The three vessels belonged to three separate crews, which made no sense considering that the merchants ship wasn't that large to contain a plethora of valuable goods.
I guess the booze must be that good
One of the ships lacked the conventional Jolly Roger, instead bearing the image of a spine which was lodged deep inside of a woman's heart.
The second pirate ship had a Jolly Roger that was just as sinister the first, a single skull biting into multiple organs that had found their way into its mouth.
The third ship approached with a skull biting into a a single coin, a tricorne placed on top of its head.
The three crews appeared on top of their respective decks, smirking and laughing amongst themselves as they finally approached the merchant ship.
Where are their captains, Regan thought. And just as he conceived this thought, three stocky men appeared behind above their ships, each one wearing long black coats that flowed behind them.
The captain of the spine pirates, as Regan began to call them, had a frightened man rolling a cannon at the pace that he walked. Another was carrying the ball that was to be fired at the merchant ship.
Shit. Gotta get to that ball first.
"ZARAGAGAGAGA," the captain of the spine pirates roared, sending up gales of laughter from his henchmen. "One boy and a single girl? Where are the men!?"
"Right here. I'm all this ship needs." Regan declared, sending up more storms of laughter from the rest of the men that accosted them.
"Confident lad, confident lad!" Said the captain of the weird organ pirates. "But confidence won't stop you from tossing up everything ya own."
The captain of the coin pirates nodded in approval, biting down a coin that was just as yellow as his rotten teeth. Some of his men were already readying planks and placing them on the front of the ship.
Guess I'll be attacking this crew first. I don't think the other guys will bomb the ship yet, not with all the good stuff that's inside of it.
Regan walked the planks eagerly, drawing a cry of disapproval from Rose's throat. The girl backed away and ran inside, no longer could she remain steadfast and watched as Regan threw his life away.
At least she thought he was.
"Ya got a death wish, boy?" Said a coin pirate, flashing the cutlass in his iron grip.
Regan ripped the sword out of his hands, made a fist, and sent him flying into the ocean with a single punch. He felt his teeth crushing against his knuckles, and he heard his jaw crack with the single strike he had made against him.
It should've filled him with disgust, Regan knew. He had once always hated fighting, perhaps because of his debilitating condition, but now, however, he was invigorated.
It felt good, much too good, to hit somebody with overwhelming strength. He probably killed him, Regan thought, but he shrugged that thought off. He was a pirate after all. He chose that life and he died by it.
[You Have Gained 10 Melee Points]
[You Have Gained 5 Essence]
"KILLLLL HIMMMMMMM!" The coin pirate demanded, waving two cutlasses that he had seemed to have pulled out from his ass, for he had no sheaths beside his waist.
Bring it on
Regan brought his sword down in an arc and took off a man's head with a single stroke. He relished in hearing the voice grant him his rewards, and spun back around to parry a sword strike from an enraged pirate.
The parry took the blade right out of his hand, and Regan spun back around to pierce his stomach with the cutlass. A stream of crimson escaped his wound, making the man croak as the light left his eyes.
[You Have Gained 1 Sword Point]
[You Have Gained 1 Sword Point]
[You Have Gained 5 Essence]
[You Have Gained 5 Essence]
Another strike, a blow, a parry, a dodge, Regan was taking on every single pirate that came his way without breaking a sweat. His melee stat worked to improve his strength, his speed, his awareness, and even his stamina, making the fight with the grunts quite easy.
And Regan wasn't even using all of his strength.
He stopped in his tracks, and found that the coin pirates had finally stopped lunging at him recklessly. Many of them had donned aghast expressions on their faces, their complexions paling as the bodies of their crewmates continued piling on the deck.
What? Too scared to confront me? Cowards!
Regan couldn't help but smile, blood dripping from his blade like water from an icicle.
"What are you guys doing!? Shoot him! Shoot him!" The coin captain demanded, his breath coming out ragged. Fear had made its way into his gut, too.
The pirates continued their assault. Some had aimed rifles at Regan's skull, but Regan was even faster than the bullets that had left them. He ducked, dodged, and even sliced the bullets mid air, and quickly made his way to their shooters, putting his blade through their throats.
One of the crew had managed to finally land a hit on him. A commendable feat, but only commendable. He had fired his pistol, and the bullet had only made an annoying little scratch on Regan's skin. It felt like getting flicked by a strong finger.
