April 10, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
Another week passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, after much effort, Orion received the notification he had been waiting for.
*Ding*
*You have obtained the skill "Paper Arts (Kami-e) (Level 0)*
*You have completed objective (1) of mission 11 - "Opportunity in Crisis"*
*You have obtained the secret technique "Rokuogan (Level 0)"*
*You have obtained 1000 SP*
Orion raised his arms happily and relaxed his tired body. The time he had spent training on this island hadn't been too long, but it had certainly been incredibly intense.
Now, his efforts had been rewarded!
He looked at the skill description on the system screen and saw that it was a special attack technique. However, there was a small warning at the end of the description, telling him that using this technique was nearly impossible with his current physical condition, and that he should only attempt it knowing that his body would suffer great rebound damage.
Orion wasn't overly concerned about not being able to use this skill. His body was still developing, and in the future would surely reach a high enough level to use any technique without problems. In the meantime, this technique could be used as an emergency resource.
Orion looked at the SP he had available and saw that it was enough to purchase the Mysterious Mushroom from the system store. However, before he could do so, a new notification appeared on the system screen.
*Ding*
*You have positively influenced the Named Character Kalifa, changing her future. You have obtained 2500 SP*
It was true that when it rains, it pours.
It had been a week since he had given Kalifa the philosophy book, and only now, when he had already begun to lose hope, had a change occurred in her.
Orion thought about the girl's behavior over the past few days, and she was clearly acting strange. Evidently, something in her mind was changing, even if very slightly, and that was why she was much more withdrawn than usual.
One positive change that had happened in her, however, was that she had begun to interact with Gloriosa more closely, and although their relationship could not be said to be like that of real sisters, it was much more harmonious than before.
The reason the two girls had suddenly grown closer was due to certain shared experiences.
Kalifa had told them that she had a sister a year younger than her, whom she loved very much. However, her father had decided it was best to separate them, so that family ties wouldn't interfere with their future as Cipher Pol agents.
In the Medici family, the affection Kalifa had received had been nonexistent. That was partly why she longed to become an elite agent in the future, because it would earn her family's respect and attention.
Or at least that was what the girl thought.
In reality, in the Medici family, emotional ties were completely unnecessary, and when she reached adulthood, she would forget that childish desire and become just another cog in the machine of the World Government.
It had always been that way, and her family had been living this way for centuries.
When Gloriosa heard Kalifa mention her younger sister and how she missed her, she couldn't help but burst into tears again, and recounted some of her past experiences.
She had an older sister, and the two of them had been recruited by the World Government. After a couple of years, her older sister had successfully become an agent and left without even saying goodbye.
Since then, they hadn't had any contact, and she had been left abandoned in this place. The World Government's attitude toward her had changed after her sister's departure, and they seemed to have lost interest in her. Now, she didn't receive as much attention from those in charge of this training island, and there even seemed to be a tendency to ostracize her from training.
For Gloriosa, who was barely ten years old, this was a betrayal on the part of her older sister, and she was deeply hurt by her actions and attitude.
Orion, however, quickly realized how odd it all was. The sudden change in attitude by The World Government's involvement after her sister's departure wasn't normal. There was definitely one piece of information Gloriosa didn't know, and it would likely change her perception of the matter.
Anyway, Orion didn't say anything about it. He had no reason to interfere in Gloriosa's family problems, and his words probably wouldn't help her much.
After that morning, when the two girls shared some of their family experiences, their relationship improved greatly. However, the new dynamic of their relationship was quite strange.
Kalifa, who was only 3 years old, took on the role of the older sister, and Gloriosa, the younger sister.
These were the roles they had in their original families, but considering the ages of the two girls, it was definitely strange!
Orion put aside his thoughts about Kalifa and Gloriosa and entered the system store screen. Then, with a flick of his mind, he spent 5,000 SP to purchase the Mysterious Mushroom, which would be vitally important to completing his plan.
A strange Mushroom appeared in his inventory, and Orion pulled it out with another flick of his mind.
He looked closely at the mushroom in his hand and saw that it was indeed quite strange. It had patterns he'd never seen before on a common mushroom, and they reminded him of the classic optical illusion of a wheel used for hypnotizing in his past life.
Anyway, the system had told him there was no problem eating this mushroom, so he simply didn't think too much about it and put it in his mouth.
However, before he could consume it, a shadow intercepted his hand and quickly seized the mushroom.
Orion watched in surprise as the pink-haired girl arrived, looking at him with a big smile, holding the mushroom in her hand.
"Gloriosa! What are you doing? Give me back that mushroom!" Orion said, somewhat panicking. The girl often displayed erratic behavior, and he feared she was going to eat the mushroom that had cost him a large portion of his SP!
