It's a three-stage quest?
Each completed stage gives a reward, and completing all three stages grants a high ultimate reward.
Roughly calculating, setting aside other things for now, that's a total of 900,000 points.
Without a doubt, this was definitely the most rewarding side quest he had ever triggered so far.
But…
"How did this quest trigger?"
Nao stroked his chin, perplexed.
In previous instances, quests only triggered under specific circumstances.
But this time, the things he'd encountered recently had nothing to do with "saving girls."
"Never mind."
Unable to figure it out, Nao shook his head and shifted his gaze to another side quest in the quest log.
[Side Quest Name: Man's Dignity]
[A man should always keep his word. Remember that old vow? It's time to settle the score with Gion!]
[Quest Content: Within 180 days, when aboard the Marine ship, kick Gion into the sea as payback for the past.]
[Quest Reward: 100,000 points, S-Rank Gift Box 1, Random Attribute Point 2] [Current Quest Time Remaining: 3 days, 21 hours, 32 minutes]
"Only three days left."
Nao was torn. With the quest deadline looming, should he really go against his conscience and do something so outrageous for the rewards?
100,000 points weren't much to him now, but the other two rewards—an S-Rank Gift Box and two random attribute points—were still quite tempting.
Such a headache.
Sigh.
If only some incredibly powerful pirate would show up right now, he could seize the opportunity to step forward, legitimately kick the little rabbit into the sea, and cry dramatically, "You go! I'll hold them off!"…
"To kick, or not to kick, that is the question."
Like Hamlet, pacing back and forth, hesitating for a long time, Nao finally gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, deciding to go all out for the reward.
It's just one kick!
Nao was confident that given the bond between him and the little rabbit, as long as he appeased her well and promptly afterward, he would eventually be forgiven.
Besides, there were no keyboard or remote controls in this era to make him kneel for a night, right?
"But I can't just barge in; I need a reasonable method…"
Nao turned his head, looking at the dimly lit sky outside the porthole, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He had an idea.
"Aha, I've got it!"
He smacked his fist into his palm, then eagerly shed his coat and ran out of the training room.
About half an hour later.
Gion groggily woke up, quickly washed up, and was about to cross the hallway to the mess hall for breakfast.
She inadvertently noticed a familiar figure standing idly by the railing outside.
Several minutes passed, and he didn't move an inch.
"Hey~"
She walked over, strangely addressing Nao's back. "What are you looking at? So engrossed?"
No response, only a faint, gentle snore.
What's going on?
Gion's delicate brows furrowed. She went to Nao's side and peered closely, finding that the guy had his eyes tightly shut, clearly still in a deep sleep.
Sleepwalking?
Gion was a bit taken aback.
She knew that Nao had a special constitution and could easily go one or two months without sleep, but in all their time together, she had never known him to have this kind of quirk.
Was it because he was too tired last night and didn't get enough rest?
The cold wind outside was biting, and Nao was only wearing a single layer. Gion felt a pang of concern.
"What if you catch a cold? You really are a handful…"
She sighed softly, extended her arms, and prepared to hoist Nao onto her shoulder to carry him to bed.
However, the moment her slender hands touched Nao's waist, he reacted as if triggered by an emergency response, a jolt running through his body.
He then suddenly spun around, launching a kick with uncanny precision, directly hitting her full, shapely backside.
Plop!
The little rabbit, caught completely off guard, instantly smashed through the railing, flew high into the air, and plunged into the icy sea…
Eh? Eh? Eh? Eh? Eh? Eh? Eh?
The Marines on early shift, who had seen this scene from afar, instantly gasped, unable to believe their eyes.
What did I just see?No way! Rear Admiral Nao actually kicked his lover and partner, Base Commander Gion, into the sea?
"Rear Admiral!"
"Base Commander!"
Immediately, some Marines rushed to the ship's side, preparing to lower a speedboat and organize a rescue.
Hss!
