The Great Pirate Era

In fact, the World Government and the Marines already saw things quite clearly. Otherwise, they would not have launched a vigorous World Military Draft during this so-called "impending curtain-closing" Great Pirates Era!

After leaving Loguetown, Adrian flew toward the West Blue without hurrying, having already witnessed ocean battles countless times along the way.

Compared to when he headed toward Loguetown, the frequency and number of Pirates' appearances had increased by more than one grade!

The Great Pirates Era had already begun!

"Still, how can I let you guys so comfortably disturb my subordinates?"

With a soft chuckle, Adrian's figure instantly vanished into mid-air.

The next moment, he appeared above the sea surface, a mere dozen centimeters away from the rippling blue seawater below. Viewed from afar, it looked as though he was "stepping" on the water.

"Come to think of it, using this kind of trick for the very first time is actually on a bunch of unknown Pirates from the West Blue!"

Adrian extended his palm into the ocean, closing his eyes slightly as he sensed the wandering souls within the seawater that were imperceptible to ordinary people.

Max-level Ghost Domination allowed the ability user to awaken existing spiritual bodies within range that possessed simple consciousness, and to gain command and control over them.

This also meant that the boundless ocean had unconsciously transformed from Adrian's [nemesis] into his [home turf]!

Over the countless years of the past, how many grievances and wrongful deaths were there in this vast sea?

Even if only a small fraction survived the erosion of the long passage of time, it was already enough for Adrian to use.

"Taste fear..."

Ocean Ghost: Venomous Vortex!

The originally calm seawater abruptly transformed into giant water pillars as thick as a hug, resembling winding and twisting giant water snakes patrolling back and forth beneath the sea surface, distorting the water into whirlpool shapes.

If anyone happened to be present in the seawater at this moment, they would even be able to see those translucent, scale-like "ghostly monstrous faces" on the surfaces of those giant water snakes!

Stomp, stomp...

"Captain, Captain..." A pirate in charge of the lookout hurried onto the ship's deck, shouting in terror, "An ocean vortex suddenly appeared near us! A giant vortex!"

"Stupid thing! Are your eyes glued shut by seagull shit? How could a seawater vortex possibly appear around here!"

The middle-aged pirate captain's mouth revealed a cruel smile. Just as he was preparing to draw his Fire Pistol to teach this unobservant subordinate a lesson, the hull beneath his feet unexpectedly began to shake violently.

Dense and crisp sounds came from the direction of the pirate ship's hold. Every creaking and chewing sound, every splintered seam of the hull, felt as though it were striking directly into the hearts of the gathered Pirates.

"It's a vortex! The vortex has already crashed into our ship!"

The pirate who had just given the report had already collapsed onto the deck in terror, resembling a stray dog with a broken spine.

"Hold steady! We--"

The middle-aged pirate captain called out loudly, trying to steady the morale of his troops, but he did not expect to suddenly hear a cracking sound of the hull bursting apart.

The next moment, the surging Ghost vortex "swallowed up" this medium-sized three-masted sailing ship as if it were eating a snack.

The crowd on the merchant ship in the distance could hardly believe their eyes. What was going on? Why did such a huge whirlpool suddenly appear on the surface of the sea? And it seemed to be deliberately targeting that group of Pirates across from them?

The weathered Captain Arthur had lived for most of his half-century and had never seen such a strange seawater vortex!

Right at that moment, a figure leaped out from the center of the whirlpool, landing on the deck of the merchant ship, while the seawater whirlpool below finally returned to calm.

"Is this a merchant ship belonging to the Shelby Company?" Amid the awe-filled gazes of the people on the merchant ship, the newcomer wore a gentle smile. "Could you give me a ride?"

Oatfee Island.

Inside the brightly lit building, Tommy Shelby was in his office, handling various matters all by himself: the ones that could see the light of day, the ones that could not, business affairs, gang affairs...

With the mastermind behind the scenes absent, he, Tommy Shelby, was the supreme leader of the Shelby Company and the Razor Gang, possessing the authority to handle all matters independently!

A knock on the sound sounded.

In a daze, Tommy extended his thumb and index finger to pinch the slightly sore inner corners of his eyes. "Didn't I say not to disturb me at a time like this?"

"Tommy, long time no see."

