Chapter 8

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Cheap Old Dad is really easy to deal with; when things get serious, he steps up. You reached out and caught the syringe. Driven by curiosity, you squeezed out a tiny bead of blood and absorbed the red liquid seeping from the needle tip with a blank new card.

[System: Would you like to copy the ability of the “Superhuman Type: Tremor Tremor Fruit”?]

Yes!

Ability 2: Superhuman Type – Tremor Tremor Fruit

Description: Can shatter all things by freely adjusting the vibration’s range and intensity. Whether it’s air, seawater, or the ground, it can break them apart. It can also trigger tsunamis and earthquakes by striking space, making it the strongest superhuman type fruit.

Remaining uses: 3.

[System prompt: Ability successfully copied. Cards remaining (2/13).]

Well, well.

This one is even more heavyweight—the strongest superhuman type fruit, an ultra-rare SSR card! Right from the start, you got two trump cards. Truly, relying on your dad and brother pays off. You can hardly wait to meet the rest of the pirate crew.

If these two are so powerful, the team must have many other ability users.

With that concern settled, the heavy weight inside you finally lifted. The two standing opposite you had no new dialogue; continuing to talk with them only yielded repetitive murmurs: “Hmm… still five days.”

You quietly left and wandered to the other side of the ship, staring absentmindedly at the rolling ocean.

“Absentminded” isn’t quite right—you were actually searching for fish that randomly leap from the sea floor to train your Level 2 Conqueror’s Haki solo.

The sea offered few targets to attack; occasionally you’d spot seabirds, but not often. Most of the time, you could only unleash Conqueror’s Haki into thin air.

No experience gained—this was a big loss. Your stamina (MP) bar steadily drained with practice, and your supply of mana-restoring items was pitifully low.

Aside from some sour limes you found in Marco’s barrel earlier, most consumables restored both HP and MP. Since your health was full, you were reluctant to use them and ended up relying on sleep to regain stamina.

Five days passed in a flash.

Either grinding endlessly or collapsing from exhaustion and sleeping on the deck, you had never been this bored. Your thoughts constantly drifted to your phone. When not grinding, you almost turned the entire ship upside down.

You’d bet even Marco hadn’t explored this ship as thoroughly as you had.

By the way... under the bed in the captain’s cabin, you found a used toothbrush and pineapple-flavored toothpaste (yes, you crawled under the bed and searched everywhere). At last, you realized you had misjudged Cheap Old Bro—he does brush his teeth.

So what?

Out of sheer boredom and a sudden urge to hoard “trash,” you secretly slipped the toothbrush and toothpaste into your backpack, planning to sell them to merchants or NPCs once you landed.

Though drifting at sea was dull, it was quite productive. You had trained your Level 2 Conqueror’s Haki to 150 out of 200. Armament Haki required striking a target to count, so it remained at zero progress.

No choice—you couldn’t go around hitting the two green-named slackers on the ship, let alone the ship itself. You could only maintain the status quo. At least training Conqueror’s Haki went smoothly. You told yourself that much.

And every time your 300 stamina points ran out and you collapsed on the deck, you’d inexplicably wake up on your bed the next day. What an incredibly convenient system.

You mused that this damned game system actually did some human things. The next morning, you woke up from your bed only to find Marco sitting at the ship’s edge, sighing heavily.

What was wrong?

His reaction made you nervous. You worried he’d discover you’d stolen his toothbrush, and cold sweat trickled down your back.

What to do? Would he confront you?

If push came to shove, you’d just pout and apologize. You hadn’t raised his favorability today and didn’t want to miss your daily chance. After five days, his favorability was already at 67, so he probably wouldn’t hit you. If he dared, you’d go complain to Old Dad...

You clenched your fists anxiously and approached the blond youth to speak. Yet, as you neared, Marco’s expression softened.

He didn’t mention the toothbrush or toothpaste. Instead, he smiled warmly and kindly said, “Sis, you’ve already learned to use my ability, right? Want to give it a try?”

