The night settled over Orange Town. The fires caused by Buggy's crew had finally died out, leaving only the smell of smoke and broken wood. Villagers moved cautiously from their hiding places, whispering in awe at the pirates who had fought the clown and won.
Luffy was busy raiding what was left of the food stalls, happily stuffing his mouth."Meat! Shishishi, this town has great meat even after all that fighting!"
Zoro sat against a half-broken wall, polishing his swords with calm precision.Nami stood nearby, arms crossed, her expression distant. She wasn't celebrating. She was calculating.
Adam, however, sat apart from the others, leaning against a fallen beam. The faint glow of the system screen hovered in front of him, visible only to him.
[Battle Summary Completed]
Physical Reinforcement (Level 1) – Active
Primitive Guard (Level 1) – Acquired
Focused Strike (Level 1) – Acquired[Reward: +450 Points]
Adam exhaled slowly."So… I really did gain skills. It's not just some hallucination."
The system flickered again.[Notice: Skill Tree Available]Branches appeared across the screen:
Combat
Support
Exploration
He stared at it in disbelief."You're telling me I get a skill tree? What is this, a video game?"
Luffy suddenly popped up beside him, mouth full of meat."Oi, Adam! What're you staring at? Is it more food?!"
Adam panicked, waving his hands through the hologram."Nothing! Just… clouds. Yeah, imaginary clouds."
Luffy tilted his head. "Imaginary meat clouds?""Sure. Let's go with that."
Zoro smirked from his corner."You're weird."
—
The villagers gathered near the group, led by Mayor Boodle. His bandaged face and exhausted eyes softened as he bowed deeply."Thank you. You saved us from that monster. We owe you our lives."
Luffy laughed, rubbing his nose."Shishishi, don't worry about it! I'll protect anyone who needs it. That's what a future King of the Pirates does!"
Nami rolled her eyes."Don't get too full of yourself. We were lucky this time."
Adam muttered, "Lucky? My stick nearly snapped in half." He looked at his cracked weapon with a sigh.
The mayor spoke again."Please, stay the night. We don't have much left, but you are welcome."
The crew agreed.
—
Later that night, Adam sat alone in a quiet alley, the others asleep or distracted. The system screen hovered again.
[Tip: Skills can be enhanced using accumulated points.]
Adam clicked on Focused Strike.[Upgrade Cost: 200 Points]He hesitated."If I upgrade this, maybe I won't just be swinging sticks around like a madman."
He pressed confirm. The glow enveloped his arms, a strange warmth filling him.
[Focused Strike – Level 2: Now capable of delivering impact strong enough to dent metal.]
Adam stared at his hands."Metal…? That's insane."
For the first time, a spark of excitement flickered in his chest. He wasn't just a tagalong. He was growing stronger—slowly, but surely.
But then another message blinked:[Warning: System growth attracts attention. Stronger foes may notice your existence.]
Adam's smile faded."Great… like I didn't already have enough problems."
He leaned back, staring at the stars above the ruined town. Somewhere out there, stronger enemies were waiting. But for now, he had meat-stealing captains, a swordsman who never laughed, a thief who didn't trust him, and a rubber idiot for a leader.
And strangely enough, Adam didn't hate it.