Chapter 4

[System: Edward Newgate’s favorability +5.]

“You brat, you say a few months, and it’s a few months? I’m the old man, and you’re the kid!”

The blonde uncle lifted you up in his arms. Your small frame felt like a rabbit in his embrace, barely fitting halfway into his crook of his arm. Yet, his movements were surprisingly gentle, without any shaking or risk of dropping you.

Edward Newgate walked over to a nearby wooden boat, inspecting the extent of its damage. His tone was much livelier compared to when he was just sitting idly. “It’s just a bit of damage to the deck. A few planks nailed on should fix it.”

Really?

You harbored some doubt, but since this was a game, fixing things should be as simple as roasting wild boar meat. Worrying about such details was just a waste of time.

“Kid, once you’ve eaten, help me find some wood.”

[Main Quest Triggered: Help Edward Newgate find wood. Quest Details: Edward Newgate wants to repair the ship and needs some wood. However, it seems he has other uses in mind. About 20 pieces are needed. Hurry and look for them.]

Other uses?

Never mind. Whatever the purpose, you certainly can’t ignore the main quest.

“Alright.”

You obediently accepted the task. Your hunger had subsided, likely because the system recognized you just bit into roasted meat, which triggered the next part of the story and removed the forced hunger event.

However, your stamina bar was only partially replenished. You definitely needed to finish all the roasted meat on the fire before tackling the main quest.

You hadn’t finished exploring the yellow bag on the boat either. You recalled being interrupted halfway through earlier... No, the “Starter Chest” was more important! Better finish collecting everything from the yellow bag first.

You jumped down from the blonde uncle’s arms and huffed as you ran to the side of the dilapidated boat. Just as you were about to step onto it, a new interface popped up before you.

[System Notice: Edward Newgate is repairing it. You cannot approach.]

“...Fine.”

With a sigh, you returned to the campfire and finished off the roasted meat on the rack. Edward Newgate then made a new move.

He turned his body, chest out proudly, and strode toward the forest. Curious, you lowered your stick and peeked around—

You saw the tall blonde man, half the height of an ancient towering tree, lift his left foot and with one powerful kick, brought the giant tree crashing down, yielding freshly cut logs.

Wow, impressive.

Doesn’t his foot hurt? Level 71—terrifying!

Indeed, strength is the only absolute truth in this world. Envy filled your heart deeply. Someday, you want to reach that level too—invulnerable, a true tank with max defense!

Without hesitation, you followed Edward Newgate into the forest, bent over picking up sticks, practicing “Conqueror’s Haki,” occasionally stunning ants or other small bugs at your feet. When you spotted mushrooms that could adjust attributes, you bent down and picked a few. You were so exhausted that you panted heavily, but your spirit burned bright.

Before you knew it, Edward Newgate had disappeared. You and he had separated, and you fully entered grind mode.

[System: Obtained ordinary small wooden stick ×1, total accumulated 20.]

Quest complete!

After a long grind, the system notified you. You cheered but then collapsed to the ground as if weighed down by lead.

Your tired limbs refused to obey, pressed tightly against the earth. You were utterly drained, your consciousness slowly slipping into darkness.

Wh-what’s happening?

Falling into darkness of consciousness didn’t seem good.

[System Notice: Player exhausted, unable to bear the burden, passed out on the ground.]

...

When you opened your eyes again, the sun above was scorching. Once your senses returned, cheerful crackling sounds rang in your ears.

[System: A new day has dawned. After a night's rest, your stamina has recovered!]

[System Notice: You were exposed to three hours of intense sunlight, charm -1.]

What!?

What new day? You actually lay unconscious all night because your stamina was depleted!

And your charm dropped by one due to sun exposure. Your charm was barely above double digits to begin with, now dangerously low. You looked decent; the mirror showed your original appearance, just shrunk to child size.

Damn it, did I get sunburned?

---

You scrambled up from the ground, shielding your eyes from the glaring sun. Taking a mirror from your backpack, you checked your face—it looked exactly the same as before. You had no idea where the charm points vanished to.

Judging by the sun’s intensity, it was definitely noon. Time here flowed differently from the normal world. Anxiously, you carried 20 sticks heading toward the battered boat.

Is the white-bearded uncle still chopping trees? How should I give him these...

As it turned out, your worries were pointless by the time you reached the boat.

Edward Newgate was sitting where you had built the fire yesterday, surrounded by a mountain of logs. It looked like he’d already gathered all the wood needed for repairs. You even thought he could make a simple raft with all that.

But he didn’t.

He sat motionless, expression blank, hands idle, as if waiting for something.

You swallowed nervously and hurried to the blonde uncle. A dialogue bubble with “...” appeared above him.

Choice 1: Dad, I’ve collected the wood! (Submit quest)

Choice 2: Leave.

“Dad, I’ve collected the wood!”

You handed over the sticks.

“Gurururu! Well done!”

Edward Newgate reacted to your words as if awakening, nodding with a smile. “Put it on the fire over there. I’ll roast some meat for you soon.”

[System: Player completed Main Quest 1 “Help Edward Newgate find wood”! Gained 1020 experience points, Edward Newgate’s favorability +10, Free voucher for the Grand Bazaar ×1 (added to backpack).]

So the “other uses” meant just for firewood.

This uncle really has a good heart.

