X Marks The Spot

I turned my head. The voice had come from the captain's chambers. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a pitch-black room. Not even the faintest flicker of a lantern lit the room.

“It has been such a long time. Decades…? No…! Centuries perhaps?” A cold, hollow voice pierced the silent seas.

A click of a boot and then another as someone, or something, began to move inside. The same cold voice began to sing as the footsteps grew eerily closer.

“Skills, skills, let me see~

What new skills have come to me~?”

Slowly, a figure stepped out from the captain's cabin. At first, the being was obscured by the thick fog, but it slowly whipped around its legs, almost as if even the fog wanted to avoid them. A cursed ship needed a cursed captain, and this being fit the bill. For a man would not adequately describe the walking bones.

The skeletal man was draped in a tattered black pirate jacket and torn brown pants. The pirate hat clung to twisted black strands of hair, eerily detached from the skull beneath. Each step was nearly silent, except for the echo of his dark brown boots. His bony fingers were resting on a rapier, whilst a single ring with a large glowing red gemstone adorned his other hand.

The skeleton's gaze instantly locked on me. Although he had no eyes, the undead captain had a red glow radiating from the sockets. It took one step forward, its facial bones twitching into a cruel smile.

“How impressive, even with your mortal injuries, you remain alive. Although based on your condition, I would say you haven’t got long left.”

“I don’t think a literal walking corpse has any right to comment on my condition.”

The skeleton ignored me and continued. “Yet you not only live, but you can also withstand my fear skill and remain conscious.”

“I’d hate to let you down,” I replied, coughing up blood as I did so.

The skeleton didn’t respond and instead shifted his head to Pippa, who was cowering. She was trying to squish herself between two barrels. “What a bizarre creature. I don’t remember something like that ever existing in the past.”

Pippa slowly turned around, realising she had been spotted. She continued to shake as she stared up at the skeleton.

“Pwii!” she squeaked.

“To think the strange creature is also able to remain conscious. Today is a truly interesting day.”

“I take it, you are the first pirate?” I asked, gripping my wound, trying to staunch the bleeding.

“Yarhaha~ that’s right. I suppose they no longer teach my name. Indeed, I am the first pirate. I think they called me the Accursed Pirate X.” He paused before adding. “I take it you are here to try and steal my treasure?”

“Honestly, I don’t give a crap about your treasure. Are you the one who did this to my crew?” I gestured to my crew, who lay unconscious on the deck.

“You care more about your crew than my treasure?” he snapped back.

“Of course, they are my dear treasure. Why would I care about yours more than mine?” I paused before calling out. “Pippa, can you please come and patch me?”

Although she was still trembling, she scuttled to my side and began to generate small webs over my wounds. Although Pippa had managed to slow the bleeding, red drops continued to seep through.

The skeleton continued to smile cruelly. “Yarhaha~ You’re a fool. Crews will only weigh you down, that is, if they don’t betray you first.”

He stepped closer, then paused.

“That said, I admire your convictions, as misguided they are.”

He took another step forward.

“If it puts your mind at ease, they are merely unconscious.”

“So it is your doing?”

“You could say that. They fell unconscious as a result of my fear skill.” He clenched a bony fist as he said this with a cruel smile.

“Well, if it’s your doing, would you please stop it?”

“That all depends on whether you are worthy to take my treasure. Since you remain conscious, you have earnt the right to challenge me for it. If not, I’ll just kill you and your entire crew. My treasure against yours.”

I clutched my stomach as the pain sharpened. Even though Pippa had managed to staunch most of the bleeding, there was still blood dripping. I doubted I would be able to remain conscious much longer.

“You talk up your treasure, why should I care?”

He held out his hand with his ring. “This is my greatest creation. The cursed stone.”

“Great, you have a fancy rock.”

“Oh, you don’t seem to understand the wonder of this gemstone.”

“Well, given how much you like to monologue, I figured you’d probably explain it to me. But please try and keep it brief, I don’t have unlimited blood.” I gripped the webbing, which was already saturated with my blood.

The skeletal jaw shifted, forming a smile. “Did you know there are countless unique skills in this world, almost an infinite amount of them?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I snapped back.

“Well, there is but one which doesn’t exist. But it isn’t that simple. It is not just that it doesn’t exist. The skill is strictly prohibited from existing. Do you know what it is?”

I didn’t care, but I thought I would play along. “Is it the power of friendship or something?”

He continued to ignore me. Either he was intending for that to be a rhetorical question, or he simply didn’t find my joke funny.

“It is the skill of stealing others' skills.”

“You seem to know a lot about the system.”

The skeleton paused and looked up at the sky.

“The system that your kind is so fond of… Well, let’s just say I have a bit of history with it.”

“I need to correct you, I am no fan of the system.”

“Yarhaha~ You are an interesting fellow. It seems today is full of surprises.”

“I was brought to this damn world and given nothing. Now that damn system wants to get rid of me.”

“The system wants to get rid of you? Truly interesting, you must be seen as a threat. If so, we are two faces of the same coin, for I am the Administrator known as X.”

“Administrator, you say.” I spat blood. Suddenly, the pain I was ready to surrender to didn’t seem so unbearable.

“Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about Administrators, or even the existence of them.”

It seemed spite was a truly wonderful motivator. Because even as I was on death's door, I managed to stumble to my feet. Pippa darted towards the barrels to hide once more.

“That’s where you are wrong, buddy.”

I pulled out my cutlass and readied myself. The weight of the blade felt twice as heavy as normal, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

“I am well aware of administrators and their connection to the system. It seems you are the one out of the loop. What you must not know is that I intend to crush you and all your Administrator pals.”

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 24