Soul Art Online

Soul Art Online

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 17: Leaving Sabaody

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- Arthas - 

"We don't have much time. Buy the things you can. No need to think much about it." Shiroe instructed as we looked through the goods.

Derek and his people had escorted us out of the Auction House to their base. He had his own businesses which mainly dealt in smuggled goods.

They were arranging a ship for us to leave right at that moment and we had an hour or two at best to buy anything we could for trade… and that's what we were doing.

Veena had decided to accompany us and Grayfia or rather Bina followed us with another girl White Rose.

"Get the weapons and weapon blueprints. Our country lacks those." She instructed as we were picking things up. "Get maps and books about navigation and information on other countries. Skill Books if you can find any. Equipment and accessories too."

As I picked up a sword, I saw something on the wall and couldn't help but stare at it for a while.

"Excuse me, how much for it?" I pointed towards the item I wanted.

"Oh this! This is… twenty gold coins." The man asked.

"I'll take it." I gave the man the coins and took the item.

A straw hat… with a red ribbon.

I couldn't help but smile as I put the hat on my head.

"You like that hat, kid?" A person beside me suddenly asked.

I turned around to see a guy wearing glasses standing beside me. He had white hair and a white beard. There was a scar across one of his eyes.

Almost unconsciously I used the Scan Skill on him… however it didn't work.

What the fuck?

Scan worked on almost anyone, even NPCs. It only didn't work on… anyone three Tier above me… a T8…

"Hmm. This looks awesome. I think it would suit the head of the future king of the pirates." I replied.

The man smirked. "Future King of the Pirates eh! That's some goal you have. Aren't you the guy who sold a Devil Fruit in the auctions today… to buy a girl?"

"She was the relative of a comrade." I replied unphased.

"Quite admirable but not very pirate like. You used something worth millions for that…"

I just shrugged. "Well, we were lucky to have the devil fruit when we did or we would have to fight our way through."

"Oho, you'd fight your way through the Auction House, breaking the rules of the Auction House?"

"Yeah, that sounds kinda bad but. Those who break rules are scum but… those who abandon their friends… are worse than scum."

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+11 to all stats.

+22% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Skill Book: Chidori

Hell yeah. Finally worked.

"So all those girls were your comrades?"

"Only one of them."

"Then why did you save the other girls? You could have saved up on a lot of money if you didn't buy them?"

"Hah? Well, you see… When I was a boy I wanted to be a hero. Someone who could save people from suffering and grant them their freedom. Just like the legendary warrior of liberation Nika."

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+12 to all stats.

+24% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Buccaneer(Half Giant) Race Card.

As expected, his eyes widened when he heard that name.

"And don't you think it would be scummy to save one person and let others suffer. I am the man who is gonna be the King of the Pirates… how can I be worse than scum?" I added.

"Ohh… then what kind of man do you think a Pirate King should be?"

"A Pirate King should be the freest man on the sea… and I am going to become one."

"Just for that and not to find the One Piece, the wealth, the fame, the power?" He asked.

"I mean finding the One Piece is basically the requirement for the position, right? So I guess I will find it."

"Then what is it that you want to do as a Pirate King?" He asked once more.

I looked at him and smiled. "I am gonna turn the world upside down. Say, you don't look bad either… wanna turn the world upside down with me?"

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+13 to all stats.

+26% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Unique Skill: Voice of All Things

Ohh Yeah!

The guy's mouth opened as he stared at me and then smiled. "I'll pass. I am already an old man. But are you sure you want to do that? The last guy who said that was executed by the marines."

"If I become the Pirate King… then they may execute me… but I won't die."

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+14 to all stats.

+28% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Skill: Observation Haki

"Oh, then how will you die?"

"When do you think a person dies? When a bullet from a pistol pierces his heart? No. When he's attacked by an incurable disease? No. When he eats a soup of deadly poisonous mushrooms? No. A man dies when people forget him!"

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+15 to all stats.

+30% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Passive Skill: Will of D.

Nailed it!

The man finally laughed out loud. "You are an interesting man. I hope to see you again in the future, maybe on a bounty poster."

"Or in a newspaper as the new King of the Pirates."

"You have no doubts about that do you?"

"Obviously, the act of not doubting… that is strength."

I smiled at the sheer irony of using his own quote on him…

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+16 to all stats.

+32% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Perk: Armament Haki

"Hahahaha yes… or that. Good luck on your journey. That hat suits you well."

"Goodbye…"

I walked away from the scene and reached Shiroe. "What took you so long?" He asked.

"I was talking to someone." I replied. "Did you guys stock up on everything?"

"Yes. We are almost done. Anything else you need?"

"No, not really. I have already received everything I wanted."

And I sure did.

This was the most references I had been able to make in my time in the game… even more than during the raid.

