The Prison Archives

Figo, who had read his fair share of web novels, immediately recognized the thing that had appeared in his mind. To his surprise, he felt more excitement than shock.

A transmigrator always got some kind of cheat: a talent cheat, a memory cheat, a knowledge cheat, an encounter cheat, a system cheat...

The next moment, Figo absorbed and comprehended the information about the nameless book. It was his very own Prison Archives.

He didn't give much thought to where the archives had come from. He simply treated them as a gift from the gods who had sent him here.

He was more concerned with how to use them:

It was simple. As long as Figo captured a criminal and sent them to prison, the archives in his mind would record their information. Then, based on the criminal's abilities, they would randomly improve one of Figo's own abilities!

The amount of improvement depended on three factors.

First was the criminal's rank, which reflected their strength. The Prison Archives divided criminals into four major ranks: N, R, SR, and SSR. Each rank had nine sub-ranks. The higher a criminal's rank, the greater Figo's reward for locking them up.

Second was Figo's level of participation in capturing the criminal. The more he took part, the greater his reward.

Third was the criminal's Crime Index, or how much evil they had done. The more heinous the criminal, the greater Figo's reward after capturing them!

"So I'm supposed to personally capture the most vicious pirates and become the bane of evil?"

The book in his mind vanished, and Figo came back to his senses. He shook his head to himself. There's no way I'm becoming the bane of evil. Not in this lifetime. That's way too dangerous. At most, I'll find a way to mooch some rewards...

The pirate they'd just brought to the prison had shown him that the entire escort and imprisonment process was worth 5% participation. His reward would surely be much smaller than if he'd caught the man himself, but wasn't this practically free?

Come to think of it...

Impel Down seemed pretty good, actually.

Bang!

The sound of an iron door slamming shut rang out. Figo turned toward Cell Number Two and saw that two guards had already taken Boar Demon inside. He felt a little regretful.

If he'd snapped out of it sooner, he would've stepped in and said, "I'll take him," before the two guards got Boar Demon into the cell. He could've stolen the kill and landed the final blow, just to see whether that counted as participation.

He'd missed one.

To his surprise, the archives appeared in his mind again. They opened to a blank page, stamped Boar Demon's image onto it, and added the following text.

[Prisoner: Tubos]

[Rank: N8]

[Status: In Custody]

[Crime Index: 11]

[Capture Participation: 1%]

[Reward: Swimming +1→55 (Level 1: Ordinary)]

"Even that counts? One percent participation?" Figo was stunned, but he quickly figured it out. "Because they're my subordinates, and they're escorting the prisoner on my orders? That means I took part?"

This time, he snapped out of it quickly. Before a guard could take the third pirate, who'd just undergone the baptism, to the prison area, Figo snatched the man away. "I'll take him!"

"Uh, Captain?"

Was this really okay?

The guard stood there, dumbfounded and full of questions. Figo ignored him and completed his test. The archives appeared in his mind for the third time.

[Prisoner: Nilbaha]

[Rank: N7]

[Status: In Custody]

[Crime Index: 8]

[Capture Participation: 2%]

[Reward: Navigation +1→23 (Level 1: Apprentice Navigator)]

"So that only counts for 2%?"

Figo quickly ran through the numbers in his head. Slacking off wasn't going to work. He hurried back toward the Baptism Room, gritting his teeth as he went. "You three stay here and keep an eye on the men we just put in the cells. You don't need to go back."

"Yes, Captain!"

The three guards watched Figo leave, then exchanged puzzled looks. Something about their captain seemed a little strange. But they'd only been assigned to Impel Down yesterday, and they'd all been ordinary Marines before that. They didn't know Figo's personality, and they didn't dare ask.

Figo hurried back to the Baptism Room as fast as he could. On the way, he ran into two more guards escorting prisoners and gave them the same orders.

The brutal baptism was still going on.

Figo didn't look. "You five stay behind to patrol the Prison Area. The rest of us number sixteen in total. No more than four people should leave the Baptism Room at a time to escort prisoners, and at least twelve must remain here!"

As he spoke, Figo grabbed another pirate who'd undergone the baptism and looked up. "Take turns escorting them so nothing slips through the cracks and those scumbags can't take advantage of us. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" "Yes, Captain!"

Captain Figo seemed so stern and hard to get along with. The guards exchanged glances.

What happened next left them even more bewildered. Figo had told them to take turns, but he had no intention of taking turns himself!

The order was that no more than four people could leave the Baptism Room at once. Yet Figo, their captain, was always among the four!

The Baptism Room stood on the Level 0 platform, the only part of Impel Down above sea level. From there, they had to travel back and forth to the Prison Area on Level 1. One trip, two trips... seven, eight... The guards could manage at most two trips, but Figo kept going until he was breathing harder and harder. They tried to persuade him to rest, but he shook them off without hesitation. They couldn't help talking among themselves, increasingly moved.

What did you call that? Leading by example! The guards didn't know the phrase, but that didn't stop them from approving of their new superior!

It seemed Captain Figo was a hardworking leader who was stern on the outside but kind at heart...

Figo had no time to worry about what the guards were imagining. At first, he'd been testing the Prison Archives. Later, he'd been unable to take his eyes off the rewards.

He'd gone up and down the stairs, carrying as much as 500 pounds at a time. After nine trips, even his current physique was exhausted. But the satisfaction filled him up and drowned out all the fatigue!

[Swordsmanship +2→83 (Level 1: Apprentice Swordsman)]

[Theft +1→1 (Level 0: Foolish Thief)]

[Artillery +3→23 (Level 1: Trainee Gunner)]

[Cooking +2→9 (Level 0: Poisoner)]

[Physique +2→100 (Level 2: Strong)]
...

There were thirty pirates in this batch, so Figo's Prison Archives had appeared thirty times. Nine had given him 5% participation, seven had given him 2%, and fourteen had given him 1%. The rewards covered more than ten different abilities, improving Figo across the board!

At the same time, Figo had figured out some of the Prison Archives' hidden rules. For example...

"Does each ability rank from 0 to 9 count as Level 0, 10 to 99 as Level 1, and 100 or more as Level 2? If it keeps going up like this, do I need 1,000 or more to reach Level 3?"

He flexed his arm again, feeling that his biceps seemed noticeably firmer. He felt like he could kill a bull with one punch!

And that was with 100 Physique.

Wouldn't 1,000 Physique send him through the roof?!

But thirty prisoners had only added six points to his Physique altogether. Impel Down probably only got a batch like that every week or two. Even if he trained on his own, it would take many years to reach 1,000.

But... Impel Down had more than one level.

In Figo's memories, the Marines had started setting aside pirates who would normally have been executed, intending to lock them up in the newly built Impel Down. They'd been doing this for a month, gathering prisoners to send over.

Another shipload of Level 2 prisoners was due that afternoon.

The Level 1 Captain couldn't give orders on Level 2.

But if I went to lend a hand, the Level 2 Captain probably wouldn't refuse, right?

And there were Levels 3 and 4...

R, SR, SSR...

I might be able to mooch those rewards too?

Hmm, Impel Down really was a great place!

PS: My new book is underway! This newbie writing a One Piece fanfic would really appreciate your support and votes!

The initial inspiration for this book came from I Have Been Exorcising Demons in the Demon Exorcism Bureau for Thirty Years. If anything seems similar, it's not a coincidence. Of course, the plot itself definitely has no similarities whatsoever!