What Did What Jose Did Have to Do with Me, Hughes?
Standing atop this towering cliff, Hughes gazed down at the world below with deep eyes, a hint of satisfaction occasionally flashing in his gaze. Combined with the magnificent architecture behind him, an unsuspecting person might have thought he was inspecting his own territory.
This is the city where the Magic Council headquarters is located, and it can be said to be the "safest" place on the Ishgar Continent.
Of course, the housing prices here are also the highest. People who can live here are worth millions of Chopper, which is no problem at all.
The toad messenger stared at Hughes's back for a long time, its little mouth twitching, and its webbed feet uncontrollably scraping a small dent in the ground.
Is this guy crazy? He comes here but doesn't go in; he just stands on the edge of the cliff pretending. Who is he trying to impress?
It wanted to kick the person off the cliff, but it was worried that the person might turn around and throw it off as well.
The toad messenger cursed inwardly and impatiently urged again, "Hurry up and go in! The speaker and members of parliament have been waiting for you for a long time. Don't waste their precious time!"
With his back to the Toad Messenger, Hughes calmly waved to the curious onlookers below the cliff, while simultaneously threatening the Toad Messenger in a low voice, "Toad, if you keep rushing me, I'll go buy seven gourds and deliver them to your house."
"Let me tell you, these seven gourds are incredibly cruel. They routinely rip out hearts and lungs, and when they encounter a toad demon, they'll even go so far as to burst its anus."
Perhaps caught up in the conversation, Hughes turned his head and made claws with both hands, performing a little show for it in the air, moving them up and down.
The toad messenger felt a chill creep into its heart for no apparent reason. It didn't know why, but Hughes uttered the words "gourd," it trembled twice in fear.
... This seems to be a terrifying being specifically designed to deal with these toad messengers!
The timid toad messenger, without realizing it, stealthily moved his webbed feet like a thief, and in no time, the distance between him and Hughes was as wide as a six-lane road.
Perhaps realizing it was becoming too obvious, it quietly moved again, reducing the distance between itself and Hughes from six lanes to four lanes.
The rather comical performance made Hughes's lips involuntarily curl into a grin. "Alright, go rest wherever it's cool. I'll go in myself in a bit!"
Since arriving at the Magic Council, the incessant notification sounds in his mind have finally stopped.
A transparent panel unfolded before Hughes' eyes in an instant, passing over a series of modules, and Hughes headed straight for the mission module.
[Mission: Pirate Journey, Challenge the Four Emperors Shanks, Tame the Celestial Dragons...]
These tasks had already been triggered, but Hughes hadn't accepted them yet due to various concerns.
At this moment, the Pirate Journey, a quest defined by the system as an epic quest chain, is shining brightly once again.
[Host detected arriving at the East Blue Marine Base. The sixth sub-mission of the Epic Mission, "Destroy the East Blue Marine Base," has begun.]
[Note: A large-scale weapons program has been detected within the East Blue Marine Base. Please proceed with caution.]
Hughes blinked, wanting to complain but not knowing how. Ishgar was the Eastern Continent in the Fairy Tail world, but the system defined it as the East Blue in the One Piece world. He tolerated it!
But the Magic Council, which governs the entire Ishgar Continent, is like East Blue Marine Base – can these two be considered on the same level?
This shows how much the Magic Council looks down on Ishgar!
Well, looking down on them is understandable; the Magic Council under Crawford Heem was indeed quite incompetent, most notably using its two invincible weapons against its own people...
With Etherion, it can target enemies in the void and strike anywhere on the continent; when fully charged, its power is enough to destroy any country on the continent.
As a result, under the instigation and temptation of Jellal and Ultear, the current Magic Council management rashly launched the operation, almost harming innocent people. Afterwards, they were severely humiliated by the two undercover agents, Siegrain and Ultear.
Crawford Himm was also disqualified as speaker because of this incident.
Fun fact: Jellal's thought entities, Siegrain and Ultear, were both recruited by the current Speaker Crawford Him, who overruled objections and recommended them to become members of parliament.
Ostensibly, he was using the powerful strength of Jellal's mental constructs, Siegrain and Ultear, to intimidate the increasingly unruly Mage Guild, but in reality, he was maintaining his position as chairman.
As for the other invincible weapon, Face, capable of wiping out all magic on the continent, it was originally intended to deal with terrifying beings like Zeref who were beyond our control. However, Crawford Him, in order to regain his position as Speaker, actually cooperated with the demons of Tartaros...
Hughes muttered a few curses to himself, still feeling annoyed, and turned to give the solemn and sacred Magic Council the middle finger.
A bunch of trash!!
The toad messenger was so frightened that his scalp tingled and his legs trembled.
... If you're going to die, go somewhere else! Don't drag others down with you. Passing the civil service exam is incredibly difficult; only one in three thousand gets accepted, you bastard!
This toad messenger solemnly declares that this madman was brought along only for the mission's sake, and his actions have absolutely nothing to do with it...
On the other side, Hughes temporarily suppressed his displeasure and refocused his gaze on the transparent panel, which was the key point.
[Pirate Journey: The darkness of the world unfolds before your eyes. The incompetence and corruption of various organizations are rampant. The world is beyond saving. Having witnessed all kinds of ugliness, you resolutely set sail and become a free pirate.]
Note: This is an epic quest chain; rewards are distributed based on achievements at each stage. The current host is located in East Blue China Sea. The first sub-quest, "Defeat the Lord of the Coast," and the sixth sub-quest, "Destroy the East Blue Marine Base," are already available.
Hughes initially wanted to complain about why the second sub-task hadn't appeared yet, but then he thought about it and realized it was a good thing for him...
Suddenly, Hughes's eyes widened slightly. He looked at the two sub-tasks several times in surprise, but he couldn't find any words about task rewards after the sub-tasks.
Wait, has the dog system found a wife?
So poor that he ate all his mission rewards?
System:... Speak up for me, thank you! Also, could you help me find a wife? I think that girl named Deep Blue is pretty good.
Unable to find the quest reward, Hughes studied the elaborate quest description in more detail.
Finally, my gaze settled on the words "Rewards will be distributed based on achievements at each stage".
"Does this mean that rewards are only given after a certain number of tasks are completed?" Hughes murmured to himself.
Damn it, the system didn't even give a specific number; the task was vague enough, and there wasn't even a hint of a reward.
Hughes had a vague idea of what the first sub-task would entail, and he planned to work on it when he had some free time. He had a feeling that new information would emerge from this Pirate Journey after he completed the first sub-task.
As for the newly activated sixth sub-task, well, it'll be a bit of a test of skill; I wonder if President Jose can handle it...
Pulling his thoughts back, Hughes shook his head, as if trying to throw away the bad plan that had just crossed his mind. He turned around, lightly touched the ground with his feet, and appeared in front of the Toad Messenger.
"Go on, toad, go see your master!"
"Damn it, a toad messenger is no good toad; also, the speaker and the councilors are not our masters, we are colleagues!" the toad messenger roared, deliberately keeping his distance.
"Ah, yes, yes, you're absolutely right!"
"Damn it, don't wander off. There are some places we can't go near. Stay behind me."
Seeing Hughes shake off him and enter the Magic Council alone, the Toad Messenger was so angry that he hurriedly chased after him, muttering to himself.
Hughes yawned. "Ah, yes, yes, yes!"
Toad Messenger:...