“My blue flames can heal others to a limited extent, but self-healing is incredible. As long as you have stamina, even if your head’s cut off, you can repair it. It’s quite fascinating.”

Choice 1: Try it.

Choice 2: Don’t try.

What? That was it?

You decisively declined.

Of course—who wastes skill uses for no reason? You weren’t seriously injured or fighting enemies. The MP cost of this skill alone could power several uses of Conqueror’s Haki.

As for your “terminal illness” notice that you only had one month to live... that was just some dumb system-imposed setting. You didn’t take it seriously.

Having suffered such an unlucky cross-world event, even if the worst happened and the trial version ended in death after one month, it wouldn’t be much different from continuing to live in a rigid game.

Maybe death would even return you to the real world—that would be great.

You were surprisingly philosophical about all this.

Today was the fifth day since setting sail. In the distance, the outline of an island appeared. The wooden ship slowly docked at the pier. The sea breeze carried the island’s unique aroma of medicinal herbs.

Edward Newgate and Marco jumped off the ship first, seemingly ready to catch you—

“Edward!!”

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A thunderous roar blasted through the air.

Startled by the sudden, powerful voice, you nearly thought it was directed at you. A shadow suddenly leapt up nearby, his navy coat fluttering in the wind. He raised a fist wrapped in dark Armament Haki and grinned broadly.

“I came here because of some lousy business—didn’t expect to find you, too!”

The man’s name glowed red above his head:

Monkey D. Garp, Lv. 73.

...D!?

You hadn’t forgotten—the game’s title was “The Grand Line: Legend of the D,” so anyone with a D in their name was special. Why was he opposing the protagonist, marked as a red name?

Oh right, this guy wore navy attire, and your Cheap Old Dad was a pirate.

Their factions were natural enemies.

The system didn’t prompt battle mode. Probably because this Garp wasn’t attacking you; he immediately started fighting Edward Newgate.

“Oh no, this looks dangerous.”

Marco grabbed your arm and leapt back several steps... Though you didn’t know what was dangerous. The two fought farther and farther until they were almost out of sight.

“Sis, let’s go. Leave this to Old Dad.”

Choice 1: Okay, I’ll listen to brother.

Choice 2: I won’t leave! I want to stay and help Dad!

Choice 3: Hey, navy over there, come rescue me! I’m a Celestial Dragon! (Whitebeard Pirates character route closed)

Choosing the third was just asking for trouble.

After hesitating, you clicked choice 1. Staying here served no purpose; as a lowly Lv. 15, you couldn’t help a Lv. 70+ boss, nor even see their fight clearly.

Better to follow Marco and progress the story.

“Okay! I’ll listen to brother.”

At your words, Marco reacted, grabbed your shoulders, and leapt into the air. In just a few wingbeats, you shot forward.

Whoa!?

The weightlessness of being off the ground stunned you. Looking at the flames, you saw a pair of claws wrapped in cyan-blue fire firmly holding your shoulders. Despite the blazing flames, there was no burning sensation.

Marco’s wings had fully transformed into massive wings of blue flames, the feathers translucent like glass. With a single powerful flap, you flew over ten meters forward.

Luckily, you weren’t afraid of heights. You instinctively gripped Marco’s claws and peeked downward. The entire small town stretched out below.

Wooden houses, villagers standing almost motionless at their doorways, drying racks for medicinal herbs...

It was the first complete village you’d seen. If not for the robotic movements of the people, it could have been a real world.

“Sis, where do you want to land?”

Choice 1: Go to the mayor’s house on the west side.

Choice 2: Visit the market on the street.

Choice 3: Go to the palace in the island’s center.

No option to exit—you had to choose a branch story.

You remembered the main quest was to find the best doctor for your illness (though you felt fine). The mayor would definitely have information, but you were curious about the market...

Surely there were many barrels and pots to smash, and merchant NPCs.

