*Hissss! Hisss! Hissss!*

In the distance, I could hear loud hissing noises and with closer inspection, it was a definitely Qualze with their signature yellow fins sticking out from the water.

I instantly took out my telescope to get a more proper look, "I count three so far Captain!"

These fish have been known to get as big as a grown man, and their blue skin is so thick that standard projectiles wouldn't think of injuring it greatly.

"Gahaha! A scouting team huh? That's too bad. Boy, you handle these."Liam's excited mood died down almost instantly as he realized the fight would be too easy for him.

"What?!" I nearly drop the telescope after hearing Liam's words.

"Ahh-choo!! .....Ugh...I-I haven't dealt with them before only heard of them.." I felt my body become physically weaker.

"C-captain! Ian is in no position to be moving! He is extremely ill!"Ellie said as she grabbed my hand.

"Oho~ Someone is already denying my orders even though they just joined my crew!"Liam bared his teeth as he released a bit of his killing intent.

"Eep..."Ellie shrinks back behind me as she avoided Liam's intense gaze.

"Ian! I want you to understand. At times you have to act even when you are at your weakest. If you can't even fight with a simple cold...then don't expect to survive very long!" Liam crossed his arms as he glared at me.

(Captain is being serious which means that I need to become serious as well!)

"Aye, Captain! I'll dispose of them!" I promptly returned Liam's gaze with confidence brimming from eyes as I turned back towards the incoming threat!

"Ian....please be careful.." Ellie tugged gently on my sleeve as she bit down on her lip.

"Hah! I'm a fierce pirate I-" I instantly sneezed again before I finished my sentence.

(Well, now that was just uncool..)

I groaned softly as I withdrew my gun-blade from its holster, pressing the button that extends the blade.

"Ugh...Fay...come with me!"

"Alright! I haven't seen you do battle in a while!"Fay flew on top of my head as I leaped off of the ship without hesitation.

"Ian!" Ellie became wide-eyed as she watched me jump off of the ship, and before she could act she would see me running on water!

"Huh? How is he doing that?"Ellie looked to Liam for answers.

"Gahaha! He's not the one doing that! That's the work of Fay of course!"Liam puffed out his chest as if he was the one causing the phenomenon before them.

"You probably haven't heard of Dalvian before right?" Derek walked beside Ellie as he continued rubbing his arms.

"No, I haven't. What exactly are Dalvians?"Ellie asked as she looked up at Derek confusingly.

"Well, on this planet. Fay is one of a kind, but on her planet Dalvia there are hundreds of thousands of them. The planet Dalvia is popularly known to be filled with lush forests that are just about as big as our oceans. They are typically known for their affinity with plants. Anyways, the race is also gifted with a unique ability that allows them to make shields made out of magic without incantations."Derek explained.

"But...that doesn't explain how he is running on water," Ellie said.

"Well, Fay is a bit more gifted than the others. She can instantly cast miniature magic shields underneath Ian's feet which enables him to run on water. However, she has to stay focused, or Ian will take a nice dip in cold water."Derek sighed gently.

"Oh!" Ellie smiled as she clasped her hands together. Her excitement quickly dwindled as she worried about Ian's safety. The entire crew would simply watch as Ian entered his first battle with the Qualze.

I groaned in agony as I commanded my body forward across the glacial water, pushing myself to my limits.

*Hisss!!*

One of the Qualze suddenly leaped at me from several feet away, revealing its gruesome face with rows of razor-sharp teeth in its mouth. I instantly raised my gun-blade in front of my face taking the brunt of the impact.

*Bang!*

"Guh!!" My arms started to sting as I was forced backward quite a bit.

(Shit! I'm sicker than what I thought I was!)

I instantly threw the Qualze to the side to deal with the other two coming at me. I dashed forward as I started to shoot at the other two only causing minor wounds, but it would definitely capture their attention.

*HISSSS HISSSSS!!*

The other two Qualze leaped at me, but I instantly dodge to the side. I then rapidly moved my feet to lead the pack farther away once I knew all of them had their attention on me.

"Hah...I don't know how I'm going to do this in my state!" I ran with all my might to gain some more distance, but outrunning a predatory fish on water? That's impossible!

"Should we go back?"Fay caressed my head gently as she became concerned.

"O-of course not!" I grit my teeth as I instantly turned around. My eyes became multi-colored within that instant. One of the Qualze that I dealt with earlier leaped at me again with even more force, but with my mysterious power circulating throughout my body. I cleaved it entirely in half!

Its bleeding flesh slowly sank into the deep cold ocean.

"Alright Now two more! If you were the Captain, you would already be back on the ship right now!"Fay said with a smug smile.

"I'm not the captain! I'm the lookout!" I groaned as I started feeling a bit drained after that one attack. However, I was given a task and I plan on finishing it.

A fight with my life on the line would commence!

Slash! Dodge! Slash! Dodge! Repeat! I willed my weakened body to fight with the Qualze head-on! It seemed I was only making them angrier as I left their bodies riddled with shallow sword wounds.

I started breathing heavily as the frigid air started to become more apparent to me

The two Qualze started overlaying their bodies with abundant water as they leaped at me like a speeding bullet!

"Move it's their magic!"Fay shrieked as she pulled on my hair.

Before I could even think about dodging the two Qualze were upon me, and I could merely hold my weapon up in front of me as a shield.

*HISSSSS!!!* *HISSSS!!!!*

"Gaah!" I groaned in incredible pain as I could feel something breaking in my arms as I blocked the impact of both of the Qualze. I could only stand my ground for a few moments before I was blasted off into the air.

"Ahhh!!" I screamed for what felt like centuries as flew through the air. Luckily or not I found myself landing on a considerably large piece of ice, gritting my teeth tightly as I endured the pain.

"...Shit..."

Meanwhile on the ship-------

"I-Ian!" Ellie shouted hysterically as she foolishly tried to jump off of the ship, forgetting she was in a wheelchair.

"Do not move any further girl!"Liam released a bit of his killing intent as he seized the back of Ellie's wheelchair. He would hold her back with little effort.

"BUT IAN NEEDS HELP!"Ellie shouted as she instantly turned her head and glared at Liam. She unconsciously released her own killing intent as her golden hair started to move unnaturally. The wind started forming around her body.

"She...."Liam was stunned momentarily from the actions of this foolish girl. It would seem as if Ian was her reverse scale, something that could never be touched!

"Look, Ellie, you need to calm down. The boy isn't finished yet, and besides, I've been prepared to help him if things become grave." Liam said soothingly.

Ellie immediately started to calm down and looked across the ocean. She was still quite worried about Ian.

"If only my legs...weren't..."Ellie said under breath as she trembled slightly.

Ian's POV--------

"Ian! Come on get up! They are coming back!"Fay had already flown off of my head to escape the impact and was now tugging on my scarf.

I struggled to get up as something was definitely broken again. I would use the blade part of my gun as a crutch. I then started to cough uncontrollably, my body becoming even weaker after taking damage.

"So weak..."

"Huh?..." I started to hear that voice again inside my head.

"How can you be so weak? I'll never be able to avenge them at this rate!"The voice said again.

"Avenge? Wh-."I Immediately lost all consciousness as my body started to release overwhelming killing intent!

My body wasn't my own anymore!