[Ding! Quest Triggered: The World is One Big Fishing Pond]
[Quest Rewards: Upon completion, all daily task attribute bonuses will be doubled for one week, plus one mystery treasure chest]
[Failure Penalty: If this quest remains incomplete after five years, the system will self-destruct. PS: I refuse to acknowledge such a useless fisherman as my host]
Jerry's eyes widened as he discovered an entirely new quest tree structure within his system interface. The main trunk represented the Grand Line, while four major branches extended outward representing the seas of East, West, North, and South. Each location displayed specific content requirements in the form of individual quest cards.
Clicking into the Grand Line branch revealed bright, completed cards showing various random quests he had already finished. Additionally, several dim, unfinished tasks provided only general island information—Jerry suspected he would need to visit those locations personally to trigger their specific requirements.
Most notably, Jerry had completed a significant portion of the Paradise-stage quests and even some from the New World section. However, aside from East Blue, the other three seas remained completely unlit on his quest map.
Seeing this comprehensive overview, Jerry thought grimly: So this is how this damn system was supposed to work from the beginning, isn't it?
The more he considered it, the more convinced he became. Otherwise, why would the system threaten mutual destruction if the quest proved impossible to complete? There had to be some underlying logic he'd been missing.
For whatever reason, this major quest system hadn't activated until now. According to Jerry's analysis, one of the activation conditions must have been fishing specifically from the summit of Reverse Mountain.
"What a sneaky system, trying to ambush me like this," Jerry muttered, subconsciously patting his chest in relief. "At least it didn't trigger when I first set sail—I might not have been able to complete everything within five years back then."
However, his relief was short-lived. As Jerry's hand rested on his chest, he noticed a row of tiny countdown timers quietly ticking away at the bottom of his interface. The displayed time wasn't a full five years from now.
"Damn it..." Jerry cursed internally after calculating carefully. The countdown had apparently started from when they first entered the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain. He had just over three years remaining.
Jerry's eyes narrowed as he activated his mental math abilities again, counting possibilities on his fingers. After brief contemplation, he decided the overall situation remained optimistic. Success would depend primarily on whether he could reach and complete quests at certain specific locations.
"Random quests are connected to this major quest system," he realized. "They weren't being triggered before because the main system was inactive. Now they'll appear as random quests when I meet the proper conditions."
"This means the locations where random quests appeared actually followed a pattern—the truly random elements were the quest content, rewards, and penalties, not the locations themselves."
"And now it seems some places don't have random quests at all. As long as I arrive at the corresponding location and catch something specific, I'll complete whatever quest is designated for that area."
With this understanding, Jerry focused his attention on the Reverse Mountain quest card.
"Like here at Reverse Mountain—probably because this location is so unique, I just need to catch something from the summit to complete the quest..."
Jerry turned to address his crew, using his fishing hobby as convenient cover for their delay. With everyone's agreement, he skillfully maneuvered their ship to float almost motionlessly at the intersection of the four rushing channels, then focused his Observation Haki on the underwater environment.
"What's gotten into him now?" Carina whispered, poking Deuce's arm.
"No idea, but we're not in any hurry," Deuce replied, pulling out his research notebook. "Let him do his thing while we enjoy the scenery."
Indeed, very few people had the opportunity to observe Reverse Mountain's summit as leisurely as they were doing. Deuce responded with a few casual comments before beginning his daily writing and sketching routine.
Seeing everyone either working on projects, relaxing, or exercising, Carina shrugged and headed toward the cabin to find her own entertainment.
At noon, a brief cheer lasting perhaps half a second abruptly cut off.
Jerry's hands moved with practiced fluency as he reeled in his line, revealing a guard uniform from some unknown country hanging from his hook. He took one step forward and hurled the disappointing catch over the mountain's edge.
"Bah! I don't know if all the big fish from around the world gather here, but I can definitely catch all the world's trash from this spot!" Jerry roared in frustration.
After his angry outburst, he turned around as if nothing had happened and addressed his crewmates with perfect composure: "Alright, let's stop fishing and get moving."
"Hahaha! Jerry, have you ever actually counted how many non-fish things you've caught total?" Ace was the first to laugh, asking what could only be described as a soul-crushing question.
"Why worry about meaningless details? Just tell me whether I caught something or not," Jerry replied, straightening his back and placing his hands on his hips with wounded dignity.
Deuce clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention. "Since we're ready, let's move out."
Jerry raised his clenched fist toward the sky and announced loudly: "Alright everyone! Time to begin our brand new adventure!"
As soon as he finished speaking, their ship turned around and began speeding down Reverse Mountain's treacherous channels toward the Four Blues below.
South Blue - Kingdom of St. Dorea
"We've been in South Blue for several days now," Deuce observed quietly, watching pedestrians move through the bustling streets. "Combined with what we've seen on the previous two islands, I'm noticing that the atmosphere and utilization of metal technology here seems generally higher than other regions."
The Four Blues' surface waters weren't nearly as treacherous and unpredictable as the Grand Line's notorious weather patterns. With their familiarity with standard nautical charts and basic navigation knowledge, many professional navigators—and even ordinary civilians—felt confident attempting travel between different islands within their respective seas.
Communication and commerce between islands within each of the four seas naturally proved much easier and more frequent than anything attempted on the Grand Line. Whether involving legitimate merchants conducting business, diplomatic visits between allied nations, or the activities of pirates and bounty hunters, sailing within any individual sea was considerably safer and faster than Grand Line navigation.
Because the Red Line and Grand Line separated the four seas from each other, these isolated regions had gradually developed unique differences in technology, culture, customs, and social organization over the centuries.
What Deuce had noticed was that compared to East Blue, the pedestrians they encountered here seemed to carry a much higher proportion of firearms and metal equipment as standard gear.
"Ahem! Deuce, are you sure it's really that simple?" Jerry asked with meaningful undertones.
"Isn't it? This is the third island we've visited, and they've all shown similar patterns," Deuce replied, momentarily confused before shaking his head. He gestured toward their left, where a passerby was wearing gleaming metal armor with several sharp-looking muskets visible at his waist.
"Well, when you noticed those weapons, didn't you also notice that most of these people look cautious while trying to appear relaxed?" Jerry asked, keeping his gaze straight ahead while lowering his voice so only his crew could hear.
"They're basically moving in groups of two or three, like they're forming protective formations. They look calm on the surface, but there's underlying anxiety in their body language and movement patterns."
Jerry's observation caused the crew to take a more careful look at their surroundings. Indeed, very few people were walking alone, and those who did moved with the quick, purposeful stride of someone trying to reach safety as quickly as possible. Even in broad daylight on what appeared to be a prosperous island, there was an undercurrent of tension that suggested South Blue might not be as peaceful as it initially appeared.
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