CHAPTER 12:
Gally's Folly
CLANG!
The sound of two swords striking each other rang, as sparks flew out in opposite directions. The two combatants, one a big burly man and the other a slim young woman who has wounds all over her body, jumped backwards and got ready to clash again. But out of nowhere, another enemy slashed the defenseless back of the young swordswoman, causing her to fall to her knees.
"Kakaka! Why don't you surrender already?" Asked the pirate who struck her. He was a short and lanky man who wielded a cutlass. He stroked his chin and looked down on the girl kneeling on the ground. "You're parents are pirates right? Why don't you just join us?" He said before pausing for a few seconds and continuing. "Can't guarantee the boss'll treat you well though, kakaka!"
Silk stood up but didn't say anything. She charged forward with her sword positioned horizontally across her body at the bigger pirate who raised his sword in defense. The short pirate grinned wildly as he prepared to attack her from the back once again when suddenly, the swordswoman spun 180 and slashed at the smaller pirate's throat, spraying blood in the air.
While she spun in the air, as if in slow motion, she locked eyes with a man who had blood splattered all over on his face and body, wearing a white tunic and a black hat.
"Shit! Kill her!!" Shouted the large pirate as he saw his comrade fall.
Silk snapped out of the moment when she heard the enemy shout. The four other pirates around her unsheathed their weapons. Some of them pulled out swords while some took out pistols. They all charged with their weapons raised or aimed their guns at her while screaming, "DIE!"
Silk was suddenly at a loss on what to do. Swords were coming down and pistols were about to be fired at her from all directions.
With her brain running on instinct alone, she dove in front of her as she heard the deafening crack of gunshots being fired from two directions, directly behind her and from further away. From the direction where she saw the other group was coming from. All the enemies' attacks missed the wounded young woman and two pirates fell to the ground.
"GRAAAHHH!"
She heard the large pirate shout on top of his lungs and had no time to blink as she saw him bringing his sword down forcefully from above her. She tried to roll to the side, but she knew it would be in vane, as the sword was heading towards her too quickly.
Time seemed to slow down for her as her mind rolled back memories from when she was a kid. She remembered telling her parents about her dream of becoming just like them. She wanted to be a pirate, but not like any pirate. She wanted to become a pirate who helped people. She wanted to be like her parents, who protected Mulberry Island as their territory.
But then, time returned to its usual pace and she faced the sword falling towards her. Tears poured from her eyes as she resigned to her fate of dying at the hands of a no name pirate. But suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw a lone bullet flying towards her. The bullet soared through the air and struck the sword at its center, producing a loud sound of metal colliding against metal and changing the trajectory of the strike. The impact of the shot flipped the sword and caused it to slip from the hands of the burly pirate.
"What the?!" Exclaimed the pirate as he stumbled slightly from the sudden loss of his weapon.
Silk didn't waste this chance as she immediately flipped on her back and kicked the man on his nether regions.
"OWWW!" The man groaned as he experienced a pain that any man could sympathize with.
Silk picked up her saber as the man knelt down on the ground while grabbing his crotch. She raised her blade, hoping to end the pirate before her when another shot rang out from behind her. She turned around to see a pirate who was posed like he was about to strike her fall like a sack of bones, a bullet hole prominently visible in his temple.
When she turned around, she saw the group of three who she saw approaching earlier standing behind her as one of them held a scimitar to the remaining pirate who was shaking in fear, his hands raised in surrender. The man wearing the white tunic and black hat rested his rifle on his shoulder and nodded at her.
She looked into his eyes as she assessed the man. He was tall and well-built with short black hair and brown eyes. He had sharp facial features and a stubble on his chin. The man was drenched in blood but she didn't feel any hostility from him. Whoever these people were, they weren't with the pirates. She then turned her back to them to face the large pirate. She raised her saber with both hands and brought it down diagonally while yelling a battle cry as the pirate tried to raise his hands in defense. The slash created a long and deep gash on the pirate's chest. A soundless scream escaped from his mouth as his eyes turned white and he fell back with a thud. Right after this, the man with the black hat took his rifle and smashed its butt on the face of the remaining pirate, knocking him to the ground. When he tried to get up, the man bashed him again and the pirate stayed down. He then looked at her and the villagers, and when Silk was about to speak to him, he ran ahead to the other side with a younger man and older woman following behind him.
