Starting in One Piece: Fantasy Realm Multiverse

As the group approaches the smiling Mikora, Alex can't help but compare her to the other Centaurs.

He has seen quite a few of them around the camp. It doesn't matter whether they are male or female, Alex finds all of them somewhat savage-looking, with the exception of Firenze, who appears more like a refined young scholar compared to the rest.

Mikora, however, looks radically different. She seems extremely young, her expression curious and friendly, nothing like the monstrous Centaurs they had encountered before.

"Show us what you have to offer, cutie!" Tereza says with a friendly smile.

… This woman is so silly.

"Cutie? Are you talking to me? I don't know that word, but it sounds like a compliment," Mikora wonders aloud.

"Don't think too hard about it. She's just saying that, compared to many other Centaurs, you look quite… preferable in terms of human optics," Alex tries to explain but gets stuck halfway, making his explanation sound sketchy.

"I see. Thank you, then. I think you three are all cuties as well. You carry an air of confidence, but I feel that deep down, you are lost within an endless darkness. However, it looks like you have already found a small light in the distance. Continue to follow it, and you'll truly blossom," she says, directing her words at Tereza who immediately shakes a little, extremely interested in her words.

She then turns to Alex and says:

"You… you have a lot of untapped potential. I can't tell you much about yourself, which is actually the greatest compliment I can give. Your future is completely undetermined and up to you. Make whatever decision you feel is right, but be aware, everything you do has consequences. Whether you'll be happy with them is often not clear immediately. You should always monitor your progress and see if the path you are walking is truly the one you want," she says.

Alex just shrugs.

I don't believe in this… whatever it is. But hey, my future is up to me? I'll take it!

Mikora then turns to Rishi and, in a much colder tone, says, "I won't bother you with any words because you'll deem them worthless, whatever they may be."

Alex raises an eyebrow. "You know, Mikora, my first impression of you was kinda different. You're a lot deeper than I thought."

"That's because… I was just kidding! Hehe, how did you like my impression of Brother Firenze? Was it good? You just have to take a quick look at someone and say some random cryptic stuff that can be interpreted to fit most people's situations. It's so funny, isn't it?" she says with a grin.

"..."

Really?!

"Really?" Tereza asks, intrigued. "But I felt like it was kinda accurate. Also, why didn't you predict Rishi's fate?"

"Because I don't have anything to say about him. He hides his emotions too well," she responds enthusiastically.

"Anyway, please just show us what you can sell," Alex says in a defeated voice, getting just a tiny bit annoyed that she wasted their time and even more annoyed that he didn't realize it at first.

I'm not trying to get a cold reading lesson from female Centaur John Edwards.

"Sure, here you go!" she says, displaying her wares. Dozens of items appear before them.

Alex, Tereza, and Rishi scan through her stock, curiously analyzing everything they come across.

Healing herbs, various tribal medicines, and some weapons; mostly spears and bows… hmm…

Alex quickly notices that the items do not cost Contribution Points but instead require some sort of strange token.

"What are these tokens, Mikora?" Alex asks. Rishi also looks at her, clearly having the same question. A tiny hint of a smile appears on his face.

Did he predict I'd ask this and is happy his prediction came true? This guy is surprisingly childish and likes to play silly games. I wonder if he likes silly prices as well?

"You can get these from Brother Firenze! I don't know what he wants in return," she says.

Alex scans through the different items again, and finally, he sees something he's interested in: [Murtlap Essence], [Powdered Erumpent Horn], [Glowing Fairy Wings].

Together, these items cost 60 Tokens, and they are all light blue to light purple in rarity.

"I think these three would be the smartest thing for me," he says to Tereza.

"Oh, thinking about Menchi? Giving her precious potion ingredients? Don't you think you're overdoing it a little? She's just starting out, isn't she? Think about yourself for once!" Tereza teases him with a smile.

Alex looks embarrassed and quickly clarifies, "Ah, no, actually, I wanted these things to try and feed them to the egg. [Fairy Wings] are used in the Girding and Beautification Potion, so maybe the pet will gain increased stamina and look cuter? I'd pay anything if it doesn't look scary, like that damn huge mutated Matriarch. These [Glowing Fairy Wings] are probably incredibly rare. They're the priciest at 40 tokens and are Light Purple quality, so they must be good."

"Well, as for [Powdered Erumpent Horn] and [Murtlap Essence], the horn has various benefits, usually used for strengthening potions, and the essence protects against the dark and is also known to have recuperative properties," Alex explains.

"It's kinda weird, talking about eggs and feeding them… but hey, if it works? Anyway, what are you aiming for? See something cool? I saw an interesting dagger," he asks her.

"Yeah, but no. I have two great daggers as you know, and I'm currently focusing more on magic. I saw just one thing I'm really interested in, and it only costs one token. I've seen a few deep-blue to purple items that also need the same token. It definitely looks different from the other tokens. This is what I'm talking about," she says, pointing Alex toward the [Healing Magic Skillbook].

[Healing Magic Skillbook]

World: Harry Potter / Wizarding World

Quality: Purple

Effect: Teaches you how to cast healing spells exclusive to the Wizarding World, giving you access to a new spell at each rank.

Note: Given to the Centaurs in exchange for their own unique Healing arts a long time ago. It doesn't only contain a deep legacy behind it; some of the contents are unknown to modern Wizards.

Note: Choosing this spell school may prevent you from learning other magic systems or cause conflicts with existing spell schools that are not compatible.

Note: Can only be bought by a single player per mission.

