CHAPTER 55

"You bastard! Don't go too far!" Modka roared at Ayr, veins bulging on his forehead.

Hearing this, Ayr chuckled, his smirk filled with disdain.

"Too far? And here I thought pirates didn't concern themselves with things like morality and fairness."

As his words fell, Ayr suddenly stomped on the deck, his figure vanishing in an instant. Before Modka could react, Ayr appeared right in front of him, his blade gleaming under the dim light.

Modka, despite being a well-known pirate in the New World, was completely outmatched. He was a skilled swordsman, but he had yet to step into the realm of the greats. In contrast, Ayr had already reached the level of a Great Swordsman, with a mastery of Conqueror's Haki still developing but already formidable.

While "swordsman" and "Great Swordsman" may seem like minor distinctions in title, the gap in power between them was vast—like the difference between a child swinging a stick and a warrior wielding a legendary blade.

Ayr's blade flashed.

"Shing!!!"

A terrifying force surged from his sword.

"CLANG!!!"

The moment their swords clashed, Modka's weapon shattered under the sheer force of Ayr's strike.

"Impossible!!!" Modka's pupils shrank in horror.

He had wielded that blade for over a decade. It wasn't the greatest of swords, but it was still a renowned weapon—and yet, it had broken like brittle glass in Ayr's hands.

"It's over."

Ayr's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.

With a single fluid motion, his sword carved through Modka's body, cleaving him in two.

Blood sprayed into the air, forming a crimson mist before the lifeless corpse collapsed onto the deck with a dull thud.

"C-Captain Modka… is dead?!"

"H-he killed him in one strike!!!"

"This is the power of a Rocks Pirate officer?!"

"Run! There's no way we can fight a monster like that!!!"

Terror gripped the remaining pirates. Some instinctively backed away, while others ran toward the ship's edge, desperate to escape.

However, Ayr had no intention of letting them go.

It was because of these fools that a school of Sea Kings had been disturbed, leading to the destruction of his original ship.

Sure, he had just acquired a larger vessel, but that was beside the point.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Ayr unleashed a devastating arc of sword energy.

"SWISH!!!"

A blinding slash ripped through the air, slicing through multiple pirates at once. Their bodies split apart before they even realized what had happened.

Some, however, managed to dive into the sea and escape.

Ayr let them go. The ocean would deal with them. He was no Devil Fruit user, but even he knew that being stranded in these waters was a death sentence.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained +35 Sage Body progress!"

"Ding! Sage Body has reached the late stage!"

Ayr smirked. 35 points? Not bad.

Originally, he had been 28 points away from the next breakthrough. Now, after wiping out this crew, he had exceeded that and ascended to the next stage.

"Not a bad trade." Ayr muttered, glancing at his new ship.

Had he not encountered this crew, he would have had to sail a tiny boat all the way to Hachinosu. Now, he had a fully equipped pirate ship, along with a stash of treasure.

But most importantly?

Modka and his crew had unintentionally accelerated Ayr's evolution.

As the system's voice echoed in his mind, Ayr suddenly felt a surge of energy coursing through his body.

"BOOM!!!"

Ayr dropped to one knee, his hands gripping the deck as an excruciating pain spread through him.

"Agh…!!!" His breath became ragged, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"What the hell… Why does this hurt so much?!"

The first time he obtained Sage Body, there had been no pain at all.

Even when he advanced from the early stage to the mid-stage, he had barely felt anything.

But now?

This was pure agony.

Every cell in his body was undergoing a complete rebirth, his bones being reforged, his muscles being strengthened at a level far beyond human limitations.

Fortunately, the pain didn't last long.

After what felt like an eternity—but was in reality only a few minutes—the pain finally subsided.

Ayr slowly exhaled, rising to his feet.

He felt… unstoppable.

Strength pulsed through his veins, an overwhelming vitality surging within him.

"Let's see just how much I've improved." Ayr murmured.

He unsheathed his blade and prepared to test his resilience.

With a swift motion, he sliced his own arm.

A deep gash formed, but before a single drop of blood could spill, the wound sealed itself instantly.

"Tch… that's insane." Ayr muttered, inspecting his fully healed arm.

His defensive power had skyrocketed.

His healing speed had surpassed even Marco's Phoenix regeneration.

His raw durability was now beyond Charlotte Linlin's legendary skin.

With this newfound strength, he could push himself harder than ever without worrying about exhaustion.

Just then, the system's voice rang in his ears again.

"Ding! Sage Body has reached the late stage! You have received 1x Special Lottery Ticket!"

"Would you like to use your Special Lottery Ticket?"

Ayr's lips curled into a smirk.

"Of course."

A Special Lottery draw—unlike the regular ones—had unpredictable but always extraordinary rewards.

The very name alone implied something incredible.

And Ayr was more than ready to see what fate had in store for him next.

IMPORTANT UPDATE –

I WILL BE POSTING 1 CHAPTER HERE EVERY DAY, BUT IF YOU WANT TO READ 5+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS DAILY AND 15 EXTRA CHAPTERS BY THE END OF EACH MONTH, JOIN MY PATREON FOR EXCLUSIVE EARLY ACCESS.

🔗 JOIN NOW: patreon.com/Oreski

PS: I HAVE UPLOADED 50+ ADVANCED CHAPTERS ON PATREON ALREADY, AND BY THE END OF EACH MONTH, I WILL POST 15 MORE CHAPTERS—DON'T MISS OUT ON THE ADVENTURE.