November 1, 1501, Age of the Sea Circle
When Orion opened his eyes again, night had just fallen. His mind was still slightly hazy from the anesthesia as he looked around, inspecting his surroundings.
He was lying in a comfortable bed inside a luxurious room, completely alone. Several instruments surrounded him, monitoring his vital signs, and it was obvious that the medical technology here was far superior to that of any other place Orion had visited before.
His mind gradually grew clearer, and after a few minutes, the memories of what had happened returned in full. After Hogback had examined him carefully, Orion had been immediately taken to the operating room, where the doctor performed a complicated surgery that lasted several hours and finally managed to resolve Orion's condition.
After several hours of rest, Orion's situation had stabilized considerably. Although he would still need to avoid any strenuous movement for the next few days, he was already out of danger and could return to a relatively normal life.
His rapid recovery was, of course, due to his enhanced physical abilities thanks to his passive skills, since an ordinary person would have been bedridden for months before reaching a similar state of recovery. Moreover, his health was continuously reinforced by the Health Brownie he had purchased from the system shop and consumed a few days earlier.
After confirming that he was fine, Orion sighed in relief, though his thoughts immediately began to shift toward several important goals for the near future. One thing he had learned this time was the importance of having someone with outstanding medical skills to assist him in case a similar situation arose again.
After all, even though Orion himself was an excellent doctor, there were treatments he simply could not perform on his own body, as had been the case this time. Furthermore, considering that in the future he would undoubtedly find himself in countless battles and dangerous situations, having high-level doctors among his subordinates was absolutely essential.
At present, Orion already had a few doctors in his kingdom, but their skills were far inferior to those of someone like Hogback, who was regarded by many as a miracle healer. That was precisely the level of expertise his subordinates needed in order to be truly useful.
In addition, Orion once again placed a certain task he had been considering for some time at the very top of his priority list: finding the Ope Ope no Mi.
If Orion could absorb that Devil Fruit and obtain one of its special abilities, he would undoubtedly be able to perform on himself the kind of surgery he had been forced to entrust to Hogback. It deeply unsettled him to have to place his life in someone else's hands—especially in the hands of a man who could easily be considered a villain, like Hogback.
This time, he had no other choice, as his condition had been critical and he couldn't survive without immediate treatment. However, it would certainly be better if, in the future, he could perform such procedures without depending on anyone. The Ope Ope no Mi was probably the only force in the world capable of granting him that power.
It seemed Orion would have to use every resource at his disposal to track down the whereabouts of that Devil Fruit, and he would probably need to devote time to personally search for it. Furthermore, he needed that fruit to cure Toki's condition—she still remained unconscious, like a sleeping beauty—so he could no longer afford to delay the matter.
After reflecting on these issues for a few moments, Orion opened the system interface, intending to check Victoria Cindry's location. He planned to visit her in person to talk and get to know her better. After all, Orion tried not to be hypocritical about his desires.
After seeing the young woman for the first time, he had been deeply impressed by her beauty and radiant smile, so it was only natural that he wanted to establish contact with her.
However, as soon as he opened the system interface, the first thing that appeared before his eyes was a notification announcing the arrival of a new mission.
*Ding*
*New mission available*
*Mission 21 – The Actress's Smile
Description: In this world, not everything revolves around power and glory. A sovereign must not only focus on battles and the expansion of his might, but also learn to know and understand the diverse lives of people across the world.
Objective: Enroll in the acting academy as a novice actor with no backing or experience. Using your acting talent and passion, earn a role in the grand year-end theatrical production and share the stage with the famous actress Victoria Cindry.
Reward: SP, random skill, official noble title.
(The quality of the rewards will vary depending on your performance. Additional rewards may be obtained if certain conditions are met.)*
After reading the mission details, Orion raised his eyebrows in surprise. According to his recollection, this was the first time he had ever received a mission related to a specific profession, and he couldn't help but wonder whether similar missions for different professions would appear in the future.
It was true that he considered himself a great actor—though he might have been the only one who thought so—but he hadn't expected a mission like this to appear. Still, the format wasn't entirely new: having to stay in a specific place for a period of time to perform a certain activity was something he had already experienced in two previous missions.
One was the training mission in Guanhao, and the other was the one that asked him to study at the great library of Ohara, although he had never had the chance to complete that last one due to the island's tragic destruction at the hands of the World Government.
Now, Orion needed to step into the world of acting and earn a place in the most important play in this country, without using any "cheats" and relying solely on his acting ability. Considering that it was currently the beginning of November, that meant he would have to spend around two months on this island to complete the mission.
Even so, Orion didn't feel displeased with the situation—quite the opposite. Just as the mission description had said, lately he had been focused solely on increasing his power level and expanding his influence, ignoring almost every other aspect of life—except for those that no man of culture could ignore.