—
John and his deckhands were running to where they remembered Vien positioned himself earlier for their surprise attack. While he was running, he was looking at the screen in front of him showing the status of the young woman they helped earlier.
Silk
Lvl. 11
Age 18
HP - 58/190
AP - 22/42
Silk? Why does that name sound familiar? He thought as he remembered her being a character in One Piece, but he doesn't remember where in the story he's seen her, nor does he remember Mulberry Island. The pirate captain earlier was familiar too, John felt like he had seen him before. He decided to put this thought aside for the moment as he hurried. He had to make sure his other crewman was not in danger.
As they ran through the streets, they noticed that there wasn't a single pirate around. Granted, they probably decimated more than half of the pirate's crew already, but it was still a bit suspicious that there's not a single one of them around.
Maybe they ran away? Nah, That pirate captain is a tricky one. This must be some kind of trap. John thought as he motioned for his crew to slow down. He told them to take out their weapons and be alert while he reloaded his rifle with bullets and aimed it in front. He scanned the perimeter, looking left and right slowly as they advanced. He looked through every alley they passed and was slowly getting perturbed by the eerie silence when suddenly-
"AARRGGHH!!"
They heard a loud scream coming from the alleyway ahead of them! Broll and Baba almost ran towards the noise as they recognized it as Vien's voice but John put his hand out to stop them. They stepped silently and entered the alley. Inside, they saw a figure on the ground a few meters away from them.
It was his crewman who wasn't even supposed to be in a situation like this. Vien's face was beaten to the point where his cheeks puffed up and his eyes were swelling. His clothes were torn to shreds and his body had been littered with bruises. He layed motionlessly on the ground and seemingly wasn't breathing.
John's blood boiled at the sight and veins bulge out on the middle of his forehead. He gritted his teeth and grasped his rifle tighter as he walked towards his fallen deckhand. Beside him, he felt the heat rise up as Broll and Baba walked beside him with rage-filled faces.
John's head was filled with dark thoughts as they walked towards their crewman's body. All of a sudden, he noticed Vien's fingers twitch slightly. He quickly used 'Observe' on him as he stopped in his tracks.
Vien
Lvl. 10
Age 34
HP - 3/195
AP - 33/38
Shit! This is a trap! He thought as he realized what they could be walking into. He spread both his arms to block his crew members from walking to their deaths as he looked around rapidly racking his brain about what the enemies could be planning. His face drained of color as he realized what their plan could be. He slowly looked up and saw three pirates perched on the rooftop with their pistols pointed at them, malicious grins forming on their faces.
"GET BACK!" John yelled as he turned around and pushed his two crew members away as hard as he could. At the same time, three gunshots rang simultaneously above him. The air around the pirate's pistols filled with smoke as three bullets flew in the air towards John.
He activated [Tunnel Vision] as fast as he could and used [Combat Roll] hoping to trigger the invincibility frames.
"ARGH!"
John yelled as one of the bullets embedded itself on his lower back while another bullet hit his right leg. The third bullet impacted on the ground near him as he rolled away.
HP - 75/225
AP - 11/43
Ow,ow,ow! Why didn't it work?! John thought as he grasped his leg. A screen appeared before him but he couldn't read it because of the numbing pain he was feeling.
SKILL ACQUIRED!
Physical Resistance lvl 1 - Physical damage is reduced by 2.5%
"Hahaha, you're dead now!" The henchmen loudly laughed as they stepped near the edge of the roof.
"Sons of bitches!" John barked at them as he gritted his teeth in pain. He tried to stand but every little movement made the wounds flare up with pain, causing him to almost pass out. The goons aimed their pistols at him again and were about to bombard him with bullets, when Broll and Baba re-entered the alley and returned fire. Two of the pirates were able to duck and jump away, but one was hit right in the chest and fell from the rooftop to the ground with a loud thud.
10 exp!
As John heaved a sigh of relief, he suddenly had a bright idea and used the skill [Combat Roll] again to forcefully extricate himself from the alley. He still felt pain, but the skill automatically moved his body for him, getting him into safety at last.
AP - 0/43
The enemies on the roof were now unsure of what to do. Now that John and his group were aware of their presence, they cannot simply shoot at them without getting fired back at.
Why am I having so much trouble with these pirates?! These are the kind of enemies that Luffy and Zoro can easily defeat! If they were here, this would have ended already. John angrily contemplated as he struggled to get up.
