Inside a Medical Bay, located somewhere in New Marineford.
''Sigh…'' A man wearing a white coat, resembling a lot of usual doctor's attire, sighed. In front of him was Porlo, the pirate gravely injured by Liam, suffering in silence.
He kept twitching and making painful sounds.
''He can't be saved.'' The doctor said. Those words were aimed at Marine Captain, Leeway, who was standing behind him.
''Get rid of his suffering.'' Leeway said and closed his eyes.
The doctor nodded and pulled out the wires that kept Porlo alive. Once they were removed from his body, Porlo finally opened his eyes, and the light in his eyes dimmed down before they became dark.
His body stopped moving, and his suffering ended with one final breath.
…
[You Killed Low-Level Pirate!]
[5 XP Earned!]
I woke up with a ringing sound echoing in my mind. After I woke up, I saw myself being carried by the muscular old man. The destination was still unknown.
Then, I saw the notifications.
'Oh… He died.' I honestly thought he died long ago and didn't think too deeply about it. Since the game felt so real, I forgot that each kill gives me XP.
''We are here,'' Garp spoke aloud and stopped in front of a large cabin-like building. The walls were made of oak wood, the windows were round-shaped, and showed a clear view of the insides that looked warm and cozy.
The roof was triangular-shaped, but it didn't cover the center of the building. There was a large garden in the middle of the building.
The building was built quite strangely. The garden was surrounded by a cabin-like building, but the garden was completely exposed to the clear sky. The garden itself was surrounded by windows and wooden framed walls.
After we entered the building through the front door. I was finally dropped down to the ground. I saw the garden that was visible through the window. The garden was surrounded by four different hallways with dozens of doors and stairs leading to the second floor.
''Wait here,'' Garp said and opened the first door on the right side. He met with an elderly woman there, who peeked at Liam, who was curiously looking around him.
She nodded and whispered something to Garp before he left the room. Then, he returned to Liam and said.
''This is where you will suffer for next week or so. Your room is on the second floor. Enter the fourth door on the right.''
I nodded and saw Garp leaving the door with the justice cloak fluttering behind him. He looked rather majestic and strong with how the draped cloak fluttered alongside him.
I walked past the garden and reached wooden stairs. After walking up, I entered a similar-looking floor, except there weren't windows that showed the outside world, instead only wooden walls.
The weird square-shaped floor mainly was the hallways and the rooms. I turned my head to the right and calculated the number of doors before my gaze stopped on the fourth.
I stopped in front of that door and opened it with the doorknob twist. The door opened, and I entered. The room was quite simple with two square-shaped windows, a desk, a chair slid under it, a moderate-sized bed, a gas lamp, and a bookshelf.
''This is quite cozy.'' I had to admit that I prefer this room a thousand times over the last one. This room made me remember the cabin my grandparents owned.
''Ah, bookshelf!'' I stopped in front of the bookshelf made of wood and checked out all the books. I wanted to visit the library to check if I could learn more fighting styles but never had time.
Then, I took one of the books into my hands, and my lips curved into an almost childish-like grin.
[Marine Swordsmanship - Book 2]
''Let's go!'' I placed it down on the desk and dragged the chair from underneath the desk. Then, I got seated and opened the first page.
But then, the light in the room became slightly too dim to manage to see the words. The sky above New Marineford became dark gray, and thick clouds began emerging. It seemed like a storm was about to hit.
I took the gas lamp from a nearby small table and placed it on the wooden desk, next to the book. There was a switch on the side that would light the lamp up.
Clank!
I moved the switch up and saw the lamp having a slight reaction. Soon, a fire began flickering in the middle of the lamp, shrouding the area around the desk in warm yellowish dye.
I rubbed my hands and finally began reading. The first page continued from where the first book ended.
After halfway done reading the first page, I checked the percentage and couldn't help but smile.
[Marine Swordsmanship Level 1 - 1%]
For the next several hours, I continued reading. The percentage didn't rise as much as when reading the first book. Maybe it was all about the talent.
It didn't magically increase the percentage. Instead, I had to actually learn the way techniques worked. After understanding that, the rate of how much percentage increased rose.
However, then, my day in the game came to an end after hearing an echoing voice in my ears.
''Liam… Liam…'' The voice belonged to my mother, and I was certain that she was currently trying to wake me up.
I took another glance at the percentage.
[Marine Swordsmanship Level 1 - 55%]
Then, I opened interface and logged out.
…
''Liam!'' I opened my eyes under a loud shouting. I took off the helmet and tidied my messy hair. Then, I saw my mother looking at me without blinking.
''Liam, your sister, and dad are out, so I need you to fetch me some milk and potatoes. Can you do that?''
''Ah, sure.'' Damn, I hate doing errands, especially when I want to do something else. But I didn't want to argue and act like a spoiled brat.
I stood up, took my jacket, and left the house with a shopping list written on a scrap of paper.