"Let's head to Arlong Park!"
"Whoa, hold on! Arlong's way tougher than Krieg!!!"
"For Nami-san, I'd kick Arlong's ass into next week!"
"Shut it, you pervy cook! Save the lovey-dovey crap!"
"You looking for a fight, Moss-head?!"
Ignis decided to sit this one out.
Ever since Sanji joined, the Trio of Morons had leveled up to the Quartet of Morons! Watching them bicker, Johnny and Yosaku couldn't even get a word in!
Perv, coward, directionally challenged, rubber-brained idiot... When Nami got back, they could add gold-digger to the mix!
They really did need to rescue Nami, though. How else were they gonna complete the set?
He chuckled at the thought of the new crew dynamic. They were still a ways off from Arlong Park, and he needed to forge some new gear! The Arlong Pirates were a whole different ballgame than the Krieg Pirates! He couldn't afford to slack off! Still, there wasn't much to be afraid of. He'd just blown Hawkeye's mind and had the start-up cash to prove it!
Host: Ignis Fireheart
Bloodline: Forge God
Level: 3
Skills:
Living Forge
Bellows Breath (Beginner)
Searing Charge (Beginner)
Volcanic Rupture (Beginner)
Personal Gear: Doran's Shield
Balance: 3120 Gold
Hawkeye's 2600 gold, plus the 500 gold for taking down the Krieg Pirates... He had enough to craft another piece of gear!
Gold was the source of all his happiness! Randuin's was already crazy strong! If he forged another power item, he'd be unstoppable!
Ignis had tested Randuin's Omen on the ship. The massive armor and health boost made him a freaking tank! And the active item ability was awesome!
But the real reason he'd blocked Hawkeye's slash was the shield's inherent properties!
As a shield, it was god-tier! He doubted any physical attack in the world could break through it!
But Randuin's Omen had a clear weakness. It was a shield! It could block attacks from the front, but it couldn't protect him from 360 degrees!
If he wanted to truly dominate this world, he needed to forge more gear and stack his stats! If he could get his armor high enough, he'd be as tough as Randuin's Omen all the time!
Hawkeye was a freaking godsend for a newbie! He could get a ton of resources with zero risk, just by picking the right gear!
He figured he was close to level four! Hawkeye's experience points had definitely overflowed the meter! He needed to target the big shots! Next up was Crocodile, but that was a ways off. He'd have to settle for the elite monsters along the way to level up!
Level four was coming up quick! Maybe he could upgrade his skills!
In games, you could pump points into your skills to make them stronger! More damage, shorter cooldowns, less mana cost, that kinda thing!
He wondered what skill upgrades would look like in this world.
"Skill upgrades can only be unlocked at level seven. However, at level four, you can further enhance your Bloodline Ability."
Bloodline Ability?
He glanced at his System panel. He did have a Bloodline listed: Forge God.
Did that mean he was the first demigod in this world?
What would enhancing his Bloodline do? Make him look more like a ram? Whatever! He needed to forge some gear!
The big shots paid bank! The Krieg Pirates were just small-fry trash! They'd only coughed up 500 gold! Hawkeye had dropped 2600 in one go! That's why he was a Shichibukai!
He needed to figure out how to patch up his weaknesses with his next item.
The fight with Krieg had shown him one thing: he was tough as nails, but his offense was kinda lacking!
If Krieg's armor hadn't been weak to his Bellows Breath, he might not have been able to hurt him!
So, his second piece of gear needed to check a few boxes:
It needed to pack a punch!
He needed to make up for his tank-hero damage output!
It needed to be kinda tanky! Not some glass-cannon crap!
He was a tank, after all! He could never have too much tankiness!
It needed to scale!
The story was still in the early stages! He needed to stack some base stats while the enemies were still relatively weak!
So, what piece of gear fit the bill?
What could it be?
Bingo! Heartsteel!
All that thinking was just for show! Ignis had been planning this for a while! He just needed a first item that could tank Hawkeye's attacks!
Heartsteel didn't have any armor in its base stats, so it wouldn't have helped against Hawkeye's physical damage.
But the massive health Heartsteel provided would boost Ignis' vitality!
In a drawn-out fight, he could just outlast his opponents! And the best part? That health scaled infinitely! The longer the fight went on, the tankier he'd get!
He couldn't build it first, but it was perfect for now!
He bought the Heartsteel Forging Recipe.
The building blocks were all Ruby Crystals!
He bought all the materials he needed, spending 3000 gold! He was down to his last 120 gold!
Heartsteel was pricier than Randuin's, but he didn't sweat it! This item was totally worth it!
Ding!
The four loudmouths stopped bickering!
Ignis' hammering had a freaking magic to it! Anyone who was stressed or wired up could chill out and feel safe just by listening to it!
Ding!
The last note rang out, and a massive, heart-shaped chestplate with a reddish-orange glow appeared on the anvil stand!
"Whoa! Ignis-aniki's a freaking musician!"
"That's the best music I've ever heard!"
Johnny and Yosaku started clapping like crazy!
They hadn't been at the Baratie, so this was the first time they'd heard someone smithing music!
Everyone crowded around! They knew how awesome Ignis' gear was!
"Whoa! That armor's so freaking cool!!!"
Luffy was the first to reach out and touch it! He tried to put it on, but no dice! Ignis was way taller than him! He handed the armor back, looking bummed.
"Don't sweat it! You'll get yours someday!"
For now, pumping up his own fighting power was the priority! If they ran into a tough pirate crew later, he could forge some gear for his teammates too!
Sanji and Zoro just gave it a curious glance and stepped back.
"If I wore that armor, could I block Hawkeye's slashes?" Usopp was still eyeing the chestplate.
He'd been crazy jealous of that Randuin's Omen!
"Based on the item's stats? Nah, Hawkeye could still hurt you."
"Then what's the point of this armor?!"
"Hawkeye could hurt you, but he probably couldn't kill you. You'd be alive... but barely."
"I'll pass!" Hearing that description, Usopp looked totally deflated!
Good thing he didn't need to go toe-to-toe with the enemy!
Usopp the Great, Sniper King, was all about taking out the bad guys from a hundred meters away! Only a moron would fight face-to-face!
The new-gear smell had worn off, and the Quartet of Morons went back to their freaking debate!
Ignis could finally check out the chestplate's specs!
Heartsteel
800 Health
200% Base Health Regen
20 Ability Haste
Colossal Consumption: You can charge up an attack against enemies in range every few seconds.
This charged attack deals damage based on your maximum health and permanently increases your maximum health based on the damage dealt.
This was the freaking holy grail!
The more health he had, the harder he hit! The harder he hit, the more health he got! If he kept stacking, he'd be one-shotting fools in no time!
He couldn't wait to strap on the Heartsteel! He already felt something different!
He could feel his life force surge through him like a tidal wave! He felt like he could never die!
That must be the effect of the massive health boost!
He also felt like he could unleash his skills faster! He could cast more spells in a shorter time! The Ability Haste from the game had translated to this world!
"System, if I stash this in my System stash, do I still get the stat boosts?"
"Yes. If the Host does not intend to utilize the item's item-specific properties, they may store it within the System Inventory. The item's special abilities and stats will still be provided to the Host."
Awesome! He couldn't run around in three sets of armor!
He glanced over at the bickering crew. He waited a few seconds, but he didn't see what he wanted to see.
The Heartsteel effect only worked on enemies... Tch!