Just seconds after he initiates the trade with the system panel, a sword manifests in Alex's hand.
To his utter shock—and instant delight—the sword isn't a katana, which he recognizes right away.
Instead, it's a white-blue, traditional Western sword, immediately reminding Alex of the time he arrived in Alexandria during his first mission. It's similar to the kind of blade he saw there—clean, straight, and almost regal, like it was meant for a knight rather than a pirate.
The sword, despite feeling ancient, looks brand new and mysterious, like it doesn't belong in this world at all.
You received Kyūsei no Ryūseiken
[Kyūsei no Ryūseiken]
World: One Piece
Quality: Gold
Type: Sword (1-handed Knight Sword)
Required Stats: STR - 10, PHY - 15, AGI - 10, MNA - 10
Required skills: Sword Proficiency lvl 5, Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 5, Basic Endurance lvl 5, Basic Footwork lvl 5
Durability: 150/150
Damage: 45-65
Effect: Increases PHY, AGI, and MNA by 2 (Flat boost, not increased by other skills)
Effect: Meteor Amplification - When wielded and used as a conduit increases the damage of all active skills, including spells, by 25%
Effect: Draining Blade - Successful attacks cause the target to lose between 1% and 5% of all their resources. Shallow or partially blocked attacks only drain the lowest amount of resources possible. Draining resources increases the sword's damage and attack speed by up to 50% and restores a small amount of Durability. The effect slowly loses its effect when no additional resources are drained for a certain time. Allows the user to once every hour absorb the stolen Aura, emptying the stolen resources in the sword and restoring all of the user's resources equally. The total amount restored depends on the amount of stolen resources.
Note: Forged by a nameless blacksmith in the South Blue. This metal is unidentified and is said to hail from a meteor with the inherent property of absorbing all kinds of energy.
Note: This sword is recognized as a Great Grade sword.
Note: The metal the sword is forged out of had the potential to be used in creating a truly legendary blade. This sword, however, is regarded as a failure, merely tapping into the inherent properties of the metal used, without adding anything to it.
"Nice!" Alex says.
Without hesitation, he walks back to the group and shares the details of his new item, holding it in his hand, staring at it as if it were made out of pure gold.
"Your LUK is truly at work again," Tereza says cheerfully. "Isn't this sword similar to your last one? The one you took from that Goblin in the wizarding world? It also enhanced your spells and some abilities, right?"
"Yes, it is... frankly speaking, I don't lose any stats or abilities... no, everything is enhanced, and it even comes with additional abilities. Still, it feels a little unfair to me that I'll get to keep it while you get nothing," Alex says, looking a bit embarrassed.
"I'll give you some FC, or some of the items, later down the road after we're done with this mission," he adds.
"It's fine... in fact, you contributed the most," Tereza immediately responds.
Princess Jewel likes the sword. It looks beautiful!
"It's exactly what you want, huh?" Menchi says. "Though it's really awfully close to your previous weapons... is this just a coincidence?"
"It's not exactly unexpected," Benezia states, calm as always. "Out of the sixteen undiscovered Great Blade Swords, your LUK probably allowed you to get one that suits your style and needs the most. I am not really surprised by this turn of events."
"I'm just happy it's not another katana... most of these named swords in this world are katanas, and there are only a few exceptions like Roger's Ace, Mihawk's Yoru, or Whitebeard's... Mura...whatever," Alex says, rubbing his head, trying to remember the name.
"Murakumogiri," Benezia corrects him.
"Do you have some kind of photographic memory or something?" Alex asks. "How can you remember all these names? They were only mentioned a couple of times."
"Not quite the correct term, but the effects are similar. Asari, especially ones in their Matriarch stage, have learned to quickly take in new information. If I concentrate and learn intensively, I won't forget the newly obtained information for a few decades, even without sporadic repetitions," Benezia explains, seemingly not particularly proud of her incredible abilities.
... casually showing off... yet again. She acts like this is just normal.
"What now?" Alex asks, sounding a bit low, fatigue appearing on his face. "What do we even do?"
"For now..." Benezia says calmly, "We'll leave."
"... fine!" Alex says, sounding mildly annoyed.
That much I could have guessed on my own!
Back at their base, they have a serious talk.
"We should leave the city fairly soon," Benezia finally says. "We require a few days to make it back to Sandy Island. We have achieved a respectable amount of results, and I don't think we need to take on any more risks."
"Really?" Menchi asks, shaking her head. "I disagree... not like I can help you in fights, but we still have a lot of things to do! We can stay for a few days longer."
"Yeah, I also think it's a little cowardly—especially since we almost entirely avoided looking for Iceburg and left it all to CP9," Alex says. "Remember, we still have the quest to protect Iceburg... if possible, I'd like to complete it."
❤️ Princess Jewel agrees! Princess Jewel does not run away and choose the easy way!
