Gant, dressed in flashy clothes and flanked by his two followers, stepped out of a bar with an arrogant expression. He walked with an air of superiority, reveling in the power he held over others.
Behind him, the restaurant owner, who had just been stripped of 200,000 Berries, bid him farewell with a forced smile and endless bows. He showed no anger, not even a hint of resentment.
After all, Gant was a member of the Jeffrey family.
He was in charge of collecting the "protection" fees on this entire street. No one in their right mind would dare provoke him.
But the moment Gant and his men were far enough away, the restaurant owner spat on the ground in disgust.
"Those bastards..."
Just as he was about to head back inside, his body suddenly froze.
His expression changed drastically, the color drained from his face, and his eyes widened in shock.
Right in the middle of the street, the arrogant Gant and his two lackeys lay on the ground.
Each had a hole in their necks, blood pooling beneath them in an ever-growing puddle.
Their eyes remained wide open, as if they hadn't even processed what had happened to them. Their bodies twitched faintly before, within seconds, they went completely still.
At that moment, a man wearing a black visor and a mask emerged from the shadows. Without hesitation, he quickly searched the corpses, took everything they had on them, and disappeared without a trace.
After his departure, silence reigned for a few seconds. The people nearby stared at the bodies in horror.
Then—chaos erupted.
[Mission "Bounty Hunters" completed. You have obtained X1 Skill Upgrade Card (D).]
Hearing the system notification in his mind, Xeno smirked in satisfaction.
He relaxed his tense shoulders, making sure no one was following him, and took the path back to his small rented courtyard.
It had been five days since he started hunting bounty criminals, and this was the third target he had eliminated.
From the discomfort he felt with his first kill to the indifference he now carried, he had adapted quickly.
In just a few days, he had become accustomed to taking lives without hesitation.
However, his approach to bounty hunting was unique: he only cared about eliminating his targets—he didn't even bother collecting their bounties.
At first, he had considered turning in the body of his first target to claim the reward. But after discovering that the criminal had more than 200,000 Berries on him, he realized it wasn't worth the trouble.
To officially claim a bounty, he would have to transport the corpse to the nearest Marine base, which meant nearly a full day of travel back and forth.
He had no time to waste on bureaucratic nonsense.
His priority was singular: growing stronger.
As long as he had enough money to live, he didn't need more.
[Host: Xeno]
[Age: 20]
[Constitution: Basic Level]
[Stone Throwing (E): Absolute Mastery (MAX)+]
[Swimming (E): Competent (27/100)]
[Mission: None]
[Items: X1 Skill Upgrade Card (D)]
Besides hunting criminals, he had spent every free moment in those five days perfecting his stone-throwing technique. Finally, he had maxed out his experience bar.
He had reached what he called "Supreme Mastery."
The system referred to it as "Absolute Mastery (MAX)," but he liked giving it his own name.
The Skill Upgrade Card (D) would allow him to upgrade an E-rank skill that had reached absolute mastery to the next rank—D.
With a single thought…
A golden card materialized in his hand. Its design was simple yet elegant, as if forged from pure gold. At its center, a large black letter "D" gleamed with an imposing glow.
Without overthinking it, Xeno mentally selected the "+" symbol next to his stone-throwing skill on the system panel.
Instantly, the golden card transformed into a flash of light and merged into his body.
Like an overloaded computer, his brain was flooded with a surge of new information.
More advanced stone-throwing techniques!
At the same time, he felt his body undergo a drastic transformation. This sensation of improvement wasn't new to him.
Since he had started training, he had experienced something similar every time he advanced in mastery:
From Beginner to Competent, from Competent to Expert, and then to Absolute Mastery.
But this time…
It was much more intense!
When the process ended, the system interface updated immediately.
[Host: Xeno]
[Age: 20]
[Constitution: Basic Level]
[Stone Throwing (D): Beginner (1/100)]
[Swimming (E): Competent (27/100)]
[Pending Mission: None]
[Items: None]
His stone-throwing skill had ascended to level D, but with that, his experience bar had reset, returning him to the beginner rank.
However, he still retained all the perfected techniques from level E (MAX).
Now, by combining them with the new abilities of level D, his power had increased even further!
Crouching down, he picked up a stone from the ground, held it between his fingers, and gave his wrist a slight twist.
Zas
The stone shot forward at incredible speed.
Crack
The air whistled as the rock slammed into the large stone he often used as a bench.
Krrraaaack
The massive rock, nearly half a meter tall, didn't just crack… it shattered into multiple pieces! Fragments flew in all directions before collapsing into dust on the ground.
And watching it all, Xeno smiled.
"My power has increased tremendously…"
Before, when he had reached absolute mastery at level E, he had tested the same technique against that very rock… and had only managed to leave a small crater on its surface.
Nothing compared to the destruction he had just caused!
With eyes gleaming with excitement, he thought to himself:
"Time to keep training."
He was eager to see just how far he could push his stone-throwing (D) skill once he achieved absolute mastery.
…
In the following days, besides training his stone-throwing skill daily, he also dedicated time to improving his swimming.
In a world ruled by the sea—one that was destined to become even more treacherous—knowing how to swim could mean the difference between life and death.
He vividly remembered the moment he fell into the ocean. Had he not known how to swim, he never would have had the chance to be rescued by Robin.
But his preparation didn't stop there.
He decided to expand his knowledge, purchasing several navigation books in hopes of unlocking a new skill in that field.
Progress in stone throwing (D) and swimming (E) had slowed considerably.
Although the two skills were connected, the level D ability required far more advanced techniques, making each improvement much more demanding.
About a month passed before he finally achieved Supreme Mastery in both stone throwing (D) and swimming (E).
His power had taken a massive leap.
However, since his physical condition had already improved significantly from his stone-throwing training, reaching absolute mastery in swimming didn't have a major impact on his strength.
Still, the improvement in his abilities was more than satisfying.
Now, he could hold his breath underwater for over 20 minutes, and his mobility in the water was incomparable to before.
Occasionally, he also took on bounty-hunting jobs, earning decent money.
After covering his expenses for the last month, he still had over 300,000 Berries to his name.
Although it sounded like a considerable sum, the largest denomination bill was 10,000 Berries, meaning the money barely made up a small bundle that fit in one hand.
And money ran out quickly.
A simple meal at a restaurant cost between 3,000 and 4,000 Berries.
One morning, just after finishing breakfast, the system sent an unexpected message.
[New Mission: "Set Sail for Adventure!"]
[Reward: Sword "Nagafune"]
Intrigued, he quickly opened the system panel to check the mission details.
The objective of "Set Sail for Adventure!" was simple:
Sail the seas for more than three consecutive days.
It sounded too easy… a bit suspicious, but meh.
He had been sailing since he was 12 years old, working on merchant ships. Though he had always been a crew member, he had spent years accumulating experience at sea.
Of course, he had also faced his fair share of dangers in the ocean.
This mission came at the perfect time.
In fact, he had already planned to leave Lide in a few days.
Now that the system gave him another reason to go, there was no reason to delay his departure.
He stood for a moment, gazing at the small courtyard he had rented for over a month.
Then, with his mind set on his next goal, he decided that his next destination would be Shimotsuki Village.
There, he planned to seek out the legendary Koushirou and learn the art of the sword.
The saying "Jack of all trades, master of none" didn't apply to him.
With the system, he could become a true master of everything!
There was no way he would pass up the opportunity to master a combat skill as powerful as swordsmanship.
Packing his few belongings, he left Lide behind—without looking back.