After watching the King of the Sea go away, Shanu continued to climb along the ladder.
After a while, he reached the top. He grabbed the railing, but before he could turn over, suddenly more than a dozen arms stretched out.
Some people hooked his armpits, and some lifted his knees. The boy couldn't move at all. Like a bucket of freshly caught live fish, he was held firmly by the crowd through the cheering and whistling crowd.
"Eh? Wait, what are you doing!" He shouted in panic.
Unfortunately, no one answered him. In his peripheral vision, he only saw Gatt smilingly taking out his pipe again, knocking it and lighting it. The smell of tobacco wafted over.
The next moment, Shanu felt his body lighten and was suddenly thrown up.
"Wow!"
"Stop it, put me down!"
"Wow!"
"I'm afraid of heights... er, no, I just ate and I'm going to throw up if I keep going like this!"
"Wow!"
"That's enough! You're repaying kindness with enmity, huh? I should have let the sea kings eat you all!"
"Wow!"
...
After an unknown amount of time, Shanu was finally let down. He felt dizzy and nearly fell to the ground.
Veteran sailors, having done heavy labor for years, possessed incredible arm strength. Being tossed around in the air felt like a daylong roller coaster ride. He'd overcome seasickness quickly, but now he felt the urge to vomit violently, leaning over the railing.
"Great job, Shanu!"
Gatt gave him a thumbs-up, blowing out a puff of smoke, his face full of emotion.
"You're such a hidden talent! I actually questioned you earlier, treating you like a child. My old age is blinding me. Now I don't know whether to apologize or thank you first."
In that despairing and oppressive situation, even a veteran captain with decades of experience at sea would have given up, ready to die in vain.
Meanwhile, the other man, despite his young age, remained calm, accurately assessing the situation and acting decisively without hesitation.
"Just apologize, there's no need to thank me."
Shanu rubbed his still dizzy forehead, "You make me look like a bystander who has nothing to do with it. I'm also on this boat, I was just protecting myself."
"How can you say that! Brother!"
"Yes, you saved our entire boat!"
"I will never forget you in this life!"
Everyone started talking and making noise again. Someone muttered, "Shouldn't we continue the banquet?", followed by discussions such as "Idiot, weren't we having a banquet just now?", "That scale is too small, it's not enough to celebrate escaping death", "Indeed, we have to have a more lively and grand one."
Then, all the voices converged, becoming a single chorus, echoing across the deck—
"Have a party! Have a party! Have a party!"
"Okay!" Gatt, too, became excited, laughing heartily as he made the final decision. "Then everyone, help! Let's get the party started right away. No one's leaving tonight, and we'll be drunk!"
"We'll be drunk!"
The sailors dispersed, each busy with their own tasks. Some were cleaning up the party, moving the wine, preparing the dishes and cutting the meat, re-setting the tables... From the looks of it, it looked like they were rushing to get the party started within half an hour, leaving Shanu disheveled in the wind.
No, this isn't right, is it? He'd just been slammed dozens of times by the King of the Sea like a cup.
Shouldn't the first thing to do be check the hull for leaks and the keel for any disintegration?
The next day.
Shanu awoke with a splitting headache. Was it a hangover? The glaring sunlight streamed through the portholes, revealing it was already noon.
He patted his head and finally vaguely remembered that he was the protagonist of a party last night and was forced to drink countless glasses of wine by the enthusiastic sailors.
He was very restrained when drinking at the beginning, but later he went crazy, his face flushed as he linked arms with the sailors, dancing and singing crazy songs around the bonfire.
What the hell are these people doing?
He is still a minor, how can he drink?
When he casually put on his wrinkled coat, Shanu suddenly froze - this cabin with velvet curtains was ridiculously large, and it could even fit his original bed as a footrest. There was even a lemon scent in the private bathroom.
Wow, he got an upgrade. This condition must be the best room on the ship, right?
Compared with the simple cabin he lived in before, it was simply a special single room, and he was directly upgraded to a presidential suite.
He opened the refrigerator and took out a soda. The sound of carbon dioxide escaping when the can was opened and the refreshing feeling of ice-sweet happy water flowing down his throat finally made him feel a lot more energetic.
"Huh? Brother Shanu, are you awake yet?"
A passing sailor heard the noise and spoke enthusiastically from outside the door. "How are you? Are you hungry? What do you like to eat? How about I get it for you?"
"No need to bother, thank you," Shanu said quickly. "Go do your thing. I'll go to the restaurant if I'm hungry."
"Okay, I'll do what you say! Just tell us if you need anything!"
Once the other person's footsteps faded, Shanu sank back onto the sofa and eagerly opened the system.
Eating? He had just received a large sum of points yesterday, and the trading market was supposed to be refreshed in the next few days. A dark blue panel appeared before his eyes, and Shanu's gaze skipped past the front and landed directly on the last two lines.
[Remaining Points: 10025]
He finally understood those who enjoyed gloating over their wealth.
Once his savings piled up, sometimes even when he was doing nothing, he'd just stare at his bank account balance. A sense of satisfaction and security would wash over him, making him feel like he was on cloud nine.
It took a long time before he turned his gaze away from the balance column. He looked to the right, and a new page immediately appeared, with product images at the top and detailed descriptions and prices below.
If he found something he was interested in, he could add it to his cart. If he didn't want to buy anything, he could simply swipe down with his mind to browse the next item.
This was the trading market.
Ten new items are randomly refreshed every month. As long as you have enough points, you can purchase them at will before the next refresh period.