[Healing Magic (Wizarding World)]

Requirements: 6 MNA, 6 INT + 1 per level, 4 SPR + 1 per 2 levels

Requirements: Basic Mana Control lvl 0, Basic Concentration lvl 0 + 1 per level

Requirements: Charms lvl 0, Transfiguration lvl 0 + 1 per level

Leveling Requirements: 2,000 Fantasy Coins + 1000 per level

Effects: Grants the user a different healing spell on every level

Effects: Enhances the effect of your healing spells belonging to this skill by 10% +2% per level. All other healing spells and abilities are enhanced by 5% +1% per level.

"Huh, healing magic? Is that even useful? Aren't most of them just counter-curses? They're useless for anything other than canceling a single curse!" Alex questions, not understanding why she's interested in the skillbook.

Tereza explains, "There are quite a few healing spells useful in any circumstance. I doubt the Realm would give me access to random counter-curses and then label it as Purple quality."

"Huh, really? Name one healing spell from Harry Potter. I can't remember a single one!" Alex challenges her.

"That's because they have high requirements! But a few simple ones are available even to students. Healing magic is one of the most difficult study paths. You need extremely good grades to even qualify to learn under someone, but some spells are just that impressive, so it's worth studying these difficult spells," Tereza explains.

"As for specific healing spells, I can name quite a few. For example, Episkey, which is just a minor healing charm for light injuries. Then there's the Reviving Spell, Rennervate, it's almost like bringing the dead to life. Of course, it can't actually revive someone, but it can wake up an unconscious person. Anyway, there are bound to be a few useful spells inside," Tereza explains.

"I guess we could use a healer in our party. It pretty much has the same requirements as your other spells, and once you use your [Spell Mastery Skillbook], you can learn this one as well. However, this skill demands a bit of SPR. Will you be fine with that?"

"Yeah, that low amount is not a problem," she says.

"You should go for it. This is the first healing skill I've seen. They seem to be extremely rare, and even if this one isn't the best, frankly, it's probably worse than others, it's the only thing we've got, and it fits perfectly into your build, Tereza," Rishi chimes in.

"Who says it's worse than others, huh? Keep your silly wild guesses to yourself!" Tereza snaps back, obviously not happy with her chosen magic being mocked.

"What are you interested in buying, Rishi?" Alex asks, trying to calm things down.

Rishi shares the details of the item he's interested in. Alex had actually seen it too, but he ignored it since it couldn't compare to his own [Nimbus Cloak].

[Endless Stampede]

World: Harry Potter / Wizarding World

Quality: Blue

Type: Cloak (Scarf)

Durability: 40/40

Effect: Increases AGI by 1 (Flat boost, not increased by skills)

Effect: Increases PHY by 2 (Flat boost, not increased by skills)

Note: Running is living

"How much is it… 40 Tokens? That many?" Alex asks, surprised at the price for what seems like a basic item.

"It seems like a lot, but I desperately need this, as you know. Also, I got a few extra Essences earlier. If I'm right, they'll come in handy," Rishi calmly responds.

Heh, now that I look at it, this thing looks like a gray, torn scarf a primitive warrior would wear. Hahaha, it doesn't suit him at all!

"It doesn't suit you at all," Tereza says with a huge smirk.

"As usual, you are quite superficial, Tereza," Rishi responds, causing her to look slightly offended.

This stings… Well, I don't know if it's a good thing that Tereza and Rishi are a bit more open with each other or not. At first, this bickering might seem bad for our group… but I think they're finally opening up a little, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Well, it looks like we all found something we like. Let's turn to Firenze and see what it actually takes to buy these beauties," Alex suggests.

They head over to Firenze, who looks somewhat shaken and distant. He's obviously troubled, deeply wounded by the fact that he had to personally condemn several of his own kin to execution, even though it was the right thing to do.

Firenze stares at them with sad eyes before speaking.

"Humans… I am sorry. This is not a good time. I assume you came here after visiting Mikora, right? I'll make it simple. A [Warrior Token] for a [Gem of Corruption]. I'll offer ten for every [Essence of Corruption], and for this evil, nightmarish Essence you call [Quintessence of Corruption], I will offer a [Champion's Token]. We will cleanse these corrupted things, which will hopefully not only restore some of the forest's spirit but also weaken the corruption within it."

Alex immediately hands Tereza the [Quintessence of Corruption] and says, "Get the book. Also, hand me your five [Gem of Corruption] and your two [Essence of Corruption]. Together with mine, I'll get 50 tokens for five Essences and 10 tokens for 10 gems. Exactly the 60 [Warrior Tokens] I need."

Tereza hesitates, her hands shaking slightly. "How many times have you given me these outrageously expensive gifts? Without any conditions, just like that! You know my contract forces me to pay you 500,000 FC. If you add up everything you've given me, you must have spent even more than that by now! What are you even doing? It makes no sense! You're acting stupid," she says, sounding almost angry.

She's so silly. Does she really think I'm just using her at this point? Even a blind person can see that we're a damn team, and that contract means nothing. It's time to finally address this...!

Without hesitation, Alex takes out his [Player Contract - Tereza Řezník] and rips it to shreds right in front of her, shocking her completely.

As Tereza stares at Alex with wide, confused eyes, struggling to process what just happened, Alex smirks and asks, "What did the five fingers say to the butt?"

"Huh?! What?!" she blurts out, totally lost.

"SLAP!" Alex announces with a grin before using her temporary confusion to slap her ass… hard, finally getting his revenge for the time she did the same to him in the Realm.

A loud slap echoes through the camp as Tereza jumps into the air in shock.

"That was cooold bloooded," Alex jokes, displaying a deeply satisfied grin.

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