For that reason, he felt a strange motivation to carry out this mission and thought that perhaps it could be a good change of pace. Besides, he had the odd feeling that once he managed to complete this mission, he would gain much more than what was listed in the reward section.
It was a somewhat diffuse feeling, hard to explain in words, but Orion didn't ignore it—intuition was not something one should disregard in this magical world.
Finally, Orion was deeply curious about the last reward listed in the mission: the official noble title. What could it refer to? Would it simply be a kind of credential? Or something more?
In any case, with a new goal for the immediate future, Orion sat up from the bed and dressed slowly, ready to go out and walk through the streets of this vibrant city, which, even at nightfall, was still bustling with activity as if its people never slept.
…
November 18, 1501, Age of the Sea Circle
More than two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. After recovering from his most serious wounds with Dr. Hogback's help, Orion had fully dedicated himself to completing the system's new mission.
To do so, he had immediately headed to the largest theater in the city—the same one to which Victoria Cindry belonged as part of the establishment's permanent acting company. There, Orion had requested to join the company as an extra, and after making a small donation, he successfully managed to become part of the theater's group of actors.
Although Orion had had to bribe the manager to join the acting company, that didn't mean he had violated the rules imposed by the system in this mission, since he was forbidden from cheating to obtain a role in the play—but there was no mention of using unconventional methods to join the ranks of the theater's actors.
This theater was the largest in the entire kingdom, and the number of actors there was incredibly high. It was impossible for Orion to obtain one of the limited roles in the most important play just by joining the company of resident actors—he would have to prove his skill by his own means to do so, which meant no conflict with the system's directives.
Moreover, this acting company also functioned as a theater school, and there were many young amateurs among its ranks, just beginning to take their first steps in the world of acting, dreaming that someday they might reach a place similar to that of the famous Victoria Cindry.
Still, it wasn't easy for anyone to succeed in this world, and the phenomenon that Victoria represented was the result of many converging factors. To begin with, she was the daughter of a powerful nobleman of the kingdom, who had financed her passion since her earliest years.
Victoria had been acting since she was just four years old, which showed how much passion she had for the profession. Besides, her talent for acting was comparable to Uta's talent for music, making it inevitable that she would rise to the top of the acting world as long as nothing stood in her way.
Thanks to her family's protection, she had never encountered the obstacles that other actors—and especially actresses—had to overcome, and she had been able to advance toward the summit without any hindrance, becoming the brightest star of all.
Finally, the last factor that had facilitated Victoria's rise to the top was the kingdom's socio-political situation. When she had begun studying theater almost fourteen years ago, the kingdom had not been as prosperous or culturally rich as it was now.
She had accompanied the nation's development as she performed, witnessing the flourishing of the theater industry while standing at the very center of it all. Anyone who tried to replicate Victoria Cindry's meteoric rise would not only face the usual difficulties of such a profession but would also have to contend with the fact that the industry was now much more saturated than when Victoria had begun her career.
She had emerged as a solitary figure, almost without competition, and had managed to reach the top—but for an actor starting from zero at this point in history, the challenges were much greater. It was simply one of the natural workings of the world and wasn't limited to this particular case.
Orion, who had to participate in the most important play in the kingdom within two months, felt a great deal of pressure, as it was no easy task. Still, he trusted that he could achieve it if he focused entirely on it.
Even so, he knew he couldn't simply abandon everything to dedicate himself solely to acting, so he continued his daily training without fail, though for shorter periods of time.
After managing to join the acting company, Orion had been learning the basics of acting, and in just a few days, he had benefited quite a lot. He had always believed his acting skills were perfect, but after only a few days of study, he realized that his abilities were actually very superficial.
With his "Espionage" skill, which he had acquired during his time in Guanhao, Orion thought he could act convincingly in any situation. However, he now understood that there were certain things that required deeper study and couldn't be fully covered by a broad, general skill like "Espionage."
During his time in the theater company, Orion had encountered both Victoria Cindry and Hogback on several occasions. Victoria was the greatest star in the company, so naturally, she was at the theater most of the time. Even so, due to his beginner level, Orion wasn't in the same group as Victoria and had only been able to speak with her briefly once, when he happened to meet her in the theater's hallway.
On that occasion, Orion had openly admired her acting abilities and her beauty, which made the beautiful girl blush slightly and show a timid smile before excusing herself, saying she had to continue her rehearsal. Still, before leaving, she had encouraged Orion to work hard in his acting career and told him she hoped they could share the stage together someday.
That time, Orion had watched with bright eyes as the lovely Victoria walked away with her hands over her face after her "bold" statement, blushing at her own words.
It should be mentioned that Orion, in his adult form and with the system buffs that increased favorability with the opposite sex, was quite attractive to most women he met—and Victoria was no exception.
