[Pickable items detected. Would you like to pick them up?]
"Pick them up," Kairos Flint replied without hesitation.
[Ding! Successfully picked up: Ordinary Physique Crystal x81, Excellent Physique Crystal x13, Rare Physique Crystal x1, Ordinary Soul Crystal x80, Excellent Soul Crystal x21, Rare Soul Crystal x1, Ordinary Talent Crystal x34, Excellent Talent Crystal x22, Perfect Talent Crystal x1, Ordinary Taijutsu Crystal x73, Excellent Taijutsu Crystal x7, Rare Taijutsu Crystal x1, Ordinary Swordsmanship Crystal x66, Excellent Swordsmanship Crystal x9. Stored in portable space.]
—
This time, Kairos had taken down nearly a hundred pirates.
It had cost him all of his excellent physique crystals and quite a bit of energy, but the loot was nothing short of extraordinary.
Looking at the massive haul, Kairos couldn't help but think to himself—there was definitely truth in the saying: "Hard work pays off."
He had managed to collect several high-tier ability crystals, most likely dropped by the pirate captain. The captain was obviously the strongest on that ship.
The only regret was the lack of an excellent swordsmanship crystal. Still, considering how lackluster the captain's sword skills had been, that was understandable. If the man had truly mastered swordsmanship, Kairos might have found himself in real danger during the clash. He might've even been defeated unexpectedly.
But the important thing was—he had won.
And the spoils of victory were absolutely worth it.
This level of loot was enough to push almost all of his core abilities up by a full tier.
He pulled up his current stats and looked over them:
[Host]: Kairos Flint
[Talent]: Lieutenant Level (0/10)
[Physique]: Soldier Level (6/10)
[Soul]: Soldier Level (1/10)
[Abilities]: Soldier-Level Taijutsu (0/10), Swordsmanship Apprentice (1/10)
After checking over everything, Kairos pulled out the only Perfect Talent Crystal he had obtained, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed it.
The crystal melted instantly on his tongue, sending a warm, surging energy through his body.
His talent shot upward, breaking through the Lieutenant level and reaching the Captain tier—comparable to a commissioned officer in the Navy.
That perfect crystal had almost certainly come from the pirate captain. It made sense; as a leader, the man's potential would naturally be greater than his crew's. If he hadn't crossed paths with Kairos so early in his pirate career, he might've become a real powerhouse in the future.
But fate had other plans—and Kairos struck him down before he got the chance.
Still, it wasn't a loss. For Kairos, this was profit.
He wasn't done yet.
He opened his portable space and retrieved four excellent physique crystals, nine excellent soul crystals, ten excellent taijutsu crystals, and nine excellent swordsmanship crystals.
Without pause, he devoured them one by one.
Each one dissolved in his mouth like warm honey, transforming into streams of energy that flowed through his veins and into his core.
The power flowed into him, each stream adding to his body, his mind, and his memory—his stats updating one after another:
Physique, Soul, and Taijutsu all leveled up from Soldier to Sergeant.
In the military structure of the Navy Headquarters, this meant Kairos had now reached a level comparable to a Corporal, a standard Sergeant, or even a Staff Sergeant.
Not just in one area—but in several.
He had now officially stepped into the rank of a full non-commissioned officer.
And his Swordsmanship had risen from Apprentice to the level of a Swordsman—a recognized level of mastery, good enough to graduate from most kendo dojos.
The effects were profound.
His body felt stronger, more agile. His mind—clearer, faster, and more responsive. The upgrade to his soul felt like someone had turned on the lights in a dim room. As for taijutsu, his understanding had deepened dramatically, and his movements became far more efficient and deadly.
It was invigorating.
This wave of upgrades had firmly planted Kairos among the elite of non-commissioned ranks, and considering his spread of abilities, he might already be one of the most dangerous combatants at the Sergeant level.
But he wasn't satisfied yet.
"Being at the Sergeant level is still not enough. I need to reach School Level if I want to be truly qualified to enter the Grand Line," Kairos muttered, his eyes gleaming with ambition.
From the beginning, his goals were never limited to the East Blue.
To him, this sea was merely a starter zone, a novice's village. The East Blue might've produced legends like Gold Roger and Monkey D. Luffy, but overall, it was a backwater compared to the Grand Line.
Reaching the school-level rank would mark the limit of what he could achieve here.
Once he reached that milestone, the next logical step would be to set sail for the Grand Line—the place where the strongest pirates, Marines, and bounty hunters truly competed.
The quality, strength, and talent found there far outclassed anything in the East Blue.
Just then, Nami's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Kairos! I've finished collecting everything valuable on this ship. Let's move out!" she called from the deck.
Kairos glanced at her and chuckled inwardly.
"When it comes to money, she moves faster than the wind," he thought to himself.
But suddenly—his expression changed.
His pupils dilated slightly as something unusual caught his eye.
[Detected: Excellent Large Ship]
A large, high-quality ship eligible for synthesis…