c2 Childhood Sweethearts
So this was the random item mentioned in the system regulations, the one that appeared every week?
It looked more reliable than he had expected, almost too serious for something called a romance cultivation system. The only problem was that most of the items required a frighteningly high number of points.
Apparition skill scroll? Was that the kind of teleportation ability used by wizards in some fantasy world, or a modified and weakened version created by the system?
In any case, if he could actually redeem it one day, it would definitely be a divine skill for traveling across the vast seas of the world, whether it was the East Blue or even the dangerous waters of the Grand Line.
As for Wind Barrier, the name sounded somewhat familiar to him, and judging from the description it also seemed to be an extremely powerful ability.
However, the prerequisite of Advanced Swordsmanship was still far beyond Noxia's current level of sword training, so no matter how much he coveted it, he could only temporarily put it aside.
"Only 1500 points were given."
After finishing his soup, Noxia tore into the roasted meat on his tray and continued silently scanning the shop panel.
"It looks like I can only redeem these two random items at most this week…"
Six Styles Paper Drawing Skill Scroll (Intermediate), and Physical Training Acceleration Card (7 days).
These two items were both extremely useful to him. If he purchased them, he would still have a small number of points remaining.
However, Noxia was not in a hurry to redeem them immediately. Instead, he continued browsing through the permanent exchange items available in the shop.
[Basic Strength Points: 2000 points per point at the current stage]
[Basic Agility Points: 2000 points per point at the current stage]
[Basic Endurance Points: 2000 points per point at the current stage]
[Basic Intelligence Points: 20000 points per point at the current stage]
[Basic Charm Points: 50000 points per point at the current stage]
[Character Detector: 500 points per use, daily purchase limit 2]
...
"Most of the physical attributes only cost 2000 points right now."
Noxia began to hesitate.
Improving his basic attribute points would definitely bring a significant boost to his combat strength. Should he use his points to buy the two practical items he had just considered, or should he save up a bit longer and redeem attribute points directly?
Besides, the prices of Intelligence and Charm were ridiculously high.
Perhaps the system used a different calculation rule for those attributes.
When Noxia thought about the fact that his current Charm value was already incredibly high among the female recruits and even some female Marine officers in the headquarters training area, he gradually began to understand the reason.
The difference between each point of Charm was simply too great.
If he were to completely focus on raising this attribute and increase it by several more points, then with just a casual smile he might be able to reach a level comparable to the legendary beauty who would one day rule Amazon Lily, the future Pirate Empress Boa Hancock.
Just as he was deep in thought, a sudden commotion erupted near the entrance of the restaurant.
"Hmm?"
Noxia temporarily shifted his gaze away from the system panel and looked toward the direction of the noise. When he looked over, he immediately saw a very familiar figure standing outside.
The Marines sitting at the tables closest to the entrance had already jumped up from their seats and excitedly surrounded that person.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Vice Admiral! You're finally back!"
"It's been more than half a month longer than expected. How did the mission go?"
The person surrounded by the crowd was none other than the legendary Marine hero, the man who had cornered the Pirate King Gol D Roger countless times in the past, Vice Admiral Monkey D Garp.
The old man looked somewhat travel worn. His cloak was slightly wrinkled and his hair was messy, as if he had just returned from the sea and disembarked from a Marine warship stationed at Marineford.
However, when he saw the young and enthusiastic faces of the Marine recruits, he could not help but hide his exhaustion and burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha, you little rascals, long time no see!"
"Of course the mission went smoothly! With me personally leading the charge, how could any pirate escape from my iron fists?"
Garp answered proudly while trying to squeeze into the restaurant. However, the surrounding Marines were simply too enthusiastic. The situation looked more like a fan gathering than a normal greeting, and he could barely move forward a few steps.
He immediately complained in dissatisfaction.
"Hey! Why are you all blocking the way? Move aside, move aside! You guys might have already eaten your fill, but this old man's stomach is practically empty! I'm in a hurry to eat!"
His complaint immediately caused the surrounding Marines to burst into laughter.
The young Marines exchanged embarrassed glances with one another before quickly stepping aside, finally clearing a path leading to the food counter for the starving old Vice Admiral.
"Ha! That's more like it!"
Garp laughed heartily again and strode through the crowd toward the restaurant window.
"Mr. Garp…"
Noxia did not go over to join the crowd blocking the entrance. Instead, he sat quietly at his table and watched Garp's figure thoughtfully.
At that moment, a sudden idea appeared in his mind.
He remembered the function mentioned earlier by the system.
The Character Detector.
From the description, this function seemed capable of detecting other people's attributes and displaying them in the form of a data panel. But what about its versatility? Was it limited to detecting only the opposite sex because of the so called romance system, or could it actually be used on anyone?
Noxia had long been curious about just how strong a legendary Marine like Monkey D Garp really was. A man who had cornered the Pirate King Gol D Roger many times and was known across the seas as the Marine Hero could not possibly be measured by ordinary standards.
Besides, it was already evening and the day was almost over. Since the system provided one free detection each day during the beginner period, he might as well use it now.
Without hesitation, Noxia activated the detector on Garp.
[Character: Monkey D Garp]
[Age: 57]
[Strength: ???]
[Agility: ???]
[Endurance: ???]
[Intelligence: 7]
[Charm: 8]
[Skills: Armament Haki (Master), Observation Haki (Advanced), Marine Six Styles (Master), Marine Fist Combat (Master)...]
[Estimated Successful Conquest Points Reward: Ambiguous Relationship/80000 Points, Romantic Relationship/400000 Points]
[Note: Although it is unclear why you would even detect an old man who constantly picks his nose and eats crackers all day, conquering this legendary Marine hero would undoubtedly grant an astonishing amount of points.]
"..."