Regan shrugged it off and continued killing the coin pirates mercilessly. By the time their numbers had finally dwindled into the single digits, he could feel the faint feeling of exhausation upon him.
He turned to the captain and ignored the frightened grunts, waving his bloodied sword like a mad man who had an unquenchable thirst for blood.
"Step forward, captain. Or are you going to continue being a coward in front of all these witnesses?"
The captain groaned, and turned to the other pirate ships, their boarders watching the onslaught unfold with widened eyes. Some of them looked like they wanted a piece of the action, others looked like they wanted to go home.
"Keep your eyes on me, not them. Hey, how about this. You can either cough up everything you own, or you can die by my blade. What's it going to be?"
Regan chuckled as he watched the captain consider his options. He built up a ball of phlegm in his throat, and spat it out to mingle with the blood on the deck, slick with pride.
"Only way you get my treasure is by killing me, brat!"
I planned on killing you anyway
The captain pounced at him, bringing his left arm down from the air, and swinging his right arm around to separate Regan's torso from his legs.
But the man would never have the chance to.
Regan swung one arm around and grinded his teeth as steel screeched against steel, his blade scraping against the right-handed cutlass. Regan threw his free arm up into the air and grabbed the captains wrist, preventing the sword from cutting into his head.
He then kicked the man hard in the balls, laughing as the captain whimpered like a little boy, staggering to his knees, his cutlass crashing against the deck.
"F-fuck. W-who are you?"
"Hmm," Regan mused, thinking back to how everyone addressed him. Dedmond Dantes was a good name, he thought. But it would be even better if he spiced it up a little.
"Dedmond.D.Dantes. Though, I don't think you'll have the chance to remember it." Regan said, raising his sword up into the air.
"Wait!" The pirate shrieked. "W-wait! Let me live, let me join you. You're most certainly a pirate, right? Look how cruelly you took out my crew! I'll do anything, just don't kill me!"
"Sorry, you guys wanted to attack first." Regan shrugged, taking off the man's head with one strike.
[You Have Gained 30 Essence]
[You Have Gained 50 Sword Points]
Speaking of sword, let me check my points.
[Dedmond Dantes Points]
Total Available Points: 1,252
Melee Points: 672
Defense Points: 500
Sword Points: 80
DF Points: 0
Gun points: 0
Nice. Deposit them all!
[Cannot Deposit Melee Points As You Have Reached The Max Capacity]
[Cannot Desposit Defense Points As You Have Reached The Max Capacity]
[Sword Points Deposited Succesfully]
[Dedmond Dantes Stats]
Rank: Small Fry [156/1000]
Melee: 1000[MAX]
Defense: 1000[MAX]
Sword: 80
DF Power: 0
Gun: 0
It wasn't much, but it was something. Regan looked around at the remaining crew. They were backing away from the corpse of their captain even though they were nowhere near it.
Regan had his windows open, but they gave no reaction to it.
I see. So those from this world can't see the system. Makes sense.
"You," Regan said, pointing his blade at one of the pirates. His voice made him flinch. "Bring me everything below deck. Every treasure you have. Every coin, every emerald, everything you believe to be valuable. Hell, it can be your grandmothers pearls. Bring me them!"
The pirate shrieked and nodded, scrambling to fulfil Regan's demands. Regan ordered a handful of the other coin pirates to follow after him, and then turned his attention on the remaining vessels and their crews.
They were watching him, studying him, waiting expectantly for his next move. Regan only laughed and made his voice come out like defeaning thunder. "If you know what's good for you, you'll hand over every treasure you own! Pass it to me, and I'll let you all walk!"
Of course, that was a lie. How would he gain essence if he just let them walk away?
"TO HELL WITH YOU," screeched the captain of the spine pirates. "FIRE, FIRE!"
His crew mates loaded the canon with the cannonball, and covered their ears as the maw of the contraption released the loud ship-sinker.
It was reckless. They could've destroyed the organ pirates in their attempt to bring down Regan, but luckily for them the cannonball ball had whizzed passed every man on board the organ pirate's vessel, and made its way towards Regan.
Regan simply took a stance, and swung his blade to destroy the approaching cannonball, slicing it into two.
"I see." Regan sighed. "If that's how it's going to be, then so be it. You can all die here!"