Martial Online.

At Seafare.

Inside a random inn, a bushy-bearded man with dirty clothes sat alone in a dark room. His only company was a bottle of rum and a half-broken chair, which he used to sit on.

He was the captain of the ship that brought Ambrose to Borneo Island. He was also an unfortunate victim of Mars and his fate-stealing magic.

He didn't only lose all of his crew, his reputation, and his future.

Nowadays, he was notorious for being nothing but a useless drunkard. His wife and kids left him, and none of his former friends wanted to assist him in getting back to his feet.

Whenever he tried to go alone to fish, not a single fish wanted to bite. It was as if he were cursed by the sea gods.

Sometimes, he sat on the boat for three days just to not get a single bite.

"Cursed…" He groaned and dropped the bottle of rom down to the ground.

He then leaned against the backrest of the half-broken chair, planning to take a nap before going out in the night in search of food.

He barely had any money left; therefore, he hoped to catch some food from garbage cans or some nearly-empty alcohol bottles thrown away by some drunkards.

At that moment, a flash of light pierced through the window and entered the bushy-bearded man's body.

Instantly, an ethereal glow surrounded the man, and he suddenly felt his drunkenness vanish and his vitality return.

His eyes had the same spark as they had when he was young.

"P-perhaps, I should go try one more time…" He thought and stood up from the half-broken chair. "I-I have a feeling that tonight will be the day I catch some fish."

His lips suddenly had a smile that he had lost a while ago.

Everyone who had their fates stolen, recovered them because of the timely death of Mars, and thousands of fateless people in Dark Waters started to turn their lives around for better.

…

Ambrose appeared on the deck of a black-sailed ship. His tattered clothes fluttered against the cold morning wind, and his hair was disheveled and unkempt.

He looked like a warrior who had undergone a long and grueling battle.

"Ambrose!" Leon shouted with a surprisingly happy tone, which was unbecoming of him.

His waist was bandaged heavily, and it was clear that he had bled a lot not long ago, but a little bit of color had returned to his face, signaling that the injury was not fatal.

At the side, Zero looked at the corpses strewn on the deck, covered by a warm blanket. The corpses were Apollo, Damian, Jake, Ors, Loki, and Henri.

"Zero…" Ambrose muttered. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Zero replied. "Mars is dead?"

"Yeah." Ambrose touched his forehead, which didn't have a black heart mark anymore. "The disappearance of the mark proves it."

"Good." Leon said with a weak smile before sitting down on the deck. "I wish others were here to see it."

"I am sorry." Ambrose said with a deeply hurt expression. "You all just followed my impatient path, and so many paid the price."

"I know for a fact that you are not at fault." Zero said surprisingly. "They all had dreamed of killing Mars for a long time. They had secretly grown their strength for one chance to end his life.

"They wanted to fight for their freedom or die for it."

"You don't know it, but Apollo talked with us without you." Leon said shockingly.

Ambrose turned to the silver-haired man in surprise. "What for?"

"None of us were really convinced of following your lead." Leon said and shrugged his shoulders. "I was the person who was least convinced, but Apollo was always our leader and big brother figure.

"He had a hunch that he should follow you, so we gave it a shot. The goal, which we always dreamed of, was met, even though it didn't happen flawlessly."

"Apollo…" Ambrose sighed deeply. "What are you two planning to do now?"

Leon looked down at the deck and clenched his fists. "I am… going to go visit my parents. They must be so mad at me."

"I…" Zero wryly smiled. "I have nowhere to go, so I suppose I'll just go where the tides take me."

"What about you, Ambrose?" Leon asked.

"I'll…" Ambrose thought about it for a moment before smiling. "I guess I'll go to Ama…"

Boom—Splash!

At that moment, a loud splash appeared beside the ship, as if something had exploded under water.

They all snapped their heads towards the horizon and saw a steel ship approaching them. The sails were red-colored, with the head of a dragon on the ship's bow.

"Pirates?" Ambrose asked quickly, thinking that they might be former allies of the Sea King.

"No, that is the ship of the Red Inquisitor!" Leon shouted. "How bold of them to be in the territory of the Pirate King. I suppose the Red Inquisitor on board must be powerful for them to be bold like that!"

"Can you escape?" Ambrose quickly asked, while Leon started steering the ship away.

"No way!" Leon shouted. "Inquisitor ships are the fastest in the sea. Eventually, they will reach us!"

"Then, I suppose we need to be ready for another fight." Ambrose said heavily and walked towards the cabins. "Try to go as fast as possible. Buy me some time."

"All right!" Leon shouted and wiped the sweat off his brows. 'When can we catch a fucking break?'

Ambrose trotted down the hallway of the ship's interior and soon stepped through the doorway of his cabin. He took a seat on the bed and pulled out some kind of medallion from his pocket.

He opened it, and it showed the picture of Damian with his family.

He planned to visit Nightdale one day to meet Damian's father, and he wasn't going to fail that promise.

After storing the medallion safely in his inventory, he took out a star-shaped object.

It was the star fragment belonging to Jake.

Apparently, by eating this object, one could become Starborn!

'Well, Jake, let's see how strong this makes me.' Ambrose thought and then swallowed it in one go.

At the same moment, his veins bulged, and his body began to glow with a bright, shimmering light.

"Aaaaaargh!"

*** 

[You are evolving!]

[Human → Starborn]

[50 Strength Acquired!]

[STR: 200 → 250]

[50 Charm Acquired!]

[CHA: 50 → 100]

[Cha%4&&//&¤ Ad¤%&" Re"¤&"&]

[50 Intelligence Acquired!]

[INT: 110 → 160]

[50 Luck Acquired!]

[LUC: 130 → 180]

[40 Agility Acquired!]

[AGI: 40 → 90]

[50 Vitality Acquired!]

[VIT: 100 → 150]

[50 Dexterity Acquired!]

[DEX: 100 → 150]

[50 Stamina Acquired!]

[STA: 70 → 120]

[Sta%4&&//&¤ Ad¤%&" Re"¤&"&]

***

Ambrose collapsed on the bed; his eyes rolled backwards into his skull as he passed out.

In that moment, his avatar's body and his real-life body started undergoing a tremendous transformation!

His entire body was changing, turning stronger, healthier, and more beautiful by the moment. His dull blue eyes changed into radiant purple as if there were stars shining within them.

His skin turned fairer, and his black hair turned even darker and more beautiful.

His body then started to gain a little bit more muscle, and his trousers started to feel tighter and shorter as he also grew in length. His legs and arms became more defined and powerful.

It was an incredible transformation that should be impossible by every understanding.

Yet, it was happening right in this very room.

At that moment, Ambrose gently opened his eyes and breathed out calmly.

"Haaah…"

A new Starborn had appeared.