The palace in the center sounded interesting, maybe a rewarding dungeon.

You felt conflicted. Considering many games force you to follow the main quest without time to explore, you decided visiting the market first was best.

You chose option 2:

“I want to visit the market.”

“Got it, hold tight!”

Marco didn’t question your choice. He folded his wings and suddenly dived. The market quickly enlarged in your view as the blue flames vanished into the air. You landed smoothly.

Wow, finally at the market...

Well, it was just a small, shabby market—not worth such amazement. Yellow-named NPC vendors lined both sides of the street. A few nondescript passersby walked by. You could hear calls of merchants selling their wares.

After several days in this world, you finally felt some human presence. Though these NPCs moved stiffly, like programmed routines, their faces frozen in rigid expressions.

“So this is the town market.”

Marco’s eyelids drooped as he stared ahead. You couldn’t tell where his gaze landed.

“The others will arrive in about three days. Hmm, we have to stay for three days... perfect. Let’s buy some supplies before Old Dad finishes his business.”

“Sis, can you buy some apples for me?”

Choice 1: Sure, leave it to me! (Accept quest)

Choice 2: I don’t want to buy.

Choice 3: Leave.

You quickly chose option 1. Marco gave you some berries.

[System: Received 1000 berries.]

[Side quest triggered: Help Marco buy apples! Quest details: Marco wants to gather some information and replenish supplies. It’s not safe for him to come with you, so he asks you to buy around 10 apples and return quickly.]

What?

So Cheap Old Bro wanted to send you away... You didn’t think this big, burly guy had so many schemes. His stiff expression hid it well.

You accepted the 1000-berry bill and watched as Marco nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.

Noticing he just went to a stall and picked up a cabbage to inspect, you rolled your eyes and turned away, eager to explore the street.

But after walking the entire street, you found no barrels or boxes...

Were those only inside villagers’ homes? What a hassle!

Better buy apples first.

Several fruit stalls stood nearby. You picked the cheapest, clearly priced apples, and clicked the dialogue box above the vendor.

The screen dimmed, and options popped up.

Choice 1: Buy apples.

Choice 2: Buy bananas.

Choice 3: Buy pineapples.

Choice 4: Leave.

“Buy apples.”

“Welcome! Little miss, apples are 100 berries each. Ours are the cheapest on the street!”

The fruit vendor rubbed his hands and gave a warm smile, missing a big front tooth.

“How many would you like?”

“Ten, please...”

You didn’t understand why apples were sold individually. Exactly 1000 berries, all your money, reluctantly handed over.

You asked casually, “Do you buy junk?”

“Junk? You should try the general store. I only deal in fruit here.”

“Oh, thanks.” You felt better with that info and turned to pick apples.

To be honest, most apples were rotten or bruised at the edges—no wonder they were so cheap...

You picked up a shiny one, flipped it over, and saw a large rotten patch on the back. Silently, you put it back.

“Clears throat!”

The vendor coughed and looked a little displeased.

You ignored him. As a Lv. 15 hero, how could you fear a small-time swindler NPC?

Just then, another NPC appeared beside you, also aiming to buy apples.

After paying, he deftly picked a flawless apple and stuffed it into his cloth bag.

Hmm?

That red-haired kid really knew how to pick.

You decided to follow his lead. When he reached for the sixth apple in the second row, you quickly snatched it first and stuffed it into your backpack.

“...”

The red-haired kid paused, his delicate face blank and expressionless.

You secretly rejoiced—low AI in this game world had advantages.

He bent again for the second apple in the third row; you intercepted and took it.

“...”

He eyed another apple.

You swiftly grabbed it.

Again, he bent down.

You preempted him and took the apple.

The red-haired kid aimed yet again.

Just as you moved to snatch another apple, a hand about the same size as yours grabbed your arm.

Clearly, the owner was that red-haired kid. He glared fiercely, veins bulging on his forehead, twitching uncontrollably as he shouted—

“Hey, are you looking for a fight!?”

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