Is it because of the devil fruit? But Zoro can just as easily deflect bullets with his sword. What do I have that can make me just as special in this world? He asked himself frustratedly as he got up. Because of his frustration he failed to realize that the bullets in his back and leg had disappeared from inside his body and appeared inside his inventory.
John's eyes widened as he suddenly thought of something that only he could do. He opened his inventory and quickly took out a beef jerky, not noticing his bullet count just increased by two. He immediately used observe on the dried piece of meat.
Beef jerky - restores 1 hp/sec for 5 secs
His face showed a slight shock and he immediately chomped on the jerky. He then took out a few more and stuffed all of them in his mouth while he looked at his HP.
HP - 76/225
HP - 77/225
HP - 78/225
HP - 79/225
HP - 80/225
It works!...but it doesn't stack!
Meanwhile, one of the pirates crawled silently towards the other side of the roof and moved to the edge near the bounty hunter's group.
John was lost in thought as he chewed another beef jerky. What other game feature can I use? Even something simple like a HUD will be useful for me.
As if on cue, various lines, letters and numbers slowly faded into his field of view. On the lower left edge, he saw his HP represented by a bar with most of it missing. To the lower right was his AP bar which was completely depleted. Above it was his ammo count, representing the bullets currently in his weapon and the total bullets left. Beside it was a flat, single-color image that looks similar to his rifle. On the upper right position was a circle with a white dot in the middle. It has the letters N, E, S and W around it which made him thought it was probably a compass, and the white dot in the middle probably represented himself. There were also green dots on it, three of them in total, two of them were close to him while the third one was farther in front. There were also 3 red dots. One was positioned further back near the small green dot. One was positioned to his left and had an arrow pointing up above it. The last one was closer than the other two and was positioned to his right, also showing an arrow pointing up. He curiously looked towards the big red dot and saw nothing in front of him, then he remembered the arrow pointing up and raised his head to look up. That's when he saw the pirate aiming his pistol at the green dot to his right, Baba. "Watch out!" He shouted as he quickly pulled her towards himself. Half a second later, a bullet hit the ground near her feet. He looked back at the roof and the pirates weren't there. He looked for the red dot on the compass and saw it only moved away from them slightly.
He's gonna try again.
John thought as readied his rifle and aimed it at the rooftop while following the red dot's movement on the compass. He saw the red dot move slowly to the left and guessed that the enemy would pop up from the left side of the roof to shoot at them. He crouched on the ground and aimed towards the position he guessed the pirate was going to appear from. He closed his left eye and slowed down his breathing as he waited.
3…
2…
1!
Right on cue, the pirate peeked his head out and John instantly pulled the trigger on his rifle. The bullet entered the man's head before he could even register what happened and he immediately slumped down lifelessly on the roof.
25 exp!
AP - 5/43
Without pause, John began tracking the other red dot on the roof while being cautious of the red dot near what he assumed to be Vien's green dot. On the compass, he saw that the pirate was attempting the same move as the other guy from before.
These guys are not very smart, are they? John wondered as he put another jerky in his mouth and lined up his rifle to quickly shoot the dumb pirate, just like he did to his crewmate earlier. But before he could shoot, a loud shout echoed from inside the alley.
"STOP! STOP! STOP! You stupid idiots can't do anything right!"
The pirate captain finally showed himself as he berated his only remaining crew member. "The plan was so simple, and you still fucked it up! Give me back my pistol!" The henchman scratched his head and threw the pistol at the crescent-mustached man who caught it and immediately pointed it at the heavily beaten man lying on the ground.
"You!" The pirate captain shouted as he pointed at John, and then to his crewmates. "If you want this guy to live, then drop your weapons!" He ordered loudly.
Broll and Baba looked conflicted as they turned to John, wordlessly asking him for their next move. John sighed and told them to comply with the pirate's command. He slowly placed his rifle on the ground and raised both his hands while he used 'Observe' on the pirate captain.
"Crescent Moon" Gally
Lvl. 14
Age 41
HP - 205
AP - 45
I know this guy…he's just a nobody that luffy defeated easily. I don't even know if he's cannon or not…
John sighed. He felt so inadequate at the moment.
If I'm having trouble with guys like this, how am I supposed to match up against those monsters in the grand line?
