Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen jotted down several reference numbers and handed six gold coins to the waiting attendant.

The attendant quickly returned with a thick stack of freshly printed papers smelling of ink. After placing the papers in front of Rosen, the attendant quietly left.

Rosen sifted through the papers in numerical order, quickly gaining a basic understanding of the information he sought.

Blackstone Port attracted a large number of pirates, not only for profit but also since the Blazing Shadow Duchy itself was founded by pirates. This group of pirates had shown remarkable foresight, pledging their allegiance early on when the World Government was established, thereby successfully legitimizing themselves.

Although pirate culture still lingered, the fact that pirates roamed unchecked was, in fact, an order from the World Government.

The reason was tied to high tariffs between nations, which led to an overwhelming number of smuggling ships. Pirates, generally not foolish enough to attack law-abiding, tax-paying merchants, primarily targeted these smugglers evading taxes.

In addition to economic reasons, piracy thrived because the World Government required the Pirate Sequence, a branch of the Knight Sequence.

Pirates' "mounts" were their ships, and powerful pirate sequences had exceptional survival abilities at sea. All pirates who reached Sequence 6 would be awarded a noble title and a privateering license from the World Government, after which they, along with their ships, would be dispatched to the outermost seas bordering human territories.

Although the Blazing Shadow Duchy was not located in a border sea, it had once been ruled by non-human races.

A group of pirates had eventually conquered the massive island where the Crimson Shadow Principality now lay, annihilating the Gray Rats that once inhabited it. For their efforts in expanding human territory and pledging allegiance to the World Government, the pirates successfully established a nation. However, the principality had been in decline ever since.

This was abnormal, especially under the unified World Government, where human civilization generally thrived.

In most cases, nations only declined due to war or natural disasters.

Since the Blazing Shadow Duchy faced neither war nor disaster, many suspected it was due to a man-made curse. Some believed the Gray Rats, before their extinction at the hands of the nearby pirate alliance, had laid a curse on the island's inhabitants.

This curse was said to be responsible for the decreasing number of high-ranking sequences on the island. If not for the strength of the noble sequences, the Blazing Shadow Duchy would have collapsed long ago.

Now, if Rosen wanted to learn the advanced skills of the Hunter Sequence, his best option wasn't to attend the official academy of the Blazing Shadow Duchy. Instead, he should board a pirate ship and explore one of the many unclaimed spiritual realms scattered across the sea—some of which were rumored to contain skill crystals for the Hunter Sequence.

"Should I go to the inland academy or venture out to sea?" Rosen deliberated.

The academy route was safer but would require vast wealth, and money was indispensable there.

Additionally, the academy wouldn't provide skill crystals easily. He would have to learn each skill from scratch, making it the best option if he wanted to develop the Painter Sequence.

However, for the Hunter Sequence, venturing out to sea and joining a pirate crew to explore unclaimed spiritual realms was the better choice.

After weighing his options, Rosen made up his mind—he would set sail.

While the Painter Sequence had far more potential than the Hunter Sequence, below Sequence 6, painters were still in a phase of accumulation. When it came to combat strength, the Hunter Sequence had a clear advantage. Furthermore, developing the Painter Sequence required considerable resources.

Without a family or inheritance to back him up, his best course of action was to focus on enhancing his Hunter Sequence first. With that, he could earn enough money to sustain his Painter Sequence.

Once the Painter Sequence reached Sequence 6, and he could create spiritual realms, that would be when painters truly came into their own.

"Out to sea…" Rosen resolved, his heart filled with anticipation.

In his previous life, Rosen had lived in the northwestern inland region. He had never seen the ocean, not even a large lake—his only experience with them was through television. Now, he had a chance to go on an ocean adventure. It was thrilling, and as a lone wolf, he could consider anywhere he went his home.

Having decided to embark on a sea voyage, choosing the right ship was crucial.

Most of the spiritual realms controlled by the Blazing Shadow Duchy were in the hands of the nobility. While some were open to common extraordinary individuals, the entrance fees were prohibitively expensive.

As a result, the unclaimed and unexplored spiritual realms scattered across the sea became the preferred choice for many. Most pirate ships doubled as transports, ferrying passengers to and from these spiritual realms for a price.

However, the spiritual realms left in the open sea were not without reason—most were either too dangerous to fully explore or impossible to relocate. Many pirate ships sought outsiders to explore these realms precisely because of their hazards.

Choosing the wrong pirate ship could mean more than just risking life and limb inside the spiritual realm. Survivors might even be robbed and silenced by their own crew.

Rosen summoned the attendant again and bought a fresh batch of information on pirate ships and spiritual realms.

Pirate ships relied on business, so these kinds of details weren't exactly a well-kept secret and had little value in terms of confidentiality.

After some study, Rosen found that the coordinates of most spiritual realms were public knowledge. These realms had already been largely explored, offering limited danger but also limited rewards. Tickets for such voyages were cheap, and the likelihood of being robbed by the crew was nearly nonexistent.

Most newcomers to the extraordinary world grew slowly in these spiritual realms.

Even so, many of these explorers barely covered their costs with the meager gains they made. Often, they were left with no choice but to join pirate crews or work for noble families or merchant guilds.

This made it clear that most pirate ships were indirectly backed by the nobility.

It made sense—pirate captains were part of the Knight Sequence and used their ships as their "mounts." The strength of a pirate captain depended on their ship, and since pirate captains had limited means of upgrading their ships, they often relied on Scientist Sequence and Wizard Sequence nobles to help enhance them.

Behind every pirate ship worth its salt, there was likely a noble supporting it.

Beyond the publicly known realms, there were also hidden spiritual realms controlled by various factions.

These realms were the lifeblood of many pirate crews, a treasure trove where high ticket prices were charged for exploration. However, such realms were also perilous and hard to access. If they weren't, the pirates themselves would have fully exploited them long ago.

The trustworthiness of these pirate ships could never be fully gauged.

While some passengers returned safely, others never made it back, with the official explanation being that the realm was simply too dangerous. Whether they died in the spiritual realm or were killed and robbed by their crew was anyone's guess.

Often, after an entire crew was wiped out, the pirate ship would significantly lower its ticket prices for the next voyage.

There would always be risk-takers or opportunists willing to board, even if it meant betting their lives on it.

If not for the Mysterious Study Room, Rosen wouldn't even have considered boarding such a ship.

But with the Secretary Room as a backup, he chose the high-risk, high-reward unexplored spiritual realms. After careful consideration, he finally settled on the Black Shark, a pirate ship docked in Blackstone Port.

Before purchasing his ticket, however, Rosen knew he had some necessary supplies to buy in Blackstone.

(End of Chapter)