"Oh, how selfish you are, Orion. I shared my candy with you the other day, and now you're acting like I'm going to steal your food!" Gloriosa said, somewhat annoyed by Orion's attitude, and before he could react, she took a bite of the mushroom.
"Nooo!!!" Orion shouted, and ran at full speed toward her to prevent her from eating the entire mushroom.
Gloriosa ate the piece of mushroom in her mouth and made a disgusted face, then stuck out her tongue and began to spit, trying to rid herself of the horrible taste invading her taste buds.
"Ugh, what is this crap?! Orion, isn't this mushroom poisonous-"
Gloriosa's words were left unfinished, as she suddenly fainted.
Orion arrived just in time to break her fall, took her in his arms, and sighed with relief when he saw that part of the mushroom remained; perhaps he could still save the day.
However, fate slapped him in the face again, as the snake that was always by Gloriosa's side opened its mouth and ate the remaining piece of mushroom, fainting immediately just like its master.
Orion didn't react for a few seconds, but eventually came to and began shaking the snake, trying to get it to spit out the precious mushroom.
However, it was no use. The item he had spent 5,000 SP acquiring had disappeared in the absurd way possible!
Orion sat down on the ground and checked that Gloriosa was okay.
The mushroom had caused her to faint, but beyond that, there seemed to be no other problem.
He sighed, wondering what he should do next to continue with his plan, but a new system notification sounded in his mind.
*Ding*
*You have affected the Pseudo Named Character Gloriosa, changing her future. You have obtained 300 SP*
*Gloriosa has been registered in the system. Her information will now appear just like that of a Named Character*
Orion looked at the system notification with great surprise. He then checked the favorability screen and saw that Gloriosa's name had been registered, and that her favorability was 55.
She also now appeared with a marker on the system map.
Orion was confused; this was the first time he'd encountered a Pseudo Named Character, and he didn't quite know what it meant. Was she a character from the original One Piece story, or wasn't she? What made her "Pseudo"?
Regardless, the appearance of new Named Characters was always welcome, as it meant a greater chance of gaining SP.
What caught his attention was that so far the system hadn't identified her, and interacting with her hadn't given him a single SP.
Could it be that this time he had produced such a great change in her that he had "activated" her as a Named Character?
Orion didn't pursue his thoughts any further; there would be time to come to a conclusion later, when he had more information at his disposal.
He took the unconscious girl and her snake and headed deeper into the forest.
After a few minutes, he reached a cavern and entered, carrying Gloriosa.
Once inside, he opened a door in the air and entered the Pocket Dimension.
A long time passed until the girl regained consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself in a strange place, and her surroundings were blurry. It was the first time she had seen anything like this, and she became deeply curious about the novel experience.
She loved adventure and new things, and her first reaction to waking up in a completely foreign environment was not fear, but excitement.
"Gloriosa, we need to talk."
Orion's voice echoed in the girl's ears, drawing her attention.
She turned her head and saw that Orion was sitting cross-legged on the floor, not far away.
"Orion? Where are we?" Gloriosa asked curiously.
"Right now, we're in a parallel space created by me. We're the only two people in here, and it's impossible to escape unless I open a door," Orion replied calmly.
Gloriosa opened her mouth in surprise and looked around once more, observing the confines of the small sphere they were in.
Then she looked at Orion again and restrained her smile.
"What are we doing here, Orion?"
It was the first time he'd seen her so serious. Gloriosa usually had only one state: hyperactive joy. Although he had also seen her cry uncontrollably on one occasion, and be depressed for a few days after being rejected by Kalifa.
Now, however, it was the first time he'd seen her so serious, and her demeanor had changed completely.
Orion didn't try to skirt the issue, and said directly:
"I brought you here because I want to discuss something seriously with you."
Gloriosa said nothing and waited for Orion to continue his explanation.
"You see, Gloriosa, I'm planning to escape from Guanhao, and I'd like you to come with me."
"Escape?" Gloriosa asked in disbelief.
Of all the things she thought Orion might say to her, this was probably one of the most unexpected.
Was there anyone on this damned island who wanted to escape? the girl thought.
"That's right. I've been planning my escape for a while, and I know you want to leave too. Didn't you say you wanted to explore the world? Your dream is to go to the island of the women "Amazon Lily", right?"
Gloriosa's breathing quickened. It was true that she longed to get out into the outside world and escape this cage, but she had never seriously considered escaping the hands of the World Government. Those were simply her fantasies, where she took refuge to escape her everyday reality. She was the government's property, and she didn't want to think about it.
"Escape? You think it's that easy to do? It may seem that there is not much security on this island, but if you try to leave, you'll only end up dead," said Gloriosa. Although she seemed to be trying to convince Orion, she was actually trying to convince herself. Convince herself that she shouldn't do something crazy.
