Chapter 177: The Soul Reaper Who Violated the Game Rules
"Is that... the Lord-tier monster?"
Countless fuzzy tendrils extended from the massive heart, spreading outward like tree roots from deep underground.
Buggy staggered back.
Even when his ice-blue bullets hit the tendrils, they only froze for a few seconds before breaking free.
Several members of the Buggy Pirates who couldn't retreat in time were instantly entangled. With a chilling sucking sound, their bodies were drained dry—reduced to withered husks of human skin.
"Get back!"
Mihawk unsheathed his black blade, unleashing blazing sword energy at the tendrils.
In an instant,
a swath of them was severed, and the emerald flames scorched their way into the earth below.
"Something's off. The heart is just the shell. The real Lord-tier monster is inside!"
Mihawk leapt high into the air, unleashing his most powerful slash.
Each strike of his emerald-green flame-infused sword aura took on the faint shape of skulls, which lunged toward the massive heart and bit into it.
His internal sword aura seed had reached level 14.
Each swing of his blade now carried not just force, but fragments of his will and spirit—sword intent.
Boom.
The town-sized heart was gouged with a skull-shaped crater, blood gushing out before quickly sealing itself.
Not far away,
Zoro, who had been charging in Mihawk's direction, abruptly stopped in his tracks.
"Impossible!"
He stared wide-eyed at the molten heat of Mihawk's strike.
Moments earlier, he had also struck the heart with all three of his blades—yet he hadn't even pierced the weakest membrane or blood vessel.
He knew there was a gap between himself and the world's strongest swordsman, but not this wide.
Still,
he didn't lose heart. In fact, the battle spirit in his eyes burned brighter than ever.
"His slash already reached purple-tier quality? As long as I keep hunting corrupted monsters, I'll reach that level too—and eventually surpass him!"
The old him might've charged in regardless of the difference in strength, even if it meant death.
He had feared that backing down even once would shatter his resolve forever.
But now, things were different.
He had found a new path in swordsmanship. He had the courage and the goal to climb higher.
No longer confused, Zoro believed that even if he couldn't match them now, one day he would stand at the summit of the world.
Behind him, a ghostly demon silhouette formed.
He didn't recklessly challenge Mihawk. Instead, he buried his battle spirit deep in his heart—choosing to hone it quietly like a blade being forged.
When it finally unsheathed, it would shake the world.
"Interesting."
Mihawk looked back toward the green-haired youth and saw the three swords at his waist. Everything became clear.
He wasn't frightened by the slash. On the contrary, his spirit had only intensified?
That kind of fierce will made Mihawk take notice of this small fry he'd only glimpsed a few times before.
"You want to challenge me?"
Their eyes met.
As fellow swordsmen, Mihawk sensed Zoro's intent and smiled faintly.
With the rise of the Game Merchant, more interesting swordsmen like Zoro would appear—ones with the opportunity to climb to the peak.
His path of swordsmanship would never be lonely again.
"Luffy, I'll definitely become the world's greatest swordsman! Don't hold me back."
"Of course not! I'm going to be the Pirate King! What about you, Sanji?"
"It's Sanji, you idiot!"
Sanji angrily punched Luffy in the head, but only felt the rubbery recoil—not a hint of damage.
He hesitated, then said, "I've got a lot of dreams. I want to find the All Blue, I want the Invisible Fruit, and… I want to complete my life's menu."
"Hahahahaha! A life menu? That means lots of food and countless adventures! You better cook for me, Sanji!"
"You bastard! Don't decide for me—I never agreed to be a pirate!"
"How can you adventure without being a pirate?"
Luffy grinned from ear to ear, then turned to the orange-haired girl. "And you, Nami? What's your dream?"
"I want to defeat the Arlong Pirates and draw a map of the entire world!"
Nami, being one of the earliest players, already knew of the existence of other worlds.
Her abilities as an Arcane Scholar came from another realm. Her dream of charting the seas had only grown bigger with her broadened horizons.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Then let's go… on an adventure!"
Splurt.
Despite the players' continued attacks, the massive heart showed no real damage.
Suddenly, its overwhelming vitality began to wither. Visibly, the entire heart shriveled like a squashed peach.
"Something's wrong. I can feel the heart's essence gathering together!"
Dragon arrived at the edge of the chasm, his face grave. His eyes remained fixed on the depths below.
Rumble—
The heavily fortified heart was forcibly torn open by a pair of hands.
"Those who trespass into the Hall of Souls… shall die."
Clad in jet-black armor, the figure had a ghastly appearance. Behind him billowed a massive cloak, from which came the wails of countless tormented spirits.
Each word he spoke sent out ripples of gray-black Yin energy that weakened all nearby players—sapping half their health if they weren't strong enough.
The Soul Reaper.
According to legend, when people die, a ghostly figure from the underworld comes to retrieve their soul, ensuring the balance between life and death.
"This is bad. Master, the Soul Reaper sensed the mass death of his wraiths and came straight to the first layer of the Island of Death!"
Ah Fu, who had been monitoring player activity, spoke in a panic upon seeing the terrifying figure appear.
"I expected this."
Fang Yi remained calm. "The Island of Death was modified from a shard of the Soul Reaper's world. I never blocked his awareness. It was only a matter of time before he noticed his troops being wiped out."
Ah Fu grew frantic. "But Master, the players aren't strong enough to defeat him! They'll be wiped out!"
Even though the number of pirate-world players exceeded that of the Naruto-world players at the time, when they faced the Soul Mage in that world, they had already trained for a long time.
They had decent gear, strong skills.
"But now, the pirate players are nowhere near ready. Their gear isn't complete, and it'll be a one-sided slaughter."
Ah Fu didn't want to stand by helplessly and watch the Island of Death and the Trial Tower be destroyed by the corrupted Soul Reaper just because the players weren't strong enough.
"Don't panic."
Fang Yi waved him off. "Didn't I tell you before? The pirate world's greatest asset is its abundance of Essence."
Vast seas.
Countless islands.
Endless resources. That was the pirate world's true wealth.
Just one prosperous island nation could provide more Essence than an entire small ninja village.
"With rewards this enticing, players won't hesitate. They'll do whatever it takes to grow stronger."
"Master, you mean…?"
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