July 25, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
The Ope Ope no Mi had been fully absorbed by the system just a few days earlier, and Orion had obtained two new abilities: Room (Incomplete), and Summoning (Incomplete).
These two abilities were truly remarkable and would be of great help to Orion in the future, so he was extremely pleased with the benefits he had gained from absorbing this source of power on this occasion.
"Room" was essentially a small area in which he could control the rules of the universe according to his will, almost as if he were a god, though it came with certain limitations. The use of this ability required an absurd amount of energy, far exceeding that of any other ability he possessed.
In theory, the capacity to manipulate reality within the small area classified by the system as a "Room" was infinite, but in practice, that was not the case. Orion had discovered that the more his ideas ran counter to the natural laws of the world, the more energy they consumed, meaning that the changes he could make were still limited.
Perhaps in the future, if he continued to increase both the power of the system and his own mental energy, he would be able to create increasingly outrageous phenomena within his Room, but at present, what he could do had very clear boundaries.
Even so, Orion was extremely satisfied with this ability, because even with its limitations it remained incredibly powerful. For example, he could swap the positions of two objects—including his own body—within his Room, something that would undoubtedly prove useful in future battles.
However, the most practical application of his new ability lay in complementing his medical knowledge. Previously, he had been unable to treat many illnesses or special conditions due to a lack of proper equipment, even if, in theory, he knew exactly how to do so.
After all, the technological level of this world was quite limited overall.
Now, with his new ability "Room", he could perform complex medical operations and procedures without any issues, creating what could only be described as true medical miracles.
One of his first objectives after acquiring this new power was, without a doubt, to completely heal the burn scars that Ina had suffered as a child and which still covered a large portion of her body. She had never openly expressed dissatisfaction with her appearance, but subconsciously she hid her body and did not allow anyone to see it.
It was not uncommon to see the girl wearing a long coat that covered her from head to toe, even during the sweltering summers of the South Blue, so Orion could hardly wait to return home and completely eliminate the problem that had plagued Ina for so long.
Moreover, with these new powers, he could finally cure Toki's condition as well, pulling her out of her deep coma after three and a half years of waiting.
Setting aside the marvelous ability known as "Room," Orion had also obtained the skill "Summoning," which allowed him to transport his companion beasts to his side, no matter how far away they were.
This ability was also extremely useful to Orion, since his companion beasts possessed multiple skills that could assist him in many situations, even though it was generally inconvenient to take them along on his travels.
When Nibble was smaller, it had been easy to bring him along on adventures, but now that he had grown into a gigantic beast, it was much harder for Orion to include him in his journeys, since doing so would force Nibble to remain inside the Pocket Dimension for long periods of time, which was a bit too small for him to feel comfortable.
Now, with this new ability, Orion could summon Nibble whenever necessary without forcing him to suffer through long stretches confined within the small alternate dimension, which was excellent news for both of them.
On the other hand, Orion could also summon Foggy to his side, the national guardian beast of his kingdom. This mist emperor penguin was still completely adorable and small, although it was true that his ability to produce Mysterious Mist—used for the defense of the kingdom—had grown stronger over the years.
Orion had never taken Foggy outside the kingdom, since his presence there was indispensable in case of an emergency, but with the use of this newly acquired ability, he could summon the little penguin if needed and then send him back using his Space Gate—which had just been fully repaired after being destroyed by Doflamingo.
As for the Tree of Knowledge, which was also his companion beast, the system indicated that it too could be summoned, but Orion had no intention of doing so, as there was no reason for it. Moreover, it would be problematic if the tree were to be damaged while being transported into an unfamiliar ecosystem.
Curiously, in addition to his three companion beasts—four if one included Shesha, who was already by his side—Orion could summon someone else as well: Shyarly!
Orion could not determine the exact reason behind this particular exception, but he speculated that it was due to the strange connection he shared with the mermaid. After all, even now he could communicate with her mentally through what amounted to "video calls," despite the fact that they were located on opposite sides of the world.
Orion was considering transporting the mermaid in the coming days so that she could see more of the outside world and experience an adventure at his side, since she had not left the safety of Pacific Kingdom since arriving there several years earlier.
Lying on the soft bed in Suzanne's house, with the beautiful scientist held in his arms, Orion reviewed the notification screen while thinking about the possible applications of his new abilities. He also thought that it would be ideal if, in the future, he could transport not only his companion beasts and Shyarly to his side, but also his wives and the rest of his subordinates.
