The Heir Who Wouldn’t Drown
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 13: The Reach of the Law
“Oswald is a Gourmand of the Golden Coin Sequence? When I first saw those man-eating sharks under supernatural control, I thought he must be a Beast Tamer of the Wilderness Sequence.”
Julian knew enough about the supernatural to meet the advancement prerequisites for several Sequences, but his practical experience still left something to be desired.
That was forgivable in a young man who had spent seventeen years in a culinary wasteland.
The many supernatural Sequences and professions covered most divisions of labor in society, but their distribution varied enormously from country to country. Julian could not speak for anywhere else, but in Hastings, a culinary wasteland with the world’s thinnest cookbook, Gourmands were an endangered species.
[Gourmand: a supernatural practitioner of the Golden Coin Sequence. Sequence Maxim: When Money Speaks, Truth Falls Silent! Prerequisite Knowledge: Culinary Mastery. Every supernatural practitioner of this Sequence requires vast sums of money to sustain them. Given sufficient wealth, they can advance rapidly. Most possess an insatiable desire for riches.]
Gourmands had appetites far beyond those of ordinary people. They spent their careers pursuing fine food, earning themselves the name “Gourmet Hunters.” Only by satisfying their appetites and experiencing exquisite flavors could they continue to grow in power.
Julian suspected that no matter how high a Gourmand’s Sequence, three days in Hastings would bring them crashing back down.
Clearly, Oswald did not spend most of his time in Hastings waters.
Unlike a Rank 1 Servitor, who possessed only passive abilities, Oswald was a Rank 2 Professional. As a Gourmand, he had already acquired his core supernatural ability: Culinary Fortification.
Eating different specially prepared foods granted different temporary enhancements. Eagle eyes gave long-range vision; pig brains quickened the mind; sparrow tongues allowed the eater to mimic all manner of sounds...
It was a remarkably versatile ability.
High-Sequence Gourmands could even eat the flesh and blood of a supernatural creature, briefly assume its form, and wield precisely the same innate abilities.
Oswald had just swallowed a blood-red liquor mixed with some unknown substance. Now great clouds of alcohol fumes steamed from him as his body fat burned, driving him into a frenzy and even kindling hot, open flames. Sailors on both sides scattered, yelling as they were scorched.
Dodging with the rest, Julian was reminded by that formidable display of another aspect of Culinary Fortification. A Gourmand could select the food most compatible with them as their “staple food.” It not only granted an exceptional enhancement in one particular area, but also accelerated the growth of their spirituality. The more they ate, the faster it grew.
There was, however, one absolute taboo.
Their own kind.
Julian’s heart lurched.
Together with the sudden jump in Decryption to 40%, that thought made him realize he seemed to have touched on the key to [Secret: Unspeakable Affliction].
Cooks who never survived a month aboard. A captain tormented by gout, outwardly calm but inwardly mad. A Gourmand whose appetite could never be satisfied. An unknown staple food...
Some faint thread seemed to connect them all.
Before Julian could pursue it, the battle demanded his attention again.
The two powerful Rank 2 supernatural practitioners fought their way across the ship, exchanging deadly blows.
Cedric, the Fortress Warden, used sound, disciplined Military Swordsmanship that left no opening. His core ability, Steel Resonance, made every iron and steel weapon on his person an extension of his will. His scale armor rang as his weapons flashed with cold light, cutting through everything in their path.
Opposite him, Oswald had gone berserk. His crimson eyes revealed the truth behind the name Redgaze. The Gourmand answered attack with attack, wielding the ferocious Fisher Cutting Method.
He looked more like a Berserker than a Gourmand.
Sparks flew amid resounding crashes.
With Redgaze, their only supernatural practitioner, tied down, the pirates began losing ground fast. They were outnumbered and outclassed.
Julian could no longer afford to hold anything back. Hand-and-a-half sword in hand, he plunged into the thickest fighting.
His ruthless Tempest Swordsmanship became a bloody storm. Every flash of his blade brought another naval soldier down.
The truth was that every profession had its weaknesses in this world’s supernatural system, which relied on specialization and cooperation. Even high-Sequence supernatural practitioners could be mobbed and killed, let alone someone as weak as Julian, who had yet to enter a profession.
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