"Don't worry, it's not something I decided at the last minute. I have a plan. I can assure you that it's absolutely possible to escape from this island, and from the World Government."
Gloriosa's pupils trembled, and her heart pounded in her chest.
"What if I told you I don't want to escape with you?" Gloriosa said.
"Well, in that case, I'd have no choice but to respect your wishes," Orion replied.
Then he took out a small bottle from his inventory and added with a smile.
"Although I can't risk you ruining my plans, so I'd have to give you this medicine. Don't worry, it's not that potent. It'll only put you to sleep for a while, and it'll make you lose some of your memory of these days."
Seeing Orion's smile, Gloriosa felt goosebumps rise all over her skin, and she immediately said,
"Hahaha, it was just a joke, Orion. I was just testing you. You do know I want to get off this island, right?"
Orion put away the small bottle and replied.
"Of course, if I wasn't sure you wanted to escape just like me, I wouldn't have told you my plans. After all, we're friends, right? If I escape, I can't leave you behind."
He wasn't lying. He had deduced that Gloriosa wanted to leave this island a long time ago, and now she was just undergoing a final test. There was no way he would leave her on the island and go off on his own.
"Friends? Bah! Don't try to wriggle out of your responsibilities! We agreed that you would be my future husband! Don't think I've forgotten that!" Gloriosa said, returning to her usual cheerful demeanor.
"That's something we'll talk about in the future. Now we're talking about the escape plan!" Orion said, changing the subject.
"Honestly, I need your help during this escape." he added
"Sure, tell me what you need me to do? Do you want me to eliminate mountains of enemies with my powerful techniques?" Gloriosa said, raising her arms grandiloquently.
"No, I want you to help me hypnotize the other recruits," Orion replied drily.
"Hypnotize? Are you confused? I don't know how to hypnotize people."
Orion remembered the 5,000 SP he had spent on the mysterious mushroom, and a vein bulged on his forehead. He took a deep breath and remained calm.
"The mushroom you ate gave you the ability to hypnotize."
Gloriosa looked at him with pity, as if she were seeing a demented person, and thought Orion might not be in his right mind.
He noticed her gaze but didn't bother to explain. He simply took out a pendulum he had prepared and said:
"Here, try hypnotizing me."
Gloriosa took the pendulum Orion gave her and looked at him with even more pity in her eyes, causing Orion to explode.
"Shit! Just do it!" roared Orion.
Gloriosa waved the pendulum in front of Orion's eyes and said:
"On the count of three, you're going to sleep! One, two, three!"
Orion remained wide awake, but a notification appeared on the system screen:
*You have suffered a mental attack. The "Strong Mind" skill has been activated.*
Seeing the notification, he sighed in relief. At least the ability to hypnotize hadn't been lost because he hadn't been the one to consume the mysterious mushroom.
Orion looked at the still-conscious snake and wondered if it had also acquired the powers to hypnotize.
On the other hand, Gloriosa saw that no change had occurred in Orion, and thought he was truly delirious.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and said:
"Don't worry, Orion. I won't let my husband suffer. I'll get you the medical attention you need."
"Enough! The hypnosis did work; it just didn't work on me because my mind is very strong!"
Orion saw Gloriosa looking at him skeptically and immediately picked her up and left the cave. Then, he ran at full speed to the house where they lived, where he met Kalifa, who was happily eating some sweets.
When she saw that Orion and Gloriosa had arrived and found her secretly eating candy, she tried to hide the treats and put on a serious face, while taking out a book and pretending to read.
Orion ignored Kalifa's funny behavior and said to Gloriosa:
"Try your new skill one more time."
Gloriosa followed Orion's gaze and realized he wanted her to hypnotize Kalifa. She reluctantly approached her, intending to show Orion that she didn't have hypnotic powers and that he needed to stop fantasizing. But after waving the pendulum in front of Kalifa's eyes and counting to three, the little girl fell asleep!
"Damn! Do I really have hypnotic powers?!" Gloriosa exclaimed, and proceeded to try to order Kalifa around.
After a few minutes, Gloriosa was pleasantly receiving a foot massage from Kalifa, and she was finally convinced of her new powers.
After all, with their normal dynamic, Kalifa would never have agreed to give her a foot massage!
"Now that you're convinced, are you ready to hear my plan?" Orion said, sitting down next to her.
Gloriosa nodded and broke the hypnosis on Kalifa, then looked at the little girl who was looking at her in confusion and said
"Okay, but tell Kali too. She's one of us."
Orion stared at little Kalifa for a moment, and finally sighed.
With a wave of his hand, a door opened in the air, and the three people disappeared into the Pocket Dimension without a trace.