Dawn, who was previously Rank II in both Melee and Ship Management, had managed to awaken another skill in Melee.

- Wound Prediction (Lv.1) → Grants the ability to predict the damage that incoming strikes would do to you.

Her progression through the Rookie rank was at 11%.

---

Kruger, who was previously Rank II in Ranged Combat, felt as though he was close to breaking through to Rank III.

He did not awaken any new skills in this area. However, his Piercing Shot had awakened to the second level.

- Piercing Shot (Lv.2) → Moderately increases shot penetration.

His progression through Rookie was now at 19%.

---

Petyr, who was previously Rank II in Melee, had now reached Rank II in Deck Agility as well. This granted him a skill.

- Against Odds (Lv.1) → When facing more than one foe alone on a ship’s deck, your movement speed and strength is slightly increased.

He was also given another Melee skill.

---

Shadow Thrust (Lv.1) → After a missed sword thrust, your shadow can follow up with another weaker thrust. If the thrust hits the enemy’s shadow, the damage is dealt to their physical body.

His progress through the Rookie rank was now 20%.

---

Pip, who was Rank II in Deck Agility, awakened a single new skill in that category.

- Painless Stride (Lv.1) → Minor wounds do not affect movement speed and can be ignored.

Her progress through the Rookie rank was 4%.

--- 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Adriana, who was Rank II in Ranged Combat, did not awaken a new skill, but her previous skill, Double Shot, had now been upgraded.

- Double Shot (Lv.2) → Fires an additional air bullet alongside every gunshot. The extra projectile consumes no ammunition and is equally as strong as the real gunshot.

She would have liked it to progress to Triple Shot, but instead, it made it so that the air bullet was no longer weaker than the real shot.

Her Rookie rank progression was at 10%.

---

Jackson, whose Deck Agility was at Rank II, had now reached Rank II in Melee due to fighting alongside Dawn on the bridge.

He awakened a single skill in this category.

- Heavy Hands (Lv.1) → Unarmed strikes have slightly increased force behind them.

His Rookie rank progression was at 9%.

---

Lavender, who was currently suffering from the loss of her sister, had yet to awaken.

The same could have been said for Silius.

The navigator, who wore glasses and had a stylish head of black hair, brooded in his thoughts as he listened to the stories of the others.

He was currently looking at his compass as he continued giving directions to Dawn, who steered the ship.

As he looked at the compass, he only gave directions to ensure that they remained on track, constantly heading deeper into the Eight Oceans whilst avoiding the patrol paths that he was aware of.

However, as he was looking at the compass, he suddenly noticed something.

Despite the ship continuing along the same path, travelling in a straight line, the compass started shifting.

The standard compasses of the world behaved normally, with a single needle pointing toward the directions north, east, south, and west. However, a Navy Compass, also known as a Dual Compass, which Silius had purchased through illegal organisations, had a blue needle showing the direction that would take you toward the centre of the ocean.

This was called the Directional Needle, and the Inward Needle.

However, Silius noticed that a new needle had started to form. This was a black needle with red cracks running through it, and it was moving in a manner completely different from the other two.

At the same time, Silius the Navigator realised that he too had finally awakened.

From the smile on his face, Captain Roseus knew that the man had done it.

He asked to be filled in on the details.

Silius remained silent for a few moments, clearly focusing on the information that was being given to him.

At that moment, his face sank. The smile was wiped from it immediately.

Roseus and the other crew members, who were already disheartened, looked at Silius with wide eyes.

What bad news were they about to receive?

The navigator adjusted his glasses.

"I have awakened and reached Rank II in Navigation. I’ve awakened a skill named Needle Of Ruin. It creates a new line on any compass held by its user, showing the direction toward the nearest significant danger."

Roseus’s prediction was right. It was a powerful skill for sure, but from the look on Silius’s face, there was still more that he wanted to say.

The navigator swallowed before continuing.

"The compass isn’t pointing behind us, toward the pursuing navy ship. It’s pointing straight ahead."

There it was...

Just after facing the most difficult fight of their lives and losing two crew members in the process, they now knew that if they continued heading straight, they would face something even greater.

Roseus sat down and rested his chin in his palm.

He had to think things through carefully.