One Pice: A Game Blue System.

Yeutton Port, Caeba Kingdom, South Blue

Dan's eyebrow twitched as he stared at me with a deadpan expression. "You're... leaving?" he asked for the third time.

"Correct." I answered succinctly.

His twitch worsened. "To...become a bounty hunter?" "Yes." I confirmed with a wide smile. "Becaaaaaaause some people tried to mug you last night?" "Right again."

Dan let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples in frustration. "Alright. Whatever. I don't care anymore. Give me back the pay for the return half of the trip and you're free to go."

-7,500 Beri! Captain Dan folded the bills into his coat and grumbled under his breath. "Young people these days... Damn it, where am I gonna find another pair of hands to..."

Anything else Dan may have muttered fell out of earshot as I walked away with a distinct look of satisfaction on my face. My thoughts still dominated by the newest quest that had appeared just after waking up in my soft extra fluffy hotel bed this morning.

Quest: Why wait for trouble when you can go find him yourself? Reggie Poliver will soon learn his brother was incarcerated and when he does he'll be looking for someone to blame. Explore the port town, find Reggie, and bring him in to the bounty office for the reward.

Reward: +2 STR, +2 DEX, 700 Exp, 115,000 Beri and ? I could hardly resist rubbing my hands together in anticipation. I'd had [Quests] with a '?' listed in the rewards before but I had never successfully completed one. They always seemed to be some sort of massive time sink and I had deemed the bulk of them more trouble than they were worth. The only one I had ever come within reach of achieving was the [Quest] to read 100 books before my anniversary back on Kivuruk.

This newest objective, by comparison, looked positively simple. If dangling this easy prize in front of me was the [Game]'s way of keeping me from sailing home then I have to admit...it's working.

I meandered through the port town spamming my arguably most useful skill. [Observe]. I used it on everything I laid eyes on. The blue words over peoples heads expanded into full profiles as I learned much more than just their names and levels. Information pop ups blanketed the air around me that I hastily scanned through for pertinent info. [Observe] leveled up so much that I even gained the ability to cast it silently.

Despite my happiness at people no longer staring at me like I'm insane for whispering [Observe] over and over under my breath, my mood had begun to dampen as the third hour past.

My bright sunny morning had turned into a complete slog as I moved down yet another busy street. Heaps and piles of useless profiles and building descriptions filled my vision and I could actually feel a migraine starting to develop. The only thing of remote interest that I had spotted was a nine year old with a LUK rating of 777. 'Now that kid's going places.'

Finally the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel' appeared before me.

The Cracked Pearl This seedy tavern is home to disreputable lowlifes and ne'er-do-well cads. Marines have raided it many times in the past but have decided to just let it be in recent years. This bar is famous for it's proprietor/bartender Bill, who always seems to know things he shouldn't and isn't afraid to share that info if you slide a few shiny coins his way.

I pushed open the broad wooden doors of the tavern and was immediately assaulted by the smell of cigar smoke and the scent of strong liquor. Grown men hunched over tables leered at me as I entered and the atmosphere was thick with tension, as though every patron was simply waiting for any of the others to make a scene. One man in the corner was sharpening a pair of knives and a second smiled widely at me with nasty yellow teeth.

'Well isn't this just a charming place?' The bartender was a tall man with a shaved head and thick muscled arms that fit perfectly with the bar owner stereotype. The man was a cliché if I've ever seen one. He was methodically cleaning shot glasses with a white towel and hadn't even glanced at me as I approached the counter.

'[Observe].' I think, making good use of the now silent skill.

"Bill", Undercover Cipher Pol #5 Agent, Lv. 25

"Bill" is the proprietor/bartender at 'The Cracked Pearl', a famous tavern in the port town of Caeba Kingdom in South Blue. While those he interacts with think he is a lowlife like them, he is in actuality a government agent working for Cipher Pol #5 assigned to [-REDACTED TEXT-] in hopes of [-REDACTED TEXT-] and gaining revenge on [-REDACTED TEXT-]. Only then can he [-REDACTED TEXT-]. He has taken up a job as an information broker on the side.

Health: 1360/1360 STR: 98 VIT: 136 DEX: 12 INT: 64 WIS: 45 LUK: 5 I damn near trip over my own feet in surprise. 'Okay...THAT'S a new one.'

I sit down on a stool and patiently wait for Bill to finish what he's doing. The short period allowing me to study his profile in detail. 'Sheesh...dude's the first I've encountered that could out-muscle me and there's entire chunks of text blacked out. I'll give him this. Man's got his role down perfect. I'd never have pinned him as Cipher Pol. Though then again maybe that's the point..'

"What are ya having friend?" Bill asks cordially as he moves the cleaning rag to the side and leans casually over the counter.

"Whatever you have on tap is fine." I was never a great connoisseur of liquor back on Earth. Vodka was my drink back then but I don't even know if that exists in this universe. I'd hate to start the conversation off by looking like an idiot and asking for something he's never heard of.