So, this must be the random items that refresh every week, as mentioned in the rules?
It was a lot more reliable than Nao had expected. In fact, it barely felt like a so-called "Love Cell Cultivation System" at all. Most of the items just needed way too many points—almost scarily so.
A Phantom Step Skill Scroll? Was that referring to that teleportation spell from a certain wizarding world, or maybe a modified low-grade version?
Either way, if it really worked, wouldn't that be an absolute game-changer for getting around the seas?
Then there was the Barrier of Wind—the name sounded oddly familiar, and it seemed to be another powerful skill.
But with its prerequisite of advanced swordsmanship, it was far beyond Nao's current level. No matter how much he coveted it, he could only leave it aside for now.
"They only gave me 1,500 points."
After finishing his soup, Nao tore into his roasted meat while silently eyeing the shop menu. "Looks like with this week's random items, I can only afford these two…"
The Intermediate Rokushiki Kami-e Scroll and the Martial Arts Training Booster Card (7 Days).
Both were skills Nao happened to need right now. After purchasing them, he would still have a few points left over. But he didn't rush to redeem them just yet. Instead, he flipped through the list of regular items in the shop.
Basic Strength Point: 2,000 points per point (current stage)
Basic Agility Point: 2,000 points per point (current stage)
Basic Stamina Point: 2,000 points per point (current stage)
Basic Intelligence Point: 20,000 points per point (current stage)
Basic Charm Point: 50,000 points per point (current stage)
Character Scanner: 500 points per scan (limit of 2 per day)
…
"Most of the basic stat points only cost 2,000 points…"
Nao hesitated.
The increase in power from boosting base attributes was undoubtedly substantial. Should he spend his limited points on those two items, or save up a bit more and trade for a stat point or two?
Besides, Intelligence and Charm were ridiculously expensive.
Maybe the system followed different scaling rules? Nao glanced at his current Charm stat—he was already nearly invincible among the female recruits at the camp. He could kind of see why it was priced so high.
The difference between each point of Charm must be massive. If he really maxed it out and added a few more points, his smile alone might rival the charm of future Pirate Empress Boa Hancock.
As he pondered, a sudden commotion erupted from the mess hall entrance.
"Hmm?"
Nao shifted his gaze from the system menu and looked toward the source of the noise, noticing a familiar figure standing by the door.
The Marines seated near the entrance had already left their seats, gathering around in excitement.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Vice Admiral! You're finally back!"
"You're half a month later than expected! Did the mission go well?"
The man surrounded by them was none other than the Hero of the Marines, Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
The old man looked travel-worn, his hair messy as if he'd just disembarked from a warship. But seeing the eager, youthful faces before him, he masked his exhaustion with a wide grin.
"Hahaha! You brats! Long time no see!"
"The mission went just fine! With me around, do you think any pirate would slip through my fingers?"
As Garp answered, he tried to push his way through the enthusiastic crowd of Marines. But they were so excited, it felt like a fan club had gathered around him, and he barely made any progress.
"Hey, move aside! Don't block me! I'm starving here!" Garp grumbled. "You lot have eaten your fill already, but this old man's stomach is practically caving in!"
His words sparked laughter all around. The young Marines exchanged sheepish glances and quickly stepped aside, clearing a path to the food counter.
"Ah, that's better."
Garp let out a hearty laugh and strode toward the food counter.
"Garp-san…"
Nao didn't rush over to crowd around. Instead, he watched Garp's figure from afar, remembering the Character Scanner the system had mentioned.
From its description, it seemed this device could scan others' attributes and display them in panel form. But did it only work on the opposite sex? Or could it scan anyone?
Just how strong was a man like Garp, a peak figure of the seas? Nao had always been curious. Since it was already evening, and the day was nearly over, he figured he might as well use his free daily scan rather than let it go to waste.
Without hesitation, he directed a scan at Garp.
[Character: Monkey D. Garp]
[Age: 57]
[Strength: ???]
[Agility: ???]
[Stamina: ???]
[Intelligence: 7]
[Charm: 8]
[Skills: Armament Haki (Master), Observation Haki (Master), Rokushiki (Master), Bare-Fist Combat (Master) …]
[Estimated Points for Successful Capture: Ambiguous Relationship – 80,000 points, Romantic Relationship – 400,000 points]
[Note: I'm not sure how twisted you are to be scanning an old man who spends his days picking his nose, but there's no doubt that successfully capturing this legendary Marine hero would net you an astronomical amount of points.]
