The tavern was still incredibly noisy.
Pirates were reveling, the clinking of glasses, crude singing, and women's laughter mingled together, forming a chaotic symphony unique to Tortuga.
But all of this no longer concerned Roger, who was in the corner.
At this moment, his world was reduced to the system panel glowing blue in his vision, and the line of text on it that struck him like lightning.
Activation failed.
Error message: The Host does not own any ships. Please acquire a ship of your own before you can activate and use the Ancient Ship Technology tree.
Activation… failed?
The smile on Roger's face froze.
He stared at the text, reading it word by word.
He read it three times before he dared to believe he hadn't misread it.
Needs a ship of his own?
What did that mean?
Roger's mind buzzed, feeling a bit confused.
He had worked so hard, risking his life, battling storms, and venturing into the Devil's Triangle, just to get these 20 gold coins from Barbossa.
He thought that with money, he could activate his golden finger and embark on the path to success.
But the system told him that money alone wasn't enough; he needed a "vehicle" first?
What the hell was this!
A huge sense of disappointment and absurdity welled up in his heart.
"Damn it!"
Roger couldn't help but curse under his breath.
This system was too much of a scam, wasn't it?
It had a 新手禮包 (newbie gift pack) but no newbie guidance.
Why didn't it mention such an important prerequisite earlier?
Did it have to wait until he had all the gold coins ready before popping up to tell him it wouldn't work?
Isn't this just playing with people!
Roger wasn't giving up; he tried to communicate with the system using his consciousness.
"System? What does 'a ship of my own' mean?"
"Is the sea serpent I'm on now not good enough?"
The sea serpent's ownership belongs to Barbossa, not the Host himself.
The system's response was cold and mechanical, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Then how can I own a ship of my own?"
Roger pressed on.
The system fell silent, not answering.
Evidently, such a question was beyond its scope.
It was only responsible for determining conditions, not for providing strategies.
Roger leaned against the wall, raised his rum, and took a big gulp.
The spicy rum couldn't dispel the gloom in his heart.
Buy a ship?
He looked down at the money bag in his arms.
The 10 gold coins consumed during the failed technology tree activation had been returned, so he still had 20 gold coins.
20 gold coins might be a huge sum for an ordinary sailor.
But for buying a ship… Roger had no concept of prices in this era.
However, he knew that a ship, even the smallest and most dilapidated fishing boat, could definitely not be bought with 20 gold coins.
What's more, he needed a sailboat capable of long voyages.
The price for that would probably be an astronomical figure.
Steal one?
This thought flashed through Roger's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
Although he now had some prestige on the sea serpent, he was still an outsider at heart.
Barbossa and the others were willing to share money with him and invite him for rum because he could bring value.
But if he suggested leading everyone to steal a ship for himself, what would Barbossa think?
What would the other crew members think?
They would probably immediately assume he wanted to start his own faction and was plotting something nefarious.
At that point, let alone stealing a ship, it would be hard to say if he could even keep his own life.
This path wouldn't work.
So what should he do?
Roger's brows furrowed tightly.
Was he destined to stay on the sea serpent forever, working as a high-level employee for Barbossa?
Although the treatment was good now, with money to share, rum to drink, and respect from others.
But this wasn't what he wanted.
What he wanted was power that truly belonged to him.
Technology that could secure his position, and even change this era.
And all of this was blocked by the damned condition of "owning a ship."
It was like playing a game where you painstakingly saved enough money to buy a god-tier weapon, only for the system to tell you, "Sorry, please purchase VIP membership first."
Frustrating, so frustrating.
"Hey, Brother Lin Ye, why are you drinking alone here?"
Gibbs, holding a rum, staggered over and plopped down opposite him.
He was already flushed red from drinking and slurred his words.
"Nothing, just thinking about something."
Roger put away his gloom and forced a smile.
"Thinking about what? Do you think the rum here isn't strong enough, or are those women not pretty enough?"
Gibbs chuckled, nudging Roger with his elbow.
"If you fancy anyone, tell your brother, and I'll sort it out for you!"
"Your brother here has plenty of gold coins!"
Roger shook his head.
"Gibbs, let me ask you something."
"In Tortuga, how much does it cost to buy a ship?"
"Buy a ship?" Gibbs was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand.
"That's very expensive."
"A single-masted sailboat like our sea serpent, even though it's a bit old, if you were to sell it, you couldn't get it for less than eight hundred to a thousand gold coins."
"And for those two-masted, or even three-masted galleons, several thousand gold coins wouldn't even be enough!"
Eight hundred to a thousand gold coins… Roger's heart sank halfway.
His 20 gold coins weren't even a fraction of that.
"Isn't there anything cheaper?"
"Like… unwanted ones, or impounded ones?"
Roger asked, holding onto a sliver of hope.
"Cheaper ones?" Gibbs thought for a moment, then let out a burp.
"There are, actually."
"The Port Governor sometimes auctions off broken ships that have been sunk and then salvaged, or confiscated smuggling vessels."
"Those ships either have broken keels or rotten hulls; repairing them costs more than buying a new one, so no one wants them."
"The cheapest ones might go for a few tens of gold coins for an empty hull."
"But why buy something like that? To burn as firewood?"
A few tens of gold coins… empty hull… Hearing these words, Roger's eyes suddenly lit up.
That's right!
The system only said he needed "a ship of his own," but it didn't say the ship had to be in perfect condition!
As long as the ship belonged to him legally or in terms of ownership, wouldn't that be enough?
Even if it was just a dilapidated hull, as long as the system recognized it, it would be the key to activating the technology tree!
And once the technology tree was activated, he would gain Ancient Ship Technology.
Would there be technology for repairing ships, or even building ships, in there?
A bold plan quickly formed in Roger's mind.
He grabbed Gibbs's arm and asked eagerly:
"Gibbs! Where is that auction you mentioned? When is it?"
Gibbs was startled by his sudden excitement and replied blankly:
"It's at the Port Authority warehouse… As for when it is, that depends on the Governor's mood, hard to say…"
Roger let go of him and suddenly stood up.
He couldn't wait any longer.
He had to go confirm immediately whether this method would work!
"Gibbs, please tell the captain for me that I'm going out to do something and will be back soon."
With that, Roger ignored Gibbs's shouts behind him, pushed through the crowd, and quickly walked out of the noisy tavern.
He clutched the money bag in his arms, his gaze fixed on the direction of the port.
Hope was there!