You nodded without objection. This interaction seemed to trigger new story developments. Edward Newgate stood up, grabbed a round log from the pile nearby, and without any weapon—

With one palm strike, he split the log cleanly in two.

...Amazing.

Compared to him, you were still only level 9, not even matching the power of his pinky finger. Luckily, completing the main quest gave you plenty of experience—you were just 11 points shy of leveling up.

Following his instructions, you approached the fire and quietly put down the sticks. As you bent, you glanced back and saw Edward Newgate had already finished splitting all the logs.

He grinned and said, “Kid, lend me your little knife.”

Choice 1: Sure, my stuff is yours, Dad.

Choice 2: No, I’m a celestial being!

Might as well lend it.

The environment dimmed again, with no option to exit—probably a forced scene. You shrugged and handed over the knife.

“Sure, my stuff is yours, Dad.”

[System: Edward Newgate’s favorability +20.]

While the blonde uncle busied himself carving nails and planks with your knife, you turned to hunt crabs, continuing to practice Conqueror’s Haki.

Some games require players to leave an area or look away for a while before the story refreshes. You guessed the system would make you wait about ten minutes again.

During this time, you leveled up once, stunned 36 small crabs, gained 720 experience points, and raised your level 1 Conqueror’s Haki to 61/100.

You kept 20 stamina points to avoid fainting. Exhausted, you returned to Edward Newgate’s side.

He had finished the small parts and sat silently on a tree stump, tending to the roasted meat.

You approached the white-bearded uncle, who seemed to trigger something and handed you a freshly cooked skewer. “Gurururu! Eat up!”

“Thank you, Dad.”

The new lunch wasn’t wild boar meat; it was tender and lacked a strong gamey smell, more like chicken breast.

The uncle really was kind, even switching up the flavor for you.

You devoured all the meat in one go, restoring most of your stamina. You stood up again, ready to continue your crab-hunting spree. But after searching for a while, you couldn’t find any. You suspected you’d wiped out the small crab population in this little area.

Maybe the crabs need some time to respawn.

Or you could head into the forest... Bugs also count, though less experience. The advantage is you can kill several at once and unlock bug entries in your bestiary that you didn’t want to unlock before.

---

The grind spirit ignited within you. Burning with resolve, you ventured into the nearby woods, wary of wild boars or other fierce beasts, so you avoided going too deep.

The forest’s edge had sparse trees, with moist air heavy with earth and decaying leaves. While you were busy killing ants with ants and caterpillars with caterpillars, casually picking mushrooms, you found a peculiar purple mushroom.

Its stem twisted in a strange spiral, resembling a DNA helix. Its cap was covered with a beautiful, colorful iridescent sheen, and it emitted a faint fruity aroma.

[System: Obtained Pregnancy Mushroom ×1. Each restores 100 HP, 100 stamina. Note: Has special effects.]

“...”

You really found it.

Silently placing it in your backpack, you waited until your stamina dropped again to 20 points before returning to the boat.

From afar, the once-holed wooden sailboat was truly repaired!

Edward Newgate stood motionless beside the ship, expressionless and without movement.

No matter how many times you saw it, it still felt eerie. Nervously, you stepped closer. When you approached, the blonde uncle finally moved, his face showing lively expression as he tossed the previously intended knife over.

“Kid, here you go!”

“Our ship’s fixed. Come aboard and take a look.”

“Yeah!”

You caught the dagger excitedly, then ran to the repaired boat. This time the system did not block you. You climbed aboard and opened the yellow bag you had partially searched before—

Only a small wooden chest remained inside.

The chest was unlocked. Inside lay a strangely shaped golden fruit, quietly emanating an enticing aroma.

[System: Obtained “Superhuman-type Replication Fruit” ×1.]

What’s this?

You clicked the dialogue bubble floating over the fruit, and its description immediately appeared.

Item: Superhuman-type Replication Fruit

Note: A kind of Devil Fruit. After consumption, allows the user to copy the abilities of other Devil Fruit users. After eating, unable to swim.

So it’s a Devil Fruit.

You recalled your friend once talking about these—common in hot-blooded adventure worlds as a system of supernatural powers.

A game-given reward. Eat it! You plan to collect every Devil Fruit to complete your Devil Fruit bestiary!

Without hesitation, you bit into a large chunk and swallowed—

You nearly vomited on the spot.

Your mouth was filled with the taste of rusty metal and rotten fish—completely inedible.

Disbelieving, you stared at the fruit and took another bite, trying to taste it better. At that moment, the once-stoic Edward Newgate suddenly shouted out loud, showing fresh, lively reaction.

He looked at you in shock, then quickly approached, eyes wide and stern.

“What are you doing!?”

Huh?

Wh-what’s wrong?

Why would the blonde uncle suddenly get angry? That makes no sense... Oh wait, this isn’t a game.

Could it be he wanted to eat crap and triggered a new storyline?

Edward Newgate’s massive frame rapidly reached you. He pinched your small ankle with thumb and forefinger, flipping you upside down and shook you firmly.

“You ate a Devil Fruit! Once you eat it, you can never swim again. And a person can only eat one Devil Fruit in their lifetime. Do you know what that means?!”

...

What!!!

Only one!?

You—your friend never told you that!

This is a disaster! You wanted to be the queen of overpowered builds, but now you can’t go all in! You might as well cry yourself to death in the street!