CHAPTER 5:
Battle of Goat Island
5…4…3…2…1
Like a flood bursting out of a dam, pirates quickly poured out of the Love Duck and started looking around.
SLAM!
Alvida slammed the door open so hard that it broke from the seams. "Who dares shoot at us?! Find whoever did that and bring them to me!" Alvida's veins were popping out of her face. She was so furious that she swung her mace like a bat at an unsuspecting pirate who flew out of the ship and landed in the water.
John ran back down to the right entrance and shouted, "Coby, let's go!!
The pirates all turned their heads toward Coby, who blanched at their stares. Alvida's eyes darkened as she looked at Coby. "What's the meaning of this, you useless brat?!! You dare betray me?! The most beautiful in all the seas?!!!" Alvida stepped closer to the petrified boy.
"Run, Coby, run!!!"
Coby moved back and then he stopped. "Alvida-sama, in all the seas... you are the ugliest damned bitch!!"
Then, Coby ran with all his might, the pirates on his tail on the right-side path.
John shouted, "Coby, hurry!" He aimed his rifle at the head of the pirate in front.
The bullet whooshed by the man's head, but it hit the pirate behind him in the shoulder, toppling him down. A pirate whipped out his dagger and threw it at Coby. It missed, but it left a cut on his arm. Nearing the barricade, Coby looked back at the pirates behind him and to the front, where John was. He lowered his running stance and then...BAM! He jumped up into the air, aiming to land behind the barricade. As he went down, he saw that he wasn't going to make it and would hit the barricade instead. But then John jumped and climbed the barricade, just in time to catch Coby. The two of them crashed onto the ground behind the barricade.
John stood up and shouted, "ATTACK!"
The residents of Goat Island started attacking the bewildered pirates. Some threw rocks, some threw daggers and knives, and Mitsuo slashed at any pirate that got too close. John set his rifle barrel down on the barricade and shot at a pirate running towards them. Bang! A bullet embedded itself in the man's forehead, instantly killing him.
20 exp!
LEVEL UP! Level 3 (10/300)
Gained 1 Stat point
Plus 5 Max HP
Plus 1 Max AP
One of the pirates commanded, "Rush them all together!" The group of pirates rushed at them and they were quickly gaining ground.
"Dynamite!" shouted John, and one of the locals tossed one to Mitsuo. He brought it up to his mouth and lit it with his cigarette, exhaling as he did so. Mitsuo threw it at them and the pirates panicked. They scattered, but the explosion still got a few of them. Surprisingly, the dynamites weren't strong enough to kill them; they could still be seen moving.
10 exp!
10 exp!
10 exp!
10 exp!
John was surprised. He wasn't the one who threw the dynamite, and the pirates didn't even die, but he still got experience points for it.
Does the system consider Mitsuo as my companion?... and also, I don't have to kill them to gain experience?
John was actually a bit hesitant to kill these pirates. Not because he abhorred killing, but because of Mitsuo. He suspected the man was a former pirate, but someone who had left that life behind and was currently living in peace as a fisherman. It seemed Sasa also knew about her father, and she herself could put up a fight. John thought, if Mitsuo could change, why couldn't these others do?
Bang! He shot an enemy in the shoulder and the pirate fell down. However, John didn't gain any experience points and the pirate seemed to still be able to fight.
So, I only get XP if they're completely incapacitated... what part of the body can I shoot to make them want to stop fighting completely? A part that, if destroyed, will completely shatter a man's dream and will to fight?
John thought about it and came up with an answer, but he almost immediately stopped that train of thought. If I did that, then there wouldn't be any more Sasas in this world, and I think that would make people hate me. He immediately thought of another target that could incapacitate someone without ending their bloodline. Just then, Alvida finally arrived at the bottom of the hill.
"You useless fools! How could you lose to a bunch of weaklings?" she shouted. Then she took her pistol from her belt and shot at the barricade. "Shoot them!" A few of the pirates who had pistols also began shooting at the barricade.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Get down!" John shouted at the locals as shots rained down on them. A few bullets struck some of the people behind the makeshift barricade, which was mostly composed of wood. John leapt backwards and cried out, "Get back! Get back!"
Mitsuo threw another dynamite, but he didn't have time to aim properly, so it exploded without damaging anyone, but it still managed to stop the shooting for a moment. John didn't waste this opportunity that had been given to him. "Throw everything at them!"
The locals threw every rock and weapon at the pirates, while Mitsuo threw more dynamite. John trained his sights on one of the pirates, bringing his rifle up close to his face and closing his left eye. He stopped breathing and concentrated on a specific body part. He didn't notice the world moving a bit slower or his vision becoming clearer; he only saw his target. His AP drained as he maintained this focus.
AP - 30..28.5..27..25.5
He pulled the trigger and could see the bullet flying in the air in slow motion, piercing through the man's left knee and exiting on the other side, accompanied by some blood spurting out.
"AARGH!!" The man screamed so loud that it caused the fighting to stop momentarily, and everyone turned their attention to him. His eyes seemed to be popping out of their sockets, and his mouth was open so widely that his tongue shot out. He appeared to be experiencing excruciating pain; he curled into a tight ball and rolled down the hill.
20 exp, plus 10 critical hit exp!
SKILL UNLOCKED!
Bullet Time - Slows down time by 5%, increases accuracy by 5%. Costs 10% AP per second.
"Who told you to stop shooting?! Kill these weaklings!" Alvida stepped in front and shot her pistol at the locals, hitting one in the shoulder and another one's ear got shot off. She continued shooting while she was blocking projectiles with her mace.
