New Year's event benefits.
Too good!
Aside from the downside of costing money, everything else was an advantage.
Klein eagerly opened his inventory—this was the result of spending over a hundred million.
"Let's try a single pull first. Maybe I can get a miracle from just one!"
[Obtained: Haki material...][Obtained: Training room upgrade material...][Obtained: Forging speed-up card...][·····]
After twenty or thirty single pulls, nothing good came out.
Klein was starting to lose it. "Don't tell me I used up all my luck. Still have plenty of chests left—let's try a ten-pull!"
Ten at once!
Still just a pile of materials!
"Damn it!" Klein's face darkened. "Let's try a few more times—if nothing, I'll stop."
He opened fifty more chests.
Still just materials.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Klein got even more reckless. "Stupid devs—are the drop rates for these chests really this low?"
"I'll see for myself just how rigged your Year Beast chests are!"
"I refuse to believe this crap."
Losing control!
Completely losing control!!
Nearly a hundred chests opened and still nothing good. Klein just had to know if this damn game was going to give him anything.
In his mind, he'd already cursed the devs to high heaven.
"Fine—one hundred at once!"
Going all-in worked—sort of.
Aside from the materials…
Klein got two 'Random Skill Upgrade Scrolls,' bringing his total in the inventory to five.
"This is it for a hundred-pull!?"
"You messing with me!?"
Klein still wasn't impressed. Compared to other big prizes…
Random Skill Upgrade Scrolls felt painfully mediocre.
"Another hundred-pull!"
[·····][·····][Obtained: Random Skill Upgrade Scroll!][Obtained: Character Recruitment Chest!][·····]
Cold rage.
The drop rate was absurdly low—this game was the very definition of a 'black-hearted developer'!
Klein just decided to open everything left.
The game's system messages flooded the screen.
Lines upon lines of rewards filled his inventory, gleaming in all kinds of colors, with flashy auras to show off the chests' "quality."
He opened his bag to check the haul.
Random Skill Scroll ×10, Character Recruitment Chest ×5, Character Advancement Material Chest ×2, Devil Fruit Upgrade Material Chest ×2, Random Pet Chest ×2, Random Skill Chest ×1, Skill Upgrade Scroll ×1.
Klein looked at them with disdain. "Spent over a hundred million for this?"
"Even the Lv.100 Battle Pass gives better rewards!"
"What a scam!"
"Fine, I'll open the skill chest first, then use the random skill scrolls."
He clicked on the 'Random Skill Chest' in his inventory.
[Obtained: Demon Aura · Nine-Sword Style · Asura!]
"Uh—what?" Klein wasn't sure whether to be excited or speechless.
This was the sword technique used by the Straw Hat Pirates' number two, Zoro, ranging from One-Sword Style, Two-Sword Style, and Three-Sword Style…
And of course, 'Demon Aura · Nine-Sword Style · Asura,' one of Zoro's ultimate moves!
While he hadn't yet become the world's greatest swordsman, in terms of naming techniques, Zoro was arguably the world's undisputed number one!
"Cool is cool, but Nine-Sword Style… don't tell me I have to hold a sword in my mouth too?" Klein frowned at the thought.
If the opponent was too strong and he broke a tooth, wouldn't he end up like Blackbeard?
Shaking his head, Klein dismissed the thought. He already had plenty of sword skills—no need to force himself to use Nine-Sword Style.
He opened the Character Recruitment Chests—none of the female characters he liked, so forget it.
From the pet chests, one was a duplicate Kung Fu Dugong, which he immediately used to star-up his 'Two-Faced Turtle,' turning it into a one-star Kung Fu Dugong.
The other pet was: Ucy.
The merciless black bull.
In the anime, nicknamed the "Arena Reaper," it sent 21 death-row inmates to hell, earning the title "Merciless Bull."[1]
"A big black bull, huh."
Looking at the icon, Klein immediately remembered the bull from the arena. "Not bad—if I ride a blue ox, then my blackie here rides a black bull!"
"What should I name you…"
He thought of 'Bull Demon King,' of 'Badass,' of 'Pierce-without-mercy,' since…
The description literally called it the "Merciless Bull."
In the end, Klein settled on 'Bull Demon King,' pairing it with the baboon king 'Black Wukong' for a matching set.
Forcing a bond between a baboon and a bull.
"Next, time to use all ten random skill scrolls I've saved up!"
In his mind's eye, Klein closed his eyes and spam-clicked ten times.
He cracked one open to peek at the system chat log.
[Skill upgrade successful: King Punch LV.1 → LV.2]
The first upgrade was for King Punch—the inherited ultimate move of King Elizabello II of the Prodence Kingdom![2]
By charging for an hour and gathering all his strength, he could unleash a devastating shockwave, earning the title of 'natural-born destroyer'!
Very strong!
Very destructive!
But the drawback was obvious: the long charge time made it nearly useless in real combat.
If the enemy wasn't brain-dead, there's no way they'd give you a whole hour to charge.
In gamer terms: way too much casting delay.
But Klein loved the skill. "As long as I time the charge right, this can be an insanely powerful finisher!!"
He already had plans—just like in games, big pre-cast skills had to be used outside enemy vision, or from inside a bush.
Or…
Combined with a Devil Fruit power!
The game allowed him to unlock many Devil Fruit abilities, including ones that could pair perfectly with King Punch.
Glorious!
Who said King Punch was bad? It was amazing!
It'd make pirates scream for mercy!
Klein's eyes moved to the next system message.
"Pfft!"
[Skill upgrade successful: Ramen Kenpo LV.6 → LV.7]
A wasted scroll. Painful!
If the Mera Mera no Mi was trash-tier, then Ramen Kenpo was beyond useless!
"Bleh, bleh, bleh—"
Next!
[Skill upgrade successful: Iron Fist LV.2 → LV.3]
This brought a grin to Klein's face. "Iron Fist, nice!"
"Bonking people with Iron Fist is addictive, hahaha—"
He imagined using it to whack Garp on the head—maybe Zephyr and Sengoku should get a taste too?
Just like Garp used to whack Ace and Luffy.
Can't play favorites, right?
His good mood was ruined by the next message.
[Skill upgrade successful: Okama Kenpo LV.2 → LV.3]
"Damn it!"
"If Ramen Kenpo is a cursed skill, then this one's no better."
Next!
[Skill upgrade successful: Okama Kenpo LV.3 → LV.4]
Klein's face darkened. "This system's got issues!"
Next!
[Skill upgrade successful: Okama Kenpo LV.4 → LV.5]
Now he was fuming. "Stupid devs—don't push your luck!"
"Over the line!!"
Next!
[Skill upgrade successful: Okama Kenpo LV.5 → LV.6]
Boom!
The rage in Klein's gut exploded straight to his brain. "You're not even human! Absolute trash devs!!"
Damn it!
From LV.2 straight to LV.6 for Okama Kenpo!?
Are you poets or something?
Not human at all!
What, you think I'm some "special" target?
Say it!
Come out and say it!
Klein's fists cracked in his grip. If a dev showed up in front of him right now, he'd teach them…
How to be a proper human being!
Next!
[Skill upgrade successful: Tekkai LV.4 → LV.5]
"The strongest illusion?"
"This is cursed!"