Chapter 112: Scouting
"Where are we going?" Tiamat asked, looking bored as we casually walked through a forest. Far ahead of us, the shadow of a massive skull, looking to be easily thousands of feet tall and just as wide, hung overhead.
"Scouting," I said simply, picking up the pace a bit as I started to walk a bit faster, "Kaido and his main crew are out on an expedition right now, so this is the perfect opportunity to scout out the country. Solitaire said they won’t be back for a few more days at least."
It would seem luck was on my side - possibly due to my high LUK stat, or perhaps just a coincidence - as I discovered that Kaido wasn’t currently in Wano. It wasn’t actually super rare for the Captain of the Beast Pirates to go on expeditions in the New World, though he never left for more than a few weeks, and usually only left less than a dozen times every year.
Considering how rarely he left, I’d have to wait numerous weeks once he returned for another chance like this, so I had to take advantage of it. I brought Tiamat with me just in case something unexpected happened and I needed backup, but as I glanced at my sheathed sword, I was confident I could handle anything.
Especially after using [Weapon Devour] to consume the Boosted Gear. I had considered genuinely tying the Sacred Gear to my soul, as there weren’t many Sacred Gears better than the Boosted Gear even if I did end up only being able to tie one to myself, but decided against it.
It wasn’t like I went anywhere dangerous without my sword anyway, and with [Weapon Devour] it would grow stronger with me, which meant I wouldn’t ever want a different one. If it did end up breaking at some point, I would just have Vargan repair it - as he could’ve with my old sword, but had wanted to give me an upgrade since repairing it would’ve been as much work as making an entirely new one.
So, the Boosted Gear was now tied to my sword - and let me tell ya, it’s as broken as I imagined. In a single instant, I could double my strength, which just made me even more unkillable. My only weakness - that being running out of MP before I could drain my opponents of their stats with my gear - was now negated, as I could double my MP reserves constantly.
I was almost cocky enough to consider entering an S-Rank world with this on me, but there was no need to rush. I would focus on this world first, and then likely take down a quicker D-Rank world as my forces prepared for a B-Rank one.
It was good to be confident, but it wasn’t good to be arrogant. All it took was one thing to go wrong in a dangerous world for me to die, and when I was dead, it was game over. There would be no chance to prepare better for next time, because there would be no next time.
"...Doesn’t that mean we should just invade now?" Tiamat asked, glancing over at me curiously, "If he’s gone with the main members of his crew, then there’s not much here to oppose us, right?"
She was correct, and I had considered that approach, but-
"I want him to be here," I said simply, shaking my head lightly, "It’s not about taking Wano, but about taking him, and his entire crew. If we take this island while he’s gone, then he’ll send his ’All-Stars’ to reclaim it, and then run with his tail between his legs when they fail. Tracking him down again would be annoying."