"Having the little one—whose antics have caused more problems than I thought possible—argue your point makes it appear so much weaker," Benezia says, grinning slightly.
"Honestly, I also disagree," Tereza says, looking at Benezia. "Let's try for a bit longer! We are still in control."
"I've never chosen the safe and easy option," Alex says. "Didn't we always calculate our risk? Running away feels wrong at this point, especially since we can still obtain a lot here. To make it to the end of the Realm, we need every resource possible."
Benezia then smiles. "I agree completely. I just wanted to see if you are truly confident. This decision comes with a lot of risk and danger. There is a real chance one of us could die at any moment. I am not willing to force you to risk your lives based on my analysis of the potential danger alone—however, since we're in agreement, it's time to save the Mayor."
"For now, however," Benezia continues, her gaze settling on Alex, "simply rest."
"I guess that's a good idea... It's been a long day... two Gold Quality items in a single day, that's probably a new record!" Alex says, smiling weakly.
"Good night then," Alex says, standing up and heading toward the little room he sleeps in.
However, to his surprise, Jewel hops off his head and lands on the table instead.
Princess Jewel will take a nightly stroll!
"No!" Alex says. "That's too dangerous. I don't want to risk it. You want to look for our enemies, don't you? Don't underestimate players, their abilities are unpredictable!"
Princess Jewel has the best shot at finding the kidnapped Mayor. She is fast, nimble, hard to detect, and can use En to cover a wide radius! She also has a few ideas of where to look.
Soulmate shouldn't worry—if Princess Jewel spots them, she'll immediately return.
"No," Alex says. "Still too dangero—" but before he can finish, Jewel quickly darts out of the building, vanishing into the night.
"... damn spider!" Alex curses. "She's way too reckless! You said it yourself, Benezia. She'll get us into more trouble. I'll go after her right away."
"Leave the little one to herself," Benezia says, unfazed. "She might be reckless, but this particular decision is indeed logical. She is, in fact, the only one who can look for the mayor with next to no risk. Catching her is also next to impossible."
"I worry about her, too, but she'll be fine. Benezia is right—it's impossible for anyone to catch her. Remember what she did in the world of Naruto? She can easily take out top players if they underestimate her. If it's just scouting, I don't see how she could be in danger," Menchi says.
"Let her make her own decisions," Tereza says. "She might still be a child, but for her own species, she's probably already a little mature. Maybe like a teenager. She acts silly and loves to joke around, but she's damn smart. Smarter than me, honestly."
"You, on the other hand, need to make the mature decision and rest up. That would be the correct choice," Benezia states. "You are not only physically tired, but you also look mentally fatigued. No wonder, after diving all day for five days. It must have been extremely cold and dark down there—that's not something most people can easily withstand. It's not only draining your body of energy but attacking you mentally."
"Yeah, you really look tired... otherwise I would even join you for a bit..." Tereza says, looking away in embarrassment. "Now that the spider is gone... this would have been a rare chance."
"Not the right time," Menchi says, glancing toward Benezia. "You would only get scolded. Even with Jewel gone, there is still another one protecting his c—"
"Silence," Benezia says. "Ignore their ramblings and get to bed. Now."
... yes, mommy? I'm too tired for this shit.
"I guess so..." Alex says, not willing to argue. "Good night, then."
"Menchi has a point, though..." Tereza mumbles weakly.
Alex doesn't respond to their jokes. The fatigue of the last days finally catches up with him properly, and he heads back to his bedroom, practically dragging his feet, before flopping onto the bed.
It's weird... without Jewel, I feel strangely alone. I feel like I'm missing an arm....
Well... not like I have to get used to it anytime soon... as much as I'm scared, I know that the silly spider will be fine. She is right, she can do it.
Better make the most of it and relax so I can do my best tomorrow as well.
As he lies there, he still can't sleep.
For some reason, he keeps feeling like he's hundreds of meters under the surface again, stuck in that dark, sunken city, with nothing but cold water and silence around him.
The moonlight shining through the window feels oddly annoying, almost too bright for his tired eyes.
Reminds me of the times I was scrolling for hours on my smartphone on my bed... instead of going to bed early... mostly looking at porn or random YouTube videos. Not like I can do that now... although, I have something even better to look at!
With nothing else to look at, Alex stares at his newly obtained [Hades' Hammer] and [Kyūsei no Ryūseiken].
What does the name even mean? I hate these Japanese names... once I find out what the translation is, I'll be renaming it, similar to what I did with my awesome [Executioner's Blade R2].
Going through all the stats of his new weapons again and again, Alex finally calms down a little, then closes his eyes.
Next time... I'll get a new shield!
Finally relaxing, Alex falls asleep.
A few hours later, he opens his eyes, unable to continue sleeping.
Instantly, he recognizes a person standing next to his bed.
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