Chapter 26: The Scramble of the Many
Having dealt with the three clerks, Kaizen Reiya walked out of the Heavenly Blade Forge, the two Gold-grade weapons secured.
The cost of these two items alone was 60,000 gold coins. This was only the second day of the new One Piece world's existence.
It was an astronomical figure that other players from the 21st century wouldn't even dare to imagine.
Kaizen didn't care in the slightest.
Compared to the immense rewards the World Will would bestow for killing the Level 100 King of the Near Shore, this investment was a mere drop in the ocean—and a necessary one at that. Without it, slaying the Sea King would be impossible.
Fwoosh! An arrow flew past, embedding the player who had been eating a radish into a human pincushion.
"Get out of my way! I saw that hare first!"
Sword glints flashed as a pheasant was swarmed by nearly twenty people.
"This is insane! Damn it, I just found one pheasant, and a whole mob pounces on it!"
"Hahaha! I found a Grey-Stone tool!"
"Look how easily impressed you are! I just dug up two low-grade Yellow Class manuals—Shaolin Fist!"
"Holy crap, that's an inscribed pattern ring! That piece of equipment is so cool!"
...
The area outside Windmill Village was now packed with players who had crossed over from the 21st century.
The competition was fierce.
The pheasants, hares, and small turtles couldn't withstand it.
The situation for these "players" from the 21st century was even more pathetic after the crossing.
Kaizen swept his gaze over the scene, his scalp tingling. The moment a single pheasant appeared, fifty or sixty men with bloodshot eyes would charge at it.
How desperate can you get?
Kaizen was at a loss for words.
Their leveling speed was slower than that of turtles and snails.
A huge crowd surrounded the area. With fewer and fewer low-level monsters to kill, they could only wait for the World Will to spawn more. It was a vicious cycle; who knew how long it would take for them to level up?
Kaizen remembered the "ant tribe" from the 21st century; survival was brutally difficult, and the crowding here was just as bad.
This was the sorrow of being a step behind. The first arrivals devoured all the meat, leaving the latecomers to fight desperately for the scraps.
Relying on the memories of his past life, Kaizen had been a step ahead at every turn, instantly reaching Level 18. These people were still stuck at the stage of killing low-level monsters to grind for experience. The gap would only grow wider.
It reminded him of his own past life. When he first entered the new One Piece world, he had been too late. He, too, had desperately fought for these pheasants, hares, and small turtles.
It had been arduous and exhausting. After ten days of struggle, he had only gained a few levels. In the end, the early arrivals grew stronger and stronger, while it became difficult for him to even survive. He had been forced to rely on them for grueling labor, a path paved with blood and tears.
Simultaneously, as humans entered the new One Piece world, some poultry, domesticated cats and dogs, and wild animals had also received the "invitation" from the World Will. They, too, crossed over through the scrolls, transforming through constant, brutal killing.
They eventually evolved into monsters—so-called Beast Soldiers, Beast Commanders, and Beast Kings.
Monsters capable of sweeping away thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of people evolved into Beast Emperor-level entities.
In the later stages, as the new One Piece world's consumption of the 21st century surpassed 50%, humanity's firearms were also brought into this new world.
However, these monsters, and the humans who had consumed Devil Fruits and reached Levels 1,000 or 10,000, feared no firearms. They could tear apart tanks and aircraft carriers. Demon Kings unafraid of nuclear weapons and high-level humans emerged one after another.
This New World, developed to its end, was filled with all manner of major powers, powerful individuals, and terrifying Demon Kings. It was a bloody, insane free-for-all.
Only by constantly growing stronger and possessing power that surpassed all else was the sole means of survival.
In his previous life's apocalyptic end, Kaizen had suffered as cannon fodder for thirty years in pain and misery, ultimately being swallowed by a Sea King.
No one understood better than he how cruel and bloody this jungle-like world was, how bottomless and maddening.
"Let them slowly kill their low-level monsters. I need to hunt an Overlord-class monster, a Level 100 beast—the King of the Near Shore."
"Once I kill a Level 100 monster, establish my power, the gap between me and these players will be immeasurable."
The corner of Kaizen's mouth twitched, a hint of pride on his face. In this life, armed with the memories of his past, he had taken the lead step by step. The advantage of this information gap destined him to soar to the heavens, leaving behind the sorrowful, oppressive days of his past.
Relying on his past life's memories, the Calm Sea Key, the activated treasure detection radar, and his hyper-accelerated learning and cultivation abilities, Kaizen simply ignored these low-level monsters and the scrambling players.
Moving at high speed through the crowds, he left the low-level monster area behind, heading into the wider world and entering more high-level and dangerous zones.
"Is that guy insane? He ran out of the starter protection area. Does he have a death wish?"