Chapter 10: A Frantic Ascent
"Mayor, I'll leave the matter of the assault team to you. I have other matters to attend to. We will gather in the village square in one hour and depart on schedule to attack the bandit Higuma."
"Yes!" The Mayor gritted his teeth, but he agreed.
As soon as the Mayor's voice fell, Kaizen swayed slightly and vanished from his and Makino's sight.
The next moment, Kaizen's figure emerged from the woods east of the village.
After rising to a Level 8 Player, his speed had increased many times over, almost like teleportation.
"Alright, I still have one hour. Before we attack Higuma, I must hurry and improve the Glue Pistol as much as possible."
Kaizen calmed himself, took a deep breath, and the energy within him circulated like a dragon. His fingers began to tremble rapidly.
One shot! Two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two!
After absorbing the Level 11 Bandit Bloodblade, Kaizen's body was filled with immense combat power, breaking through several bottlenecks at once and reaching the level of firing thirty-two bullets simultaneously.
Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh...
Glue bullets flew. The small tree was turned into a sieve before toppling over.
Kaizen continued, his finger movements graceful and fluid, like flowing clouds. Soon, several nearby small trees were felled.
Now, his learning ability, after reaching Level 8, had increased to eighty times the normal speed.
The Calm Sea Key's treasure detection radar now had a range of eighty meters.
Both his cultivation speed and treasure-hunting ability had been greatly enhanced.
"The Glue Pistol can now fire thirty-two bullets at once. No matter how many bandits there are, they can't withstand this kind of suppressive fire."
"However, to deal with some of the stronger bandits, the power still isn't enough. The bandit stronghold's defenses are sturdy. To breach them, I'll still need the Glue Cannon."
"Now that I'm Level 8 and have absorbed so much combat power, I should be able to start practicing the Glue Cannon."
"Calm Sea Key, unlock the 80x learning ability!" Kaizen commanded.
Ding. The 80x learning ability is now active!
Kaizen glanced over the technique, learning it at an accelerated pace.
"Calm Sea Key, unlock the 80x cultivation ability!" By now, Kaizen was already very familiar with using the Key.
Ding. The 80x cultivation ability is now active!
A dark combat power shot out from Kaizen's palm, coalescing into a rubbery cannonball.
Kaizen's body shuddered as the cannonball flew out. With a loud boom, dust flew everywhere, blasting a large crater in the ground over sixty meters away.
"Tsk, tsk. So this is the Glue Cannon? It's truly powerful, far more destructive than the Glue Pistol." Kaizen rushed over and looked at the three-meter-wide, half-meter-deep pit, joy shining in his eyes.
"Let's keep going. Practice firing the cannonballs. Practice the second shot."
The Glue Cannon, like the Glue Pistol, had stages: one, two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two...
Ding. Player Kaizen Reiya's strength is insufficient to practice the second Glue Cannon shot.
Ding. Only players who reach Level 10 can practice the second Glue Cannon shot. Please level up as soon as possible.
Kaizen was taken aback. But where was he supposed to find another bandit like Bloodblade to absorb power from at a moment's notice?
After reaching Level 8, the combat power from ordinary bandit lackeys, no matter how many he absorbed, wouldn't be enough to level him up.
The higher the level, the more difficult it became to advance. Each level required exponentially more combat power, and only absorbing from higher-leveled individuals provided significant progress.
Relying on a large number of low-level bandits to level up wasn't realistic.
However, this single cannonball shot was enough to deal with most bandits. A few volleys like that would wipe them out.
"It's almost time. I need to get to the village square to meet up with the others and attack the bandits."
Kaizen's body flickered and vanished from the spot.
...
Dusk fell over the village. The evening light was like blood, dyeing all of Windmill Village crimson. Life went on, and the village seemed bustling with the influx of players, but the faces of the native villagers were filled with panic.
Many of the village's young and middle-aged men had been killed by the Higuma Bandits, and their only Devil Fruit user, Luffy, was injured.
The deadline Higuma had set for slaughtering the entire village was drawing closer...
Damn, could this day get any worse?
In these days of waiting for death, everyone's future looked bleak, with no hope of escape.
The King of the Near Shore ruled the sea; bandits ruled the land. These days were unbearable.
"Urgent news! All villagers, please gather at the central village square immediately! The Mayor has important, joyous news to announce!"
Suddenly, the sound of messenger birds echoed in every corner of the village.
"Urgent joyous news? Has the Higuma Bandit crisis been resolved?"
"Has Luffy recovered from his injuries?"
"Is it really true? Is Luffy okay?"
"As long as Luffy is fine, those bandits won't dare run wild."
"With the King of the Near Shore blocking the sea routes, the Marines can't come. Only Luffy's recovery counts as joyous news."
Hearing this, the villagers immediately put down their work and hurried to the central village square.
Soon, the square was packed with a dense crowd, the noise overwhelming.
"The Mayor is here."
"Hey, who's that young man next to the Mayor? He looks unfamiliar. The Mayor seems to respect him greatly."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, watching the Mayor and Kaizen approach.
Behind them, the village's captain of the guard dragged a corpse with a crushed head like a dead dog.
Seeing this, the crowd looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what was happening. "What about the joyous news? What about Luffy?"
Soon, the Mayor stepped onto the high platform and spoke loudly, "I want to tell everyone about a wonderful, joyous event! The bandit Higuma sent Bloodblade to slaughter our village. He has been killed! His body is here for public display!"
"Bloodblade? The legendary Level 11 bandit? The thousand-man slayer? Without Luffy, he could have killed our entire village by himself."
"Could Luffy, despite his injuries, have killed him? But I don't see Luffy here."
Hearing that Bloodblade was dead, the crowd erupted in an uproar, watching in disbelief.
Raising his hand, the Mayor gestured for silence.
"Villagers! I want to tell you a truly joyous event! My fellow villagers, we are saved! It might be hard to believe, but it is all true!"
"Just now, that vile bandit Bloodblade learned that our rescue team to the Marines had failed. He immediately came to the village, took the village elders and me hostage, and tried to force Makino to submit. He threatened to slaughter the village immediately if she refused. How cruel and terrifying his methods are, I believe everyone in this village knows. Yes, it was this very bandit, his hands stained with our villagers' blood. Just as he was about to commit murder, Heaven took pity on our village! This warrior suddenly appeared and... kicked this murderer's head to pieces!"