"My Lord, it's you!" Tommy Shelby gave a start, instantly snapping fully awake.

"That's right, it's me."

Adrian smiled faintly and looked over Tommy, who was beginning to mature.

A dark brown newsboy cap, a black tweed overcoat, a dark blue tie tucked into a gray waistcoat from which a brass pocket watch hung, and beneath minimalist black trousers were a pair of brown brogue leather shoes exuding an air of elegance.

The bearing of history's most fashionable gangster was already taking shape.

Adrian said gently, "I've recently heard some things about the Shelby Company too, rumors that you've expanded your business into most regions of the West Blue. You've done well, both openly and behind the scenes, Tommy."

"This is only what I should do, My Lord," Tommy said respectfully. "None of it would have been possible without your guidance."

"There is a mission to hand over to you now," Adrian said, his tone brooking no refusal. "Acquire as many weapons and firearms as possible; I will come to collect them at irregular intervals."

Although somewhat puzzled as to why Lord White Ghost would need weapons that were completely useless to him, Tommy still nodded earnestly.

"If this trip goes smoothly enough, the Shelby Company might even be able to break through its bottleneck with this," Adrian added encouragingly. "The West Blue is still too small, isn't it?"

[Chapter 64: First Stop, Flower Country]

Several days later.

The morning sea air was humid, its temperature cool and pleasant.

Adrian piloted his small boat away from Oatfee Island, consulting the nautical chart as he headed for the Flower Country.

At this moment, several days had already passed since the official open beta began, and the buzz on the official game forums continued to climb upward.

On the forums by this time, the administrators had long since divided things into various sections according to geographical regions, making the collection of information much more swift.

Recently, Adrian's primary focus had been the West Blue player segment.

Through continuously observing in secret on the forums, he learned that aside from the Flower Country and the other two closed-beta locations, several more player spawn points had emerged in the West Blue during the open beta period, and the other three major outer seas possessed similar quantities.

The initial period right at the start of the game was the optimal timing for contacting players.

A bit too early, and there would be insufficient experience to harvest from their bodies;

A bit too late, and they would have already learned other class skills on their own.

And right now, the timing was just right.

The outline of the Flower Country's port appeared on the distant sea horizon. Vessels shuttled back and forth endlessly, and Adrian immediately spotted a group of brightly glowing "white IDs" darting around, looking extremely hurried.

The players walking back and forth were like purses waiting to be picked up.

Even if a bit flat, they made up for it in sheer quantity.

A large quantity could fill one up.

As soon as Adrian stepped onto the docks, several players walked over and "quietly" used a detection skill on him.

[?? - Unknown] (Yellow Name)

[Level: Unknown]

[Attributes: Unknown]

[Danger Level: Extremely Lethal]

"Holy crap! This is another high-level NPC!"

"Normally when a game starts, players aren't supposed to spawn in a newbie village? Why are there so many high-level NPCs inside the Flower Country?"

"This person... how come I feel like he looks somewhat familiar?"

"Damn! Big Lethal!" Finally, a player recognized Adrian.

The surrounding players instantly stirred with astonishment. "Big Lethal" was one of the high-level NPCs revealed during the game's closed beta. When serious, he had nearly killed another [Extremely Lethal] in an instant, earning him the affectionate nickname "Big Lethal" from the vast majority of closed-beta players.

Along with the arrival of the open beta period, the fine reputation of "Big Lethal" had also quietly spread among the open-beta players.

The news that "Big Lethal" had arrived in the Flower Country spread outward, and more and more players gathered here.

Quite a few people still remembered that "One-Step Fast Man Cao Renqi", who had been immensely arrogant on the forums a few days ago, was the one who learned the [Dashing Slash] skill right here from "Big Lethal"!

Adrian cleared his throat and spoke in a thoroughly standardized manner, "Hello everyone, I happen to need some people to help out right now."

Having finished these words, Adrian released the quest that he had set up beforehand.

In this nearly one-year time span from the closed beta to the open beta, Adrian's level had risen to over 40, and in addition, he had acquired two titles: [White Ghost] and [Evil Swordsman], allowing the reward limit of the quests he could issue to increase by a large margin.

Issuing quests to players--players completing quests to gain experience--and Adrian harvesting from them in turn.

