatened to make him retch, and the moist, salty tang of the sea breeze, these sensations were far too vivid to be mere figments of a dream.

As Leon's vision cleared, he noticed peculiar gray text materializing beside the corpse of a young man.

[Baron's Body: A noble from the Augustan Kingdom of the Violet lineage. Met his demise from a flintlock shot to the head aboard the pirate vessel 'Blood Shark'. The brass bullet lodged in his brow pulsates with an unfamiliar energy. Under the [Golden Rule], any "sea pirate" who harms nobility will attract the Royal Navy's retribution. Be Warned: You are now marked!]

[The bloody mark will persist for one week and will automatically dissolve thereafter!]

[An ethereal bond has formed... Siphoning... Absorption complete!]

What was this?

The appearance of the gray text left Leon stunned.

The Augustan Kingdom...spirituality...[the Golden Rule]...and, the bloody mark! His mind reeled as he felt a sudden pulse within his consciousness. His vision then contracted abruptly, focusing inward toward a small, shattered sculpture resembling a ship, nestled deep within him, cloaked in shadows.

Moments later, another panel appeared before him, framed by intricate, majestic designs that seemed to depict a ship.

[Unnamed Ship Sculpture]

[Level]: Severely Damaged (Restoration Rate: 1%) - Slowly regenerates by absorbing spiritual power, which can also enhance its capabilities.

[Function]: Attachment Level 1, Shelter Level 1, Travel Level 1

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[Attachment Level 1]: Allows selection of an unclaimed object to serve as the ship's host. Upon attachment, the navigation attributes specific to the host can be accessed and expanded. Only one host change is permitted per day. (Current skill level limits attachment to objects no larger than one hundred cubic meters.)

[Shelter Level 1]: Generates a protective barrier that lasts for one minute; can be used once before requiring a 24-hour recharge period.

[Travel Level 1]: Inactive, requires prior activation of [Attachment] and acquisition of a designated ship to enable this feature.

  ————

As Leo peered into the depths of his consciousness at the fractured black ship sculpture, a wave of bewilderment washed over him.

The artifact was hauntingly familiar.

Not long ago, he had exploited this glitch-ridden device to wreak havoc in an virtual reality game.

He would use the [Attachment] and [Shelter] powers effectively within the game, yet the [Travel] function remained a mystery to him yet to be explored.

Recalling his last gaming session, he had been at the helm of a colossal vessel, the size of a small island, dominating unfortunate adversaries with glee, when suddenly everything faded to black. When his sight returned, it was to the scene presently before him.

"Hey, lad, gather your 'trophies' and come with me to the deep sea's denizens. It's a time-honored initiation for every greenhorn here," boomed a gruff voice.

Turning, Leon saw the speaker: a burly pirate with a bushy beard, his formidable physique setting him apart from his fellows.

"Trophies?" The word echoed ominously as it passed the bearded pirate's lips, mingling with a sinister tone. Leon's mind raced, piecing together the grim picture, the "trophies" were none other than the lifeless body of the young nobleman he had just encountered.

Yet before Leon could process the horror fully, chaos erupted.

"Boom!" The night was shattered by a deafening explosion. Flames engulfed the air, tearing through the ship's hull with ruthless fury. The bearded pirate was engulfed in a fierce inferno, his figure etched sharply against the fiery backdrop in Leon's vision.

The shockwave that followed was monstrous, sweeping across the "Blood Shark" with unstoppable force. From afar, the once formidable ship now resembled a fragile toy tossed mercilessly in a storm, breaking apart and succumbing to a fiery grave in the ocean's depths.

As the ship's massive frame began to sink, the cries of its doomed crew faded into the watery abyss.

A solitary seagull, a few sea miles distant, witnessed the catastrophe. It dove toward the waves, its body soaking in the sea spray, gradually becoming as heavy as stone and plummeting into the ocean's endless depths.

Everything seemed destined to vanish in the wake of the colossal explosion.

Unexpectedly, amidst the wreckage slowly disappearing into the sea's dark clutches, a figure encased in a pale white sphere of light remained unscathed. The tumultuous sea churned around him, blocked by what Leo recognized as the "secondary shield." Burnt debris and remnants of human lives floated ominously nearby. Leon's face drained of color. Had he not activated the "Asylum" from the " lShip Sculpture" at that critical moment, he too would have perished with his pirate brethren.

Yet, his peril was far from over.

The "secondary shield" would only offer protection for a fleeting minute. As it flickered out, the vast, merciless sea awaited him.

Without any protection in the boundless waters, even the most adept swimmer would eventually succumb to the sea's embrace.

As the final seconds of safety dissolved, Leon acted swiftly. He clung to a charred piece of hull, and with a resolute whisper, affirmed his will to survive: "Attachment!"