The pirates managed to reach the legendary pirate island by noon of the next day, which marked Eden's third day into this world, meaning he only had four left.
It might seem like a lot, but with the travel times between islands, those four days could pass quickly.
Eden had made good use of his time of travel, not only resting, but also working on his spells.
The first thing he had done after getting a proper amount of rest had been to create and master Dark Vision.
[Dark Vision (1st Circle): Grant the user Dark Vision for 1 hour, allowing them to see through darkness. Cost: 85 (25) MP.]
It had taken him less than an hour to create and master the spell to perfection, which was not only thanks to his foundation in black magic, but also his recent promotion to Tier I.
1st and 2nd Circle spells, which had once been moderately hard to comprehend, were now crystal clear to Eden, posing minimal difficulty in their learning.
As he started grasping the deeper concepts within the Necronomicon's Copy, he found that they were not so much geared towards damage, but rather debilitating enemies and raising the dead.
Eden started by mastering Evil Possession, which now required him only 25 MP to cast fully, or 50 MP silently. With the 25% reduction from the Tier I Perk, that was 19 and 38 MP.
He also still had the Evil Spirit of Alex, Morgan's head guard, attached to him.
He thought about upgrading the skill, but honestly did not feel the need to. A reason as to why Eden found such pride in it was that while it was only a 1st Circle Spell, it had no apparent ceiling.
Demon Claw, or even Strengthened Fireball, once mastered to their peak, would only deal a certain amount of damage. It could be somewhat boosted by equipment, perks, and skills, but so could all other spells. At some point, against certain opponents, it would become useless.
For Evil Possession, however, all it did was imbue an Evil Spirit into an object. The effect of the spell would be affected by the power of the Evil Spirit, which had nothing to do with the spell itself. Whether the Evil Spirit was caught using a 1st Circle Spell or a 9th Circle one did not matter for its strength.
According to what Eden had learned, the power of an Evil Spirit would depend on the power of its original spirit when it was alive, and the amount of negative emotions it felt at the time of death.
So, whether Evil Possession was a 1st Circle Spell or higher, the only thing that might change would be the time of effect, which hardly mattered since its main strength was the element of surprise.
Instead, Eden focused his studies on other aspects of black magic, or necromancy. Raising the dead did not interest him much, as he already had the Evil Servant spell from the Necronomicon, which he guessed was a 3rd Circle Spell, considering its effects and cost.
At best, Eden would be able to replicate it, which would be a waste of time.
Debilitating enemies was particularly relevant to Eden's current situation, and considering he might have to fight more large-scale battles, he focused on it. The necrotic energy released by the Skull was good, but Eden was sure he could make something better.
Indeed, he could.
"I cast Mists of the Underworld."
Twenty meters behind their moving ship, a dark current appeared above the sea as a large area was suddenly covered in still shadows. It was obvious from a glance that this was not a natural darkness.
The men on board, especially the hijacked crew, looked at the cloud with trepidation, understanding it was Eden who had created it.
Eden did not care about their glances as he looked at the description of his skill, satisfied.
[Mists of the Underworld (3rd Circle): Conjure a cloud of darkness with a radius of 5 meters that heavily obscures vision and lowers all attributes by 3 for those standing in it. Lasts for 1 minute. Cost: 350 MP.]
This was the most basic version of the spell, and it was already good. Moreover, it allowed Eden to learn a little more about the way magic could be cast.
As said before, Eden had been going at his spells the wrong way before, which had been caused by his Talent that made the normally harder parts trivial.
Now, though, Eden discovered that a hand sign and a verbal component could be used interchangeably. Using both would not result in any effects, but a spell could be fully cast with either of them, for example.
As for the spell itself, as expected, the cost had experienced a dramatic increase. Moreover, it would not be affected by the reduction from the Tier I perk. Of course, its cost would be lowered once Eden mastered it, but even as it was, it represented a strong tool for Eden.
This was because not only would Eden not be affected by the debuff of the cloud, but if used in conjunction with Dark Vision, the other spell he had learned, then the obscurity would not affect him either.
Overall, Eden was very satisfied with his new spell, and although he wished he could work on mastering it, they were nearing their destination by the time he finished recovering his MP.
Shipwreck Island was an unassuming island covered in vegetation, with high hills on all sides that made it seem impossible to reach, which had allowed it to remain unknown for many years.
To those in the know, however, there existed a small cave opening, called the Devil's Throat. Even if someone stumbled upon it accidentally, it would only look like a small cavity filled with jagged rocks, impossible to sail through.
And it almost was, as many of the ships that wandered into the tunnel, knowingly or not, would end up crashing into one of the jutting rock stalagmites.
