Alex, Benezia, and Menchi quickly make their way towards the other warehouses. One of them is stacked with food, which immediately draws Menchi's attention. Her eyes light up with excitement.
"This is better than expected. I'm not seeing anything recognized by the system... not even Sea King meat, but this is all decent. I can at least cook healthy and satisfying meals for us. Let me fill my inventory."
"It's weird... nothing the system recognizes? I guess obtaining even Gray items like that would simply be too easy," Alex comments. "The system is not that accommodating. You have to earn every single item, you can't just obtain hundreds of lower-ranked items by visiting a warehouse or shop."
As Menchi greedily fills up her inventory, Alex and Benezia finally stop her after a while.
"Remember what Alex said? Don't get greedy," Benezia reminds her. "We have rations and enough of your prepared food. I've already checked, and normal food can be taken out in this world just fine. This much really isn't required... the quality of these supplies also looks lower than the food in Alex's—no, the real world. Take out Alcohol. That can be turned into Belly. It's almost as good as a real currency."
Benezia then proceeds to store a huge amount of various alcohol, almost breaking her own rules, as she nearly empties the supplies.
"Haha... I guess you're right," Menchi admits, rubbing the back of her head. "These ingredients are pretty low quality, but still. They feel different. Fresh. Unique. If you're experienced, you notice even the slight differences in food. This will be helpful for my development... so let me grab at least a small portion of everything they have here."
Alex, meanwhile, smiles as he spots a large amount of fresh fish. Despite the awful smell, he walks over and helps himself, pocketing a few fish of varying sizes, trying to take the freshest ones. Since his uncle took him fishing a few times when he was a kid, despite living far away from the coast and not eating fish at all, he has some experience with fish.
The eyes need to be clear. I remember my Grandma telling me when she went shopping for fish at the market. The clearer, the fresher. If the gills are firm and elastic, that should also be a good sign. Also, the ones without a nasty smell are obviously better and fresher.
"Guess I don't have to fish them myself. Let me grab a dozen or so. Jewel said she had an idea, so I might as well listen to her for once," he comments as he picks out the one he deems the freshest.
Aside from that, Alex also snatches the most expensive-looking fishing rods, looting three of them, along with a few nets, fishing supplies, and empty bags. They also grab a few other things from the other warehouses, but nothing worth taking note of.
After obtaining a relatively large haul of useful items, they leave the warehouses, inventories filled with countless items, although just a few are recognized by the system. Alex glances around the shabby little town as they walk through its streets. Bars, abandoned houses, and shared homes crowded with bounty hunters make up most of the scenery.
"At least this is a pretty diverse fake town. Even some women and children around... not only burly-looking thugs," Alex says.
"It's quite... bland," Menchi mutters, clearly unimpressed.
Benezia, paying close attention to her surroundings, signals towards a small ferry. They quickly board, and the man in charge ferries them across to the smaller side of town.
Most people who see Alex and Benezia deliberately avoid them.
"Stupid reputation. We aren't getting any opportunities like this," Alex mumbles. "This is a problem...."
"We'll be splitting up later, Alex," Benezia says evenly. "This is just orientation. There is no need to be stressed. I believe your reputation may also open some unexpected doors later down the road."
From time to time, they pass stronger-looking agents—likely Billions, the superior class above the Millions. These men at least hold themselves with composure; while they respect the group, they don't shrink away in fear like the others.
Suddenly, Benezia stops and strides up to a pair of Billions.
"You... the new Officer Agent... what is it?" one of them asks warily. "You... you don't scare me! I am a loyal agent!"
Benezia ignores his rambling, her eyes fixed on their weapons. She focuses on one of them and demands, "Show me your sword."
"Huh? My sword?" the Baroque Works agent replies, confused. Still, he shrugs and presents it.
Benezia grabs it with sharp interest. Now intrigued as well, Alex steps closer to inspect the weapon. In Benezia's hand is a katana—this is... [Kakuzen].
It's one of the Grade Blades!! Probably an og Katana, which makes sense. There should be at least more than 50 around, maybe hundreds... or thousands?! It's of the lowest grade, but still! Even the Yubashiri was Light Purple... let's see...
[Kakuzen]
World: One Piece
Quality: Blue
Type: Katana (Sword)
Required Stats: STR - 6, AGI - 8, SNS - 8
Required Skills: Katana Proficiency lvl 2
Durability: 60/60
Damage: 25-35
Effect: Accuracy - Increases your accuracy with this weapon by 25%
Effect: Increases damage caused by critical hits by 10%
Note: This sword is recognized as a Grade sword. It enables its user to perform clear cuts that can deal immense damage if it's used to attack the opponent's weaknesses.
