Malinda picked up her pipe and looked at Arthur, who was close enough to touch, her azure eyes full of wariness-
"What are you trying to do?"
"What I want to do.
Is exactly what you're thinking."
Arthur chuckled.
"Don't even think about it. Betrayal may be commonplace among pirates, but they've performed the 'Sea's Gift' for me!
Their loyalty is beyond question!
Just like their abilities!"
Malinda had clearly guessed what Arthur intended and immediately warned him.
"All right! All right!"
Arthur shrugged and settled back into his chair.
He really had been about to help Malinda clear out the hidden threats within her ranks.
He genuinely wanted to help.
It absolutely wasn't just for the XP.
Although earning XP that way really did offer excellent returns-
[Killed Sakiri, captain of the 'Dokiman Island Devils' Pirate Crew, first mate 'Bluebeard,' and all remaining members; XP +800]
That was the kill notification he had received earlier.
Even now, 800 XP was a figure Arthur couldn't afford to dismiss.
Or, more accurately, Arthur considered every single point of XP worth treasuring.
He had known since childhood that grains of sand could build a tower, that little gains added up.
Especially now that he faced the enormous additional shortfall of 99,999 XP required for the 'seventeenth rank' limit, Arthur treasured every point of XP all the more.
At the same time, Arthur was profoundly grateful to Mimi.
This simplified version had been bought with Mimi burning herself up.
Arthur couldn't imagine how much XP the normal version would require.
200,000?
300,000?
Or even more?
Arthur couldn't be certain.
But what Arthur was certain of now was that climbing the 'ascension ladder' would never be easy.
It wasn't just getting started that was difficult. The road beyond...
Was even harder.