Barbossa was at the helm, however, and while it was his first time here, he remained a great ship captain nonetheless, allowing them to pass through unharmed.
As they did, though, Eden's attention was mostly on the people hiding everywhere in the passage. From what little he had seen, there were several cannons aimed at them throughout the journey, turning Shipwreck into a truly impregnable fortress.
Only one ship at a time could pass through the tunnel, which by itself was hard enough, and they would get ambushed once inside as well. No matter how big an army was, it would be impossible to force its way through to the island.
The end of the passage revealed a large inlet into the island, Shipwreck Cove. There once was a volcano in its place, but it was long dead, allowing for the existence of Shipwreck City.
Shipwreck City was truly unique as it was not made of stone, but of hundreds of broken ships. With how hard it was to transport any kind of materials to the city, the pirates had instead used the carcasses of the countless ships that had failed to pass the Devil's Throat.
As a result, Shipwreck City was a truly chaotic city with hardly any semblance of order and proper architecture, and did not look like it should stand, yet it did.
The Cove was an inlet, meaning that while it was shielded by the mountains all around it, the top was not covered, allowing for sunlight to illuminate it.
As they docked their ship, Eden noticed quite a few unfriendly gazes and was sure there were many more he was not picking up on. No one liked the arrival of competition.
Drakon approached Eden, saying discreetly, "They normally wouldn't attack, but you should still be careful. They might attack you if they recognize you."
Eden nodded, knowing this was a possibility. Although his status was shielded from others by his Talent, they could still recognize him physically.
His bounty back in Dreamland had an image of him associated with it. Moreover, he had been seen missing an arm, and the information was bound to spread.
Although information channels in this world were scarce and slow, Eden was sure Players had some items or skills that allowed them to communicate. In Dreamland, Players could communicate with their friends through the System, something that was disabled in this world, but maybe Guildmates could do so even in mission worlds.
In any case, the Players who saw him were cautious enough not to attack him on sight, which was a good sign, and that allowed Eden to safely pass.
Shipwreck City was a maze of a location, with seemingly no sense of order to its layout. The broken ships were not the easiest terrain to traverse either, especially with a single eye that skewed perspective.
Eden managed to rely on his superior Agility to safely arrive at their destination, along with Barbossa and Drakon, Ragetti and Pintel having been ordered to stay behind with the ship they had hijacked and ensure it was not stolen away.
The two might look incompetent… and might be, but the crew did not know that.
"What's yer business here, cripple?"
The section of Shipwreck City they had arrived at was noticeably better than the rest, with larger ships that had been placed symmetrically to form a large circular room. A group of guards was also guarding the entrance.
This was not just the lair of any pirate, after all.
Eden looked at the group of four pirates with a lazy glance when Drakon stepped forward and said, "Please, we need to see Don Rafael; we have urgent intel on the Rogue Pirates."
The four looked at each other before stepping aside, though not without a warning, "We're watching ye."
Drakon nodded respectfully and led the way as they stepped into the make-shift room.
In there, an older gentleman was sitting by a table, calmly reading a large book. He had a look of elegance to him, one which the sword at his side somehow did not affect.
Beside him was a younger woman, one who was in her late twenties, who was casually lounging on a soft, clean mattress. They were both dressed in fancy clothes, with the man looking like a nobleman, and the woman was in a dark purple dress with red undertones.
[Rafael de Sevilla]
[Title: Don, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean]
[HP: ?/?]
[MP:
150/150]
[Strength: ?]
[Agility: ?]
[Physique: ?]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Wisdom: 13]
This was Don Rafael, one of the nine Pirate Lords of the seas. And not just any one of them, as he held the Title Jack Sparrow himself would one day yield.
[Esmeralda Maria Consuela Anna de Sevilla]
[Title: Lady of Sevilla]
[HP: 160/160]
[MP: 0/0]
[Strength: 16]
[Agility: 17]
[Physique: 16]
[Intelligence: Locked]
[Wisdom: Locked]
And this was Lady Esmeralda, Don Rafael's granddaughter.
Drakon took the lead, his stance respectful as he slightly bowed, but as he was about to introduce himself, Don Rafael whipped up his head with a sudden gesture unbecoming of his old age, and glared at Eden directly.
"Evil necromancer, how dare you stand before me!"
He spoke in Spanish, but Eden understood him all the same. At the same time, Lady Esmeralda looked up in alarm, and Eden felt a sudden sense of danger as the Pirate Lord burst out from his seat, sending the table he was sitting by flying as he unsheathed his sword and stabbed at Eden with one fluid motion.