As Jewel jumps from the nearby balcony, disappearing into the city and heading towards the cactus-like mountains in the distance, Alex is left stunned.
Have I been reduced to a spider's caretaker, being ordered to fish for her? Whatever, she's pretty silly, but just as often she's sharp. It's rare for her to take the lead, so why not? Might as well get some fish for her. Maybe she's just hungry too. In any case I can spoil her... just a little.
"Let's take a walk together," Alex says with a casual smile. "We can then decide what we should do."
As he heads for the stairs, he catches Menchi glancing at Benezia's hand, staring far too intently.
Does she want to hold hands while walking? What is wrong with her? Menchi used to be the most reasonable one out of Tereza, me, and Jewel... this is not a positive development. Maybe I should ask Benezia to... deal with her so she can get it out of her system! If she ever screws up her cooking, I'll get mad. That's where I need to draw the line.
Leaving their apartment, Alex enters the largest room on the bottom floor and spots Mr. 8 working stiffly behind a desk.
Without hesitation, the seemingly overworked agent calls out, "Miss Monday!"
Seconds later, Miss Monday rushes in, clutching a small pouch and handing it to Alex.
He peeks inside and sees a mess of bills and coins.
"Are you kidding me? You're giving me coins? This is not funding, this is loose change!" Alex says, his frustration obvious.
"I..." Miss Monday stammers in her high-pitched voice. "Look, Mr. 6, our finances are fully drained! We can't pay you more. We just bought a ship full of supplies. Until we get more bounties, this is all I can afford. There are some 10,000 Belly bills... altogether it's around 300,000 Belly."
Benezia takes the pouch, calmly pulls out the bills and coins, and divides the money into three neat portions—each just above 100,000 Belly, for a total of 300,600.
Belly comes in both coins and bills. Coins are 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 denominations, while bills are worth 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000. Alex sighs at the tiny values, finding them annoying to use.
Belly is similar to Yen, meaning even something cheap, like a newspaper, costs 100 Belly. There's really no chance of buying anything for 1, 5, or even 10 Belly. These are useless trash coins.
"We also require weapons and supplies!" Alex declares, his tone serious.
"The warehouses are open to you," Miss Monday replies quickly. "They're right next to this building. There's a medium-sized warehouse we use as an armory for equipment and supplies. More warehouses hold everyday items and food. You can take... whatever you require, but I'll be coming with you. Even for a high-ranking Frontier Agent, I can't allow you to rob us blind."
Alex steps closer, standing tall in front of her. "No. I am taking whatever I feel like taking."
For a brief moment, his eyes flash red, the sensation reminding him of wielding [Commander Shepard's Dog Tag], though now it stems from his new [Shepard's Promise R2]. In addition, he feels fully in control—the power no longer overwhelms him, but acts as fuel, only enhancing his natural CHA and personality.
As Miss Monday panics, glancing at Mr. 8—who looks equally helpless—Alex softens his tone, slightly, tapping into the Paragon side of his new item.
"We only take as much as we can carry. That should be okay, right?" Alex offers, sounding quite reasonable.
"Okay..." she finally whispers, caving under his pressure.
Hehe, I can fit a lot into my inventory....
They leave the building together, Miss Monday pointing towards a small, sturdy-looking warehouse nearby, guarded by two men. After a reluctant wave towards them, she turns around and hurries back inside.
Alex, Benezia, and Menchi approach the guards. "We have been granted the right to take as many supplies as we need... please step aside," Alex says, his gaze firm.
"Of... of course, Mr. 6," one of the men stutters, both instantly moving aside.
Inside, a small group of men and women are busy sorting through the chaotic stacks of weapons and equipment.
Alex walks towards them. "What are you doing here?"
"Who are you... wait..." one young woman gasps. Her face pales. "The Butch—Mr. 6! I'm sorry. We're sorting through the spoils from our recent hunt. Pirates are usually fully armed, so we gather their weapons and their equipment and then send them to our main base in Alubarna. I don't know what they're used for, but it's an order... I wonder what they are doing with thousands of weapons there? Do they sell to the Royal Army? Anyway, sometimes we also sell the expensive-looking things if funds run dry. However, I wouldn't expect to find anything of value... our current budget is quite tight and we have identified and sold everything of value recently."
Seeing the disappointment in Alex's face, she quickly adds, "Maybe we have been careless and have overlooked something!
"I see..." Alex says, agreeing with her logic and appreciating her willingness to entertain him. "I don't want to bother you, but can you and the others step out for a while? We need silence. It won't take long."
"Of course," she replies, looking somewhat relieved. "Let's... let's take our break, everyone."
The workers hurry out, leaving Alex, Benezia, and Menchi alone.
"I see... you're used to 'gathering' supplies," Benezia comments, unable to hold back a small smile.
Alex sighs, remembering his time in the world of Gaia, as he rummaged through the armory of the Knights of Pluto. "Well, let's get to it. Let's see if we spot a few items recognized by the system."
