Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure

Gobsmacked at learning the truth—that the owner of Cashing, the man he wanted to rob, had already been robbed less than a week earlier—Alex stares at him blankly.

What the fuck does he mean? He has been robbed... that sounds like an excuse. I can’t be that unlucky, can I? Usually, my LUK is great. Robbing someone who has been robbed is so insanely unlucky that I am growing suspicious. Is that guy making up a lie and trying to scam me?

I'd better hear him out... I can still use violence afterwards.

Finally, he calms down and says in an eerily quiet voice, “Explain... now!”

“What can I explain?!” the owner replies, sounding frustrated. “Some people threatened me! I can’t tell you their names since I don’t know them... they weren’t wanted either. They are nobodies! Some damn evil robbers! They did not just rob me... they also threatened me. They... forced me to hand them all my money, and then said if I report it, they’ll make it the last thing I do. Thankfully, I just lost my inventory, so the only thing of value I had was cash.”

That sounds... like players! It’s actually a smart strategy! If they were to kill him, the city would be alerted, and everyone would look for a bunch of murdering robbers... but if they leave him alive and force him to remain silent... they get to keep the money without any risk of getting exposed. That’s actually genius.

“... damn, how much did they take?” Alex asks him.

“Do I have to tell?! What does it matter?!” the owner says, looking lorn. “I have nothing more to lose... just leave me alone! I am under enough pressure as is! Do you have to torture me even more? This is so painful to talk about.”

He then stomps on the ground, glaring at Alex.

His reaction... it seems a little too overdone. I’m not a genius, but I know when someone wants to bullshit me. This guy is a liar... and a third-rate actor.

“I don’t like these playe... no, people very much... which means, if I take you out... it would cause them problems...” Alex slowly mutters, his eyes growing cold as he taps into his [Shepard’s Promise R2], using it to enhance his pressure, as his eyes briefly flash red.

“Since your existence protects them and not me, that means you are someone working against me, someone who is actually helping my enemies. So that means... you can just die!” he finally yells, his face turning ice-cold.

“N—n—noooo! Please, please!” the owner begs, dropping to his knees.

“Then speak as your life depends on it! I know you are lying to me!” Alex yells. “How much did they take?”

“180 million Belly!” the owner yells, closing his eyes.

“Only 180 million? Your store is large and frankly well known... surely you must have more than that,” Alex says. “Especially if you are willing to exchange gold. 180 million Belly is way too little, I don’t believe you!”

He had 300 million when he paid the Straw Hats. 180 million Belly seems way too low. This guy must be deceiving me! I know he is hiding things from me.

“Usually... yes,” the man replies. “I invested a lot of my money... so it’s gone.”

“Invested? Tell me everything, I am losing my patience!” Alex says, now waving around his [Executioner’s Blade R2].

“I... invested... in a slave...” the owner finally states, sighing.

“A slave?” Alex asks. “I said, get to the point. What are you even talking about?”

“A mermaid...” the owner states. “A beautiful, innocent goddess... I just had to buy her... she is the woman of my dreams! I bought her at Sabaody... cost me most of my savings. Everyone wanted her. Usually, 100 million would be plenty, but I spent 300 million Belly. I just had to have her. Well, it ended badly... for me and for my marriage, when my wife found out on my return. Not only did she take a lot of money, but she also took the mermaid.... Worst of all, I didn’t even do anything to her yet?! That damn witch, I swear I could kill this jealous, dirty, old, rotten, who—”

“Just shut up. You wanted to cheat, so you paid the price for it—it all looks fair to me,” Alex responds, a drop of sweat running down his face.

Better not think of the spider... also, I haven’t cheated... technically... right?! Am I also like this scumbag? Will Karma get me as well?! No! I just went along with the others... forget about it, this isn’t the time.

“Anyway, I am nearly done with you, and I have decided to leave you alone. You are pathetic enough... now... just do me a favor and open the safe!” Alex says, with a grin.

“Why... I told you I got robbed!” the man says, his legs growing unsteady.

“This is a damn currency exchange. Even if you went broke, you need cash to stay in business! Maybe you took a loan, maybe you sold some assets—either way, I know you’re holding out on me. Open the safe if you want to live!” Alex demands. “Or... do you want me to loot your corpse for the key?! I can do that as well!”

“I... how could you?! Twice within a week! I beg you, I...” the man tries to say, but Alex unleashes his Aura, activating Ren, causing him to immediately collapse. He then crawls to the safe anyway, crying while he does so.

A few seconds later, Alex looks into the open safe and spots a sizeable amount of bills. With a grin, he stuffs them all into his inventory, earning himself exactly 100 million Belly.