Noxia stared silently at the panel for a long moment before closing it with a completely expressionless face.
That was enough.
Was something wrong with this system's logic?
He had only been curious and used the detector to check Garp's attributes, yet the system immediately assumed he intended to conquer him. That was ridiculous. He was absolutely straight.
Still, he had obtained the data he wanted to see. Although several of the physical attributes were replaced by question marks, the result was not entirely surprising.
Noxia guessed that the difference in strength between him and Garp was simply too enormous. Because of that, the system could not fully display Garp's basic physical attributes.
It reminded him of games from his previous life, where a player who had just left the beginner village would enter a large city and see high level bosses with nothing but question marks above their heads.
Truly worthy of being one of the top powerhouses in this world.
Noxia clicked his tongue inwardly. He did not feel that the detector had been wasted. Instead he began wondering just how strong he would need to become before the system could display Garp's full attribute panel.
And more importantly, would he ever reach that level in the future?
Thinking about it further, although the detector liked to add strange comments that were completely unnecessary, its function and scope of application were clearly much broader than he had expected. That alone made Noxia feel quite satisfied.
"Huh?"
Just at that moment, Garp passed by the corridor and suddenly noticed Noxia sitting in the corner. As if he had just remembered something important, the old Vice Admiral slapped his forehead, took out a letter from his pocket, and strode toward him.
"Mr Garp!"
Rosinante and Shiryu immediately stopped eating, stood up, and saluted. Noxia also stood up and saluted, but when he saw the letter in Garp's hand he paused slightly, already having a rough guess about what it was.
"Hey, little Noxia!"
Garp walked straight to the table and stuffed the letter into Noxia's hand.
"This was given to me by your family when I stopped by the East Blue Sixteenth Branch base during a rest stop. They asked me to deliver it to you at Marineford. Luckily I suddenly remembered it just now. When you get older your memory gets worse and worse."
"Not at all."
Noxia carefully put the letter into his pocket and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you very much, Mr Garp."
Putting aside his admiration for Garp's achievements and character, the old Vice Admiral had truly been a benefactor to him. If Garp had not personally selected him back then during his inspection tour of the East Blue, it would have been extremely difficult for someone like him from a small branch base to enter the Marine Headquarters elite training camp.
He might still be training at the East Blue base instead of standing here at Marineford.
"It was nothing," Garp said casually while waving his hand.
"Oh right. I have not checked on you recruits for a while. A few months ago when I asked Zephyr about your class, he said you were ranked fifty ninth in the assessment. How have you been doing recently? Any improvement?"
"Uh..."
Noxia felt slightly embarrassed and scratched his head.
"It is still about the same as before."
Back when he was at the Sixteenth Branch base in the East Blue, Noxia's performance had been outstanding enough to catch Garp's attention and raise high expectations.
Unfortunately, after arriving at Marine Headquarters he discovered that the elites gathered here were simply too terrifying. Many recruits possessed extraordinary talent or came from famous Marine families.
Compared to them, he suddenly seemed rather ordinary.
"Eh?"
Garp looked slightly surprised at first, then he clicked his tongue and patted Noxia heavily on the shoulder.
"You are still not working hard enough, kid! Next year you will graduate from the training camp, and I will personally come to watch the final evaluation. Work harder and try to earn the highest evaluation from Zephyr!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
Noxia immediately straightened his back and responded loudly while saluting.
After Garp nodded in satisfaction and walked away toward the food counter, Noxia slowly sat down again, feeling somewhat helpless inside.
Clearly Garp had misunderstood his situation.
The old Vice Admiral probably believed that Noxia's mediocre ranking was caused by a lack of effort.
But Noxia knew better than anyone how much he had pushed himself since arriving at Marine Headquarters.
If the system had not appeared today and given him a possible turning point, by the time graduation arrived he might have only seen disappointment in Garp's eyes.
He continued eating his dinner quietly.
Meanwhile Rosinante, who was sitting across from him, seemed extremely curious about the letter that Garp had delivered. He leaned forward with a mischievous grin and winked.
"Hey, Noxia ge, hurry up and open it. Let us see what is written inside."
Shiryu remained silent while sipping his soup. On the surface he looked completely indifferent, but his eyes occasionally glanced toward the pocket where Noxia had placed the letter.
"That is private, you brat."
Noxia lightly smacked Rosinante on the head with the back of his spoon in annoyance.
"Besides, it is just a letter from my father. What could possibly be interesting about it?"
"Oh come on."
Rosinante rubbed his head and grimaced but refused to give up. Instead he looked at Noxia with a smug expression.
"I saw it earlier. The letter paper inside the envelope is pink. What kind of father sends a pink letter to his son?"
"Huh?"
Noxia froze for a moment. Earlier he had been too focused on Garp and had not paid attention to that detail.
He quickly took the letter out and examined it under the restaurant's overhead light. Sure enough, a faint pink color could be seen through the white envelope.
Oh no.
Noxia instantly understood what had happened and rubbed his temples helplessly.
Because the training at Marine Headquarters had been extremely intense during the past year, he had barely written any letters back home. That meant he had not contacted his childhood friend for quite a long time.
It seemed she was definitely angry now.
He could already imagine the chestnut haired girl sitting under the dim lamp at night, pouting angrily while writing a scolding letter. Afterward she must have handed it to her father and asked him to pass it to Vice Admiral Garp when the Marine hero stopped by the East Blue base.
After crossing the vast ocean, the letter had finally arrived here at Marineford.
"I am so sorry..."
Noxia muttered softly while opening the envelope.
Inside were two letters written on different colored paper.
The white one was obviously from his parents, while the pink one naturally came from his childhood friend.
[To the Foolish Noxia]
Those words were written neatly at the center of the folded paper, and in the lower right corner there was a delicate signature.
Avya F Bellmere.
...
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