Once their weapons were all on the ground, Gally ordered his remaining henchman to take their weapons. The pirate approached them with a creepy smile on his face while walking arrogantly. He shoved his ugly mug near their faces, wanting to enjoy their frightened looks. He got his wish as Broll and Baba looked afraid and confused, but John's face just showed an uninterested expression that is difficult to read. The pirate just shrugged and bent down to grab their weapons. All of a sudden, John produced a dagger from out of nowhere and stabbed the pirate right on top of his head, killing him instantly.
25 exp!
AP - 10/43
"What's taking you so long?" Gally asked as he turned around to look if his lackey had done what he ordered. When he saw the dead pirate on the floor, he looked up and saw John holding a bloody dagger in his hand and staring at him with a blank face. Surprisingly, the captain of the Crescent Moon pirates didn't show any visible sign of anger and instead asked John calmly. "What do you think you're doing? Don't you see this hostage?" He said while pointing the gun at Vien. "Do you want him to die?" He continued. His anger didn't show, but you could hear it in his voice.
"Shut the fuck up." John's cold voice rang inside the alley as he picked up his rifle and aimed it at Gally's head. "You don't have the right to demand anything anymore." John growled. "You don't have any men left. Now you will listen to what I say if you still want to live."
Gally looked at him for a few seconds while sporting a bored expression. Then, he chuckled. He chuckled softly but gradually, it got louder and louder until he was laughing at the top of his lungs.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
After a few seconds, he finally stopped. He grinned widely as he revealed his hidden trump card. "Who said I was alone?" He paused, expecting John to be surprised at his revelation but his face didn't change. Gally's smile slowly dropped as he became confused by John's reaction. "Why are you not reacting? Huh?! Something wrong with your brain?" He fumed, uncharacteristically letting his emotions get the best of him. "I, Gally, have always had the upper hand! You won't catch me unprepared! Do you understand?!" He asked John angrily, but the man still looked at him stoically.
John moved his arms up and down to shake off the numbness. "You mean those five people that's supposed to appear behind us right now?" He said lazily as he ordered his crew to watch their backs. The pirate captain was shocked that this man somehow knew about his backup plan.
Gally stood there wide eyed as he waited for his men to arrive. The captain told his men to ambush the enemy from behind as a last resort but it has been almost a minute and no one is coming. But all of a sudd6, they heard a noise coming from behind them as Gally excitedly shouted, "finally!"
They turned around and saw two people running frantically towards them. The two pirates saw Gally and immediately shouted in distress. "Boss! We've been attacked!" They ran raggedly as they looked behind them and saw a blonde-haired young woman chase them with a saber in her hand. "This crazy woman killed three of us! aaahhh!" They shrieked as Silk ran faster towards them.
John, who didn't turn around and was still pointing his rifle at the shocked Gally, commanded without looking.
"Kill them."
His two crewmen shot their pistols at the approaching pirates, who screamed in panic trying to get out of the way.
BANG!
Two shots rang out at the same time and the pirates collapsed and fell to the ground.
20 exp!
20 exp!
John narrowed his eyes at Gally and asked, "What now?" while he lifted his rifle close to his face and closed his left eye.
Gally's face fell and he panicked. He wasn't a man who boasted of pure strength or blinding speed so he always fought smartly. He lured enemies into traps, used hostages and even snitched to the marines anonymously to catch fellow pirate groups that pissed him off. His plans didn't always work perfectly, but he had never been completely defeated before. That's right! He thought. I'm not defeated yet!
"I still have a hostage! You can't hurt me!" Gally yelped desperately as he bent down to try to grab Vien from the ground. He wanted to use the deckhand as a shield in order to escape the village. But when he reached out his hand toward Vien, a loud bang exploded from John's rifle. A bullet soared through the air and struck Gally's hand that held his pistol. It went through his palm and destroyed two of his fingers. The pistol dropped to the floor as Gally screamed in pain, holding his mangled hand. While the pirate captain was groveling on the ground, John walked towards him and kicked the pistol away. Gally lookee up and the last thing that he saw before he passed out was the butt of the bounty hunter's rifle coming towards his face.
280 exp!
LEVEL UP! Lvl 9 (151/900)
Gained 1 stat point
Plus 5 max HP
Plus 1 max AP
John finally let all the tension release from his body as he laid on the ground beside Vien.
"Can you tie this guy up, please?" He said as he felt his eyelids lose the will to stay open. "And please ask the villagers if there are any doctors among them." He added as his world faded to black.