MTLNOVEL Chapter 10: 10
"Wait!" Reed shouts, catching Jack's attention.
"What?" Jack responds, turning to him.
"Let's not dock at the main docking area," Reed says, stopping the ship.
"Why?" Jack asks, raising an eyebrow.
Reed glances around before explaining, "I remember Nami being here and stealing a ship. I'd rather not end up having to buy another one."
Jack nods, then tilts his head. "Really? I don't remember Nami stealing a ship."
Reed nods. "Better safe than sorry," he says before pausing to think. Then he adds, "Well, she did steal a ship, but it was in the middle of the ocean."
Jack raises an eyebrow. "Then why not just dock normally?"
Reed sighs. "Luffy doesn't have a ship yet—he might just take ours."
Jack mutters "This stupid guy" he raises his voice saying "That assumes that they havent left yet!"
Reed nods "Fine! let's go" he then starts the ship and steers it to the dock
Arriving at the dock, they both descend from the ship, drawing attention from the locals due to the "uniqueness" of their vessel.
Though the crowd quickly disperses, with most people busy with their own tasks, Reed and Jack step onto solid ground.
Reed immediately says, "Let's get some ingredients so we don't have to eat rice for the foreseeable future."
Jack nods and replies, "I'm going to look around to see if they've already left or not."
They then split up—Reed locates a shop, buying as many supplies as he can, while Jack wanders toward the Marine base.
Jack gazes up at the towering structure and whistles, "That's huge." He then moves to the side, looking at a familiar field.
Seeing the empty field with no sign of Zoro tied up, Jack promptly leaves, hoping to avoid drawing attention. He circles around the area, keeping a low profile as he looks for any useful information.
After some time observing, Jack spots Coby cleaning the courtyard. From this, he concludes that Luffy and Zoro have likely already left the island.
With that in mind, he turns away, thinking about a few things before making his way back to the village to find Reed.
---
Meanwhile, after parting ways with Jack, Reed wanders through the village in search of a shop. Spotting a suitable store, he steps inside and browses for ingredients.
After purchasing a generous amount, he returns to the ship to store all the spices and supplies before heading back out to buy fish and other essentials.
As Reed strolls through the peaceful village, he ponders, "Should we follow the canon?" but quickly shakes his head, dismissing the thought.
With his hands full of groceries, he makes his way back to the ship. Upon arrival, he neatly stores the fish in the fridge inside their kitchen before finally sitting down.
After some time, boredom creeps in, and he mutters to himself, "How do the people of this world not get bored...?"
After shifting around restlessly, Reed eventually turns his attention to the system. His gaze falls on his current funds: [Money » 3500].
He winces at the number and sighs, muttering, "That's not a lot at all..."
He shakes his head and starts browsing through the myriad of fruits, swords, and guns available. Each item has unlockable abilities, though only their names are visible—no descriptions.
Musing to himself, he mutters, "Some of these weapons were from [Blox Fruits]... Jack should know some of them."
Shaking his head, he reads the description of [Midnight Blade].
The sword features a black blade etched with glowing golden lines, a bat-winged guard, and a central blue gemstone. Its handle is black with gold accents, ending in a pointed pommel, giving it a mystical and powerful appearance.
As he scans its abilities, one catches his eye—[Portal Opening].
"Can I open portals to different islands with this?" he wonders, his mind racing with possibilities.
Just then, the door swings open, and Jack steps inside.
"Luffy already left," he says, pausing before adding, "It's been a while since, too."
His gaze shifts to Reed, noticing the grin on his face. "What's got you smiling?"
Reed, realizing he was grinning, scratches his head before responding, "Check this out." He points at the screen, excitement in his voice. "It's called the [Midnight Blade]!"
Jack, recognizing the name from the game, raises an eyebrow. "So? It was pretty bad in the game. I wonder if it's actually good here," he muses aloud.
Reed, unfazed, continues, "There's an ability called **[Portal Opening]**. I wonder if I can use it to open portals and travel between islands."
Jack immediately shakes his head in denial. "That's not how it works. If you wanna open portals to islands, get the Portal Fruit. The sword just mimics the ability—it only disorients the enemy when you hit them."
Reed's excitement deflates as he sighs. "Let me guess... the fruit probably costs like a million or something."
Jack nods. "Most likely. Check it right now."
Reed nods and pulls up the price, his expression falling further. "Exactly **one million**."
