Klein was helping Tsuru weigh the pros and cons, offering her quite a bit of guidance in her training.
The skills he learned in the game had given him plenty of real-world experience in return.
At the same time—
Thanks to his deep knowledge of the anime's plot, characters, and events, he could offer genuinely valuable advice.
"Thank you." Tsuru's gratitude was sincere. "Klein, I'd like to spar with you again. Please give me your guidance."
A traditional, formal Japanese bow.
"No problem," Klein agreed. He had already promised a free sparring session last time.
Tsuru gently asked, "Then… would you like to schedule it? Or… charge admission?"
She was even being considerate of his business. Klein smiled. "No need. After sparring with Garp, I expect the ticket sales won't do as well. Better to just let the students observe for free."
"Consider it a perk!"
Sparring with a beauty like her? It was bound to be eye candy for the students.
As for those who hadn't enrolled?
Too bad. No ticket, no show.
Pay up!
He scheduled the match during tomorrow's class.
Still curious, Tsuru asked, "Klein, why are you making so much money at school?"
She'd roughly done the math and was shocked.
This guy had already made over 20 million Berries off the students in just a few months!
And that wasn't a small number!
20 million Berries—what does that even mean?
Cocoyasi Village.
Arlong charged 100,000 Berries from adults and 50,000 from children just to live.
With 20 million, you could buy out the entire village's population.
And Nami had risked her life and saved up for over a decade, only to reach a little over 90 million.
When faced with the question, Klein pulled out the same story he gave the instructors: everything was for the students, to spark their passion and boost competitiveness.
Get them grinding…
But one look at Tsuru's calm face, and the deep blue eyes that clearly read "I don't believe you,"—
Yeah, she wasn't buying it.
He might be able to fool others, but not smart old Tsuru.
She didn't press him, though. Instead, she offered a kind suggestion in return: "Didn't the school just start that student point system?"
"Sparring sessions, class enrollment fees—you could let students exchange points for those."
"..."
Klein's eyes lit up. "That's actually a great idea! That way, the students who earn points could write IOUs, and still be able to pay it back."
In his previous life, lending required qualification checks—credit scores, assets, employment, all that.
It was all about whether you had the ability to repay.
Klein had always resisted letting students take things on credit because he worried they'd never pay it back.
Which meant he'd be scammed!
But now, thanks to Tsuru's suggestion, he was thinking of letting a few students sign IOUs.
Oh, right!
Time for Sengoku² and Garp to pay back some of their debt first.
He grinned. "A bit of debt keeps them motivated. Drives their passion, y'know?"
"I'm too kind!"
"..." Tsuru didn't believe that one bit. She warned, "Klein, with the way you charge, a lot of these students are gonna run out of money eventually."
Klein didn't flinch. "It's fine. If this batch of students runs dry, the next batch'll be ready."
"Out with the old crops, in with the fresh ones!"
"And if they graduate? Even better."
He'd plant some "connected students" on the inside, keep the training classes going behind the scenes, and rake in the kickbacks as usual...
There'd only be more money-making schemes in the future.
Tsuru's beautiful eyes narrowed—she knew Klein was definitely up to no good.
Hopeless.
All he ever thought about was money, and yet… his talent was so ridiculous it made people jealous to the point of madness.
Back in his dorm.
Klein stepped into the bathroom and took a cold shower, sighing. "Finally free of the Marine's Four Blossoms."
He'd been tailed by those four clingy "shadows" all day—except during bathroom breaks.
Every other moment, he was under their watchful eyes.
Klein was sensitive to presence, and being "visually harassed" like that left him seriously uncomfortable.
Fame had its pros and cons.
Sure, his classes were growing in popularity… but now there was a whole fan club?
Dear god.
The world really doesn't run according to your personal will.
"Garlic bird garlic bird³… guess I'll log into the game to unwind. They've had all day to patch the update—it should be done by now."
Wash chest, then wash abs, then wash…
Anyway, once he was done, Klein flopped onto the bed, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness enter the game.
Update complete.
The moment the main menu loaded, an announcement screen practically slammed into his face.
Blinding golden light, gilded text—it screamed for attention.
[New Version Online!]
[Massive Event Now Live!!]
[Adventure Puzzle!]
[To thank players for their continued support—limited exclusive prizes and an explosive event begins now!]
[Participate to win amazing rewards!]
[Don't miss it, players!]
[Click to begin.]
"All for my money, huh? Those damn devs patched overnight—so shameless it's unbelievable!"
Klein thought bitterly, Is this game's entire server population just me? Is that why they're milking me dry!?
Just yesterday he'd been grumbling about an event, and here it was: a new version, a fresh event.
Oh my god.
They really updated just for him.
How touching~… yeah, right!
"Don't overdo it, or I'll flip the damn table!" Klein muttered.
Events were always like this.
Open to everyone—but of course, with paid elements. And if you wanted everything? It'd cost more than normal.
They call it "event rewards," but really, it's just prime time for fleecing players!
Players wait for events.
Games wait for chances to launch events.
Win-win!
On screen, a massive puzzle was fully covered, with the character Imu's Dad standing on one tile. The other 999 tiles were all locked.
Klein checked the event rules.
"Grid movement?"
"Each step in any direction costs one move. You get 5 free moves per day. Event lasts 10 days."
"Milestones at 10, 50, 100, 200, 500... reward bonus moves and prizes."
Which meant… for the remaining 949 moves, he'd have to pay up.
"Are you kidding me? This isn't just a cash grab—this is daylight robbery!"
"Devouring souls, huh?!"
Klein paused and opened the reward pool…
"...Holy shit!?"
"Random Golden Legendary Chest?"
"Skill Upgrade Scroll?"
"Devil Fruit Star Upgrade Scroll?!"
"Random Skill Chest?!"
"Selectable Crew Recruitment Pack?!"
"..."
Game devs: You buying or not?
The dazzling prizes made Klein's eyes gleam. "Now this is what I call an event. I'm still grinding Battle Pass levels like a dog, but with this event, getting these would be a huuuuuuge boost!"
"I'm taking these rewards."
"No matter what!"
"Not even the devil could stop me!"