[Yes] Roseus somehow responded in his mind.

He didn’t need to think; he simply accepted.

He knew nothing about the sea gods or who Nammon could possibly be. All he knew was that he needed the help of the gods if he wanted to survive out at sea.

Kruger, who had spent time in the navy, had yet to even be offered a deal with the sea gods. Roseus didn’t have time to think about why he might have been given the option so soon.

He simply answered, willing to hear the god out.

...

His vision darkened until he was plunged into a world of complete darkness. He found himself possessing a physical body in this strange place, though it felt weightless and ethereal. When he looked down at himself, he couldn’t see any of his limbs.

Then, the voice called out to him again.

[Nammon’s Offering:]

[You receive: powers related to luck when searching for treasure]

[You lose: the ability to share treasures with others]

Roseus felt like his spirit suddenly recoiled.

[No, I Don’t Accept] he responded.

He would not become that sort of captain. That was not the man that he was.

The treasures found out at sea would be distributed between them. That was the way a crew should be.

However, it seemed that Nammon didn’t care.

[You Have Already Accepted, By Answering Nammon’s Call]

...

[No. That can’t be right! I answered. That’s all I did! How am I supposed to know whether I want to form a pact with the gods before hearing what they have to offer?]

Roseus thought that he heard a deep chuckle spreading throughout the darkness.

He was given no answer.

...

The light returned to him, and he was found lying on the damp deck of his ship. The sky was still dark and the moon hung high.

Thankfully, the pain was gone. Unfortunately, that was now the least of his worries.

"He’s awake. The prayer worked," someone said.

"I-I think so..." someone responded.

Roseus pushed himself to a seated position. He saw that they were still sailing. If he had to guess, it had only been a few moments since he lost his consciousness.

Around him were the two sisters, Lyna the nurse, and Lavender, the religious woman.

He looked over at Lavender, whose hair was purple and whose eyes were black. Her sister Lyna had the opposite features.

"What do you know of the sea gods?" he asked immediately.

Lavender looked at him with a confused expression on her face. The question seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Captain, you have to lie down," Lyna joined, trying to help Roseus onto his back.

He brushed her hands away and repeated his question to Lavender. "What do you know of the sea gods?"

"I-I don’t know anything about them," she stuttered. "I’ve only studied the orthodox gods of the empire."

Roseus cursed beneath his breath before pushing himself into a seated position.

He looked down at the deck and saw Dawn looking back at him. She still steered the wheel of the ship.

"Everything alright, Rose?" she called out, hearing the commotion.

Roseus didn’t answer. Instead, he placed two fingers on his temple the same way he had seen Kruger do earlier. As he did, he focused on the new information that had appeared in his head.

That was when it appeared to him.

[Name: Roseus]

[Crew: Redflower Pirates]

[Title: Captain]

—Sailor System—

Unawakened

---

—Supreme System—

Patron God: Nammon

Pact Rank: Follower

Progress: 0/100

[Conditions]

[You receive: powers related to luck when searching for treasure]

[You lose: the ability to share treasures with others]

[Powers]

Greedy Effects (Passive)

Every Treasure that you equip comes with an extra unique positive effect, accessible only to you.

...

—Equipped Treasures—

Captain Redeye’s Cutlass (Weapon)

---

There it was. The proof that his meeting with the god wasn’t a figment of his imagination, but rather the truth.

He wanted to focus on the negatives. If he focused on what such a pact could truly mean, he could be thrown into a state of depression. At that moment, he truly felt like he had made the worst decision of his life.

But he couldn’t dwell on the negatives or allow himself to be broken. He was the captain, and if he couldn’t act like it, then he didn’t deserve to follow after his father.

Roseus straightened his back and stood up tall, then he spoke to his worried crewmates.

"I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Let’s keep this ship sailing. The more distance we put between ourselves and the navy, the better."

His words earned him a few grunts of approval.

Roseus noticed Dawn looking at him with a sceptical expression of worry. He had to ignore her for now.

I’ll fill you in soon, don’t worry.

Once everyone began returning their focus to their tasks, Roseus unsheathed his father’s cutlass and held it in his hands.

There was much to be made of when it came to his pact with the god, but he would deal with the negatives later. The good thing was, a positive had come from it too.

A skill.

When he focused on said skill, he was filled with the knowledge of its capabilities.

[Greedy Effects]

Every Treasure that you equip comes with an extra unique positive effect, accessible only to you.

...

The description was almost enough to make him forget about the unfortunate parts of the situation.

He held his father’s sword and focused on its information.

[Captain Redeye’s Cutlass]

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

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

[Positive Effect III ~ Each being slain by this weapon grants two souls to the user, rather than one.]

---

Roseus found himself engrossed by the third added effect. It didn’t seem to directly affect him or the prowess of the blade, but rather what he would gain from taking lives with it.

He remembered when he killed the sea zombie on the beach earlier. His mind had told him that he had absorbed a lesser soul.

Still, he had no idea what this meant and had only assumed that this would relate to his progression towards powering up once he was awakened. His guess was that it was the reason he had a small amount of progress towards his next Pact Rank already.

Ignoring that for now, Roseus sheathed his blade, proud of its new effect.

He had a feeling that he might have to test it out soon, as it was time to place his hat on his head.

Since his father’s coat and hat seemed to be connected, they shared effects, and these effects would only kick in once wearing the entire set. The effects themselves appeared in the description of the hat.

That meant that it was necessary for him to place the hat on his head if he wanted to know what new effect it would have.

...

He looked around at his crewmates. He had informed them of the hat’s negative effects back before they set sail, and they had agreed that before he planned to put it on, he should give them warning to prepare themselves.

He wasn’t certain if he would be attacked every time he put on the hat, nor was he sure how long it would take for him to be targeted. Still, he thought that it was a risk worth taking.

He had already dealt with a zombie before.

Roseus cleared his throat.

"If you can fight, stay alert. I’m putting on my hat."