Though Kai let Jett steer the ship, much to Jett's dismay, he didn't object.
He was convinced that this so-called captain had absolutely no clue how to sail.
As for how to address him, Kai is very comfortable. Jett can call him 'Captain' or just his name.
Showing some respect to someone capable of seizing control of a system so effortlessly was the least Jett could do, sometimes not.
"Captain, do you have any plans?" Jett asked.
"I originally planned to grab hold of a chunk of wood and let myself drift out to sea. But that man was so enthusiastic, wasn't he? According to him, the route through all three great empires is quite interesting. So, let's follow that route." Kai replied.
Hearing this, Jett's mouth twitched, and a black line seemed to appear on his forehead. He thought to himself:
"Heavens, where does this captain get his confidence? With that frail body, he thinks he can just cling to a log and drift out to sea? Isn't that just flirting with death? Could it be that those who are truly free don't care about their lives at all? That's the only way to explain it.
But to reach such a level… truly rare. Honestly, I think he's even not a human. No human could treat the system like it's a mere plaything."
Jett, while lacking any useful pirate skills, wasn't exactly clueless. He was well aware that Kai was no ordinary person.
But setting all that aside, they first needed to seek out the child of destiny. Jett spoke up:
"Captain, there's something I want to discuss… Huh? Already passed out? How weak can he be?"
At some point, Kai had collapsed motionless on the ship's deck. Seeing this, Jett shouted:
"Hey, Captain! Wake up! Already sleeping like the dead? What kind of unreliable captain is this!"
Quite the situation they were in—a pirate crew of just two members. The captain found Jett untrustworthy, and Jett, in turn, thought the same of his captain.
It could all be summed up as follows: this was a pirate crew utterly lacking in reliability.
But Kai wasn't truly asleep. In his eyes, the world had turned pitch black. He looked around but saw no trace of light.
"Strange, where exactly am I? I was just on the deck moments ago."
Though Kai had powers that could discern everything, he had sealed them all away. Now, he was just an ordinary ex-slave named Kai.
Then, a green light appeared. A small, faintly blue flame-like entity floated before him.
"Hey, would you like to make a pact with me?"
Kai was surprised, he didn't fully understand this world.
At the moment, his knowledge was practically that of an ordinary person, unacquainted with the world's secrets.
"What are you?" he asked.
"I am Quake. You could say I am a sort of curse of the sea. I was formed and developed from the souls of many top-tier masters who have perished and the power of the sea."
"A curse? Why would I need a curse? Isn't that a bad thing?"
Kai thought this curse was foolish. Being a curse and yet openly revealing its identity—who would trust it after that?
"Hey, you're getting the wrong idea. Just listen to my full introduction first. Yes, I am a curse, but I'm not without benefits. I can help you increase your recovery ability and allow you to use the power of vibrations. In return, you won't be able to use Water Control—that's the curse part."
"Is that the only drawback?"
"Exactly. Feeling interested yet?"
"Hold on, let me think about it."
It didn't sound like there were many disadvantages, but Kai could currently view the system's notifications regarding Jett.
This was to guard against the system pulling some untrustworthy or boring tricks that might ruin the adventure.
The system had granted Jett the ability to use Water Control as his first gift, which indicated it wasn't a trivial skill.
If the curse's power were too weak, it wouldn't be worth trading away his abilities for it foolishly.
Kai had confidence to spare. He believed that if others could learn it, he could too—it was only a question of how long it would take.
"Show me a bit of what this vibration power actually does."
Without further words, Quake displayed a few battle scenes involving previous wielders of this power.
The epic battles at the peak of power made Kai's eyes sparkle like stars, and he burst into laughter:
"Ha ha ha! Good, this power is intriguing—I like it."
"Then make a pact with me."
"How do I do that?"
"Simply say you're willing to become Quake's user."
Expecting some difficult terms, Kai hadn't thought it would be this simple. He said:
"I am willing to become Quake's user."
"Good. Another ability that those under the curse have is accelerated recovery. While it might lose its value later on, it's quite useful while you're still weak. Don't come looking for me, though—I'm not actually a living being, just a type of rule. Note: the vibration power has high attack strength, but it also carries recoil. If your body is too weak, you might die after using this power."
After that, Kai was able to open his eyes. He laughed heartily and announced to Jett:
"Ha ha ha! I just got myself an interesting new power."
Seeing Kai bragging, Jett's mouth twitched. He thought to himself:
"A new power? You could say you could lift this entire planet, and I still wouldn't be shocked."
Though he was thinking that, curiosity got the better of him, and he asked:
"What power is it?"
"There's a curse called Quake. It just came to give me the vibration power."
Hearing this, Jett frowned, thinking:
"A curse, huh? Could it be a devil fruit? But no, Kai hasn't eaten anything recently. Maybe this isn't the place I thought it was—maybe it's a parallel world with a few changes. Better keep checking."
Jett glanced at the area map in his hand (a freebie with the route map through the great empires) and thought:
"There's a place called Windmill Village not too far from here. We should reach it soon. If I don't meet them there, then this probably isn't the same world, and I won't have the advantage of knowing the storyline."
Seeing Jett deep in thought, Kai shouted:
"Hey, hey! What the hell are you thinking about? Aren't you reacting a bit wrong? Didn't I just say I got an interesting new power?"
Snapped out of his thoughts by Kai's shout, Jett cast a glance at his unreliable captain.