Jett noticed Kai looking so excited that he resembled a fool, and he cursed:
"Are you a child? Getting excited over something so trivial?"
"Trivial? Damn it, how dare you call shock power trivial? It's clearly interesting, and yet you belittle it." Kai retorted, swearing back.
Hearing this, Jett was taken aback. He wasn't unfamiliar with such a powerful ability but was even more curious about what exactly the curse entailed:
"So what did this curse actually give you? And what did you lose?"
"It gave me shock power and high regeneration, which is great while I'm still weak. In return, the sea granted me a curse: I can't use Water Control."
Jett's eyes widened, and he cursed loudly:
"Damn, you call that a curse? This is clearly a gift from above! I thought it'd be something like not being able to swim or fearing seawater, but who would've guessed it's just the inability to shoot water blasts. How annoying, why didn't any curse choose me?"
He had expected the curse to have some dangerous drawback, but who would have thought it was nearly a complete benefit, just trading water control for the ability to manipulate shock.
However, Kai didn't see it the same way as Jett. He replied:
"What the heck are you talking about? Not being able to mess with water is a huge pity when you're at sea! What pirate doesn't know how to play with seawater? Only I can't."
"Argh, damn it, Kai! I feel like you're intentionally provoking me. Take this!" Jett growled.
A droplet of seawater, slightly larger than a fingertip, rose from the ocean surface.
With a wave of his hand, Jett sent it flying straight toward Kai's chest.
The droplet collided powerfully with Kai's chest, sending him flying back three meters and coughing up a little blood.
Seeing his captain lying there like he was on the brink of death, Jett said:
"Hey, hey, Kai? You're not really dead, are you? If you die, I'm taking over as captain."
Kai, looking nearly dead, heard Jett's words and immediately sprang up:
"Don't even think about it, I'm the captain. Huh? Looks like my injuries are all healed now. Ha ha ha, this super regeneration really is insane!"
Initially wanting to argue over who was the captain, he ended up marveling at his own incredible regeneration.
Kai immediately put aside what he had been about to say, happily focusing on testing his superpower. He grinned and said:
"Come on, come on, hit me with more shots! This ability is seriously so much fun."
A black line appeared on Jett's face. Although he hadn't gone all-out with his previous strike, it hadn't been weak either. Seeing the amount of blood Kai had spat out, he knew the strength of that hit.
But somehow, Kai was back to full health just seconds later, grinning like an idiot and asking for more hits.
"Forget it. I feel like even if I keep hitting you, it won't really harm you. At most, you'll just feel pain for a few seconds and then be perfectly fine again. Anyway, I'm thinking of heading to Windmill Village. Any objections?" Jett asked.
Even though Kai looked totally unreliable, he was still the captain, so Jett felt it was necessary to check with him before deciding on their destination.
"Windmill, huh? Sure, go ahead and steer the ship. I'll go train." Kai replied nonchalantly.
He truly didn't care much about where they were headed. Even if Jett had suggested launching their sloop into space, he wouldn't have objected.
But hearing the name did make him pause for a moment, and he thought to himself:
"Does this guy think we're in some fantasy world he remembers from back then? Is he looking for some treasures or a protagonist? Has he ever considered that before I got here, he probably stood a good chance of being the main character?"
The thought didn't last long, and soon Kai let it go, continuing to train. He wanted to get stronger so he could fully utilize his shock power.
After adjusting the ship's course, Jett consulted the system to check his current strength level.
"System, what's my current strength level?"
[1]
Seeing the number, Jett frowned. But then he remembered that yesterday he had been on the verge of death, so of course, his strength wouldn't be high.
"And Kai's strength?"
[1]
Seeing another "1", Jett thought to himself:
"Does that mean Kai was also half-dead yesterday like I was? I should probably clarify."
"System, what's the average strength level of a normal adult?"
[Ding! The strength of an average, untrained but well-nourished person ranges from 2 to 3. Your strength is currently at 1 due to prolonged malnutrition, leading to weakness.]
Jett's mouth twitched as he thought:
"Damn it, even a regular person is two to three times stronger than me. What's going on in Kai's head that he dares to go out to sea like this?"
Since he'd already chosen the path of piracy, he was determined to become a great pirate.
Jett didn't want to remain this weak (even though his basic Water Control ability would be enough to surpass 99.99% of the world's population, not that he realized it).
"System, what should I do to increase my strength?"
[Ding! You can improve continuously through physical training. Now that you've unlocked Water Control, you've broken past the normal human limit. The maximum potential for your physical training is now much higher.]
With the ship's course now fully adjusted, Jett didn't have much else to do. He thought to himself:
"I have to train harder, there's no way I'm going to be the weakest pirate of all time."
Although he had the system's support, there wasn't much to do in the middle of the ocean. Without even a fishing rod to pass the time, his only option was to gaze out at the sea.
But, damn, just staring at the sea felt like a massive waste of time. As beautiful as it was, one needed strength to venture to the dangerous places where the scenery truly became breathtaking.
So, like Kai, Jett began training his body. Though his regeneration wasn't as ridiculous as Kai's, those who could use Water Control were considered the "children of the sea" so he wasn't entirely bad.
Kai, meanwhile, trained relentlessly, eating and then training, and then eating again. Jett, on the other hand, took some breaks to relax, unlike Kai.
Kai was an absolute training fanatic, pushing his muscles to the point of severe strain.
His super regeneration would then restore his muscles, and a new training cycle would begin.
The image of those who had wielded the Quake power before him filled him with excitement. He wanted to reach a point where he could wield his power with the same joy.