After going into the sea, I met the witch.

A deep blue spiritual radiance rippled outwards, and Ryan felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, feeling warm and comfortable all over.

After an unknown amount of time, when the warm current subsided, he found that the tingling and itching sensation in his abdomen had disappeared. When he removed the bandage, he saw that the skin at the wound was smooth and flat, and the outline of his abdominal muscles was clearly visible, with no signs of injury whatsoever.

"Come on, come out with me."

While Ryan was still in shock, Freyne's clear voice came from ahead. She walked gracefully towards the hatch.

"Is this the power of a first-tier [Scholar]? No, that's not right. Judging from the profession name, it clearly doesn't match. In other words, this is the power of a 'Witch'?"

Ryan's mind was in turmoil, but he still followed after him.

Stepping out of the cabin, the view suddenly opened up, and Ryan immediately looked towards the location of the "black mist hemisphere" that had previously trapped Freyne and Cecilia. He found that there was no black mist there anymore, only a huge mountain of flesh kneeling on the ground. That was the dead captain of the [Skull], "Wall of Flesh" Salem.

Around Salem, a large group of pirates knelt down, all of them from the Skull Ship.

Deep blue threads crawled across the entire deck and spread up the pirates' bodies, forming a curse mark between their eyebrows.

Around the deck, there were five or six trembling pirates from the Black Rose.

They were lucky; they were positioned towards the back when the battle began, and as soon as they sensed danger, they immediately hid in the lower compartments, thus narrowly escaping death.

At the very front of these people stood Cecilia, a female knight with an icy expression.

Chapter 20 Path of Professions: Pirates and Night Watchers

As Freya appeared on the deck, all the pirates trembled, and even the pirates of the Black Rose standing at the edge of the deck instinctively knelt down.

Without further ado, Freya said directly, "From today onwards, you are the crew of the Black Rose, and I am your captain."

"Anyone who disobeys orders will be killed!"

Upon hearing this, the pirates of the Skull hurriedly kowtowed, shouting "Captain!"

There are certainly men of principle among pirates, but these men in front of us are clearly not.

Their former leader, "Mountain of Flesh" Salem's corpse was not far away. Faced with Freyne's overwhelming power, how could they dare to disobey?

Soon, under the command of Freyne and Cecilia, the other pirates on the Skull also "abandoned the darkness and joined the light," becoming members of the Black Rose.

The superior-performing "Skull" was officially renamed "Black Rose".

Ryan stood on the deck and watched the whole thing.

Among a large group of pirates with deep blue curse marks on their foreheads, Ryan, with his spotless forehead, was undoubtedly a standout.

Yet, not a single pirate dared to complain.

The pirates of the original Skull all saw it: their former first mate, Audis Lusen, whose fighting prowess was second only to "Wall of Flesh" Salem, went into this "pretty boy's" room and was thrown out as a headless corpse.

These seasoned pirates could immediately tell that Audis Lusen had died from a decapitation wound, a wound clearly inflicted by a sharp blade.

In other words, this seemingly "weak" noble youth possesses the strength to kill Audis Lusen.

In the world of pirates, the strong always reign supreme.

Only by demonstrating your strength can you earn the respect and awe of other pirates.

It was an hour later when everything was finally set up.

Two pirate ships were sailing one after the other on the sea.

At this moment, inside the captain's cabin of the [Skull], no, it should now be called the [Black Rose].

Frey sat in the armchair, her brows slightly furrowed, and reached out to rub her temples.

Seeing this, Cecilia couldn't help but ask with concern, "Lady Freyne, you..."

Before Cecilia could speak, Freya shook her head: "I'm fine, I just used too much 'magic', I'll be fine after a rest."

Cecilia pursed her lips and remained silent, but the worry in her eyes grew even stronger.

"By the way, I heard from the former pirates of the Skull that the pirate killed by Ryan was their first mate. Although he wasn't a professional, he met all the requirements for becoming a professional, and all he needed was a suitable potion."

"Our navigator seems to be quite capable."

“What do you mean?” Cecilia replied.

After kneading for a while, Freya, her face relaxed again, smiled slightly: "Cecilia, don't you think that the two of us alone are too weak?"

“These ordinary pirates who rely on cursed seals to control the enemy will never amount to anything. We need to cultivate our own core group.”

"His identity as the Blood Son has destined Ryan to stand completely opposite to the Kingdom of Augustus, leaving no room for reconciliation. His strength has already been proven in this battle, and he also possesses nautical knowledge that we lack. As for his character..."

“Youyue told me that he meant us no harm.”

Cecilia's eyes flashed.

“Go and invite our navigator in,” Freyne said softly.

“…Yes.” Cecilia nodded, turned and left, the chainmail clashing against the scabbard of the rapier at her waist, making a slight metallic scraping sound.

Only after the captain's cabin door closed again did Freyne lower her head, her brows furrowed.

A fleeting glimpse of black threads crossed her icy blue eyes.

On the deck outside the captain's cabin, Cecilia closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and opened them again: "Lady Freyne, no matter what, I will protect you."

……

A few minutes later, Ryan followed Cecilia somewhat nervously into the new captain's cabin.

