Soaring Strength

Seeing Kya take out a Den Den Mushi from her coat, intending to ask Vice Admiral Tsuru for her opinion, Rosinante panicked.

He grabbed Kya's hand and said anxiously, "Contact headquarters. I'll ask Admiral Sengoku to issue the order. Then you can agree, right?"

"Even if Admiral Sengoku gives the order, I still need to ask Vice Admiral Tsuru before making arrangements."

Your superior's superior was not your superior. Kya followed procedure, and no one could fault her for it.

"Saving people comes first!" Van made a snap decision. "You stay here. We'll go to Swallow Island ourselves!"

Wait, this wasn't what we agreed on!

Rosinante looked at Van, utterly dumbfounded.

But Kya refused to bend the rules, and he had no better option. He could only nod along. "That works too. You go ahead first. I'll come pick you up later."

"And this gentleman is...?" Kya frowned.

"Arrange a boat for them immediately, and prepare some food and medicine!" Rosinante was incomparably stern. "You don't need to ask Vice Admiral Tsuru about something this trivial, do you?"

Noticing the displeasure in his tone, Kya hesitated briefly before finally relenting.

"That's unnecessary! There are speedboats on the warship for handling emergencies. I'll arrange for someone to take them to Swallow Island right away."

"Stay here and rest easy. Let the doctor treat your wounds. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I won't be able to answer to Vice Admiral Tsuru."

Having someone accompany them would be inconvenient, but being able to leave was already a blessing. They could not push their luck any further.

Van and Rosinante exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.

Before long, the speedboat and supplies were ready. A burly female second lieutenant was assigned to steer it.

"Vroom..."

The engine roared as the speedboat cut through the waves, racing toward Swallow Island.

Although the Marines were still hunting the Donquixote Family, as far as Van was concerned, this matter had already been settled.

After briefly tending to Baby-5's wounds and his own, the system's voice appeared in his mind again.

[Ding! The Op-Op Fruit transaction incident has concluded. The system is analyzing the host's impact...]

[Donquixote Rosinante (Kind): Rising from the brink of death and creating a miracle. Rated S.]

[Trafalgar Law (Terminal illness): Missed his chance, life hanging by a thread. Rated A-.]

[Vergo (Dark Sin): Identity exposed, future destroyed. Rated B-.]

[Overall event rating: A. Determining rewards...]

The specific people corresponding to the Fate Anchors did not exceed Van's expectations, but Law's evaluation came as a tremendous surprise.

If making things worse also counted as a major change, then there would be plenty of room to maneuver in the future.

His expression turned strange as he considered whether he should kill one or two original characters bound by fate in a future event to test his theory.

Then the system spoke again.

[Congratulations, host! Event rating reward obtained: 2,600 points.]

[Congratulations, host! Special ability obtained: Silence (permanent ability; can block sound and presence; cannot be improved through independent training; recommended to integrate it into the operating room as a foundational ability).]

[Congratulations, host! 2,200 points obtained.]

[Congratulations, host! Six Powers Experience Book obtained: one-time item; first use directly grants mastery of the Six Powers (Soru, Tekkai, Kami-e, Geppo, Rankyaku, Shigan); requires physique to reach C- rank; can be improved through independent training; Experience Books can be used repeatedly for rapid improvement.]

[The host has obtained points. The system shop has been unlocked. Please explore the specifics yourself.]

"These rewards seem to have been copied from the target characters... If there isn't anything worthwhile, does it compensate with points instead?"

"If rewards are distributed according to this standard, then whenever I encounter Devil Fruit users bound by Fate Anchors in the future, I'll have to put more effort into farming higher ratings..."

Neither the points nor the Six Powers Experience Book exceeded Van's expectations. They were hardly a surprise.

What truly shocked him was the special ability, "Silence," which clearly originated from the Paramecia Calm-Calm Fruit yet could be integrated into the operating room.

In the original story, Law had developed a similar technique using the Op-Op Fruit, but that had only happened after his power awakened. The difficulty was obvious.

Obtaining the "Silence" ability ahead of time was equivalent to eating a weakened version of the Calm-Calm Fruit, indirectly saving him development time.

It might not enhance his combat power, but the ability to block Observation Haki alone was enough to satisfy him.

Moreover, this was only the Calm-Calm Fruit's basic ability. If he encountered other Devil Fruit users in future events and earned high ratings, he would most likely obtain more special abilities.

"It's too early to think about that. Let's see what surprises the shop has first."

Suppressing his excitement, Van opened the system shop, ready to spend some points.

After checking it, he found that the shop only had three kinds of lucky bags of different tiers. From lowest to highest, they cost 100, 1,000, and 10,000 points respectively.

He currently had a total of 4,800 points, so he bought ten basic lucky bags without hesitation, planning to test the waters first.

[Congratulations, host! Basic Physique Experience Book obtained (one-time item; equivalent to the host tempering their physique for one month; can be used repeatedly).]

[Congratulations, host! Auxiliary Ability Experience Book obtained (one-time item; equivalent to the host studying an auxiliary ability for one month; may designate auxiliary abilities such as medicine, navigation, science, and more; can be used repeatedly).]

[Congratulations, host! Combat Technique Experience Book obtained (one-time item; equivalent to the host sparring with a renowned master for one month; can be used repeatedly).]

After the ten-pull ended, the system's item storage contained three Basic Physique Experience Books, five Auxiliary Ability Experience Books, and two Combat Technique Experience Books.

Everything was useful, but none of it was the optimal choice for Van.

The Physique and Combat Technique Experience Books were acceptable. At least they could improve his overall strength, and the changes would show on the panel. But the Auxiliary Ability Experience Books...

Their effects were not immediately apparent, yet their drop rate was high. They were truly unfriendly for someone desperately in need of greater strength.

"Forget it, forget it. Better than getting nothing. Let's try the intermediate lucky bags."

After adjusting his mindset, Van spent another 3,000 points and bought three intermediate lucky bags.

[Congratulations, host! Intermediate Physique Experience Book obtained (one-time item; equivalent to the host tempering their physique for one year; can be used repeatedly).]

[Congratulations, host! Observation Haki Experience Book obtained (one-time item; equivalent to the host training Observation Haki for one year; first use directly awakens it; can be used repeatedly).]

[Congratulations, host! Armament Haki Experience Book obtained (one-time item; equivalent to the host training Armament Haki for one year; first use directly awakens it; requires physique to reach B- rank; can be used repeatedly).]

"Nice! Now these are reasonable rewards and reasonable drop rates!"

Van decisively stopped there. He would digest what he had gained first, then continue drawing intermediate lucky bags once he had enough points in the future.

The advanced lucky bags were simply too expensive. Their contents might be more valuable, but he could not afford to draw them anytime soon.

As for the basic lucky bags, they felt like a scam. He would draw them as little as possible in the future.

Fate Weaver System

Host: Van

Age: 20

Height: 1.90 meters

Passive Ability: Fate's Unpredictability

Active Ability: Fate Weaving

Physique: C-

Haki: Observation Haki C-

Devil Fruit: Paramecia Op-Op Fruit C (Silence ability integrated)

Combat Techniques: C (Six Powers)

Special Ability: Silence

Overall Strength: B-

Item Storage: Armament Haki Experience Book

Points: 800

After using every usable item—putting all the Auxiliary Ability Experience Books into improving his medical skills—the system panel had been completely refreshed, and Van's strength had risen by a great deal.

Unfortunately, the trouble he had stirred up was simply too great. For the time being, he could not openly challenge his enemies and could only continue developing quietly.