"These two fuckers are staring at me," Alex says, meeting his observer's eyes and glaring back at them.
Lucci and Kaku. Somehow I really want to fucking beat them up...
"Don't arouse suspicion," Benezia whispers, standing behind him. "They're just doing their jobs as Galley-La employees. This is not the time; we have other things to consider."
"Now," she continues, "Menchi, you wanted this kind of 'delicacy, so I expect you to put in the effort! You know what to do—identify any valuable cut of Sea King meat or anything else the system recognizes. Your Skill should help with that. As for the rest of us, spread out and do the same. Also, make sure nobody runs off with anything else that might be inside our prey. Tereza, make sure to cover the exit from Rocky Cape every now and then and confiscate anything of value."
"Yes, M... Benezia," Tereza responds, trying her best to hide her grin.
"Great, let's get to it," Menchi says, her voice full of enthusiasm as she sprints over to the workers, who have already hauled the Sea King into position on top of the rocky cape.
Tereza, in her hybrid form, flies over as well.
Benezia also moves off, but after a few meters, she glances back at Alex.
With no real way to stay out of sight, Alex sighs and starts walking forward.
Is Soulmate tired?
Yeah... but I'll be fine. Let's just get this done quickly... though I'm starting to worry this might take hours... maybe even days.
Let's collect the tasty chicken wings first! Princess Jewel likes them the most!
"Do you see any fucking wings on that thing?" Alex mutters, pointing at the colossal corpse lying before him.
"It's just a damn Sea King—look at it! It looks like someone mashed a chicken, a fish, a snake, and a bull together. It's got a tail, but also this weird, lumpy body in the middle, not to mention that long neck and beak. There are no wings!"
Princess Jewel is disappointed! Soulmate should go for the legs then!
"... Now you're just messing with me, aren't you?" Alex says, shaking his head as he walks forward.
❤️
"I hope your rebellious teenage phase ends soon..." he mutters as he moves past Benezia, making his way toward the center of the Sea King, where its lumpy stomach is located. A group of workers is already there, hard at work dismantling the massive creature.
Spotting a pile of large Sea King filets stacked up beside him, Alex leans in to analyze them—only to realize the system doesn't even recognize them.
His face twitches. He lowers his voice and whispers, "My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined..."
"Don't worry, pal," a rough-looking man says beside him, holding a huge tool more commonly used for woodworking. "The outside's tough, but once we dig into the inner layers, the quality gets way better. These beasts like to massage themselves along the ocean floor. That outer layer is garbage. It's thick and rough—only good for feeding bulls who can chew through that damn rubber meat. However, the inner meat is highly valued and tasty. I've cut into a few Sea Kings before, and let me tell you, I've never gone home disappointed."
"Really?" Alex asks. "Nice! So you've got a bit of experience with Sea Kings then?"
"A little. Every now and then, crazy folks like you drag one in. They even wash up on this very cape sometimes, especially the old or injured ones," the worker explains.
"So, how big is this one, then?" Alex asks, genuinely curious about their catch. "I've seen the ones in Little Garden—this one seems at least a few sizes smaller."
"Those two are legendary indeed," the worker states, grinning. "I saw them once myself, back when we were sailing past the island. Even so, this is still one of the largest Sea Kings I've ever laid eyes on. Easily in my personal top ten. It speaks volumes about you that you actually managed to take this one down. This isn't one of those weaklings you can just punch away. This one has eaten countless ships and their crews along with it."
"Well, thank you, good sir! Now I'm actually feeling better!" Alex says, clearly satisfied with the man's experienced assessment.
He takes a short walk around the site, but quickly notices that the other workers have also only managed to extract trash parts.
I better get to work as well. For a beast this size, my [Butchering Knife] is useless. It would take me years to finish. I'll need something bigger.
Without hesitation, Alex draws his [Executioner's Blade R2]. Using no Aura, he begins slicing carefully and steadily, aiming for clean, even cuts of meat, relying solely on his STR and Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship.
Horizontal strikes, then vertical. Just a few seconds later, Alex manages to pull out dozens of clean meat cubes, stacking them neatly on the ground.
The worker from earlier watches the growing pile with wide eyes. "Nice work! I can see how you were the one who took this monster down. That's some beautiful swordsmanship—unlike anything I've seen in all my years. Totally different from Marine styles, or those techniques the Samurai folks from Wano teach. I haven't met many from Wano myself, but their techniques are pretty widespread. Where'd you learn yours?"
"Alexandria," Alex replies. "Taught to me by a very silly, yet loyal captain of a certain country."
"Never heard of that place," the man says. "Keep up the good work. I'm sure he'd be proud of you."
I doubt that... his code of honor probably clashes with just about everything I've done since those days. But at the very least, I can honor his techniques.
Alex, Benezia, Tereza, Menchi, and the countless workers continue their efforts.
After a while, Alex finally starts to notice a change in the meat. Once he cuts through a thick wall of bone, he spots a different texture of meat. The color is noticeably different from the previous layers—its color is darker, and its texture is less tough. Despite the difference, there's still no recognition from the system.
