Chapter Twenty-One: Plot Resolution

It is worth mentioning that when one is resurrected with a Lesser Resurrection Scroll, their level drops by five, but at major thresholds—levels 10, 30, and 50—there is rank protection. For the first death after reaching a new threshold, the level will not fall below that rank. For example, if someone at level 16 dies and uses a Lesser Resurrection Scroll, their level drops to 11. However, if someone dies at level 12 and is resurrected this way, their level will only drop to 10, not directly by five levels.

But if they die again within the next year, their level will fall to 5 upon resurrection, and any acquired professions and skills will be temporarily sealed and unusable. In other words, this rank protection has a one-year cooldown; it can only take effect once per year. As long as the interval between deaths is not less than a year, the rank will not drop below the threshold.

However, it must be noted that this does not mean resurrection is unlimited. After tens of thousands of years of data, it is well established that every Descendant can only be resurrected a limited number of times in their life, depending on their talent and power, but generally within a certain range. Usually, no Descendant can be resurrected more than ten times in their lifetime. If they have awakened talents, that number may increase, but never by more than 100%. In other words, even the most gifted Descendant cannot be resurrected more than twenty times in their life.

But this does not mean that the privileged offspring of powerful families can act recklessly. On the contrary, the more powerful one's background, the more they must avoid falling in battle. The reason is simple: each death lowers the upper limit of the soul’s essence. Put differently, everyone’s soul origin is fixed, and with every death, some of it is lost. A single death means one can never achieve ultimate perfection in this life. For those born to powerful families with promising talent, this is an unbearable pain.

Even though most people will never reach the pinnacle, the young are always full of vitality and confidence before being tempered by the harsh realities of the world. They possess the drive to climb ever higher, becoming extraordinary or even legendary figures. But once they have tasted death, this spirit dissipates, and it becomes difficult to attain the highest levels of strength, no matter the resources or experiences provided.

This sudden accident startled all the classmates, pouring cold water on their previously excited spirits. After this, no teams dared to intercept the remaining pirate leaders who had escaped. Chu Cheng was even less inclined to take risks and became more cautious even when pursuing elite pirates, avoiding groups that were too large. Having only just changed professions, his strength was still insufficient, so he preferred to err on the side of caution. He decided it would be better to gain more experience and raise his level before considering further risks.

The five of them reached a unanimous decision and plunged into the alleys, hunting down the pirates who had fled there. But by then, most of the pirates had already escaped, and after several turns, they found no one.

Zhang Chunlei jumped down from a building, put away his bow, and said, “Let’s go. The remaining pirates have boarded their ships; the battle should be over.”

The group exchanged glances and shrugged. Chu Cheng sheathed his dual blades and was about to turn away when he suddenly received a new message. It was from their homeroom teacher: “Come to the dock.”

He looked up in surprise, and Wang Weilong and the others also looked up. He smiled and asked, “Shall we go together?”

“Let’s go.”

“Do you think the homeroom teacher has something good for us?”

“Usually, yes.”

They quickly arrived at the dock, only to find it crowded with soldiers. The kingdom’s troops had boarded the pirate ships and intercepted them. At that moment, Assistant Instructor Liu Weifei, standing by one of the five-masted pirate ships, beckoned them over. “Come quickly!”

The group exchanged glances and hurried to the edge of the ship, grabbing the ropes to pull themselves aboard. The deck was littered with pirate corpses, and a group of kingdom soldiers surrounded the entrance to the cabin, from which the sounds of fierce battle could be heard.

Liu Weifei pointed inside and said, “One of the wounded pirate chiefs has been cornered by the boss. Go in and help finish him off.”

The group was surprised, then excited.

“What luck!”

The five of them entered the cabin, descending the wooden stairs over the soft bodies into the hold, where they saw a battered, one-eyed pirate trapped in a corner by Duan Yuqin and a squad of shield-bearing soldiers.

Seeing them arrive, Duan Yuqin pointed at the boss and said, “The five of you, work together and take him down.”

Without hesitation, Wang Weilong charged forward. Zhang Chunlei marked the one-eyed pirate and drew a special magic arrow, beginning to charge its power. Cheng Mingyue moved a bit slower, while Zhang Qing was already weaving a spell.

“So fast…”

Realizing he was falling behind, Chu Cheng hurried after them, thrusting his twin curved blades through the gap between his teammates.

“……”

“Your attack deals 44 points of physical damage to Dragonbone Rosen. Target’s defense absorbs 22 points of physical damage. Final damage: 22 points of physical damage.”

“You dealt more damage than the target’s remaining health. Target has died!”

“You gained 842 points of slaughter experience.”

“You have accumulated enough experience. Your level has increased to 12.”

An indescribable power surged from deep within, restoring all of his states to perfection; all fatigue and exertion vanished.

“Another level up.”

Without stopping to check his new attributes, he gazed excitedly at the loot orb hovering above the corpse. Inside was a blue treasure chest, glowing faintly red. This indicated the loot had already surpassed the limits of a blue chest, but was not quite at the level of a red one. This was because their party hadn’t slain the boss alone; if they had, it would have been a full red chest, with a high chance of a rare item or artifact. As it was, it was a blue chest tinged with red—likely a top-tier blue item.

With the battle over, Duan Yuqin made a gesture of tacit approval, and the acting leader, Wang Weilong, collected the chest. The others said nothing, as if this were routine. Chu Cheng certainly wouldn’t mention anything; he guessed this was a special opportunity arranged just for them.

With this, the class session was truly over. When they returned to the castle and reached the entrance, a notification appeared:

“Notice: The complex storyline of the King of the Black Sails has concluded. Settlement is beginning. Calculating results…”

“Notice: Base score is 10 points.”

“Notice: 266 Black Sail pirates killed, score +133.”

“Notice: 2 pirate leaders killed, score +20.”

“Notice: 18 elite pirates killed, score +36.”

“Notice: Pirate chief Dragonbone Rosen killed, score +50.”

“Notice: Final score: 249. Overall rating: Four stars.”

“Final rewards: 1 blue treasure chest, 5,000 slaughter experience, 2 free attribute points, 4 skill points.”