Chapter 19: The Conflict on the Prehistoric Island (Part 3)
"Ahahahahaha..."
"Ohohohoho..."
The exhausted giants lay laughing on the ground after their fight—perhaps this is what it meant to be warriors.
"Battle 65,723…"
"Draw 65,723."
And then they laughed again...
"Dorry, actually, a guest brought me some wine."
"That's great news. I haven't had a drink in ages—share some with me. Ohohohoho…"
"They're both rivals and friends… but…" Akame hesitated. As a former assassin, it was always kill or be killed. There was no such thing as a draw. If you failed your mission, the punishment was harsh. She couldn't understand why two men who had just tried to kill each other could now lie side by side laughing, not even worried about being poisoned.
"They must worship a war god of this world. In a fair duel, even death wouldn't make them stoop to deception. That's a warrior's resolve," Chiron explained, drawing from his own mythological roots. A thousand readers might interpret Hamlet in a thousand ways—people from different backgrounds saw the same thing differently.
"It's like one of them has to die here. The winner will leave with the permanent Log Pose to Elbaf. The loser will stay forever," Eric said. It felt senseless—dueling over a forgotten reason, wasting time, and destroying their crew in the process. Some crewmates had been captured, others tricked into becoming prison guards.
'If I told them their crew dissolved, their shipmates were captured, or tricked into guarding Enies Lobby… would that stop them? Would they storm Enies Lobby in fury?'
'Unlikely. If they cared that much, they wouldn't have kept dueling over which dinosaur was bigger. Even when their crewmates begged them to stop, they kept going until they forgot the reason entirely.'
Resolved to at least try, Eric approached the two resting giants.
"Are those the guests you mentioned?"
"Ahahahaha... Yeah, him and two others. What about them?"
"There were four captains in the Giant Warrior Pirates, right? You two stayed here for 90 years. Do you know what happened to the crew?"
"Hmm… With Captain Jarul and Captain Jorl around, there's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, those two were the oldest and strongest warriors in the world. The crew should be fine."
"Is that so? But I heard Jarul was killed decades ago by someone named Charlotte Linlin . And considering their age, Jorl has likely passed away. With all four captains gone, the Giant Warrior Pirates fell apart."
"What did you say?!"
Two massive faces leaned in close. Too close! Too big!
"I said—Jarul died at the hands of Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin . Jorl died of old age. The Giant Warrior Pirates disbanded. Some giants were captured by the Marines. Two—Kashii and Oimo—were tricked by the government forty years ago. They were told you two had been caught. In exchange for your release, they agreed to guard Enies Lobby for 100 years."
Dorry: "Charlotte Linlin !"
Brogy: "The Marines are that shameless? As if they could ever catch us!"
"So then," Eric said calmly, "do you still want to keep dueling? After 90 years of draws, do you really expect the result to change? Meanwhile, your comrades are suffering—imprisoned, tricked… And when those 100 years are up, who's to say they won't just be thrown away? You two know what needs to be done."
"But we're still in a duel..."
"…Abandoning a duel mid-fight goes against a warrior's honor. The gods of Elbaf wouldn't permit it."
"Exactly. We left the crew behind to settle this duel."
"Then we must finish it. The victor will live and deal with the crew."
'…Makes sense. Their crewmates begged them to stop back then, and they still refused. Nothing matters more to them than this duel.'
Eric returned to Chiron, sighing. "They won't listen, Captain," Chiron said, already aware. "They've devoted 90 years to this. Even forgetting why didn't stop them. Nothing matters more to them."
"Master Chiron, could you defeat one of them now?" Eric asked, hoping that if one could be bested, he could invoke Elbaf tradition to stop the duel.
"Judging from their exchange, with my current limit, I'm about three-to-seven compared to one of them."
"You're the seven?" Eric asked hopefully.
"I'm the three."
…Probably Eric 's fault Chiron couldn't access his full power. He didn't ask further out of embarrassment.
With 16 Achievement Points, Eric gritted his teeth and spent three to raise his Constitution to 3 Stars. 'Let's experiment a little.'
"Master Chiron, let's spar."
"Alright."
"Shave!" Eric opened with a burst of speed, aiming a punch at Chiron's flank.
Chiron caught his wrist, twisted, and flipped Eric over his shoulder.
Thud.
"Ow ow ow—Master Chiron, couldn't you go easy on me?" Eric groaned from the ground.
"To become a great captain, you must take your fair share of hits. It's the only way to rise above your rivals," Chiron said, though he had held back—otherwise Eric would've blacked out on the spot.
"...Thanks for the advice."
'Feels like that old trope: "Get beat up first to learn martial arts."'
"Captain, you've been working hard. But to become the Pirate King, you need to work harder than anyone else," Chiron added, as he had in the Holy Grail War—always pushing his Master to surpass the rest.
"But I did feel your power and speed increase. If it were the old you, you'd still be lying on the ground," Chiron noted.
'Is it okay for you to beat your captain this hard?' Eric muttered internally, brushing off dust. 'Honestly, being Pirate King isn't that glamorous… wouldn't being an emperor of a country be nicer?'
"How much did I improve—roughly?" Eric asked. The system didn't provide detailed numbers, so he relied on Chiron's senses.
"About a 20% increase. You even surprised me during that charge. If you improved this much every month, you'd be close to the strongest in no time."
'If it really grew exponentially, sure—but I don't have enough Achievement Points. Aside from monthly tasks, I haven't gotten many from recent missions. Do I need to start doing risky stuff just to trigger weird achievements?'
'My body seems pretty balanced—both strength and speed increased equally. Akame's body leans toward speed, so her gains were more agility-based. But I also felt more resistant to damage.'
Then he spent six more points to raise Swordsmanship to 3 Stars.
[Ding… You have a new message]
[Task #3 Complete: Attribute Enhancement – Reward: 10,000,000 Berries / 2 Achievement Points / 1 Bond Point]
[Current Funds: 50.346 million Berries
Achievement Points: 9
Bond Points: 5]
(END CHAPTER)
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