Chapter 134: New Player Koby
[Contract Quest (3/5)]
Quest Objective: Defeat the Arlong Pirates' combat leader.
Quest Reward: Straight Punch (50 proficiency, 50 skill experience)
...
Afu tilted her head in confusion. "Master, are we really giving out rewards directly in the real world?"
Wasn't it supposed to work like the ninja world, where only learned skills could be used both in-game and in reality, and all equipment and items had to be soul-bound before they could be brought into the real world?
Fang Yi gave her a puzzled look and asked, "Do you really think I'm that kind?"
"Equipment distributed in the Pirate World can't be repaired, and you have to pay a monthly storage fee. If not, it'll get locked. Only soul-binding removes the restriction."
Unrepairable gear, overdue fees, and equipment locks?
Afu's lips twitched, hesitant to speak. How did her master even come up with these crooked mechanics?
"Afu, the Pirate World is different from the ninja world."
He had said that many times, but still patiently explained again: "The Pirate World has a structure as fragile as paper. Unlike the cautious and rule-bound ninja world, pirates rush blindly into power. It must be guided firmly for the Samsara Game to leave a permanent mark on them."
"In the Pirate World, power breeds ambition. The strong oppress the weak, conquer nations, and plunder towns. Justice sets sail to chase pirates, all while treasure hunters seek out lost riches…"
From lowly peasants to Yonko-level emperors at the top of the world—
everyone is driven by ambition too strong to suppress.
The Grand Line, the New World, and the Four Blues…
They're like an enormous hunting ground, where everyone fights and grows stronger. The hunger for power is etched into the bones of every person who goes to sea.
Therefore,
Fang Yi didn't need to be subtle when introducing the Samsara Game. All he had to do was show its power openly.
And the pirates would swarm to it.
While ninja villages held their shinobi in check, the World Government and Marines were nothing more than a joke to pirates.
Even the Marines treated the World Government with indifference, barely recognizing them as superiors.
So there was no need to deploy game towers to recruit players in batches.
Just scatter Contract Fruits—and like the ripple of the Pirate King's dying words, everyone would set sail.
It was absurd.
And yet… exhilarating.
Fang Yi shifted his gaze back to Koby, continuing to watch his progress.
"Koby?"
The corpulent and muscular Alvida stared in disbelief.
Seeing most of her pirate crew—and even the combat leader—laid out defeated, she thought she was dreaming.
Koby, the cowardly wimp they had always ordered around like a slave… had this kind of power?
"Are you a Marine? Or a bounty hunter?"
Alvida's face twisted with dark suspicion. She gripped her spiked mace tightly and got into a fighting stance.
As the notorious captain of the East Blue's Alvida Pirates, and "the most beautiful woman at sea" (in her words), she always knew someone would eventually come for her bounty.
To her, Koby had to be a Marine in disguise.
"I'm sorry! I've always been lying! You're the ugliest, fattest hag ever!"
Koby puffed out his chest and shouted with all his might.
It was like a release of all the frustration and resentment he'd bottled up on the ship.
[Contract Quest (5/5)]
Quest Objective: Defeat the captain, Alvida.
Quest Reward: Straight Punch (200 proficiency, 200 skill experience)
Seeing the final contract quest,
Koby took a deep breath, raised his arms, and shielded himself with the Iron Fist Gloves.
Upgrading the [Straight Punch] skill didn't just boost its power—it also granted Koby some actual boxing technique.
In a short time,
he'd gone from a complete weakling to someone capable of defeating Alvida's combat leader.
Still green, but in this equally weak East Blue, he now had enough strength to qualify for his first voyage.
"Koby!!"
Alvida's greatest trigger was being called fat.
Once, during a supply trip, someone dared to mock her for her weight—and she'd killed him on the spot.
Enraged, she swung her massive mace with all her fury.
"Die!!"
Her face twisted in rage. Her clenched teeth grinding together.
The hundreds-of-kilos weapon whistled through the air, aimed straight at Koby's skull.
"Straight Punch!"
Koby didn't dodge.
He bent his knees, stood his ground,
and then, facing the overwhelming difference in size, he launched a full-force punch.
CLANG!
The spiked mace stopped inches from his forehead, slipped from Alvida's grip, and slammed to the deck.
Alvida, struck in the stomach, let out a contorted cry. Her bloated body collapsed, curling up like a boiled shrimp.
"H-how…?"
Alvida couldn't believe it. Her pride had always been her strength and durability.
Yet she was taken down by a single punch?
Behind the screen,
Fang Yi shook his head. "Strong?"
The Pirate World was full of naturally powerful beings.
Many were born with strength that surpassed even the most elite of ninja—without ever training a day.
Take Big Mom, for instance—
captain of the Big Mom Pirates, queen of Totto Land, and one of the Yonko ruling the New World.
She was born so powerful that even the Giant Race couldn't match her.
At five years old, she killed a bear with her bare hands and broke a giant soldier's bones. Her body was so tough they called her an iron balloon.
Compared to her, Alvida was nothing more than a stronger-than-average ant.
"If she'd been a little more cautious and dodged Koby's punch, the outcome might've been different."
Straight Punch might be a white-tier skill,
but with two quest rewards pouring experience into it, it had reached Level 3—stronger than many low-level pirate techniques.
Koby only had that one move. If he'd missed, he wouldn't have stood a chance in a prolonged fight.
But that's how battle works.
Only the one left standing wins.
Plenty of powerful warriors have died crushed under a single blow.
[Quest Completed. Reward Granted]
Thanks to the proficiency and experience boosts, [Straight Punch] rose straight to Level 5.
[Player has completed all contract quests. You are now eligible to become a Samsara Game player and access the Game House to purchase items. Enter?]
That was the rule of the Contract Fruit.
If you failed a quest, you could pay a penalty.
Fail twice in a row, and the fruit would vanish.
Anyone who completed all five quests would earn the right to enter the Game House and buy gear.
Fang Yi didn't choose which items appeared.
The five available items were guided entirely by the rune of fate after a player perfectly cleared all contract quests.
It was a way to make up for the lack of invitations in the ninja world.
After all, any pirate who could flawlessly complete five contract quests had great potential—like Orochimaru or Kisame in the ninja world.
Only with fate guiding their growth could that potential be fully realized.
"Excuse me, may I come in?"
Koby's voice came timidly from outside.
Fang Yi tapped his fingers on the table.
The door of the Game House swung open, revealing Koby, standing nervously outside.
Even after everything had been explained, Koby was still in disbelief about defeating Alvida. He hadn't really thought it through.
"I want to become a Marine!"
"Really? That's a fine dream. On the shelves are five items—you can buy them using your reward points…"
The voice trailed off.
When Koby finally left the Game House,
his inventory had two new game items—
and a debt note for 20,000 reward points.
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