Jack raises an eyebrow, surprised at how cheap it seems, but then remembers, "Oh right... in the game, people had unlimited stamina. That changes things."
Jack continues, chuckling, "We'd probably lose a lot of stamina if we used it like we did in the game."
Reed, confused, asks, "What?"
Jack turns to him, then remembers that Reed didn't progress much in the game, only reaching around level 599—far from the higher-level areas that required level 700 or 1500. Knowing that only top players used the Portal Fruit for PvP, he explains, "People regularly used the Portal Fruit to hunt others, and it barely cost them any stamina because of how fast they regenerated."
Reed nods in understanding, saying, "So this fruit is priced this low because of the high stamina cost?"
Jack nods, adding, "Much like Law's Ope Ope no Mi, you'd probably have to use its ultimate move sparingly. You can even suck transformed Dragon Fruit users into your ability, which would explain the massive stamina drain."
Reed nods before shrugging. "Anyway, I don't think I'll have that kind of power anytime soon."
Jack nods. "I want to get a powerful fruit before becoming a famous pirate!"
Reed smirks. "Is it because the Marines give you a moniker based on the power you show?" he teases.
Jack quickly turns away. "Definitely not!"
Reed hums knowingly.
Jack asks, "So, where to next?"
Reed replies, "Seems like the compass follows where Luffy goes, island by island."
Jack raises an eyebrow. "How do you know?"
Reed shrugs. "Just a theory for now." He pauses before adding, "If the compass leads us to Buggy's island, then my theory might be right."
Jack nods. "We'll see. Should we stay here for the night?" He glances outside, noticing the sky gradually darkening.
Reed follows his gaze and responds, "Let's just stay here for now."
Jack nods and starts heading to his room, calling out, "Night!"
Reed follows suit, making his way to his own room and replying, "Night..."
The night passes quietly.
...
At daybreak, Jack leaves his room and heads into the kitchen to prepare some food. After a while, Reed arrives, grabbing a plate and eating the meal Jack cooked.
As he eats, Reed asks, "Should we head out now?"
Jack nods, stretching his arms. "Alright, let's go."
...
As Reed steers the ship away from the dock, he glances at the horizon before shifting his focus to the compass, following its direction.
Standing on the deck, Jack muses aloud, "It feels wrong not having any incidents on this island."
Reed chuckles in agreement. "Yeah, for once, things actually went smoothly."
"I know, right?" Jack responds.
A Few Hours Later, in the Middle of the Ocean
The thunderous sound of a cannon shot echoes across the water, followed by the distant groaning of a sinking ship.
Jack groans in frustration. "This is the third one! What the hell!"
Reed stops the ship, checking for any damage before replying, "At least none of them were anything notable."
Jack throws his hands up. "Doesn't matter! At least give us a strong opponent!" he complains loudly. Then, with a sigh, he adds, "At least we get some entertainment..."
Reed's eye twitches as he mutters under his breath, "Stop saying things... I don't want to die this early—I just arrived in this world."
Reed returns back to the control tile and continues to follow the compass and not even an hour later they spot a ship.
Jack seeing the ship mutters "another one" then sighs
Reed sighs "alright let's see if they're hostile or not"
As the ship draws closer, cannon fire erupts from the enemy vessel without hesitation.
Reed mutters, "Another hostile ship," before swiftly maneuvering to circle around, dodging the incoming shots and returning fire.
As Reed's cannon fire was about to hit the enemy ship, it was suddenly slashed mid-air.
Jack's eyes lit up at the sight. "Oh?" he muttered. "A swordsman in this sea? The weakest sea?"
Reed nodded while continuing to fire back. "This is something. He's at least Zoro's level right now."
Jack nodded in agreement—just before their ship shook violently from a direct cannonball hit.
"damn" Jack hears Reed mutter then say "Hold on tight" Jack seeing their ship rushing towards the enemy braces for impact.
*Crash!*
Both ships jolted to a stop as they collided. Without hesitation, Jack activated [GrainStorm], unleashing a barrage of hardened grains that sent weaker enemies flying off the deck an pelting the rest.
Reed jumped down right beside him, ready for battle.
Rushing in while the storm was raging. Reed uses [Thousand-Segment Strike] to strike but it gets block by a sword which surprises him.
Reed, caught off guard by the swordsman's swift block, quickly regained his footing. Without hesitation, Jack launched a [Rice Fist] straight at the swordsman, who agilely dodged backward.
