Starting in One Piece: Fantasy Realm Multiverse

Alex spends a calm day with his parents and other relatives before returning home. By now, the weakening effects from Tereza's blood-draining ability have worn off completely.

As he steps back into his apartment, Alex immediately picks up a strange smell. It's hard to describe, it smells like meat roasting, but it's unusually strong, slightly pungent, and not particularly appetizing.

Looks like she's back at it, huh? Alex thinks, wrinkling his nose slightly. I better get used to this… I'll probably be smelling this for the next couple of weeks, he adds, slightly regretting his earlier decision to let Menchi set up a kitchen specifically for her experiments.

Alex walks into the living room and finds Tereza in her usual spot on the couch, reading his Harry Potter book collection.

She closes the book as soon as she notices him. "Had a nice time at home?" she asks.

"Yeah. Felt strangely… normal, I guess. You already done in the Realm? I'm guessing Menchi will be busy for a while. It's getting dark outside, will she really cook through the night again?"

"Probably," Tereza replies with a shrug, looking a little helpless.

"Anyway, Rishi told me his SPR is at 23, and nothing's come up yet. If there is such a thing as a special threshold, it's probably at 25, 30, or even higher," Tereza says.

"Shit… That's so unfair!" Alex curses, clearly frustrated. "You know what? We made a contract with Roja… we might as well ask her. If she refuses, we can probably buy that information from her. It's not that important to me since I can't freely raise my stats anyway, but for everyone else, this kind of information is crucial."

Alex suddenly remembers the other reason they entered the Realm and turns to Tereza. "Any good news? Did the vendors buy Menchi's dishes?"

Tereza nods. "Yeah, surprisingly, your hunch was spot on. Menchi is insanely talented. Even her Gray-ranked dishes, made with Gray-quality meat and generic ingredients, just about broke even on cost—despite selling them to the workers at Realm-run stores. The unranked food, though, was a big loss, just like we expected.

"As you said, as long as Menchi can maintain the grade of the prime ingredient, the dishes will sell for roughly what we spent. Plus, we sold some to players directly, charging 20% to 50% more depending on their knowledge of market prices. A few fools would buy anything from two cute and sweet ladies like us." She smirks slightly. "We also sold the White-quality dishes, and Menchi made a nice profit. Overall, your investment paid off big time. We've already bought new ingredients as well."

Alex's expression twists into a nasty grin, making Tereza recoil slightly. Hehehehehe, I did it! Alex thinks, his mind racing. The Menchi gold mine is now open! She can cook all day, and for each dish, we'll earn FC—even if she just maintains the quality. I can't imagine how much I'll make if she has 4 or even 8 weeks until the next mission starts. I can't believe Menchi is already this skilled! If her skills grow even further….

"Stop it. I know where you're coming from, but that expression disgusts me," Tereza says flatly, giving Alex a judgmental look.

"Sorry… You know, it feels good to finally see the rewards of all the time I've invested, risking my life and items," Alex explains.

"Anyway," he continues, his tone shifting, "want to take a ride with me?"

Tereza looks up at him, slightly surprised. "Sure! Do you want to go watch a movie? Go to a restaurant? I'm up for it," she says with a happy expression, clearly in the mood for a fun night out.

"Boring!" Alex retorts. "Let's drive into the forest!"

… … …

45 minutes later, Alex and Tereza are driving through the hills in Alex's car.

The terrain is extremely hilly, and the city has long since disappeared from view. The streets are dark, with only a few other cars passing by. Alex slowly pulls off the highway onto a poorly maintained road that leads into a dense forest.

"If you translate this part of Germany into English, its name is 'Sour Country.' It's extremely hilly, and there are lots of mountains, lakes, and forests around. It's also pretty sparsely populated, considering it's not far from the most densely populated area of West Germany. The name was chosen because, a long time ago, this area was filled with swamps," Alex explains, his tone casual.

Tereza listens half-heartedly, nodding as she stares out the window, already imagining herself flying through the trees.

Shortly after reaching the end of the drivable road, Alex parks the car, and the pair step into the dark forest.