But in the next instant, they only heard a whooshing sound beside them. Looking up, a soaking wet Gion had already leaped from beneath the sea, rushing to the railing in a furious rage.
Then she launched a kick, sending Nao, who was still snoring and pretending to be asleep by the railing, into the sea as well…
"…"
The Marines, who were about to lower the lifeboat, froze in their tracks.
They looked at the murderous Gion standing by the railing, then glanced at the bubbling surface of the sea in the distance. After exchanging glances, they all swallowed.
Never mind… let's just pretend we didn't see anything.
This scene was truly bizarre. Everyone decided to treat it as a playful skirmish between a couple. To avoid being innocently drawn into the whirlpool, they all kept to themselves, minding their own business.
About ten minutes later.
Inside the ship's mess hall, Nao and Gion sat facing each other.
Nao was anxiously explaining something, while the Gion sat with her arms crossed, her face cold, clearly still sulking.
"Really, everything I just said is true, Rear Admiral!"
Nao said with a pained expression. "I really just reacted on instinct. I had no idea it was you standing next to me!"
"In fact, I was still asleep even after you kicked me into the sea. It took several minutes of feeling deprived of oxygen before I suddenly woke up… In short, you really can't blame me for this, Rear Admiral!"
His face was unflushed, his heart not skipping a beat, as he candidly told a complete lie.
Compared to a year ago when he first arrived at Marineford, it was as if he had found a Digivice, undergoing an incredible super evolution, like a cat transforming into an Angewomon.
"Really?"
Gion's eyebrow twitched, a forced smile on her face. "Why do I feel like you're getting revenge for when I kicked you into the sea during that practical assessment?"
Tsk!
Nao gasped inwardly. What was that—her sixth sense kicking in?!
Damn. Smart women were scary.
"I swear, it's not like that, Rear Admiral!"
He immediately cried out, clutching his chest. "You think I'm the type to hold a grudge like that? That hurts... okay, how about this—I swear to the heavens…"
"If even one word I just said is a lie, may a Celestial Dragon in Mariejois drop dead in a tragic accident. There! You believe me now, right?"
What kind of oath is that?
Gion shot him a glare but found herself less angry somehow. Still, glancing down at her fresh change of clothes…
Yeah, she wasn't going to let him off that easily.
"I'll do your laundry from now on."
Nao picked up on her mood shift instantly and offered quickly.
"Hmph." Gion snorted.
Not enough?
Nao was stumped. He scratched his scalp, thought for a moment, then tentatively added, "I'll do all the other chores too?"
Now that's more like it.
After a brief pause, Gion finally replied, "Fine. But no cooking."
"…"
Does she really have so little faith in my cooking? Nao pouted.
Honestly, he'd helped out in the kitchen back home with his mom, Yukika, several times. His cooking had improved a lot! It wasn't like he'd give anyone food poisoning...
"And one more thing."
Gion tilted her head slightly, her slender, delicate right hand gently tapping the table. "I've been so tired from handling official duties lately. After we return to base, I plan to rest for a few days. During that time, all miscellaneous tasks will be your responsibility."
Didn't we agree you'd handle internal affairs and I'd handle external affairs?
Nao's face immediately fell. He hated that kind of bothersome work the most, but under Gion's intimidating gaze, he could only sigh and nod, silently swallowing his bitterness.
"Hmph."
Seeing him concede, Gion's mood completely brightened. She hummed a leisurely tune and picked up her knife and fork to start breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, Nao left the mess hall with a sigh. The moment he entered the training room, he immediately locked the door behind him and broke into a wide grin.
What bitterness?It was all an act!
Thanks to his sudden inspiration of faking sleepwalking, the consequences were far better than his worst expectations. As for handling household chores and taking over administrative duties for a few days…
Compared to the high rewards he had already received, ha, was that even a problem? He opened his system panel and went straight to the message log.
Without any surprise, a large block of new messages appeared.
