One Pice: A Game Blue System.

You are attempting to open a mystery box.

Please select one of the following three items.

1. Armored Impact Gauntlets: They aren't indestructible, but they're pretty damn close. Each of these gauntlets comes with an Impact Dial embedded in the palm that is sure to catch an opponent off guard with a devastating blow. Selecting this item comes with a permanent +2 STR and +2 VIT.

My eyes twinkled like golden stars at reading the description. Scratch that, I think they actually turned into stars for a moment. The distinctly anime moment might have been jarring to me if I wasn't so damn excited. 'I want it! I want it! I want it bad! I want it, I want it, I! WANT! IT! I can't wait to blow someone away with these things!' 2. Shroud of Not Quite Invisibility:A discarded prototype created by the infamous scientist Caesar Clown himself. This solar rechargeable high tech cloak can provide the user up to 15 minutes of total invisibility when standing still or to be seen only as a faint hazy image when actively moving. Takes six hours in the sun to reach full charge. Selecting this item comes with a permanent +4 DEX.

'Ehh. I'm not denying it could be useful but stealth isn't really my thing. Plus the recharge time is a bit too harsh for my tastes.'

3. [Skillbook]: Reading the Ancient Language Vol.1: The Poneglyph's and their texts are one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Only an extremely small handful of people on the planet can read even a fraction of the lost language. With this [Skillbook] you can count yourself among their ranks. Selecting this item comes with a permanent +2 INT and +2 WIS.

Everything stopped.

Time itself seemed to slow as my breath hitched in my throat and my eyes widened considerably. If anyone was around they would've seen me physically recoil at the invisible screen.

'WHAT?'

I slumped against the wall behind me and slid down onto the floor, almost tripping over Reggie as I did so.

'I...I didn't expect this...The [Gamer] powers can even unlock the mystery of the Poneglyph's for me? This...this is a bad idea...If I choose this and anyone...and I mean ANYONE...finds out that I can read the lost language then it's BAD. VERY. VERY. BAD.' I visibly grimaced as my thoughts continued. 'But I really really really want to know what happened in 'The Void Century'. This might be my only chance to find out...the [Game] might not offer this chance again...If I ever come across a Poneglyph and I can't read then it I'll regret it forever...goddamn it Jack.'

With a healthy amount of personal doubt and a slightly trembling hand I begrudgingly selected option three. The mystery box in my [Inventory] morphed into an aged book bound in red leather. The moment the item had finished transforming I extracted the prize and held it in my hands.

It felt heavy.

Ding!

You have obtained a [Skillbook]. Would you like to use it now? [ACCEPT/DECLINE]

I took one final slow breath and clicked [ACCEPT]. The book briefly glowed a bright yellow and then dissolved into tiny golden sparkles. In an instant the golden flecks flew into my chest and I felt the knowledge flow into my mind.

Ding!

You have unlocked the letters 'E', 'H', and 'T' for the lost language.

I read the sentence.

Then I read it again.

I probably stared at that notification for a solid half-minute. All higher brain function had ground to a halt as I stared disbelievingly at that single line.

Eventually a small detail about the [Skillbook] I just absorbed reached my addled mind. It was titled 'Reading the Ancient Language Vol.1'

Vol. 1.

Volume 1.

'That is NOT how languages work!' I screeched inside my own mind. Are you freaking kidding me right now? Is this a prank? Am I being punked? Because letters do notget replaced at some one-to-one ratio like it's a decipherable grade-school code! What the hell is this Final Fantasy X style bullshit?

I buried my face in my hands as the regret pooled inside me. 'No. I take it back. Please. I take it back. Give me the impact gauntlets. Those were so cool! I don't want to be committed to unlocking all the other volumes. That could take years!'

My depressed musings were broken by Reggie Poliver whimpering slightly in pain as his fingers tried to reach for a small knife in his boot.

"Oh shut up Reggie." I growled as I got back to my feet. "I'm not in the mood." A small kick to the head and the man fell back to unconsciousness. Chief Mori turned the corner with Abrella and a chore boy flanking behind him just in time to see me huff irritably and lean back against the wall. He took one look at the elder Poliver and smirked.

"Ha!" Mori barked. "I knew I liked this kid!"

Jack Parker, The Gamer, Lv. 16 Health: 610/610 Exp: 1195/1600 Money: 311,970 Beri STR: 92 VIT: 61 DEX: 46 INT: 31 WIS: 28 LUK: 14 Points to spend: 0 Click here to see list of [Skills]

-Current number of [Skills]: 35 Click here to see list of [Perks]

-Current number of [Perks]: 0

After I collected the cash reward for both Poliver brothers and officially started my bounty hunting career the [Game] decided to absolutely bombard me with a series of new [Quests].

Ding!

New Quest Alert!

Quest: Collect 5 bounties. Progress (2/5). Reward: +2 in every stat but LUK and 1,200 Exp.

Ding! New Quest Alert!

Quest: Collect 10 bounties. Progress (2/10) Reward: +3 in every stat but LUK and 1,800 Exp.

Ding!

New Quest Alert!

Quest: Collect a bounty worth at least 500,000 Beri.

Reward: +3 STR, +3 VIT or DEX and 3,000 Exp.

Ding!

New Quest Alert!

Ding!

New Quest Alert!

Ding!

New Quest Alert! Ding!

New Quest Alert!

Ding!

New Quest Alert!

Ding!

I was nearly forced to avert my eyes to avoid getting overwhelmed. Each time one blue screen finished materializing another would pop into existence right next to it. There was one for collecting a bounty worth at least a million. One for 3 million. The one after that was for 10 million. Then of course came 20. 30. 40. Before it all finally ended when I received a [Quest] to capture and turn in a pirate captain worth at least 50 million Beri.