I mean seriously, I even used some extremely uncommon references and didn't think they would be counted.

The Game Master must be an ardent One Piece fan to get all of those. Then again, this guy basically recreated the One Piece world here. It would be surprising if he wasn't a huge fan.

While we were leaving, I took the chance to check the skills I had gained.

Chidori [Level 1/100]

Concentrate Lightning in your hand for a one time stab.

At higher levels, the attack power increases and lightning can be manipulated more easily for more versatile moves.

Deals 400% Damage

Cost 200 MP

Attack power increases by 5% every level.

Voice of All Things [Level Max.]

The ability to hear the voices of nature, even inanimate things.

There was no more description of this skill and I would need to check it later to understand its use.

Observation Haki [Level 1/100]

Heightens the perception of the user.

More functions are unlocked at higher mastery.

+50 to Perception Stat

Cost: 100 MP per minute.

+5 to Perception Stat per level. MP Cost Decreases by 5 MP per minute every ten levels.

Armament Haki [Level 1/100]

Allows the user to coat their body or weapons for increased attack and defence power. Allows the user to harm ethereal and intangible enemies.

+50% Attack Power, +50% Defence Power while the skill is active.

Cost: 200 MP per minute

+5% to Attack Power, +5% to Defence Power increases per level. -5 MP Per minute every ten levels.

And finally the most broken of skills… the Will of D

Will of D. [Passive]

You carry the Will of the D.

Increases Spirit Stat by 1 every level.

Current increase +112 Spirit

The Spirit, Perception, Luck, etc stats were secondary stats, something not increased so easily. In fact, many didn't even know the function of these stats. In fact, the increase in these stats is actually random. They just increase at times when someone levels up and doesn't increase at other times.

Now I had a skill which increased the Spirit Stat by simply levelling up.

Although I didn't know the function of this stat yet, it had to be something good… or at least I hoped so. The description of some skills were too vague.

Observation and Armament Haki however were incredible additions to my skill set. I have mostly been focused on heavy close quarter attack and defence. These skills complement the rest of my skills very well.

And finally, there was the Buccaneer Race Change Card. Wasn't that the race of Kuma? Were they half giants?

How do the Race Change Cards even work?

Buccaneer(Half Giant) Race Change Card

Unlocks the Giant Race Tree

It says it unlocks the giant race tree. How will that even work? Will I become a giant immediately? Explaining that would be hard.

Overall, the trip to Sabaody was good.

With everything done, we were escorted by Derek's men to the ship that was prepared for us.

Shiroe had already contacted the Captain who had brought us here and the man was ready to leave for a small bonus.

We boarded the ship that very night.

Derek had kept his words as he sent twelve of his men to follow us. Three T6 and nine T5 to protect us till we reached Lannisport.

Unlike the time we came here, this time, each of us had a room, all paid for by Derek. The guy was not lying about his words.

A fun thing was that, unlike what everyone was expecting, no one had come to the port to try to rob us… something even Derek was confused about.

He was ready to fight a war but… there was just no one.

I had some idea about what might have happened but didn't say anything there.

Veena had taken some time to talk with Grayfia and explain everything to her.

Meanwhile, I sat with Shiroe and Star to discuss the amount we had just made.

A total of thirty two million gold coins… twenty five which Damon had gathered and the seven million extra from selling everything we could.

"We spent three million on the things we bought today and that leaves us with a total of twenty nine million. Wow… that's huge."

"It is. We will need to think carefully on how to invest it when Veena comes back."

"Yes. Veena-san is more experienced in these kinds of things. We can ask her for advice. Still… this was quite an adventure, wasn't it?"

"Say that again. I wasn't even sure we would be able to leave that island safely when we were betting in the auction house." Star sighed.

"It was fun though. What's life without an adventure?" Whistler said and by now, we had understood to tune him out most of the time.

"How is she doing?" Shiroe asked after a while.

"She is currently talking with Bina. By the way, have you talked with the other girls?" I asked. They were terrified when we escorted them out.

"I did. They are better after knowing about us, especially the Guild Name. The worldwide announcement has been received differently everywhere but at least they know us."

"Man, I am just sad that we couldn't hunt there for longer. That place was giving experience like no other."

"True, but that was only because of us. If we didn't encounter Suikazura-san and Whistler when we did and didn't have Arthas' broken class, we would be struggling to survive there, let alone think of hunting. I was actually worried that we might encounter a T6 there and then even running away would have been difficult. We are already ahead of others. No need to risk it all, especially when we don't even know which T6 Class to choose."

"I understand that but still… tell me you are not disappointed?" He asked.

Shiroe also sighed. "I am. We can go back there in a month. Right now, we need to go back and level up the guild so that we can add everyone first."

"Hmm."

We talked about a few more things before leaving for our rooms to rest.