Thank You for Participating

Several lines of text appeared in Duen's mind.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Buggy's White Gloves]

Note: Everyone believed that beneath these white gloves was sealed the awakened power of a Devil Fruit, but sadly, even if you took them off, there would not be a pair of slender jade hands capable of splitting external objects inside.

[Would you like to take them out?]

"Take them out."

The moment Duen finished speaking in his mind, the white gloves appeared in his palm. After a brief moment of surprise, he carefully kneaded them, turned the insides out, and felt over every inch from top to bottom.

Smack!

Duen hurled the gloves heavily onto the ground. They bounced slightly, then lay still like a salted fish.

Who wanted this useless thing? He had spent 400 Emotion Points, and this was the worthless junk he pulled?!

Duen completely lost his composure.

Just then, the [Illustrated Guide] section in his mind began to glow. Duen froze for a moment, then opened it and discovered an icon of white gloves inside one of the circular frames.

"So this thing actually has a use..."

Duen hurriedly picked up Buggy's White Gloves and carefully stored them away. He suddenly felt that things might not be so simple.

But after waiting for a while, nothing happened. He could only return to the lottery center, look at his balance of 1,405 points, and press the red button again.

The wheel spun rapidly before finally coming to a stop.

What was it?

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Thank You for Participating x1]

Note: You did not misread that.

[Would you like to take it out?]

"???"

Duen fell silent for a while before saying, "Take it out..."

A bottle cap appeared in his hand. It was even the kind used on bottled Sprite.

Expressionless, Duen held it before his eyes. Four words were written inside the cap: Thank You for Participating.

Smash!

Thank You for Participating was one thing, but why did it have to appear in the form of a bottle cap?! And what did "Congratulations, you have obtained" even mean? Who the hell wanted your congratulations for getting this thing?!

"Calm down, calm down."

Duen silently told himself as he pressed the red button. His balance dropped from 1,005 to 1,005.

It was fine. He could still draw six more times. They could not all be Thank You for Participating, could they?

Thinking that way, Duen's mood really did improve considerably.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Thank You for Participating x1]

Note: It's me again.

[Would you like to take it out?]

"No need." Duen maintained his smile.

There were five chances left. He was bound to draw something good.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Thank You for Participating x1]

Note: Still me.

[Would you like to take it out?]

Duen said nothing. His lips twitched slightly as he pressed the switch again.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Thank You for Participating x1]

Note: Mad yet?

[Would you like to take it out?]

Duen clenched his fists and pressed the switch.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Thank You for Participating x1]

Note: Hello.

[Would you like to take it out?]

Thank You for Participating... Thank You for Participating... Thank You for Participating...

Duen's face darkened with black lines. He felt as if he had been cursed as he stared at his remaining balance of 5...

At last, he took a deep breath, and his gaze became firm.

"I definitely won't draw it. I definitely won't draw it."

As he muttered to himself, the wheel spun at high speed once more before gradually stopping on an icon that seemed extremely rare.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Incomplete Devil Fruit]

Note: This is a Devil Fruit unaffected by the power of the sea, but it possesses only incomplete strength. Work hard to complete it. When that time comes, you will redefine the meaning of the word "powerful."

[Would you like to take it out?]

Duen stomped his foot excitedly. Sure enough, the goddess of luck still favored him. Reverse flag-setting was the true royal road!

And this Devil Fruit seemingly would not be affected by seawater. No matter how he looked at it, it could not be a weak one!

"Take it out."

The moment Duen finished speaking, the icon on the wheel vanished completely, and a slice-like piece of fruit appeared in his hand.

"Incomplete Devil Fruit..."

Though he noticed the change in the wheel, Duen focused on the fruit in his hand instead. After hesitating briefly, he stuffed it into his mouth.

"Cough, cough!"

The fruit melted the instant it entered his mouth, but what followed was a foul stench, like canned herring mixed with piping-hot stinky tofu.

At the main interface, [Abilities and Enhancements] emitted a faint glow, as if reminding him of something.

Duen opened it and found that it had indeed changed.

[Mond Duen]

Overall Assessment: A warrior capable of combat.

Note: Years of grueling training have given you the strength to defeat invaders. Though you are not powerful enough, you have already surpassed most ordinary people.

Primary Discipline: Swordsmanship LV1

Devil Fruit Ability: Nightmare (Fragment) [Derived Skill]: Phantom Mirror LV1

Martial Arts: None

Haki: None

The [Derived Skill] that appeared after the Devil Fruit Ability section was obviously an ability granted by the Devil Fruit, even without thinking about it. But from those few words alone, he had no idea what kind of power it was.

After fiddling around with the system for a long time, Duen finally exited the main interface.

Though he desperately wanted to test out his Devil Fruit ability, perhaps because he had spent too long in the system, an unprecedented exhaustion swept through his body.

After yawning repeatedly, he was too sleepy to endure it any longer. He lay down beneath the covers and fell asleep.

The next morning, at around six-thirty.

Duen woke up. After years of habit, his sleeping schedule had always been remarkably regular.

After getting up early, he rinsed his mouth, then went for a lap of jogging.

By the time he returned, all the dojo disciples had gathered. Under Senior Brother Andrew's command, they began a new day of sword-swinging practice.

Koushirou stood nearby to guide them, making minor adjustments and correcting the improper movements of certain disciples.

"Zoro!"

Standing beside the courtyard, Duen called into the inner rooms.

Roronoa Zoro emerged from his room with a slight yawn, as though he had just woken up.

Duen slung a basket over his back. "Come with me to town to buy some food."

Though Zoro occasionally brought back game from the forest, such as yesterday's black-skinned mountain boar, they still had to purchase their daily vegetables and fruit in town, and they needed quite a lot of them.

"Can't you handle something this small by yourself?" Zoro looked utterly unmotivated.

Though he was two years younger than Duen, there had never been any respect in his tone. Other than his teacher Koushirou, he treated everyone with indifference, wearing an annoyingly punchable expression.

Duen spoke with conviction. "Interacting with all kinds of people and learning all kinds of ways to handle things is also a form of training. It will benefit you when you sail out to travel in the future."

Zoro did not really agree with Duen's words, but his obsession with going to sea made him feel that they seemed to make some sense.

He touched the three swords at his waist and said, "Then let's go."

"There's one more thing." Duen revealed a friendly smile and held out one hand.

"What?"

"Give me Wado Ichimonji first. I need to train you."

"Train me?"

Zoro did not quite understand, but since it was Duen, he could temporarily hand over his beloved sword, Wado Ichimonji. Still puzzled, he passed it over and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Duen took a wooden fishing rod from the basket, then tied the fishing line to the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.