November 14, 1496, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion had been traveling for nine days, and was finally about to reach the place where the treasure was marked on the map.
During these days at sea, he had been dying of boredom, and if it weren't for some books he had brought, the journey would have been unbearable.
Traveling alone for a long time was definitely not as glamorous or interesting as he had initially thought. After all, humans are social beings, and it's impossible not to want to interact with someone as the days went by.
The only important thing that had happened these days was the appearance of a new Named Character. Judging by the age displayed on the system screen, next to the individual's name, this person was only a five-year-old child, a year younger than him.
The pleasant surprise was that this person was very close to the location of the treasure, so he could stop by to check things out and perhaps establish a connection with a new Named Character.
Strictly speaking, this person's location was on the way to the treasure, but Orion had no intention of stopping before getting his hands on the treasure.
Once he acquired the Devil Fruit and the money, there would be time to pay this new Named Character a visit.
Orion put down the book he was reading and looked into the distance. He took out his spyglass and confirmed that what he had initially seen was not wrong: Pirate ships!
Three pirate ships were advancing in his direction, and it wouldn't take long for them to reach his current position.
The three ships were massive, so the number of pirates on board would be considerable.
If he had to confront them directly, it would be very difficult for him to emerge victorious, and if the pirate crew was made up of strong individuals, it would be downright impossible. Especially now that his "Age Change" ability was still recharging and there were more than 20 days left before he could use it again!
Orion made an immediate decision and changed the course of his small sailboat, intending to avoid the rapidly approaching pirate ships.
However, he underestimated the speed of the galleons, which were upon him in just a few minutes and had apparently slightly changed course to intercept him!
Orion clenched his fists tightly, prepared for the worst.
One of the pirate ships fired a cannon shot, which violently hit the sea not far from his ship.
It was a warning shot; if Orion persisted in trying to escape, he would likely end up with his ship sunk by a cannon shot.
The ships approached, and the pirates launched grappling hooks from the deck to grab Orion's ship and prevent it from escaping. Then, a group of pirates arrived in a small boat and easily boarded Orion's ship.
"What's a little boy like you doing sailing these dangerous waters? Are you playing pirates? Haha," said one of the pirates, mocking Orion, who was at his mercy.
"Maybe his village was razed by pirates and he went out to sea to escape. If that's the case, this kid is very lucky, haha," said another scruffy pirate.
Orion silently looked at the pirates, who didn't take him seriously. He was weighing his options.
He definitely couldn't fight them, because even if he could eliminate this group of pirates, there were still three full ships in front of him!
The best thing he could do now was to not resist and wait for an opportunity to escape later.
The pirates searched the small ship for valuables, but found nothing but a little food and water.
"Arghhh. What a waste of time. There's nothing good here!"
"It was to be expected. At least we won't leave completely empty-handed. Let's take this child and put him with the others. We can get some money for him."
"You're right," said the scruffy pirate, looking at Orion, while placing his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose. "This child looks quite healthy, and look at his clean, white face. I'm sure we can sell him for more money than the others."
Orion listened to the pirate's words and understood that they were in the human trafficking business. It wasn't unusual; many pirates participated in this lucrative business, although they usually did so as a side income. Professional slavers were generally separate entities from pirates.
Orion didn't resist being captured—or rather, he couldn't resist.
The pirates brought him aboard their ship and took him to a sort of hold, which was filled with cages.
Inside these cages, a large number of people were crammed together.
Orion looked closely, and noticed that the vast majority of the people here were young women, although there were two or three cages that were packed with small children.
Orion was led to one of the cages filled with children and locked in with them.
The pirate didn't retreat immediately. He approached one of the cages and freed one of the women, then grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the hold while laughing obscenely.
It didn't take a genius to realize his intentions.
The woman offered no resistance; her movements were like those of a puppet. Who knows how many times she'd had to go through the same situation?
Orion looked around. The women were silent, their eyes blank. Some of them had large bruises visible all over their bodies, others had traces of dried tears on their cheeks, and all were dirty and in a deplorable condition.
Orion's heart shuddered at the thought of the cruelties humans were capable of.
On the other hand, the children were in relatively better condition. Despite being very scared, it seemed they hadn't suffered the same treatment as the women. Which, in this pirate world, could be considered a miracle.
None of the children in the cell tried to approach him, and Orion didn't approach them either, not wanting to make them more nervous than they already were.
Anyway, there was a question he had to ask.