“That’s not even my money, it’s all loaned!” the man yells. “Please, I need this money!”

“Don’t worry, the Marines will pay you back. I am seizing this under the order of... Vice-Admiral Garp!” Alex lies. “I am offering you the same deal as the real robbers gave you. Keep it to yourself... or die! Just to make sure you know I am not bluffing... taste this!”

Alex then quickly conjures Thorian’s Domination and uses its ability, Unleash Spores, on the shocked owner, causing him to slump and then stagger back to his feet once again—his head spinning as he smiles weirdly, only partially conscious.

Heh, he looks stoned! Perfect.

He then backtracks and leaves the same way he came, diving back into the water after conjuring Sea King’s Giant Plate Swimfin.

When he finally reemerges on the surface of the canal, he smiles, deeply satisfied.

You did very well. You are awesome. Keep praising yourself for once. You did it!

Totally satisfied with his achievements—which, in reality, only boil down to diving, searching, and robbing—Alex slowly but surely walks back to their hideout, of course taking off [Jack’s Spare Silvery Mask] before abandoning his sketchy, criminal cover.

When he arrives, the sun has already set.

Feeling a little mischievous, Alex slaps his cheeks, then tries to look angry and sad.

With his face now looking like a man who’s tasted defeat, he enters and immediately sees Benezia, Menchi, and Tereza sitting at the table, while Jewel is cuddling with Tereza, stuck inside her blouse, resting on her back.

“Welcome back!” Menchi says, moving forward. “Oh no... doesn’t look like it went well... you are also back a little earlier than usual.”

“It’s fine,” she says, putting her hand on Alex’s shoulders. “Sometimes things just go wrong... we didn’t achieve anything either.”

“Indeed,” Benezia says, displaying a hint of dissatisfaction, not directed at Alex, but seemingly at herself.

❤️

“What’s wrong, Jewel?” Tereza asks, as Jewel suddenly begins to dance on Tereza’s back.

Princess Jewel knew that Soulmate could do it!

Can’t hide anything from this spider...! Damn spoiler!

Alex sighs, then smiles. “Guess I got caught. I did indeed succeed. It couldn’t have gone better, to be totally honest.”

“Really?!” Tereza asks, perking up.

“Enlighten us then,” Benezia states bluntly.

Sitting down, he begins to narrate his tale, starting on the first day of his diving. Everyone’s eyes quickly grow excited and impressed as Alex reveals his precious [Hades' Hammer], as he shares the item’s details with the group.

“Too bad it’s a hammer,” Benezia states, as she scans through its details.

“Come on, Benezia,” Tereza says, slightly nudging her with her elbow. “Don’t be like that. This item is incredible. Alex, you did really well. This looks like a seriously powerful item. Surely it’s a treasure worth millions.”

Benezia stares at Tereza, who promptly backs off, regretting her casual action.

“It is...” Menchi says, looking at Tereza, “But I get what Benezia means. Hammers are usually tools, and they’re rarely used as weapons. The skill it requires, Hammer Proficiency, is rare and not very powerful. This isn’t a mace, which would be more common and useful. Still, I guess it has its uses. This item is so strong, it might be worth learning Hammer Proficiency just to use it. Items like these can define a player’s entire strategy. Anyway, that’s what my experience on the market tells me, I might be wrong.”

“Looks like you learned something from me after all,” Benezia says, smiling just a little. “This item is incredibly powerful, but if it had a slightly more common and viable weapon type, it could have easily earned us millions—or preferably, allowed one of you to wield it.”

“We can think about what to do with it later! Anyway,” Alex continues. “Afterwards, I thought about our lack of funds... so I did something slightly... risky. It seems to have worked out, though.”

He then narrates his encounter in the Exchange shop, telling the group about the earlier robbery.

“Heh, I feel a little bad for the owner,” Menchi says.

“Forget that perverted leech, he got what he deserves!” Tereza says, hugging Alex. “You are awesome, Alex. You really did it!”

Jewel also jumps onto his head and happily dances.

❤️

“Should we quickly exchange our money for the item? We finally managed to obtain 300 million Belly... I am also worried someone else will steal it,” Alex says.

“It’s a valid suggestion,” Benezia states. “We should do it as quickly as possible, to give other adversaries no opening to rob us of our intended prize.”

Nodding at each other, the group quickly heads back to the underground shop.

They quickly pool their money and hand Alex the required 300 Million Belly.

With a huge load of cash in his inventory, Alex walks over to the system display and scrolls through the available items. Finally, he selects the [Great Grade Blade (Unidentified)], costing him exactly 300 million Belly.

Now... please... get me something good!