Note: Nothing is more aesthetically pleasing than a clean cut.
"This sword suits my aesthetic tastes. Hand it over to me!" Benezia orders, her sharp gaze fixed on the already intimidated Billions agent.
"You...you... just because you're a Frontier Agent, you can't just take my weapon! I can't fight without it!" the man protests, though his reluctance is clear. His colleague is slowly backing off, not interested in getting pulled into a conflict with a new Frontier Agent.
Benezia smiles faintly, then reaches over her shoulder as if retrieving something. From her inventory, she produces one of the katanas they had looted earlier, along with the cleanest, most beautiful pistol Menchi had found. To finish, she pulls out two bottles of the impressive-looking alcohol they'd taken.
"I'll replace your weapon with those issued to me," Benezia says in a calm but commanding tone, as if the deal were already set. "And I'll throw in a few bottles of fine alcohol. I just require a weapon that pleases me... surely you won't deny such a reasonable request? If you do, I'd have to take it as a personal insult."
The agent hesitates, obviously baffled by her motives. But his eyes stare at the decent-looking katana, and the polished pistol, then, finally, at the tempting bottles of alcohol. He gulps, his shoulders dropping.
"Deal!" He finally says, looking somewhat satisfied.
With a grin, Benezia makes the exchange and strides ahead without another word.
"... Good job," Alex says approvingly.
"How did you recognize it?" he asks after a moment.
Benezia holds the sword towards the sun, its shiny gray sheath catching the light. She draws the blade, revealing a beautiful, irregular pattern running down the blade.
"I noticed most famous swords, often katanas, have colorful or unique sheaths, usually bright. This one is gray, but the way the sun reflected on it drew my attention," she explains. Then she adds with a soft smile, "I can't deny that the system helped me as well. It seems my Trading skill lets me recognize items more easily. Before even confirming it, I had a hunch this would be a Blue Quality item. I noticed that detail after spending days in the Realm's market. I slowly developed an intuition for judging the worth of an item."
"What a cheat... That's really impressive. I guess it's no surprise, since your skill is at Expert +," Alex says, genuinely pleased with her.
She just earned us at least 20,000 FC, and that's just the shard price!
Menchi stares in awe as well, though this time she manages to hold herself back without another embarrassing outburst.
The group finishes their tour of the town.
Almost two hours later, just before heading back to their temporary base, Alex notices a large half-open shop with cannons and cannonballs stacked outside. Curiosity piqued, he steps inside.
"Hello there," Alex says politely. "I'm Mr. 6, the new Frontier Agent. Tell me, what is this place supposed to be?"
"Mr. 6?!" the elderly man in charge exclaims. His eyes immediately drop to Alex's massive blade. "But you're the Butc—no, it doesn't matter. Welcome, Mr. 6. This is where we store the cannons looted from pirate ships. While we try to resell the ships we capture, we often find extra cannons and sometimes sell the vessels without them. I repair, polish, and store the loot here. Truth is, we only recently started selling ships without cannons. Apparently, they're needed elsewhere, probably in Alubarna, judging from the way they're getting picked up regularly, but I wouldn't want to guess. We've got plenty of cannons and cannonballs in storage... but we're short on gunpowder."
"I see," Alex replies.
I heard that earlier... weapons being shipped to Alubarna. Now, cannons, cannonballs, and gunpowder as well. It's clear—Crocodile is supplying the rebels with weapons. He's actively supporting the rebellion. In fact... he is creating it!
"I really don't want to burden you with our problems, Mr. 6," the old agent says, looking a little embarrassed. "But if you ever come across a good amount of gunpowder... I've been granted a small stipend. It's all yours if you bring me ten barrels full."
[Secret Quest Offered
Mission: Provide 10 barrels of gunpowder to the cannon armory in Whiskey Peak.
Reward: Increased Reputation with Baroque works, Increased Reputation with Whiskey Peak agents, Decreased Reputation with Mr. 8, ??? Belly (depending on the time it takes to complete the quest, the quality of the gunpowder, and any extra quality delivered), minuscule increase in Mission Rating
Time Limit: 32 days, 16 hours, 51 minutes
Failure: —]
"I'll see what I can do," Alex replies with a smile. "No promises though!"
[Secret Quest Accepted]
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