Chaotic Sea, Black Flag Island.
The Chaotic Sea, true to its name, is widely recognized as the most tumultuous sea area in the Western Continent.
The main reasons?
Treasures, cannons, pirates.
Extraordinary individuals on the Secret Path, esoteric cults pursuing the profound, the Far East Islands known as the “Land of Gold”…
Undeniably, that is the reality.
And to be able to occupy a rich island in such a sea area and name it after themselves, only five pirate groups have managed to do so since the Ok Empire’s first expedition.
The Black Flag Pirate Group is one of them.
At this moment, a year had passed since that rare great storm.
Today, Black Flag Island was unusually lively.
It wasn't because the pirates had plundered another large ship, but because today was the first birthday of the island master’s young master!
Several pirate ships under the Black Flag Pirate Group, except for those with urgent matters that prevented their return, were all docked at Black Flag Island’s port.
Inside the manor at the center of the island.
Raine leaned in his mother Franka’s embrace, his pair of emerald green pupils curiously observing the scene in the courtyard.
A year’s time had long allowed him to accept his current situation and gain some understanding of this world.
This was an otherworldly realm, similar yet different from Earth, seemingly in an era of great maritime discoveries.
In such an era, the lives of commoners at the bottom were undoubtedly quite difficult.
Fortunately, Raine’s family circumstances were quite good.
His father was not only a well-known great pirate but also the island master of this island!
The wealth accumulated through countless raids and bloody battles was even more substantial than that of some nobles.
Of course, compared to true noble lords, the identity of a pirate was certainly not presentable.
However, Raine was already very satisfied.
Parents alive and well, no worries about food and clothing, starting with an island, and even inheriting elven bloodline—at least better than 80% of transmigrators, right?
Why else would they say that reincarnation is a technical skill?
After withdrawing his gaze from the maids in the courtyard, Raine’s thoughts stirred, and a page with ancient patterns along its edge appeared before his eyes.
【The Writer of the Notes—】
【Name: Renn Alexander】
【Age: 1 year old】
【Bloodline: Elf (Dense)—Elves are darlings of the world; you are naturally endowed with an affinity for nature and magic, and possess a longer lifespan than humans, but your growth period will also be longer.】
【Unknown (Thin)—A mysterious bloodline hidden within you, it is unknown when it will truly awaken.】
【Secret Path Profession: None】
【Skills: None】
【Talents: Nature Affinity, Magic Affinity】
【Held Imprints: Strength Imprint (First Order)】
【Status: Deep Sea Gaze—You were born in the storm, and due to special reasons, you were branded with an imprint from the deep sea. While attracting the secret power of the sea, you are also more likely to attract the prying eyes of certain existences.】
【—The deep sea is gazing at you.】
This yellowed page, of course, came from the Perfect Life Notes activated when Raine was born.
After so long, Raine had roughly figured out its function.
When encountering a major event significant enough to affect his life’s trajectory, the notes would provide a prompt.
Just like the day Raine was born, if he had stayed obediently in the cabin, his father would most likely have been swept into the sea, and he himself would have been adrift ever since, dying prematurely at the age of three.
In gaming terms, it was heading towards a bad ending.
But Raine made his mother leave the cabin and save his father, which then reversed the original “imperfect branch.”
However, to date, this phenomenon had only triggered once, at his birth.
Therefore, Raine still did not know the more specific rules and principles.
But one thing was certain.
Eliminating the previous Imperfect Branch did not mean his life would be smooth sailing.
Greater trials were yet to come!
Looking at the Deep Sea Gaze in the status bar, Raine’s delicate, sculpted little face immediately crumpled into a small bun.
Heaven knew why the sea left an imprint on him during that storm.
The sailors and maids said it was an “Apocalypse,” but this description… it seemed sinister no matter how he looked at it!
Moreover, ever since Raine arrived at Black Flag Island, his father had never allowed him on a ship again, nor had he taken him to the coast more than a few times.
Was he wary of something?
“Raine, what’s wrong?”
Noticing the unusual behavior of the child in her arms, Franka lowered her head and asked softly.
“Yi ya~”
Raine opened his mouth and cried out in a milky voice.
Normally, a one-year-old child should be able to consciously say “dada” and “mama,” but Raine’s vocal cords seemed to develop very slowly, still only able to babble.
Not only that, but he was also smaller than children his age.
The reason was simple.
The developmental cycle of long-lived races must be longer than that of short-lived races.
In this world, an elf’s natural lifespan is about 300 to 500 years, and Raine, not a pure-blood elf, grows at roughly one-third to one-half the speed of a normal human.
In other words, whether it was speaking or learning to walk, he would be a step slower than ordinary children.
However, compared to the benefits brought by the elven bloodline, this slight impact was completely harmless.
What did temporary slowness matter?
Raine could perfectly wait until his peers died of old age, then visit them in the graveyard!
“Madam.”
Just then, a maid from the manor came forward: “All the guests have arrived, and the master is waiting for you in the dining room.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Franka nodded, then lowered her head and said to Raine: “Little Raine, don’t let your uncles scare you into crying.”
A hint of worry appeared in her emerald eyes.
Those who could be guests in this manor were naturally her husband’s trusted subordinates.
But in recent years, with the expansion of the Black Flag Pirate Group, some people inevitably harbored greater ambitions.
Especially the plan that Leon intended to propose at this banquet was bound to cause considerable controversy.
Franka sighed, muttering to herself: “I hope… it doesn’t escalate to the worst-case scenario.”
...
...
Not long after.
Franka led Raine into the dining room.
At this time, seven or eight pirates were already seated on both sides of the long table.
They generally had fierce appearances, cruel temperaments, and exuded the smell of the sea and cold blood.
If it were an ordinary toddler, upon seeing this group of ferocious pirates, they would likely be scared to tears.
Raine’s emotions, however, were very stable.
These pirates’ appearances were indeed intimidating, but compared to his own father, they were far inferior.
“My dear, you’re here.”
At the end of the long table, Leon grinned and greeted Franka: “Come, sit by me.”
Leon was nearly two meters tall, with thick black hair, and a full beard that couldn’t hide his handsome and rugged features, but a scar running across his nose made his face look exceptionally ferocious.
Just sitting there, he exuded an aura of authority without needing to be angry.
In terms of bloodthirstiness, he was the most intense among all the pirates present!
Beside Leon stood a boy of eleven or twelve.
“My dear, let me introduce you.”
Once Franka was by his side, Leon said: “This is Kent, the son of ‘Black Snake’ Havier, and he will also be living on Black Flag Island from now on.”
At the dining table, a man with a cold demeanor and hair tangled like sea snakes stood up and spoke to Franka.
“Madam, I entrust Kent to you for the next few years.”
In his mother’s arms, Raine blinked.
Over the past year, besides Kent, many other crew members’ families had actually been sent to Black Flag Island in succession.
On one hand, this was for their protection.
On the other hand, it was clearly a means for Leon to control his subordinates, akin to a different form of hostage-taking.
Of course, for some extreme pirates, this method held little meaning—if their wives were gone, they’d just seize new ones; if their sons were gone, they’d just have more; parents and siblings were even more useless.
But then again, as long as it was useful for certain subordinates, this strategy was effective.
Facing Leon and Franka, Kent seemed a bit shy and stammered: “Madam, h-hello, I’m Kent…”
“I have… I have a gift I want to give to Young Master Raine.”
Oh? There’s something in it for me?
Raine’s eyes lit up, and he looked curiously at Kent, somewhat anticipating what gift he would give him.
But the next moment.
The Perfect Life Notes, which had been silent for a long time, began to turn its pages on its own again!