Roseus blinked a few times, expecting the hallucination to fade away and his father to disappear from his sight.

It never happened.

The man stood there, looking exactly the same as he had on the day he first departed for the seas ten years ago.

He was dressed in a thick black trench coat lined with golden edges, followed by black baggy pants and heavy boots. On top of his head was the captain’s hat with the symbol of a skull and bones on its face.

Like his own hair, his father’s was red. However, Redeye’s was short, whilst Roseus left his long and flowing. Redeye was a handsome man, still with youth on his face, and he carried the air of a captain with him.

The man stood there, looking down at his son with a smile on his face, but saying nothing.

Roseus’s eyes were wide. He had to step closer.

As he did, he knew that it was not his father. The man’s body seemed illusory, as if, if he tried to touch him, his hand would phase right through his body.

"Dad..." Roseus spoke, his voice carried by the wind.

Captain Redeye’s smile grew wider once he heard his son’s voice. It was a smile that suggested he had finally completed what he had set out to do.

The illusion opened its mouth and spoke.

"Conquer the seas, and the gods."

His voice was just as he remembered it too. But the contents of those words...

"Conquer... Dad, what do you mean? How are you here?"

Before he could even finish the sentence, his father’s body started fading away.

"No, no, no..."

Roseus tried to reach his hands out and grab hold of his father, but as he expected, his hands phased right through the man’s illusory body. The only thing he was able to touch was the pirate clothes, which had somehow been left behind.

Along with the clothes, the captain’s revolver holster and sword fell to the ground too. Roseus wasn’t focused on this and let the clothes fall from his hands too.

"Dad... Why would you send me this message?"

A message was what he had to assume this was.

He was well aware of the numerous powers that one could obtain once setting out to the seas. It was why the Halo Empire had tried so hard to outlaw adventuring.

It was clear that his father had awakened some sort of power that allowed him to send back an illusion of himself, all to deliver this message to his son.

Conquer the Seas, and the Gods.

But why?

Is it related to the prophecy that my father claimed to see? The one that mother called him crazy for...

Roseus had never known what to believe about the prophecy. It had clearly been enough for the other crew members, as fifty men and women had set sail with Redeye in order to help him fulfil the prophecy.

Roseus was too young to question his father about the details of the prophecy back then. All he had known was that it claimed that either he, or someone of his bloodline, would claim the title of King of the Seas and Gods.

...

Could Dad have figured out that it wasn’t him who was to claim this title, but instead me?

It felt vain to even think such a thought. Someone in his bloodline could be Roseus’s future son himself, or even his brother, or his brother’s son.

He wondered then if this was the only message his father had sent out from the seas. Even more than that, he wondered where his father was right now.

Turning his attention away from that for now, Roseus looked down at the clothes by his feet.

He first lifted the captain’s hat.

Is this the exact same one that father wore? It has the smell of the salty water lingering on its material.

Roseus laughed and placed it atop his head...

[Rare Treasure Equipped]

[Captain Redeye’s Hat]

[Positive Effect I ~ When equipped with the entire Captain Redeye set, the wearer can see the path that he travelled through the sea.]

[Negative Effect I ~ When equipped with the entire Captain Redeye set, the dangers of the sea target you.]

...

"Huh..."

Roseus was stunned silent by the strange words that suddenly appeared in his mind.

He wondered if his hunger had made him go crazy.

After taking off the hat and placing it back on his head, he felt the same words appear in his mind again.

It became clear to him then. His father had not only sent him a message, but also treasure!

Suddenly, Roseus felt overwhelmed with excitement. He hurriedly undressed, not caring about being naked in the cold wind, and changed into his father’s clothes.

Before putting on the entire set, he took off the hat. He had read the item’s ’Negative Effect’ and wanted to hold off before doing something he might regret.

Dressed like a captain, Roseus looked down at the ground. There were two more items sitting there.

A cutlass and a revolver.

He lifted them both and holstered them to his waist, wondering whether they were treasures too.

The revolver wasn’t.

However, the cutlass...

[Rare Treasure Equipped]

[Captain Redeye’s Cutlass]

[Positive Effect I ~ Transfers the original owner’s combat experience to the current wielder.]

[Positive Effect II ~ Slightly increases the user’s speed and agility.]

...

Reading this description felt even more surreal than the description of his father’s outfit.

He drew the blade and held it up in the air. Immediately, he felt his body and mind shifting in various ways.

In general, he felt much lighter than before. He didn’t even trust himself to move, as he might travel too far and fall off the cliff face.

As for the combat experience, he could feel it flowing through his body.

He swung the blade, cutting through the air with incredible speed. Naturally, his body shifted, making sure that his blade alignment was perfect, and that after completing the swing, he returned to a defensive position, ready to defend against a following attack.

He swung again and again, enjoying the feeling of the blade in his hand.

Roseus couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this.

He looked at his father’s hat, the last piece of the set. Then, he lifted it and placed it on his head.

The Negative Effect mentioned that if he equipped the entire set, the dangers of the sea would target him. He was not at sea yet, so he did not expect any danger.

Once the hat was on his head, he saw a faint straight line being magically drawn from his body towards a location far in the distance.

If the treasure effect was correct, this line pointed him to the exact route that his father had travelled.

Elated, he wanted to just sit and take this all in.

Unfortunately, he was distracted by another pair of footsteps that came from behind him.

This time, it was his mother, Clare.