The young girl had felt a crush on Orion from the very first time she saw him, although her upbringing prevented her from expressing herself too openly or directly, blushing at even the slightest romantic suggestion. After all, she had no experience in love, so her mindset was that of a young girl experiencing her first innocent crushes.
As for Hogback, Orion had encountered him numerous times as well, and it had also been at the theater. Apparently, the renowned doctor was one of the theater's biggest sponsors, especially funding the plays performed by the main company to which Victoria belonged.
Hogback visited the theater quite often, with the sole purpose of seeing the sexy Victoria, the woman he dreamed about day and night since the first time he had laid eyes on her. Under the excuse of appreciating art, he frequently attended the rehearsals in which Victoria participated, watching from his private balcony.
Moreover, every time he appeared at the theater, he took the opportunity to invite Victoria to engage in various activities with him—from simple walks to candlelit dinners. Even so, the young actress always politely declined his invitations, consistently keeping a prudent distance from the doctor so as not to give rise to any ambiguous thoughts.
She had been accustomed to receiving people's attention since she was very young, and ever since reaching adolescence, she had begun receiving all kinds of invitations from all kinds of men who had fallen for her.
In noble families, it wasn't unusual for women to marry very young, and sixteen was often considered the ideal age for marriage. Fortunately for her, her family had no need to use her for political alliances, allowing her to focus on her acting career without worrying about complicated matters like marriage—though she would probably end up marrying before the age of twenty-five, which was considered very old for a noblewoman.
In any case, all the attention she had received from men over the years had made Victoria particularly skilled at keeping a cautious distance so as not to encourage any ambiguous feelings that could lead to unwanted misunderstandings.
Unfortunately for her, Hogback was completely obsessed with her, having long since surpassed any normal level of interest in a person, turning it into something pathological. No matter how hard she tried to keep her distance, Hogback would always find a way to interpret things so that the final conclusion was that the two of them were destined to end up together.
And it would be this very obsession of the renowned doctor that would give Orion the opportunity to complete the mission successfully.
…
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?" said Orion in a rather amateur tone, his gaze fixed on a specific point as he extended his hand to grasp an invisible object.
Despite having spent more than two weeks practicing his acting, his level was still very poor, nowhere near good enough to perform in the most important play of the year—not even as an extra.
At that moment, there were only about six weeks left before the play's premiere, and the main roles had already been assigned. The only thing Orion could realistically hope for was to get a small part without lines, just to be part of the performance and complete the mission successfully.
Just as Orion was fully focused on his performance under the attentive gaze of the director of the company to which he belonged, a bell rang in his mind, and a new notification appeared before his eyes.
*Ding*
*You have obtained the skill "Acting (Level 0)"*
Orion's eyes immediately lit up, and he said inwardly,
"Finally!"
It had taken him more than half a month, but he had finally acquired the "Acting" skill at its most basic level!
Looking at the large number of accumulated SP points, Orion licked his lips, thinking that his moment to shine had finally come. Maybe he would actually have a chance to get a role in the grand end-of-year play after all.
Just as the director frowned upon seeing Orion lose focus completely and stop acting, preparing to scold the newcomer harshly to teach him a lesson, a loud commotion suddenly echoed through the hallway, alarming everyone present.
The rehearsal was immediately halted, and everyone rushed out to see what was happening.
Orion closed the system screen and walked with the rest of his companions toward the hallway that led to the theater's entrance. There, he spotted two familiar faces: Hogback and Victoria Cindry.
The crowd had gathered around the area, making it difficult to see clearly, but for Orion, it was no problem at all to observe what was happening. With a slightly furrowed brow, he watched the handsome young man he had seen a couple of times over the past two weeks.
This young man had been selected as the leading actor for the year-end play, taking the role of the male protagonist—the lover of the main female character played by Victoria.
However, the young actor's current situation was far from good, as he was being carried out of the theater on a stretcher, and it was obvious at first glance that both his legs were broken.
What made Orion frown, however, was not the pitiful state of the unfortunate young man, but rather his somewhat "odd" facial expression. With his medical knowledge and the ability to analyze situations in depth using his Prism Eyes, Orion immediately realized that the young man had been drugged.
The substance used was quite strong yet difficult to identify without specialized knowledge, and it could easily lead one to believe the victim was simply in poor health. By using such a drug discreetly, it was easy to provoke an "accident"—all one had to do was administer it and wait for the right moment.
If the actor were to fall due to losing control of his body and hit the ground defenselessly from the stage or from atop one of the set structures, the injuries would be severe, possibly even fatal.
As Orion watched Doctor Hogback walking alongside Victoria Cindry, trying to maintain an elegant expression while making concerned comments about the young man's health, he narrowed his eyes in thought.
...
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my patreon.
P@treon/CrotoWN
Your support helps me keep writing and sharing more chapters!