"Is there someone here named Inazuma?" Orion asked the children in the cage.
That's right, the Named Character named Inazuma was on this ship. A system notification had appeared when the pirate ships had approached, indicating this person's presence here.
Inazuma was only a 5-year-old child, so he had to be in one of the two cages packed with children in this hold.
The children looked confused by his question, and no one answered. Apparently, no one knew the person named Inazuma.
Perhaps all these people didn't know each other and had been captured from different places?
Orion didn't worry too much about the matter. He walked to a less crowded part of the cage and sat on the dirty, damp floor.
Beside him, a little girl lay in terrible condition. Her body was covered in burns, and even part of her face and hair had been damaged. Apparently, this girl had been in a fire, and although she had survived, the damage she had sustained had not been minor.
He felt sorry for this little girl, seeing her in such terrible condition, and sighing, he bought a Health Brownie from the system store, spending 50 SP. He then approached the girl, who was conscious but unresponsive, and with some difficulty, managed to get her to eat the brownie.
As soon as the girl ate the brownie, a notification appeared on the system screen.
*Ding*
*You have positively influenced the Named Character Inazuma. You've gained 20 SP*
Inazuma?
Orion saw the little girl whose body was partially covered in horrific burns, and he was shocked that this was the person he'd been looking for.
He didn't know what her future held, or how she would fit into the original One Piece story. But right now, this girl was in critical condition, and it could even be said that before consuming the health brownie, she was on the verge of death.
Orion examined Inazuma's wounds. With his medical knowledge, he could get an idea of the girl's specific situation. If she could get immediate treatment, the risk of infection would be greatly reduced. Regardless, she would have horrific scars on her body and face from the burns she had suffered.
Looking around, Orion considered what he would do next.
It was dangerous to stay in this place for too long; after all, right now, they were being transported to be sold as slaves. Or at least, that was the children's fate. As for the women... perhaps being sold into slavery was a better fate than remaining on this ship, prisoners of the pirates who abused them without compunction.
Orion concluded that he couldn't stand up to the pirates. He wasn't powerful enough to do so. Once again, his weakness was evident, and it was becoming common for him to find himself in situations that were out of his control.
He tried not to think about it too much, otherwise he would go crazy.
The important thing now was to get out of this place as quickly as possible, and without alerting the pirates. Only then could he escape successfully.
He would have to adopt the same plan he had implemented when he rescued Galette: steal a small boat and escape in the dark of night.
Looking at little Inazuma, who was still feverish and experiencing great pain, he thought he could at least take her with him during his escape. That way he could earn extra SP.
As for the rest of the prisoners here, there was nothing he could do about it.
Orion tried to stay positive and not look at the unfortunate people in the room. He didn't want to think too much about the fate they would suffer when he left and left them here.
His fists were clenched so tightly that his palms were raw, and blood was oozing from the wound.
Although Orion wanted to remain indifferent to the situation, he couldn't.
He took a deep breath and waited for nightfall. In this cellar, it wasn't possible to see the sunlight, but he could mentally calculate the remaining time.
The minutes passed slowly, turning into hours. During the entire time he spent in the cage with the children, they didn't come to speak to him. In fact, no one spoke in this place; the atmosphere was very heavy, and only occasionally a sob could be heard in the quiet room.
Finally, Orion, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, waiting for the moment to act, stood up. It was better not to wait much longer.
Looking at the map in the system, he could see that they were quite close to the treasure. His plan was simple: escape with little Inazuma, go find the treasure, and then return home. Always trying to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Mm, are you hungry?" a voice sounded from beside him.
Orion turned around and saw that it was a small boy, covered in grime from head to toe; perhaps he had soot on his body. Had he been in the same fire as Inazuma?
Orion shook his head, trying to maintain a distance from the boy. An emotional distance.
"They give us a loaf of bread to eat in the morning. I saved some of mine to share with my little brother, but he hasn't woken up yet. If you want, I can give it to you," the boy continued in a tearful voice.
Orion saw the piece of stale bread the boy was offering him and felt a faint warmth in his eyes. Even in a situation like this, people were capable of showing solidarity.
It was the duality of being human. From the cruelty of the beast-like pirates to the noble offer of a little boy, who only wanted to help. It was all part of human nature. Light and darkness, desire and empathy, weakness and strength.
Orion didn't reject the boy's offer of goodwill. He didn't want to hurt his feelings. He took the piece of stale bread and took a bite.