[Side Quest: Man's Dignity, Completed]
[Quest Reward: 100,000 points, S-Rank Gift Box 1, Random Attribute Point 2]
[Remarks: Truly remarkable]
"What kind of remark is that…"
Nao narrowed his eyes. "System, are you pulling a pun on me? You totally are, aren't you?!"
What's so remarkable about this?
What's wrong with a poor kid acting for points?
He's not Sett! He glanced at his attribute list. After 100,000 points were added, his current points returned to 361,200. The points he had spent earlier were all compensated.
Nao's gaze then shifted to the inventory, where an alluringly glowing gift box and a random attribute point chest lay obediently, waiting for him to open them.
"It's time to test my luck again…" He held a tiny bit of excitement and chose to open the random attribute point chest first. "Come on, baby!"
A golden flash, and the familiar blue dice appeared, spinning rapidly.
[ROLLing complete]
[Your Intelligence attribute has increased by +1]
[ROLLing complete]
[Your Charm attribute has increased by +1]
"As expected, I'm still a lucky person."
Nao was satisfied. Currently, adding one point to Intelligence cost him 200,000 points, and Charm cost a staggering 500,000 points. If the dice landed on Charm even once, he was definitely making a huge profit.
It was like picking up 700,000 points for free!
There was a full-length mirror in the training room. Nao looked at himself in the mirror and felt that his facial features hadn't changed, but his aura had distinctly become more attractive.
17 points of Charm…
Nao mused. At this point, within the Marines—or maybe even the entire world—there probably weren't many who could match that.
Just then.
Then, suddenly, another notification flashed.
[Your Charm attribute has entered the next stage: Current points needed per attribute point: 800,000 / per increase]
[Your Charm attribute has reached 17 points, gaining the talent skill: The Bowing Craftsman's Spirit]
"Another bonus skill?"
The last time seemed to be over half a year ago, when his Charm reached 12 points, and he gained "Radiance Smile."
This was an unexpected pleasant surprise. Nao's spirits immediately lifted, and he quickly opened the detailed description to browse it carefully.
[The Bowing Craftsman's Spirit: When the player makes a serious and earnest deep bow, it will melt away the target's resentment and anger, forgiving the player for past mistakes.] [Description: Success rate is linked to the target's anger and the player's own Charm, a direct proportional relationship.]
[Remarks: Can only be used once per calendar month, range is essentially unlimited, cooldown period is long. Please use with caution.]
["There are no mistakes that a deep bow cannot solve, even if it's secretly excreting something into the sea."]
"…"
Nao fell into a long silence.
Damn it—this skill came too late! If he'd had this a few months ago, he wouldn't have spent half a year agonizing over whether or not to kick Gion into the sea!
He would've just done it immediately!
"Still… damn useful."
Nao murmured, stroking his chin.
The value of this reward far exceeded his expectations. It was arguably the biggest surprise he had received today.
No, perhaps it's still too early to say that…
He suddenly remembered the S-Rank reward box still unopened in his inventory.
He'd only opened two before—and both had been amazing.
What treasure would he get this time?
"My luck is definitely off the charts today… Give me the goods!"
The blue dice appeared. Its six faces were each engraved with "Attribute Point," "Consumable," "Weapon," "Skill Scroll," "Defense Item," and "Egg."
[S-Rank Gift Box, opening, please wait]
[ROLLing…]
[ROLLing complete]
[This Gift Box Reward Type: Skill Scroll]
The golden light dispersed, and an ancient-looking scroll appeared before him. At the same time, the corresponding text prompt also appeared:
[You have obtained a new skill: Wind Barrier]
[Type: Special Sword Skill, Upgradable]
Wind Barrier?
Nao was stunned. Wasn't this the skill he had seen pop up during his first week with the system?
He'd wanted it back then but couldn't afford it—it was way too expensive for newbie Nao.
And now, he'd actually gotten it from a free S-Rank Gift Box?