"boom."

The closing of the hatch behind him made Ryan's heart skip a beat.

Looking at the "witch" lady sitting in the armchair with a smile on her face, Ryan quickly bowed and said, "Captain, may I ask what brings you here?"

“It is indeed something very important.” Frey placed her fair, jade-like hands on the table and looked earnestly at the young man in front of her: “Mr. Ryan, I am a person who is straightforward in my words and deeds.”

"I'll just say it."

Would you like to join us?

Ryan was slightly taken aback.

Previously, Freya had invited him to serve as the navigator of the Black Rose, and he had accepted. Now, she was inviting him again…

After a moment's thought, Ryan understood what she meant—Frenee wanted him to become her true "team member".

Seeing Ryan's stunned expression, Freya smiled faintly: "I greatly admire your strength and knowledge, and naturally I would not invite you to join me for nothing. Please take a look at this."

With a wave of her hand, the ring on her finger flashed, and in the next moment, two medicine bottles radiating spiritual light appeared on the table.

"These are Tier 1 potions from the Pirate and Night Watch paths. After consuming them, one can become a true professional."

"Of course, there are some prerequisites before taking it."

"If you are willing to join us, you can choose one of these two potions. In addition, I can help you with the hidden knowledge, secret techniques and even your subsequent career advancement."

Ryan stared blankly at the two bottles of potions on the table.

Without Freya's introduction, a gray-text notification appeared before his eyes.

[Pirate Potion: The core potion for advancing to the first tier [Pirate]. Consuming it grants the "Path of the Pirate - First Tier" title. Prerequisites: Physical Fitness of 1.5 (Note: 1 is the average for an adult male), a certain weapon skill at "Mastery," and Navigation (Beginner). Forcibly consuming it without meeting these prerequisites will result in unpredictable and severe consequences.]

[Night Watch Potion: The core potion for advancing to the first tier of [Night Watcher]. Consuming it grants the "Path Profession - Night Watcher (Tier 1)". Prerequisites: Physical Fitness must reach 1.5 (Note: 1 is the average for an adult male), and the potion must be consumed within two hours of the Night Prayer Ritual (performing a solo monster hunt on a full moon night). Forcibly consuming the potion without meeting the prerequisites will result in unpredictable and severe consequences.]

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(It's the end of the month, dear readers, please vote for me!)

Chapter 21 The Golden Tree and the Golden Rule

Looking at the descriptions of the two potions in gray font, Ryan admitted that he was tempted.

He has been searching for a way to obtain a "Taoist profession".

Possessing the [Nameless Ship Carving], the strength of his main body and his traveling clones influence each other.

A small portion of the physical improvement brought about by the upgrade of the wandering clone will be fed back to the main body. Similarly, the improvement of the main body's strength can also be fed back to the wandering clone.

So far, upgrading the traveler's identity only improves physical attributes. However, if the main body could possess a "path profession," then the traveler's clone would gain "profession" abilities on top of its existing physical attributes, which would undoubtedly be a huge boost to the traveler's clone's combat power.

Ryan hadn't forgotten that to awaken the "Azure Medal," he needed to defeat a "Special Species" on his own.

But recalling the enormous size of the "Dragon Crab," which was comparable to a small house... Ryan simply couldn't imagine how powerful pure physical strength would be to defeat such a terrifying monster.

His original plan was to clear out all the low-level monsters in the outer area of ​​the island, raise the level of his wandering clone as much as possible, and then challenge the "Dragon Head Crab".

Even so, he felt the chances of winning were slim.

However, if you can obtain a "Path of the Dao" profession, the success rate of the raid will be greatly increased!

"call……"

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Ryan forced himself to calm down.

He looked up and met those smiling, icy blue eyes that were gazing at him.

"At your service, Lady Freyne."

Ryan knelt on one knee and bowed with his hand on his chest.

The subtle change in address, from "Captain" to "Lady Freyne," made the smile on the girl's face instantly more genuine.

"It is an honor to have you on the team, Mr. Ryan."

Freyne smiled and asked, "So, which potion would you like to choose?"

"Can't you have both?" Ryan asked curiously.

“Of course not.” Freyne chuckled. “Everyone has their own spirituality, but before becoming a professional, the spirituality is too weak to manifest. Only by drinking the potion, sublimating the spirituality, connecting with the Golden Law, and leaving one’s own mark in the vast sea of ​​spirituality can the spirituality transcend the world.”

“And spirituality is the fundamental reason why professionals are superior to ordinary people.”

“I see.” Ryan nodded in understanding, then asked, “Lady Freyne, I don’t understand the pathways that these two potions represent. Which one do you think is more suitable for me? And what is the Golden Rule?”

Having finally had the chance to learn about the mysteries of this world, Ryan couldn't wait to throw out all his questions.

Frey shook her head slightly: "It seems your family really didn't tell you anything... Never mind, let me tell you again."

"Everything needs to start with the Golden Rule."

"The world has gone through so much in its journey from barbarism to civilization. Based on various historical records and remnants of relics, people have divided the world's progress into four periods: the Primordial Era, the Prehistoric Era, the Era of Gods, and the Golden Era."