It was horrible.
"Thank you very much, it's delicious," Orion said with a smile.
The boy smiled too, and sat back down on the cold floor.
Orion ate the whole bread, not leaving a crumb. It was a way of respecting the boy's kindness.
Once he finished, he looked around once more.
This time he didn't actively avoid the sad landscape around him.
The naked women huddled in cages, the children too scared to even cry, little Inazuma covered in burns. Orion let it all unfold starkly before his eyes, without escaping.
Then, he raised his hand and slapped himself so hard that one of his teeth flew out of his mouth.
He felt the pain in his cheek, and thought this was what he deserved.
How much longer was he going to live oppressed, imprisoned by his own weakness?
He was tired. Tired of being weak.
Time and again, he found himself caught up in situations that were beyond him, and he had no choice but to sigh bitterly and admit his weakness, vowing that one day he would be strong and change things.
But he was wrong. How could he be strong if he maintained that mentality? How could he be truly strong if every time a situation presented itself that overwhelmed him, he bitterly accepted his weakness?
Would his teacher, Roger, have sighed and abandoned all these people to their fate just because he was outmatched by the enemy?
The answer was "no." A resounding "no"!
Roger, and the truly powerful people of this world, would never run away from a battle to defend their beliefs, even if they died fighting.
Orion knew this, and for a while, he had realized that, even though the system had helped him become physically strong, his spirit was weak. His convictions were weak. His mind was weak!
And he was tired of being weak.
Right now, he could ignore everything around him and escape with Inazuma, and he would probably succeed. There wouldn't be any major problems. He could go home and continue with his life, ignoring the people in this place.
But he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to turn his back on those people's suffering.
If he couldn't even save a group of women and children, how would he save the entire world? It was laughable to think about it.
For a long time, Orion had had a theory regarding the system. He had wondered, "Why is this the system I got and not another?"
And the answer he'd come up with was that this was probably the system that best suited his desires.
That's right, deep down, Orion was an idealist, and he wanted to make the world a better place. It was as simple as that, and the system was there to help him.
Now, faced with a group of desperate people who needed his help, would he run away with his tail between his legs, leaving them behind?
And why? Just because he wasn't strong enough?
Screw it!
He was tired of his weakness, and he wanted to do something about it.
Orion took the scarf around his neck, and with a flick of his mind, the object returned to its original form. The cutlass his master had given him, "Ace."
He didn't know if he could emerge victorious from this battle against the pirates, but he had decided to fight, no matter the consequences!
He looked at his Swordsmanship skill, which was at level 2, and using 10,000 SP, he increased the skill by one level.
His mind and body underwent great changes, and his power level increased exponentially.
The aura emanating from his body was like that of an unsheathed sword.
A notification sounded in his mind, and one of the quests he had long been unable to complete was finally completed.
* Quest 04 - Leveling Up
Description: The situation in the world is rapidly deteriorating. Soon, one of the most tumultuous eras in the history of this world will begin. You will need to have a minimum level of power if you want to have even a chance to participate in the coming conflicts and change the world for the better.
Objective: Increase the level of any combat skill to level 3
Reward: Random power-up box (may contain weapons, Devil Fruits, advanced techniques, etc.), system points, greatly increased innate talent of the Host's body (increase of at least one major level) *
Orion received the rewards for the quest.
*You have obtained 5000 SP*
*You have obtained a "Random power-up box"*
*Your innate talent has increased by one level*
Orion immediately used the power-up box, obtaining three new rewards.
*You have obtained the Devil Fruit: Chīzu Chīzu no Mi*
*You have obtained the passive ability: Steel Skin (Level 1)*
*You have obtained the advanced technique: Moonwalk (Geppo) (Level 1)*
Orion swung the cutlass with all his might, and the bars of the cage, which were somewhat corroded by rust, gave way to his superhuman strength.
A loud bang echoed through the silent cellar, and all eyes focused on him.
Orion looked at the boy who had given him the piece of bread, then at the rest of the prisoners, and said in a firm voice:
"Wait here a little longer. I promise I'll free you."
Then, without waiting for a response from the people in the cages, Orion ran for the exit. It was time to put his pride on the line. It was the first step in his transformation, and the beginning of his journey to becoming truly strong. He would protect these people.
*Ding*
A notification appeared on the system screen.
*A new mission is available*
*Mission 09 - The Voice of the Oppressed*