Chapter 198 True Colors

When the pirates noticed that they had an archer of Aion's level, those who were still behind grabbed their iron shields. As if that would change anything… Aion fired his arrows anyway, and the impact knocked the enemies onto the ocean.

Unfortunately, Aion had to take a break when he suddenly saw a man carrying a box of cannon balls. He grabbed one of them like a bowling ball and then threw it at Aion. His first reaction was to dodge, but then Aion realized that he couldn't let the sails be damaged, and that guy threw those with the same power as a cannon.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Aion muttered after he blocked the ball with his bow.

The impact made Aion fall, but at least he protected the sail.

"What the hell was that?" Aion asked when he saw some pirates landing on the ship and some sailors moving to face them. "I thought that pirates were only weaklings that attack those who are weaker…"

"Even pirates have ranks, and while your description is almost correct, they only would follow this kind of life if they could follow someone strong that would guarantee them some success," Sauros said. "That guy is probably their captain."

As soon as he finished talking, the enemy captain threw a Cannonball toward Sauros. He blocked it with both hands, and while he was pushed backward for a bit, the cannonball got rusty and then eventually turned into dust… the pirates, that were excited despite the losses, went silent after that. Meanwhile, Aion used that chance to invade the enemy ship after jumping.

Aion landed ten meters away from that guy. He was pretty tall and muscular, and he was a former Warrior of some renown. Since he was shirtless, Aion could see some cuts on his arms and chest… sword scars. At close range, the cannonballs wouldn't be of much use, so the pirate captain tossed the box to the side and then grabbed a large sword hidden behind the dark cape on his back. The pirate captain smiled from ear to ear, but since he was completely bald and had several teeth missing, he didn't look that ominous.

"That sword is pretty big. Are you compensating for something?" Aion asked. "Despite that, you sure look like a happy fellow."

The pirate dashed toward Aion and swung his sword with both hands. He was fast… Aion changed to his spear at the last moment and dodged to the side with his boost of speed. The enemy's strike landed on the floor and opened a hole in it… as expected, he was strong and fast but not bright.

Aion approached, swinging his spear at the enemy's neck, and he tried to pull away his sword and dodge, but Aion stopped on the weapon and added some extra weight. The pirate let go of the weapon and then stepped backward. He quickly dashed again to attack Aion, but then he stopped when he saw his sword disappearing.

"That may be cowardly, but I can't let you kill anyone," Aion said while looking around and seeing some pirates pointing crossbows at him. "I guess I won't have the chance to rest your strength…"

The pirates pulled the trigger, but Aion blocked the bolts with some wind walls. After that, he fired Fireballs. When they crossed the walls, they gained extra power, and then they exploded upon contact with the enemies.

The smile on the Captain's face disappeared completely… he didn't expect to see magic right there on another ordinary day of work… he took a few steps backward, and while Aion could be merciful, he couldn't let information about him spread among low lives… Besides, a good pirate is a dead pirate.

When the pirate captain felt Aion's killing intent, he ran to the sea… it seemed that he would instead be eaten by monsters. While shrugging, Aion changed his class and then created a thick ice wall in front of him. He almost heard the sound of a skull cracking… in any case, the pirate captain fell unconscious. Aion thought that he could turn him into a death knight, but he wasn't that strong… nor did he have a mutation.

Although their leader failed at jumping into the sea, some of the surviving pirates did that and managed to escape. For how long? No one could tell.

"That was rather easy…" Aion said.

"Magic is something that people that studied a lot know. Hence, the likes of pirates don't know how to deal with it," Sauros said. "Even though apparently, they have been using a few magic tools for many years… in any case, you stand above most mages, so it isn't surprising that they would rather test their luck on the sea instead of against you."

"I already told you, I get goosebumps when you compliment me… in any case, it seems that mages are pretty feared. I never noticed that until now," Aion said.

"Only your ancestors were feared, but then they were defeated, and many mages across the world used their fame to make people wary of them," Sauros replied. "Since most of them are nobles or come from rich families, they grow to become cruel and despise those who are poor… the fact that few people truly are able to use magic boosts their ego."

Being feared by assholes wasn't so bad, but being feared by ordinary people was a bit troublesome since it was similar to prejudice… being blamed for something that he never did.

Regardless, the group checked the ship and then found some gold in the Captain's cabin and some wine, fine clothes, weapons, and accessories in the warehouse. Aion didn't need the gold, and since selling the items would be difficult, he told Sauros and Seris that he would keep them.

"You can at least pretend that you care about our opinions on the matter," Seris said.

"You will get all of the other parts of the ship. I would say that this is a fair trade," Aion said.

"You already have that weird weapon. Why do you want more?" Seris asked.

"For world domination," Aion replied.