Jewel hops from his head onto his shoulder and even takes a bite of the new meat.
Not good. This does not taste like chicken! Soulmate, please give Princess Jewel some water to wash away the taste of mediocrity.
Alex sighs but still takes out a bottle of water and a straw, handing both over to Jewel, who takes a big gulp—and immediately spits it out.
❤️ Thanks, Soulmate!
"Better not get addicted to Menchi's dishes... or you'll be in for a very hard dry withdrawal one day," Alex mutters, continuing his work.
Slicing his way through more of the meat, he ends up carving a tunnel through the beast. With almost no light inside, he eventually finds himself standing at the edge of what must be the creature's stomach.
He pulls a torch from his inventory and lights it with a weak Fire spell.
The moment he steps inside, the stench hits him like a wall, nearly making him gag.
Even so, he pushes forward.
Princess Jewel will be in charge of En!
"Urgh... fine..." Alex mutters, grimacing as he scans the mess of half-digested fish, sharks, and various sea creatures strewn throughout the stomach.
"Please take a good look and if you can spot any kind of chests or pieces of ships, tell me..." he suggests, glancing toward Jewel.
Princess Jewel can sense a lake!
"Not a lake—probably a puddle of fucking stomach acid," Alex curses.
Princess Jewel wants to go that way, Soulmate!
Following Jewel's lead, Alex eventually spots what does look like a wide 'sea' of fluid sloshing in the center of the chamber.
"Damn, it smells," Alex mutters, wrinkling his nose. When he notices the durability on his boots starting to tick down, he conjures Sealion's Icewing Embrace, summoning his familiar icy armor surrounding him with a frosty mist, protecting him from the acid to a certain degree.
He then jumps straight into the acidic pool, using half-digested bodies as stepping stones as he makes his way toward the center.
"See anything?" he asks, scanning the surroundings.
Princess Jewel can sense a long and thin object! Soulmate needs to dive exactly here!
Jewel shoots a tiny glob of web down into the fluid to mark the spot.
"No way... though I can just use my biotics."
Alex focuses intently, his body starting to glow in a faint blue hue. As his senses stretch beneath the surface, he feels something solid below and channels his strength, pulling with all his might.
A second later, a drenched object rockets up into his frost-covered gauntlets.
[Golden Saber]
World: One Piece
Quality: Deep Green
Type: Sword (Saber)
Required Stats: STR - 3, PHY - 3, AGI - 3
Durability: 11/25
Damage: 10-15
Effect: Pricy - Can be sold almost everywhere for a high price.
Note: A tasteless golden saber that will instantly expose its user as a nouveau riche
Note: Unsuitable for combat
"Better than nothing..." Alex says, giving it a look, the golden surface dirty and dented. "Let's keep looking."
For the next several hours, Alex and Jewel continue their search, managing to uncover five more Green Quality items. Unfortunately, none of them carry the Pricy tag. They're just decent equipment—nothing rare or special—so Alex tosses them into the shard pile without a second thought.
Not only are they mediocre, but their durability is also quite low, so I'll just shard them.
Suddenly, he feels Jewel's legs tighten around his head, pressing against his scalp.
Soulmate! Use En!
Responding instantly, Alex activates En.
Within moments, he detects something strange. A small, round object, somehow reacting to his Aura, is resting ahead of him, fully submerged beneath the acidic pool.
He tries to retrieve it using his biotic energy, but the moment his energy touches it, the object vanishes from his perception.
"Huh?" Alex's eyes narrow. "The fuck is this?"
He steps forward and reaches down with his frost-armored gauntlets, grabbing hold of it manually. As The acid drips back onto the lake, he spots a small black stone.
"Just a black stone... wait a minute...!"
[Seastone (Small)]
World: One Piece
Quality: Deep Blue
Type: Rock
Effect: Rare Material with immense durability and hardness. Touching it simulates Seawater, instantly nullifying Devil Fruit abilities and weakening the target user if he has consumed one.
Effect: Also weakens other supernatural abilities, spells, and items by a certain degree.
Note: The Might of the Sea
"Fuck yes! Let's keep going!" Alex cheers, greedily. "Maybe there are more? I wanted one of these beauties!"
Reinvigorated, Alex and Jewel resume their search. Before long, they manage to collect two more Seastones. Eventually, they stumble upon a partially buried and digested chest containing seven more, along with a rough, pitch-black dagger.
[Seastone Dagger]
World: One Piece
Quality: Deep Purple
Type: Knife / Dagger
Required Stats: AGI - 13, STR - 10, PHY - 8
Durability: 150/150
Damage: 10-40
Effect: Extreme Durability - Vastly increases durability
Effect: Extreme Hardness - Vastly increases hardness, reducing durability loss.
Effect: Seastone - This item is made of Seastone and shares its effects.
Note: A rough dagger, with terrible craftsmanship. The creator was not able to fully shape the sturdy Seastone, thus reducing the Quality of the final product.
"Nice!" Alex cheers, holding the dagger next to the torch. "This is incredible!"
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