At first, Shanu thought they were all system-direct sales, but he quickly came to his senses.
It's more like an Amazon platform connecting countless worlds. Aside from a few items provided by the system, the vast majority seem to come from individual sellers in other worlds. The items for sale are incredibly diverse, with all sorts of items on sale, as if each world has been assigned a time traveler to hunt for treasure.
Every time he scrolls down, he feels like opening a chocolate box.
He quite likes this aspect. Every time the monthly refresh period comes, he browses the store as soon as it arrives.
Unfortunately, he used to be so broke that he could barely afford anything and could only stare at the items.
Occasionally, he'd find a bargain, but he'd have to weigh the pros and cons, and most of the time, he'd just pass it up. Over the past three years, he'd only bought Breathing Fist and Basic Swordsmanship.
Now he's richer.
This time, he has to go all out. When he sees something he likes, he adds it to his cart!
Adults are indecisive and need to make choices. I'm still a child, so of course I want it all!
He quickly entered a state of concentration and browsed the first item.
[Statue of Hercules]
[Type: Blessing Item]
[Price: 2000 Points]
[Description: The greatest hero in ancient Greek mythology, who ascended to Mount Olympus after his death and has since become synonymous with power. This meticulously crafted statue stands approximately 20 centimeters tall. When tempering your physical body, placing it within a ten-meter radius will triple your efficiency. This bonus is cumulative with other items.]
[Seller's Note: This has been a precedent, so be careful not to lose it! Some of them seem to have auto-loot enabled, stealing everything.]
"Triple your efficiency when tempering your physical body?"
Shanu was slightly startled, then a flash of joy flashed in his eyes. He added it to his cart without hesitation.
There was no need to think twice.
With less than a year until Arlong's attack, this item effectively extended his training time to three years!
And it was permanent, meaning that for the rest of his life, his physical training efficiency would always be three times higher than before!
Yes, he did have a natural talent for physical training, but who would ever think their talent was too high?
"Great stuff!"
Shanu was excited about what it could do.
He swiped down and browsed to the next item.
[Amamiya Ren's Black Canvas Bag]
[Type: Miscellaneous]
[Price: 600 Points]
[Description: A suitable backpack for middle school students, filled with Shujin Academy High School second-year textbooks. You can occasionally hear a cat meow inside, but you can't be sure if it's alive or dead until you open the zipper.]
[Seller's Note: Found this near the subway turnstile]
"Hmm..."
Shanu thought briefly, then shook his head and gave up.
He searched through his memories of his past life, but his knowledge of the anime world wasn't extensive, so he couldn't remember where this thing came from.
But based on past experience, items categorized as miscellaneous are generally useless. The wine he sacrificed with the hairpin and other items falls into this category.
Unless you're particularly interested in something and want to collect it, spending 600 points here is a complete waste.
[Rokushiki Manual*2]
[Type: Training Manual]
[Price: 800 Points]
[Description: A manual detailing the training methods for the Rokushiki physical techniques. Soru, Shigan, Geppo, Kami-e, Tekkai, and Rankyaku—these are the Rokushiki techniques. Each manual will randomly reveal one of them.]
[Seller's Note: None, system direct sales]
"Rokushiki?"
Shanu perked up.
While items sold directly from the system may be a small percentage, they're often quite practical. Unlike individual sellers, who constantly worry about how to make a sale, this one was no exception.
This is a physical technique that the CP unit has been training in since childhood. Within the Navy, only those from the headquarters' elite battalion are qualified to practice it.
Those who master these physical techniques are capable of stalking the Grand Line.
For the past two years, he'd coveted this set of physical techniques, always hoping to find them on the market. Now, his wish had finally come true.
"Can I still randomly choose two out of six?"
Shanu decisively added them to his cart.
These are two secret manuals, equivalent to one-on-one instruction from a renowned teacher, guaranteed to teach you until you master them. And for only 400 points each, no matter which of the six techniques he randomly chooses, it's an absolute steal!
[Sephiroth's Masamune]
[Type: Weapon]
[Price: 500 Points]
[Description: From the world of Final Fantasy VII, the ultimate villain Sephiroth's blade, shaped like a katana, is called "Masamune." Over two meters in length, the handle is approximately fifty centimeters long, the blade is only three centimeters wide, and a few millimeters thick.]
[Seller's Note: "What you see now is reality; what you remember is an illusion."]
This made him hesitate.
Shanu pinched his chin and pondered. He didn't have much talent for swordsmanship, and he had no plans to practice swordsmanship in the short term.
But in the world of pirates, swords are inseparable and are the most important of all weapons. It seems natural to have a handy weapon.
The blade forged by Shinra Technology for the 1st Warrior is of absolutely reliable quality. In the world of pirates, it is at least as good as a Skillful Grade Blade, and even reaches the level of a Great Grade Blade.
"Buy!"
Shanu made a decision, and another item suddenly appeared in the shopping cart.
If the price was higher, he might just give up. He continued to scroll down, and Shanu either had no interest in several consecutive products, or the price-performance ratio was too low. In the end, he quickly reached the end of the browsing.
Finally, he checked out and spent 3,300 points on three products in total.
[Remaining Points: 6725]
An item that speeds up his cultivation is one of the things he needs most right now. He's lucky to have found one this time. He'll get some more cultivation manuals next month, just in time for his return to the village. Then, he can begin his intense training.
Shanu contentedly opened another can of soda, closed the market, and then, while sipping his soda, eagerly opened his backpack.