If that were to happen, his ability to act in a wide variety of situations would undoubtedly improve greatly, since he would essentially become a one-man army, capable of summoning his subordinates to fight at his side at any moment.
In addition to the two new abilities he had obtained, changes had also occurred in some of his spatial skills. For example, both his Pocket Dimension and his Canvas Realm had increased slightly in size, and his "Gigantification" ability now required less mental effort to activate than before.
...
Suddenly, Suzanne woke up as the morning sun slipped through the curtains of the room, and upon realizing that she was in Orion's arms, she showed a beautiful smile while rubbing her cheek against his powerful chest.
"Good morning, my love," the scientist said in an affectionate tone befitting a woman in love.
She had enjoyed a night of intimacy after nearly a decade of solitude, so it was only natural that she felt especially content waking up in the arms of her beloved. Moreover, she had experienced so many new sensations in a single night that her favorability toward Orion had skyrocketed, reaching 90 points on the system screen.
Orion leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead, while she closed her eyes in contentment.
"Orion, we need to talk about the details of the emigration that we didn't discuss yesterday," Suzanne suddenly said.
Seeing that she had become a bit more serious, he could not help but feel curious and asked,
"Of course. What's going on? Is there something in particular you want to tell me?"
"Yes, it's about the migration of the scientists from Jewel Island to Pacific Kingdom… I know you want to recruit the entire group, but I have to tell you that it will be almost impossible to do so."
Orion simply smiled upon hearing Suzanne's words, as he had already anticipated such a situation.
In truth, his primary objective was to recruit Suzanne and her family. As for the rest of the scientists, the more he could convince to follow him to Pacific Kingdom, the better, but he knew it would be impossible to recruit them all.
To begin with, they were about to steal a large quantity of Dyna Stones from the World Government, something many of the scientists on the island would not agree with, simply out of fear of retaliation from the Celestial Dragons.
Orion's idea was to recruit only those people whom Suzanne trusted the most, and only after analyzing them with his Prism Eyes would he decide whether or not to bring them along.
As a result, it was likely that only a small group of scientists would emigrate to Pacific Kingdom, while the rest would remain on Jewel Island. Even so, Orion was considering using the forces of the Revolutionary Army to assist the scientists in the future, since they would undoubtedly face hostility from the World Government once the Dyna Stones deposit disappeared.
This compromise was the best Orion could offer them, because if he attempted to recruit everyone right away, it would only create problems for the mission of securing the Dyna Stones, and that was something he could not afford.
With a smile, Orion hugged Suzanne tightly and began to explain his future plans to her in greater detail, mentioning everything he had been unable to tell her the day before, as they had been distracted by their first night of passion together.
…
August 2, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
Another week flew by in the blink of an eye, and during that time Orion remained in his role as Suzanne's assistant, maintaining his usual disguise through the use of Distorted Future.
Even so, he and Suzanne had begun the process of extracting the Dyna Stones, with the intention of seizing the entire deposit without giving the World Government any chance to intervene.
Orion made use of the help of his two companion beasts—whom he had summoned with his new ability specifically to assist him—to carry out the extraction process.
His mist emperor penguin, Foggy, used his special abilities to create Mysterious Mist around the Dyna Stones mine, thereby preventing anyone from entering. Then, with Nibble's help, Orion began excavating the deposit as quickly as possible, while making sure that his companion beast did not suffer any accidents.
Although Nibble could excavate better than anyone thanks to his spatial properties, it was still quite dangerous for him to come into direct contact with the Dyna Stones, as they were incredibly volatile when exposed to air.
To prevent a major accident, Suzanne had taken it upon herself to supervise Nibble's work, but they quickly realized that it would be impossible to avoid suspicion if she were absent for long periods in order to assist with the extraction of the Dyna Stones.
With few options available, Orion and Suzanne had to look for someone they could trust to take charge of the process, and it had to be someone with sufficient skill and knowledge.
In the end, the person chosen was none other than Suzanne's son, Isaac, who was a genius like his mother, capable of mastering the Dyna Stones extraction process in just a few days.
Orion had been forced to reveal his true identity to him, as well as his plan to seize the Dyna Stones and escape. Then, together with Suzanne, they informed him of the decision for the entire family to emigrate to Pacific Kingdom, which came as quite a shock to the young man.