Several pirates, managing to endure the raging [GrainStorm], charged toward Jack. He gave Reed a quick nod.
Understanding the signal, Reed immediately broke off and sprinted after the swordsman, determined to take him down.
Jack, knowing his strength lay in area-of-effect attacks, stayed back to deal with the remaining pirates. He swiftly set up multiple [Sticky Grain Traps] around the battlefield, catching several pirates off guard as they struggled to break free.
For those who managed to avoid the traps, Jack unleashed a relentless barrage of [Rice Fist], striking them down one by one.
Reed, locking onto the swordsman through the fading storm, noticed that despite being pelted by the raging grains, the man remained unharmed—only his clothes showed signs of damage.
Without hesitation, Reed leaped into the air, launching a [Thousand-Segment Strike] straight at him. However, the swordsman reacted instantly, blocking the attack with ease. In the same motion, he countered with a powerful slash, sending a sharp arc of energy hurtling toward Reed.
Reed's eyes widened in surprise—how was a swordsman this skilled still lingering in the weakest sea? However, he had no time to dwell on the thought. He quickly twisted his body to dodge the incoming energy slash, but being midair, he couldn't completely avoid it. A sharp sting ran across his side as the attack grazed him—though the wound rapidly healed just as fast as it appeared.
Without hesitation, Reed retaliated, slamming his foot down and activating [Bamboo Impale]. Thick bamboo spikes shot up from the ground, aiming to pierce the swordsman. The man swiftly leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Reed, already expecting this, immediately followed up, dashing forward with another [Thousand-Segment Strike]. The attack came within inches of hitting its mark, but the swordsman skillfully redirected it with a precise swing of his blade, altering its trajectory just enough to avoid a direct hit.
"What is this?" Reed muttered, barely dodging another energy slash from the swordsman. He retaliated swiftly, sending a sharpened bamboo projectile flying toward the man, immediately following up with [Bamboo Impale].
The swordsman narrowed his eyes as he assessed the incoming attacks. Rather than retreat, he rushed forward, effortlessly deflecting the bamboo projectile while nimbly weaving through the impaling spikes.
Reed, seeing him closing the distance, wasted no time and unleashed [Thousand-Segment Strike]. The swordsman instinctively raised his blade to deflect, but due to the lingering visual obstruction from [Bamboo Impale], his reaction was slightly delayed. The attack grazed his side, drawing first blood.
Reed conjured a long bamboo pole to block the incoming slash from the swordsman, using the opening to activate [Bamboo Impale] once more.
The man quickly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack while sending another energy slash toward Reed before closing the distance for close combat.
Reed blocked the energy slash but found himself struggling—his limited move set making the battle increasingly difficult. In desperation, he used [Thousand-Segment Strike], but it proved to be a mistake. The swordsman evaded with ease and landed a clean hit on him.
Gritting his teeth in pain, Reed retaliated with another [Bamboo Impale], forcing the swordsman to jump to the side once more while launching yet another energy slash in return.
Reed's injury has fully healed but he still finds himself at a disadvantage he then notices the lingering [GrainStorm] fading but not before another being summoned keeping the storm raging
Reed uses [Bamboo Impale] as a makeshift shield while blocking vision and he backs off and uses [Thousand-Segment Strike] from the back adapting a new battle style.
The swordsman muttered, "Damn," before dashing after Reed, only to be grazed by another [Thousand-Segment Strike].
Reed, seeing his tactic working, continued to retreat, using [Bamboo Impale] to obscure vision and create barriers. Each time the swordsman closed in, another barrage of bamboo forced him to adjust, buying Reed precious seconds.
Eventually, Jack arrived, having finished off the remaining pirates. Reed, realizing that this swordsman must be the captain, braced himself.
Jack wasted no time—spotting the unsuspecting swordsman, he immediately fired a [Rice Fist] straight at him.
The swordsman, struck from behind, growled in frustration. "USELESS FUCKS!" he roared at his defeated crew before locking onto Jack.
'He should be easier than the other guy,' he thought, lunging forward.
Unfortunately for him, Jack thrived in close combat. The moment the swordsman charged, Reed unleashed another [Thousand-Segment Strike] to keep him on edge, while Jack swiftly set up [Sticky Grain Trap] around them.
As the swordsman stepped in, Jack met him head-on, wielding the stolen sword from earlier. Their blades clashed, sparks flying as Jack grinned. "You picked the wrong guy to rush at."
End of Chapter.