Screech!
Lawrence's rapier pierced straight into the ground, but it accomplished nothing.
"What?!"
Watching his opponent rise back up from the earth a short distance away, Lawrence's face filled with shock and suspicion.
"What kind of ability is that?"
An ordinary person might not have answered such a question, but Mr. Pink was a man with pride, so he openly revealed the secret of his power.
"I ate the Swim-Swim Fruit. I'm a free-swimming man who can move through the ground and even through walls."
The confidence behind those words practically hit people in the face.
It was the kind of confidence that said, even if I tell you, you still can't beat me.
At this point, Lawrence was already starting to regret agreeing to join forces with Black Bear Miles.
There was something seriously wrong with the Donquixote Family. How could some random officer from their side be this strong and also be a Devil Fruit user?
Either he and Miles were unbelievably unlucky, or every officer in the Donquixote Family really was this powerful, enough to dominate the North Blue for real.
Lawrence refused to believe it.
No matter what, he was going to kill this man today.
As for the consequences that would come after, he had already prepared himself mentally.
The sea was vast. He truly did not believe the Donquixote Family could do much to him once he was out on it.
And just then, Black Bear Miles finally caught his breath and rejoined the battle with red eyes.
Their crews also threw themselves back into the fight.
But now that Mr. Pink had entered the field, the balance of victory had already begun tipping toward the Donquixote Family.
...
A tavern was struck by a cannon shot, and in the next instant, it went up in roaring flames.
Hiding off to one side, August muttered a quiet "what a waste," then immediately began looking for his next target.
And very quickly, he found another tavern. Everyone had already run away, but the main structure was still mostly intact.
The moment he saw that, he rushed inside without hesitation and began scanning and transmitting all the neatly arranged bottles on the shelves and the barrels of liquor stored inside.
In no time at all, he had emptied the place clean.
[Submit order now?]
August selected no without hesitation.
If all he wanted was the base reward, then the alcohol he had collected so far was probably enough.
But if he wanted a four-star or even five-star review, then both the quality and quantity of what he had gathered were obviously still far from sufficient.
"Time's still on my side. If I don't gamble while I have the chance, who knows when I'll get another opportunity like this."
So after failing to find a wine cellar there, August immediately moved on to the next tavern.
This time, his luck was clearly much better.
This tavern was much larger than the last one, and the amount of liquor it had stored was on a completely different level.
And more importantly, he found an underground wine cellar.
It was practically packed full of all kinds of alcohol. Just from a rough glance, there had to be at least a hundred barrels down there.
August was instantly delighted and got to work at once.
Honestly, he really did have to thank the Giant Bear Pirates and the Hundred Blades Pirates. If those people had not taken the initiative to cause trouble for the Donquixote Family's smuggling ship and trigger such a huge riot, there was no way he would have stumbled across an opportunity for a zero-cost haul like this.
Even after sweeping two taverns clean, August still was not satisfied. He kept searching for another target.
But perhaps he had already used up all his luck earlier, because the next few places he checked either still had people inside or the liquor had already been smashed to pieces, and his progress suddenly ground to a halt.
In the end, though, the real reason he had to stop was because the country's military had entered the harbor.
Large numbers of armed soldiers sealed off the entire port. The people trying to loot or commit crimes under cover of the chaos were either arrested on the spot or shot dead where they stood.
A lot of shops and residences were protected just like that.
Under those circumstances, August did not dare take any more risks.
If he got caught red-handed, there was no way he could explain himself.
So he simply chose to submit the order. There were now over a hundred barrels, with plenty of different types of alcohol mixed in. He felt there was no way this order would still end up with a pathetic two-star review.
[Beginner wish order completed. The customer has given a Four-Star rating (Pleasant Surprise)!]
[Comment: There are so many different kinds, and some of them are exactly the ones I love~ Looks like I can really drink to my heart's content today!]
[Four-Star rating: Base Trade Point reward increased by 50%. Remaining rewards have been issued automatically. Please check for details.]
[Because the customer is very satisfied, you have received an additional reward: Skill: Magic Card Modification]
...
Success!
Not only had he gotten a four-star review, he had even gotten a skill book reward!
If the setting had been different, August genuinely would have laughed out loud right there.
The fake way to use a cheat:
Work honestly, follow the rules, complete orders step by step, rack up one-star and two-star trash reviews, and fail to even collect the full base reward.
The real way to use a cheat:
Steal, rob, and trick your way through the order by any means necessary, then collect three-star, four-star, and five-star reviews nonstop and eat extra rewards until you're stuffed.
At this point, August finally felt like he had grasped the true way to use this system.
Then he immediately began checking the rewards he had just received.
First came the Trade Points. The base reward had been 150, and the Four-Star bonus added another 50 percent, bringing the total to 225.
In one shot, he had practically earned back all the points he had spent before.
He now had 1040 Trade Points in total, putting him back over a thousand.
After thinking it over, he simply bought the remaining seven [Banana Grenades] in the system shop, spending another 35 Trade Points.
At his current stage, [Banana Grenades] were actually pretty practical. Not only was their killing power decent, but they were also highly deceptive.
And with them stored in the system inventory, he could pull them out at any time for self-defense.
After all, there was no guarantee that the next shop refresh would bring something more useful than [Banana Grenades]. Since he had enough Trade Points for now, he might as well just buy them.
Then came the magic card, Fool's Temperance.
[Magic Card: Fool's Temperance]
One-time consumable item
Effect: After being thrown, it releases a large cloud of smoke. Enemies who inhale the smoke will fall asleep.
PS: Please wear a mask before use~
....
Obviously, the card's effect did not distinguish friend from foe. If he was careless, he could very easily knock himself out too.
Still, August was already very satisfied. Used at the right moment, this magic card could definitely play a major role.
What really confused him instead was the skill description for [Magic Card Modification].
Skill: [Magic Card Modification] (Special)
Level: LV1
Cost: Mental energy, plus a suitably sized card
Effect: Modify a blank magic card.
....
And then...
That was it.
August just stared at it, completely baffled.
The first skill he had worked so hard to get...
Was it really some kind of support skill?
Like those side professions in games. Making potions, forging weapons, then selling them off to other people...
So what was he supposed to be now?
A card crafter in the world of pirates?
Damn it, even the title of the novel feels different now!
(End of Chapter)
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