Even so, he trusted his mother completely, so he quickly adapted to the new situation and began working on the extraction of the Dyna Stones alongside Nibble, without raising the suspicions of the Cipher Pol agents present on the island.
Moreover, upon learning that Orion was a king in a distant land, and that he seemed to be somewhat older than he usually appeared—the adult appearance Orion used by default when activating Age Change was older than the one he was using through Distorted Future for his role as Suzanne's assistant—Isaac's favorability toward Orion increased slightly once again.
In the teenager's mind, it turned out to be a false alarm that his mother was in a romantic relationship with someone only a few years older than himself; that she was actually dating a mature and influential king, was far easier to accept. It would be quite some time before he discovered the truth of the matter.
With his two companion beasts and Isaac working together, Orion calculated that it would take him around three months to completely extract the Dyna Stones and finish his mission. Of course, this relatively short timeframe was due to the fact that he was not extracting them in a conventional manner, but rather tearing out gigantic chunks of the deposit with Nibble's help.
The procedure essentially consisted of Nibble sectioning off part of the deposit with Isaac's assistance—who was there to prevent accidental explosions—and then Orion storing that massive chunk of earth and Dyna Stones inside the system inventory, where they would be completely safe and unable to ignite.
It was a slow and inefficient process, but it was the only way Orion had to steal the Dyna Stones within a short period of time and successfully complete the mission. The idea was that, in the future, Orion would take out the large masses of rock containing the Dyna Stones so that Suzanne and the recruited scientists could properly extract them and continue their experiments.
However, something unexpected happened along the way that caused Orion's plans to change: he discovered a new ability of his companion beast Foggy.
Because Foggy was the protective beast of Pacific Kingdom, he always remained within the kingdom, creating Mysterious Mist whenever necessary to defend the island from pirate threats or other dangers.
However, this had caused Orion to remain unaware of one of Foggy's abilities until now, several years after his birth. As soon as Foggy used his Mysterious Mist to cover the Dyna Stones mine, two new notifications appeared on the system screen, catching Orion completely off guard.
*The national beast has used its Mysterious Mist in a new territory. Do you wish to integrate it into your kingdom's territory? Yes/No*
*A Dyna Stones deposit has been identified within the area controlled by the national beast. Do you wish to transfer it to your main territory? Yes/No*
Mouth agape, Orion read the system notifications and then selected "yes" for both options. However, things were not as simple as they initially seemed.
The system informed him that it was impossible to claim the territory as part of his kingdom, as the land was already under someone else's control. The only way to officially add the Dyna Stones mines to his territory would be for him to take control of Jewel Island itself, by any means necessary.
Clearly, Foggy was far more important to the development of his kingdom than Orion had initially imagined, as this newly discovered ability opened up an entirely new world of possibilities.
At present, all of his efforts were focused on expanding his kingdom on a local level, and he had never even considered conquering distant territories far from his main island—he had thought about claiming the Duchy of Aït-Ben-Skar as his own to establish a base, but not as part of Pacific Kingdom—so this new ability discovered in Foggy forced Orion to think about a future expansion of his kingdom through other means.
If he could claim distant territories and incorporate them as part of Pacific Kingdom, those lands would be able to enjoy the buffs granted by the system for the development of his kingdom, which would clearly be extremely beneficial to him.
Even so, Orion had no intention of attempting to claim Jewel Island as part of his kingdom—even though he could probably do so with relative ease thanks to his relationship with Suzanne—because once he finished stealing the Dyna Stones, this place would be under the scrutiny of the World Government, making it far too dangerous for him and his loved ones to remain there.
Orion had no intention of putting Suzanne in danger just to obtain an extra territory, and he believed it was not worth entering into conflict with the World Government over control of Jewel Island.
Still, he made a mental note of this new ability of Foggy's, thinking about how he might make use of it in the future, when the situation was not as complicated as it was on this island.
Finally, Orion looked at the other system notification, which indicated that the transfer of the Dyna Stones deposit could not be carried out due to an insufficient amount of KP (Kingdom Points).
KP were the equivalent of the SP that the system used for all matters related to Pacific Kingdom, and this system currency was obtained through the completion of specific kingdom missions, as well as each time the kingdom progressed positively in its development.
The speed at which Orion earned KP was far superior to the speed at which he earned SP, since he basically did not need to act personally in the kingdom's development in order to gain KP.
With the help of his uncle Lolo, Giolla, and the rest of his subordinates, Orion amassed a large amount of KP on a regular basis, and his reserves were almost always in the millions.
