The seas of the East Blue shimmered quietly.
Ron and Nami's small ship cut through the calm waters, heading toward an unnamed island.
After collecting Arlong's bounty, Ron's fortune had officially reached three hundred million Berries, unlocking the achievement Wealthy Beyond Measure and rewarding him with two additional achievement points.
Those two points pushed his spiritual power even further to forty-nine. Just one step away from the fabled fifty.
From that moment on, Ron began pushing himself from both ends half of his time dedicated to deep meditation, strengthening his spirit, and the other half to hunting pirates with bounties over ten million.
The money didn't interest him anymore, nor did the fame. His true goal now was the achievement called "Sweep of the East Blue."
Its requirement was simple: eliminate at least five pirates with bounties over ten million Berries.
He had already taken down three. Two more, and he would complete it. It was an easy way to gather more points while giving him time to cultivate.
Now, sitting cross-legged at the stern of the boat, Ron closed his eyes. The crystal-tipped wand floated above his knees, glowing softly.
Inside his mental world, everything was still.
A vast, silent void no thoughts, no distractions, no emotion just endless emptiness stretching forever like a dead universe.
Within that silence, something began to expand. Slowly, invisibly, the boundaries of his mind widened.
He did not understand why meditation strengthened the spirit only that it did.
Perhaps it drew energy from the world itself. Or perhaps, as he often wondered, power was born from the soul's own transformation.
If the first idea was true, it meant the world followed the laws of energy exchange. But if it was the second then the human spirit could create energy. Thought could shape existence. Mind could give birth to matter.
To Ron, the second explanation felt far closer to the truth.
After all, the way magic functioned the gathering of elements through runes defied every natural law. Maybe the material world itself was nothing but an echo of the spirit.
And as his spiritual power grew, that idea no longer seemed just philosophy. He could feel it.
His consciousness felt more solid than his body, more real than flesh. For the first time, he sensed that his mind stood above the physical world.
Then
Ding.
A sharp, crystalline sound rang deep within him, as if something unseen had shattered.
The weight that had always pressed on him vanished. His soul felt light weightless.
"Huh…"
Ron opened his inner eyes and froze. His body still sat on the deck, but he was floating.
It wasn't flight. His spirit had separated from his body.
Below him, he could see his physical form in perfect detail and the wand hovering over it. Yet in this strange perspective, the wand appeared transformed. Its crystal body shimmered with lines and runes, patterns so complex they seemed to carve reality itself.
The sight drew him in. His soul trembled with awe.
But the moment he tried to look deeper
Agony.
A tearing, blinding pain ripped through his mind.
Then darkness.
His spirit was yanked back into his body. Blood trickled from his nose as he coughed violently, vision flashing white.
For ten minutes, he lay there gasping before finally sitting up, rubbing his temples.
It was clear now.
His spirit attribute had finally reached fifty.
That brief out-of-body experience wasn't an illusion. He had truly seen a glimpse of the world's core and the runes that formed all creation. But the truth he had touched was far too great. Just a glance had almost destroyed him.
Even so, a smile tugged at his lips. "What a strange feeling…"
The world slowly returned to focus. Everything looked sharper, more alive. He stood, walked to the railing, and stepped forward onto the open sea.
He didn't fall.
Ron floated above the waves.
"This…"
His confusion melted into wonder. His spiritual energy wasn't just a passive force anymore it had become tangible, capable of holding up his body.
He grinned. "So it's real… I can make it real."
He turned toward the ship's railing, eyes glinting.
Crack!
Nothing visible left his body, but a fine split appeared in the wooden bar.
Ron laughed quietly. The feeling was unmistakable manifested spirit energy.
At fifty points, spirit was no longer abstract. It could now interact with the physical world.
"Though the cost is steep," he muttered, landing lightly back on deck.
That single strike had drained nearly a tenth of his mental reserves enough energy to cast a high-tier multi-wind-blade spell.
Still, it made sense. Using raw spiritual force as a weapon was like punching instead of using a gun. Magic remained far more efficient.
"Not ideal for fighting, but…" He smiled. "For flight and movement? Perfect."
He rose again, letting the invisible force lift him higher until he hovered above the mast, circling the little ship.
Inside the cabin, Nami lounged lazily at a table, humming and watching the sea through the window until a shadow zipped past outside.
"...Huh?"
She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and looked again.
There Ron glided by the window a second time, calmly flying across the waves.
Her eyes went wide.
"Wha, what?!"
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