Chapter 4: A New Identity

Byron's abilities and circumstances were laid bare in the ship's log, allowing him to quickly chart his path forward.

"For me now, enhancing my supernatural powers is the top priority.

Among the two innate abilities that can be activated without consuming spiritual energy:

**[Cognitive Correction]**, despite its upper limit and current effectiveness only against low-sequence supernatural beings, is a first-rate survival skill.

**[Weather Intuition]** is a divine skill coveted by sailors and navigators alike!

But if I want to escape or seek revenge, these two abilities alone are far from enough.

I must quickly complete my profession initiation, at least obtaining one combat-oriented supernatural sequence, to gain the basic ability to protect myself.

At the same time, I can activate the log's bestowed entry—**[History Corrector]**.

Moreover, I happen to have a key item in my possession that can be used for the initiation ceremony."

Thinking this, Byron raised his left hand.

Only to find that the family **[Signet Ring]** that should have been on his index finger was gone!

However, when he noticed that even the sapphire buttons on his shirt cuffs were missing, he immediately calmed down.

"First, I was rescued by a merchant ship, then captured by a group of pirates. Expecting them to leave my belongings untouched is a pipe dream.

But whoever took them, they will eventually end up on this pirate ship."

After a moment of contemplation, he made up his mind.

"First, I need to retrieve the items the pirates looted from me, especially the most important family **[Signet Ring]**.

Only with this medium, imbued with supernatural power and symbolizing the royal authority of the Lancaster family, can I complete the next step of my supernatural profession initiation and block any subsequent divination or pursuit by the York family."

"By boarding the pirate ship, I can leave the coastal waters of Hastings at the fastest speed.

After that, whether I venture into the vast North Sea or head to overseas colonies, countless opportunities await me.

With the **[Ship's Log]** to assist me, I can grow rapidly by continuously exploring the unknown world.

This perfectly aligns with the Age of Exploration, which has just begun and still has countless blank spots on the map.

Excluding the path of the navy, which would be walking into a trap, I can become a privateer, pirate, independent adventurer, bounty hunter... anything!"

Byron grabbed the carved decorations on the stern gallery of the pirate ship and silently climbed aboard.

At the end of the log, a line of ink wrote: The hatred of Lancaster may be hidden for now, but the day of blood and fire will come.

---

Meanwhile, in the kitchen located in the lower deck of the **[Man-Eater Shark]**.

A young man wearing a white chef's hat, holding a kitchen knife, stood dumbfounded in front of the cutting board.

Listening to the screams of the merchant sailors outside the porthole, from loud to weak to silent, he muttered with a deranged expression:

"I didn't do anything wrong!

The captain insisted on his ridiculous chivalry, vowing to protect Lord Crawford's property, who was a key member of the already fallen Lancaster faction.

When he insisted on rescuing that shipwrecked man clinging to a plank from the sea, I told him that the eight virtues of chivalry are all jokes. In the treacherous sea, inflexible old-timers don't last long."

"If the captain hadn't led the charge and counterattacked the pirate ship, I wouldn't have shot him in the back.

It's said that the captain of the **[Man-Eater Shark]**, **[Blood-Eye]** Salman, is ruthless and a powerful supernatural being. Once he takes action, everyone dies.

Now, at least I survived, and that's all that matters!"

But when he slowly lowered his head to look at the ingredients on the cutting board, his face gradually turned to fear:

"But I'm just an ordinary sailor and part-time cook. Even the crude crew members complain about my cooking. How could I possibly prepare delicate noble dishes?

Moreover, everyone knows that the thinnest book in the world is the cookbook of the Kingdom of Hastings.

Unless I go to the neighboring Kingdom of Fleur-de-Lis for training, how could I satisfy the taste of that cruel **[Blood-Eye]** captain?

The pirates said I should prepare myself, as they will soon take me to meet that ruthless **[Blood-Eye]** to understand his tastes and prepare his meal.

What should I do? What should I do?"

The young man anxiously paced back and forth, making the lower deck creak.

It's not hard to guess that this young man is the only survivor from the merchant ship "Pelican," the cook who was given a chance to live by the first mate "Bone-Crusher" Miles.

But the condition was that he must use his "experience of serving nobles" to conquer the picky palate of Captain **[Blood-Eye]** Salman.

Unfortunately, he was just a bragging impostor.

Thinking of the rumors that this pirate captain, like the "cannibals" in stories, would eat people alive, he was terrified.

After looking around and finding the kitchen empty with no pirates paying attention to him, he cautiously approached the porthole with his kitchen knife.

Just as he was about to stick his head out to see if he could jump into the sea to escape, he worried that the sharks that had eaten his companions might still be hungry, so he silently pulled his head back.

He vividly portrayed the image of a "hesitant and indecisive" person.

As time passed and the sound of pirates' footsteps approached the kitchen, he finally mustered the courage and carefully stuck his head out.

But a powerful hand, like an iron clamp, grabbed his neck from below the porthole.

Crack!

Without even a chance to beg for mercy, his neck was ruthlessly twisted.

Before the cook's vision went dark and his consciousness completely faded, he heard a cold, emotionless voice:

"Traitors deserve to die!"

It was Byron, who had just climbed aboard the pirate ship from the stern, overhearing the last survivor's mutterings.

Without hesitation, he acted decisively.

Then, holding the cook's broken neck, he dragged the upper half of the body out of the porthole.

Seeing the kitchen knife still tightly gripped in the cook's hand, Byron knew that if he hadn't acted decisively, he would have been injured.

He took the kitchen knife, made a few deep cuts on the cook's body without changing his expression, and casually threw the corpse into the sea.

He watched as the body disappeared into the swarm of man-eating sharks.

Then he climbed through the porthole into the kitchen.

Picking up the chef's hat that had fallen during the struggle, he dusted it off and put it on his own head.

As he turned, a deep blue light, like the ocean, shimmered in his eyes, and Byron's demeanor underwent a dramatic transformation.

It was his innate ability, **[Cognitive Correction]**.

"I think in this current scenario, calling it **[Psychological Disguise]** would be more appropriate."

He looked at his hands. Although his appearance hadn't changed, the cook's image, name, and demeanor were all corrected onto him.

To anyone who saw him, he was the cook, and Byron himself had completely vanished from the world.

Just like a person born colorblind wouldn't realize they were colorblind until someone told them.

"This identity, though not high in status, is comparable to the ship's first mate, second mate, helmsman, or gunnery officer, but like me, he's a newcomer.

There are no memories of interacting with pirates, nor any inherited relationships.

He's the perfect candidate for me to integrate into the **[Man-Eater Shark]** and hitch a ride."

Bang!

At that moment, the kitchen door was suddenly pushed open, and a young pirate walked in.

Seeing the figure wearing the chef's hat, he paused for a moment, then naturally called out:

"New cook, the great **[Blood-Eye]** captain is waiting for you. Come with me.

By the way, I haven't asked your name yet?"

The latter adjusted his hat and gave the young pirate a friendly smile:

"Byron. My name is Byron Tudor."