MTL NOVEL Chapter 31: CH-31:)
'And an 80% chance of straight up not working? What the heck [Game]? None of my other [Skills] have come with penalties that bad. Ugh, I'm gonna have to grind this ASAP.'
Whatever. Let's just go the main event.
You know I'm kind of surprised that the '?' turned out to be a mystery box for a second time. When I saw the [UPDATE REWARD] sure the thought struck me that it could be the same deal as last time but...I just thought the [Game] might have a bit more of a degree of randomness for me y'know?
Is it weird that I feel a small sense of dread?
I mean, I'm about to get a free prize.
One that only become available about 10 minutes ago when I got the [UPDATE] and all I can think about is how I've mentally locked myself in to the 'Ancient Language Path'.
Ding!
You are attempting to open a mystery box.
Please select one of the following three items.
1. Treasure Map- Gomago's Grotto: Six years ago the South Blue pirate captain Gabrian Gomago and his crew were defeated and slaughtered to the last man. Two weeks before the decisive battle though, Gomago stashed all of his plunder inside a hidden alcove he had discovered many years prior. This map may be the only surviving clue to help locate the elusive lost riches which rumor claims includes one of the worlds 50 Ryo Wazamono Grade Swords. Selecting this item comes with +5 levels to the [Skill] [Bladed Weapon Mastery].
2. [Skillbook]: Reading the Ancient Language Vol.2:The Poneglyph's and their texts are one of the greatest mysteries of the world. After obtaining Vol.1 you planted yourself in the worlds 'Top 20 Experts' when it comes to reading the lost text. A pretty sad achievement considering you only understand three letters of it. With this [Skillbook] you can expand your knowledge and maybe read more than just the word 'The'. Selecting this item comes with a permanent +3 INT and +3 WIS.
3. Mysterious Mushroom: There are many known magical fruits in the world but what's the deal with this spotted green and white fungus? Scientists have confirmed that it has no special properties they can detect and yet myths and old wives tales persist that it can be used to bring the dead back to life. Consuming this item grants you +1 life and +3 LUK.
'Ohhh ho ho fuck you [Game]. Seriously. You're going to dangle a strong start on a swordsmanship career and a freaking 'Mario 1UP Shroom' in front of me and I'm going to have to ignore them both because I'm already committed to the knowledge route.'
Is my weakness to the sunk cost fallacy a personality flaw. Oh absolutely. Is me being cognizant of that fact going to stop me from cutting my losses and choosing options 1 or 3?
Not a chance.
I selected the second option and, after re-checking that Mori was still preoccupied, extracted the [Skillbook] from my inventory and consumed it.
INT (52) → (55) WIS (50) → (53) Ding!
You have unlocked the letters 'W', 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' for the lost language.
Someone somewhere is definitely laughing at me. Are you laughing at me ROB? I feel like I can hear your cackling.
Four letters this time but they're all among the least useful. It's almost like I've made no progress at all.
I wiped the small scowl off my face as Mori approached and returned the snail to my care. "Backup should be here in less than five. Apparently the local branch was already mobilizing due to the smoke coming out the roof." "Well at least something is going right today."
The Chief slides down on the crate next to me and fishes a half-empty pack of cigarettes out of his pants. He glances around at the ruined mess of a warehouse and sighs tiredly at the mixed array of unconscious bodies and corpses. "What a fucking mess..." he whispers mirthlessly.
I'd agree with him but suddenly there's another annoyance pressing on my mind.
"You didn't happen to see where my guns went did you?"
It's only been a few days since the shoot-out and though there's been no report in the local papers, much of the town has been talking about the incident in hushed whispers. The Marines of course tried to keep the whole thing quiet, but like most scandals, someone seems to have blabbed. The Captain of the local base, a man with a thick white beard named Rasure, asked the two of us -or in Mori's case ordered- to stick around until the end of the week in case any other questions arose.
On Earth the kind of injuries Mori received would have had the man laid up for weeks. Bullet holes and broken bones were not things you got to just spend a few days sleeping off.
It's quite fortunate that no one bothered telling the One Piece universe that. The Marine doctor at the Philridge branch took one look at the Chief and said 'All he needs is 3-4 days rest and he'll be right as rain.'
For me though...it's a slightly different story. Although my heal rate may not be advanced enough to make a stark difference in the heat of battle, 'At least not yet', the fact that I was back to 100% before even going to bed that night had people goggling at me like I was some kind of medical marvel. I even overheard a doctor whispering to his colleague about wanting to take a few blood and tissue samples. A part of me is curious if they'd discover anything...but on the other hand...probably best to stay away from men in white coats.
It wasn't hard to keep myself busy as I waited around for Mori to heal. Obviously there were many areas of the base I wasn't allowed in to, but as long as I didn't try to ditch the 'escort' who was following me everywhere I was pretty much allowed to do whatever I wanted.
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