Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

Jake’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth falling open slightly.

The requirements were far higher than he had expected.

But then he frowned, remembering something important.

He clearly recalled upgrading [Light Manifestation] from Lv.0 to Lv.1 had only cost him 100 Upgrade Points.

That was dramatically cheaper than these current demands.

’Wait... Could it be...?’

With a hint of curiosity, he decided to test his hypothesis.

[Ding!]

[Upgrading Light Manifestation (Lv.1) failed!]

[Requirement: 10,000 Upgrade Points]

Jake’s eyes almost bulged out of his head at the absurd number.

”Ten... thousand?!” he muttered under his breath, stunned.

The difference was insane.

Grace, who currently had her cheeks puffing out cutely around his cock, blinked as she noticed his sudden outburst.

She pulled back just enough to speak, her lips shiny and swollen.

”Jake? Is something wrong?”

Jake shook his head and gently stroked her golden hair, smiling wryly despite the shock.

”Nothing bad. Just... the class is more complicated than I thought. Upgrading skills gets insanely expensive after the first level... especially your [Light Manifestation] skill.”

Hearing this, Grace, who was still slowly stroking his dick with her soft hand, paused slightly.

She finally remembered that Jake had been able to copy and use her ability.

A complicated emotion flickered in her gaze as she realized what that meant... she wasn’t a useless member after all.

The signature skill of her family had always been inside her.

Just as Grace seemed to get lost in her own thoughts, a slight gloom settling over her expression—

”Grace? What’s wrong?”

Jake patted her shoulder and asked worriedly.

Grace blinked and quickly shook her head.

”Oh, it’s nothing,” she said softly.

”Just... I didn’t think I actually had the [Light Manifestation] skill in me. My family always said I was a failure because I couldn’t awaken it. But you... you were able to use it.”

Then her smile brightened again, as if she had decided to leave the past behind and focus on the present... on him.

”And I think I know why my skill is so much more expensive to upgrade...”

”Oh?” Jake raised an eyebrow, still gently stroking her golden hair.

Grace nuzzled her cheek softly against his thigh, her soft hand continuing its slow, loving strokes along his hard, throbbing cock.

She decided to tell him the truth, her voice quiet and sincere.

”Actually... I am from one of the Great Noble Families of the mainland kingdom... the Lightborn Family. But I was considered a failure.”

”...”

Jake listened in silence, but he didn’t seem surprised.

He had long suspected that Grace came from a special background.

She was simply too beautiful, and a skill as powerful as Light Manifestation was clearly no ordinary ability.

However, since she had never wanted to talk about her past before, he had never pressed the matter.

Grace’s eyes softened with old memories as she continued.

”Light Manifestation is a bloodline skill of my family. It’s not meant for normal people... because it is extremely powerful. After all, it originates from my father... who is known as the Dawn Knight, the Hero of Humanity, the Grandmaster of the Brilliant Sword, and many other titles.”

Jake blinked, momentarily dumbfounded as he was genuinely surprised by the impressive list of titles.

He hadn’t expected to receive a skill that originated from such a legendary figure.

’No wonder it was so powerful...’

He still remembered how it had effortlessly sliced through the Bone Crusher’s red aura despite his lower class.

And he also had a feeling it wasn’t just an active skill.

During that life-and-death moment, when he wielded the sword of light, he had entered a strange, heightened state.

It likely possessed hidden passive abilities as well.

Grace’s golden eyes grew slightly distant for a moment, but she quickly refocused on him.

Her hand never stopped its gentle, loving strokes.

”With that skill, he single-handedly held the front line against the Deep Aberration invasion ten years ago. Hundreds of thousands of monsters... and he stood alone for ten days and ten nights, his golden light never fading... giving hope to all of humanity.”

Her eyes filled with awe as she spoke of her father’s feats.

”Maybe that’s why upgrading it costs so many points... because it’s not a simple skill. It’s probably one of the strongest skill in the world.”

But then, Grace looked up at him with a small, bittersweet smile.

”My family always called me a failure because I couldn’t awaken it properly. They said I was too weak, too useless to carry the bloodline, and unworthy of the name Lightborn...”

”...and some even said I wasn’t a legitimate child of my father. But you... you were able to use it. Even if it was just a copy through your class... it means the power was still inside me somewhere.”

She leaned forward and placed a soft, reverent kiss on the tip of his cock.

”Mmm~ ♡ I’m so happy when you use it,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. ”It means that I really am a child of the Lightborn family.”

Then, her sucking resumed, slower and more affectionate this time, as if she was pouring all her complicated emotions into pleasing him.

Jake groaned softly, his fingers gently threading through her golden hair as he processed her words.

The pleasure from her mouth mixed with the weight of what she had just revealed...

’Dawn Knight... Deep Aberration... It seems this world really is dangerous.’

He looked down at Grace, watching her golden head bob lovingly between his legs.

Despite her family’s rejection and the pain of being called useless, she was still here, giving herself to him completely.

”You’re not useless, Grace.” he said hoarsely, his voice firm.

”You’re mine. And I’ll make sure the world sees just how valuable you are.”

Grace’s golden eyes shimmered with happiness at his words.

She moaned deeply around his cock, sucking him with even more passion and devotion, as if his affirmation had lit a fire inside her.

Meanwhile, inside Jake’s mind, even through the haze of pleasure, continued analyzing the system.

’It seems powerful skills like Light Manifestation have ridiculous upgrade costs after the first level. But awakening it from Lv.0 to Lv.1 was surprisingly cheap... only 100 points. That’s probably the ”entry fee” for rare abilities.’

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

The cost to upgrade a skill likely scaled dramatically depending on how powerful it was.

That also explained why [Battle Adept] and [Instinct] demanded such enormous amounts of points... he had experienced firsthand just how strong those skills became in critical moments.

He gently stroked her hair as another wave of pleasure rolled through him.

Then his eyes shone with seriousness.

”Grace, do you want to awaken that ability? I can help you.”

Grace paused mid-motion, her lips still wrapped around the head of his cock.

She slowly pulled back with a wet sound, her golden eyes widening in surprise as she looked up at him.

”...Awaken it?” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

For a moment, a complicated mix of emotions flashed across her face... hope, fear, longing, and deep insecurity.

She sat up a little straighter between his legs, her massive breasts rising and falling with her quickened breathing.

But then she closed her eyes, calmed herself, and opened them again with renewed resolve.

As much as that power had only brought her trauma since childhood... now she had Jake.

She wanted to become stronger so she could stand beside him.

She never wanted to see him covered in blood again while she could do nothing but cry.

”Yes,” she said firmly, her voice filled with determination.

”I want it. I want to become stronger for you. If there’s even a chance that I can awaken my father’s power... then please, Jake. Help me.”

Her golden eyes burned with resolve as she looked at him.

But then, a shy but sincere smile curved her lips as she added softly.

”And... I can compensate you later... so you can do me... as many times as you need.”

Grace clearly understood that their intimate moments would restore those Upgrade Points, so she willingly offered herself for his sake... though deep down, she couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of excitement and anticipation at the thought.

Jake blinked at the sudden strange turn.

’It seems [Sex Fiend] is truly a fearsome skill...’

...Not that he minded.