Wayne poured himself a glass of red wine, took a slow sip, and opened the translucent status screen only he could see.
Host: Duraki D. Wayne
Titles: Polymath; Culinary-Medic
Devil Fruit: None
Haki
Armament: Advanced 233 / 5000
Observation: Advanced 1200 / 5000
Conqueror's Seed: 1 / 5000
Swordsmanship: Great Swordsman (Entry) 500 / 10000
Hand-to-Hand: Tier 6 800 / 5000
For reference: true elites such as Garp sit around Tier 9, while admirals like Aokiji and Akainu hover at Tier 7.
Combat Skills:
Moon-Walk, Iron Body, Finger Gun, Shave
Life Return
Civil Professions:
Chef (Master)
Novelist (Master)
Singer (Master)
Physician (High)
Bladesmith (High)
Life Points: 1 300
His cheat, the Ultimate Life-Player System, existed for one purpose: to make Wayne the greatest civilian all-rounder alive. Every time he practiced or ranked up in any peaceful profession, he earned Life Points.
Life Points were versatile. He could trade them one-for-one to boost Haki, swordsmanship, anything combat related. He could also gamble: one spin cost a thousand points, the prize pool ranging from the trivial to the absurd.
According to the system, flawless luck might even spit out an Infinity Gauntlet already loaded with six stones. Reality, of course, was less generous. Wayne's most common "windfalls" were half-finished classics like Journey to the West Part One or Romance of the Three Kingdoms Part Two.
Still, cribbing literature beat getting nothing. Name recognition mattered almost as much as real skill. A chef of middling talent who convinced the whole world he was unrivaled would instantly register as Divine-level.
That was why Wayne toured the seas like a madman giving concerts. He needed fame.
East Blue was the final stop of his Four-Seas World Tour. Finishing this concert would complete his most lucrative quest to date:
[World Tour - Side Quest]
Objective: give one concert in each ocean (East, West, South, North).
Progress: 3 / 4.
Reward: Title Superstar, 10 000 Life Points, one ten-pull spin.
Every completed quest pushed his power to a new plateau, but each one also devoured months of work. His last big mission had taken more than half a year:
[Medical Mastery]
Seek guidance from three master physicians in the One Piece world.
He had tracked down Crocus of the Roger Pirates, Dr. Kureha on Drum Island, and Hogback, the surgical genius under Gecko Moria. The first two accepted hefty consulting fees and talked. Hogback was another story. The man turned living people into dolls, and Moria's arrogance made negotiations impossible. The "consultation" ended with Wayne slicing a third of Thriller Bark off its keel and beating Moria within an inch of his life. He still left with Hogback's notes.
The reward: a seed of Conqueror's Haki. Unfortunately, watering that seed cost a fortune in points and offered no immediate payoff, so Wayne had let it sit.
The concert quest landed on his plate more than a year ago, and he chose to tour North, West, South, then East.
Memories flickered while he drained the last of his wine. He set the glass down.
"System, one spin."
A roulette wheel materialized in his mind and clattered to a halt.
*Ding! Congratulations. You have obtained *'Water Margin' Chapters 1-30. Please claim your prize.
"Another novel. May as well call you the Great-Author System," Wayne muttered, though the haul was better than the literal ton of spicy noodles he had won six months back. He still had bags of those lying around.
"With the first thirty chapters, Water Margin is finally complete. Perfect. The next serial on the newsprint is set for at least a year."
Yes, his "Master Novelist" rank was pure plagiarism, but once he tweaked names and places a bit, century-old classics were still smash hits in the pirate world.
He glanced at the golden Rolex he had just drawn. Nearly evening already.
"Food first."
He called Robin, asked her to fetch ingredients, and soon faced a spread of sky-duck, giant sole, and other top-tier produce.
"Premium ingredients deserve the simplest cooking."
Half an hour later, three dishes and one soup steamed invitingly on the table.
Ding! After thirty-three minutes of cooking, your culinary skill improves. Chef 3888 / 5000. Life Points +4. Total 1304.
"Climbing the Master tier gets tougher every step. Only four points for dinner. I need a new craft."
He raised his voice toward the door. "Robin, Gloria, wash up. Dinner's ready."
Two figures appeared, one tall, one short.
Gloria lunged for her favorite steamed sky-duck. "Quadruple Tempo, Dish-Snatch!"
Robin, unhurried, bloomed four hands from the Flower-Flower Fruit. The dishes floated over Gloria's head and landed safely on the dining table.
"Not fair, Robin!"
Gloria jumped, all one-fifty-eight of her, but the plates stayed out of reach. She pouted in defeat.
"Wayne, Robin's bullying me again."
"Alright, enough teasing. Hands washed, everyone eat."
The meal was loud and warm. Wayne let the women's little rivalry slide and smiled to himself.
"A cozy moment indeed."
He had rescued Gloria six years ago from the slave market in Sabaody. She wore sky-blue twin-tails, looked like a teenage pixie, yet was already twenty-two. Her Voice-Voice Fruit let her entrance crowds with song or kill with sonic blades. Publicly she was the idol 'Songbird', adored by legions. In the shadows she was one of Wayne's own, the gold-rank assassin known as Dead Chant.