The cries of fleeing pirates echoed through the docks as chaos consumed the streets.
Ron exhaled slowly, his shoulders finally relaxing.
Truth was, he could only cast Wind Blade six times at most. He had already used three. The exhaustion pressing on his spirit was starting to weigh heavily. If those pirates had charged him all at once, even if he took down another five or six, he would have been buried under the rest.
But just as he predicted, the moment their captain fell then two more in a flash their courage shattered completely.
They were gone in seconds.
"Five million Berries… quite a valuable head."
Ron's calm gaze landed on the corpse of Captain Klu. The man lay motionless, eyes still wide with disbelief.
The first Wind Blade hadn't been enough to kill him, and that had almost turned dangerous. Had Klu kept his wits and charged, Ron's survival would have been uncertain.
But instead, shock had frozen the pirate in place just long enough for Ron to unleash the second strike.
A calculated risk.
If this had been the old him, he never could have stayed calm in the face of death. But now, with a strengthened spirit, even standing on the edge of life and death, he remained perfectly composed.
Because a true mage does not brawl like a beast.
He conquers with elegance destroying his enemies with a flick of the wrist and an unshaken heart.
"Come on, Nami. Let's collect everything."
Ron looked toward the scattered pile of gold and silver coins and waved her over.
Nami snapped out of her daze. Still a little stunned, she walked over, blinking rapidly.
"That just now… what was that?"
"Magic," Ron replied simply.
Nami's eyes widened. "Magic? That's real?"
She had heard sailors' tales—stories about forbidden powers, dark spells, and the legendary Devil Fruits that could grant the strength of monsters. But she had never seen such a thing before.
Ron shrugged lightly. "You've seen fishmen, haven't you? If creatures like that exist, why not magic?"
"…That's true." Nami thought back to her first encounter with the Fishmen. Back then, she had been sure they were demons from the deep.
Then, realizing what had just happened, she puffed her cheeks in anger and jabbed a finger at him.
"You could've told me you had something like that! I almost died of fright!"
Ron raised his hands helplessly. "I was going to say not to worry about the pirates, but then you ran off with the chest before I could finish."
As Nami's emotions settled, her eyes flickered with thought. She remembered what Ron had said before—about defeating Arlong.
Could he really do it?
…No.
The faint spark of hope in her chest was quickly smothered by reason. Captain Klu had been nothing compared to Arlong.
A human like Ron, no matter how strange his powers, couldn't possibly fight a Fishman who could crush steel with his jaws.
Ron caught the shift in her expression and couldn't help but smile faintly.
He didn't bother explaining. There was no need.
That battle had told him everything he needed to know about his power.
Wind Blade was deadly, yes, but his range and stamina still limited him. Against weak pirates, he was unstoppable. Against stronger ones, it would be dangerous.
As he was now, killing Arlong was impossible.
But once he mastered Second-Tier magic, that would change everything.
A single tier meant exponential growth in power.
Three runes instead of one meant the strength of at least three Wind Blades combined—and likely a much larger range.
And if that still wasn't enough, then Third-Tier magic surely would be.
Ron smiled slightly at the thought. For now, he would focus on preparation.
He bent down and lifted the broken jagged blade of Klu's sword, then frowned. A moment later, he calmly drew it across the captain's neck.
Five million Berries were worth claiming properly.
According to his system, one of the simplest money-related achievements was Possess Ten Million Berries.
This head alone brought him halfway there.
And besides that, there was also Lavish Spender, which required spending ten million Berries in a single day.
If he could gather enough funds, he could unlock two achievements at once.
Luckily, there was a Marine branch stationed on this island. Claiming the bounty would be easy.
Wrapping the head in a tattered cloth, he turned toward Nami, who was busy scooping scattered coins back into a pouch. Then, focusing his mind, he summoned the faint blue interface of his Achievement System.
He remembered hearing the chime twice during the fight, but he hadn't had the luxury of checking until now.
[Achievement Unlocked: First Battle — Reward: 1 Achievement Point]
[Achievement Unlocked: First Kill — Reward: 1 Achievement Point]
As expected, two at once.
But before he could spend the points, another tone rang in his ears.
[Achievement Unlocked: Modest Wealth — Reward: 1 Achievement Point]
"…Huh?" Ron blinked.
That one triggered when a user possessed one million Berries.
He looked at the wrapped head in his hand, then at Nami stacking gold coins with the precision of a banker, and tilted his head.
"Three possibilities," he muttered.
"Either the system counts this head as money…
or it considers Nami's treasure mine…
or maybe…"
A small grin tugged at his lips.
"…Nami's wealth is mine."
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