BANG!
"Aahh!"
BANG!
"Damnn!"
John shot two more pirates in the kneecaps using Bullet Time. They went rolling down the hill as John hid behind the barricade to reload.
20 exp!
25 exp!
Just then he saw Coby throw a stick of dynamite towards Alvida, who batted it away to the side.
"You dare try to harm me?!! You useless brat!" By now, Alvida was only a few feet away from the barricade, and there were only a couple of her crew left. Alvida started running towards them, but her speed was far from impressive.
John exhaled and lined up his rifle in front of Alvida. He brought it to his face and closed one eye. He stopped breathing and his AP started to drain.
[Bullet Time!]
Time slowed down, and Johnny focused on his target - one of Alvida's body parts. It was her head. He decided that she did not deserve a second chance.
AP - 21..19.5..18..16.5
He let go of the trigger and watched as the bullet flew in slow motion……only for it to collide with Alvida's Iron mace. It dug a bit into the weapon, but it was nowhere near penetrating the iron.
"That's not going to work," said Alvida confidently as she stopped in front of the barricade. Then, winding up her mace like a golf club, she swung it and-
CRACK!
Wood flew everywhere as the barricade was completely destroyed. The locals hiding behind it, including John and Coby, were thrown backward.
-38 HP (132/170)
John lay on the ground, sporting cuts and bruises all over his body; his rifle had flown backwards out of his grip, and the Pirate Captain Alvida stood on top of him, her mace resting on her shoulder. Her figure blocked the moonlight, and her eyes glowed strangely.
"This is what happens when you mess with me!" she shouted, raising her mace up and pointing it at the sky. With a powerful swing, she brought it down, hitting the target with such force that even John who rolled sideways couldn't avoid being struck by the side of the weapon. The spikes sliced into him, leaving deep, bloody gashes across his back. The impact also caused the ground beneath them to be decimated, resulting in a cloud of dust that obscured their vision.
-76 HP (56/170)
"AARRGGHH!!"
He let out a blood-curdling shriek. His eyes were white and his mouth seemed as if it had been torn apart by the intensity of his scream.
Coby's eyes opened wide; his pupils had shrunk to dots, and his mouth was open. From his perspective, John had been hit by the mace. Thankfully, Alvida also thought the same.
10 exp!
15 exp!
15 exp!
"AHHH!!!" He lost all rational thought and rushed at Alvida with his fist raised. His punch connected, but it did no damage; it only distracted Alvida from the crater she had created. While Alvida was focused on Coby, John took advantage of the situation and rolled toward his rifle. He quickly picked it up and fired at Alvida.
CLANG!!
By pure coincidence, Alvida had moved her mace to strike Coby, and the bullet impacted on the mace again.
"!!!"
Coby exclaimed, "John!?"
"HOW?!!" Alvida was again distracted, and another figure took advantage of this. Mitsuo jumped out of the bushes and swung his cutlass at the back of Alvida. His attack connected and created a long slash on her back, but it wasn't deep enough. She grunted and turned to face the person who had wounded her.
"It's over Alvida."
It seems that Mitsuo has already taken care of the remaining pirates. Below the hill, Sasa, Petro, and the others are coming to their rescue.
"You dare? You weaklings think you can defeat me?!" Alvida's face turned red. She couldn't be defeated by mere villagers.
BANG!
A shot rang out, and this time she wasn't prepared. Her left leg lost its balance, and she fell to one knee. John had shot her in the kneecap at close range. Alvida looked at him with darkened eyes, intent on destroying him.
John aimed the gun at her face and screamed, "Die!!" Alvida instinctively raised her mace, but no sound came out. Alvida lowered her weapon to look and-
BANG!
He shot her other knee and she collapsed, losing her balance completely. Down on the ground, it seems she's lost all her energy and will to fight. John collapsed as well, spreading his arms to the side and breathing a sigh of relief.
200 exp!
LEVEL UP! Level 4 (65/400)
Gained 1 Stat point
Plus 5 Max HP
Plus 1 Max AP
Mitsuo took Alvida's mace and put it aside as Sasa ran over and helped her father tie ropes around Alvida. The others from the left path looked worn; John assumed they had been attacked by a separate group.
QUEST COMPLETED!
Battle at Goat Island
Help the town drive out the pirates
or
Help the pirates take over the town
Rewards - 500 exp, 100 positive reputation with Goat Island, 100 negative reputation with Alvida Pirates.
LEVEL UP! Level 5 (165/500)
Gained 1 Stat point
Plus 5 Max HP
Plus 1 Max AP
Damn! That fight was really tough. If I recall correctly, Luffy defeated her with just one Gomu Gomu no Pistol…How strong was Luffy then? Speaking of Luffy…
He looked at the pink-haired boy sitting on the ground, who was supposed to have been helped by Monkey D. Luffy, and wondered how the events here today would affect the story of One Piece.
Here is Alvida's stat sheet if you're interested:
Alvida
Lvl. 20
Age - 25
HP - 285
AP - 45
Training points - 11 (used)
STRENGTH - (13) 26
PERCEPTION - 3
ENDURANCE - 9
CHARISMA - 1
INTELLIGENCE - 5
AGILITY - (3) 1.5
LUCK - 3
Perk:
Big boned - 2x str, 0.5x agi
Iron mace:
76 dmg/hit (50 base plus 1x str)
25 dmg/sec (1atk/3sec)
Hits multiple targets (160 degree arc)
About Training points for non-gamer characters:
Training points
Last of prime age minus start of training age times effort or talent
Age 50 and up - minus 5 per decade