After going into the sea, I met the witch.

"Looks like we've caught a big fish!"

Audis's lips gradually parted to reveal his yellowed teeth.

He thrust forward with all his might, raising his curved blade as if to stab.

Ryan remained calm.

After their first encounter, he already knew that the person before him was no less powerful than himself.

Because the other party did not possess any spiritual power, the gray text did not appear, and he could not know the other party's specific strength.

Facing the oncoming enemy, he pointed his longsword diagonally at the ground, assuming the defensive stance of the four longsword stances, the "Fool's Stance," until the curved blade was about to strike him, at which point he quickly raised his longsword.

Just as the scimitar and the longsword were about to clash, the seemingly fierce scimitar stopped abruptly.

Audis smiled cruelly, changed the direction of his scimitar, knocking Ryan's longsword aside, and then brought his own scimitar to the left side of Ryan's head, and swung it down heavily in Ryan's wide-eyed eyes.

"Thorn..."

In the critical moment, Ryan dodged, but his clothes were still torn and his chest skin was cut by the scimitar.

Fortunately, the knife wound was shallow, only a superficial injury.

Ryan took several steps back and stared at the pirate in front of him with an extremely serious expression.

What amazing swordsmanship!

This person's swordsmanship level is definitely not "beginner".

"You're quite agile, little mouse."

Audis was slightly surprised that Ryan had dodged his fatal blow, but he didn't seem to care much.

He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood off the scimitar.

The fresh smell of blood made his eyes bloodshot.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Audis strode forward, his curved sword held at his waist, perpendicular to the ground, the sharp tip aimed at Ryan's abdomen.

The pain in his chest made Ryan's mind even calmer.

Knowing the strength of the enemy before him, he not only showed no intention of retreating, but his fighting spirit burned even brighter.

When he first encountered the giant crab on the beach during his travels, he was also a weakling, but even so, he did not back down in the slightest.

He was the same in the places he traveled, and he remains the same now.

When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins.

Fear, terror, and retreat will not make the enemy show mercy.

When facing a formidable enemy, only by being more fearless than the opponent can one hope to win.

As he was about to die, Audis raised his scimitar, intending to disembowel Ryan.

"clang!"

Ryan swung his longsword down to defend himself, but at that moment, a cunning glint flashed in Audis' eyes.

The curved blade in his hand, which was originally slashing upwards, suddenly turned into a straight thrust.

The change was so sudden that a normal person would never be able to react.

Ryan's eyes were as calm as ice.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, and with a "thud," the curved blade pierced directly through his abdomen.

A sharp pain swept through his entire body, but Ryan seemed oblivious to it. His left hand, which was not holding the sword, directly grabbed the scimitar, using his own flesh and blood and his palm to restrict the scimitar's movement.

In just a moment, he was covered in blood.

But Audis's face showed no joy, only fear.

He tried to pull back his scimitar, but the young man's left hand gripped the blade tightly, his hand bones wedging the edge, making his attempt to pull back completely futile.

At that moment, Ryan's longsword arrived.

"Pfft-!"

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and Audis' pupils widened, his eyes filled with resentment.

A long sword pierced through his throat.

"Crack!"

With a surge of force from Ryan's hand, Audis's head was severed.

The spurting blood stained the entire cabin ceiling red.

"Dang Cang..."

Audis released his grip on the scimitar, and his headless body collapsed limply.

Ryan knelt weakly on the ground, panting heavily.

If he were to open the panel at this moment, he would find that the word "Beginner" after Storm Sword Technique in his [Learned Skills] section is flashing rapidly and gradually changing into a completely new text.

Chapter 19 The Power of the Witch

A sharp pain and a feeling of weakness lingered in Ryan's mind.

He knelt on the ground, using his long sword as a support, his left hand clutching the wound in his abdomen, but even so, he could not stop the blood from gushing out.

The wound caused by the scimitar was so large that it could not be stopped with simple treatment.

If this continues, the bloodshed alone will be enough to kill him.

The situation was critical, but there was not a trace of panic in Ryan's eyes.

He had already made contingency plans when he decided to take the blow head-on.

