Hearing the familiar chime of the system, Luffy wasn't the least bit surprised.
After all, everything had gone just as he expected.
He glanced around at his crewmates, who were still gazing at the flag with deep emotion, as if merging their very souls into it.
Luffy pressed his lips together and smiled faintly.
Now's not the time to disturb them...
Sailing the seas wasn't nearly as exciting as it looked in the anime.
Every day, all they saw was the same thing, the vast, endless blue of the ocean.
In fact, unless you were the navigator, it was impossible to even tell whether the ship was moving at all.
When the sun climbed to its highest point and everyone had finished a hearty lunch...
The Going Merry's only bath was completely taken over by the two girls.
Every man aboard was ordered to stay on deck, not a single step near the cabins.
Under Luffy's supervision!
Zoro and the others could only sigh helplessly. With nothing better to do, they grabbed a few fishing rods and began fishing off the side of the deck, chatting idly to pass the time.
Meanwhile, Luffy leaned back against the Going Merry's ram figurehead, arms behind his head, staring into the system interface as he studied the newly unlocked "Ship System."
He focused his consciousness and tapped the ship icon.
In an instant, a simple text-based interface appeared before his eyes.
[Going Merry]
Level: 2 (+)
Facilities: None
Just three short lines hovered before his vision.
In the top left corner of the interface, there was also a shiny golden button labeled "Build."
Luffy didn't even need to guess, he already knew what that meant.
A big, fat paywall.
As expected of this system, the basic features were always barebones... but the moment money got involved, it would dress everything up in flashy gold and special effects, making you feel like you were getting something "worth it."
Just like websites back on Earth, the official, useful ones always looked fake and outdated, while the ones that emptied your wallet were dazzling and full of life.
Luffy had long since gotten used to this kind of behavior.
He simply thought to himself:
"System, explain what these levels, facilities, and buildings mean."
A soft ding rang in his mind as the system made its presence known, then began to explain:
[In the Ship System, ships are classified into ten levels. Each level represents a standard benchmark. The higher the level, the greater the ship's attributes. These attributes are divided primarily into two categories: structural (solidified) properties and navigational properties.]
"Solidified? That means... how sturdy the ship is, right?"
[Affirmative, Host.]
Receiving confirmation, Luffy continued:
"Then navigational properties must refer to speed?"
[Not entirely, Host.]
The system gave a half-denial before continuing:
[Navigational properties include both speed and method of travel.]
"Method of travel?"
[Yes. For example, ships below Level 8 express their navigational traits purely through speed. However, Level 8 and above ships gain preliminary flight capabilities.]
"Flight!!"
Luffy's eyes instantly lit up, like he had just glimpsed a spark of hope.
"Then what about Level 9 and Level 10?! What changes do they bring?!"
Of course, Luffy wasn't just excited about flying itself, with how bizarre One Piece's technology tree was, making airships or planes wasn't the hard part.
What truly thrilled him was this: If Level 8 ships could fly... then Level 9 and 10 might go even higher, even farther...
The system replied:
[Level 9 ships can easily surpass the gravitational pull of the One Piece world. Level 10 ships are capable of, ]
BZZZT,
Static suddenly filled his mind, cutting off the rest of the explanation.
"What did you just say?!" Luffy shouted mentally.
The noise faded away, but the system stayed silent.
After a long pause, it finally spoke again:
[The attributes of a Level 10 ship exceed the host's current level of comprehension. The system cannot provide further explanation.]
"My... level of comprehension?"
Luffy froze for a moment.
He could understand things like parallel worlds and multiverses, at least to some extent. And yet the system claimed this was beyond his understanding?
For a moment, he was utterly lost. Fragments of every sci-fi scene he'd ever watched began flashing through his mind in a storm of thought.
========
Time slowly passed. The confusion in Luffy's eyes gradually gave way to a growing sharpness.
By the end of his contemplation, a brilliant spark of realization flashed between his brows, glimmering over the sea ahead.
He might not know what a Level 10 ship truly meant yet...
But at least now, he knew which direction he had to aim for.
"Hmm?"
Zoro, half-asleep from boredom, suddenly sensed something. He glanced at Luffy curiously, then smirked faintly and drifted off into sleep.
"Whew~"
Letting go of those useless thoughts, Luffy refocused and asked seriously:
"System, how do I raise the ship's level?"
[Answer: To upgrade your ship, simply tap the plus sign next to its level using your mental focus.]
[Note: Each upgrade consumes a proportional amount of gold.]
"Gold. Again!"
Luffy grumbled darkly to himself.
Of course, a happy system that doesn't drain your wallet? Impossible!
Fortunately, he still had 28 million gold coins left, plenty to throw around!
He focused on the [+] symbol beside the level and tapped it.
A prompt window appeared:
[Spend 1,000 gold to upgrade your ship?]
[Yes] [No]
"Huh?"
This was actually the first time he'd seen the system ask for confirmation before taking his money.
That was... unexpected.
"Yes!"
The interface vanished immediately.
The ship's level changed to "3."
Without hesitation, Luffy tapped the [+] again.
Another prompt popped up, this time, the cost had jumped to 10,000 gold.
"A tenfold increase..."
Luffy's heart tensed. He had expected this, yet still couldn't help but feel a creeping dread.
At this rate, upgrading from Level 9 to 10 would cost... a hundred billion gold!
He couldn't even imagine whether, in his lifetime, he'd ever be able to raise the Going Merry to Level 8.
One step at a time, he sighed inwardly.
At least it was better than having no path forward.
Despite the grumbling in his heart, his hands didn't stop.
[Yes!]
Gold coins drained by the tens of thousands. the Going Merry gleamed faintly, upgraded once again.
Another tap.
A million coins vanished into nothingness, and the Going Merry reached Level 5.
The entire ship seemed almost reborn. At first glance, it looked unchanged, but when Luffy laid his hand on the ram's head, a strange vibration pulsed through his chest.
"System," he asked, "how sturdy is the Going Merry now?"
[Answer: The Going Merry's structural integrity is now equivalent to that of the Adam Tree in the One Piece world.]
"The Adam Tree..." Luffy murmured.
"So that means... she's about as strong as the Going Merry was, huh?"
He gently stroked the ram's head, a nostalgic smile spreading across his face.
"In that case, you'll never be abandoned again..."
Without pausing, he tapped the [+] once more.
Half his gold vanished instantly, and the Going Merry's level rose to 6, making her the strongest sailing ship in the world.
"Stay with me, alright? I'm counting on you for the rest of my life."
Luffy whispered softly to the Going Merry.
On the bow, the ram's carved mouth seemed to curl upward, smiling wider and happier than ever before…
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