Thanks to Alex's good SNS and the faint light of the moon, he can see well enough to avoid stumbling, even without a flashlight.

"I know this place a little. My family used to come here every year to gather mushrooms. It was kinda fun," Alex says, reminiscing as he walks.

"In about 15 minutes, we'll reach a nice spot on top of a small mountain. I think that would be a great place to try out your new abilities, huh?" Alex says, glancing at Tereza, who looks visibly excited at the prospect.

As they walk through the forest, Tereza grabs Alex's hand, and they continue in silence, the only sounds coming from the occasional rustle of leaves beneath their feet. Eventually, they reach the spot Alex mentioned.

The small mountain offers an excellent view, with the moonlight shining brightly over the area. One side features a steep decline with a small fence built to protect tourists and hikers from falling.

Tereza gazes at the moon, then strips off her jacket, revealing a sports bra. While unsuitable for a cold forest night, it isn't overly revealing. She turns toward Alex, grinning, and suddenly her two dark purple wings sprout from her back. Without hesitation, she jumps onto the fence and dives straight down the mountain.

Damn, she looked beautiful for a moment, Alex thinks, watching her transformation with awe. But his admiration quickly turns into exasperation. Right back to insanity. She hasn't fully mastered her devil fruit yet; who would take such a risk.… Damn, I hate these kind adrenaline junkies.

Just seconds later, Tereza soars back into the air, the wind from her wings rushing past Alex. She flies over him gracefully before disappearing into the forest below. Occasionally, Alex spots her shadow darting between the trees, accompanied by the sound of wind tearing through the air as she speeds around like a daredevil.

Looks like she's having fun, Alex thinks, watching her move through the forest like a speed junkie.

A few minutes later, Tereza returns, her face glowing with a satisfied smile. She hovers directly above Alex, her wings gently flapping to keep her aloft.

"Hang on," she says, offering him her foot. "Let's test out what this fruit can accomplish for our team!"

Alex grabs her foot, and Tereza slowly lifts him into the air. Her speed decreases significantly with his added weight, but she still manages to fly steadily.

She flies a small lap around the area before returning to the top of the mountain. Once there, Alex lets go of her foot, landing safely on the ground.

"Not bad. You could probably even carry Rishi as well, at least for a few minutes. That would be useful for quickly climbing a mountain or getting past some kind of obstacle," Alex says, analyzing Tereza's capability with satisfaction.

"Now… let's try this!" Tereza says, transforming into her full bat form. She slowly walks toward Alex, her massive frame casting an ominous shadow in the moonlight.

Alex involuntarily shivers, his thoughts racing. A damn monstrous, gorilla-sized bat walking toward me in the middle of the night, on a mountain, inside a dark forest… That's the kind of thing that causes nightmares.

Tereza stops in front of Alex and lowers her head. In her shrill, animalistic voice, she commands, "Climb on!"

Alex gulps but obeys, lying on her back and wrapping his arms tightly around her fur-covered body.

With a powerful push, Tereza shoots up into the air, flying hundreds of meters high. From this height, Alex can see smaller villages and cities scattered in the distance, illuminated faintly by the moon and artificial lights.

This is insane. I bet some people would find this thrilling, but I…

Shit, I'm getting sick, Alex curses inwardly as Tereza suddenly dives, descending rapidly into the forest. She lets out a shrill shriek, weaving effortlessly between the trees at breakneck speed. Alex feels his stomach churn, his body struggling to keep up with the dizzying maneuvers.

… … …

30 minutes later, Alex sits slumped in the passenger seat of his own car, looking pale and disoriented as Tereza drives them home.

"Oh, come on," Tereza says, trying to sound lighthearted but with a tinge of guilt in her voice. "I already apologized. Yeah, I might have overdone it just a little. But that was really fun, though! Thank you for sharing this place with me. Let's do it again… once you feel a little bit better."

Her face shows genuine remorse, though her words suggest she's not entirely sorry for the thrill.

NEVER AGAIN, Alex decides silently, glaring at her but keeping his mouth shut. He stares out the window as the car slowly leaves the forested countryside and heads back toward the city, the dark hills fading into the background.

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