Chapter 282: Orochimaru Appears
Inside the carriage,
Zoro suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the icy glass window, locking firmly onto the road ahead.
As a swordsman who harnessed demonic energy, he was extremely sensitive to similar power signatures.
Not far ahead,
A dense and chillingly malevolent energy was rapidly converging.
"Stop the vehicle—something's not right."
Zoro shouted urgently.
But it was already too late. The frost drill at the front of the Frost Drilling Machine, capable of pulverizing stone, was halted by a black silhouette.
Buzz...
A bony white hand gripped the center of the drill, halting its rotation through brute force—even with magical enhancements applied to the machinery.
The figure was a towering skeleton,
Five meters tall, with hollow eye sockets burning with purple soul flames.
"Purple soul flames... That skeleton is a Purple-grade game asset."
Robin, with her scholarly experience, instantly recognized the skeleton's rarity.
Anyone with a Purple-grade item was no ordinary player.
At this stage of the game,
Combat power was largely judged by the number of Reward Points spent and the grade of one's equipment.
Sure—
Class specialties and combat experience played a role. Support classes couldn't compare to pure combat ones. But those were minor differences.
Generally, the more Points a player spent and the higher the gear quality, the stronger they were.
And anyone wielding a Purple-grade item—
Was undoubtedly part of the game's top echelon, at least the first tier.
"No... The energy I sensed—it's not coming from the skeleton!"
Zoro suddenly shouted,
The evil and cold aura he'd felt was so pure that it caused the demonic energy within him to freeze, as if something was trying to devour his soul.
A terrifying, deathly pressure made his skin crawl.
"I mean no harm. I simply wish to catch a ride."
A slightly hoarse, yet inexplicably charismatic voice rang out.
Zoro tensed instantly.
Even the rest of the Straw Hats didn't understand why he was reacting so strongly.
With the crew's current strength, they could retreat safely even against top-tier players—even the three Navy Admirals.
Especially Luffy,
Who had acquired the [Bloodline of Light] and could activate the Ultraman Physique, strong enough to wrestle with Navy Admirals.
Under everyone's watchful gaze,
A figure emerged from behind the giant skeleton.
He didn't pose aggressively, nor did he release any oppressive aura. He simply stood there, seemingly harmless—
But to Zoro, it felt like being stared down by a venomous serpent from the abyss.
"I refuse."
Luffy frowned deeply.
He didn't like the aura this man gave off—something about it rubbed him the wrong way.
More importantly, Zoro was clearly uneasy because of him.
So, while the man's request wasn't excessive, there was no way Luffy would agree.
"Is that so? What a pity."
Orochimaru's gaze swept over Zoro with intrigue.
A player from another world?
That strange spiritual aura—possibly a class capable of commanding ghosts and spirits.
A sword at his waist?
Likely skilled in swordsmanship too.
How rare… This body would make a fine vessel for an undead swordmaster.
So… captivating.
Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue.
Despite being rejected,
He wasn't angry at all. He simply smiled nonchalantly, then climbed onto the skeleton's shoulder and departed.
Leaving behind a cryptic message—
"We'll meet again, my friend."
That word—"friend"—
Held no warmth, yet the tone was oddly sincere, as if he genuinely considered the Straw Hats companions.
Or perhaps… items soon to be collected?
Not just Zoro,
Even the rest of the Straw Hat crew felt a chill down their spines.
Seeing that he hadn't attacked, Robin let out a breath and said, "That player's incredibly sinister. His class must be necromancy-related—and he's absolutely a top-tier player."
"If we die in the game, we won't really die… but something about his last words gave me a very strange feeling."
The rules of the in-game merchants were absolute.
They applied across both the pirate and ninja worlds—iron laws that couldn't be broken.
Chopper exhaled and said, "Thank goodness we don't actually die. Otherwise, I'd be sprinting in the opposite direction right now."
It wasn't just Zoro—Orochimaru had looked at him weirdly too.
Like he was a lab specimen for pharmaceutical testing?
Too creepy.
The Frost Drilling Machine roared back to life, its engine rumbling.
"Let's take a different route—I really don't want to run into that guy again," Chopper said hastily.
"Such a coward, Chopper."
Nami giggled, then steered the drilling machine onto a detour.
She herself hadn't felt how terrifying Orochimaru was.
As a top-tier necromancer, he was a master of concealing his presence.
Only a rare crew like the Straw Hats—with Luffy's freakish intuition and Zoro's ultra-sensitive demonic energy perception—could even notice something was off.
Ordinary player teams wouldn't detect a thing.
"Demon Slash!"
A blast of black-purple sword energy carved through monsters blocking the path.
As they ventured deeper into the danger zone, the surrounding creatures grew stronger. A strange energy began to fill the air.
"Nami! Look up—what a beautiful sky!"
Sanji pointed upward through the open sunroof, calling to the others.
Everyone turned their eyes to the heavens.
The azure sky above them gleamed like crystal, with mysterious life forms swimming through it, radiating a soft, shimmering glow that bathed the earth below.
The light touching their skin
Seemed to energize their very bodies, enhancing the flow of power within.
Floating text appeared in front of their eyes:
[You have entered the danger zone: Sea of Sky. Monster level range: Lv. 20–Lv. 59]
Robin pulled out her notebook and feather pen, recording rapidly. "No wonder there's life here—the sky itself is an ocean?"
"Hahahaha! As expected of another world!"
Luffy climbed out the window and stood on the top of the drilling machine.
He waved his arms excitedly,
Then stretched out a rubbery hand toward the brilliant sky above, trying to reach the Sea of Sky.
After losing the Nika Fruit, his years-honed rubber body had vanished—
It had been hard to adjust, but thankfully the game store had recently refreshed and he'd obtained a new item to fill the void.
He now possessed the genuine [Gomu Gomu no Mi], regaining his rubber physique.
"Idiot! Just because it's called the Sea of Sky doesn't mean you can actually touch it—it's still up there in the sky!"
"But that castle… We might be able to climb up to it, right?"
Luffy, picking his nose, pointed to the center of their view—a massive pillar-like structure that seemed to link sky and earth together.
Another line of text appeared in front of them.
[Sky City]
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