Starting in One Piece: Fantasy Realm Multiverse

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As Rishi and Alex slowly walk through the castle halls, Rishi looks incredibly pale. He places a hand on Alex's shoulder and says, "I now understand how you've managed to survive all your missions. I have to say, I genuinely thought we were screwed back there. But it's impressive how you even attempted to bluff your way out of that, and despite failing, you just kept going. I think even Dumbledore was impressed—that's probably why he let us off so easily."

"Nothing to lose in these situations," Alex says with a shrug. "You just gotta fight through the cringe, shame, and embarrassment, and keep spewing bullshit until the other person gets so confused they just let it go. Honestly, that was only the third most embarrassing thing I've had to endure in the last few weeks."

"...Only the third?" Rishi replies, raising an eyebrow. "You know what? I'm curious, but I'm too tired to listen to whatever disasters took the top two spots. Let's just get to our house already. We're extremely late."

As Rishi trudges along, Alex walks more energetically, his eyes lighting up as he takes in every detail of the castle. He's still enjoying the sights of the beautiful, ancient structure.

"Yeah, I wasn't gonna tell you anyway," Alex says, smirking. "Maybe I'll spill when I'm drunk. Still, you have to admit, it was funny falling into the classroom like that. McGonagall looked so stunned. Honestly, that witch is ancient, but she still looks pretty young, like a strict teacher who's just a few years away from retirement. You think I should aim for her?"

Rishi stares at Alex, stunned. "I'm really tired.… Did you just ask me if you should start a relationship with her?"

"Nah, not like that!" Alex says, waving it off. "I mean as a supporter! She'd be a great fit to educate Tereza and Menchi—put a little strict guidance into them."

"That's… an unexpected choice," Rishi says, clearly surprised. "It won't work, though. Supporters need some kind of reason to leave with you, right? What reason would she have?"

"She's a Gryffindor, right? Maybe the promise of adventure? Meh, you're probably right. So… how about Snape?"

"Spare me…" Rishi groans, rubbing his temples, clearly too tired to keep up with Alex's nonsense. "I just want to sleep."

On their way out, Alex's sharp SNS picks up whispers from nearby students. He hears them murmuring, "He's the heir… he opened the chamber.…"

Third time's the charm. Alex sighs and activates [Commander Shepard's Dog Tag], his eyes flashing blue for a moment as he decides to put the rumor to rest.

He approaches the group of students confidently, planning on using his relatively high CHA to stop the gossip before it spreads further.

"You know, dear students," Alex says with a smirk, "it's kinda dumb to whisper so loud that the person you're talking about can hear you. Also, do I look like the damn heir of Slytherin? I'm not even from this country! Use your heads—if there's a will, there's a way. I can open any door, but that doesn't make me some heir. Don't go believing stupid rumors."

"Sorry, we're so sorry," the students say, their voices trembling with fear.

"You don't need to be sorry," Alex says, waving them off. "It's just a silly rumor. If you have actual questions, come to me anytime. Maybe I'll even share my ingenious ways of opening doors. Stupid people think they can get through anything with a simple Alohomora, but trust me, there's way more to it. Just ask the curse breakers at Gringotts."

"You're a curse breaker? That's cool!" one of the boys says, looking genuinely impressed.

"Not a true curse breaker, but I've developed my own methods," Alex says with a grin. "Anyway, I'm tired, but as you can see, I've already gotten rid of a bunch of nasty stuff inside the castle. Don't worry—with me around, you'll all be safe!"

"Wow!" The students, along with a few others who were nearby, look at Alex with growing admiration.

Alex returns to Rishi, smiling. "You know what? I'm actually starting to enjoy this realm. This is so much fun! We're going to be here for over half a year, right? I can't wait to search the castle from top to bottom. I'm feeling pretty motivated! Let's go home, a comrade is still waiting for us."

… … …

Alex and Rishi finally make it out of the castle and start walking toward Hogsmeade.

"We're gonna get a bunch of Galleons, right?" Alex muses as they walk. "The master manipulator promised us 100 Galleons to start with, plus 100 more every week. Maybe we can spend some at Honeydukes or Hog's Head Inn? There's also a potion shop, a quill shop, and a bunch of other stores. We might find some interesting stuff if we have enough Galleons."

"Galleons will definitely come in handy," Rishi replies. "We'll need them for a lot of things, especially daily meals. We've got some normal food in our inventories, but we probably can't access most of it because we're in the past. Anyway, normal food shouldn't cost too much."

"Heh, I stole a bunch of food from the kitchen, so we're set for a couple of days at least," Alex remembers, grinning.

… … …

The two finally reach the streets of Hogsmeade. The sun is still up, and the villagers can't help but glance their way, clearly curious about the newcomers.

"It's this way," Rishi says, pointing toward a cluster of small houses barely visible on the edge of the village.

Alex stands in front of the six houses and activates En, his aura large enough to cover two houses at a time. Each house looks old and tiny, just large enough for one or two people to live in.

Finally, Alex stops at the last house and knocks on the door. Rishi smiles and says, "Such a useful ability."

The door swings open, and Tereza greets them with an unimpressed look. "What the fuck happened to you guys? You reek! Did you go into the damn Chamber of Secrets or something?"

"Yeah, we did. It wasn't a pleasant experience," Rishi replies as they step inside.

Alex glances around the house and notices that it's much larger on the inside, with at least six rooms. Clearly, it's been expanded with an extension charm.