"…."
Nao closed the window expressionlessly after a long silence.
Showing the front stats was enough, you damn system!
Was this system's logic faulty? All he did was scan Garp out of curiosity—how did it end up thinking he was trying to pursue him romantically? He was straight, thank you very much!
Still, he'd gotten the panel he wanted. Though there were a lot of question marks, Nao guessed that was due to the massive gap in their strength levels. It was just like when you played an MMORPG as a beginner and encountered a high-level NPC in the main city—their level always showed as question marks.
As expected of one of the world's strongest…
Nao marveled inwardly. He didn't think the scan was a waste at all. Instead, he was already wondering how strong he'd need to be to one day see Garp's full stats.
And could he ever reach that level himself?
He realized the scanner, while prone to cheeky remarks, was far more versatile and useful than he'd first imagined. He was quite satisfied with it.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Garp, passing through the aisle, suddenly noticed Nao sitting in the corner. His eyes lit up as if he'd remembered something. He tapped his forehead, pulled a letter from his pocket, and walked over.
"Garp-san!"
Rosinante and Shiryu both stood up and saluted. Nao did the same. But when he saw the letter in Garp's hand, his eyes widened slightly, already guessing its contents.
"Hey, Natsuya!"
Garp handed the letter to Nao. "This was given to me by your family when I stopped by Branch 16 for a layover. Luckily, I just remembered it—old age's catching up to me."
"Not at all."
Nao carefully tucked the letter into his pocket and gave Garp a respectful bow. "Thank you, Garp-san."
Beyond his admiration for Garp's heroic deeds, this old man had given him a chance. Without Garp's recommendation, Nao would never have made it into the elite training camp. He might still be stuck back in East Blue.
"No problem."
Garp waved it off with a laugh. "It's been a while since I checked in on you new recruits. Zephyr said you ranked 59th in the last assessment. How's it going lately? Improved any?"
"Uh…"
Nao scratched his head awkwardly. "Still about the same…"
Back at Branch 16, he had stood out enough to catch Garp's eye and win high expectations. But after joining Headquarters, he had blended into the crowd.
"Huh?"
Garp looked a bit surprised, then clicked his tongue and patted Nao's shoulder.
"Still not working hard enough, kid! The final evaluation's coming up next year, and I'll be there to watch. You'd better step it up and aim for top marks from Zephyr!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral!" Nao saluted firmly and loudly.
Once Garp nodded with satisfaction and walked off, Nao sat down, feeling helpless.
So, Garp still hadn't realized he'd misjudged Nao, thinking his average performance was just due to a lack of effort.
But Nao knew better than anyone how hard he'd worked since entering Headquarters.
If it weren't for this system bringing him a chance to turn things around, he might really be facing nothing but disappointment in Garp's eyes by the time graduation came.
As he continued his meal, Rosinante leaned in curiously toward the letter Garp had given him.
"Hey, Natsuya-nii, open it already. Let's see what's inside!"
Shiryu said nothing, quietly sipping his soup. But the corner of his eye kept flicking toward Nao's pocket.
"That's private, you nosy brats."
Nao smacked Rosinante lightly with the back of his spoon. "Besides, it's just a family letter from my father. Nothing interesting."
"Don't give me that."
Rosinante winced but smirked knowingly. "I saw it just now. That letter's written on pink stationery. What kind of dad writes his son a letter on pink paper?"
"Huh?"
Nao blinked. He'd been too focused on Garp earlier to notice.
He quickly pulled the letter from his pocket and, under the mess hall lights, flipped it over. Sure enough, behind the white envelope, there was a faint pink hue.
Crap…
Realization hit him, and he massaged his temples. He'd been so focused on training lately that he hadn't reached out to his childhood friend back home.
—She must be furious with him by now.
He could almost picture her—red-haired, puffing her cheeks in frustration, writing a scolding letter under a desk lamp, and entrusting it to his father and Garp to carry across the seas to Marineford.
"I'm so sorry…"
Nao opened the envelope with guilt and found two folded letters inside—one on plain white paper and the other on pink.
The white one was clearly from his parents. The pink letter, of course, was from his childhood friend.
[To that idiot Natsuya]
On the blank side of the folded pink paper was this single line, and in the lower right corner was a neat signature.
—Avya F. Bellemere