He raised his hand, and with a thought, a pile of pure white powder appeared in his palm.

—It was, in fact, powder made from "abundant pearls".

These were scraps left over from the last treatment of the silverback shark, but for a human, they were not a small amount. By materializing these powders, Ryan gained a full 5 spirit points.

He quickly applied the powder to the wound and cut off the hem of his clothes to use as a makeshift bandage around his waist. After a few seconds, feeling the tingling sensation at the wound and seeing that the bleeding had stopped, Ryan finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease.

—Next time, we must materialize the “Necklace of Abundance”.

Ryan thought to himself.

After treating his injuries, Ryan stood up with some difficulty and glanced at the headless corpse in front of him.

This person must hold a high position on the Skull, most likely the first or second mate. His combat prowess far surpasses that of ordinary pirates, especially his superb swordsmanship, which caused Ryan, who had just met him, to suffer a great loss.

If Ryan hadn't fought with an unexpected, relentless style, he would have likely lost this fight.

Ryan shifted his gaze from the headless corpse and looked at the panel in front of him.

When he killed the scimitar pirate earlier, a line of small gray text flashed before his eyes, but he didn't have time to look at it at the time.

-

After a period of practice and combat, the skill [Storm Swordsmanship] has been upgraded from "Beginner" to "Master".

[Storm Swordsmanship (Mastered): One of the most widely practiced sword techniques in the Kingdom of Augustus. The term "storm" refers to an unstoppable offensive that destroys the enemy's defenses. Whether the opponent is human or monster, all are rendered helpless before this storm-like swordsmanship. You have mastered the basic stance and derived sword moves of Storm Swordsmanship.]

-

"The level of Storm Sword Technique has increased?"

Looking at the prompt in front of him, Ryan was both surprised and delighted.

His daily practice whenever he had free time, his battles with giant crabs on the beach and in the places he traveled, and his gradual accumulation of knowledge, all under the life-or-death pressure of the scimitar pirates, finally allowed him to break through his shackles and reach a completely new realm.

Because it is a skill he learns, the improvement of Storm Sword Technique is based on his own efforts, so there is no sudden sense of "enlightenment".

This is why Ryan didn't realize it at first.

"call……"

Ryan let out a soft breath and strode toward the broken hatch.

As his breathing calmed down, he noticed that the surrounding noises had disappeared without him realizing it, leaving only the sound of waves. This strange phenomenon sent a chill down his spine.

Something must have happened outside while he was fighting the scimitar pirates, otherwise things shouldn't have turned out this way.

Holding his longsword, Ryan cautiously advanced.

He planned to press himself against the door frame to observe the outside; if things didn't look good, he would have no choice but to run away.

He is currently in the lowest point in his life. If another enemy with similar strength to the Scimitar Pirate were to appear, he would definitely perish here.

Before Ryan could even take a step, he stopped.

"Tick..."

A drop of dark blue liquid dripped from the door frame.

Unbeknownst to them, countless dark blue threads began to spread in from outside the door, covering the ground, walls, door frames, ceiling... everything in sight was now covered by them.

The dripping water droplets splashed out, quickly forming a deep blue puddle on the ground.

The rippling liquid began to flow backward, forming a slender and graceful body.

A white dress with blue cuffs and collar, a voluminous and soft witch's hat with a tilted tip, and dreamy tassel-like patterns beneath deep, icy blue eyes.

"captain!"

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Ryan couldn't help but feel overjoyed, and at the same time, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Freyne's appearance signifies that the ultimate victor in the battle of professionals has been decided.

Frey's gaze fell on the headless corpse not far behind Ryan, a playful look in her eyes: "Mr. Ryan, it seems you are not as 'weak' as you said before."

Hearing this, Ryan was somewhat embarrassed: "It was just self-defense, just self-defense. This person just forced his way into the room, and I had no choice but to draw my sword to protect myself."

"Cough cough..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but cough, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Her gaze shifted downwards, landing on the blood-stained bandage on Ryan's abdomen. Freyne took a step forward, her delicate body appearing before Ryan in an instant. Before he could react, a slightly cool, soft finger lightly touched the wound on his abdomen.