The group spreads out and begins combing through the armory. Alex spots three [Sabers] of Gray Quality. He also finds several katanas—unrecognized by the system but worth pocketing nonetheless.
"Take every katana you see," Alex calls out to the others.
A few minutes later, while nearly finished with his side of the warehouse, Alex notices a decent-looking shiny saber hidden behind some rusted axes.
He pulls it free—and freezes. The moment he grips it, recognition slams into him. It's his old companion, the [Solid Marine Saber].
[Solid Marine Saber]
World: One Piece
Quality: Light Green
Type: Sword (Saber)
Required Stats: STR - 5, PHY - 4, AGI - 5
Durability: 40/40
Damage: 12-16
Effect: Solid Parry – Increases the chance to parry an attack by 5%.
Note: A solid saber, apparently stolen from a higher-ranking marine. Hopefully, it will serve you better than its previous two owners.
Note: I'm watching you!
Alex rubs his eyes and looks again.
[Solid Marine Saber]
World: One Piece
Quality: Light Green
Type: Sword (Saber)
Required Stats: STR - 5, PHY - 4, AGI - 5
Durability: 40/40
Damage: 12-16
Effect: Solid Parry – Increases the chance to parry an attack by 5%.
Note: A solid saber, apparently stolen from a higher-ranking marine. Hopefully, it will serve you better than its previous two owners.
What the fuck!?!?
"I really need to cut back on the drugs... no wait, I am not taking any. I am not even drinking regularly! Am I just going crazy?" He wonders.
Speechless, he stares at the blade. This is the third time he has looted the exact same item.
Is this fate... or the system trying to tell me something? Should I keep it? I am almost a little frightened to sell or shard this. Am I cursed?
Still unsettled, Alex adds it to his haul and joins the others. Huddled together in the middle of the armory, they compare spoils.
"I got three Gray [Sabers]... not sure they're worth much. Also, five katanas. But the real find is the [Solid Marine Saber]. Funny story—I've actually looted this once before... then sold it, only to kill the guy I sold it to by accident and loot it again. So this makes the third time I've stumbled across this beauty. I could have sworn the item briefly spoke to me! I saw a suspicious note that vanished after I read it!"
"..."
"..."
"I am not crazy," he adds.
"Heh, that's pretty funny," Menchi says with a shrug, ignoring the issue. "I've got nothing special... three Rifles and five flintlock pistols. They looked decent. No Katanas, though, these items are sorted by type—why did you even tell us to take them?"
"I remember them selling for between 50,000 and 100,000 Belly. Even the cheap ones are valuable. Of course, I don't expect to get retail prices, but apparently they sell well enough. Also, we shouldn't empty the whole armory—rumors would spread. Just taking the good and valuable items is probably smarter."
"Good boy," Benezia says, resting her hand on Alex's head. His face heats up instantly because of the unexpected gesture.
What is she doing?!
"Huh?!" Menchi blurts out, glaring at Alex with obvious jealousy.
Ignoring her outburst, Benezia continues, "You're quite right. Your approach is logical and sensible—I really have to say, I'm impressed. I'm starting to see more clearly how you've managed to get so far already, despite being relatively low-level. It's not just your LUK, as I initially thought. Anyway, I found two pairs of [Quality-Boots] and two pairs of [Quality-Gloves]. Both are generic White Quality items—you should take them, Alex. They're worth at least 4 Shards. I also grabbed some expensive-looking clothes I plan to sell once we reach a wealthier town. Hand me the Gray [Sabers]—I know some Realm workers who buy them for a few hundred FC each. And the katanas as well, I'll handle selling those."
Alex exchanges items with her, satisfied with the early results of their little raid.
"Menchi... if you want to earn my respect, you need to focus on the mission. Do you understand?" Benezia says, turning towards her with a stern expression.
"I... of course," Menchi replies, looking a little ashamed. She smacks her cheeks and adds, "You are right. This is the world I've dreamed about. This is not the time to fool around. What about the [Gold Bars]? I still have all twenty... the effect of exchanging them for FC has disappeared, but they were initially worth 3,000 FC each."
Benezia pauses to think. "This isn't the place to convert them. We need someone who appreciates them and can offer a fair price. This isn't really a real, complete town, more like a bounty hunter village. Give me half of them, as well as your rifles and pistols. We also don't know if Belly is even useful for us. With our initial funds, and the weapons and clothes we looted, we'll be fine for a while. It would be wasteful to convert the precious [Gold Bars] into Belly we can't spend. Only if there are enough shops or opportunities to actually convert Belly into FC or useful items, should we fully commit. If we spot shops that sell items of at least White Quality, we can sell most of them—keeping a few for future missions. It doesn't hurt to keep a few in reserve, as gold is generally considered a useful resource."
"For now..." she concludes, "let's check out the other warehouses."
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