Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

”Madam Vivian!!”

His voice cut clearly through the rain and distant thunder.

”I actually have a light-related skill!!”

Grace stood beside Jake, rain dripping from her golden hair, her expression firm despite the worry still lingering in her eyes.

Jake kept his hand raised high under the pouring rain, his voice still carrying that steady confidence as he looked up toward Vivian and Garrick.

Outwardly, he looked completely composed.

But inside—

’...Am I scared?’

If anyone asked him that question right now, the answer would be immediate and honest.

Fuck yes, he was scared!

Right now his heart was pounding hard against his ribs.

The black sea below looked endless and hostile under the storm.

The smiling masks of the Drowned Stalkers swayed silently in front the ship, and somewhere beneath that dark water... their true bodies were waiting.

He didn’t know how deep they were.

He didn’t know how many there were.

And he had no idea if his Light Manifestation would even be enough once he went under.

He was just a young man in his twenties.

He didn’t have any hardcore background.

No years of battlefield experience, no legendary training, no special bloodline that made him destined for this kind of fight.

Not to mention not long ago, he had still been living an ordinary life... before everything changed.

And yet...

...He still knew one truth.

It was that someone had to do it.

If no one dove into that black water, the Drowned Stalkers would keep rising.

Then the ship would eventually be overwhelmed.

And Grace, Vivian, Garrick, Barbara, the crew... everyone would die.

So even if his heart was pounding with fear, even if every instinct screamed at him that diving into that dark sea was insane...

He still chose to step forward.

Jake let out a quiet breath under the rain and looked up again toward the upper deck, his expression calm once more.

”I can use light,” he repeated, voice steady.

”So I’ll go.”

Up on the higher deck, Barbara’s eyes narrowed slightly as she listened to Jake’s declaration.

A faint look of confusion crossed her usually composed aged face.

She had already used her appraisal on him before.

At the time, she had seen his Aura Warrior class and a few ordinary skills... but nothing related to light.

’Could it be a skill I haven’t seen before...?’

Barbara’s thoughts turned quickly under the pouring rain.

Thunder rumbled again across the dark sky.

Vivian remained silent for a short moment, rain continuing to pour down her face as she stared at Jake from the upper deck.

”Jake.”

”Are you sure?”

Her tone was firm, cutting through the storm.

Jake looked up at her without hesitation.

Water streamed down his face and soaked through his clothes, but his expression remained calm and steady.

”Yes,” he answered. ”I’m sure.”

Grace stood beside him in silence, her golden eyes locked on his profile.

She no longer tried to stop him with words.

She simply stayed close, ready to support him with everything she had.

Vivian stared down at Jake for a moment longer under the pouring rain.

Then she gave a serious nod.

Her voice was steady and clear despite the storm.

”Alright. If you’re willing to go... then I’ll trust you on this.”

She straightened her posture slightly, rain streaming down her face as she continued in a firm tone.

”Thank you, Jake... Truly.”

There was no exaggeration in her words... only the weight of a leader acknowledging someone who had stepped forward when no one else would.

”Once this is over, I’ll make sure you’re properly rewarded. Whatever resources or support you need after this battle... you’ll have it.”

Her gaze remained locked on him.

”And while you’re down there, we’ll do everything we can to support you from the surface. We’ll keep the necks busy and cover you as much as possible.”

Jake gave a small nod in return.

”Understood.”

Grace’s fingers tightened slightly at her sides, but she remained silent beside him, golden eyes filled with quiet resolve.

With that decided.

Now, all that remained was the black sea waiting below.

Above them, Garrick adjusted his grip on his long sword.

Then, without hesitation, he leapt down from the upper deck.

His boots landed heavily on the damaged lower deck with a dull thud, sending a small splash of rainwater outward.

Blue aura faintly flickered around his body as he straightened up and walked closer to Jake under the pouring rain.

He looked at Jake directly.

”Then... do you know how to breathe underwater with your aura yet?”

At those words, Jake blinked in surprise.

”...You can do that?”

The question came out more openly than he intended.

He had never heard of such a technique before.

...In his original plan, he had simply intended to hold his breath.

After everything he had gone through, he was no longer a normal human.

His body had grown stronger, and his endurance higher.

He felt confident that he could hold his breath for a surprisingly long time if needed.

But breathing underwater using aura...?

That was something else entirely.

Garrick studied him for a moment under the rain, as if confirming what he had already suspected from Jake’s reaction.

Then a faint, strange smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

”Don’t tell me... you were planning to just hold your breath or something?”

”...”

Jake stayed silent with a strange smile.

Garrick let out a short, humorless laugh and shook his head.

”Haha, I hope not. That would be suicide.”

”There’s always a limit to how long a body can go without breathing... even if you’ve grown stronger. Once you’re down there fighting, your body burns through oxygen much faster.”

”And as a land species, we naturally need air. The moment you start running out of it, your instincts will take over and panic will set in. Not only will you lose your focus, but your judgment and thinking will also become sluggish. At that point... you’re basically dead.”

He tapped two fingers lightly against his own chest.

”That’s why Aura Breathing exists. You circulate your aura throughout your body to temporarily replace the need for air. It’s not perfect, and it still drains your energy... but it keeps your body from panicking.”

”This technique is also the only reason anyone can fight underwater for an extended period of time in these seas.”