Punching people was ridiculously fun when you could hardly feel pain from blunt force impact, Brynlee had quickly come to realize over the last few years. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to really develop her system-given ability to wield a spear so, while she'd learned how to wield a staff like Nami, she much preferred using her fists when it came down to it. Of course, her inhuman strength and her above-average resilience probably had a lot to do with it.
[SKILL UPDATE]
Invulnerability: 12/20
Yay! Been a while since I leveled up that one!
There was even more enthusiasm in the following punch.
Her invulnerability was one of the few skills that were much harder to level up. She'd found that being shot helped increase it faster but, overall, this innate ability came from her Lunarian blood – as such, she'd theorized that it was the kind of skill with a limit related to her age. As such, her invulnerability was either much slower to develop, or completely stagnant until she became a bit older.
Kind of like her pyromancy, now that she thought about it. She could only use that particular ability rather sparsely – whenever she tried to use it for too long, the plume of fire in her back flickered out, and she was left unable to summon it for days. It probably had something to do with Lunarian maturity and all but, without proper records about her people, it was a little difficult to figure it out.
It took Brynlee a moment to realize she was no longer fighting.
"Huh? It's over?" she blinked, confused.
Dozens of pirates were lying around, moaning, and groaning in pain, practically piling up on each other. She hadn't expected them to be this weak, but they no longer had their Captain to lead them, so she supposed it wasn't that much of a surprise, either.
Suddenly, rubbery arms coiled around her, and Luffy slammed into her back, almost toppling her to the ground.
"Shi-shi-shi! You're so strong, Bryn!"
"Am I?"
"It's the first time we've seen you fight," remarked Zoro, seething his swords. There was a tinge of respect in his voice. "You're pretty good, for only fighting with your fists."
"I just hit hard," she shrugged.
"That's an understatement," scoffed Nami, stretching her arms. "Last time you went all out, you made one of the cliffs back home crumble down."
"That was an accident!"
"You sunk the equivalent of a small island!"
Brynlee simply shrugged again. Sabo had challenged her to a strength contest, and she'd won – simple as that. Nami groaned, rubbing her temples, and Usopp gulped loudly.
"How can anyone be this strong…?"
"Don't worry, Usopp – there are plenty of people much, much stronger than me on the Grand Line!"
"That's not reassuring!"
Luffy simply laughed again, and Zoro grinned, obviously anticipating the kind of fights they'd get into once they reached the Grand Line.
Klahadore would make a full recovery, Kaya gave them the ship, and Usopp joined their crew. Before they parted ways, Brynlee also remembered an important detail and asked Klahadore, Kaya, and Merry to each sign a page of the little notebook she carried. They were a bit bemused by the request, but still obliged.
[BUCKET LIST]
9. Get the autographs of a hundred named characters from the original story
19/100
Reward: 5,000,000,000 B
I didn't really get the chance to advance that particular quest since I had to stay in Cocoyashi. To think I forgot to ask Coby and Buggy for theirs… I'll need to try and keep it in mind, moving forward. This is too sweet a prize to pass up!
And, as they finally sailed away from the Gecko Islands, Brynlee gently pressed her hand on the wooden railing, closing her eyes as she tried to listen to the Going Merry.
Their home.
It didn't have a soul just yet – it'd be born from adventure and love and danger alike. But, if she listened closely enough, Brynlee was almost certain she could hear its heartbeat, amidst the creaking of the planks and the sails flapping in the wind and the waves crashing against the starboard.
I think I've said it before, but there really isn't a lot of Cannon information about Lunarians, so I'm just making things up and hoping they make sense xD
Also, someone pointed out that Merry was a butler and could have been a traitor... and he almost was! I considered that twist for a long time, before finally deciding not to do it, for a very simple reason: I didn't want to change the name of the Going Merry. Some things are just sacred, you know?
Since we're already at our 10-chapter mark, here's the new and improved [CHARACTER PROFILE] for Brynlee! I've decided to eliminate the more repetitive side quests and will only add their description and reward the first time. I've also decided to include certain elements without actually revealing them, since they have not become relevant to the story just yet (ex. the other elements on the Bucket List).
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
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IMPORTANT
I watched the Gold movie for the first time a few days ago. When I first started it, the only thing I could think of was "Wow, Brynlee could buy that entire island and still have change to spare", and figured it'd make a funny AU.
UNTIL
UNTIL
I learned that Gild Tesoro, the main antagonist of the movie and owner of said island, canonically possesses ~20% of the ENTIRE WORLD'S WEALTH.
...
...
...
*cue erratic breathing*
SO! In order to avoid Brynlee literally breaking the entire world's economic system, I feel it is necessary to mention that the money she earns through side quests is not, in fact, originated from this world's banks. In other words, it simply materializes in existence when she earns it. As such, while she could technically screw over the global economics if she just happened to decide to use all of her money at once, she does not, in fact, impoverish others by accumulating that wealth.
So, to simplify: she DOES NOT possess over 20% of the world's wealth. She possesses the literal equivalent from an outside source, though.
PS. That's also why I will no longer give an exact number. It's just... too much.
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[CHARACTER PROFILE]
-STAGE 0-
Name : Lucky D. Brynlee
Age : 18 years old
Race : Lunarian
Devil Fruit : [ERROR]
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[EQUIPMENT]
Nami & Nojiko's Friendship Bracelet
Sabo, Ace & Luffy's Friendship Bracelet
Money: 57,000,000,[...] B
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[SKILLS]
Flight: 15/20
Pyromancy: 8/20
Invulnerability: 12/20
Spear Wielding: 0/20
Harmonica: 20/20
Armament Haki: [...]
Observation Haki: [...]
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[FEATS]
Silver Tongue: 14/20 (+1)
Bloodlust: 2/20 (+1)
Anger of the Fallen: 2/20 (+1)
Heart Sight: 5/20
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[ABILITIES]
Instincts of a South Bird
Gambler's Reward
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[TITLES]
Angel of the Seas
Protector of Cocoyashi
Straw Hat Pirate
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[BUCKET LIST]
1. [...]
2. [...]
3. [...]
4. [...]
5. [...]
6. [...]
7. [...]
8 [...]
9. Get the autographs of a hundred named characters from the original story (5,000,000,000 B)
19/100
10. [...]
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[QUESTS]
-ONGOING-
Survival!
You must live, no matter what.
Weed Killer
Pull out 50,000 weeds (500,000 B)
Kind Helper
Help 1,000 people (1,000,000 B)
Orange is the New Gold
Pick 200,000 tangerines (2,000,000 B)
Winning Hand
Win 10,000 games of card (3,000,000 B)
One Strike
Destroy 100,000 targets practicing Fishman Karate (1,000,000,000 B)
A Fish in the Ocean
Become a level twenty black belt Fishman Karate practitionner (20,000,000 B)
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-COMPLETE-
Silver Tongue
Safe Haven
Hero of the People
Heart Sight
Weed Killer
Kind Helper
Orange is the New Gold
Winning Hand
One Strike
A Fish in the Ocean
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-REFUSED-
The Winning Side
Sneaky Thief
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