Even so, he also reinvested the KP he obtained, so his reserves remained stable and never reached absurd numbers. Currently, he had 1,504,400 KP in his reserves, and transporting the Dyna Stones deposit to the main island of Pacific Kingdom required three million points.
Even so, Orion could not help but show a wide smile upon discovering this second ability of Foggy, since it meant that he could introduce all kinds of precious resources to his main island!
All he had to do was find a resource he wanted to transport and pay the necessary amount to transplant it into his kingdom. This was one of the best abilities Orion had found so far, since it meant that Pacific Kingdom could benefit enormously and begin to grow at an even more accelerated pace!
That day, Orion joyfully picked up Foggy, tossing him into the air and kissing him as if he were the greatest treasure, while internally apologizing for having thought in the past that he was somewhat useless as a national guardian beast.
At the same time, he wondered whether the small creature might not possess other powers that he had yet to discover, and he resolved to investigate the matter further in the future.
Finally, with the addition of Foggy's ability, Orion's plans changed slightly. For the time being, the extraction of the Dyna Stones would be carried out in the rudimentary way they had originally planned, with the help of Nibble and Isaac, and once the deposit had been reduced enough, he would use all of his available KP to transport it to the main island of Pacific Kingdom.
This would reduce the time required to complete the mission by at least half, which was undoubtedly excellent news!
With the problem of extracting the Dyna Stones partially resolved, Orion had time to take care of another matter he wanted to deal with before leaving Jewel Island: the confrontation with the Cipher Pol agents present on the island.
Looking at the new assistant of one of Jewel Island's high-ranking scientists, who was an adolescent with a friendly smile and who, for some strange reason, carried a small pigeon on his shoulder, Orion narrowed his eyes, thinking that he needed to carefully plan his next actions.
…
Meanwhile, in the skies of the West Blue, a majestic pegasus was flying at full speed, carrying two beautiful young women on its back.
"Olive, how much longer until we reach the Grand Line?" Gloriosa asked in a somewhat tired tone.
She was very bored after spending several days traveling nonstop alongside Olive. Although they descended regularly to rest, there was no time to get too distracted or explore, since otherwise the journey would become far too long.
"This is already the tenth time you've asked me the same thing in the last few hours! We're still far away. Go to sleep for a bit if you're bored," Olive replied, somewhat irritated with Gloriosa.
Despite the fact that Gloriosa was very beautiful and adorable, her hyperactive and somewhat whiny nature made many people find her unbearable. Although Olive generally had a positive opinion of Gloriosa, she was exhausted from having to travel nonstop while carrying the two young women, so she did not have enough patience to comfort Gloriosa at the moment.
"Gloriosa, you're really annoying, that's why Orion doesn't want to sleep with you," suddenly said the other young woman present, with her usual deadpan expression.
"Shut up! Orion already kissed me passionately on his own initiative! You're the unbearable one that nobody wants!" Gloriosa said angrily, pointing at Hototogisu's nose with her index finger.
"Nobody wants you because you shout too much," Hototogisu replied without changing her expression, which made Gloriosa grind her teeth in anger.
"Okay, okay, that's enough. If you keep arguing, I'll throw both of you off right here and fly back to the South Blue!" Olive said with the dignity of a pirate captain.
Normally, she was a very relaxed woman who did not worry much about things. Her personality was quite gentle, at least with her loved ones, which placed her in the opposite situation of Gloriosa and Hototogisu, as she was generally very well liked by people.
However, at this moment Olive was reaching the limit of her patience, as she had listened to the two young women fight in the same way for several consecutive days.
She regretted the decision to agree to take them to the Grand Line to reunite with Orion, simply because they had seemed pitiful. She had the personality of an older sister, and when she saw the two younger girls saddened by Orion's absence, she decided to help them and fulfill their request, thus beginning the long journey from the South Blue to the New World.
Now, they were in the West Blue, very close to the Calm Belt, and it would not take long before they reached the area where Orion and Gloriosa had encountered Doflamingo a month earlier.
Olive had thought that once there, she would drop the two young women off and immediately return without looking back, since she did not want to continue enduring the two eccentric girls any longer. However, considering how dangerous the New World could be, she knew she could not leave them alone there, as they might suffer an accident if she did.
Sighing, Olive thought that she would have to continue being the babysitter of the two eccentric girls, as she kept flying at full speed toward the New World.