"It was kinda fun," Alex admits, "but the situation afterward was worse. Even worse than the smell, and butchering that damn basilisk."

Roja and Perlah, who were sitting nearby, look at them in shock.

"You actually got into the Chamber of Secrets?" Roja asks, her voice full of disbelief. "You were just supposed to check out the bathroom and look for something small, like an abandoned cauldron or whatever!"

"Hehe, of course, we went in," Alex says smugly. "Anyway, before we go into all that, I need to summon Menchi."

Alex smirks and yells dramatically, "Menchi, I choose you!" while pretending to throw an invisible Pokéball.

"..."

"... It's a classic, I guess," Rishi comments dryly.

"I'm telling on you for treating her like a Pokémon," Tereza says with a smirk.

[Summoning Supporter Menchi]

Suddenly, Menchi appears before them.

"Huh? Where are we?" she asks, clearly surprised, as Tereza immediately pulls her into a hug.

"What's the last thing you remember, Menchi?" Rishi asks.

"Walking through the portal and starting the mission. And now I'm here. This is a chaotic entry!" she says before sniffing the air. "You two have an interesting smell. I'm not talking about the dirt, it's the scent of a specific creature. A snake, maybe?"

"Well, Menchi," Alex says, clapping his hands together, "let's exchange stories. I summoned you so you could hear it all from us, so we don't have to repeat anything. Anyway, here's a quick summary of what happened."

Alex quickly explains the events of the first day to Menchi, finishing with: "At that point, we split up. Now, before we get started, let me open the chest. We agreed to share our loot with the group and let everyone have a chance to buy the equipment."

Alex opens the White-quality chest he got from Peeves.

You received 1000 FC

You received Essence of Corruption

"1000 FC, and this [Essence of Corruption]," Alex announces to the group.

[Essence of Corruption]

World: Fantasy Realm / Harry Potter / Wizarding World

Quality: Deep Green

Effect: Increases all stats by 3 for 10 minutes. Afterwards, your body will be permanently corrupted.

Note: This is a rare essence, that can be used for crafting or unique purposes.

Note: Consuming this essence will permanently alter your body.

Note: Consume it!

"The fuck? It says to consume it? Is the note corrupted as well? The system's being ridiculous!" Alex says, staring at the item and its obviously messed-up third note.

"These Essences are probably really common in this world, considering how big a role corruption plays here," Roja explains.

"Yeah, there's bound to be a way to use or exchange them. Hold onto it, Alex," Rishi adds.

"So… now let's start our reports. You go first, Perlah—you look extremely calm," Alex says.

"I look calm because I was the first to return," Perlah answers. "I didn't find anything. The room appeared, but I couldn't enter it. I got a system message informing me that the castle was rejecting me."

Interesting… so it didn't happen to just us!

Roja clears her throat and begins her report:

"I spoke with Professor Flitwick. He was very open and friendly, and we had a great conversation. However, he couldn't give me any relevant information or even a guess about hidden or side missions. So, sorry—I didn't find anything either. I did use the time to check out the stores in Hogsmeade, but aside from a few White-quality items, I didn't bother with anything. Nothing worth sharing," Roja explains, looking a bit disappointed.

As soon as she finishes, someone knocks on the door. Tereza opens it, and immediately, five owls fly into the room, each dropping an envelope in front of them.

Alex catches his and opens it. One by one, 100 coins spill out onto the table.

You received 100 Galleons

"Well, at least we're getting paid," Perlah says, smiling as she looks at her shiny gold coins. "This mission seems pretty simple, and the terms are really lax. The only problem is the lack of information and the things they aren't telling us."

Rishi turns to Tereza. "So, you're next. What did you find?"

"Nothing," Tereza says bluntly. "I made it through the Whomping Willow by using the Disillusionment Charm. The Shack was empty, though. But when I was leaving, I used my… hidden skill to boost my SNS. That's when I noticed a particular branch of the willow that caught my attention."

She pulls out a branch and continues, "It's Deep Green quality wood. I also found two Light Green quality branches. The system says this is rare and expensive wood—apparently even good enough to be turned into wands."

"You're quite lucky! And that's actually a really smart idea, using your SNS boost to look for loot. Good job, and congrats," Roja says, forcing a smile. But Alex notices how strained her expression is.

This bitch is jealous. Alex smirks internally. She's gonna be even more jealous after I tell her what we got. Hehe.

"I'll keep it short," Rishi says. "There was nothing in the toilet—at least not at first. I finished up quickly and went to find Alex. Then… well, Alex, it's your turn." Rishi looks mildly annoyed, clearly still salty about how things unfolded.

Alex quickly summarizes his story for the group, explaining the events of the day. He lays out the food, pots, and pans, and hands them to Menchi. Along with those, he also passes her the basilisk bones and meat, figuring she could make something useful out of them.

The remaining basilisk parts, the fangs, heart, horn, and skin, Alex decides to hold onto for now, planning to either keep them, sell them, or exchange them with Hagrid.

The bones and meat could make some interesting dishes. Basilisk soup? Basilisk steak? Let's see what Menchi can whip up.

"You… really have some 'LUK,' huh, Alex?" Roja finally says, her forced smile now completely gone. There's a hint of greed in her eyes.

Heh. This feels so good. She's clearly pissed—especially since I bet she wanted to be the first to hit up the shops. Looks like she got nothing! Take that, Roja.

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