Tricking both the system and the players for wool at the same time; this was what you called a win-win.

I win twice!

[[Big Lethal (?)]: You have encountered a passing mysterious NPC. He seems to have some work to hand over to you. Do you accept the quest?]

The quest requirement was to gather some oddly-shaped fruits, with no specific category requirement, as long as they looked strange enough.

Although the taste was somewhat unique, the quest reward was far more generous than any other work on the docks, and the players accepted the quest immediately.

Before long, the players who finished the quest came running back hugging piles of oddly-shaped fruits to turn in the quest. Watching the continuously growing experience values, they all revealed joyful expressions.

Adrian inspected the fruits slightly; unsurprisingly, there were no gains.

Clearly, this quest was meant to test the players' luck and see if anyone could manage to find a "Devil Fruit"!

For players at the present stage, Devil Fruits were things they had never even heard of before; they had no inkling whatsoever of what their target was actually supposed to be.

However, Adrian hadn't originally counted on players actually turning in a Devil Fruit; this quest was originally meant just to narrow the distance between himself and the players, serving along the way as an excuse to open a shop afterward.

Seeing that the number of onlookers gathered around had reached a certain level, Adrian took out a map, pointed to an uninhabited beach area on it, and said, "I will be staying here for a few days. If you have needs, I can provide you with some weapons or other assistance."

As he spoke, he brought up the merchant window and opened it to all players.

Adrian had only set up a few weapon items: navigation maps, compasses, ordinary long sabers, flintlock pistols, and a large quantity of ammunition. These were basically essential items for living and fighting on the ocean, and all of them were paid for with Beli.

No matter what, he still had to rake back funds for the "Shelby Company", didn't he?

"Damn, 'Big Lethal' is actually moonlighting as a mysterious merchant too!"

"Fire pistols and ammunition—I want to buy them so bad. With this stuff, I can properly go fight monsters instead of wasting effort selling fish on the docks!"

Open-beta players had similarly suffered through the pain experienced by the closed-beta players. When they first spawned into the game, all six of their basic attributes were a mere 1 point. Wanting to level up by fighting monsters was impossible, leaving them with no choice but to do some simple daily quests.

Having been reduced to such a humble state, the commoners of the Flower Country still looked down on them for reacting too slowly, lacking strength, and having poor stamina.

How on earth was their stamina poor?

Yet with 1 point of stamina, it indeed was.

However, even if they bought guns, without knowing marksmanship skills, the players fundamentally could not unleash the proper power that firearms ought to have.

A player who had just bought a flintlock pistol experimentally fired a shot, resulting in considerable recoil that caused his wrist to shake and the bullet to fly straight up into the sky.

At this moment, Adrian activated the second panel: the skill-learning panel.

However, learning skills still came with certain requirements and could not be bought directly.

The purchase condition Adrian set here was "5 favorability points" along with 2,000 experience points, which was double compared to the closed beta period.

The players promptly discovered the newly opened skill shop panel.

"Holy crap! A mysterious merchant and a class mentor? Big Lethal is just too awesome!"

"So many skills: Basic Marksmanship, Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat, Basic Navigation..."

"Skill learning has favorability restrictions; how do you raise favorability? Keep giving those ugly fruits to Big Lethal?"

"I figured it out! For every five thousand Beli spent, favorability goes up by +1... Uh, giving away money... might actually work?"

"I never imagined that there would one day be a man on whom I'd spend this much money!"

"Yet I've already learned skills, and I still can't acquire a class..."

It finally arrived!

Adrian wore a penguin-like smile and brought up the third panel shop. Besides basic class knowledge, it also contained several self-created skills. Class knowledge would be consumed automatically upon learning, while also granting the corresponding Secondary Profession.

In this third panel shop, there were likewise favorability requirements, alongside an average cost for each skill of 10,000 experience and 10,000 Beli.

Just imagine: without paying money, would you become stronger?

Just imagine: without paying more, would you become even stronger?

[Chapter 65: No Inside Men, Trading Begins]

Seeing the growing crowd of onlookers nearly disrupting the normal order of the Flower Country docks, quite a few ordinary Commoners were casting strange, lingering glances in this direction. They might soon notify the dock guards to come and disperse the crowd.