Then, one morning, the roulette stopped on something I had never seen before.
Item Card
Name: Exp. Share
"...Exp. Share?"
I blinked several times before taking the floating card into my hands. It looked completely ordinary compared to the Pokémon cards, lacking any artwork depicting a creature. Instead, only a strange metallic device was illustrated across its surface.
For nearly a full minute I simply stared at it, wondering what exactly the system expected me to do with it. Unlike Move Cards or Pokémon Cards, there wasn't any obvious target for it.
But then a ridiculous possibility entered my mind.
"Luffy!"
The idiot immediately poked his head into my room.
"What? Did you get another Pokémon?"
"...No."
"Aww."
His shoulders instantly slumped in disappointment.
"It's something else. I need you to try it."
That immediately revived him.
"Can I transform again?"
"Probably not. Just... put this on your arm."
Without asking another question, Luffy happily grabbed the card and slapped it against his forearm exactly as he always did. Golden particles immediately dissolved into his body before disappearing completely. There was no transformation, no dramatic flash of light, and no visible change whatsoever.
"...Nothing happened."
"Didn't I just tell you nothing will happen but let's go hunting. I need to see if my thoughts were correct."
Luffy soon enthusiastically chased everything that moved while I deliberately stayed farther behind than usual. Normally I would go for the kill or see if I could gain experience but this time I reigned myself. Luffy didn't see the difference he was just looking to have something to eat.
Finally after knocking out an aggressive wolf with a heavy branch, a familiar blue notification suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Experience Gained: +14
"...It worked."
I froze in place. Another notification appeared barely a minute later after Luffy brought down a large bird.
Experience Gained: +9
I quietly continued observing without saying a word, mentally recording every creature we hunted throughout the day. Whenever I personally defeated the same type of prey in the past, I remembered approximately how much experience I had received. The numbers appearing now were consistently lower.
By the time we returned to the lodge that evening, I had already finished the calculations several times over just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.
"...Half."
Every single notification was almost exactly fifty percent of what I normally received. I looked toward Luffy, who was happily eating enough meat to feed an entire family while humming to himself.
"You have absolutely no idea what you just did..."
"Huh?"
He looked up with his mouth completely stuffed.
"What?"
"...Nothing."
A grin slowly spread across my face. The Exp. Share wasn't giving Luffy experience. It was giving me experience based on what he accomplished.
That completely changed everything.
Instead of relying solely on my own hunting, I could now continue growing while someone else fought. If I ever obtained more Exp. Share cards in the future, several people could potentially be earning experience for me simultaneously.
The possibilities were honestly terrifying. And this was only one card. If it were multiple cards and given to powerful people with cards at their backs, I could just leech off of them. This thought alone gave me goosebumps. If before I wasn't very forthcoming of going on this pirate stuff with Luffy, now that notion was out of the window.
That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, I remained awake for quite some time, staring at the wooden ceiling above my bed. The Exp. Share had completely changed my perspective. Before, I had been planning to stay hidden, grow stronger little by little, and avoid unnecessary attention. Now, however, another path had opened before me. If I could continue gaining experience through trusted people, then my growth would no longer depend entirely on risking my own neck every single day. I finally let out a slow breath before making up my mind. Tomorrow, I would begin preparing for the future instead of merely waiting for it.
The following morning, I found Luffy stuffing his face with breakfast before we normally left for hunting. Sitting opposite him, I folded my arms and spoke before he could ask about today's prey.
"Luffy, I've decided to head down to Foosha Village for a while. I want to earn some money and start building a proper boat. We can't exactly sail the seas forever on a pile of logs tied together, and with the construction instincts I've gained, I think I can build something worthy of crossing the ocean."
Luffy stopped chewing altogether before his eyes grew wider and wider. Then, without warning, he slammed both palms onto the table and jumped to his feet with enough force to nearly knock over his chair.
"YOSH! I knew it! You're finally joining my crew!" he shouted triumphantly before pointing dramatically toward the horizon as though the Grand Line itself was waiting for us. "We'll get the best ship ever! Then we'll sail everywhere together!"
"...Hold on," I immediately interrupted. "I said I wanted to build a boat. I never said I'd officially become a pirate."
Luffy looked at me with complete confusion, as though those two statements meant exactly the same thing.
"You're making our boat," he declared confidently. "You're my friend. Friends sail together. That's just how it works. And thus you are a pirate, just like me and Shanks." Somehow, despite making absolutely no logical sense, he looked utterly convinced that the discussion had already ended.
I could only sigh in defeat before shaking my head with a helpless smile. There was simply no arguing with Monkey D. Luffy once he had decided something. Before I could even think of another response, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and grinned from ear to ear.
"Don't worry about food either! I'll catch all the meat we need!" I stared at him for several long seconds before rolling my eyes.
Coming from someone capable of eating enough to feed an entire household in a single sitting, that promise inspired absolutely zero confidence. I ate like a perfectly normal person. Luffy, on the other hand, ate like a natural disaster disguised as a teenager.
----
The following morning, after reassuring Dadan that I would be fine, I made my way down the winding mountain trail toward Foosha Village. The path was far more peaceful than the forests surrounding the hideout, and before long the salty scent of the sea gradually replaced the smell of damp earth. White fences, neat cottages, and fishing boats gently bobbing against the docks slowly came into view.
Compared to Gray Terminal or the mountain bandits' hideout, Foosha Village almost felt unreal. Children laughed while chasing one another through the streets, fishermen repaired torn nets outside their homes, and shopkeepers casually greeted anyone passing by. For the first time since arriving in this world, I found myself walking through a place that genuinely resembled civilization instead of merely surviving inside it.
I hadn't taken many steps before an elderly man carrying himself with quiet authority noticed the unfamiliar face. His sharp eyes carefully examined me from head to toe before he slowly approached. Beside him stood a young woman with emerald-green hair carrying a basket of bread, her gentle smile making the atmosphere considerably less intimidating.
"You must be new," the elderly man said calmly. "I'm Woop Slap, the mayor of this village. I don't recall seeing you around before."
I politely bowed my head.
"My name is Kekoa. I've been staying up on Mount Colubo with Curly Dadan's family for a while now."
The mayor immediately raised an eyebrow while Makino's expression shifted into mild surprise.
"With Dadan?" Makino repeated. "You're one of the children she's looking after?"
"I suppose you could say that," I answered with a small laugh. "Luffy found me wandering through the forest after I escaped Gray Terminal. He insisted I come live with them, and Dadan... reluctantly agreed."
"That certainly sounds like Luffy."
The mayor simply let out a quiet grunt before crossing his arms.
"So what brings you all the way into my village, boy?"
"I'd like to work."
Both of them blinked.
"I'm rather good at building and repairing houses," I continued honestly. "If anyone here needs repairs, renovations, furniture, or new buildings, I'd be happy to do the work. I don't expect charity. I simply want to earn an honest living."
The mayor studied me for several long seconds before glancing toward my hands, which still carried faint calluses from weeks of construction.
"And what do you intend to do with the money?"
"I want to build a proper sailing boat."
"For yourself?"
"...For myself," I answered before smiling helplessly. "And apparently for Luffy as well. He has already decided it's our pirate ship despite me never agreeing to become one."
Makino couldn't suppress a soft laugh while even the mayor's stern expression relaxed slightly.
"...That sounds exactly like that stubborn brat," Woop Slap muttered. "There are always fences needing repairs, roofs damaged by storms, and old houses that could use proper maintenance. If your skills are half as good as you're claiming, word will spread quickly."