NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 7: First Steps in Navalia
[Player is now entering the world of One Piece.
Missing language skills detected. Since this is the tutorial mission, host will receive the corresponding skill for free. This skill will disappear after the mission and will not use up a skill slot.]
[Received Basic Common Language (One Piece)]
Suddenly, the black void in front of Alex begins to dissolve, and he's momentarily blinded by a bright, harsh light. He throws his arms up to block it and takes a few seconds to steady himself.
When his vision clears, Alex notices something strange. His clothes are different. They're old-fashioned and plain, made of rough cotton, the kind of clothing a common villager in the One Piece universe might wear. He glances around and realizes he's standing in a small, rustic village.
The village consists mostly of wooden huts and modest houses, nestled among towering trees. Large trunks dominate the landscape, and the air smells faintly of wood and freshly cut lumber. The village is encircled by a tall wooden palisade, although some villagers are still working on reinforcing it, clearly, they are preparing for something.
There are nine other people with him: five men and four women, all of varying ages and races. They seem as disoriented as Alex.
Before Alex has the chance to inspect them more closely or start a conversation, an elderly man, flanked by two towering soldiers, approaches. The soldiers' attire is a bizarre mix of rugged, homemade leather armor and an assortment of axes and knives strapped to their belts.
The old man's face is deeply lined with skepticism as he surveys the group. "I can't believe you're the mercenaries I hired," he says, his voice carrying the weight of disappointment. "I paid a full 5 million Berry and was promised elite warriors. Look at you lot! Especially you!" He jabs a finger in Alex's direction.
Alex tenses, his instincts telling him to snap back, but he quickly realizes the old man isn't pointing at him. Instead, he's pointing at the man standing next to him. And then, with a sudden jolt of recognition, Alex's heart skips a beat.
It's him!!
The guy who hit him with the BMW.
"I will kill him", Alex thinks, his blood boiling, only to remember the strict no PvP rule. His anger deflates almost immediately. "I'll get you back… somehow", he tells himself, far less assured.
"Better to keep a low profile and focus on the mission", Alex reasons. They've already made a terrible first impression.
"5 million Berry hmm?" Alex muses. "A human slave on Sabaody Archipelago sells for 500,000 Berry! How the hell did this idiot elder get scammed into paying 5 million for 10 random people? We're not even slaves—we're just hired mercenaries. What a fool. No wonder Baroque Works is about to enslave this island with a leader as incompetent as this."
The old man, now known as "Old Ben" thanks to the murmurs of his soldiers, looks both frustrated and defeated. "Take a look around the village and get familiar with it. I expect you back in a few hours, and you'd better be ready! I'm not only putting you to work fighting—you'll be doing anything I ask. You lot don't even look like fighters anyway."
Alex relaxes a little and takes a closer look at the people around him. Aside from himself and the BMW-driving scumbag—who, with his designer glasses and panicked expression, looks like a pretentious middle manager—the others seem reasonably competent.
The four men, all in their 30s & 40s, stand slightly taller than Alex, who now finds himself in a very average body. The shortest among them is Robin, the BMW scumbag, who stands at just 1.70 meters (not even 5'6").
Alex guesses the others are working-class types, judging by their lean, hardened physiques. One man, in particular, stands out, a tall, 1.95-meter (6'4") black man who looks like an Olympic athlete. His serious, weathered face seems to tell a story of hardship.
Without thinking, perhaps thanks to his lowered INT, Alex blurts out, "Damn, did you die of a heatstroke running a marathon? You look like a freaking Olympic athlete."
To Alex's surprise, the man laughs. He introduces himself as Thato Khumalo, a 32-year-old from a poor town in South Africa. He once aspired to be a national athlete, but after placing 7th in national competitions, he never made it to the Olympics. Still, he kept running because it allowed him to escape the crushing reality of his surroundings.
Alex, shocked by Thato's athletic prowess, wants to ask about his stats but holds back, realizing it might be a bit too personal for now.
Thato continues, explaining how he died in an accident at a metal recycling factory where he worked to support his siblings and extended family. A poorly welded platform gave way, causing him to fall onto a pile of sharp, rusted scrap metal.
Alex feels a pang of sympathy. Not only had Thato's life been cut short, but his family's future likely depended on him. Now, everything hung in the balance, resting on whether or not Thato could survive this mission.
The other men huddle together, exchanging stories, while Alex's attention shifts to the four women in the group. Three of them look fairly average, but one woman stands out. She has the confident, no-nonsense demeanor of someone who knows exactly what she's doing. Her dark skin and sharp features suggest she's of Indian or Southeast Asian descent.
The moment they arrive, she takes charge of the other women and leads them on a walk around the village, quickly assessing the surroundings.
Alex, as a somewhat entitled, clueless white guy from Europe, knows he's bad at identifying races and ethnicities—he once tried a quiz on differentiating between Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese people and failed spectacularly. This situation feels no different. He decides not to dwell on it.
Meanwhile, Robin, the BMW scumbag, sits alone on the ground, staring blankly into space. His expression is empty, his mind likely racing with fear and confusion.
Main mission starting in 0 days, 1 hour, and 54 minutes.